After launching the world's longest flight route this year and introducing some of the most advanced aircraft into its fleet, Singapore Airlines has been lauded as the world’s best airline for 2019.　The editors at AirlineRatings.com recently announced their picks for their annual Airline Excellence Awards, and Singapore Airlines got the top honor. The launch of a nonstop flight from Singapore to New York City played a part. 　It was the first time at the top of the list for the Asian carrier, wh

World Nov. 18, 2018

　Southeast Asia has emerged as the most popular tourist destination for South Koreans planning on overseas trips in December, a leading travel agency said.　Hana Tour, the largest travel agency in South Korea, said that as of Wednesday, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations accounted for slightly over 54 percent of all reservations for overseas travel in the coming month.　The portion is up sharply from 34.1 percent for December last year. Japan followed with 18 percent, trailed by 12.8 percen

Travel Nov. 15, 2018

　The ratio of South Korea's unredeemed student loans rose in 2017 for the first time amid the country's unstable job market, government data showed.　According to data from the National Tax Service, 14.5 billion won ($12.8 million) in student loans that should be repaid after borrowers' employment was not paid back last year, accounting for 8.1 percent of the total of such loans, tallied at 179.4 billion won.　The ratio was up from 7.3 percent the previous year, marking the first on-year increase

Social Affairs Nov. 14, 2018

　Despite declining in recent years, the suicide rate in South Korea remains the highest among developed nations, according to statistics. 　An analysis of health data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Health Insurance Service, showed that as of 2016, 25.8 out of 100,000 South Koreans had taken their own lives. The number is the highest among member countries of the OECD, whose average suicide rate was 1

Social Affairs Nov. 13, 2018

　China attracts the highest number of tourists in Asia, with a record inflow of 59.27 million people in 2016.  　The Southeast Asian region receives the highest number of travelers, with China topping the list of countries, according to the World Tourism Organization report.　Tourism has been among the growing economic sectors across the world. According to the report from the World Tourism Organization, international tourist arrivals increased from 25 million globally in 1950 to 278 million in 19

World News Nov. 12, 2018

　A majority of Koreans over 13 years old regard marriage as a choice, not a necessity. 　According to a survey of 39,000 people over 13 years old by Statistics Korea, 48.1 percent thought they should get married, down from 51.9 percent two years earlier and 56.8 percent in 2014.　Fifty-six percent of South Koreans answered that a couple can live together without getting married, up sharply from 48 percent in 2016 and 46.6 percent in 2014, data showed.

Social Affairs Nov. 11, 2018

　According to the 2017 data from Statistics Korea, people from multicultural backgrounds residing in the country totaled 1,861,084 as of Nov. 1, 2017, up 96,420, or 5.5 percent, from a year ago. 　The number, which accounts for 3.6 percent of the country’s total population of 51,422,507, broken down to 1,479,247 long-term foreign residents (79.5 percent), which includes migrant workers; 212,302 children who were born in the country (11.4 percent); and 169,535 naturalized citizens (9.1 percent).　C

National Nov. 8, 2018

　Exposure to toxic air both indoors and out kills some 600,000 children under the age of 15 each year, the World Health Organization warned Monday.　Data from the UN health body shows that every day, 93 percent of children under the age of 15 -- a full 1.8 billion youngsters, including 630 million under the age of 5 -- breath dangerously polluted air.　According to WHO data, more than 9 out of 10 people on the planet breathe dangerously toxic air, causing some 7 million premature deaths each year.

World News Nov. 7, 2018

　South Koreans rank first among major economies in terms of visits made to hospitals in 2016, government data showed.　According to the data by the National Health Insurance Service, South Koreans visited the doctor's office an average of 17 times in 2016, much higher than the average of 6.9 times by citizens of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries.　Japan came in second with 12.8 visits, with Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Germany rounding out the top

Technology Nov. 6, 2018

　The number of South Koreans who owned land in the country jumped 10.3 percent in 2017 from 2012, government data showed.　The data compiled by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that 16.9 million South Koreans owned 46,968 square kilometers of land -- slightly more than twice the size of New Jersey -- at the end of last year, accounting for 32.6 percent of the 51.7 million population.　In comparison, 15.32 million South Koreans owned 47,504 square kilometers of land in 2012, the

Social Affairs Nov. 5, 2018

　Internet usage has grown all over Asia with China, India and Indonesia leading the way, according to recent data released by the Internet World Stats.  　The internet has grown widely in all parts of the world in what is termed as the digital age. Asia has shown impressive growth trends in the last 10 years. South East Asia has seen the most penetration with China leading the way. In the last decade China has grown tremendously by providing internet from 22 million people to 772 million people i

World News Nov. 4, 2018

　Indonesia had named most generous country in the world followed by Australia in second place and New Zealand in third place, according to the British charity, Charities Aid Foundation. 　South Korea ranked 60th.　A total of 146 countries in the world were ranked in three areas: Giving of time, money and helping a stranger. More than 150,000 people worldwide were polled.

World News Nov. 1, 2018

　China leads the region in hydropower capacity, followed by India and Japan.　According to the recent Hydropower Status Report, East Asia and the Pacific region have the highest annual increases in hydropower capacity, with China contributing the largest share of installed capacity. Over 90 percent of the capacity added in 2017 in the region came from China, which increased its total installed capacity to 341,190 megawatts.　Japan is second in the region with an installed capacity of 49,905 MW. It

World News Oct. 31, 2018

　The number of domestic violence cases reported to police was 279,082 in 2017 - a surge of 74 percent from the 160,272 cases recorded in 2013, data released by the National Police Agency showed.　In the 2013-2017 period, 1.16 million cases of domestic violence and abuse were reported to police but offenders were arrested in only 13 percent of them, the NPA data said.　The number of arrests for domestic violence more than doubled from 16,785 in 2013 to 38,583 last year, with the proportion resultin

Social Affairs Oct. 30, 2018

　According to analysis of an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report titled "Education at a Glance 2018," South Korea's figure for children between the ages of 3 and 5 in state-run preschools stood at 21.1 percent in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 66.9 percent.　With the figure, South Korea ranked 32nd among the 35 member states. The countries behind it were Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, likely due to their having many other regional and religious child care faci

Social Affairs Oct. 29, 2018