SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — When Park Seung-woo turned 40 this year, colleagues wasted no time calling him “Young Forty,” a term meant to capture middle-aged Koreans trying to look youthful. Far from a compliment, he says the label now feels like a taunt. “They call me ‘Young Forty’ at every turn, to the [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s largest companies are showing a stronger preference for so-called “experienced freshmen,” or new hires with prior work experience, according to a survey released Sunday by the Korea Economic Research Institute (FKI). The survey, conducted among 121 of the country’s top 500 firms by revenue, found that 28.1 [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is witnessing the rapid spread of so-called “warehouse-style pharmacies,” large outlets that display and sell medicines and health supplements in bulk, fueling a heated debate over public health and market fairness. The trend began earlier this year in Seongnam, south of Seoul, and has since spread to [...]
GANGNEUNG, Sept. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — In Gangneung, where South Korea declared its first-ever “state of disaster” caused by drought, a group of local young people has organized under the unlikely name “Toilet Demon Hunters.” Their mission is both urgent and practical: teaching citizens how small changes in daily habits can conserve vast amounts of water. The [...]
GOYANG, South Korea, Sept. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean court has ruled that members of a virtual idol group are entitled to damages over defamatory online comments, marking a significant precedent in how the law treats avatars in the digital age. On May 17, the Uijeongbu District Court’s Goyang branch ordered an individual, [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea could soon face a tipping point where traditional monetary policy loses its potency, Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong warned Friday, citing the country’s rapid demographic decline as a structural risk that could push interest rates toward their effective floor. Speaking in Washington at the International Monetary [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Naver Corp. said Wednesday it is launching the second round of its “Be Local” campaign, a joint effort with the Korea Tourism Organization to introduce foreign visitors to Korea’s trending restaurants, cafes and cultural spots. The initiative, first tested earlier this year through the Naver Maps app for users [...]
BUSAN, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Thirty years ago, Busan was a place better known for its shipyards and sun-splashed beaches than for cinema. The notion that South Korea’s second-largest city would one day play host to one of Asia’s premier film festivals seemed far-fetched, if not fanciful. But in 1996, a small band of cinephiles [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans are experiencing relatively high levels of anxiety about aging, particularly over declining health and financial insecurity, with younger adults reporting greater unease than their elders, according to new research released Tuesday. The Hanyang University Institute on Aging surveyed 4,254 adults nationwide last year and developed what it [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — More than one in 10 young South Koreans who rarely leave their homes — so-called “hikikomori” or socially withdrawn youth — reported having contemplated suicide, four times the rate of their peers, according to new government-backed research. The findings, published Tuesday in the Health and Welfare Forum by the [...]