SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans traveling overseas spent a record amount last year, but spending per person declined, central bank data showed Wednesday. The current account for last year showed travel expenditures of US$31.97 billion, the highest since recordkeeping began in 2006. Past figures show increases from $15 billion in 2009 to [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s coal imports hit a new high last year despite government efforts to phase out the use of fine dust-emitting energy sources, industry data showed Tuesday. The country shipped in 131.52 million tons of coal last year, breaking the record for the second consecutive year. Coal imports in [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s imports of coffee declined last year for the first time since 2012, suggesting that the boom of coffee shops might have peaked, data showed Sunday. Imports of coffee fell to 143,000 tons in 2018, down 2,600 tons from a year ago, according to data by the Korea [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The average age of people buying imported vehicles is getting older, according to industry data Friday. Last year’s statistics from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAID) showed 34.6 percent of the buyers of the 166,271 foreign cars sold in the country were in their 30s. People in [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans’ attendance at performing cultural and arts events has been steadily rising in recent years due to higher incomes and interest in cultural life, a government survey said Monday. The survey, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, showed [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s auto production tumbled for a third consecutive year in 2018 amid weaker domestic and global demand, data showed Sunday. According to the data by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), South Korea produced 4.03 million vehicles last year, down 2.1 percent from the previous year. The figure [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — A report analyzing the circumstances of South Korean married women using data from a survey conducted in 2018 was published by the Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs on Friday. The survey was conducted to investigate the conditions surrounding birth rate, family health and welfare. According to the [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — According to Shinsegae Department Store’s survey of sales of women’s lingerie during Valentine’s Day last year, sales grew 17.8 percent in two weeks, which was 10 times higher than the annual average. The department store reported on Wednesday that women’s under garments were as popular as chocolate when it [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s nuclear power utilization rate fell to a 37-year low in 2018 amid efforts to reduce the country’s dependence on the energy source, official data showed Wednesday. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP), the public company charged with operating atomic energy production, said use of fission power [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Nine out of 10 South Koreans use a smartphone, marking the highest level of smartphone ownership in the world, a recent report showed. Ninety-five percent of the South Korean population used a smartphone last year, the highest rate among 27 countries surveyed, according to the report released by the [...]