SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – Song, a 32-year-old bride-to-be, was taken aback by a series of unexpected additional costs for her wedding, which exceeded her initial budget by millions of won. She had initially estimated about 30 million won for the venue, “Ssudeme” (a package including studio photoshoot, dress, and makeup), and honeymoon, but the [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — A rare and culturally significant “sarira,” the remains of a Buddhist monk from Korea’s 14th-century Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), will return home after more than eight decades in the United States. South Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration said Tuesday that the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, one of the three biggest [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — A cat stands against a dark gray wall wearing the mask of a joker. Or is it the joker dressing in a cat costume? Next to the weird resin sculpture lies a pair of bronze slippers on top of thick stone platforms, proclaiming to be a pair of high-heeled [...]
MUAN, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – In Seoul, Park Jae-jin (a pseudonym), a professional is his 50s, feels uneasy every time he talks to his mother living alone in Damyang, South Jeolla Province. His mother, despite her advanced age and health issues, including surgeries on both knees and back problems, volunteers to prepare meals for her [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – As consumers grapple with rising inflation and interest rates leading to a domestic slowdown, the recommerce market, involving the resale of used items and collectible goods like luxury and limited edition products, is gaining momentum. Estimates suggest that the domestic recommerce market has recently surpassed a value of 30 trillion [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent analysis has revealed that the average cost of getting married in South Korea now exceeds 300 million won, with the price of a new couple’s home making up 79% of the total expenses. Despite this, additional costs such as dowries have also proven to be significant, exceeding 20 [...]
JEJU, Feb. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – For the first time in 14 years, Jeju Island, once a popular destination for new settlers, has experienced a higher number of people moving out than moving in. According to Statistics Korea, last year saw 81,508 people move to Jeju, while 83,195 left, resulting in a net outflow of 1,687 [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — From Korean abstract art master Yoo Young-kuk (1916-2002) to Seundja Rhee (1918-2009), one of the few female first-generation Korean abstract artists, the Korean Pavilion has a lot to offer at this year’s Venice Art Biennale. The 60th edition of the Biennale, one of the world’s largest and most influential [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea rebounded to 63 percent of pre-pandemic levels last year, the state-run tourism promotion agency said Tuesday. South Korea welcomed 11,030,000 international tourist arrivals last year, a remarkable 245 percent increase from the previous year, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said. The [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of South Koreans who moved to different residences in the country fell to the lowest level in about 50 years last year, data showed Tuesday, amid population aging and a housing market slump. The number of people who changed their residences inched down 0.4 percent on-year to [...]