Dog meat group threatens to release 2 million dogs near presidential office

An umbrella group for those in the dog meat industry in South Korea has vowed to hold a protest Thursday against the government's move to ban dog meat consumption, while allegedly threatening to release 2 million dogs around the presidential office in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Daehan Yukgyeon Hyephoi (Dog Meat Federation), a group consisting of dog meat farm operators and dog meat restaurant owners across the country, has recently decided to hold a protest in front of the War Memorial of Korea in

Nov. 28, 2023

'Do not open plane doors' warning mandated for planes in flight

South Korea's Transport Ministry said Tuesday it plans to revise its current ordinance on the operation of air transport, mandating an in-flight announcement reminding passengers not to open plane doors while in flight. The revision aims to prevent reoccurrence of incidents like the one in May in which a man in his 30s opened the emergency exit of a plane operated by Asiana Airlines just minutes before it landed at Daegu International Airport. The incident was dubbed "two minutes of

Nov. 28, 2023

Female Nexon employee berates 'misandrist gesture' in MapleStory video

A commenter claiming to be a female employee of local game publisher Nexon, which has been embroiled in controversy over the use of a "misandrist hand gesture," recently criticized the animator for reflecting personal views in a team project. "A game isn't made by one person, but is a product of several people's collaboration over a long period of time. Why are you sneaking in your own personal views and hoping for other people to take care of it?" the person wrote

Nov. 28, 2023

Disability rights group lodges complaint with rights watchdog over leader's arrest

A disability rights advocacy group said Tuesday it will file a complaint with the state human rights watchdog against police for arresting the group's leader without informing him of his Miranda rights. The Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination claimed the police used violence and failed to announce the Miranda warning while arresting its leader, Park Kyoung-seok, during a subway protest last week. Park, 63, was apprehended on the platform of Seoul's Hyehwa Station at 8:50 p.m.

Nov. 28, 2023

TBS appeals to Seoul to hold off on slashing support

Public broadcaster Traffic Broadcasting System, or TBS, appealed to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Metropolitan Council to postpone their plan to eliminate their financial support for the radio station through an official statement on Monday. “We are facing the crisis of being forced to close down completely following the city council passing the ordinance that abolished support for TBS from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, currently effective starting next year,” said

Nov. 27, 2023

Korea to start hiring E-9 visa foreign workers in restaurants

Unskilled foreign workers will be allowed to work in restaurants across South Korea starting next year, as the government plans to increase the quota for E-9 visas, officials said Monday. The plan, however, will remain in test trial until further confirmation. “Korean restaurants in 100 areas across the country (including Seoul, Busan, Daegu and Incheon) will be allowed to hire unskilled foreign workers as employees (starting next year) as a test trial,” Ministry of Employment and La

Nov. 27, 2023

S. Korea's English proficiency slips 13 notches to 49th

South Koreans’ English proficiency in 2022 worsened from the previous year, descending 13 spots in an annual report by the Swedish education corporation Education First. South Korea stood in 49th place in the “2023 English Proficiency Index,” based on the test results of 2.2 million adults from 113 countries who took EF’s English certification test “EF Standard English Test” in 2022. The previous year, the country ranked in 36th place among non-English speakin

Nov. 27, 2023

Two dead in Gyeongju construction site collapse

A major accident occurred at approximately 11:10 a.m. on Monday at a construction site in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. According to local news reports, a pillar collapsed during the construction of a bridge over a dam reservoir, resulting in eight construction workers falling into the waters below. One worker was injured in the incident, while two others were pronounced dead at the scene. Five workers managed to escape the accident unharmed, authorities confirmed. Following the incident,

Nov. 27, 2023

12 foreigners nabbed on suspicion of drug use

Gwangju Police said Monday it has apprehended 12 foreigners, including illegal immigrants, on suspicion of using narcotic substances at a local foreigner-only karaoke, known locally as "noraebang." The suspects, whose identities were withheld, are suspected of taking ketamine inside a noraebang in Usan-dong, Gwangju, according to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency's drug investigations unit. The majority of the suspects were Vietnamese nationals who had gathered for a birthday

Nov. 27, 2023

Gangnam teen investigated for assaulting deliveryman with golf club

In a shocking incident of violence in the wealthy district of Gangnam, Seoul, a teenager was arrested on Nov. 11 for attacking a deliveryman with a golf club in broad daylight. The assailant, identified only as a high school student, is now facing aggravated assault charges. The incident came to light when the victim's dashboard camera footage was shared on YouTube on Nov. 24. The video shows the teen, dressed in shorts and carrying a backpack, striking a deliveryman on a motorcycle with a

Nov. 27, 2023

1 in 8 commercial flights exposed to pathogens: KDCA

One in 8 commercial flights entering South Korea was found to be contaminated with pathogens that cause intestinal infectious diseases, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Monday. The pathogens were detected through hygiene inspections on 58 out of 493 direct international flights from July 31 to Nov. 14 this year, according to the agency. Among the pathogens detected was E. coli, which causes diarrhea. Transmitted by food or water contaminated with animal or human feces,

Nov. 27, 2023

American investigated for ‘teeth grinding’ graffiti across Yongsan

An American in his 30s was caught by the police for writing “igari,” which means bruxism -- more commonly known as teeth grinding -- on at least 155 public facilities and properties in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul. The Yongsan police said Monday it was investigating what it called the “igari graffitist,” who wrote "igari" in both Hangeul and English on tunnels, power poles, roads and buses among others, after nabbing him on Oct 25. He is also suspected of writing t

Nov. 27, 2023

Travel ban on G-Dragon lifted; police says 'open to all possibilities'

Police said Monday that they have not ruled out drug use allegations concerning G-Dragon, despite lifting travel restrictions on the K-pop icon after a detailed narcotics analysis of his biological samples came back negative. An official of the National Police Agency said in a regular press briefing that the officials are "open to possibilities until the investigation reaches its conclusion" on the G-Dragon probe. "If the circumstances clearly point to drug use, it wouldn't b

Nov. 27, 2023

'HR weeds out women' online post sparks furor

An anonymous online post about an allegedly misogynistic hiring process at a company is sparking a furor here, where gender-related issues have repeatedly sparked controversy. The anonymous writer, who posted it on Sunday, claimed to be part of the hiring process at their company, and that their policy is to eliminate all applicants who graduated from women's universities. "It's not like we exclude all women but if (the applicant) is from a women's college, we don't even

Nov. 27, 2023

High school seniors spend W4m for essay tutoring: data

South Korean high school senior students spent some 4 million won ($3,060) on average last year to receive tutoring on the college entrance essay test to learn how to write a good composition, government data showed Monday. They also paid more than 1 million won annually for college admissions counseling. According to data released by the Education Ministry and Statistics Korea on students’ private education spending in 2022, the average monthly expenditure for 12th graders who engaged in

Nov. 27, 2023

5 Chinese nationals detained in Jeju for gambling debt-related false imprisonment

Jeju Seobu Police detained five Chinese nationals for the false imprisonment of a fellow Chinese national concerning a gambling debt of 50 million won ($38,000) on Monday, authorities confirmed Thursday. According to police, the victim had initially borrowed the sum for gambling purposes, agreeing to a 10 percent interest rate. However, the suspects allegedly increased the interest to 20 percent three days later, with which the victim refused to comply. When the victim refused to sign a new debt

Nov. 27, 2023

Man falls off Jeju cliff trying to capture 'photo of life'

A man in his 50s fell off a cliff on Jeju Island while trying to photograph himself at a popular tourist spot, local police said Monday, in what seems to be an attempt to grab an "insaeng shot," or photo of life. According to the Seogwipo Coast Guard, the unidentified man was visiting the Oedolgae Sea Stack, a famously photogenic location along the southern coast of the island. During an attempt to shoot a picture of himself at a nearby cliff, he tumbled and sustained a head injury as

Nov. 27, 2023

Soccer star's sex tape controversy highlights spycam issue in Korea

A sex tape scandal involving South Korean striker Hwang Ui-jo has brought to light the issue of "molka," hidden cameras used to take pictures or videos for sexual purposes. A recent report showed that the crime happened at an average rate of 17 times per day over the past five years. A total of 3,111 crimes involving video recording without consent were reported in the first half of the year, according to the quarterly report on crime trends published Sunday by the Korea Institute o

Nov. 27, 2023

Number of Chinese travelers to S. Korea remains far below pre-pandemic levels

The monthly average of Chinese travelers visiting South Korea remained far below pre-pandemic levels, despite China's reopening from COVID-19 restrictions and resumption of group tours, data showed Sunday. Around 144,000 Chinese nationals visited South Korea per month on average this year, according to the data released by the Hyundai Research Institute. The tally was about one-third of the monthly average of 416,000 recorded from 2017 to 2019, when the Chinese government had banned group t

Nov. 26, 2023

Athletes, teachers, doctors chosen as dream jobs for Korean students: survey

Athletes topped the list of most desired jobs for elementary school students, while teaching was picked as the most coveted job among middle and high school students, a survey showed Sunday. Teaching and becoming a doctor were picked by elementary school children as the most desirable job following athletes. The survey results showing a preference toward athletes may stem from the high number of sporting events held this year, including the Asian Games and the World Cup soccer qualifiers, acco

Nov. 26, 2023