The nation was rattled by a random mass stabbing in a city south of Seoul on Thursday that left 14 injured, just two weeks after a fatal stabbing in a crowded area in Seoul that left one dead and three injured. Another stabbing case involving a man and his purported former teacher in Daejeon on Friday further raised alarm among the public. On the same day, police arrested a man carrying sharp objects in a shopping mall connected to the Express Bus Terminal in southern Seoul. Korea has seen a f

An elementary school teacher who died in an apparent suicide last month was found to had difficulties dealing with a student who showed problematic behavior since the beginning of the first semester, in addition to an excessive workload, according to the results of a government inquiry released on Friday. A student had scratched a classmate's forehead with a pencil in the late teacher's classroom on July 12, said the Education Ministry, which had announced a joint inquiry into the case

Koreans have relatively low life satisfaction, which is an essential determinant of health and well-being and even affects mortality, particularly among older people, data showed on Thursday. According to a study report titled “Difference of Associating Factors of Happiness Index among Korean Adults by Life Cycle Age Brackets” published in the journal of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the average happiness index of adults in Korea stood at 6.68 points out of

The head of South Korea's disease control agency said Wednesday that the government would take caution when deciding whether to downgrade the infectious disease classification of COVID-19 next week, noting an uptick in the number of infections in recent weeks. “We will carefully assess the timing of lowering COVID-19's classification to class 4 by studying domestic and foreign trends, quarantine operations and consulting with experts,” Jee Young-mee, commissioner of the Kor

Six days after two cats were confirmed to have been infected with avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, at an animal shelter in Seoul, an additional cat was confirmed to have contracted the virus at an animal shelter in another district of the city, the Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday. A cat at an animal shelter in Gwanak-gu died after showing respiratory symptoms and receiving treatment. An in-depth test found it was infected with a highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu strain, according

With the number of people suffering from heatstroke growing in South Korea, medical experts and health authorities warned of the consequences of the condition on Monday, saying that it could damage the brain and multiple organs if left untreated. Heat-related illnesses refer to several acute illnesses caused by the body's exposure to an excessively hot environment. They are caused by the body's inability to cool itself down. They can lead to a number of symptoms, including headaches, high fever,

North Korea retaliated to a human rights report released by South Korea’s Unification Ministry early this year with its own, criticizing human rights conditions in the South. Pyongyang Publishing Co., an organ of the North's ruling Workers' Party, published a book that roughly translates to "Barren Land of Human Rights" and is full of disparaging remarks on human rights conditions in South Korea, on July 21. “We will examine the human rights condition in South Kor

Korea has the second-lowest number of physicians among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, leading to some of the highest doctors' wages among surveyed member nations. Doctors in Korea earn the most among 28 member countries that provided related data. Following Korea, the highest earners are in the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and the UK. The US was among the countries for which data was not provided. Measured by PPP, which takes into account local living

Parents with twins and other multiple-birth babies could be given more subsidies, longer maternity leave and postpartum care support, the Korean government said Thursday in a new proposal. Under the Ministry of Health and Welfare‘s plan, the amount of vouchers given to mothers of multiple-birth babies that can be used to pay medical bills for pregnancy or maternity services would be increased to 1 million won ($790) per child, from the current total of 1.4 million won. This means if a moth

South Korean babies born in 2023 are expected to live 83.6 years, 3.3 years longer than the average life expectancy for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries, data showed Tuesday. The life expectancy of South Koreans born this year increased by 1.8 years from 10 years ago, and is one month longer than a year earlier, according to the OECD's Health Statistics 2023 report. The average life expectancy for OECD countries was 80.3. Of the OECD members, South

More than 21 million unused coronavirus vaccine doses have been discarded as of June in South Korea due to their expiration dates, data showed on Monday. Among the 212.8 million vaccine doses that have been introduced into Korea, the discarded doses account for 10.86 percent of Korea's total contracted COVID-19 vaccine purchases, according to data released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. As the Korean government has not disclosed the per-shot purchase price of COVID-19 v

A professor teaching animal welfare at a local community college was found to be allegedly operating the country's largest network of illegal dog auctions, according to an animal protection group Thursday. The Beagle Rescue Network posted a statement on their Instagram account Thursday, saying “We have been conducting closed investigations into illegal animal breeding grounds and dog auction houses that procure and distribute dogs.” “It has been revealed that Hong, a pr

A recent surge in reports of assaults on teachers and the suicide of an elementary school teacher have sparked a nationwide debate over teachers' rights and child discipline in South Korea. Some critics are blaming renowned child psychiatrist Oh Eun-young, whose popular television program, "My Golden Kids," promotes a "no punishment" approach to raising children. An anonymous individual posted a message Thursday on Blind, an anonymous online community, saying that "

South Korea's weekly new COVID-19 cases rose to over 180,000 through Wednesday, amid the summer holiday season, data showed Thursday. The country reported 186,953 new COVID-19 infections for the week of July 9-15, up 22.2 percent from the previous week, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. During this period, the average number of new COVID-19 cases per day was 26,708, up nearly 5,000 from the previous week. The average daily number of new cases per week has been rising fas

A company that sells supplements for children posted an advertisement on social media in which an illustrated Black character is asked whether she is from Africa, and then told to go back to her country. The advertisement was taken after public outcry over its racist overtones. The company recently posted an animated advertisement on Instagram to promote supplements that it advertises as effective in whitening skin for children. This supplement contains ingredients such as glutathione powder, al

South Korea’s human rights commission is calling for children with foreign nationality residing in Korea not to be discriminated against and instead be treated equally in preschool and kindergarten tuition subsidy programs. In early July, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea determined that the Ministry of Education excludes children of foreign nationality residing in Korea from preschool and kindergarten tuition subsidies, restricting their equal rights to education, survival a

Most regions of the country are expected to experience ongoing heavy rainfall through this Wednesday, primarily due to the influence of a stationary front and atmospheric pressure, the national weather service said Monday. Through Wednesday morning, heavy rain is forecast in several provinces, including North and South Chungcheong, North and South Jeolla, North and South Gyeongsang, and Jeju Island, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The regions are expected to receive 100 to

Heavy monsoon rain left at least 36 people dead and left nine others missing while forcing 7,866 people to be evacuated from their homes across South Korea, authorities said Sunday. President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a state visit to Eastern Europe, held a video conference on Sunday with the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to be briefed about the damage due to heavy rain and the nation's reponses to address the damage, according to Yoon’s office. “I resp

Unionized health care workers have begun a nationwide strike on Thursday despite the government sending a message of warning that it might consider taking actions against the protest, dismissing it as "merely political." The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) is demanding the Korean government to hire more medical personnel and improve their working conditions. However, the Health Ministry says it's hospitals, not the government who should negotiate with the work

South Korean government said Wednesday that it will track some 4,000 unregistered babies born to mothers of foreign nationality between 2015 and 2022, although it said it technically has no legal obligation to do so. “In order to expand the protection scope for ‘ghost babies,’ the government will begin its investigation to confirm the whereabouts of babies born to foreign mothers, too,” said First Vice Health Minister Lee Ki-il. Last month, the state audit agency said it