According to a survey of single men and women of Korean nationality, the ideal husband should be earning an annual salary exceeding 60 million won ($45,745) and have a height of 178.7 centimeters, while the ideal wife should earn around 44 million won annually and be 164.2 centimeters tall. The survey, conducted by matchmaking agency Duo on Korean singles between 25 and 39, also showed that both men and women prefer their partner to be working in an office setting. Around 45 percent of males a

Several passengers commuting on a subway line connecting Seoul with its western satellite city of Gimpo expressed concern after they detected a burning smell on Wednesday. The subway lines’ operator, Seoul Metro, said it had received a total of three complaints of a burning smell between Pungmu Station and Gimpo International Airport Station at around 7:50 a.m. The operator said it immediately launched an investigation into the matter. A passenger told local media that “a burning rub

South Korean drugmakers are in a rush to mass-produce antipyretics and antibiotics to keep pace with demand for medicines amid the rise in cases of mycoplasma pneumonia -- a bacterium that causes respiratory infections -- and flu viruses during the winter. To avoid a medicine shortage, Daewon Pharmaceutical has started boosting the production of fever medicines and antibiotics, according to reports on Wednesday citing pharmaceutical industry insiders. Hanmi Pharmaceutical, another leading drugma

The number of violent crimes developing from apartment noise disputes rose 10-fold from 2016 to 2021, a report by a local civic group showed Wednesday. There were 11 court cases of violent crimes that were related to noise feuds between neighbors in 2016, but the number increased every year, reaching 114 in 2020, according to the analysis of the local courts' verdicts by released by the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice. It dipped slightly back down to 110 the following year. &q

A 50-something woman who threw objects out the window of her 18-floor apartment and shouted "I'm seeing God," has been committed to a psychiatric facility, police said Wednesday. Officers of Gimpo Police Station on Monday received reports from residents of a residential-commercial complex in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, that a woman was throwing items like bags and a cellphone out of her window. The woman had blocked the entrance to her home with clothes and other items, refusing t

Prosecutors on Wednesday raided the home of the head of online news outlet Newstapa in connection with its reporting of an alleged fake interview given in 2021 to discredit then opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office sent prosecutors and investigators to the residence of Newstapa's chief, Kim Yong-jin, in the morning to seize materials related to the coverage of the interview on the eve of last year's presidential election. The ca

A man in his twenties who killed two cats on the same day he adopted them has been sentenced to eight months in prison for animal cruelty, Changwon District Court said Tuesday. The defendant was accused of killing the cats inside his car at a parking lot in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province in September last year, and mutilating their remains. The man had adopted the cats just hours before killing them. A police investigation found his motive to be contempt toward cats, which was sparked by stra

South Korea outperformed in tests that compare educational attainment among 15-year-olds around the world, despite COVID-19 having wrought havoc on global education systems, according to a survey released Tuesday. Program for International Student Assessment is a study of 15-year-old students’ performance in mathematics, reading and science literacy conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Typically conducted every three years, this year’s assessment, f

The Ministry of Environment said on Tuesday that the ministry will toughen requirements for zoo and aquarium licenses as part of efforts to ensure the welfare of animals at these facilities. According to an amendment to the Act on the Management of Zoos and Aquariums approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, facilities must go through a separate licensing system following the requirements set by the ministry to operate as zoos and aquariums. To be licensed as a zoo or aquarium, the facilities must pro

Temperatures are expected to become warmer this week compared to previous years, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Tuesday. “Over Tuesday and Wednesday, temperatures are expected to reach up to 12 degrees Celsius in Seoul,” said a KMA official. On average, low temperatures in South Korea were expected to reach up to 6 C on Tuesday morning, with high temperatures expected to rise to 16 C. Normally, temperatures at this time of the year are colder, with lows of around 4 C an

South Korea on Tuesday rolled out a comprehensive plan to offer mental health checkups every two years for young Koreans aged 20 to 34 and other counseling services tailored to all age groups, in the first-ever detailed state policy aimed at tackling the country’s consistently high suicide rates. Korea has recorded the highest suicide rate among member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for almost 20 years, with 25.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022, more

A 49-year-old has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing a man in a drink driving incident, exceeding the Supreme Court's sentencing guidelines. The Incheon District Court on Tuesday handed down the sentence on account of the victim suffering from extensive pain due to his injuries before his death, and the defendant not being forgiven by the victim's family. The sentence is within the legally permitted limit, but higher than the range of punishment recommended by the state i

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday that it has teamed up with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to provide portable personal safety devices to some 10,000 potential victims of gender-based violence. The set of devices was unveiled by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Kim Kwang-ho, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, at a ceremony held on Tuesday at Seoul Square. Police arrived less than four minutes after Oh activated the alerting device, according to Oh's office. Th

More than 70,000 children and teenagers are identified as “homeless” in South Korea, wandering the streets or living in poor conditions, signaling an urgent need to enhance support for them. Professor Lim Se-hee of Seoul Cyber University, speaking at a recent Children Policy Forum, reported that there were 73,399 homeless individuals under the age of 18. Citing government data, the professor said that among them, 55,407 wander around with no place to spend the night after leaving the

The Chuncheon District Court on Tuesday ruled that Gangwon Police were justified in a recent decision to suspend an official for comparing his female subordinate to a barmaid. The plaintiff, who had been serving as the unit leader at a police office in Gangwon Province, had told the subordinate that "local bars would have far more customers if someone like you worked there" in 2021. He also alluded to sexually suggestive lyrics from a song and boasted to her about seeing an exposed fem

An anonymous memo was found Tuesday claiming that a bomb had been planted at Hongdae subway station, but after a search, police found no evidence of an explosive device. Police said subway officials received a report around 5:05 a.m. of a note found in a men's bathroom in the station, saying, "I'll install a bomb. You'll suffer." Police blocked off the station bathroom area, where they conducted a search until 7 a.m. Station functions were maintained during the search. S

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Monday announced two new services for foreign tourists: a taxi-hailing app and real-time translation services in subway stations. The city government has launched Taba, a taxi-hailing service specifically designed for overseas visitors to the city. The new app is expected to resolve limitations in existing domestic taxi-hailing apps, making it easier for tourists to request taxis with their phones. Existing taxi-hailing services require authentication to occu

As over half of Korean senior citizens expressed a desire to work, nearly 1 in 5 seniors are actively engaged in job seeking, reports showed Monday. According to a report from Korea Employment Information Service, which analyzed Statistics Korea’s data, among individuals aged between 65 and 79, 55.7 percent expressed a desire to continue working. That is an increase of 0.9 percentage point from a year ago and 12.1 percentage points from a decade prior. Of the older individuals aspiring f

Several key bills aimed to provide stronger social safety nets and confirm next year’s budget plan were stuck in limbo as of Monday, as rival parties continued to lock horns ahead of the general elections in April. With less than a week remaining for the plenary session of the 21st National Assembly, observers expressed concern that the bills could be scrapped altogether, with the ruling People Power Party and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea remaining in a standoff. "We

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of recovering drug users from South Korea and Japan gathered in Seoul on Saturday to support each others’ path to sobriety. The 19th edition of the workshop took place as a one-day event with the members of Narcotics Anonymous from the two countries. NA is a community organization made up of peers to support those in recovery from drug addiction using a non-professional approach. It aims to remove the stigma surrounding drug addict