South Korea is enjoying a significant tourism rebound, with visitor numbers in the first four months of 2024 reaching nearly 89 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to the government’s tourism agency. From January to April, South Korea welcomed 4.866 million foreign visitors, marking an 86.9 percent increase from the same period last year. Tourists from Singapore and the United States led the recovery, surpassing pre-pandemic numbers by 54.7 percent and 19.5 percent, respectively. W

Houses and roads were flooded Sunday as strong winds and heavy rain pounded the country, disrupting flights and passenger ships, and causing landslides and power outages in some areas, fire and provincial authorities said. Due to heavy rain that began Saturday, 18 domestic flights were canceled, and 13 domestic and international flights had been delayed at Jeju International Airport on the southern resort island of Jeju as of 10 a.m. Passenger ships connecting Incheon, west of Seoul, and nearby

Ahead of the summer vacation season, the national police agency announced that it will conduct a special crackdown on drunk driving nationwide for two months starting Monday. The Korean National Police Agency will administer breath tests every Friday, and each municipal police agency will lead the crackdown at least twice a week. Crackdowns will also be carried out on a regular basis by region, according to the police. The crackdown is aimed at highlighting the need to eradicate drunk driving, p

South Korea on Sunday saw heavy rainfall across the country overnight, marking the start of the summer rain season. The government activated the first stage of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and raised the heavy rain warning level from "concern" to "caution." The rain front, dumping strong rain mainly in the southern part of the country, moved further inland Sunday, causing rain to fall in most parts of the country, including Seoul, according to

One-third of new students at Korea’s top three universities were found to come from high schools in the nation’s capital city, Seoul. According to Yonhap News reports citing the state-run Higher Education in Korea website on Sunday, among 13,141 entrants to Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Korea University, 32 percent were from high schools in Seoul -- double the national average. By school, Seoul National University had the largest percentage of its students from Se

From 2018 to 2023, there had been 22 cases in which a heat-related death were officially recognized as workplace deaths, a report by a state-run agency showed Sunday. The Korea Workers Compensation and Welfare Service recently submitted statistics on industrial hazards related to diseases caused by high temperature, such as heat exhaustion. The report showed that there had been 147 of such cases in the past six years, 35 in 2018, 26 in 2019, 13 in 2020, 19 in 2021, 23 in 2022, and 31 in 2023.

City's decision to erect statue of former president sparks opposition from political rivals, civic groups

An owner of a family-run pub suspected of providing illegal gambling has been arrested, police said Thursday, with 110 people suspected of operating the business or gambling there also being placed under investigation. The Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency recently raided one of the poker-themed bars -- locally called a "hold 'em pub" -- in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, which is suspected of running a secret gambling business. The owner has been placed under arrest for possible

Delivery workers in the Osong area of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, are protesting a new apartment rule requiring them to pay a fee to access an underground parking area, which is the only way for delivery vehicles to enter the premises, according to local news reports Thursday. According to Yonhap News Agency, citing a delivery worker who reported the issue, the driver recently was notified of a change in the complex's administration rules meaning that delivery vehicles must regi

South Korean matchmaking company Duo recently released a report on the men and women who got married through its services, including the average heights, incomes, academic backgrounds and other conditions of its members. The company analyzed the data of the 1,887 couples who got married between June 2022 and May 2024 after using its services, and compiled what it called "the standard model of men and women who succeeded in marriage." The couples got married on average of 14.8 months af

About 83.2 percent of the bank services in South Korea involving withdrawals and deposits of bank accounts took place online in the first quarter of this year. According to the Economic Statistics System of the Bank of Korea, the percentage of online banking among the total number of financial transfers between accounts went up each quarter from 79.8 percent in the Q1 of 2023. It marked the highest figure ever. Online banking refers to the services available through a bank's homepage or mob

Busan, South Korea's second-largest city, appears to have entered a phase of extinction due to low birthrates and superaging population, becoming the nation's first metropolitan city to do so, said a research paper published on Friday. The paper from the Korea Employment Information Service estimated Busan's ratio of the population aged 65 or older at 23 percent as of March this year, making it the only metropolitan city to become a superaging society. The southeastern port city&#

Soaring up to maximum height of 130 meters, city government introduces new attraction for observing city views

Aricell, a lithium battery plant that recently experienced a fatal fire resulting in 23 deaths, had not undergone any government industrial safety inspections in the past five years, despite the hazardous nature of the materials it was using, according to the Ministry of Labor and Employment. Data obtained by Democratic Party lawmaker Park Hae-cheol from the Ministry of Labor and Employment confirms that no government industrial safety inspections or supervision had been conducted at Aricell in

Picture this: Exchanging vows at the National Museum of Korea or the National Library of Korea. Or perhaps, saying "I do" surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of Seoraksan National Park. South Korean government announced Friday a plan to make these public venues available for weddings in the latter half of 2024. The cost? As little as free. In a move aimed at alleviating the financial burden on couples planning their wedding, the Cabinet on Wedensday endorsed this measure, adding 48