A 6-year-old Uzbek girl was found dead in the Nakdong River in Daegu on Tuesday. The girl was found in the river about 200 meters from Dalseongbo Weir, six hours after the National Fire Service began a search, according to local media reports quoting police. Her parents had reported her missing at 12:21 p.m that day. Police secured CCTV footage showing the girl heading to a riverside park near the weir, also near her home, riding her scooter alone. A witness reportedly told the police that she p

More than half of South Koreans are of the opinion that the nation’s alliance with the United States should continue to be strengthened, a poll showed. In the poll of 1,238 people aged 18 and older conducted by Gallup Korea from Sept. 4-8, 91.6 percent said the bilateral alliance is important and the majority, 53.7 percent, responded that it should be continuously strengthened. Another 24.9 percent said the alliance should be continuously maintained, whereas only 18.1 percent said it shoul

The pilot of a civilian helicopter, who was the sole occupant, was killed after the chopper crashed into a reservoir in a northern city Tuesday, rescue officials said. The aircraft, carrying the 67-year-old pilot, crashed into the reservoir in Pocheon, 52 kilometers northeast of Seoul, at 11:08 a.m., according to the officials. Rescue authorities found the pilot dead inside the submerged aircraft at about 3 p.m. after mobilizing divers and rescue boats for the search operation in the reservoir,

The number of patients with depression in Korea has increased by more than 30 percent over the past five years, exceeding the milestone of 1 million for 2022, data showed Tuesday. According to data that Rep. Nam In-soon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea and the Health and Welfare Committee received from the National Health Insurance Service, the number of patients treated for depression has increased every year since 2018. From 752,976 in 2018, there were 799,011 in 2019, 832,378

The basic subway fare in the Seoul metropolitan area is poised to rise 12 percent to 1,400 won ($1.03) from the current 1,250 won, according to the capital city's municipal government on Tuesday. Seoul's public transit authorities define the basic subway fare as the charge to adult holders of a transportation card traveling up to 10 kilometers on a single ride. An additional 100 won is charged for each additional 5 kilometers of travel on the transit system, which allows for travel of up to 200

The Coast Guard apprehended 22 Chinese nationals Tuesday suspected of attempting to illegally enter a western coastal city by boat, officials said. The Boryeong Coast Guard Station detained 21 people on board an unidentified vessel anchored off the coast of Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province. A 57-year-old man who fled the scene was arrested in a house in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, some 110 km north of Boryeong. The group of Chinese nationals, known to be around their 40s, faces charges of atte

South Koreans' happiness level is rising slowly but surely, unlike what the country's ranking on happiness indices might suggest, according to a presidential committee promoting national cohesion. The Presidential Committee of National Cohesion said in a paper published last month that it reached the conclusion after comparing and analyzing data contained in the annual World Happiness Report and the annual Korea Social Integration Survey (KSIS) over the past 10 years. The World Happine

Adolescents’ drug problems reach point where educational videos no longer sufficient

Lee Myung-shik, paralyzed from the chest down after an adverse reaction to an injection to treat a skin disease, cannot sit for longer than three hours due to the debilitating pain in his legs. It means the 62-year-old, who wishes to bring forward his death, is unable to take the 11-hour flight to Switzerland where assisted suicide is legal. "My legs are not just paralyzed, but they are also suffering pain beyond imagination ... so it's getting harder to withstand the pain," Lee s

Four tourists were injured after nearly 400 tons of rock fell in South Korea's eastern island of Ulleung on Monday, officials said. The rockfall occurred at 6:56 a.m. at a popular tourist attraction known for its turtle-shaped rock on the island, causing a head injury to a female in her 20s. She was transported to a hospital at around 9:40 a.m. with symptoms of a cerebral hemorrhage. She is said to have been camping near the site, along with three others who sustained minor injuries. An off

Legislative efforts to end dog meat consumption in South Korea are picking up speed amid rare political unity following the presidential office's outspoken support for ending the centuries-old practice. Calls to end the practice are not new in South Korea, where butchering or eating dog meat is neither explicitly prohibited nor legalized. But the anti-dog meat campaign received fresh attention in late August as first lady Kim Keon Hee made a surprise visit to a civic group's press conference cal

Major expressways across South Korea are expected to experience heavy traffic Monday, the fifth day of the extended Chuseok holiday, as many families headed home after visiting their hometowns. As of 1 p.m., the estimated travel time to Seoul from the southeastern port city of Busan was 5 hours and 11 minutes, 4 hours and 51 minutes from the southeastern city of Ulsan, and 3 hours and 50 minutes from the southwestern city of Gwangju, according to Korea Expressway Corp. Traffic into Seoul is expe

Expressways across the country remain Sunday, as people across the country head back home on the fourth day of the extended Chuseok holidays. The state-run Korea Expressway Corporation projected the congestion to peak around 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., with the traffic expected to ease between 11 p.m. and midnight. As of 4 p.m., the estimated travel time from the southeastern port city of Busan to Seoul ranged between 5 hours and 19 minutes to 6 hours and 24 minutes, when travelling by non-busses. It is e

Police have launched a probe into the suicide death of an elementary school teacher in Uijeongbu, just north of Seoul, for possible harassment by parents, nearly two years after his school reported the death merely as a fall, officials said Sunday. The Uijeongbu Police Station has recently opened a probe into the death of Lee Yeong-seung who taught at Howon Elementary School after a regional education office requested an investigation into three parents on suspicions of infringing his education

The Seoul city government has initiated a financial assistance program for single women interested in egg freezing, garnering significant attention from unmarried women, officials said Sunday. Starting Sept. 1, the Seoul metropolitan government began offering financial aid of up to 2 million won ($1,500) for fertility preservation, in the latest of a series of measures introduced by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in March to address the city's alarmingly low birthrate of 0.59. "The number of e