Consumption of rice increased notably last year, particularly on the popularity of ready-made meals in South Korea, data from Statistics Korea showed.From Nov. 1, 2016 to Oct. 31, 2017, 114,341 metric tons of rice was consumed, up 14.1 percent on-year. Rice tallied here included that used in various food products such as kimbap, prepackaged meals and instant rice sold at convenience stores and large retailers. Rice used at restaurants, however, was tallied separately.Meanwhile, rice consumption

In a country where apartments are generally and mostly the preferred form of residence, the prices of detached, single houses have been showing a rapid surge, data by the Land Ministry showed.Of the 25 districts in Seoul, Mapo and Yongsan displayed significant increase in prices, as the two areas have diverse large-scale development plans in store. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

Exports of South Korean-made instant noodles, or ramen, have surpassed $300 million for the first time, mainly driven by their popularity in China, the United States and Southeast Asian nations, data from the Korea Customs Service showed.Some $380 million worth of ramen were exported last year, up 31.2 percent from 2016. Meanwhile, Korea imported $3.86 million worth of instant noodles.  (YouTube)(khnews@herarldcorp.com)

Medical treatments have become more expensive in Korea, with costs showing the largest surge in 10 years, according to data from Statistics Korea based on the consumer price index. The index showed that outpatient medical costs reached 104.94 last year, up 2.6 percent from 2016. This is the highest since Statistics Korea began categorizing outpatient medical costs in 2005, and the largest on-year increase rate since 2007.Medical examination costs reached 105.87, up 3 percent from the previous ye

The South Korean delegation began their prep meeting with the International Olympic Committee on North Korea’s PyeongChang Winter Olympics participation in Switzerland on Friday. The real meeting on the following day is slated to begin Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in Lausanne, or 5:30 p.m. Seoul time.The working-level team led by Kim Ki-hong, vice president of games planning for the PyeongChang Olympics organizing committee, attended the technical meeting with the IOC at its headquarters in Lausanne fr

Cadillac of GM Korea said Friday it had marked the largest-ever yearly sales record in Korea, selling 28,000 units, and aimed to focus on quality growth through new releases and reinforced services this year.“2017 was a special year that can even be described as an inflection point in the history of Cadillac’s entry into South Korea,” Kim Young-sik, president and representative director of Cadillac, said in a press conference in Seoul. Cadillac entered Korea in 1996.Cadillac Escalade (Yonhap)“Th

Among cryptocurrency exchanges around the world, the one with the largest volume of transactions is based in South Korea, showed data from tallying website CoinMarketCap. As of 10:40 a.m. Thursday, the transaction volume for 24 hours at Upbit based in South Korea reached $7.577 billion, far ahead of Hong Kong’s Binance, which ranked second.Except for the No. 1 and No. 3 spots, most exchanges with large transactions were located in Hong Kong and China. Although Upbit topped the world market

South Korea’s exports to Vietnam have been growing, with the size of the trade surplus for Seoul surpassing that with the United States, data from the Korea International Trade Association showed Thursday.Korea exported $47.7 billion worth of products to Vietnam, accounting for 8.3 percent of the country’s entire outbound shipments. Vietnam is also quickly catching up with the US as a major export destination, with the export value to Vietnam amounting to 69.7 percent of that to the

Sixty percent of those that purchase apartments in the top four Gangnam districts in southern Seoul are residents of the area, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Appraisal Board showed Wednesday.In December alone, a total of 2,339 transactions were carried out in the four districts -- Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa and Gangdong. Among them, 59.6 percent involved buyers with registered residencies in one of the four districts. Some 18.9 percent were residents of o

Four out of 10 men who have received state-run medical checkup as of 2016 were obese, with the obesity ratio among those in their 30s reaching 7.30 percent. In relation to income, men were more prone to be obese when their income was higher, while it was vice versa for women. These and other data were showed in the 2017 obesity white book released by the National Health Insurance Service.The report categorized one as obese when his or her body mass index was 25 or over. BMI of under 18.5 wo

E-commerce platform Coupang has opened special Christmas promotion running until Dec. 25, the company said Monday. (Yonhap)Special discounts up to 20 percent for some 56,000 toys for children from brands such as Lego, Yong Toys, Bandai and Mimi World. Under the special gift category, the company has also listed products for adults such as digital and home appliances, kidult toys, food, books and CDs/ DVDs. All purchases under the category are subject to Rocket Delivery to be competed the next da

CELEBRATING IMPORT -- Participants attend a ceremony marking the 47th anniversary of the Korea Importers Association at Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul on Wednesday. From front row fifth from left are Ghana Ambassador to Korea Difie Agyarko Kusi, Canadian Ambassador Eric Walsh, KOIMA Chairman Shin Myoung-jin, wife of Chairman Shin Lee Kyung-hee, Czech Ambassador Tomas HUSAK and South African Ambassador Nozuko Gloria Bam. (KOIMA)

S-Oil has presented awards and prizes worth 90 million won ($82,700) to eight heroic firefighters at a ceremony held at the Yeongdeungpo fire department in Seoul on Thursday, the company said. S-Oil CEO Othman al-Ghamdi (left) poses with firefighter Kim Mee-hee during an award ceremony at Yeongdeungpo fire department in Seoul on Thursday. (S-Oil)After receiving nominations from the National Fire Agency and the Korea National Council on Social Welfare, the company decided to reward firefighter Ki

Social media has created a world of its own, not just in the social realm but also in commerce.Scrolling through the Instagram app, for instance, at least one out of 10 Instagrammers are so-called “star Instagrammers,” having gained popularity by sharing everything from their food and clothes to basically their lives via carefully composed photos with captions bordering on bravado. Their followers indulge in vicarious satisfaction, even forging comradery among themselves for their shared interes

KT&G’s CEO and President Baek Bok-in (sixth from right) pose for a photo with some 150 employees at a global vision declaring ceremony held at the company’s headquarters in Daejeon on Thursday. The firm, South Korea’s top tobacco maker with 60 percent market share, vowed to increase sales volume overseas fourfold by 2025, targeting important markets in the Middle East, Russia, central and southern America and Africa. The company marked 941.4 billion won ($865.8 million) in overseas sales last ye