North Korea‘s economy is estimated to have contracted for the second straight year in 2021 on global sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic, according to South Korea’s central bank. 　The North’s economy, which has been hit by tightened UN sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs, shrank 0.1 percent last year from the previous year, the Bank of Korea said in a report. 　Still, last year’s contraction slowed from a negative growth rate of 4.5 percent recorded a ye

　The number of registered vehicles in South Korea rose 0.6 percent in the second quarter to over 25 million, with that of eco-friendly cars exceeding 1.36 million units, government data showed. 　Car registrations came to 25.22 million units as of end-June, up from 25.07 million units a quarter earlier despite a global chip shortage, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. 　Global carmakers have been struggling with the lack of semiconductor parts since late 202

　The number of South Korean and foreign migrants fell at the fastest-ever pace last year as the COVID-19 pandemic restricted cross-border movements, data showed. 　The number of international migrants, or those who stay in South Korea for more than 90 days, declined 347,000, or 28.1 percent, on-year to 887,000, according to the data from Statistics Korea. 　The data is calculated based on cross-border movements of both South Korean nationals and foreigners, excluding short-term visitors. 　It m

　Sales of K-pop albums have once again reached an all-time-high in the first half of this year, a local market tracker said. 　According to Kim Jin-woo, head researcher of Circle Chart, which reports accumulated sales and streams, combined sales of the nation‘s top 400 physical albums have risen to 34.9 million copies in the first half of 2022, up 34.6 percent from a year ago. It was the highest first-half sales figure of all time. 　First-half sales of physical albums have risen from 10.

　Around 65 countries in which monkeypox is not endemic have reported outbreaks of the viral disease as confirmed cases cross 15,600. 　The rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak represents a global health emergency, the World Health Organization‘s highest level of alert, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on July 22. 　The illness, which spreads through close contact and was first found in monkeys, has rarely spread outside Africa, where it is endemic, until this year. (Re

　Drug offenders in their teens to their 30s grew sharply in the past three years to represent 58.9 percent of those convicted of drug crimes last year, the chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said.  　The number of young drug offenders in those age brackets stood at 1,566 in 2019, accounting for 48.9 percent of all drug offenders, before growing to 1,769 at 51.2 percent in 2020 and 1,839 at 58.9 percent last year, Kim Gwang-ho, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency commissioner, said

　World food prices fell for a third consecutive month in June, but remained close to record-high levels set in March, the United Nations’ food agency said. 　The Food and Agriculture Organization’s food price index, which tracks the most globally traded five major food commodities - cereal, meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar - averaged 154.2 points last month versus a revised 157.9 for May. 　The May figure was previously put at 157.4. 　Despite the monthly decline, the

　Advanced nations continued to assess China’s national image negatively, according to Pew Research Center. 　Northern powers of US, Canada and Germany saw China unfavorably as 82 percent of Americans and 74 percent of both Canadians and Germans had negative views of China as shown in the center’s surveys conducted from January to June. 　The numbers turned out worse for China’s Pacific neighbors. Eighty-seven percent in Japan, 86 percent in Australia and 80 percent in South Ko

　The United Nations estimated that the world’s population will reach 8 billion on Nov. 15 and that India will replace China as the world’s most populous nation next year. 　In a report released on World Population Day, the UN also said global population growth fell below 1 percent in 2020 for the first time since 1950. 　According to the latest UN projections, the world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and a peak of around 10.4 billion

　Korea’s Electric Vehicle Battery industry showed slow sales growth as its global market share in the first five months dropped by 9.5 percentage points from last year, according to the battery industry tracker SNE Research’s June report. 　LG Energy Solution, the country’s top battery maker, took 14.4 percent of the market. The figure shrank by 9.2 percentage points from last year’s 23.6. Samsung SDI’s share also went down by 1.5 percentage points from 5.9 percent

　South Korea ranked first in the COVID Resilience Ranking surveyed by Bloomberg in June. This was the last result of the monthly survey which assessed 53 countries’ 11 indexes under the categories of reopening progress, COVID-19 status and quality of life. 　Korea jumped up by five notches from the previous month, dropping Norway, the May champion, to fourth place. United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Norway, and Saudi Arabia followed South Korea in this survey. 　It was the first time that Seo

　Seven out of 10 South Koreans believe the government should only provide nonmilitary aid to Ukraine, a survey showed.  　In the survey of 1,000 people aged 18 or above conducted by Gallup Korea from June 21-23, 72 percent said the government of President Yoon Suk-yeol should only send medical, food and other nonlethal aid.  　Only 15 percent said the government should also provide weapons. 　Eighty-four percent said they are interested in the Ukraine-Russia war while 13 percent said

　Seoul was selected as the 10th best city for startups in an annual report released by research firm Startup Genome, city officials said. 　The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2022 by the firm, dedicated to improving the startup ecosystem of each city, surveyed 280 cities across some 100 nations for the latest results announced in London, the officials said. 　The report ranked Seoul as 10th strongest in the startup ecosystem category, up from 16th last year and 20th in 2020. 　The report put t

　About 43.9 percent of children from multicultural families were young adults in 2021, according to a study conducted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The figure has increased by 8.3 percent from the previous survey in 2018, which stood at 35.6 percent. 　Meanwhile, only 40.5 percent of children from multicultural families were admitted to colleges. The number is significantly lower than the college entrance rate of the overall population, which was 71.5 percent. 　In addition, ch

　South Korea has captured the No. 1 spot in global shipbuilding orders for the first time in four years on the back of rising demand for high-priced vessels, such as liquefied natural gas carriers and container ships, data showed. 　The country’s shipbuilders secured a total of 9.79 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) during the January-June period, accounting for 45.5 percent of the orders placed worldwide, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, citing data from Clarkson Rese