[Hello Hangeul] The making of Korean language textbooks featuring BTS

In response to the growing international demand for learning the Korean language, the South Korean Education Ministry took a proactive step in 2021 by creating a government-managed Korean language education curriculum. Prior to the central government's involvement, the selection and distribution of language courses and textbooks were primarily handled by local Korean language education centers. This led to concerns about the lack of structured content that could cater to the diverse languag

Sept. 24, 2023

Korea’s parental leave benefits lag behind OECD average

Korea's parental leave benefits average at 44.6 percent of actual wages, placing it near the bottom of the list among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations, data revealed Sunday. Although the country offers an extended parental leave period, the actual utilization rate remains low, with especially adverse impacts on low-income workers, the data showed. In Korea, workers insured for more than 180 days can take up to a year of parental leave to care for ch

Sept. 24, 2023

2m Koreans opt out of life-extending treatments

Nearly two million individuals in Korea have formally declined life-extending medical interventions, choosing instead to prioritize their right to die with dignity when suffering from a terminal condition, data showed Sunday. Data from the National Agency for Management of Life-Sustaining Treatment reveals that as of the end of August, 1,941,231 people have filed an advance health care directive to abstain from life-saving medical assistance since the system's inception in February 2018. Wo

Sept. 24, 2023

Gangwon Forestry Exhibition 2023 kicks off in Korea's 'forest capital'

The Gangwon Forestry Exhibition 2023 kicked off on Friday around Gangwon Province's Seoraksan National Park, including the areas of Sokcho, Yangyang, Goseong and Yanggu. Under the theme of “Seeking the Future of the World and Mankind in the Forest,” the exposition showcases the strong connections between the forest and humanity. The GFE 2023 is the first forestry exposition in Korea. It includes diverse exhibitions, performances and academic conferences related to forestry. Th

Sept. 24, 2023

Surveillance cameras to be a must in hospital operating rooms

Hospitals will be required to install surveillance cameras in operating rooms and record surgery procedures at the request of patients starting next week, the health ministry said Friday. The revised Medical Service Act, set to take effect Monday, also calls for storing recorded videos for at least 30 days, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Under the revision, medical clinics must install cameras in all operating rooms that handle surgeries where patients are anesthetized or unc

Sept. 22, 2023

Ministry uncovers 1,802 Youth Protection Act violations

More than 1,800 breaches of the country’s Youth Protection Act were found during a nationwide government inspection of downtown areas to examine whether operations met requirements. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Friday it had detected 1,802 violations of the act, and that it had asked the local governments responsible to investigate 65 of those cases and issued corrective orders for the rest. The inspection was conducted from July 17 until Aug. 18 at places such as beache

Sept. 22, 2023

Koreans prefer cash in Chuseok gifting for parents

More Koreans are expressing a preference for offering cash instead of gift sets to their parents during the Chuseok holiday, data showed Thursday. According to a survey conducted by KB Kookmin Card, a subsidiary of South Korea's KB Financial Group, among a total of 420 survey participants, 91 percent are planning to prepare gifts either in monetary or non-monetary form for their parents, with almost 80 percent opting for cash while 43 percent are considering product purchases. In terms

Sept. 22, 2023

PM to meet with Xi on sidelines of Asian Games in Hangzhou

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, later this week, an official said Friday. Han will depart for China on Saturday to attend the opening ceremony, which is set to take place later in the day. The meeting with Xi is most likely to occur before the event. "It has been confirmed that the meeting will take place, and we are currently finalizing the location and timing," the

Sept. 22, 2023

Seoul plans to modernize Dongseoul Bus Terminal

Dongseoul Bus Terminal, located in Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul, is to be redeveloped into a sailboat-shaped mixed-use development, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s “100-Year Urban Planning Initiative.” The announcement comes after Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal, part of Manhattan's Hudson Yards, an 11-hectare, $25 billion real estate development on top of a mid-19th-century railyard with housing, office buildi

Sept. 21, 2023

Cooler weather with large daily temperature range expected over weekend, Chuseok holiday season

As the season begins to turn, a large daily temperature range and rain are expected across the country, the weather agency said Thursday. The Korea Meteorological Administration predicted that the nationwide minimum morning temperature would drop to around 15 degrees Celsius on Friday, and to around 10 C in the mountainous areas in Gangwon Province. The weekend is likely to see the greatest daily temperature differences between day and night, with clear skies expected during the daytime -- a typ

Sept. 21, 2023

Number of dementia patients set to surpass 1m this year

As South Korea's population ages at a rapid pace, the number of dementia patients in the country is also rising quickly, projected to exceed one million for the first time this year. According to the “Current State of Dementia 2022” report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 1 in 10 Koreans over the age of 65 suffers from dementia. The number of dementia patients aged 65 or older last year was 935,086, accounting for 10.38 percent of the senior population aged 65 or

Sept. 21, 2023

Supreme Court confirms 20-year sentence for 'spin kick' assailant

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 20-year prison sentence for the so-called spin kick assailant in the southeastern port city of Busan, who caused social outrage last year due to his brutal attacks on a female stranger for the purpose of rape. The defendant, whose identity has been withheld, is accused of following the victim, to whom he had no personal connection, for 10 minutes all the way to her apartment's elevator on May 22, 2022, knocking her out with a roundhouse kick to the bac

Sept. 21, 2023

Court bans documentary countering sex abuse claim against deceased ex-Seoul mayor

A Seoul court on Wednesday granted an injunction to ban a documentary film that raises doubts about sexual harassment allegations against former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, which led to his suicide in 2020. The Seoul metropolitan government and lawyer Kim Jae-ryon representing the female victim filed the injunction on Aug. 1 seeking to prohibit the screening of the documentary titled "First Defense." The Seoul Southern District Court accepted the request, saying it is difficult to ascer

Sept. 20, 2023

Eight workers injured in collapse of concert structure

Eight workers were injured Wednesday when a 40-meter structure for a concert stage collapsed during construction in high winds in the city of Hanam, just east of Seoul. The incident occurred at a public park at 4:26 p.m., when 13 workers were working to construct a stage for an upcoming K-pop concert scheduled for the weekend, according to police and rescue personnel. The structure, made up of steel pipes and scaffolding, suddenly collapsed for unknown reasons and some workers were briefly trapp

Sept. 20, 2023

Wife of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk to be released on parole next week

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's wife will be released on parole next week ahead of the Chuseok holidays after serving one third of her four-year prison term for her involvement in document forgery related to her daughter's college admission, legal sources said Wednesday. The parole review committee under the justice ministry convened on the day and determined Cho's wife, Chung Kyung-sim, is eligible for special parole on the occasion of Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgi

Sept. 20, 2023

Over 2,000 subway passengers injured in Seoul over 5 years

More than 2,000 passengers were injured while using the subway in Seoul over the last five years. By subway line, Line No. 2 recorded the highest number of injured passengers. According to data released by Rep. Hwang Hee of the Democratic Party of Korea, a total of 2,485 passengers were involved in safety accidents while aboard subway Lines No. 1 to 9 from 2019 to August this year. By year, 671 passengers were recorded to have been injured on Seoul’s subways in 2019, 457 in 2020, 482 in 20

Sept. 20, 2023

Mass stabbing fears set off stampede in Seoul subway

Commuters on Seoul Metro Line No. 2 were thrown into a frenzy on Sept. 6 when a man was seen shoving people and plunging through the crowded train. The incident, captured by security cameras, unfolded at 8:22 a.m. at Euljiro 4-ga Station during the morning rush hour, highlighting fears riding high following a spate of seemingly random attacks against strangers that rattled the nation throughout the summer. Footage obtained by Seoul Jungbu Police Station shows the suspect in a black hoodie and ma

Sept. 20, 2023

Free flu vaccination program begins

South Korea has commenced this year’s flu vaccination program ahead of the winter season that offers free injections for young children and the elderly on Wednesday, according to the quarantine authorities. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said that the vaccination program will run through April 30 next year, stressing that the vaccination would dramatically reduce the chance of catching the flu. The target groups for this program are children aged six months to under 13 yea

Sept. 20, 2023

iPad or Galaxy Tab? 7th graders take their pick for digital classroom

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Wednesday that it has distributed some 70,530 electronic devices for 7th-grade students across middle schools in Seoul to help prepare students for the AI digital textbooks that will go into use starting in 2025. The devices will also provide diverse learning resources and interactive education content for students. The Education Office will also install charging stations at each school to keep students’ devices powered up and ready for use,

Sept. 20, 2023

Tourism businesses eye bilingual marriage immigrants at job fair

Seoul City is organizing a job fair for marriage-based immigrants this week, as part of its efforts to help their integration into Korean society and unlock a pool of bilingual potential workers, officials said Wednesday. The event, to be held at Seoul Women's Plaza on Thursday, aims to link local businesses to foreign nationals who are married to Korean nationals and proficient in more than one language. Among the participating businesses, some 15, such as those related to medical tours an

Sept. 20, 2023