Once again, Elon Musk is back to tracking South Korea's nose-diving birth rate. With just 0.72 births per woman in 2023, South Korea has emerged as an extraordinary case study among developed countries grappling with declining fertility rates -- a sort of petri dish for what might lie ahead for societies facing a demographic crisis. These unprecedented numbers have made the country a favorite reference point for Musk, CEO of Tesla and X and US President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to le

South Korea’s state weather agency said Thursday that its short-range weather forecast will start providing an overview of potential weather conditions up to five days ahead, instead of the previous four days. The update will allow viewers to see weather predictions up to Friday when they check the system on Monday, the Korea Meteorological Administration explained. However, due to current technological limits, forecast details for the fifth day, such as precipitation probability, will b

Members of the North Gyeongsang Provincial Council have come under fire for deliberately setting a rice paddy on fire, with the purpose of checking how fast firefighters would arrive on the scene. According to the local Yonhap News Agency, members of the North Gyeongsang Provincial Council's construction and firefighting committee set the field on fire at 3:40 p.m. on Nov. 18, in Sangju city, North Gyeongsang Province. A man who called the 119 emergency hotline to report the fire turned o

Koreans born in the early 1970s bear a “triple burden,” juggling financial support for their parents and children while worrying about their own retirement, a survey revealed Thursday. Among those born between 1970 and 1974, seven out of 10 financially support their children, and four out of 10 support their own parents or those of their spouses. One in four supports both generations, spending an average of 1.55 million won ($1,114) per month. They allocate 1.07 million won ($768

Inspired by the splendor of green hues of the trees as the streetlights shone in the city's avenues during summer nights, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday it has chosen "green aurora" as the city's color for next year. As the municipal government expands its color palette every year to roll out the city's identity for the coming year, officials explained that the new soft-tone color aims to offer comfort and support to citizens fatigued from their everyday

Heavy snow beset Seoul and the surrounding areas for a second consecutive day Thursday, with the total snowfall in the capital marking the third heaviest snowfall on record in the city. At 8 a.m., Seoul’s accumulated snowfall reached 28.6 centimeters at the capital's official measurement site in the Jongno-gu district. This was the most in November since records began in 1907. The heaviest snowfall ever recorded in Seoul was 31 cm on March 24, 1922, followed by 30 cm on Jan. 31, 1969. Unti

South Korea and the United States will hold a discussion-based exercise simulating North Korea's use of a nuclear weapon next week, Seoul's defense ministry said Thursday, as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen joint deterrence against the North's nuclear threats. Cho Chang-rae, South Korea's deputy defense minister for policy, and Cara Abercrombie, the US acting deputy under secretary of defense for policy, will lead the tabletop exercise during a two-day meeting slated fo

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's possible visit to South Korea in January for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol has not yet been decided, the presidential office said Thursday. Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun earlier reported that Ishiba has been coordinating the visit to Seoul in early January for a summit with Yoon. "Nothing has been decided. The two leaders have agreed to continue advancing shuttle diplomacy," a senior presidential official at Yoon's office said.

North Korea's chief envoy to the United Nations has sidestepped a question confirming the country's troop deployment to Russia during a UN meeting, instead reiterating that his country will continue to develop relations with Russia. Kim Song, North Korea's permanent representative to the UN, made the remarks while responding to a question from Robert Wood, the United States' alternate representative, during a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday in New York. "The dep

A heavy snowstorm forced schools in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province to delay classes or close temporarily, as a crippling snowfall paralyzed much of South Korea on Thursday. The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education announced that it had advised approximately 4,700 schools under its jurisdiction — including kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools — to consider delaying class hours or temporarily closing at their discretion. Some schools, such as Munwon Elem

Heavy snow blanketed South Korea's capital area for the second consecutive day Thursday, with up to 40 centimeters of snowfall seen in parts of Seoul. A heavy snow advisory was in effect in all of Seoul as the accumulated snowfall reached 40.2 cm in Gwanak Ward and 27.1 cm in Seongbuk Ward. On Wednesday, Seoul saw the heaviest November snowfall since modern weather observations began in 1907, with 16.5 cm of snowfall. The record coincided with the first snow of the season in the city. Traffic wa

The Japanese cities of Osaka, Fukuoka and Tokyo emerged as the top destinations for repeat overseas travel among South Koreans, according to data from Triple, a travel platform run by Interpark. These three destinations accounted for over half of all demand for multiple visits, reflecting strong interest in tourism to Japan. Osaka topped the list with 18.6 percent of respondents reporting at least two visits, followed by Fukuoka (16.6 percent), Tokyo (15.2 percent), Bangkok, Thailand (7.9 perc

More than 50 cars crashed into each other on an icy road in Wonju, Gangwon Province, injuring 11 people as record heavy snow hit the country on Wednesday. The crash occurred at 5:49 p.m. on National Route 409, between Manjong and Simpyeong intersections in Wonju, according to the Gangwon Fire Headquarters. The accident began when a Matiz compact car skidded to a stop on a downhill stretch of a highway. The vehicles that followed were unable to stop because the road was icy and collided in a ch

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said Wednesday he takes "full responsibility" for the controversy over Japan's memorial ceremony for Korean wartime forced labor victims, expressing regret over Tokyo's failure to honor the promises it made to the international community. Criticism emerged after Japan hosted the event for Sado mine forced laborers earlier this week, which failed to properly acknowledge the victims or the site's full history of forced mobilization of labor dur

Seoul subway Line No. 2 was delayed over 20 minutes during morning rush hour due to a conductor taking an urgent toilet break on Monday, according to Seoul Metro. The conductor who was driving a train on the outer lane of the circular route had to leave the train urgently to use the toilet in a station at 8:11 a.m. While an engineer watched the train, the conductor ran down the platform and returned in 4 minutes 16 seconds after using the restroom on another floor. However, the 125 trains follow

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with a delegation from Ukraine led by the country's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on Wednesday at his office in Seoul, according to Yoon's office. Yoon was quoted by the presidential office as saying that he hoped South Korea and Ukraine could find a practical breakthrough to counter the security threat posed by military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. Yoon's office did not disclose what Umerov said during his meeting with Yoon. Following t

The presidential office on Wednesday expressed concerns about the potential impact of President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Korean businesses in Mexico and Canada, vowing proactive measures to address the risks. Sung Tae-yoon, the presidential chief of staff for policy, held an interagency meeting to assess the potential effects of Trump's pledge to levy a 25 percent tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada, along with an additional 10 percent tariff on China. Trump&#

South Korea in September saw the largest on-year increase in the monthly number of childbirths in nearly 14 years, government data showed Wednesday. According to Statistics Korea, 20,590 babies were born in September, which was 1,884 more than the same month in 2023. The on-year increase was the largest since January 2011 percentage-wise, and the most since March of 2015 in terms of the number of babies born. It was the third straight month in which 20,000 or more babies were born, with 20,601 i

The Ministry of Education approved Yonsei University's plan to conduct an additional essay test for natural sciences applicants after the original exam -- part of the 2025 admissions cycle -- was marred by a leaked question. The decision aims to resolve ongoing legal disputes over the leak and stabilize the university’s admissions process. The additional test, scheduled for December 8, comes in response to a court ruling that suspended the results of the original exam after proctors a

Heavy snow warnings were issued across the country as South Korea -- especially the Greater Seoul area and Gangwon Province -- experienced heavy snowfall nationwide, with more expected overnight. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, more than 20 centimeters of snow covered parts of Seoul as of 7 a.m., Wednesday morning. Normally, a warning is issued by the KMA when snowfall is expected to reach above 20 cm within 24 hours. The last time a snowfall warning was issued by the KMA