The divide among age groups’ political inclinations in South Korea is breaking down, with many younger voters supporting conservatives, joining older voters. However, though the two age groups may root for the same candidate and party, the reasons behind their support differ. While older conservatives’ support for Yoon Suk-yeol and the People Power Party has firmer footing, young conservative vo...

The Ministry of Education on Wednesday watered down its guidelines for school students’ COVID-19 testing, saying that students are recommended to take two rapid antigen tests a week. While saying that schools will be provided with testing kits, the ministry said that the tests were not mandatory and that schools will be given autonomy in implementing measures against spread of the virus. The me...

Two people were found dead and one unconscious on a bus belonging to the campaign of minor opposition People‘s Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo on Tuesday. The bodies of the head of the election committee for Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, and an election campaign vehicle driver were found in the vehicle parked on a road in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province at about 5:24 p.m. T...

Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party is the wealthiest among the 11 presidential candidates, according to data submitted to the National Election Commission. The candidates’ financial reports submitted to commission show that Ahn is the has net assets of 197 billion won ($164 million). Among the four major candidates, Yoon Suk-yeol from the People Power Party came second with 7.7 billion won, fo...

The Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said South and North Korea had effectively ended the war but the situation was only an armistice in legal terms. “(The two Koreas) have practically ended the war, but legally, we are in an armistice,” Lee, said at the second presidential candidate TV debate held Friday by the Journalist Association of Korea, when asked by Yoon Suk-yeol ...

Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of ruling Democratic Party, said he agreed with the idea of passing an anti-discrimination law, but remained cautious about it being billed. Sim Sang-jung, candidate from the minor progressive Justice Party, brought up the anti-discrimnation law at the second presidential candidate TV debate held Friday by the Journalist Association of Korea. “Though there ...

Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol, the respective presidential candidates from Democratic Party and People Power Party, attacked each other over past scandals at the second TV debate held Friday, despite them being unrelated to the topic of debate. While the debate arranged by the Journalist Association of Korea kicked off discussing policies for the young people in their 20s and 30s, Lee and Yoon...

The Education Ministry has shared additional details to the guidelines of its new “normalcy attendance” scheme for the new semester, apparently taken aback by criticism of the plans. On Monday, the ministry had announced that schools would move to “normalcy” in attendance measures for the new semester. Under the new measure, schools can flexibly change their attendance policy based on a new four...

Attacks against the ruling Democratic Party of Korea‘s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung’s wife have continued despite Wednesday’s apology, with opposition parties contending she failed to address the key points of the controversy. Kim Hye-kyung, the wife of Lee, apologized at a press conference, saying she failed to draw distinctions between public and private life in reference to her allege...

Main opposition People Power Party is fanning talks of alliances and forfeiture involving People’s Party’s Ahn Cheol-soo, in an apparent bid to raise pressure on the minor opposition candidate. While Ahn himself has ruled out merging his campaign with that of People Power Party’s Yoon Suk-yeol, and reiterated time and again that he will see the campaign through, the main opposition has publicly ...

Teacher unions are raising criticism of the Ministry of Education, accusing it of putting the burden of COVID-19 management on schools and teachers. On Monday, the Education Ministry announced that schools will move to “normalcy” in attendance measures for the new semester, flexibly responding to virus situations. Under the new measure, schools can change their attendance policy based on the ne...

To minimize uncertainty, the Education Ministry has devised a four-stage system for responding to the virus crisis at schools. At Level 1, schools run both classes and extracurricular activities. At Level 2, classes will run as usual, however extracurricular actives such as club activities and afterschool classes will be restricted. Under Level 3, schools will go hybrid, operating online and off...

Even after the first TV debate held Thursday, two front-runners of the presidential election are running neck and neck against each other, polls showed Sunday. Candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative People Power Party earned 43.3 percent support, while Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea earned 41.8 percent, according to a poll held by Realmeter under the request of local...

Most of the bears in farms are moon bears, also known as Asiatic black bears, designated as an endangered animal species in 1982 by the Cultural Heritage Administration. Aware of the international criticism against the bear bile farming practice, the ministry has been supporting the sterilization of bears in farms since 2014, but was not able to put a stop to illegal breeding. To end bear bile ...

Songpa Book Museum, situated in eastern Seoul, is an establishment dedicated to reading. The museum, which opened in 2019, is the first public book museum in Korea. At the museum, visitors can learn more about the practice of reading through various exhibitions. Some exhibitions explain how Korean ancestors read books during the Joseon era (1392-1910) or during the Japanese occupation (1910-194...