[Graphic News] War over Taiwan would cost world economy $10tr

　A war over Taiwan would have a cost so vast that even those unhappiest with the status quo have reason not to risk it. Bloomberg Economics estimates the price tag at around $10 trillion, equal to about 10 percent of the global gross domestic product. 　Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the semiconductor shortage as many countries reopened from COVID-19 lockdowns, provide a small glimpse of what would be at stake for the global economy. The impact of war in the Taiwan Strait would be far

World NewsJan. 23, 2024

[Graphic News] 2023 warmest year of all time for S. Korea

The year 2023 was the warmest year of all time for South Korea, as global warming heated up the Korean Peninsula to reach an average temperature of 13.7 degrees Celsius last year, the state weather agency said. It marks the highest annual mean temperature since 1973, the year considered the starting point for weather records in South Korea when the country’s meteorological networks were significantly beefed up, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. Last year’s tempera

Social AffairsJan. 22, 2024

[Graphic News] Seoul ranks as 14th top city destination in world

Seoul has become the 14th most visited city by foreign travelers in 2023, according to global market analyst firm, Euromonitor. It jumped 12 notches this year from 26th in 2022. Paris has once again been named the world’s most attractive city destination, followed by Dubai in second and Madrid in third. Tokyo came in fourth, while Amsterdam rounded up the top five, according to data. Seoul, ranked third in Asia after Tokyo and Singapore, is higher than competing Asian cities such as Osaka

World NewsJan. 19, 2024

[Graphic News] Over 8,000 permanent residents volunteered for military service over past 2 decades

Over 8,000 permanent residents have fulfilled South Korea’s military service over the past two decades under a voluntary enrollment system, the Military Manpower Administration said. The manpower agency adopted the voluntary enrollment system in 2004 to allow overseas residents whose mandatory military service was exempted or postponed due to their permanent residence status. All able-bodied Korean men are obliged to serve in the military for at least 18 months. The number of cumulative ap

DefenseJan. 18, 2024

[Graphic News] Number of newly launched businesses falls

The number of newly established companies in South Korea fell for the second consecutive year in 2022 amid an economic slowdown, data showed. Some 997,000 businesses were newly established in 2022, down 3.5 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. In 2021, the figure decreased 3.4 percent, or 35,000 firms, on-year to come to 1.02 million amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By industry, the number of newcomers in the real estate sector fell by the largest 32,000 entiti

CompaniesJan. 17, 2024

[Graphic News] Israel-Hamas conflict in numbers

Now 100 days old, the latest Israel-Hamas war is by far the longest, bloodiest and most destructive conflict between the bitter enemies. Fighting erupted on Oct. 7 when Hamas carried out a deadly attack in southern Israel. Since then, Israel has relentlessly pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and a ground offensive that have wrought unprecedented destruction, flattening entire neighborhoods. The offensive has displaced the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza, shuttered operations in nearly

World NewsJan. 16, 2024

[Graphic News] Proportion of single-person households jumped to 42% in 2023

  The number of single-person households increased further last year to account for a record high of 42 percent of all households, data from the Interior Ministry showed. According to resident registration data from the ministry, the total number of registered households in the country rose by 0.9 percent to reach 23.91 million as of December last year, compared to the previous year when the corresponding figure was 23.7 million. Of the total, one-person households reached 9.93 million as

Social AffairsJan. 15, 2024

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s Asian Cup squad

On Dec. 28, South Korean men’s soccer national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced his star-studded roster for the 26-man squad, which is seeking to win the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 1960. There were few surprises for the team, which will be brandishing star players like Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in and Bayern Munich center back Kim Min-jae. South Korea’s arch-rival,

SoccerJan. 12, 2024

[Graphic News] US, China closely watch Taiwan’s election

The presidential election in Taiwan on Saturday is being closely watched from Beijing to Washington, with the winner set to determine the future of the democratic island’s relations with an increasingly aggressive China. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and President Xi Jinping has in recent years intensified rhetoric about “unification” while refusing to rule out the use of force to bring it under Chinese control. Front-runner and current Vice President Lai Chin

World NewsJan. 11, 2024

[Graphic News] S. Korea’s population set to dip to 36.2m by 2072 amid low birth rate

　South Korea’s current population of around 51.6 million is expected to decline significantly to 36.2 million by 2072 due to critically low birth rates, a statistics report showed. 　The portion of seniors aged 65 and above in the population, which came to 17.4 percent in 2022, is expected to soar to 47.7 percent in 2072, according to the biennial report released by state-run Statistics Korea. 　Regarding the state of the population, the agency predicted an annual fall of 0.16 percent fo

Social AffairsJan. 10, 2024

[Graphic News] YouTube tops teens’ social media diet: survey

Teen usage of social media hasn’t dropped much, despite rising concerns about its effects on the mental health of adolescents, a survey from the Pew Research Institute found. But the data also found that roughly one in six teens describe their use of two platforms — YouTube and TikTok — as “almost constant.” Seventy-one percent of teens said they visit YouTube at least daily; 16 percent described their usage as “almost constant” according to the survey.

World NewsJan. 9, 2024

[Graphic News] Canada maple syrup production plummeted in 2023

Canada - the world’s largest supplier of maple syrup - saw production of the sweet, sticky stuff plummet more than 40 percent due to unfavorable weather, according to national statistics agency data. Statistics Canada blamed severe storms and big temperature swings in eastern parts of the country for the lower yields. Top producing province Quebec experienced late spring ice storms that cut its production to 35.6 million liters - its lowest level since 2018. Total national production for 2

World NewsJan. 8, 2024

[Graphic News] Dubai named as top city people want to move to

　Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, was named as the most preferred destination for people around the world to move to, according to “The Most Popular Cities for Moving Abroad” survey released by Remitly, a US-based online remittance service. 　The study is based on Google search data over the past 12 months in 164 countries examining search volumes for the phrase, “move to (city),” Dubai topped the list with the support of 60 countries, including Cana

World NewsJan. 5, 2024

[Graphic News] A record 46% of newlyweds have no children

The number of newly married couples fell more than 6 percent to come to around 1 million in 2022, and the proportion of the couples having no children reached an all-time high, data showed. The number of newly married couples came to 1.03 million last year, down from the previous year’s 1.1 million, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The newlyweds here refer to couples who tied the knot for the first time in the five years up to November 2022. The figure has shown a downtrend fro

Social AffairsJan. 4, 2024

[Graphic News] 5 tourist destinations opening in 2024

After delays from renovations, natural disasters and general construction, there are a number of big-name travel destinations set to open in 2024. From the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo to the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure attractions at Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, here are five travel spots to visit in the new year. Notre Dame Cathedral in France Notre Dame is slated for a December 2024 reopening, which means people have already started booking

World NewsJan. 3, 2024

[Graphic News] Transportation industry sales up 20% on travel demand surge

Sales of South Korea’s transportation industry rose nearly 20 percent in 2022 driven by a rising demand for travel after the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. Sales came to 232.5 trillion won ($177.7 billion) last year, up 19.8 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The growth came as sales of the air transport sector surged 57.9 percent on-year to 23.4 trillion won, with more people taking trips as the COVID-19 situation stabilized. Sales of the water t

IndustryDec. 28, 2023

[Graphic News] Auto exports hit new record in Nov. on EVs

South Korea’s car exports hit a record high in November on strong demand for premium electric cars in the US market, data showed. The combined value of car exports reached $6.53 billion in November, marking an all-time-high monthly figure, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Over the January-November period, the combined car exports came to $64.5 billion, also setting a new record for the period, it added. The ministry anticipated the annual automobile shipments to hov

IndustryDec. 27, 2023

[Graphic News] EU agrees to membership talks with Ukraine

European Union leaders agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine, in a historic political win for Kyiv as it grapples with uncertainty over future financial aid from the US and Europe. European Council President Charles Michel announced the move on Dec. 14. He said the bloc also agreed to open accession talks with Moldova and granted candidate status to Georgia. While Kyiv still faces hurdles in clinching funding from both the EU and US, the country’s progress on joining the bloc will

World NewsDec. 26, 2023

[Graphic News] Popular varieties of Christmas trees

  Douglas fir These soft needles are dark green or blue-green in color and are about 2-3 centimeters in length. The Douglas fir’s needles radiate in all directions from the branch. When crushed, these needles have a sweet fragrance. They are one of the top Christmas tree choices. Balsam fir These trees exhibits a relatively dense, dark green, pyramidal crown with a slender spirelike tip. On lower branches, needles generally occur as two-ranked (two rows along sides of the branch), a

World NewsDec. 22, 2023

[Graphic News] Exports of gim, cooked rice hit record high: data

　South Korea’s exports of dried seaweed - “gim” in Korean - and cooked rice reached an all-time high during the first 10 months of this year on brisk overseas demand accompanying the popularity of Korean culture and food, the Korea Customs Service said. 　Outbound shipments of gim came to a record high of $670 million in the January-October period, up 20.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the customs agency. 　In terms of volume, gim exports rose 17.3 perc

ConsumerDec. 21, 2023