The recent death of an elementary school student has sparked public outrage, following allegations of lax responses by the school and nearby hospitals. The student, a sixth grader in Daejeon, collapsed on June 30 at her school. Surveillance footage from the school released by local media shows the student appearing in pain in the school hallway for three minutes until a teacher opens a classroom door after hearing her screams. She was reportedly on her way back to the classroom after visiting th

Social Affairs July 24, 2023

Everland, the largest theme park and zoo in South Korea, located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday released photos of 12-day-old panda twins born at the park. In the released photo, the twin cubs have started to grow distinctive black markings, which typically begin showing 10 days after birth. Newborn pandas do not sport the signature black-and-white markings, and their eyes will open after six weeks, according to National Geographic. Ai Bao and Le Bao, the panda parents who gave birth to

Social Affairs July 21, 2023

South Korean police recently released video footage of a jewelry thief who was arrested after a bizarre daylong chase in which the suspect attempted to disguise himself several times. The footage was made public via the National Police Agency’s official YouTube channel, where the police have been actively uploading content about their work ranging from investigation videos to web dramas. The suspect reportedly changed disguises three times and took six taxis to avoid being detected by poli

Social Affairs July 20, 2023

Adidas launched limited edition soccer cleats dedicated to Tottenham’s Son Heung-min on Tuesday, to commemorate 15 years of sponsorship. The Son Heung-min edition, called the HMS Pack, is available at the official online stores, the Adidas flagship store in Myeong-dong, Gangnam Brand Center, Hongdae Brand Center and soccer gear stores. The HMS Pack comes in three models. The laceless FG model is priced at 319,000 won ($252), TF models for male adults at 129,000 won, and TF J models for wom

Industry July 19, 2023

Action for Clean Environment, a nonprofit organization promoting global environmental activism, hosted a completion ceremony for the 2023 Fellowship for Young Leaders Program last Saturday at the Seoul Club in Seoul. The three-week fellowship featured sessions aimed at active engagement between participants, which consisted of debates on the issue of pollution; a tour of the Smart Farm in Gangnam-gu, Seoul; and essay writing and presentations. This year's fellowship marked the program'

Social Affairs July 18, 2023

Parking spaces designated for women only, a hotly disputed policy in South Korea, are to be eliminated, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said on Sunday. The revised bill states that the women-only parking spaces will be changed to "family friendly" spaces starting Tuesday. The new standards for using these spaces will extend to pregnant women, people with mobility difficulties such as seniors and drivers accompanying infants. Women who do not meet the new criteria will no longer be ab

Social Affairs July 17, 2023

South Korea's first lady was seen exiting renowned Lithuanian luxury clothing boutique "Du broliai" during President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Vilnius to attend the NATO summit, according to Lithuanian media reports. The local news report complimented the first lady for her refined style at various events, calling her a "50-year-old style icon." "Du broliai" is a high-end clothing boutique located in Vilnius, Lithuania, offering a range of luxury brands suc

Social Affairs July 14, 2023

In South Korea, the airline industry culture can be as strict as the military, or even more so. A recent post on Blind, an anonymous online forum for company employees, a person claiming to work for Korean Air has sparked a debate on workplace bullying, highlighting the irrational hierarchy among flight attendants. According to the post, a junior flight attendant was berated by a senior flight attendant for putting a blanket over her lap during a flight while on "standby," a position t

Social Affairs July 13, 2023

A new North Korean smartphone bearing a resemblance to Samsung smartphones called the Samtaesong 8 was recently featured on the North's state-run Korean Central Television. The phone made its first appearance in a program that promoted the proper and safe usage of smartphones. According to the North's Korean dictionary, "samtaesong" refers to the "three bright stars" - North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, his wife Kim Jong-suk and his son Kim Jong-il - of their alleged

North Korea July 13, 2023

A total of 8.6 billion won ($6.7 million) was returned to 7,015 people who wired money to the wrong accounts since July 2021, the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation said on Wednesday. The Misdirected Wire Transfers Recovery Support System, implemented in July 2021, is a system that returns money that was sent by mistake, which applies to those who wired amounts between 50,000 won and 50 million won. Requests for return need to be filed within a year of the date transfer was made. The average am

Economy July 12, 2023

Three American women were taken into custody for illegal drug use after testing positive at a police station in Seoul on Tuesday. The suspects had initially been taken to the station after causing a disturbance in a taxi, allegedly kicking and screaming. According to the police, the suspects arrived at the police station dressed in swimsuits, and displayed abnormal behavior such as undressing and licking windows. The suspects also struggled with police officers who tried to cover them up, carryi

Social Affairs July 12, 2023

Jin of BTS announced on Weverse, a social platform the band uses to communicate with fans, that he was promoted to corporal two months earlier than scheduled after receiving the "elite soldier" title. In South Korea, all men deemed physically eligible between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to serve in the military. Jin is currently serving as an assistant instructor at a front-line infantry division boot camp in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, since last December. He was the first of

K-pop July 11, 2023

A woman contracted Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, a tick-borne disease, after coming into contact with a stray cat in Seogipo-si, Jeju, health authorities said on Monday. SFTS is an infectious disease that emerged from China with a mortality rate of up to 17 percent in Korea. The condition has no cure or vaccine as of now. The first local case was reported in 2013, and a total of 608 people have been infected with the disease in the last three years. Common symptoms include fever,

Social Affairs July 11, 2023

Twitter is threatening to take legal action against Meta, accusing the company of stealing trade secrets, following the launch of its new text-based app Threads. Twitter's legal team sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg alleging Meta of unlawfully obtaining Twitter's intellectual property to create a "copycat" app, a number of news outlets including CNN reported. Elon Musk, who bought Twitter last year, tweeted, "Competition is fine, cheating is not," after rep

Industry July 7, 2023

A ward at a facility for disabled people has been booked over allegedly stabbing 11 other wards, causing skin necrosis, the Anseong police said Thursday. According to the police, the 19-year-old suspect is accused of injuring 11 patients since the start of 2022, stabbing them with hypodermic needles, resulting in necrotizing fasciitis, a severe skin condition commonly known as flesh-eating disease. Relatives of two of the victims filed a police report, saying the victims, who had been stabbed mu

Social Affairs July 6, 2023