South Korea’s wine imports more than doubled to touch a new high in the first half of the year as more people enjoyed drinking at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Asia’s fourth-largest economy imported $236.9 million worth of wine in the January-June period, up 110 percent from a year earlier, according to data by the Korea Customs Service. 　It represents the highest first-half tally and accounts for 86 percent of wine imports for all of 2020. 　Imports for

　The annual Boryeong Mud Festival has been selected as one of Asia's three major festivals by an international festival association, a local government said. 　According to the city government of Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, its popular mud festival was designated as one of the “Three Major Festivals of Asia” by the International Festivals & Events Association Asia. 　The two other festivals that received recognition were the annual Harbin International Ice and Sno

　Korea’s exports of biopharmaceutical products more than doubled in 2020 from a year earlier on the back of growing demand for pharmaceutical products amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a report showed. 　Outbound shipments of high-end biopharmaceutical products came to $5.1 billion in 2020, compared to around $2.1 billion tallied the previous year, according to the Korea International Trade Association. 　Asia’s fourth-largest economy stood in seventh place in terms of exports in the s

　Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi has overtaken Apple as the No. 2 global smartphone maker in a sizzling market with consumers emerging from lockdowns, a new survey showed. 　A Canalys survey of second-quarter sales showed worldwide smartphone sales up 12 percent, with South Korea's Samsung holding its top position with a 19 percent market share. 　Xiaomi, meanwhile, surged to the No. 2 position for the first time with a 17 percent share as sales jumped 83 percent, according to Canalys. 　Ap

　South Korea's instant noodle exports touched an all-time high in the first half of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Asia’s fourth-largest economy exported $319.68 million of instant noodles in the January-June period, up 5.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. 　The amount was above the previous first-half record of $302.08 million set a year earlier. 　Yet the first-half growth rate was well lower than the 37.4 perc

　Drug smuggling caught by South Korea‘s customs agency more than doubled in the first half of the year as trafficking via non-contact delivery means rose amid the pandemic, data showed. 　A total of 214.2 kilograms of drugs were confiscated in the January-June period, up 153 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. 　Drug smuggling via international mail and cargo sharply increased amid the protracted pandemic, according to the customs office.

　The United Nations lamented a “dramatic worsening” of world hunger last year, saying much of that is likely connected to the pandemic, and it urged that billions of dollars are needed to save millions of people from starving. 　A report issued jointly by five UN agencies said hunger outpaced population growth in 2020, with nearly 10 percent of all people estimated to be undernourished. 　It said the sharpest rise in hunger came in Africa, where 21 percent of the people - 282 mil

　Seoul has suffered its largest population decline in five years, with the soaring housing prices likely driving people out of the capital city, data showed. 　According to figures compiled by the Ministry of Interior and Safety and provided to People Power Party Rep. Tae Young-ho, Seoul had a population of just over 9.56 million as of June. Compared to a year ago, that represented a drop of 154,856, or 1.59 percent. It is the largest annual drop in five years. 　Seoul had almost 9.99 million p

　South Korea's exports of agricultural products shot up to set a new record in the first six months of 2021, data showed, on the back of stronger global demand for healthier foodstuffs amid the new coronavirus pandemic. 　Outbound shipments of such goods in the January-June period came to $4.15 billion, up 15.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. 　Exports of fresh products advanced 11.4 percent over the period t

　The level of interest in the Tokyo Summer Games is much lower in South Korea compared with past Olympic events, a survey showed. 　According to a survey of 1,003 people aged 18 and older conducted by Gallup Korea from July 20 to 22, only 32 percent of respondents said they were very interested or a little interested in the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. 　A majority, or 66 percent, said they were not interested in one of the biggest sports events in the world. 　The survey also showed that soccer

　The South Korean passport was found to be the third most effective one for travelers around the world, allowing its bearers to travel to 191 countries visa-free, data showed. 　Asia’s fourth-largest economy and Germany tied for third, only after Japan and Singapore, in the latest edition of the Henley Passport Index. 　The Japanese passport provides visa-free travel to 193 countries and Singapore to 192 countries. 　The index released by immigration consulting firm Henley & Part

  　Tokyo Olympics organizers have worked to slash the cost and scale of the 2020 Games after a historic postponement, but the numbers involved are still staggering. 　Here are some key figures from the sporting extravaganza, which opens on Friday: (1) 15,400 athletes 　Sportsmen and women from 205 countries and regions will compete at the Tokyo Games, with more than 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,400 Paralympic athletes taking part. (2) 29 　South Korea will be represented by 232 athletes a

　Three South Korean electric vehicle battery makers accounted for a third of the global market in the first five months of the year, but their share has slightly slipped since last year in the face of toughening competition with Chinese rivals, a market research firm said. 　The trio - LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation - supplied a combined 88.4 gigawatt-hour equivalents of EV batteries in the January-May period, up from 33.6 GWh a year earlier, according to the data by SNE

　South Korea had the second-largest monthly capacity of 200-millimeter-equivalent wafers last year behind Taiwan, a report showed. 　The country, home to major chipmakers like Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, had a capacity of 4.25 million wafers per month, accounting for 20.4 percent of global wafer capacity as of December 2020, according to market researcher IC Insights. 　Taiwan was the capacity leader at 200 mm or 8-inch wafers, taking 21.4 percent of the global capacity. The country,

　US automakers overtook Japanese brands to take the No. 2 spot in the imported car market in South Korea last year, a report showed, taking advantage of local consumers’ boycott of Japanese products over trade and wartime legacy disputes. 　A total of 46,000 cars from US automakers were sold in South Korea last year, accounting for 15.2 percent of the overall imported car sales, according to data by the Korean Automobile Manufacturers Association. 　German brands topped the ranking wi