KakaoTalk, South Korea’s ubiquitous mobile messenger app, has finally let users decline unwanted group chat invites from people outside of their friend list, a much-anticipated move for those who have experienced stress or discomfort over exiting group chats. However, if the inviter is on a user's KakaoTalk friends list, the user will be automatically added into the group chat. The new feature, which was added as part of a KakaoTalk system update last week to version 10.1.5, requires

A revised bill to exempt foreign domestic workers from the minimum wage law has been submitted, prompting some to quietly support the move and others to criticize it as discriminatory. South Korea’s current minimum wage is 9,620 won ($7.31) per hour, which translates into about 2.1 million won a month. Many Korean full-time domestic workers, of which the pool is not big, get paid close to 3 million won monthly. In places like Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates, live-in hel

In a small village called Bunyakiri in the eastern Congo’s rain forest, a community of Central African foragers learn to write their indigenous language with 가, 나, 다. The Chitembo Jeongeum Writing system, devised by four Korean linguists, is an adaptation of the Korean alphabet, Hangeul, to transcribe the sounds of the language spoken by this particular tribe of Twa hunter-gatherers, one of several groups of people known as Pygmies for their short stature. Chitembo is the language this gro

King Sejong the Great invented Hangeul in 1443 with the goal of increasing literacy among commoners who had few chances to learn the logographic hanja, or Chinese characters. Out of respect for the king's democratic intention and love for humanity, several projects were launched from the late 1990s onward to share the Korean alphabet with ethnic minorities in Asia, Africa and South America that did not have their own writing systems. Without a script, their languages were at the risk of disappea

Noryangjin Station, on Seoul Subway Lines No. 1 and 9, is best known as the home of the nation's largest fisheries wholesale market, a habitat for aspiring civil servants and the birthplace of "cup bap." What greeted this reporter upon stepping outside of the station was, however, a sprawling bright green soccer field set against the backdrop of Yeouido’s old landmark 63 Building and a few other high-rises. The soccer field, along with a baseball field and a running track, were b

Four Nigerian children were killed in a fire early Monday in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. The two girls aged 11 and 4, and boys aged 7 and 6 were siblings. The fire broke out around 3:28 a.m., and was put out at 4:16 a.m. by firefighters at the second floor of the three-story residential building in Seonbu-dong of Danwon-gu in the city just southwest of Seoul. Three more Nigerians including the parents of the deceased children, two Uzbeks and a Russian sustained injuries, and 37 people were evacuat

Police said on Tuesday they have filed for the arrest warrant of a male US national in his 70s who allegedly carried two bullets onboard a Korean Air flight on March 10. The charges are for violating aviation security law. The suspect's current whereabouts are unknown. Under the aviation security law, anyone who carries prohibited items onto an aircraft, or has another person do so, are subject to between two and five years in jail, or between 20 and 50 million won ($15,200 - $38,100) in

Last week, a home shopping channel host blurted out an expletive on air. Upon mounting complaints from viewers, the nation’s broadcast media watchdog demanded an explanation from the channel before it decides on disciplinary action. The wealthy villains of the Korean revenge drama “The Glory,” which became one of Netflix’s most-viewed shows of all time less than a week after its season 2 release, hurl the most offensive swearwords almost every time they speak. Upon hearin

Korean used to be a language spoken only on the Korean Peninsula and by nearly 10 million Koreans overseas. But in recent years, it has become one of the fastest-growing choices for foreign language learners around the world, thanks to the sweeping, universal appeal of Korean dramas, shows and pop music. Behind the rapid increase of learners are committed teachers with the passion to help earnest young people pursue their dreams despite various predicaments. Their pay depends on the country or t

A grandson of the late former President Chun Doo-hwan alleged that his family was living on illicit funds, has committed crimes and called his grandfather a “slaughterer,” in a shocking Instagram disclosure Tuesday. Chun Woo-won, the second son of the ex-president’s son, Jae-yong, uploaded video clips and posts on his Instagram account, in which he introduced himself as such and confessed the purported wrongdoings of his family. The posts included photos of his family, the in

Last month, a college student on an e-scooter fell after her neck got caught on a thin rope from a political banner that was tied to a post, at a crossroad at around 9 p.m. in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. The vocal music major suffered an abrasion on her neck. She said she didn’t see the rope as it was too dark. Anyone who has passed through an intersection in South Korea, especially in Seoul, would have noticed large political banners, as well as many other placards advertising various businesses

Honorific titles can be tricky in many cultures, but can be particularly baffling in South Korea -- where various factors like social status, age, work experience and even social prejudice can be factored in. This series delves into the myriad of ways people address each other in the Korean language. -- Ed. President Yoon Suk Yeol scrapped Korea’s traditional way of counting age, in which a person is considered one at birth, and grows a year older on the first day of the new year. The re

In the 2009 movie “Avatar,” set in the year 2154, the Earth’s natural resources have been depleted, so people explore another star system to mine a valuable mineral. But before going to outer space, mankind can rely on Antarctica, a well-preserved continent twice the size of Australia, and the vast Southern Ocean -- also called the Antarctic Ocean -- around it, rich in water, food and mineral resources. The kilometers-thick ice and snow covering the continent hold in store th

Imagine 2050. Two out of five people in South Korea will be aged 65 or above. You will see more older people on self-driving buses and trains, although they may look much younger than those of their age now. More young people will be engaged in businesses that serve the old, like health care, clubs and cruise ships. Yet, the government and media are tormented by the notion that there will be too few young people to support the old. In a country where so many social problems stem from cutthroat c

Over a thousand dead dogs were found on the grounds of a house in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, and police are investigating a man in his 60s on charges of violating animal protection law. The man said he collected abandoned dogs and starved them to death, but animal rights activists allege that he was paid by dog breeders to get rid of dogs who couldn’t get pregnant anymore or whose commercial value had dipped. A representative of animal rights group Care told cable news channel MBN that

In December last year, a sport utility vehicle driven by a 68-year-old woman suddenly raced about 600 meters forward for about 30 seconds before falling into an underpass in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. The driver’s 12-year-old grandson was killed, while the driver suffered severe injuries. Lee Sang-hoon, the driver’s son and the child’s father, filed an online petition with the National Assembly, attached to a revised bill written by a lawyer to make the carmaker responsible f

A staff of Korea Railroad is facing disciplinary action after looking up BTS member RM’s booking details and personal information such as his address and mobile phone number from the KORAIL system. RM responded to the news with an emoji of smiling eyes with a semicolon, denoting polite embarrassment. The railway operator said it conducted an internal inspection upon receiving a report that a worker in the IT department told a fellow employee that she or he had checked RM’s booking de

A 30-year-old incumbent local councilor began his alternative military service last week, portending a legal dispute over whether people should be allowed to hold public office while serving. Kim Min-seok, a councilor of Seoul’s Gangseo-gu, was elected to the office through the local elections on June 1 last year on the People Power Party’s ticket, with his mandatory military service still pending. All able-bodied men in South Korea are required to serve in the military for 18-22 mon

Kim Da-young, a contestant on the Netflix competition reality series “Physical 100,” said she was only verbally abusive to other students back in middle school, but did not physically hurt or extort things from anyone, denying any claims that she did. Kim posted an apology and denial on her Instagram on Friday following an accusation by a purported ex-schoolmate which went viral, saying that Kim extorted cash from her and her friends, and took them to a karaoke room and physically as

San Francisco-based OpenAI’s ChatGPT may not be having quite the impact in South Korea as it is the English-speaking world so far, but it certainly has a demographic here pondering its ramifications -- English teachers, learners and others in the English education business. YouTube is teeming with videos on how ChatGPT can write emails, correct sentences, figure out the different nuances of words, use idioms and explain grammar – all of which can help people improve their English wit