The number of daily COVID-19 cases in South Korea reached a fresh high of 56,431 on Sunday, as the highly transmissible omicron variant continued to spread fast across the nation. The fresh cases, including 56,297 local infections, raised the country's total caseload to 1,350,630, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest figure marks the fourth day in a row with daily infections above the 50,000 level. A total of 54,941 cases were reported Saturday. New

HONOLULU -- South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong met with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, in Honolulu on Saturday to discuss a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including North Korea and disputes over their shared history. The bilateral meeting was held before the foreign ministers were set to hold trilateral talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Hawaiian capital. "Minister Chung stressed that South Korea and Japan are the closest neighbors t

BEIJING -- South Korea will renew its budding women's curling rivalry with Japan at Beijing 2022 on Monday. South Korea's Team Kim, led by skip Kim Eun-jung, will play two games at the National Aquatics Centre on Monday. It will first face the United States' Team Peterson starting at 9:05 a.m. (local time), or 10:05 a.m. in Seoul. Then the nightcap starting 11 hours later will pit Team Kim against Team Fujisawa of Japan. Kim's team edged out Fujisawa's squad 8-7 in the semifinals of PyeongChang

High-end European fashion brands have opened stores serving food and beverages to satiate Korean consumers‘ voracious appetites for luxury goods and fine dining experiences. Swiss watchmaker Breitling opened its largest boutique to date in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, earlier this month. The opening has accelerated the brand’s move into new offerings that go beyond its core watchmaking business, according to Breitling Korea officials. While Hannam-dong is known as a trendy distric

  The Seoul Museum of Craft Art located in Jongno-gu, central Seoul is a special space where people can enjoy all kinds of crafts from the past to the present. Opened last year, the Seoul Museum of Craft Art has more than 23, 257 craft artworks and related data.   The new museum is built on the former Poongmoon Girls‘ High School site. This location is special because it is where the house of King Sejong’s son Prince Yeongeung was located and the place where King Sejong

Long before the Upper Paleolithic Period, the late Stone Age, during which our immediate ancestors the Homo sapiens inhabited the Korean Peninsula, there were ancient Hominin, a group consisting of extinct human species and all our immediate ancestors who lived in Korea. The Stone Age all over the world was characterized by the use of rudimentary chipped stone tools, of which an abundant variety are found in Korea. When an Acheulean-like handaxe, a Paleolithic period tool, which was the cutti

When I was in my early 20s studying at a college in the US, I was invited to a dinner party at a Korean professor’s home. He was treating all students from Korea and students majoring in Korean at his home. His wife was an amazing cook – she was more popular among the students than her husband who was teaching Korean at the university. She showed me how she made her japchae, the ever famous Korean glass noodle stir-fry, and I was converted. Her japchae noodles were very chewy and

Revisions and new word additions reflect gender neutrality, yet leave out migrants and sexual minorities

Two Korean interdisciplinary artists -- Lee Mi-re and Jeong Geum-hyung -- will participate in the main exhibition of the upcoming Venice Biennale in April, which will take place at the Central Pavilion and Arsenale. Lee and Jeon are among 213 artists from 58 countries who were invited to join the international exhibition, the main exhibition of the biennale where 80 countries will also showcase works through their national pavilions. Among the artists participating in the international exhibit

Buying of COVID-19 self-test kits will be restricted to five units per purchase for three weeks, as the government works to stabilize the supply in light of the recent surge in at-home treatment patients, according to officials Saturday. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the purchase restriction of self-test kits will be enforced for three weeks starting Sunday. Customers, however, will be allowed to purchase additional kits at different stores if needed, according to officials

South Korea won its second consecutive game in the women's curling tournament at Beijing 2022 on Saturday, beating the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) 9-5 to improve to 2-1 for the competition. Down 2-1 after two ends at the National Aquatics Centre in Beijing, South Korea scored five unanswered points over the next three ends to open up a 6-2 lead. The ROC got a point back in the sixth end, but South Korea scored two more points in the seventh end, thanks to a double takeout by skip Kim Eun-j

Ultrafine dust plagued most parts of South Korea on Saturday, prompting authorities to take emergency emissions reduction measures against bad air quality, according to officials. According to the National Institute of Environmental Research, the level of ultrafine dust in the greater Seoul area, Chungcheong and North Jeolla regions were all recorded at "very bad" on Saturday morning. South Korea measures air pollution in a four-tier system -- "good," "average," &

South Korea's zombie apocalypse drama "All of Us Are Dead" has been the most popular TV series on Netflix for two consecutive weeks, a market tracker said Saturday. According to data by streaming analytics firm Flixpatrol, the 12-part show has stayed atop its daily list of top TV series from Netflix all around the world for 14 days since it was released on Jan. 28. The Netlix original topped the rankings in 37 countries, including South Korea, Japan, Britain, France, Hungary, Greec

South Korean stocks are likely to fluctuate in a broad range as investors digest the high-flying inflation rates in the United States, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,747.71 points Friday, little changed from 2,750.26 points a week ago. The key stock index on Friday snapped its three-day winning streak from corporate earnings hope due largely to the highest US inflation growth in four decades, released the previous night. Analysts said the h

South Korea's new COVID-19 infections reached a fresh daily high Saturday, as the highly transmissible omicron variant continued to spread fast across the nation. The country reported 54,941 new COVID-19 infections, including 53,797 local cases, raising the total to 1,294,205, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. It marks the third day in a row that the daily tally exceeded the 50,000 level. A total of 53,926 cases were reported Friday. The health authorities have war