According to the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of foreign national patients visiting Korea reached a record high of 606,000 last year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. The report indicates that more than half of these foreign patients sought services at dermatology and plastic surgery clinics. The number of foreign patients visiting Korea last year increased by 2.4 times compared to the previous year, reaching 606,000. This is 1.2 times higher than the 497,000 patien

Sales of ultra-high-priced imported cars over 150 million won ($110,750) have steadily increased this year, in contrast to imported cars priced between 50 million won and 70 million won, whose sales decreased in April compared to the previous month. According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, the number of newly registered imported cars priced over 150 million won increased from 1,171 units in January to 1,497 units in February, to 1,918 units in March, and to 2,292

Data from Statistics Korea has shown that the number of multiple jobholders, who engage in one or more side jobs, is rapidly increasing, particularly among the younger generations and those in their 40s. For the first quarter of this year, the number of employed individuals who have engaged in side jobs increased by 22.4 percent (101,000) compared to the same quarter last year, reaching a total of 552,000 people. Although multiple jobholders in the workforce are not yet prominent, the growth t

A survey by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism revealed that around 6 out of 10 Korean adults did not read a single book in the past year. According to the survey, only 43 percent of Korean adults read at least one book in 2023. This was a 4.5 percent decrease from the results of the previous survey in 2021, and the lowest it has ever been since periodic surveys on reading began back in 1994. The decrease in book reading was especially pronounced among people aged 60 a

One in three 11-year-olds in England has tried alcohol (34 percent of girls, 35 percent of boys), according to a World Health Organization report, which warned it is a “serious public health threat” to the country. The organization examined data from 280,000 children aged 11, 13, and 15 from 44 countries, and the England topped the list of child alcohol use. Romania, Slovenia and Greece also placed high on the list. Even worse for the England, by the time children reach 13 years

The closing rate of restaurant businesses in South Korea exceeded 20 percent last year, higher than during the height of the COVID-19 period. According to the FinTech company Pinda's big data business analysis platform, “Open Up,” 176,258 out of 818,867 restaurants closed last year, with a closing rate of 21.52 percent. This means that more than 1 out of 5 restaurants closed. The number of restaurants that closed last year surged by 82.6 percent from 96,530 in 2020. The closin

About a third of South Korean academics, experts and other elites support nuclearization of their country, a US think tank poll showed, a finding that contrasts with greater support shown in surveys of the general public. The Center for Strategic and International Studies released a report on the outcome of the poll conducted with over 1,000 “strategic elites” in South Korea from Jan. 15 to March 17. The report, titled “Breaking Bad, South Korea’s Nuclear Option,”

More than 8 out of 10 people who filed for bankruptcy in Seoul last year were in their 50s and older, with many of them found to be male and people living alone, data showed. Of the 1,361 valid applications filed with the Seoul Financial Welfare Counseling Center last year, 86 percent were from those in their 50s or older, and 83.5 percent were recipients of basic living allowances from the government, according to survey results from the center. Of them, 64.4 percent were male, while single-p

The most preferred alcoholic drink among South Koreans was beer, receiving more than double the support of the runner-up, soju, according to a recent survey by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation. The 2022 General Information Report of the Korean Alcohol and Liquor Industry indicated that 43.7 percent of respondents chose beer as their most preferred alcoholic beverage, while diluted soju came in second place with 20.2 percent. Third place went to traditional alcohol, with 18.6 p

Ninety percent of global citizens say that types of plastic that are not recyclable should be banned, according to a study. The World Wildlife Fund’s latest report is based on a survey of around 25,000 people from 32 countries, asking for their opinions about unrecyclable plastic products and their negative impact on human health. In Korea, 1,000 people participated in the survey. In the survey, 87 percent of respondents are against the use of unrecyclable plastic products, and 85 percen

With school shootings in the United States reaching 82 cases in 2023, a majority of the country's teachers worry about the possibility of a shooting occurring at their school. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 59 percent of US public school teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade, or K-12, say they are at least somewhat worried about such an occurrence. Among them, 7 percent say they are extremely worried. About a quarter of teachers report experiencing a gun

In the first quarter of this year, the proportion of domestically registered diesel cars fell below 10 percent for the first time. As more consumers in South Korea avoid diesel cars due to decarbonization regulations and the need to import urea for them mainly from China, the decline in sales is expected to accelerate this year. According to data from the Carisyou data research institute, a total of 39,939 diesel vehicles were registered in the domestic market during the first quarter of this

The number of franchised coffee branches in South Korea rose by more than 3,000 on-year in 2022 on growing demand for food and beverages with the ebbing of the COVID-19 pandemic and the expansion of budget brands, the antitrust regulator said. The country had 26,217 franchise coffee shops as of the end of 2022, up 13 percent from the previous year's 23,204, according to data from the Fair Trade Commission. It marked the highest growth among all kinds of food and beverage franchises in 202

The latest survey from Pew Research Center showed that artificial intelligence chatbot use is ticking up in the US. The survey showed that 23 percent of US adults have used ChatGPT, an increase from 18 percent in the previous July 2023 survey. Adults under the age of 30 stood out the most, with 43 percent of them having some type of experience in using ChatGPT. However, there was also a slight increase in older age groups as well. Despite the overall increase in usage, Americans tend still to

The National Museum of Korea in Seoul ranked sixth among museums and art galleries worldwide in terms of its total number of visitors in 2023, according to the UK-based Art Newspaper. The annual number of visitors in 2023 reached 4,180,285. The number of visitors to the National Museum of Korea increased by 22.5 percent last year from 3,411,381 a year earlier. This is the largest number of visitors since its opening in 1945. The museum has a collection of 420,000 artifacts from ancient times t