In South Korea, some 700,000, or 1 in 10 of the elderly population, suffer from dementia, but this number will balloon to 2.7 million by 2050 amid the nation’s rapidly aging society, data from a ministry showed Monday. First lady Kim Jung-sook (right) participates in a program to support dementia patients. YonhapAccording to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, among South Koreans aged 65 or older, 725,000 are estimated to be suffering from dementia this year. The number will reach 1 million in 2

South Korea saw a 2.5 percent on-year drop in the number of students enrolled in kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools last year, government data showed Thursday. As of April, 6.46 million children are attending school, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Education.First-year students are jubilant at Myeongil Elementary School in Seoul`s Gangdong Ward on July 14, 2017, as this year`s summer vacation starts. (Yonhap)Middle school students reported the steepest decline of 5.2

Nearly 56 percent of North Korean defectors who participated in a recent South Korean survey said they thought Korean reunification was impossible while living in the North.  YonhapThe Seoul National University’s Institute for Peace and Unification Studies asked 132 defectors who fled to South Korea last year, and 55.7 percent of respondents said they were pessimistic about unification before coming to the South. It marked an increase by 11 percentage points compared to the previous year’s surve

Some 100 meters of walkway by the famous stonewall surrounding the palace Deoksugung in Seoul has been restored and was opened to public Wednesday.The section is part of the 170 meters of the 1.1-kilometer wall that has been occupied by the British Embassy for nearly 60 years. Some 70 meters of the walkway, which is the embassy’s legal property, will remain off-limits to pedestrians. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon made the first approach to the UK authority for cooperation in restoring and returning

A 57-year-old man has been arrested for theft after allegedly stealing bags of rice offered to Buddha at a temple in the southern coastal city of Busan, police said Wednesday. (Yonhap)According to police, the suspect, surnamed Lee, had stolen rice offerings from the temple on over 40 occasions since February. He stole a total of 200 kilograms of rice, worth 1 million won ($891). Lee reportedly said that he was not a Buddhist. (ddd@heraldcorp.com)

Dog meat is touted as a stamina-boosting dish by some in South Korea, but the first nationwide food safety inspection of the meat has revealed that it is not safe and clean: 64 percent of the dog meat being sold at markets was found to contain some kind of antibiotics, while most have potentially harmful bacteria and viruses. YonhapAccording to Konkuk University’s Institute for the 3Rs and the Korean Animal Welfare Association on Monday, which inspected dog meat from 93 vendors at 25 traditional

About 83 percent of airborne bacteria found in airborne pollutants like PM 2.5 in South Korea and China overlap, a study found Monday, suggesting that Korea’s fine dust particles may have originated from China. The findings were released by a team of researchers from Seoul National University‘s Graduate School of Public Health, and were from the analysis on bacterial DNA of fine dust concentrations in Seoul, Beijing and Nagasaki in Japan. South Korea is bordered by China to the west and Japan to

At least 983 people were caught taking of intrusive pictures of women's body parts, during the summer holiday season, police said Sunday. The Korean National Police Agency checked 415 public restrooms and changing rooms at beaches, 705 restrooms at subway stations and 2,070 changing rooms at waterparks in an intensive crackdown that ended on Aug. 20. YonhapRestrooms and changing rooms have long been easy targets for rigging cameras up on the ceiling and wall. The number of voyeurism crimes has j

Conscious consumers are driving trends behind the popularity of products linked to various social issues, such as floral-print phone cases and stationery items inspired by the drawings of former sex slaves during the World War II. Marymond“I first bought Marymond’s phone case because it was pretty. But by purchasing the product that is designed based on the former sex slaves’ paintings, I felt good to support victims through my consumption,” said 26-year-old Lee Chae-yoon. Marymond started six y

Seoul is probably more closely associated with stark concrete jungle than forests. However, the city is becoming greener as local governments turn to forests to battle pollution. Forests in urban areas work as filters for air pollutants and fine particles. According to the National Institute of Forest Science, a single tree can absorb 35.7 grams of fine dust particles in a year -- an amount that could fill an espresso cup. A coniferous tree can absorb up to 44 grams of air pollutants, and enviro

South Korea going 100 percent renewable by 2050 is not a sci-fi fiction, but will become reality, if only it stays committed, a global environmental leader said. Currently, renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, accounts for just 2 percent of the country’s electricity production, while coal-fired power plants generate about 40 percent and nuclear reactors 30 percent. The Moon Jae-in administration is making a strong push for renewables, aiming to raise its share to 20 percent by 2030, w

Police said Monday that they are chasing a suspected multi-ethnic group of thieves for taking a bag filled with cash amounting to 360 million won ($316,000) at Seoul Station earlier this month. The suspects, consisting of six men and women, allegedly ran away with the bag at a restaurant located in Seoul Station on Aug. 2 at around 4:20 p.m., police said. Surveillance camera footage suggests the group includes some Hispanic-looking individuals. According to Namdaemun Police Station, the black ba

The South Korean government on Thursday postponed its plan to conduct a comprehensive environmental survey of a US anti-missile system deployed in Seongju, due to strong resistance from local residents and adverse weather conditions. The ministries of defense and environment had planned to measure the level of electromagnetic radiation and noise from the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province. Two THAAD launchers and a radar are currently operational at

At least six people have died and over 2 million livestock were killed due to the heat wave sweeping South Korea this summer, the government said Tuesday. Electrics fans are in full motion inside a pig farm in the southern city of Ulsan on Tuesday, as a heat wave continues to engulf Korea. (Yonhap)According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 1,284 people have fallen ill due to heat-related illnesses as of Tuesday, while six have lost their lives.A woman in her 60

South Korea is moving to raise standards for airborne pollutants to international levels, as part of its ongoing efforts to fight air pollution. On the left is the Air Visual's air pollution ranking as of Tuesday 2:30 p.m. On the right shows Korea's air quality map at the same time.Currently, the country classifies air quality into four categories -- good, normal, bad and very bad -- based on a set of criteria, which includes daily average concentrations of PM 10 and PM 2.5. PM 2.5 are ultrafine

Traces of narcotics found in wastewater in Busan, a coastal city with several beaches that are very popular among South Koreans, show a notable increase during the peak summer vacation season, according to a study released Friday.  Pictured above is Haeundae Beach, the most famous beach in a southeastern coastal city of Busan, South Gyeongsang Province. (Yonhap)According to a team led by Oh Jeong-eun, a professor of environmental engineering at Pusan National University, at least seven kinds of

The number of people who have joined or applied to join the online cafe of a controversial nudist club in North Chungcheong Province has increased after a battle with local residents increased awareness of it. Screen capture of the official homepage of the resort used for the gatherings of a private naturists’ club in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province.A local media reported Thursday that at least 66 people joined the online cafe for the naturists’ club this week, with 12 more waiting to be acc

A powerful typhoon moving up from the waters south of Jeju Island, is expected to bring heavy rains and strong winds to southern parts of South Korea over the weekend, Korea’s weather agency said Thursday.  (Yonhap)Typhoon Noru, packing gusts of up to 176 kilometers per hour, is not projected to make landfall on the peninsula, instead heading east to Japan. As of Thursday, the typhoon was moving toward Seogwipo on Jeju Island from 730 kilometers east of Japan’s Okinawa Island, the Korea Meteorol

Seoul City announced Thursday that it will provide free nutritional supplements to some 1,000 elderly, underprivileged and homeless people every month. The city decided to expand the program in partnership with social enterprise Vitamin Angels, after a two-month pilot that ended in July. Starting this month and for over the next two years, nutritional supplements worth 100 million won ($88,700) will be given to residents living in shanty towns in old districts such as Dongja-dong in Yongsan-gu a

A nudist facility on private property in a rural village in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, faces a crackdown after villagers staged a protest calling for its permanent closure, sparking public controversy in South Korea’s traditionally conservative society.  On the main road leading to a nudist resort in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, graffiti written by villagers reads “Go away you nudists.” (Yonhap)Public nudity is illegal here, but naturists are free to gather in their birthday su