Unseasonably warm weather with day highs of around 20 degrees Celsius has delayed the autumn foliage peak, leaving large parts of Korea’s major foliage hotspots green as of Wednesday. Of the 21 hotspots the Korea Meteorological Administration monitored, seven -- including Naejangsan in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, famous for its maple leaves -- had not reached their foliage peak Wednesday. The KMA announces the “peak” when 80 percent of the place is covered with autumn foli

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump secured anticipated wins in states favoring their respective parties on Tuesday, as political attention gravitates to key battleground states that will likely decide the outcome of this year's general election. With vote counting under way, Harris won New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Delaware and other Democratic-leaning states, while Trump clinched victories in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Ohio and oth

If you’ve ever attended a Korean wedding, you know the drill: First, hand over an envelope of congratulatory money at the front desk to receive your meal coupon, then either attend or skip the ceremony itself, which typically lasts 30 minutes to an hour. Enjoy a sit-down or buffet meal during which the couple, after the formal wedding ceremony, make their rounds to each table, thanking the guests. But that wasn’t the wedding day that Rebecca Nour, a Lebanese American influencer, ha

Judicial and police officers will keep a close eye on notorious child rapist Cho Doo-soon's new home from literally across the street, as the city government of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, said Wednesday that it had rented a unit near his residence. Cho, who was released four years ago after serving 12 years in prison for raping an 8-year-old girl, relocated to a multiunit home in Wa-dong, Danwon-gu in the same city last month. This sparked concerns over child safety in the area, despite the

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's leading mobile carrier, said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit decreased 9.1 percent from a year earlier due to an increase in non-operating costs. Net profit for the July-September period came to 280.2 billion won ($202.1 million), down 9.1 percent from a year ago, the company said in a regulatory filing. Its operating profit rose 7.1 percent on-year to 533.3 billion won, while sales increased 2.9 percent to 4.53 trillion won. The company said its net pro

The average cash gift for weddings in South Korea has reached 90,000 won ($65), marking an increase of around 20 percent over the past three years, according to data released by Kakao Pay on Monday. Based on transaction data as of September, Kakao Pay, the online payment service of Korean tech giant Kakao Corp., found that the average wedding gift money has increased 23 percent from 73,000 won in 2021 to 90,000 won in September. The amount has steadily risen in between, from 80,000 won in 2022

South Korea's central bank said Wednesday it will test the feasibility of a digital voucher based on a tokenized deposit as part of its trial to introduce a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC). Along with the Financial Services Commission, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Bank of Korea will test the feasibility of a tokenized deposit-based voucher program for use on smartphones via a digital voucher management platform, which can be available for culture, education and ot

The season's first frost was observed in Seoul, Daejeon and other parts of the country on Wednesday, up to 16 days later than previous years, the state weather agency said. The first frost was observed in Seoul and Suwon, south of the capital, nine days later than in the average year but two days earlier than last year, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. The central cities of Daejeon and Cheongju also witnessed the first frost this fall, 16 days later and two days earlier than la

Andy Kim, a third-term congressman, won a Senate seat for New Jersey in the US general election Tuesday, the Associated Press reported, making history as the first Korean American elected to the upper chamber of Congress. Kim, 42, bested his Republican rival Curtis Bashaw to secure the seat for the Garden State, raising expectations that he could play a greater role in Congress for the Korean American community, the Seoul-Washington alliance and joint efforts to address North Korea's nuclea

이번 회에는 저희 책 Advanced Vocab에서 소개한 중상급 영단어들을 알려드립니다. 단어의 우리말 뜻을 기억하는 데에 그치지 않고, 난이도 있는 단어를 실제로 활용하는 단계까지 나아가 보기 바랍니다. 〈빠른 움직임, 열정적인 움직임〉 1. ransack [rǽnsæk] 뒤지다 ran(house)+sack(seek와 같은 어원)으로 이루어진 단어다. 어떤 공간을 다 뒤엎다시피 하면서 샅샅이 뒤지는 것을 뜻한다. Lisa came home to find that her place had been ransacked and quickly checked to make sure that her jewelry had not been stolen. 집에 돌아와서 누군가 집을 뒤졌다는 사실을 발견하자 리사는 황급히 보석이 도난당하지는 않았는지 확인했다. ● 피해자의 아파트는 뒤진 흔적이 없었고 도난당한 물품도 없었다. The victim’s apa

South Korean stocks kicked off higher Wednesday tracking an overnight tech rally on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 9.64 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,586.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, major US indexes gained ground as a report on the services industries shows that the US economy is still strong. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.02 percent, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite increased 1.43 percent, and the S&P 500 went up 1.23 per

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed the Ukrainian military's first combat engagement with North Korean troops, saying it opened a new chapter of instability in the world. Zelenskyy, in a video address posted on the Ukrainian president's official website Tuesday, said, "The first battles with North Korean soldiers open a new page of instability in the world." "I want to thank everyone in the world who reacted to the deployment of North Korean soldiers in

Find the answer at the bottom. "Ureong Bride" is a Korean folktale about a widowed peasant and a mysterious, generous woman who comes into his life. In Korean, the title reveals the maiden’s secret right away: she is not a human but an “ureong,” a freshwater river snail that inhabits streams and rice paddies. Here is one version of the story. Long ago, a poor, widowed farmer found a fist-sized river snail without its shell near a rice paddy. Concerned that the

Cancer remained the leading cause of death among South Koreans last year, according to data from Statistics Korea. A total of 352,511 deaths were recorded in 2023, a decrease of 5.5 percent from the previous year, marking a decline after three years of increases. The decline in the total number of deaths is partly attributed to the country’s COVID-19 measures. However, excluding deaths due to COVID-19, the overall number of fatalities actually increased. COVID-19, which was the third lea

If we didn’t know any better, we might flip through the newspaper and conclude that the international order the United States helped construct after World War II was coming apart. We might also be led to believe that four countries, China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, are not only contributing to its demise but also forming an alliance to destroy the so-called rules-based order that senior US officials crow about. Since the war in Ukraine erupted in February 2022, US foreign policy expert

In South Korea, Intel and Samsung Electronics used to be mentioned together as the leading examples of innovative frontrunners in the global tech business. Yes, they were; however, they no longer enjoy such flattering comparisons. Trouble-laden Intel is set to be replaced by Nvidia on the Dow Jones Industrial Average index Friday, a shocking setback for the US-based chipmaker in a changing landscape where even a technology behemoth can get kicked out of the index of blue-chip companies. The deci

The worst tragedies of human history tend to arise from our too-rigid notions of binary oppositions and our hatred of the other. The antagonisms between the East and the West, Christianity and Islam, or capitalism and communism are good examples. History shows us that the atrocities of wars, massacres and genocides are done in the name of God, the righteousness of pure ideology or delusions of racial supremacy. Recently, I came across a riveting book of poems by the renowned Korean poet Oh Sae-y

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A presidential campaign marked by upheaval and rancor approached its finale on Election Day as Americans decided whether to send Donald Trump back to the White House or elevate Kamala Harris to the Oval Office. Polls opened across the nation Tuesday morning as voters faced a stark choice between two candidates who have offered drastically different temperaments and visions for the world’s largest economy and dominant military power. Harris, the Democratic vice president,

SM Entertainment reported a sharp decline in third-quarter earnings Tuesday, attributing the downturn to reduced album sales and rising production costs while hinting at the debut of a new girl group in January. The parent company’s regulatory filing showed consolidated revenue of 242.2 billion won ($175.6 million) and an operating profit of 13.3 billion won, reflecting a 9 percent drop in revenue and a significant 73.6 percent decline in operating profit, year-on-year. The company point

MOSCOW (Yonhap) -- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said Tuesday that North Korea's missile tests were "legitimate" defensive measures in response to what he described as the United States' "provocations," Russia's state-run news agency reported. Rudenko reiterated the stance of Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, who has defended North Korea's ballistic missile activities, which are prohibited under UN Security