A recent survey on married couples in their 20s and 30s have shown that 65.4 percent of them have experienced a severe decline in contentment of their marriage. The survey was conducted on 500 married women last month by a local matchmaking company Duo, to see how many of the young South Korean couples go through "gweontae-gi," which roughly means a period when a couple find each other tiresome. It is similar to the seven-year itch in the Western culture, a belief that happiness in lon

A 33-year-old man who saved a woman suffering from an acute case of epilepsy while driving was commended by the city rescue authorities on Monday. Jeon Ji-hun received a certificate of appreciation from the Ulsan Nambu Fire station for his role in saving a 50-something-year-old driver in Nam-gu, Ulsan, on March 28. At around 10:26 p.m., her car had stopped in the middle of the road, not responding to honking of other cars for a full three minutes. Jeon, who was driving the car behind her, steppe

An employee of a state-run company who recorded his boss swearing loudly inside the office has been cleared of criminal charges, a local court said Monday. The 35-year-old defendant had been accused of violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, which bans anyone from recording or listening to a conversation of other people that was not public. The boss in question claimed that the recording was a private conversation with a specific employee, who was not the defendant. The prosecuti

K-pop megastar Jungkook has launched an Instagram account exclusively for his dog Bam, which reached over three million followers as of Monday. The 26-year-old member of the boy band BTS introduced the account through the global fan communication platform Weverse, saying that he is going to "brag about his baby." The account currently has seven posts, all of the singer's Doberman who he first revealed to the public in 2021. The account name is "bowwow_bam" -- not to be c

A South Korean woman was recently sentenced to six months in prison for causing a disturbance during a court hearing, in which she cursed at a prosecutor who requested a jail term for her son. Seoul Northern District Court found the defendant in her 50s guilty of contempt of court and special obstruction of public duty for her actions in August last year. The August hearing was for the defendant's son, who was being tried for special intimidation, which refers to intimidation with a weapon

Female beneficiaries of the national pension in South Korea were on average receiving 390,845 won ($282) a month as of November 2023, compared to 756,898 won for their male counterparts, according to the National Pension Service on Monday. The steep gender disparity is attributed to female workers being subscribed for less time overall than men, which is mainly due to career interruptions from factors like childbirth and child care. The benefits of the state-run pension program are proportionate

A South Korean court said Monday it has ruled against parents who sued a hospital for their son's brain damage stemming from emergency medical treatment for a viral infection. In a civil suit against an Incheon-based hospital, Incheon District Court ruled that there was no evidence to prove negligence on the medical staff's part or their responsibility in what turned out to be a delay in proper treatment. "The records show that the medical staff consistently observed the boy'

About 52.3 percent of South Koreans do not want to know about the past romantic relationships of their current partner, a recent survey indicated. Local matchmaking company Duo surveyed 300 unmarried men and women across the country from March 15-18 to see what they thought of the past relationships of their current romantic partner. On why they chose not to know about their boyfriend or girlfriend's past relationship, 56.1 percent said "they were not interested," 17.2 percent sai

South Korean police have found evidence suggesting that two men, who died after jumping from a hotel room, had planned and carried out the murder of two women whose bodies were found inside the same hotel. Local media recently reported details of the case which happened in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Police looking for a missing woman traced her to a hotel room, which had been occupied by the two men. The men jumped to their deaths shortly after the visit from police. The missing woman and anothe

A government survey showed Friday that 3.1 percent of adults and 2.6 percent of teenagers in South Korea have used illegal drugs at least once. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety conducted the survey on 3,000 adults and 2,000 teenagers across the country to study drug awareness among local residents. In the survey, illegal drugs refer to substances defined as such by the Narcotics Control Act, which includes marijuana, LSD, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and prescribed opioids. The survey a

A total of 2,545 complaints related to drunk people in Seoul subway stations were submitted between January and March of this year, the subway system's operators said Friday. Seoul Metro said it is conducting a campaign in anticipation of an increase in alcohol-related incidents on Seoul subways, noting that the number of complaints for such incidents increased by 76 compared to the same period the year before. The two-month campaign will take place in April and May at 34 stations across th

The zookeeper who took care of Fu Bao since her birth told the giant panda's fans in South Korea not to worry about the recent unusual behavior she has been displaying after leaving her birthplace to depart for China earlier this month. Kang Cheol-won, known as "panda grandpa" or "Kang Bao," said the bear's recent behaviors, such as rolling around the cage, are not likely to be symptoms of health issues. He addressed Fu Bao's fans in a video interview conducted

  Wednesday’s general election concluded in a resounding victory for the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, which took 175 seats of the National Assembly's 300 seats while the ruling People Power Party scraped up 108. While Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung celebrates what he called "a great victory of the people," the prospect of him becoming a front-runner for the next presidency is murkier than what the landslide victory may suggest. With Lee winning his own c

South Korean police said Thursday they are investigating the deaths of two women and two men at a hotel in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, with preliminary findings indicating the women were murdered by the men, who later jumped to their deaths from the building. Officers at Paju Police Station were investigating the case of a missing woman, which led them to a hotel in Yadang-dong, Paju on Wednesday. They tracked the victim to the hotel and knocked on the door of the room where the two men were stayin

A man has been arrested on suspicion of robbing and assaulting a woman and leaving her unconscious in a parking lot in North Jeolla Province, police said Thursday. Jeonju Deokjin Police Station is investigating a suspect in his 20s on possible charges of bodily injury resulting from robbery and other yet-unspecified sex crimes against the victim. The victim was found at around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in a parking lot in Deokjin-gu, Jeonju. The victim had been bleeding from injuries on her face and