South Koreans consumed the most luxury goods in the world last year, according to a report. Morgan Stanley estimated that total spending on luxury goods by Koreans on-year grew around 24 percent to $16.8 billion, or $325 per capita, which is much more than the $55 and $280 on luxury goods spent per capita by Chinese and Americans, respectively. Moncler said sales in Korea more than doubled in the second quarter of last year compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. Cartier owner Richemont Group

Seven out of 10 South Koreans see the need for Seoul to independently pursue its own nuclear weapons development program, a survey showed, amid concerns over escalating military threats from Pyongyang and a lack of trust in denuclearization negotiations with North Korea. According to a Gallup Korea poll of 1,000 adults, commissioned by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, 76.6 percent replied that the South needs to develop nuclear weapons independently to counter Pyongyang’s intensify

About 1 in 20 young people in Seoul live in isolation or seclusion from society due mainly to difficulties in finding a job or mental problems, a survey by the city government showed. An estimated 4.5 percent, or about 129,000, of Seoul residents aged between 19-39 were surveyed to be in social isolation or seclusion, the city government said following a survey conducted last year on 5,513 Seoul citizens in the age group. The corresponding number for the entire country may reach 610,000 if the s

Global semiconductor revenue grew only around 1 percent on-year last year, a recent report showed, with the memory chip sector suffering the most. According to tech research firm Gartner, worldwide chip revenue is estimated to have risen 1.1 percent to $601.7 billion in 2022, a significant drop from a 26.3 percent annual growth seen the previous year. While 2022 got off to a relatively good start due to lingering chip shortages, Gartner said “by the second half of 2022, the global economy

South Korea’s air traffic rose 16 percent in 2022 from a year earlier on unleashed pent-up demand for travel amid eased COVID-19 virus curbs, the Transport Ministry said. Airlines, domestic and foreign, made a total of 539,788 flights over South Korea last year, up from 465,469 flights a year ago, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. The ministry said the 2022 number of flights still stood at 65 percent of the pre-pandemic levels. Air traffic in the count

An estimated 5 million children under the age of 5 died in 2021, the United Nations said, urging health care investment in underserved communities around the globe to avoid this “immense, intolerable and mostly preventable loss of life.” Some 2.3 million deaths in 2021 occurred in the children’s first month, mostly due to being premature or from complications related to childbirth. After a child’s first month, infectious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria

The combination of an inexpensive cost of living, beautiful scenery and traveler-friendly visa options make Portugal the best country to move to in 2023. International Living's Annual Global Retirement Index lists the 10 countries that are the best retirement destinations for the year, but they are not just for retirees. As remote work becomes more common and people seek a simpler way of life, the countries on the list may be appealing to younger generations as well. In 2022, Portugal was r

On the occasion of the Lunar New Year holiday, or Seollal in Korean, many people travel across the nation to reunite with family in their hometowns or pay respects to their ancestors. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, an average of 5.3 million people nationwide are expected to travel per day during the upcoming holiday. Between Friday and Tuesday, the ministry will implement special measures to ensure safe and convenient holiday travel, such as expressway toll exem

South Korea’s imports of coffee soared nearly 45.1 percent in the first 11 months of 2022 from a year earlier. The value of the country’s coffee imports came to $1.19 billion in the January-November period, up 45.1 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. It marks the first time that South Korea’s yearly coffee imports have exceeded $1 billion. Last year’s amount was up 16.7-fold from 20 years earlier. With coffee consumption s

Last year was the 9th warmest year on record in South Korea, data showed. The Korea Meteorological Administration said the average temperature throughout 2022 was 12.9 degrees Celsius, 0.4 C higher than the average of 12.5 C during the baseline period from 1991 to 2020. It was also the ninth-highest temperature since the country began nationwide weather monitoring in 1973. Adding to evidence that the planet is heating up, all but two of the country’s 10 warmest years have occurred this cen

Canada’s Western Hudson Bay polar bear population has fallen 27 percent in just five years, according to a government report, suggesting climate change is impacting the animals. Every fall, bears living along the western edge of Hudson Bay pass through the sub-Arctic tourist town of Churchill, Manitoba, as they return to the sea ice. This has made the population not only the best studied group in the world, but also the most famous, with the local bear-viewing economy valued at $5.3 millio

South Korea’s exports of cultural content hit an all-time high of $12.4 billion in 2021, boosted by the global boom of Korean pop culture, a government report showed. According to a 2021 research study on the cultural content industry released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the industry’s exports increased 4.4 percent to $12.45 billion in 2021 from $11.92 billion in 2020. The content industry is an umbrella term for organizations that produce copyrighted works availa

The traditional Korean mask dance, or “talchum” in Korean, was inscribed onto a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list on Nov. 30. UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage decided to put “Talchum, Mask Dance Drama in the Republic of Korea” on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during its 17th session in Rabat, Morocco. Talchum is a performing art that encompasses dance, music

Seoul has more than 310 English-language kindergartens known for their high cost, about twice as much as annual college tuition, a civic group said. The number of English-language kindergartens in the capital totaled 311 as of the end of last year, an increase of 17 from the previous year, according to the group named World Without Private Education Worries. Two southern Seoul wards of Gangnam and Seocho accounted for 86 of the total, with 54 located in adjacent Gangdong and Songpa wards. The av

Iran’s protest crackdown has helped push the number of journalists imprisoned worldwide to a record high of 533 in 2022, according to a report by Reporters Without Borders. The figure is up from 488 in 2021, already a record, according to the France-based NGO. More than half are detained in just five countries: China, which remains “the world’s biggest jailer of journalists” with 110, followed by Myanmar (62), Iran (47), Vietnam (39) and Belarus (31). Iran is the only cou

The South Korean art market surpassed 1 trillion won ($782 million) in total sales for the first time in 2022 on strong sales of artworks through galleries and art fairs, the Culture Ministry said. The trade volume of artworks increased 37.2 percent from 756.3 billion won in 2021 to 1.037 trillion won in 2022 despite the global economic woes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said. By sector, art fairs experienced the largest growth of 59.8 percent from

More than 70 percent of South Koreans use online streaming services last year amid the protracted pandemic, a government survey showed. According to the annual poll conducted by the Korea Communications Commission, 72 percent of 6,708 respondents said they are using at least one over-the-top media service in 2022, up slightly from 69.5 percent last year. Among them, 95.7 percent said they use the service once or more per week, while 60.7 percent said they watch content five days a week on the pl

South Korea’s imports of party supplies, such as decorations and balloons, hit a record-high through November this year, customs data showed, as the country has lifted social-distancing rules. The combined imports of party supplies over the January-November period came to $64 million, up 31.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. The amount far exceeds $56 million tallied for all of 2021. The growth came as people hosted various parties,

Nearly eight out of 10 South Koreans believe social media leads to more political division, with nearly as many people saying social media makes it easier for people to manipulate others, a survey showed. However, more than 60 percent of those surveyed said social media is still a good thing for the country’s democracy, according to the survey conducted by Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington. In South Korea, 77 percent of those surveyed said social media leads

Over 3,300 people died “lonely deaths” in South Korea last year, a report has found. Lonely death refers to a phenomenon of people with no relatives dying alone and remaining undiscovered for a long period of time. It’s also called solitary or unattended death. According to the report released by the Welfare Ministry, there were 3,378 lonely deaths nationwide in 2021, up from 3,279 in 2020, 2,949 in 2019. The number of lonely deaths has grown at an average annual rate of 8.8 pe