You might know Gangneung as one of the host cities for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and among the host cities of another Olympics event, the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics. But Gangneung is so much more. Gangneung, a city in Gangwon Province on the east coast of South Korea, is where you can watch the first sunrise in the country. If you take the high-speed KTX train, it takes an hour and 50 minutes from Seoul to get to Gangneung, and three hours from Incheon Airport. The Yangya

S. Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections reached the highest in the recent 40 days, raising concerns about a possible resurgence during the summer season. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the country added 18,147 new COVID-19 infections during the 24 hours of Monday. The total caseload reached 18,413,997. The daily tally reported on Tuesday nearly doubled from 9,894 a week ago. It was also the biggest increase since last week when the country started to see sig

A police search is underway for a woman in her 20s who has been missing for a week, after last being seen in western Seoul. The woman named Kim Ga-eul has been missing since the evening of June 27 after last being seen near the Line No. 9 Gayang Station in Gangseo-gu, western Seoul. Kim’s family reported her missing to police at around 11:30 p.m. the same day. Kim’s sister reportedly told the police that an ambulance came to Kim‘s home in Gangseo-gu at 11 p.m. upon a report f

South Korea's new coronavirus cases sharply increased Tuesday amid concerns about the virus' resurgence following eased social distancing restrictions. The country added 18,147 new COVID-19 infections, including 171 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,413,997, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Tuesday's tally nearly tripled from 6,253 the previous day and nearly doubled from 9,894 a week ago. The KDCA has said the pace of decline has recentl

South Korea will investigate Eastar Jet Co. to see if there was any violation in the process of the budget carrier having obtained government approval last year for flight resumptions, the transport ministry said Tuesday. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently found that Eastar Jet submitted false accounting documents to receive air operator certificate (AOC) approval from the ministry on Dec. 15. Eastar's financial statements published in the Financial Supervisory Serv

President Yoon Suk-yeol has tapped Yoon Hee-keun, deputy commissioner general of the National Police Agency, as the new national police chief, informed sources said Monday. If appointed, he will replace Commissioner General Kim Chang-yong, who offered to resign in late June after the president strongly chastised police over recent personnel reshuffle flip-flopping. The nominee will undergo a parliamentary confirmation hearing, although an approval is not mandatory. President Yoon did not acce

Translation services crucial in refugee screening process but in short supply

South Korea’s daily COVID-19 infections are going up again, ending the downward trend that continued since the omicron-driven wave that pushed up daily cases to over 620,000 in March. As the daily counts continue to increase, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s new antivirus measures will be put to the test soon. Over the last week, the increases in the county’s daily infections speeded up. On Monday, the number of COVID-19 infections went up just by 586 from the previous wee

Over the weekend, northwestern Seoul saw an outbreak of lovebug, a type of march fly. The packs of flies, mostly flying in pairs, were seen across the northwestern Seoul area, in places like Eunpyeong-gu, Seodaemun-gu and the neighboring Gyeonggi area. Lovebugs are a species of march fly. While their scientific name is plecia nearctica, they are nicknamed lovebugs because matured pairs remain together for several days after mating. Though they are not toxic or harmful, they have invaded re

South Korea's new coronavirus cases fell below 10,000 on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend. The country added 6,253 new COVID-19 infections, including 164 from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,395,864, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Monday's tally declined from 10,059 the previous day but nearly doubled from 3,423 a week ago. The daily count tends to fall on Mondays and Sundays due to fewer tests on the weekend before rising toward the

A Seoul court has ordered rapper Dok2, famously known for his extravagant lifestyle on media, to pay an unpaid jewelry bill to an overseas jeweler, legal sources said Monday. Upholding a lower court's ruling, the Seoul Southern District Court delivered a mandatory mediation, ordering the 31-year-old, Lee Joon-kyung, to pay $34,740 to the jeweler based in Los Angeles. The court's mandatory mediation was delivered last month and took effect Friday after a two-week grace period, they said

WASHINGTON -- Abortion, guns and religion -- a major change in the law in any one of these areas would have made for a fateful Supreme Court term. In its first full term together, the court's conservative majority ruled in all three and issued other significant decisions limiting the government's regulatory powers. And it has signaled no plans to slow down. With former President Donald Trump's appointees in their 50s, the six-justice conservative majority seems poised to keep control of the cour

Welfare Ministry plans full-scale program in 2025

South Korea’s new COVID-19 cases topped 10,000 for the second consecutive day, highlighting the risk of a resurgence in the country during the summer season that some experts have pointed out. During the 24 hours of Saturday, the country added 10,059 COVID-19 cases, bringing the total caseload to 18,389,611, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. The country added eight COVID-19 deaths, raising the death toll to 24,570. The fatality rate now stands at 0.13 p

With more people returning to the office amid easing of social distancing restrictions, instances of workplace harassment have also been on the rise, a survey showed Sunday. According to a poll by Embrain Public, conducted between June 10 and 16 on 1,000 office workers aged 19 or older, 29.6 percent said they had experienced some form of workplace harassment within the past year. In the same survey conducted in March this year, 23.5 percent had said they had suffered workplace harassment, such a