Drug crimes are rising in Gangwon Province, with those allegedly committed by teenagers and foreign nationals each showing marked increases. According to data released by Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office, cases of drug crimes involving teenagers in the province amounted to 103 last year, up from 27 in 2018, in the province with a population of over 1.5 million. As for the number of foreign nationals, the figure came to 85 in 2022, up from nine in 2018. Thai nationals accounted for the

After Typhoon Mawar battered Guam on Wednesday night into early Thursday morning, about 3,200 Korean tourists have been left stranded on the island suffering a series of power outages and water shortages. Local authorities began restoring facilities after the typhoon left Friday, but airport facilities are expected to take several days to resume operations, which will prolong the damage to stranded tourists. Most of the tourists are reported to be staying at their hotels. Guam authorities said o

Four out of 10 South Koreans aged 10-29 have spent money on goods related to celebrities such as music albums or character dolls featuring K-pop stars, a survey showed Friday. According to the survey of 1,142 adolescents, teens and young adults conducted by Hyungji Elite, a school uniform brand, from May 8-19, 40 percent of the respondents said they have purchased celebrity-related products before, followed by 25 percent who said they have bought goods related to movies including animated films.

BKL, one of the five largest law firms by revenue in South Korea, held a roundtable with Vietnam’s Ambassador to South Korea Nguyen Vu Tung in Seoul on Friday, as the two countries seek to expand business ties. “For the last years our ties have grown strong and they will so in the years to come,” the envoy said, referring to a summit last year in Seoul between President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Vietnamese counterpart. There the two leaders upgraded their 30-year-old relations to t

South Korea is facing calls for universal provision of free period products, like menstrual pads or tampons, for young Korean women, as the nation is already experiencing the world's lowest fertility rate. Rep. Jang Hye-young of the progressive minority Justice Party told reporters on Friday at the National Assembly that she was working to propose a revision of the Youth Welfare Support Act to allow all women aged 9 to 24 to have free access to period products. Jang is looking for more lawm

At least nine people suffered minor injuries and were sent to a hospital in Daegu after an airplane door was ripped open during a domestic flight carrying 194 passengers, according to the local fire department on Friday. The nine people had hyperventilated, according to fire authorities in Daegu. The incident happened as the plane door opened immediately before landing at Daegu Airport at 12:45 p.m. The airplane, operated by Asiana Airlines, departed from Jeju Island at 11:49 a.m. Friday. It was

The Ministry of Environment issued guidelines for the safety of hikers, as moon bears inhabiting the mountainous area of Jirisan are about to end their hibernation, Friday. Asiatic black bears, also known as moon bears due to the moon-like pattern on their chest, are listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s endangered animal list as "vulnerable." As of this year, 86 Asiatic black bears are known to be living at Jirisan, which includes seven cubs born this ye

Foreign residents of Seoul were happier than than their Korean neighbors, a poll conducted by Seoul City showed Thursday. The “happiness index” of foreign residents in Seoul (7.07) was higher than that of the city’s Korean residents (6.72), according to the survey of some 20,000 families, 5,000 citizens and 2,500 foreign residents of Seoul conducted from September through October last year. Over half of the foreign respondents (56.3 percent) said they wish to continue to live i

President Yoon Suk Yeol lauded the successful launch of space rocket Nuri on Thursday, saying it is a "splendid feat" marking South Korea's entry into the Group of Seven space powers. Yoon made the remark in a statement issued shortly after the government confirmed the launch's success. "The success of Nuri's third launch is a splendid feat declaring that South Korea has entered into the G-7 space powers," he said, noting that only the United States, France,

Household loans increased for the first time in eight months in April due to an increase in home mortgage loans issued by policy financing, data showed Thursday. Household loans climbed 200 billion won ($150.6 million) in April from a month earlier largely due to a 4.7 trillion-won increase in mortgage loans provided by state-run housing firms, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. But the household loans from banks and non-banking financial companies continued to show a downward tre

The following is a chronology of major events leading to the development of South Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri, or Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II (KSLV-II), which was launched from Naro Space Center in the country's southern coastal village of Goheung on Thursday. June 4, 1993 -- South Korea launches the homegrown one-stage solid propelled science observation rocket, called the Korea Space Rocket-I, after three years of development. July 9, 1997 -- South Korea launches the home

Barley could help weight control in dogs, the Rural Development Administration reported Thursday. According to the government agency, pet foods containing sprouted barley were found to be conducive to controlling obesity in dogs.​ In the study where the researchers fed obese dogs on a diet containing 2.75 percent sprouted barley for four months, the dogs lost an average 6.45 percent of their body weight. In particular, the level of blood leptin, an indication of obesity, and the density of fat

Three middle school students have been given jail terms for stealing and driving a vehicle without a license, as well as for assaulting police officers. On Wednesday, the Jeju District Court handed down jail terms ranging between 8 and 18 months. Under South Korean law, minors can be given short and long sentences, with the short term incarceration dependent on behavior during the period of detention. The teens were indicted on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act. They were accused of taki

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration's plan to restrict protests by groups with a record of allegedly illegal demonstrations as well as ban nighttime and rush-hour rallies, contradicts the Constitution as well as Yoon’s repeated emphasis on freedom and individual rights, critics said Thursday. Political commentator Chin Jung-kwon called this plan "a ridiculous and unconstitutional idea" in an era where "violent protests" have ceased to exist, saying it is a thinly veil

Aerosols in the checked luggage of student passengers on a field trip to Jeju triggered the bottleneck