SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — On a crisp September morning in rural Yeoncheon, a 70-year-old man had been missing for two days. Police and firefighters scoured the fields and riverbanks, but time was slipping away. Then, “Daechan,” a 119 rescue dog, was brought in. Within 30 minutes, the dog froze at a patch of [...]
BUSAN, Sept. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has declared its first national charter on animal protection, a symbolic yet landmark step in recognizing animals as living beings rather than property. While the document carries no legal force, officials and advocates say it sets out core values to guide future policy and public awareness on animal [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — A rare video of a wild fox preying on a young water deer has underscored the ecological balance returning to South Korea’s national parks. The National Park Service released footage Thursday showing the hunt, filmed on June 16 in Sobaeksan National Park. The video also captured a mother deer [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — When South Korea announced its latest housing policy this month, officials were not only grappling with soaring property prices and supply shortages in the Seoul metropolitan area. They were also contending with a tiny, nocturnal amphibian with outsized influence: the Mongkoi. The Mongkoi (also known as narrow-mouth frog), listed [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — With more than one in four South Korean households now raising a pet, real estate developers are racing to appeal to so-called “pet families” by building apartments with dedicated pet-friendly amenities. According to data released Thursday by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, 28.6 percent of households [...]
GUNSAN, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — The city of Gunsan in North Jeolla Province said Monday it will begin accepting applications from local farmers to join its 2025 Ecosystem Service Payment Program, designed to secure food and habitat for migratory birds that flock to the Geum River and Mangyeong River estuaries each winter. Under the [...]
JEJU, South Korea, Aug. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Honeybee populations on Jeju Island are collapsing at alarming rates, with local officials and beekeepers warning that climate change has left colonies increasingly vulnerable to disease and pests. According to data released Tuesday by Jeju Province and the Korea Beekeeping Association, a 2022 survey of 157 apiaries [...]
BUSAN, Aug. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — In a move seen as both scientific and symbolic, South Korea has published the world’s first complete genome sequence of the extinct Dokdo sea lion (Dokdo Ganchi or Dokdo Kangchi) —commonly known in the West as the “Japanese sea lion”—while using the name “Dokdo sea lion” in a peer-reviewed international [...]
BUSAN, Aug.13 (Korea Bizwire) — A team of South Korean researchers has successfully decoded the full genome of the extinct sea lion species, known as Kangchi, which once inhabited Dokdo Island. The breakthrough, the first of its kind in the world, provides scientific evidence that the species’ extinction was primarily caused by overhunting during the [...]
TONGYEONG, Aug. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Tongyeong’s public cat protection and adoption center, known as the “Cat School,” has come under scrutiny for alleged neglect of its feline residents, sparking controversy and raising questions about its management. Opened in September 2023 in a repurposed island school in the picturesque village of Yongcho, the Cat School aims [...]