South Korea‘s daily coronavirus cases increased to over 1,700 on Tuesday despite fewer tests over the weekend, adding to woes that infections could further increase after the Chuseok holiday in the wider capital area. 　The country reported an additional 1,729 COVID-19 cases, including 1,697 local infections, raising the total caseload to 289,263, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 　It was the third straight day the daily caseload fell under 2,000, but t

GoodPy has provided 162 million notifications to help Korea’s vaccination drive: ministry

A 2.2 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern South Korea early Monday, but no damage was reported, the weather agency said. The quake hit some 20 kilometers northeast of Boseong County in South Jeolla Province, some 395 kilometers from Seoul, at 6:58 a.m. from a depth of 8 km, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The epicenter was located at a latitude of 34.88 degrees north and a longitude of 127.25 degrees east. The maximum seismic intensity scale was 3, which means

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases fell to around 1,600 on Monday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but concerns have grown further over a surge in infections after the Chuseok holiday amid the fast spread of the virus in the greater Seoul area, officials said. The country reported an additional 1,605 COVID-19 cases, including 1,577 local infections, raising the total caseload to 287,536, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). It was the second straight day

“Songpyeon” are traditional Korean rice cakes that are usually made at home and eaten with family before Chuseok. The Namdo Local Food Museum in Gwangju hosted a songpyeon-making experience Sept. 14 for the upcoming Chuseok holiday. Children from a day care center within Gwangju’s Buk-gu Office participated along with their teachers. 

The son of lawmaker Rep. Chang Je-won was booked by police for refusing a field sobriety test after a car accident occurred in southern Seoul on Saturday. Chang Yong-jun, 21, was involved in a car crash at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. According to police, the son of the three-term conservative lawmaker headbutt a police officer who requested Chang take a field test to see if he was driving under the influence. The car crash reportedly caused no injuries. Chang, who is a rapper that performs un

K-pop sensation BTS flew to New York on Saturday to attend a United Nations event as a special presidential envoy. The chart-topping group is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony for the Sustainable Development Goals Moment of the Decade of Action event in New York on Monday (US local time), along with President Moon Jae-in. The president appointed the seven-member group as a "special presidential envoy for future generations and culture" Tuesday. BTS will give a speech in New Yo

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases fell below 2,000 on Sunday due to fewer tests over the weekend, but concerns linger over a spike in transmissions after the Chuseok holiday, when millions of people usually travel across the country to meet relatives. The country reported an additional 1,910 COVID-19 cases, including 1,871 local infections, raising the total caseload to 285,931, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The country added 10 more deaths from COVID-19, r

Many sections of major highways in South Korea remained congested with heavy traffic Saturday morning as millions of people headed to their hometowns to celebrate the Chuseok holiday with their families. According to the Korea Expressway Corp (KEC), cars moved at a slow pace in some sections of the major highway linking Seoul to the country's second-largest southern port city of Busan as of 8:10 a.m. Traffic congestion was also spotted on the western highway along the country's western coast

  South Korea's daily coronavirus cases exceeded 2,000 for two consecutive days Saturday amid worries about a possible upsurge after a major holiday when people are expected to travel across the country in droves. The country reported an additional 2,087 COVID-19 cases, including 2,047 local infections, raising the total caseload to 284,022, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The country added five more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 2,3

Chuseok sparks COVID-19 worries for partially vaccinated Korea

South Korea is close to reaching its goal of having 70 percent of the population vaccinated with a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before Saturday, when this year’s Chuseok holiday begins. So what does this mean for the country’s pandemic response going forward? Lee Ki-il, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s deputy minister for health care policy, told Friday’s televised news briefing that Korea was close to hitting “a significant milestone in the vaccination

The annual exodus for Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, began Friday as South Koreans head to their hometowns for family reunions and take trips during the extended holiday. This year's three-day Chuseok holiday runs from Monday to Wednesday and it is extended by an extra two days due to the preceding weekend. Traditionally, Koreans head back to their hometowns to be with their family members and visit their ancestors' graves to commemorate them. The nationwide exodus is expected t

South Korea plans to start to compensate pandemic-hit small merchants from late October for their losses incurred by anti-virus restrictions, a senior government official said Friday. The government set aside 1.03 trillion won ($873 million) to operate a state scheme to compensate small merchants for losses that have been generated since July due to state orders to shut down or suspend business over the pandemic. "The government is making seamless preparation to provide compensation to the

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases exceeded 2,000 on Friday again amid concerns a major holiday may stoke further upticks in virus cases. The country added 2,008 COVID-19 cases, including 1,973 local infections, raising the total caseload to 281,938 according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The daily caseload remained in the 2,000s on Tuesday and Wednesday before falling to 1,943 on Thursday. Daily cases have stayed above the 1,000 threshold for more than 70 days am