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Despite Booming Market, Most Web Novelists in South Korea Earn Less Than $4,000 per Book

Despite Booming Market, Most Web Novelists in South Korea Earn Less Than $4,000 per Book

SEOUL, April 17, (Korea Bizwire) — While South Korea’s web novel market continues its meteoric rise, the vast majority of creators are earning far below expectations, according to a government report released Wednesday. The 2024 Web Novel Industry Report, published by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Publishing and Culture Industry [...]

Samsung Tops Global Smartphone Shipments, But Apple Leads in Sales Amid U.S. Tariff Fallout

Samsung Tops Global Smartphone Shipments, But Apple Leads in Sales Amid U.S. Tariff Fallout

SEOUL, April 17, (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Electronics retained its position as the global leader in smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2025, according to multiple market research firms. However, a separate analysis based on sales volumes placed Apple in the top spot, raising questions about diverging metrics and the impact of U.S. trade [...]

Rural Decline Accelerates: Farming Population Shrinks to Record Low in South Korea

Rural Decline Accelerates: Farming Population Shrinks to Record Low in South Korea

SEOUL, April 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of farming households in South Korea remained below the 1 million mark for the second consecutive year in 2024, continuing a long-term decline amid the country’s aging population and rapid urbanization, data showed Thursday. According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, the number of farming households [...]

AI-Related Incidents Hit Record High in 2024 as South Korea Grapples with Brain Drain and Investment Decline

AI-Related Incidents Hit Record High in 2024 as South Korea Grapples with Brain Drain and Investment Decline

SEOUL, April 17, (Korea Bizwire) — As artificial intelligence continues to transform societies, a new report reveals that AI-related negative incidents—ranging from deepfake pornography to suicide-linked chatbots—surged to a record high last year. Meanwhile, South Korea saw a decline in its global AI investment ranking, even as the number of domestically funded AI startups increased. [...]

Majority of South Koreans in Their 20s to 40s Say Women Should Work to Support Families, Survey Finds

Majority of South Koreans in Their 20s to 40s Say Women Should Work to Support Families, Survey Finds

SEOUL, April 16 (Korea Bizwire) —  Roughly seven in ten South Koreans aged 25 to 44 believe women should work to help support their families, reflecting a growing societal shift toward shared economic responsibility and evolving gender roles, according to a new study released Wednesday. The report, titled “Greater Flexibility in Life Course Outlooks and the [...]

Employee Tenure Rises at South Korea’s Top Firms Despite Youth Turnover and Senior Retirements

Employee Tenure Rises at South Korea’s Top Firms Despite Youth Turnover and Senior Retirements

SEOUL, April 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The average length of service of employees at 80 major South Korean companies has increased in the past five years despite frequent job changes among young workers and retirement programs for senior workers, a corporate data tracker said Wednesday. In its survey of 80 companies that released data on [...]

Aging Sewer System Beneath Seoul Poses Growing Safety Risk, Lawmaker Warns

Aging Sewer System Beneath Seoul Poses Growing Safety Risk, Lawmaker Warns

SEOUL, April 16, (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly one-third of Seoul’s underground sewer lines have surpassed 50 years of age, with some districts relying on antiquated infrastructure for more than half of their networks, raising concerns over public safety and the growing risk of sinkholes. According to data disclosed by Rep. Jin Sun-mi of the Democratic [...]

TV Home Shopping in Korea Faces Profit Pressure as Broadcasting Fees Consume 73% of Revenue

TV Home Shopping in Korea Faces Profit Pressure as Broadcasting Fees Consume 73% of Revenue

SEOUL, April 15, (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s TV home shopping industry continues to face mounting financial strain as broadcasting fees soared to consume more than 70 percent of television sales revenue in 2024, despite a modest rise in overall sales. According to a report released Monday by the Korea TV Home Shopping Association, the [...]

Franchise Owners Take Over 2.5 Years to Recoup Initial Investment, Survey Finds

Franchise Owners Take Over 2.5 Years to Recoup Initial Investment, Survey Finds

SEOUL, April 15, (Korea Bizwire) — A new industry survey has found that restaurant franchise owners in South Korea take an average of two years and seven months to recover their initial investment, while more than half continue to pay fees to headquarters long after opening. According to a report released Monday by the Korea [...]

Rising Aversion to Marriage Driven by Economic and Cultural Concerns, Survey Finds

Rising Aversion to Marriage Driven by Economic and Cultural Concerns, Survey Finds

SEOUL, April 14 (Korea Bizwire) —   A growing number of young South Koreans are choosing to forgo marriage due to financial strain and evolving personal values, according to a government-backed survey released Monday. The 2nd National Population Behavior Survey, conducted in October 2024 by the Korea Population, Health and Welfare Association, revealed that 41.5% of unmarried [...]