First lady Kim Keon-hee is once again drawing fire from the opposition bloc this time over her activities in Cambodia, where she accompanied President Yoon Suk-yeol for the ASEAN meeting. During her trip, she declined to attend a cultural event arranged by the Cambodian government for the spouses of attending state leaders. Instead, she visited a young heart patient at a hospital as well as at the patient’s home. Her actions were made public through a series of photographs, which oppositio

Suneung, the college entrance examination that is held once a year, is now just a week away. Across the country, people of all ages pay attention to the exam that takes place simultaneously everywhere here on the third Thursday of each November, as society puts great importance on college admission. Students go all out to achieve their best score on the test in belief that a good score could change their lives. Their families and friends bustle to help, pray and buy sweets for the students in th

Lawmakers at the National Assembly proposed revising a domestic violence law to allow the punishment of stalking crimes committed by family members. Independent Rep. Yang Jeong-sook and other 10 lawmakers on Thursday purposed a revision to the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Crimes of Domestic Violence to extend the scope of punishing stalking crimes, Yang’s office announced Monday. The current domestic violence law has only regulated limited scope of stalking crimes, suc

Former President Moon Jae-in has notified the South Korean government of his intent to return the dogs that were gifted to him by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un back to the state. Moon on Saturday relayed his decision to the Ministry of Interior and Safety that he wishes to return a pair of dogs and their puppy that he was taking care of since May, according to local reports on Monday. Of the three dogs, a pair, Gomi and Songang, were given to the former president by the North Korean leader dur

One of the 26 foreign victims of Saturday night’s Itaewon tragedy has been identified as the niece of a US politician -- Rep. Brad Wenstrup. Twenty-year-old Anne Marie Geiske is one of the two American victims of the deadly disaster, according to the office for the representative of Ohio’s 2nd congressional district on Monday. “Monica and I, and our entire family, are grieving the loss of our niece Anne Marie Gieske. She was a gift from God to our family. We loved her so much,&

In shock and grief, South Koreans are mourning the losses of innocent young lives at Saturday night’s deadly crowd surge in Itaewon. At least 154 people -- most of them in their 20s -- died in the country’s worst disaster in years. The narrow alleyway where the fatal stampede took place is still blocked for police investigation. But not far from the disaster site, flowers, messages and beverages have been laid out on the ground in memory of the deceased. Mourning altars have been set

Thirteen-year-old "painting prodigy" Kim Ha-min received a scholarship from ArtTechTree and Connect Art, the operators of the contemporary art exhibition “Midnightluv,” at Andtree Gallery in southern Seoul on Thursday. Kim received a 2 million won ($1,410) scholarship, which came from the profits from the exhibition, where 63 pieces of works by four artists are on display. “ArtTechTree and Connect Art joined hands with The Korea Herald to support young art talents. On

Following a three-year hiatus, the night skies of Busan are to dazzle again, with the Busan International Fireworks Festival on Nov. 5. In its 17th edition, the annual fireworks festival will be held at Gwangalli Beach, Dongbaekseom and Igidae Coastal Park. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was not held in 2020 and 2021. This year's festival will be held under the theme of "Harmony of Busan." The southern port city's government said it aims to illustrate its features

A new immigration center is set to open in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, on Oct. 31, which will provide immigration services to foreigners living in Andong and six cities nearby. The new center, operated by the Daegu Immigration Office, will be located on the Andong National University campus. The center will offer general immigration services, including foreigner registrations and extensions or changes to visa status, according to the Daegu Immigration Office on Monday. It will service for

Korean traditional dance is something that comes out “naturally” in the everyday life of Koreans, says Park So-young, a 28-year-old dancer of the National Dance Company of Korea. Park specializes in Korean dance at the national dance troupe, performing works inspired by traditional dances. She focuses on displaying the features of Korea’s traditional emotions and lifestyle into dance while seeking ways to share the tradition with contemporary audience. The young professional da

Autumn has arrived across Korea in the middle of October, showing various views full of colors. From the southern resort island of Jeju to Chilbosan mountain in northeastern North Korea, autumn scenery of ripened fruits, autumn flowers, fall foliage, early frost and silver grasses are found in each part of the peninsula. Here are some photos of the mid-October scenes taken in mountains and parks across Korea.

With its 600 years of history as Korea’s capital, the center of Seoul embraces the essence of Korean culture. Especially near Gyeongbokgung, the main palace of the Joseon dynasty (1391-1910), neighborhoods have been making efforts to show their identity as the historic center of Korea. One of the efforts has been increasing the number of signboards in Hangeul. As most major brands in South Korea write their names in English, visitors to Seoul's boulevards might find more Romanized sig

The National Institute of Korean Language’s use of slang words on its recent social media post has stirred controversy, questioning whether it is right for the state-run language regulator to use a distorted version of the language. To mark the upcoming Hangeul Day on Sunday, the institute had posted an image to announce its special event on its Twitter account last month. In the posted image, it asked the followers what their views are on using the so-called “Yaminjeongeum.”

Seoul Metropolitan Government has started providing foreign language services on its personal safety app, Ansimi, in an effort to ensure the well-being of foreign residents and visitors to the city. The service, which was previously only available in Korean, will now offer service in three additional languages -- English, Chinese and Japanese -- starting Saturday. This comes as the number of foreign residents in Seoul grew by 31 percent over a decade, while crimes against foreigners have seen

As leaves start to change color, the Korea Forest Service released a map this week showing when fall foliage will peak across major mountains and arboretums in South Korea. If you are planning a trip to spot autumn leaves, late October will generally offer the most beautiful views of mountains, according to the forest authority, with the average peak date at Oct. 26. The average peak date is calculated when the leaves of more than fifty percent of three tree types -- Korean maple, ginkgo and Mon

Some 150 Iranians and Koreans took to the streets on Sunday, in solidarity with the widespread protests in Iran sparked by the death of a young Kurdish woman while in Iranian police custody. The protesters gathered at Teheran Street in southern Seoul, a road that was named after the Iranian capital to celebrate the two countries’ friendship. Participants chanted the name of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died in the custody of Iran's "morality police" for all

It was somewhat natural for Gi Yoo-jeong, a 30-year-old gayageum player, to turn to the Korean traditional twelve-string instrument. "My mom was a gayageum player, and I grew up listening to her playing it at home all the time. And naturally, I became one too,” she said. “My mom didn’t say a word about my career. It was solely at my will to play gayageum,” said Gi, as she played the instrument at her home. When she began to play gayageum, her first child Ji-an sat be

The South Korean government has started receiving application from foreign workers who hope to work here on a nonprofessional employment visa. From Sept. 19-29, workers are able to apply for a nonprofessional employment E-9 visa via the Employment Permit System, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. This is in line with the ministry’s decision on Aug. 31 to raise the total quota of E-9 visas by 10,000 this year, from 59,000 to 69,000. The job additions were made in an attempt

RM, leader of K-pop boy band BTS, donated 100 million won ($71,700) for the second year in a row to preserve and restore Korean cultural heritage overseas, the Cultural Heritage Administration and Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation announced Thursday. The K-pop superstar, whose real name is Kim Nam-joon, recently made the donation to the OKCHF, asking that the money be used to promote the beauty of Korean paintings throughout the world, the foundation said. Last September, the singer a

A job fair for international students will take place next month in Seoul, providing opportunities for jobseekers to meet with recruiters from various companies. "2022 Job Fair for International Students," organized by KOTRA and the Education and Trade Ministries, will be held on Oct. 21-22 at Coex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. Around one hundred companies, including South Korean beauty giant Amorepacific, will participate in the annual event, hoping to employ foreign students. Consul