Billions of cicadas will appear this year in a rare occurrence that hasn’t been seen in the United States since Thomas Jefferson was president and won’t be seen again until 2245, entomologists say. According to scientists, 2024 will see a rare event called “double brood emergence,” in which two different broods of cicadas — one that appears every 13 years and another every 17 years — emerge simultaneously. The 13-year group, known as Brood XIX or the “

World News June 6, 2024

A recent report from Microsoft reveals that 3 out of 4 knowledge workers worldwide are using artificial intelligence in their jobs, marking 2024 as the year AI becomes integral to the workplace. The “2024 Work Trend Index,” a collaborative research effort by Microsoft and LinkedIn, examines how AI is transforming work, leadership, and hiring practices globally, based on a survey of 31,000 individuals across 31 countries. The study found that 75 percent of global workers (including

World News June 5, 2024

New York and London are ranked the top two global cities according to economic advisory firm Oxford Economics in its inaugural Global Cities Index. This index is described as a “comprehensive evaluation of the world’s 1,000 largest urban economies.” Tokyo, ranking fourth, is Asia's top urban economy, followed by Seoul at 41st and Singapore at 42nd. Korea’s second-largest city, Busan, came in at 252nd. The index was compiled using five broad categories — econo

World News June 4, 2024

The average height of South Korea's elementary school students (ages 7-11) has increased by 4.3 centimeters for boys and 2.8 centimeters for girls compared to ten years ago. According to a survey by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, the peak growth period for children was identified as 14-15 years old for boys and 13-14 years old for girls, showing that the growth rate for both boys and girls has advanced by about two years compared to ten years ago. Using a 3D scanner, the

Social Affairs June 3, 2024

Photo-sharing app Instagram overtook Naver, the nation’s leading internet portal, as the third most popular mobile app in South Korea in terms of usage time last month, industry data showed. South Koreans spent a combined 20.9 billion minutes on Instagram in April, according to data from mobile market research firm Wiseapp Retail Goods. It marked the first time Instagram outstripped Naver to become the third most used smartphone app here since Wiseapp began compiling such data in March 2

Social Affairs May 31, 2024

Illegal trafficking of plant and animal wildlife remains stubbornly prevalent, according to a UN report, and it is critical governments focus on more than just “iconic” species like elephants, where progress has been made. While seizures reported in 2020 and 2021 were around half that of previous reports, that could be attributed to pandemic-linked disruptions rather than a decline in actual trafficking, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime World Wildlife Crime Report said.

World News May 30, 2024

Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the highest-paid athlete over the past year, according to the Forbes article, “The World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes 2024.” The Portuguese soccer superstar earned $260 million between May 1, 2023 and May 1, 2024. Spanish golfer Jon Rahm, who made headlines with his move from the PGA Tour to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf in December 2023, ranked second with $218 million in earnings. In third place was Argentina’s Lionel Messi, an eight-time Ba

World News May 29, 2024

Last year, a total of 229 children found new homes through both domestic and international adoption, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. This figure marks a decline for the fourth consecutive year, with 150 children adopted domestically and 79 adopted internationally. The cumulative number of adopted children now stands at 249,959. In domestic adoption, 89 girls and 61 boys were adopted, though the proportion of girls saw a slight decrease of 4.9 percent compared to the previous y

Social Affairs May 28, 2024

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, whose death in a helicopter crash was announced Monday, is the latest major political leader to die in an aviation accident. Here are some of the most well-known incidents.

World News May 24, 2024

According to the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of foreign national patients visiting Korea reached a record high of 606,000 last year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. The report indicates that more than half of these foreign patients sought services at dermatology and plastic surgery clinics. The number of foreign patients visiting Korea last year increased by 2.4 times compared to the previous year, reaching 606,000. This is 1.2 times higher than the 497,000 patien

Social Affairs May 22, 2024

Sales of ultra-high-priced imported cars over 150 million won ($110,750) have steadily increased this year, in contrast to imported cars priced between 50 million won and 70 million won, whose sales decreased in April compared to the previous month. According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, the number of newly registered imported cars priced over 150 million won increased from 1,171 units in January to 1,497 units in February, to 1,918 units in March, and to 2,292

Social Affairs May 21, 2024

Data from Statistics Korea has shown that the number of multiple jobholders, who engage in one or more side jobs, is rapidly increasing, particularly among the younger generations and those in their 40s. For the first quarter of this year, the number of employed individuals who have engaged in side jobs increased by 22.4 percent (101,000) compared to the same quarter last year, reaching a total of 552,000 people. Although multiple jobholders in the workforce are not yet prominent, the growth t

Social Affairs May 20, 2024

A survey by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism revealed that around 6 out of 10 Korean adults did not read a single book in the past year. According to the survey, only 43 percent of Korean adults read at least one book in 2023. This was a 4.5 percent decrease from the results of the previous survey in 2021, and the lowest it has ever been since periodic surveys on reading began back in 1994. The decrease in book reading was especially pronounced among people aged 60 a

Social Affairs May 17, 2024

One in three 11-year-olds in England has tried alcohol (34 percent of girls, 35 percent of boys), according to a World Health Organization report, which warned it is a “serious public health threat” to the country. The organization examined data from 280,000 children aged 11, 13, and 15 from 44 countries, and the England topped the list of child alcohol use. Romania, Slovenia and Greece also placed high on the list. Even worse for the England, by the time children reach 13 years

World News May 16, 2024

The closing rate of restaurant businesses in South Korea exceeded 20 percent last year, higher than during the height of the COVID-19 period. According to the FinTech company Pinda's big data business analysis platform, “Open Up,” 176,258 out of 818,867 restaurants closed last year, with a closing rate of 21.52 percent. This means that more than 1 out of 5 restaurants closed. The number of restaurants that closed last year surged by 82.6 percent from 96,530 in 2020. The closin

Social Affairs May 15, 2024