SEJONG -- Housing prices in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon have continued to spike in recent months, with mixed prospects on whether the surge could be tamed with government-led property regulations such as tighter mortgage rules. Real estate figures in the three areas act as a barometer for home prices nationwide. As of July, 50.3 percent of South Korea’s 51.67 million population were residing in the capital-centered metropolitan area. The average trading price of homes in Seoul

SEJONG -- South Korea’s economy underperformed in the second quarter of this year compared with those of major countries, recent GDP growth data showed. Korea posted 0.7 percent GDP growth in the second quarter of 2021, which placed the country 12th out of the 15 members -- including the US, Germany, France and Italy -- of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Though the OECD has yet to compile the corresponding figures for the other 22 of the total&n

SEJONG -- South Koreans were found to have worked longer by about 200 hours last year compared to the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In the Paris-based organization’s analysis of annual work hours logged by its 36 members, Korea ranked No. 3. Turkey was not included in the count. The OECD defined average annual hours worked as the total number of hours actually worked per year divided by the average number of people in employment per year. Each e

SEJONG -- US nationals have become the largest group of foreign visitors to South Korea by nationality, though they placed No. 4 in the tally in 2018 and 2019 and No. 3 in 2020. According to the Korea Immigration Service, the number of inbound travelers from the US reached 104,931 during the first half of 2021. US nationals overtook Chinese (formerly No. 1), Japanese and Taiwanese in the tally, while the situation is estimated to be affected by the pandemic. The number of inbound travelers fr

SEJONG -- South Korea continued to fall short of matching the average annual wage of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2020, though the nation’s minimum wage has been drastically hiked since 2018. The yearly wage for Korean employees posted $41,960 on average in 2020, compared to the OECD average of $49,165, according to calculations by the French-based organization. While the OECD average climbed from $48,935 posted in 2019, Korea’s figure retreated fr

The population of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province has increased by 69.3 percent over the past decade, far outpacing the 13.8 percent growth of the province overall. The city saw the demographic figure sharply climb from just over half a million in July 2011 to over 870,000 in July 2021. It has grown to be the fourth-largest city in Gyeonggi (the most populous region among the country’s 17 major cities and provinces), next to Suwon (the largest with 1.18 million), Goyang (1.08 million) and Yo

The rapid growth and innovations in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province is drawing attention to the city, and to its Mayor Seo Cheol-mo, who took office in July 2018. Born to a needy family in 1968, Seo spent his childhood in a tiny, underground single-room apartment with nine other family members including his parents. Though Seo had excellent academic scores, he had to give up on prominent private universities, and opted for the Republic of Korea Air Force Academy, which offered him full scholarshi

SEJONG -- The Pre-Summit of the United Nations Food Systems Summit was held in Rome from July 26-28, in preparation for the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, slated for this September in New York. The pre-summit was held to coordinate and elaborate on ideas discussed and raised over the past two years to transform food systems, said the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of Korea. Heads of state and ministers from more than 100 countries and executive directors of the UN agencies part

SEJONG -- South Korea’s population declined for the 20th consecutive month as deaths continuously outnumber births, government data shows. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the population fell 179,858 from 51.851 million in November 2019 (when the figure reached the record-high) to 51.671 million in July 2021. The downhill phase started in December 2019. The nation’s population posted the lowest since it stood at 51.664 million in September 2016. Seoul and Busan t

SEJONG -- South Korea’s employment rate has remained behind most members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, regardless of the pandemic situation. The percentage of people aged 15-64 who are in work has continued to stay under the OECD average since before COVID-19 hit the globe. And its lackluster ranking continued throughout 2020. While the average of 34 OECD members reached 66.8 percent in employment rate in the first quarter of 2021, the figure for Korea sto

SEJONG -- The pandemic was found to have dealt tougher blows to young workers, women and the self-employed in South Korea in terms of job security, a state agency data showed. According to the Korea Employment Information Service, the number of recipients of unemployment benefits among men in their 20s reached 41,814 last month. This marked a 98.6 percent surge from 21,051 in December 2019, a month before COVID-19 initially hit the nation. The situation was similar among women in their 20s: a

SEJONG -- The number of births was outpacing deaths by 100 percent in South Korea a decade ago, with their monthly tallies recording nearly 40,000 vs. 20,000 throughout 2011. The gap between the two sharply narrowed in the early 2010s in the wake of record-low fertility rates, under which the number of births was only higher -- by about 50 percent -- than that of deaths in 2016. A historic event occurred in January 2018, when deaths outnumbered births by 31,857 vs. 30,615. This marked the fir

SEJONG -- South Korean men in their 20s have the highest unemployment rate of all age and gender groups, government data shows. According to Statistics Korea, the nation’s unemployment rate was 3.8 percent as of June with the number of jobless posting 1.09 million. This is compared to 3.4 percent and 940,000 unemployed people in December 2019, or a month before COVID-19 initially hit Korea. Though the unemployment rate -- which showed a spike in the wake of the pandemic between 2020 and

SEJONG -- Gasoline prices in South Korea reached the highest level in 32 months amid a spike in international crude prices this year. According to the Korea National Oil Corp., gasoline prices climbed to 1,638.05 won ($1.41) per liter as of Wednesday, which marked the highest since Nov. 7, 2018 when it was 1,640.7 won. In a year, gas prices grew 20.3 percent compared to July 21, 2020. This is due to the fast bounce-back in international crude prices over the past few months after a plunge in

SEJONG -- South Korea recorded the highest growth in the percentage of workers in part-time positions among 34 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the past two years. In its analysis on the part-time workers by the Paris-based organization for its members, 15.37 percent of all employed Koreans aged 15 or over had part-time job status as of 2020. Compared to 2018, when the figure stood at 12.2 percent, this marked a surge of 3.17 percentage points in only tw

SEJONG -- The number of short-term foreign visitors to South Korea has fallen to its lowest in more than five years in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus, data from a state-run agency showed. This refers to foreign nationals, including ethnic Koreans, with permission to stay in Korea for no more than 90 days for sightseeing, business or other purposes. According to the Korea Immigration Service, the number of short-term visitors recorded 416,817 in May, as compared with 417,883 a month ea

SEJONG -- The debt held by refugees from North Korea is catching up with the average for South Korean households, data for last year shows. According to the Korea Hana Foundation and Statistics Korea, households that include at least one North Korean refugee saw their outstanding debt reach an all-time high of 72.06 million won ($62,660) on average in 2020, compared to 61.56 million won a year earlier. Compared to 2017, when the nation started compiling the relevant figures, their debts have

SEJONG -- Female Koreans are greatly contributing to the situation of the nation heading toward becoming a superaged society, as their average age and life span are far higher than those of men. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the number of women aged 70 or over here came to 3.38 million as of June. This age group made up 13 percent (more than 1 in 8 women) of the total female population of 25.9 million. This contrasted from the portion of men aged 70 or over of the total ma

SEJONG -- The hiring market for women has been relatively tough in South Korea, compared to Western countries. This could also be seen in global comparison data. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea posted a 56.7 percent employment rate for women in the working age population of 15-64 in 2020. Korea placed No. 30 among the 36 OECD members for the female employment rate. Of the total 37 members, last year’s figure for Mexico has yet to be compiled.

SEJONG -- South Korea’s demographic figures suggest that the government’s policies for a “balanced national development” via population distribution might be lacking effectiveness, at least so far. This can be seen from the continuous renewal of Gyeonggi Province’s record-high population. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the population of Gyeonggi surpassed 13.5 million in June for the first time in history. More than 1 in 4 Koreans were residing