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 [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean women not only earn far less than men during their working lives but also receive significantly smaller pensions in retirement, according to new research presented Thursday by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). The study, conducted by senior researcher Jang Jin-hee of the KCTU’s Central Research [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Illegal private lending and debt collection crimes in South Korea have more than doubled in the past three years, with authorities warning that exploitative lenders are increasingly preying on financially vulnerable groups such as young job seekers. According to data released Thursday by Rep. Han Byung-do, violations of lending [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — A statue in Sejong that was dismantled more than a decade ago after residents complained it resembled the Grim Reaper may be resurrected, thanks in part to the global success of Netflix’s animated film “K-Pop Demon Hunters.” The Government Complex Management Office confirmed Wednesday that officials are reviewing whether to reinstall [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has seen its marriage and birth patterns shift dramatically over the past three decades, with the number of marriages nearly cut in half, births falling by two-thirds, and cross-cultural unions rising sharply, government data showed Wednesday. According to Statistics Korea, marriages peaked at 434,900 in 1996 but dropped [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government is stepping up efforts to promote work-life balance, spotlighting companies that have embraced flexible schedules and reaped tangible benefits, from lower turnover to stronger hiring power. At an awards ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday, the Ministry of Employment and Labor honored 21 winners of its [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — A group of South Korean media scholars has called for the abandonment of the medical classification of gaming disorder, arguing that framing play as a disease reflects a long history of cultural repression cloaked in health concerns. In a report commissioned by the Korea Creative Content Agency and the [...]
BUCHEON, South Korea, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — A satirical cartoon that once ignited a political storm in South Korea is set to reappear at the Bucheon International Comics Festival this month, three years after its initial exhibition was cut short under government pressure. The work, known as Yoon Seok-yeol Train, won first prize [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – With reservoirs at record lows and water rationing already in effect, Gangneung residents are grasping for relief from the city’s worst drought in decades. While local officials have staged traditional rain rituals, many Koreans are embracing a modern version — turning to social media with humor, superstition and collective [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — A government-funded study, quietly withheld during South Korea’s contentious pension reform debate, has surfaced with stark warnings that elderly poverty could worsen dramatically under the current system, raising questions over transparency and policy priorities. The report, produced last December by researchers at the National Pension Research Institute, projected that if the [...]