Living and entertainment news about South Korea. We bring you the latest information on what is happening in Korea today.
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – Cigarette smoking rates among men in their 30s have slumped by 19.5 percentage points over the past nine years amid steady declines among some other age groups, government data showed Thursday. The figure stood at 28.5 percent in 2024, compared with 48 percent in 2015, according to an annual [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite the country’s rapidly aging population, more than half of South Koreans have never discussed death or end-of-life care with their families, reflecting deep cultural reluctance to confront mortality, a new study shows. According to a report published this year by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 54.3 [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Electronics marked Korea’s Hangeul Day with a traveling art exhibition across major U.S. universities, highlighting the beauty and cultural value of the Korean alphabet through a collaboration with the New York Korean Cultural Center and renowned installation artist Kang Ik-joong. The company said Thursday that the “Hangeul Truck” project [...]
BOEUN, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid mounting criticism from animal rights groups, Boeun County in North Chungcheong Province plans to proceed with its annual bullfighting festival later this month, defending it as a local tradition and a driver of regional tourism. The county and the Boeun branch of the Korea Folk Bullfighting Association announced [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — When A, the teenage son of an international marriage, returned to Korea in his first year of high school, his parents told him to skip school and start working. They pushed him instead to a Seoul education center for migrant youths to learn Korean quickly. Two years later, he [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea is turning to artificial intelligence to address a mounting environmental challenge: the massive volume of discarded clothing fueled by fast fashion. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced Wednesday that it will invest 25 billion won ($18 million) through 2030—including 17.5 billion won in government funding—to [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — A proposed bill that would make it illegal to create or distribute sexually explicit material using artificial intelligence (AI)–generated virtual characters is sparking intense public debate in South Korea, reflecting growing unease over the boundaries of technology and expression. The amendment to the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — In movie theaters across North America, audiences recently sang in unison — in Korean. The occasion was a sing-along screening of K-Pop Demon Hunters, the Netflix animated hit whose theme song “Golden” has become an anthem for fans of K-culture. For many, the moment marked how far the Korean [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s middle-aged population — once considered the backbone of the nation — is increasingly dying alone, as government attention and welfare programs remain focused on the young and elderly. According to data from the National Data Office and the National Assembly Research Service, 74.8 percent of the 21,897 [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — As Japan confronts the strains of a rapidly aging population with robots and digital care technologies, a new report is urging South Korea to follow suit and invest in “Age-tech” — a burgeoning industry combining artificial intelligence, robotics, and ICT to support the elderly. According to a study released [...]