First snowfall of the season

Seoul saw its first snowfall of the 2025 autumn-to-winter season on Thursday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The first snow arrived eight days later than last year and 14 days later than the 1991- 2020 average. Snowfall exceeded 5 centimeters per hour in parts of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, prompting authorities to issue heavy snow advisories. Snow is expected to continue through midnight Friday across the central regions of the Korean Peninsula. In response, the Central

Dec. 4, 2025

Koreans live longer, but years spent sick also rise

South Koreans are now expected to spend an average of 18.2 years of their later life living with illness, even as overall life expectancy hit a record high in 2024, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The ministry’s biennial report showed that the nation’s healthy life expectancy stood at 65.5 years in 2024, meaning people are expected to live that long without disease or disability. The figure is slightly down from 65.8 years in 2022 and 66.3 years in 2020. “The small fluctuation

Dec. 4, 2025

Government rolls out subsidies to push 4 1/2-day workweek

South Korea will start subsidizing a 4 1/2-day workweek for small and midsized companies from January, offering between 200,000 won and 800,000 won ($136-$543) per worker, as the government accelerates it push to cut among the longest working hours in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. To support the rollout, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Wednesday that a 27.6 billion won budget has been approved to cover labor and operating costs, with an additional 1.7 billi

Dec. 4, 2025

Women earn one-third less than men in temporary jobs

Korea’s job market remains far harsher for women, who hold 1.31 million more temporary and part-time jobs than men and earn only about 65 percent of men’s pay in comparable roles. Nonregular jobs, including short-term contracts, part-time roles and subcontracted work, are disproportionately filled by women, contributing to Korea’s gender pay gap, which remains among the widest for an advanced economy globally. According to a report released Monday by the Korea Labor and Society Institute, 5.3 mi

Dec. 2, 2025

Seoul mayor indicted in illegal poll funding case

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon was indicted without detention Monday on charges of violating the Political Funds Act, as special prosecutor Min Joong-ki’s team investigates allegations linked to former first lady Kim Keon Hee and illicit polling support ahead of Oh’s 2021 mayoral run. Oh is accused of asking a supporter to cover the costs of opinion polls that could influence the outcome of the People Power Party’s internal contest for the Seoul mayoral candidacy. The polls were conducted by pollster My

Dec. 1, 2025

Korea targets youth drug surge with new crackdown

Alarmed by the rapid rise of drug offenses involving younger Koreans, the government is strengthening its anti-narcotics strategy through new reporting mechanisms and a centralized oversight body aimed at curbing youth drug abuse. The measures, which include an anonymous reporting system and a centralized control tower for drug-crime oversight, follow a sharp rise in young offenders, whose share of total drug cases surged from 41.7 percent in 2018 to 61.8 percent in the first 10 months of this y

Dec. 1, 2025

From shipyards to steel mills, manufacturers get meme makeovers to woo Gen Z

Korea’s traditional manufacturing giants are reinventing themselves online, rolling out memes, characters and humorous videos to win over millennials and Generation Z — a demographic increasingly shaped by workplace culture, relatability and digital storytelling rather than by legacy brand power. Once defined by rigid hierarchies and a smokestack-era image, the country’s manufacturing sector is now fighting a perception gap as it competes with IT firms and startups for young talent. Companies fr

Nov. 30, 2025

How Korea’s trails became a cultural destination

Lari, a 20-year-old from France, hiked Gwanaksan in southern Seoul during her first visit to Korea in June. A YouTube video of K-pop singer Boo Seung-kwan at the summit inspired her, as she is a fan of his group, Seventeen. “I really liked the views throughout the trail, even though I was a bit scared at the very top. The few people I met were nice, and someone even helped me find the right way at one point,” Lari said. Long regarded as a destination mainly for older locals, Korea's trails are n

Nov. 29, 2025

Hyundai, Kia to invest W1.2tr in new battery R&D hub in Anseong

Korea’s two largest automakers, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia, announced Friday that they will invest 1.2 trillion won ($816 million) to build their first battery-dedicated research and development facilities, signaling a stronger commitment to developing batteries for their own vehicles, future mobility and robotics. The two Hyundai Motor Group affiliates held a ceremony wishing the safe completion of the Future Mobility Battery Anseong Campus, marking the first official confirmation of the project

Nov. 28, 2025

Nexon breaks ¥3.1tr market cap on broad IP development

Game developer Nexon announced Friday that its Tokyo-listed shares have climbed to a new all-time high, pushing its market capitalization above 3.1 trillion yen ($19.8 billion). On Thursday, Nexon’s stock closed at 3,768 yen, continuing its upward trend to an unprecedented level, fueled by a dual growth strategy of launching new titles and enhancing its existing flagship games. Since the company reported its third-quarter performance on Nov. 11, the stock has hovered at around 3,700 yen — the hi

Nov. 28, 2025