Dating apps left Nicole feeling less like a potential partner than a possible English tutor. “What I learned from using dating apps is that people will meet me because it’s cheaper to buy lunch than take an English class,” said Nicole, 37. “Being flirted with is a bonus for them.” On Sunday, Nicole joined 10 other foreign women and 11 Korean men at a Seoul event organized by SoloLink. Participants met in pairs, switching partners every 10 minutes in a format known as “rotation sogaeting.” The fo

A woman in her 40s was arrested on suspicion of killing her father while he slept, after he repeatedly criticized her for losing money he had lent her to invest. The Cheonan Dongnam Police Station in South Chungcheong Province said Sunday that the woman had admitted to fatally striking her father, who was in his 60s, with a blunt object at an apartment in Cheonan on Sept. 13. According to police, the woman lost several hundred million won her father had given her several years earlier in stocks

Most unmarried Korean women are neither strongly for or against getting married and having children, a study has found, with them holding a mix of traditional and nontraditional views. Kim Da-eun of Seoul National University analyzed data from 1,496 unmarried women who took part in the ninth phase of the 2022 Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families. The respondents’ average age was 30.07. The study classified respondents into three groups based on their answers to 14 questions about mar

A fast-breeding cockroach species native to the Middle East and Central Asia has found its place in Busan, raising concerns over its potential spread across Korea. Researchers from Pusan National University and Gyeongsang National University confirmed the presence of the Turkestan cockroach (Periplaneta lateralis), commonly known as the "Red Runner," near Gamman Port in Busan, according to reports Saturday. During five field surveys conducted between November 2025 and June 2026, researchers coll

Students, graduates and supporters of Yeomyung School gathered outside the Seoul Metropolitan Council on Wednesday to appeal for a lasting home for a school that helps young people from North Korean defector families adjust to life in South Korea. One placard read, “Young people from North Korean defector families are Seoul citizens, too.” The school’s 105 students currently attend classes at a former elementary school in Gangseo-gu, where permission to use the building expires in February. A pl

South Korea is seeking to host an Interpol regional office in Seoul to coordinate efforts against drug trafficking and other transnational crimes across the Asia-Pacific region, the Korean National Police Agency said Wednesday. The agency aims to launch an Interpol drug response task force in 2027 and open the regional office in 2029, when Seoul is scheduled to host the organization’s General Assembly. Establishing the office would require approval from Interpol’s Executive Committee and General

South Korea will host 32 food safety officials from eight Latin American countries for a training program to strengthen import safeguards and help Korean food companies expand into the region, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Wednesday. The program, now in its fourth year, will run from Oct. 26 to Nov. 2, with Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru participating. “Building trust between countries through food safety cooperation is an important foun

Facing a projected shortage of nearly 1 million care workers in the coming decades, South Korea plans to use robots and artificial intelligence monitoring systems to help fill gaps in care for its aging population, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday. Pilot programs will begin next year in more than 400 households in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and Mokpo and Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, alongside trials of AI welfare consultations in 10 regions. "AI is not meant to replace people

A Korean court called for a convicted killer to spend the rest of his life behind bars — but lacks the legal authority to exclude the possibility of parole. The Gwangju District Court on Wednesday sentenced Jang Yoon-gi, 23, to life imprisonment for killing a 16-year-old student after attempting to sexually assault her. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, which the victim’s family had also demanded. In explaining its decision, the court noted that Korea has not carried out an execution sin

Police took on broader investigative powers Friday as Korea’s new criminal justice system expanded their responsibility for both initial investigations and follow-up work previously handled by prosecutors. “Public expectations are high, but so are concerns, and our responsibility has become that much greater,” Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Ko Beom-seok told commanders and investigative department heads at a meeting Friday. Police activated an emergency response system for the tra

Twenty-five companies were interviewing job seekers at a Seoul job fair Thursday, but Jin Hong Yu first wanted to know which jobs were within her reach. “I'm here to find out what jobs are available for me as a foreigner,” said Jin, a Chinese national in her late 30s married to a Korean. “It's not easy to find one when my Korean isn't at a native level.” The Cheonhajeil Job Fair, hosted by the Yeongdeungpo-gu Office, brought together employers including Emart, McDonald’s Korea and Coupang Fulfil

The Global Business Forum, hosted by The Korea Herald and Herald Business, held an opening ceremony for its 10th edition in Seoul on Wednesday at the Ambassador Seoul — A Pullman Hotel. Launched in 2021, the biannual forum involves executive networking and lecture programs that bring together business leaders, experts and diplomats for sessions spanning business, technology, culture and global affairs. During the opening ceremony, Sejong City Mayor Cho Sang-ho introduced the city and its role as

The family of a teenage girl killed in Gwangju expressed anguish Wednesday after a court sentenced her killer to life imprisonment, rejecting their calls for the death penalty. “Today's ruling has killed our family once more,” a family member of victim Lee Chae-won told reporters after the sentence was handed down. The Gwangju District Court found Jang Yoon-gi, 23, guilty of all charges in the killing of Lee, 16, during an attempted sexual assault in May. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty

Jang Yoon-gi, 23, was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for killing a 16-year-old high school student in Gwangju. The Gwangju District Court found him guilty of all charges, including murder in connection with attempted rape under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes. The court also ordered 30 years of electronic monitoring and barred him from working at institutions serving children, adolescents and people with disabilities for 10 years. “The defendant is foun

Patients with rare or neglected cancers in Korea will face lower drug costs and gain greater access to treatment from Friday, as national health insurance coverage expands, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday. The expansion covers Retevmo for rare cancers caused by genetic alterations, Vyloy for unresectable advanced or metastatic stomach cancer, and a first-line combination of Padcev and Keytruda, two cancer drugs from different pharmaceutical companies, for urothelial cancer. The