South Korea

The new National Assembly of 300 members selected in last week's general election will have no independent members for the first time in over five decades: 58 candidates without political party affiliation ran in 254 constituency, but none prevailed

An activist group led by ecologist Shin Joon Hwan would like to gradually replace all cherry trees of the Yoshino, or Tokyo cherry, variety with a type it claims is native to the country, since cherry trees are symbolic of Japanese colonial rule

Housing supply measures to favor households with newborns up to 2 years old came into effect to curb housing costs, one of the factors bringing the country’s fertility rate to the world's lowest level; 70.000 units per year are offered in the operation

Doctors and trainees, on strike for days, who do not return to work today 1 March will be punished with at least a three-month suspension of their medical licence and other legal action, Minister of the Interior declared

9.000 trainee doctors have tendered their resignations and over 8.000 are on strike to protest a government plan to expand the intake of medical students; South Korea that has one of the lowest doctor-to-patient ratios for a major economy

Air passenger traffic grew 57% on-year in January, with a strong demand for connections to China; international travelers to and from South Korea reached 7,28 million, 91% of record year 2019, according to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

One-third of tourists who visited Korea in 2023 were 30 years old or younger, according to the Korea Tourism Data Lab, the online information platform of the Korea Tourism Organization, and 42,3% came from Japan, a 15,7% increase from 10 years earlier

South Korea's consumer rights watchdog found 473 faulty products which had been recalled from overseas markets being sold in South Korea in 2023: 113 were food and beverages, 106 electronic devices, 70 products for children, 61 sports-related items

2024 Winter Youth Olympics are to begin tomorrow 19 January through 1st February in Gangwon

In 2024 more “mobile museums” - containers equipped for immersive experience stationing at schools and institutions - will allow underprivileged students, people with disabilities and seniors to feel what it is like touring cultural heritage

Around 100.000 people gathered at various locations across Busan to see the first sunrise of the year, though it was delayed by 20 minutes due to heavy clouds; Haeundae and Gwangan Beach areas drew around 65.000 individuals, while 20.000 visited temples

A survey released on 10 December by nongovernmental organization Workplace Gapjil 119 showed that 15,3% of South Korean workers have been subject to direct physical or verbal abuse at work, highligthing the ongoing issue of workplace harassment

Of some 50.000 middle and high school students asked across the nation in 2022, 14,3% thought of suicide over the past 12 months, says a survey released by the Korea Center for Disease and Prevention Agency, now bringing the rate to 1 in 7 students