Nearly 190,000 foreign nationals have become naturalized South Korean citizens over the past seven decades, government data showed.　The Ministry of Justice said the number of people naturalized here since the enactment of the Nationality Act on Dec. 20, 1948, reached 189,193 as of the end of November.　The nation’s first naturalization occurred on Feb. 8, 1957, when a then Taiwanese citizen who changed his name to Son Il-seung acquired South Korean nationality.

Social Affairs Jan. 1, 2019

 Switzerland once again clinched the top spot in a global survey on fostering and attracting talent, part of a top-10 list that includes Canada but not the US and no Asian nations.The country retained its title for the fifth consecutive year in the World Talent Ranking report published by IMD Business School, a result of its strong emphasis on skills training and education. Denmark and Norway ranked second and third. While the US didn’t make the top 10, it climbed four notches to No. 12. Canada

World News Dec. 31, 2018

　Australia, Indonesia, the United States and New Zealand were found to be the world’s most generous countries in an annual study by pollster Gallup.　Gallup released its list of “most generous countries” for 2018. Indonesia and Australia tied for the top spot, and the United States and New Zealand tied for third.　To rank more than 140 nations in its wide-ranging survey, Gallup said it looked at population, which countries’ people gave the most volunteer time, and which helped strangers most often

World News Dec. 28, 2018

　According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the Seoul Bamdokkaebi Night Market has been chosen by foreigners as the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s best policy of 2018.　The night market opened in various locations on Fridays and Saturdays from March through October this year, including the Cheonggye Stream, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Yeouido Hangang Park and Banpo Hangang Park.　Seoul officials said the policy of lending out suits for job seekers to wear to interviews ranked as the second-best

Social Affairs Dec. 27, 2018

　The number of young people getting treatment for alcohol addiction neared 2,000 last year, doubling from seven years prior, a report said.　The drinking rate among the young is declining, but the severity of problems from drinking is still heavy, with one 1 in 2 young peole drinking to dangerous levels, the report from the National Assembly Research Service said.　There were 1,968 young people diagnosed as being addicted to alcohol last year, up 2.1-fold from 922 in 2010.  

Social Affairs Dec. 26, 2018

　South Korea’s gaming industry is the world’s fourth largest in sales, but none of the local companies rank among the top producers, a report said.　According to the Korea Creative Content Agency, the industry’s sales came to $5.76 billion in October, ranking fourth behind $34.4 billion for China, $31.53 billion for the US and $17.71 billion for Japan.　However, Korea would rank higher if internet connections are taken into consideration.   　For example, the internet-linked population in South Kor

World Business Dec. 25, 2018

　From US President George H.W. Bush to astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and former UN chief Kofi Annan, here are some of the notable figures who passed away in 2018.

World News Dec. 24, 2018

Social Affairs Dec. 23, 2018

　Microsoft’s Satya Nadella was named the best CEO of 2018, according to compensation, culture and career website Comparably.　Other big names in the top 10 include Home Depot’s Craig Menear, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Saleforce’s Marc Benioff.　Comparably asked employees to rank their CEOs using a numerical scale and received nearly 10 million ratings from employees at more than 50,000 US companies, the report said. 

World Business Dec. 20, 2018

　The level of economic participation and opportunity of South Korean women is well below the world average, ranking the country No. 115 out of 149 countries in terms of gender equality, according to a report from the World Economic Forum.　The forum‘s Global Gender Gap Report 2018 said South Korea’s gender gap index was 0.657, compared to 0.673 for China and 0.662 for Japan, which ranked Nos. 103 and 110, respectively.　The annual report uses the Global Gender Gap Index to see how countries compar

Social Affairs Dec. 19, 2018

　South Koreans spent an average of around 287,000 won ($253) each on cultural activities this year, according to a recent survey commissioned by a KBS radio program. 　The survey of 800 respondents between 15 and 69 years old was conducted by World Research & Consulting from Dec. 1-9. 　It found that 93,211 won was spent on books, 86,855 won on watching movies and 72,246 won on attending music concerts or performances.　In addition, 51.5 percent said they spent a similar amount on cultural activiti

Social Affairs Dec. 18, 2018

　South Korea’s performing arts market rebounded in 2017, apparently reflecting greater political and social stability after the presidential election in May that year, officials said.　According to data released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts Management Service, the nation’s performing arts market grew 8.7 percent from the previous year to 813.2 billion won ($721 million) last year.　It is the first time that the domestic performing arts market has exceeded 800 b

Life&Culture Dec. 17, 2018

　Russia has overtaken Britain to become the world’s second-biggest arms producer, surpassed only by the United States, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in a recent report.　Russia had 10 companies on Sipri’s 2017 Top 100 list, which identifies the world’s leading arms-producing and military services companies. The 10 companies’ sales totaled $37.7 billion, Sipri said, 9.5 percent of arms sales by all countries on the list.　That put Russia in second place, a position previ

World Dec. 16, 2018

　South Korean tourists’ interest grew the most for Portugal and Hungary over the past year, although Japan, Vietnam and other nearby Asian nations remained steady picks, according to a travel fare website.　Skyscanner analyzed internet searches of travel destinations from October last year to September this year and found that searches for Portugal increased 93 percent compared to the previous period of the same months. Searches for Hungary were up second most, jumping 74 percent.　Other increases

Travel Dec. 13, 2018

　A civil servant position is the most sought-after job among South Korean adults, though most of them aim to take jobs as office workers for practical reasons, a poll showed.　Of 1,143 job seekers and salaried people questioned, the largest portion - 26.7 percent - said they wanted to work for the government or a public institution regardless of the reality, according to the survey conducted by online job portal Saramin.　Another 16.2 percent said they hoped to run a restaurant or other independen

Social Affairs Dec. 12, 2018