Despite masks no longer being required for about six months, some young Koreans have refused to give them up, not only to stay healthy and protect themselves from potential viruses, but for personal reasons as well. Min Kyeong-chae, a 13-year-old student, told The Korea Herald that she feels reluctant to take her mask off because of her insecurities. “My face breaks out very easily, which is something that I feel the most insecure about,” said Min. “I think I look prettier with

The South Korean central government and prosecution are scrambling to hold local authorities accountable for the inadequate disaster response over the recent underpass flooding that killed over a dozen people in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province on July 15. In a statement Monday, the Office for Government Policy Coordination accused officials from the provincial government and the National Agency for Administrative City Construction of a "grave dereliction of duty" and asked the pro

Average monthly precipitation nationwide this year breaks record

Following the stabbing spree in Sillim-dong, Seoul, a significant increase in searches for self-defense tools and weapons has been noted across Korean online shopping sites. This trend appears to be largely driven by males aged 20-40, according to data provided by the online commerce platform, Naver Shopping. Throughout the weekend following the incident, self-defense items topped the search rankings on Naver Shopping among men aged 20-40, according to website data. As of Monday, such products m

More than 21 million unused coronavirus vaccine doses have been discarded as of June in South Korea due to their expiration dates, data showed on Monday. Among the 212.8 million vaccine doses that have been introduced into Korea, the discarded doses account for 10.86 percent of Korea's total contracted COVID-19 vaccine purchases, according to data released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. As the Korean government has not disclosed the per-shot purchase price of COVID-19 v

The recent death of an elementary school student has sparked public outrage, following allegations of lax responses by the school and nearby hospitals. The student, a sixth grader in Daejeon, collapsed on June 30 at her school. Surveillance footage from the school released by local media shows the student appearing in pain in the school hallway for three minutes until a teacher opens a classroom door after hearing her screams. She was reportedly on her way back to the classroom after visiting th

Police investigating allegations that a fortuneteller, Cheongong, interfered in selecting the location of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s official residence said that the man who visited a candidate site early last year was a different person with a similar beard, according to KBS reports last week. A former Justice Party lawmaker first raised the allegation last December that Cheongong, who claimed to be a personal mentor to Yoon, paid a visit to the official residence of the Army Chief of Staf

Prosecutors raided five regional police and government offices Monday as part of an investigation into what went wrong in the response to a deadly underpass flooding in the central city of Cheongju. The Cheongju District Prosecutors Office sent investigators to the provincial police agency, the fire service headquarters and the regional government of North Chungcheong Province, as well as the city government of Cheongju and a state city construction agency, to seize evidence. A district police s

South Korea’s barley output fell 1.1 percent in 2023 from a year earlier, data showed, due to the adverse effects of heavy rainfall over recent months. The production of barley in the country came to 97,794 metric tons this year, down 1,042 tons from 2022, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The harvest season for barley spans from mid-June to early July. The decrease came as frequent heavy rains disrupted production, with the output per 1,000 square meters falling 7.4 perc

The government is considering establishing a standing organization comprising civilian experts to tackle extreme weather events, such as the recent deadly downpours, an official said Sunday. The envisioned organization under the prime minister's office is aimed at gathering ideas from experts outside of the government to come up with disaster response strategies at a time when such extreme weather events are becoming a "new normal," the official said. "It's necessary not

Monsoon rains are forecast to hit most regions of South Korea until Monday, and continue to fall in the Seoul metropolitan region and the central part of the country this week, the state weather agency said Sunday. A heavy rain watch has been issued in the wider capital area, the northwestern part of Gangwon Province, South and North Chungcheong provinces, and the western coast of South and North Jeolla provinces, as rain clouds are slowly moving eastward to cover the entire nation, according to

Teachers call for legal protection from demanding parents and students, better working conditions

South Korea plans to loosen COVID-19 restrictions and lower its infectious disease rating as early as the beginning of August, said the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Sunday. The government also plans to completely implement its “second phase of daily recovery measures” in August. Its first phase and a part of its second phase have been implemented since June 1. Under the second phase, the official infectious disease rating for COVID

Court issues arrest warrant for suspect, stating flight risk