SEOUL, May 30 (Korea Biawire) — South Korea’s declining school-age population has led to a steady drop in university enrollment, with vocational and technical colleges bearing the brunt of the demographic shift. In response, universities are increasingly recruiting nontraditional students — including adult learners and international students — to fill empty seats, a new government [...]
SEOUL, May 29 (Korea Bizwire) — After three years of steady decline, exposure to secondhand smoke in South Korea is once again on the rise — particularly in indoor workplaces and public spaces — prompting renewed calls for stronger tobacco control measures. According to new data released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency [...]
SEOUL, May 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has emerged as the world’s second-largest market for paid ChatGPT subscriptions, trailing only the United States, amid a dramatic surge in the use of generative AI services nationwide. According to the 2024 Intelligent Information Society User Panel Survey released Thursday by the Korea Communications Commission and the [...]
SEOUL, May 29, 2005 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid persistent economic challenges and a robust public transportation network, an increasing number of young South Koreans are putting off getting their driver’s licenses — or skipping the process altogether. According to data released by the National Police Agency, the number of newly issued licenses to teenagers and [...]
SEOUL, May 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The average cost of a wedding in South Korea has reached ₩21.01 million (approximately $15,400), with costs in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district soaring to nearly three times that of the most affordable regions, according to a newly released nationwide survey by the Korea Consumer Agency. The agency’s first comprehensive [...]
SEOUL, May 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s youth population is shrinking at a rapid pace due to declining birth rates, even as the number of students from multicultural backgrounds continues to rise, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s annual Youth Statistics 2025 report released Tuesday. As of this year, the youth population [...]
SEOUL, May 27 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s state-run think tank on Tuesday sharply cut its growth forecast for the local economy this year to 1 percent, citing a slowdown in exports and domestic consumption. The revised projection by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) represents a 1.1 percentage-point drop from its [...]
SEOUL, May 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea has the highest employment rate among people aged 65 and older across the OECD, but the quality of jobs available to the elderly remains alarmingly low, driven by insufficient pension income and limited opportunities to leverage their lifelong careers. According to a recent report released by the National [...]
SEOUL, May 26 (Korea Bizwire) — For the first time since statistics began in 2018, South Korea’s once-booming coffee shop sector has shrunk, alongside a broader pullback across key self-employment industries. The decline underscores mounting pressure on small business owners from domestic economic stagnation, market saturation, and rising operating costs. According to data released Sunday by [...]
SEOUL, May 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The overall happiness of children in South Korea has improved steadily over the past decade, but significant disparities remain based on household income and family structure, according to a government-backed study released on Sunday. The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) published findings showing that the average [...]