South Korea‘s electricity consumption is expected to hit a record high this summer.According to the Korea Power Exchange, electricity usage will likely reach 86.5 million kilowatts during the summer season, up 1.32 million kilowatts from a year earlier. Despite the all-time high electricity demand, the KPX said the power supply reserve ratio will be 11.7 percent with 10.1 million kilowatts, as the country has a power supply capacity of 96.8 million kilowatts.

The proportion of babies born out of wedlock was 1.9 percent in South Korea in 2014, the lowest level among 35 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a central bank report. This was due to deep-rooted sentiment here against having a child without first getting married, the Bank of Korea said. Korea’s figure was lower than Japan’s 2.3 percent and below the average of 39.9 percent for OECD members in the cited year.The BOK’s report was based on

In Asia, the biggest motor vehicle production plants are in China, Japan, India and South Korea. China, however, captures a bigger slice of the global market share in auto production than any other Asian country.China produced around 28 million vehicles which captures 30 percent of the global market share in auto production leading all other countries in Asia, according to Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles.Japan is responsible for the second highest number of vehicles p

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo remained at the top of Forbes’ list of 100 of the world’s highest paid athletes, with Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James moving up to second on a list heavy with NBA players.The 32-year-old Portugal forward is estimated to have earned a total of $93 million through his soccer salary of $58 million and $35 million in endorsement income.James, with estimated earnings of $86.2 million, was one of 32 NBA players who made the top 100, up from 18 last year.He took

According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, prices of vegetables jumped due to heavy downpours that followed a long drought, industry sources said Wednesday.The price of napa cabbage soared 26.2 percent to 1,416 won per kilogram from a month earlier, the price of spinach jumped 12.7 percent to 4,568 won per kilogram from 4,053 won, while that of lettuce gained 4.4 percent to 662 won from 634 won per 100 grams. The price of cucumbers was tallied at 5,733 won per 10 units, up a

North Korea claimed Tuesday to have successfully tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a large-sized nuclear warhead. This may mean the addition of the reclusive regime to a list of nations that possess ICBMs and nuclear warhead miniaturization technology, including the US, Russia, China, India and Israel.

The complete lineup of President Moon Jae-in’s inaugural Cabinet is out, although nearly half of them are still in the process of parliamentary confirmation. Ten of the 17-member Cabinet, including the prime minister, have taken office. Here’s a look at the lineup. Six hail from academia while another six have had terms in the National Assembly. Thirteen are men and four are women. Their average age is 61.6. Moon wants to add a position to the Cabinet -- the minister for small and medium busines

India is the world’s largest milk producer, with 18 percent of global production, followed by the US and China. But when it comes to milk exports, Thailand is the largest milk exporter in Asia.Thailand is also the largest producer and exporter of dairy products in ASEAN.Thailand alone sold $33.1 million worth of milk, according to United States Department of Agriculture and The World Factbook of CIA. The global sales from all milk exporting countries totaled $7.2 billion, out of which Asia sold

The US imports more from Asian countries than it exports, and as per available data the US runs trade deficits with most Asian countries, with the exception of Singapore. The US has a trade surplus of $8 billion with Singapore.While the US imports $985 billion from Asia, the total value of its exports to the region is $452 billion, as per data from the United States Census Bureau. The US shipped $116 billion of goods to China in 2016, but it imported goods worth $463 billion from China. The resu

Apple's iPhone celebrates its 10th anniversary this week. Ten years after the iPhone debuted on June 29, 2007, the smartphone that started it all is still going strong. The iPhone has changed the way millions of users connect, communicate and work. From the latest sales, the smartphone has sold well over 1 billion units worldwide.

Devastating conflicts, violence and persecution in places like Syria and South Sudan led to a record high of 65.6 million people uprooted from their homes at the end of 2016, the UN said Monday.The number was 300,000 higher than the end of 2015 and more than 6 million higher than the end of 2014, according to a report published by the UN refugee agency.At the end of 2016, there were some 40.3 million internally displaced people in the world, down slightly from 40.8 million a year earlier, with S

In South Korea, 49.9 percent of the population of 51.4 million is female, standing at 25.6 million as of 2017. Among those aged 60 or over, women outnumber men. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family released annual statistics Tuesday that give a glimpse into Korean women’s changing lives and perceptions, as well as the existing gender-based disparity in terms of income and social status. 　According to data mainly based on figures from 2016, women on average live longer than men. They are mo

The world‘s current population of 7.6 billion will balloon to 9.8 billion in 2050, with India’s population to surpass China’s in just seven years, a UN report said.Nigeria will overtake the United States by 2050 to become the third most populous country in the world, according to the figures by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.At that rate, the global population will reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100, it said.The population of India, which cu

Qatar Airways reclaimed the title as the world’s best airline in 2017, according to the annual World Airline Awards published by Skytrax.Emirates dropped to No. 4, placing behind Singapore Airlines and All Nippon Airways. Cathay Pacific rounded out the top five. South Korea’s Asian Airlines ranked 20th.Deutsche Lufthansa managed to improve its ranking by three slots to the seventh position, making it the only European carrier in the top 10 and the only airline not from Asia or the Persian Gulf.

According to a survey conducted by the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, Middle East tourists spent the most during their visits to South Korea last year, amid growing demand for beauty and medical tourism. Tourists from the Middle East spent $2,593 per capita, more than triple the average amount spent by Japanese travelers who spent an average $819.The survey was conducted on 12,003 foreigners who visited South Korea in 2016.