Yoon asks for lawmakers’ support in supplementary budget bill, US-led alliance

One-person saunas offer rigorous full-body exfoliation session in private setting

* From waking up a dozing student to tidying up graves, online advertisements with unusual but real job descriptions offer a peek into the Korean society. The Korea Herald looks at some of these unusual ads. The following is the second installment. – Ed. Korea’s two biggest -- and longest -- holidays are Seollal and Chuseok, around which the hyperlocal community app Karrot Market is bustling with cries for help. The website usually operates a separate page for part-time jobs targe

The two candidates of the ruling and the main opposition parties are running neck and neck in a race for the governorship of Gyeonggi Province in the June local elections, a survey showed Monday. Kim Eun-hye, former lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), led former Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) 40.5 percent to 38.1 percent, according to the survey of 1,010 adults, conducted by Gallup Korea last Friday and Saturday. The gap of 2.4 percentage

Half of older adults in Seoul have no experience using digital kiosks, a survey showed Monday, despite a rising number of businesses adopting such self-service electronic machines amid the pandemic. The poll released by the Seoul Digital Foundation, a digital arm of the city government, showed 45.8 percent of people aged 55 or older living in Seoul said they have used kiosk machines, compared with 94.1 percent of those aged less than 55. Noticeably, 29.4 percent of those aged between 65 and 74 h

The South Korean Air Force's aerobatic flight team plans to join three international air shows in Britain in July, Seoul officials said Monday, marking its first visit to the European nation in 10 years. The Black Eagles team is set to participate in the Southport Air Show, Royal International Air Tattoo, and Farnborough Airshow from July 9-22, as part of military diplomacy to promote South Korean-made aircraft. The team last attended a British show in 2012. Later, it joined flight events in Sin

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday he will spare no effort to help North Korea cope with a massive outbreak of the coronavirus, offering to send vaccines and other necessary supplies if Pyongyang agrees to accept. Yoon made the offer for a second time as the North struggles to curb rapidly spreading infections after acknowledging an outbreak last week for the first time since the pandemic began. Leader Kim Jong-un has described the worsening situation as "a great upheaval" rarely see

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to their lowest tally in nearly four months Monday amid a slowing virus trend giving a boost to efforts for a return to normalcy. The country reported 13,296 new COVID-19 infections, including 28 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 17,795,357, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's count is the lowest since the 13,005 reported on Jan. 26. The omicron wave spread rapidly across the nation early this year, peaking at mo

A helicopter carrying three crewmen crashed in the southern coastal city of Geoje on Monday, with their fate remaining unknown, firefighters said. The chopper went down near Mt. Seonja at around 9 a.m., according to an accident report filed with firefighting authorities. Three people were presumed to have been on board, according to an accident report Rescuers are trying to verify the fate of the crewmen. (Yonhap)

The United States and South Korea must send a clear and strong message to North Korea that the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is their goal in order to succeed, a group of South Korean and US experts said in a book soon to be released. The experts also underscored the importance of maintaining pressure on Pyongyang while helping to address humanitarian issues, such as the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the impoverished country. "First, the two sides should co

South Korea has signed a contract worth 170 billion won ($132.8 million) with a US aerospace firm, Bell Textron Asia, to purchase some 40 trainer helicopters by 2025, the state arms procurement agency said Monday. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) inked the deal with the firm on May 6 to procure the Bell 505 helicopters and eight simulators to train Army and Navy pilots, its officials said. The simulators are to be manufactured by a Korean firm. The South Korean military plan

After holding down the fort for over two years, North Korea finally let COVID-19 slip through the cracks in its tightly sealed doors. Just days since the first cases were announced, North Korea’s total number of related deaths rose to 42, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Sunday. The count of people with fever accumulated since late April reached 820,620, which is about 3 percent of its 25 million population.  How bad could omicron get in North Korea? Here&r

The 15th edition of the World Forestry Congress, the world’s largest gathering on forests, ended with delegates signing a joint declaration calling on enhanced cooperation across the world. The Korea Forest Service said the latest edition of the WFC, which was held at Coex in Seoul between May 3-6, both online and offline, invited a total of some 15,000 people from 164 different countries, becoming the largest in the history of the congress. Participants of the WFC this year adopted t

Woori Financial Group announces support to combat desertification

Number of cases explosively grow as Seoul talks support measures