The amount of daily financial transactions using credit cards and electronic means continued to grow last year while the use of checks and promissory notes continued to dwindle, central bank data showed. 　The value of daily financial transactions using non-cash payment methods, including remittance services, came to 81.4 trillion won ($68.7 billion) in 2019, up 1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. 　The daily use of cards, including debit cards, amoun

COVID-19 confirmed cases in S. Korea (As of March 9) 　 Total confirmed cases: 7,382 Death: 53 Released: 166 Total inspections: 189,236 Under inspection: 17,458 Negative: 171,778

　The overwhelming majority of working women in South Korea say they have experienced some form of gender discrimination, including sexual harassment and wage discrimination, according to a local survey. 　The Korean Women Workers Association said the survey of 404 women that took place from Jan. 16 to Feb. 25 indicates most respondents, - 74 percent - experience some form of discrimination. 　Respondents said they are victims of a gender wage gap, 54.5 percent said they have been unable to b

　Foreign sentiment toward South Korean cultural content marked an overall improvement last year on the strength of the continued popularity of the Korean Wave, according to a poll released by a government agency. 　The survey of 8,000 people in 17 countries who had experienced Korean cultural content, conducted by the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, showed that foreigners’ favorability toward Korean TV dramas rose to 76 percent in 2019, compared to 73.4 percent f

　Samsung Electronics’ share in European smartphone market advanced slightly in the fourth quarter last year, benefiting from rival Huawei Technologies’ struggle with a US trade ban, data showed. 　The South Korean tech giant had a 27 percent market share, up 2 percentage points from a year earlier, according to market researcher Counterpoint Research. 　The world’s largest smartphone maker apparently enlarged its presence after Huawei was barred from installing Google ser

　The number of moviegoers in South Korea last month dropped to its lowest level for the month of February in 16 years, as people stayed home over growing fears of the novel coronavirus. 　According to the Korean Film Council, just over 7.34 million people went to the movies in February, the lowest for the month since 3.11 million watched films in February 2004. 　In February 2019, almost 22.3 million tickets were sold across the nation. (Yonhap)

　South Korea’s birthrate hit an all-time low in 2019, government data shows, a clear sign of a coming population decline down the road. 　The country’s total birthrate, which refers to the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime, came to 0.92 last year, down from 0.98 a year earlier, according to data from Statistics Korea. 　Last year marked the second consecutive year for the rate to fall below 1. South Korea was the only member of the Organization for Economic

　The South Korean market for coffee drinks expanded more than 2 percent in 2019 thanks mainly to strong sales of bottled products, a market tracker said. 　Sales of coffee drinks came to 1.32 trillion won ($1.1 billion) last year, up 2.2 percent from the previous year, according to Nielsen Korea. 　Shipments of bottled coffee drinks shot up 60.1 percent on-year to 185.8 billion won in 2019, leading the overall market growth. 　In contrast, sales of canned products shrank 6.1 percent on-year

　Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first person in the world to reach 200 million Instagram followers. 　Ronaldo follows just 434 accounts but had more than 200,468,000 followers as of Jan. 30. 　Singer Ariana Grande has the second-most Instagram followers, at 173 million, followed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Selena Gomez. (UPI)

　Samsung Electronics topped the global TV market for the 14th consecutive year in 2019, industry data showed Wednesday, on the back of robust sales of its QLED TVs. 　The South Korean tech giant took up 30.9 percent of the global TV market last year in terms of sales revenue, up 1.9 percentage points from a year earlier, according to data compiled by industry tracker IHS Markit. 　Samsung was followed by its local rival LG Electronics and Japan’s Sony. 　According to data, Samsung wa

　South Korea’s per capita annual rice consumption fell to a record low in 2019 amid changes in diet and eating habits, data showed. 　Per capita average annual rice consumption hit a fresh low of 59.2 kilograms last year, down 3 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. 　It marked the first time for the amount to fall below the 60-kilogram threshold. 　The latest figure indicates Koreans consumed around 162 grams of rice on a daily basis. (Yonhap)

　South Korea’s beer imports fell sharply in 2019 from a year earlier due mainly to a boycott of Japanese products here amid a bilateral trade row, data showed. 　Beer imports reached $280 million in 2019, down 9.3 percent from $309 million a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service - the first on-year decrease since 2009. 　The drop was largely attributable to the ongoing “No Japan” campaign by Korean consumers, who have been boycotting Japanes

　The average monthly wage of North Korean defectors living in South Korea exceeded 2 million won ($1,684) for the first time last year, the Unification Ministry said. 　Defectors earned 2.04 million won ($1,720) per month on average in 2019, compared with 1.89 million won in 2018, according to a report released by the Unification Ministry. (Yonhap)

　Sales of toys are surging in South Korea as children stay home longer and people pay more attention to their health due to the prolonged scare over COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus, industry sources said. 　Online shopping site Auction said its sales of toys for toddlers and children skyrocketed from a year earlier in the seven-day period to Feb. 9. 　Sales of ball tents and toy blocks surged 285 percent and 72 percent, respectively, with those of mobile toys like

　The new coronavirus that emerged in central China at the end of last year has now killed more than 2,000 people and spread around the world. 　The latest figures from China show there were more than 74,185 people infected in the country as of Wednesday. 　SARS was also a coronavirus, and that outbreak started in a wet market too. It infected 8,098 people and killed 774 between November 2002 and July 2003.