A local government’s independent push for lifting indoor mask mandates as early as January next year has reignited a debate about mandatory masking, while authorities and experts remain divided on the issue. According to the national quarantine authorities on Dec. 4, the municipal government of Daejeon notified the government headquarters for COVID-19 response with the following message: “If the government does not lift the indoor mask mandates by Dec. 15, the Daejeon government will

Cataract, spine, hemorrhoid most common surgeries in Korea The surgery that Koreans received the most last year was for the correction of cataracts, followed by spinal surgery and hemorrhoidectomy, according to data from the National Health Insurance Service on Wednesday. Last year, out of 2.1 million surgeries undertaken in Korea, about 1.68 million patients received one of the 33 most common major surgeries here, barring cosmetic surgeries for aesthetic purposes. Among them, 497,000 people r

A nationwide cold wave advisory was issued Wednesday morning, while Seoul and Incheon had their first snow this winter the night before. It is unusual for a cold wave advisory to be issued in November, according to weather officials. The first snow of the season fell in Seoul and Incheon at 10:20 p.m. on Tuesday, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. The first snow in Seoul was nine days later than average and 19 days later than last year, Incheon's was six days later than average a

With the COVID-19 reaching an endemic stage, the time is ripe for education institutions between South Korea and the US to reconnect in terms of student exchanges, Tomás Morales, the President of California State University, San Bernardino, said during his visit to Seoul on Saturday. “The exchange programs between CSUSB and Korean Universities are rooted in the relationship between the United States and Korea,” said Morales. “I believe a post-pandemic world will see an i

The Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation confirmed Tuesday that all 663 objections to the 2023 Suneung questions and answers were dismissed. The KICE received a total of 663 objections from Nov. 17 to 21 and among them, 215 and 127 were complaints related to an English listening question and the 23rd question, respectively. The complaints alleged that question No. 23 was almost the same as a question in a mock test provided by a lecturer at a famous private school. "It was not about

Amid ongoing controversy over the curriculum revision plan's removal of the term "sexual minority," the Ministry of Education on Tuesday refuted the National Human Rights Commission's criticism that the plan is a retreat in human rights discourse for Korean society. "The revised curriculum plan is a retreat from human rights discourse in our society. Removing the term ‘sexual minority’ is a very serious problem in that it can lead to a deepening of discrimina

Forecasting the heavy rain followed by strong cold wave to hit the country from Monday, the Korea Meteorological Administration predicted that this winter will be colder than usual, although it will not break records. "Strong low pressure will pass through Korea from Monday to Tuesday, bringing heavy downpour across the country. After the rain stops, cold continental high atmospheric pressure will expand from Wednesday, causing sub-zero temperature until Friday,” the weather agency sa

The Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that it is unconstitutional for the Army to force enlisted soldiers to participate in religious events at the Army Training Center. Following the ruling, the Army said they will guarantee the basic rights of individual soldiers. "Forcing people to attend religious events held at religious facilities limits soldiers' freedom of not having faith and not attending religious ceremonies," the Constitutional Court said in the ruling. The court

A revised bill to prevent minors from taking the burden of their deceased parents’ debts was passed at a plenary session of the National Assembly on Thursday. If parents die, the inheritor has to choose between three choices – “absolute acceptance,” to inherit both debt and property, “qualified acceptance,” to pay off the parent's debt only within the scope of the inherited property, or “renunciation,” which is to give up both the inherited pr

Once a quiet, declining rural area, the islands of Banwoldo and Bakjido in Shinan County, South Jeolla Province, have emerged as tourist attraction after coloring themselves purple. Inspired by the wild balloon flowers that grow across the islands, the county decided to turn the two islands into "Purple Island" to invite tourists from the rest of the country and beyond. Before the development began around 2018, there were only 136 residents in Banwoldo and Bakjido, and the region was s

A parliamentary subcommittee on Thursday passed a bill to ban demonstrations within 100 meters of the Presidential Office in central Seoul and residences of former state leaders. The ruling and opposition parties' have endorsed the bill, saying that protests near the Yongsan Presidential office and former President Moon Jae-in’s private residence in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, should be blocked. The current Assembly and Demonstration Act prohibits rallies and demonstrations wi

Unionized workers from various sectors including transport, education to medical are set to stage strikes nationwide this week to demand the government stop privatizing state-run companies and raise wages, fueling concerns that it would cause public inconveniences and supply disruptions. Tension racheted up as the government and the ruling party countered labor groups' strike plans on Wednesday, denouncing them as "selfish profit-seeking plans" which threaten the safety of the sta

The police launched an investigation into an online death threat against the life of the MBC reporter who had conflict with President Yoon Suk-yeol and his secretary on Friday during the president's daily morning interview session. On Monday evening, an online post titled "I will take the lead and kill the MBC reporter" was posted on the far-right online community Ilbe. The writer claimed they will immediately go to the MBC headquarters building and harm the reporter who quarreled

The Korea Herald and the National Center for the Rights of the Child held an event to mark World Children's Day, at the Children's Museum under the National Museum of Korea, on Sunday. World Children's Day, Nov. 20, is an anniversary established by the United Nation in 1954 to protect the basic rights of children. This year's event was planned under the theme “Children’s rights in the perspective of children: meeting with children artists,” and consisted of

A liberal group held a candlelight demonstration Saturday afternoon in Jung-gu, Seoul, demanding the resignation of President Yoon Suk-yeol and an independent counsel probe of first lady Kim Keon-hee over multiple allegations, with six lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea officially participating. The event, hosted by the local activist group Candlelight Movement, began Saturday at 4 p.m. around Sungnyemun in central Seoul. Participants chanted slogans denouncing the govern