South Korea’s expenditure on processed food consumption grew approximately 18 percent during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, a public institution survey analysis showed. 　According to the state-run Rural Development Administration, the country’s estimated spending on processed foods totaled 47.1 trillion won ($33.7 billion) last year, up 18.4 percent from 39.8 trillion won in 2019. 　The estimates were compiled through analysis of the RDA's household annual spending surveys c

　Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne in 1952, but her formal coronation took place on June 2, 1953, making her the longest serving among Europe’s current monarchs.

　The number of startups in South Korea fell nearly 5 percent in the first half of the year due mainly to a plunge in new real estate businesses, government data showed. 　A total of 696,000 new companies were set up in the country in the January-June period, down 4.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups. 　The number of newly established real estate companies sank 18.9 percent on-year, with that of hospitality bu

　“Snowdrop,” a romance drama TV series starring Jung Hae-in and Jisoo of Blackpink, has been the most talked about K-drama in the world across the social media platform Twitter so far in 2022, the company said. 　According to Twitter, “Snowdrop,” which aired on JTBC from December of last year to Jan. 30, was the most tweeted K-drama show from Jan. 1 to Aug. 18, followed by tvN‘s “Twenty Five Twenty One” and “Business Proposal” of SBS at seco

　South Korea’s total fertility rate hit a record low last year as the number of childbirths continued to fall, data showed, underscoring the country’s gloomy demographic situation. 　The country’s birthrate - the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime - came to 0.81 child in 2021, down from 0.84 the previous year, according to data from Statistics Korea. 　It was the lowest since the statistics agency began compiling related data in 1970. Last year also marke

　South Korea was ranked ninth among countries with trade surpluses with the United States in the first half of the year, as Asia‘s fourth-largest economy recorded strong on-year growth in shipments to the US during the period, US government data showed. 　According to the Department of Commerce, South Korea’s trade surplus with the US during the January-June period amounted to $21.67 billion, up 86.9 percent from a year ago. 　The trade surplus grew as South Korean shipments to the

 Following the return to in-person classes, violence in schools has increased this year, a government survey showed.  In the survey by the Education Ministry, 1.7 percent of students said they suffered violence in schools in 2022, up 0.6 percentage point from last year, when most schools shifted classes online due to COVID-19. The number is 0.1 percentage point higher than in 2019, before the pandemic.  About 3.21 million students, or 82.9 percent of the total, from fourth grad

　Monthly sales of K-pop albums surpassed a combined 10 million for the first time in July thanks to the continued expansion of the global fandoms of idol groups, a market tracker said. 　According to Kim Jin-woo, head researcher of Circle Chart, which reports accumulated sales and streams, combined sales of the nation’s top 400 physical albums reached 10,827,324 copies in July, a 40.2 percent jump from the previous month. 　It marked the first time that monthly sales have topped 10 millio

　South Korea’s rice paddy area inched down 0.7 percent in 2022 from last year, as farmers opted to grow other crops due to falling prices of the staple grain, data showed. 　The country’s rice cultivation area came to 727,158 hectares - slightly more than half the size of the US state of Connecticut - this year, compared to 732,477 hectares a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. 　The government has been prodding farmers to convert their rice paddies int

　Global TV sales fell more than 6 percent from a year prior in the first half of this year on slow demand and macroeconomic woes, research showed, as Samsung Electronics remained the top player in the TV segment. 　Across the globe, 92.6 million TVs were sold, down 6.6 percent from a year earlier. By value, the decrease was sharper at 12.5 percent, according to industry tracker Omdia. 　Consumer electronics companies have been struggling to combat lackluster demand after two years of a pandemic

　Marijuana use by young Americans reached record levels last year, and the use of hallucinogens is also on the rise, according to a new study. 　Forty-three percent of 5,000 young adults between 19 and 30 years old surveyed reported marijuana use within the past year in 2021, up from 34 percent in 2016 and 29 percent in 2011, the Monitoring the Future study by the University of Michigan found. 　Twenty-nine percent reported using marijuana in the past month in 2021, up from 21 percent in 2016 a

　About two-thirds of South Koreans are opposed to a proposed bill that would ban the recording of phone calls without consent, on the belief that such recordings can be used to protect themselves or for public good, such as whistleblowing, a survey showed. 　A group of ruling People Power Party lawmakers, led by Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, has proposed the bill to ban recording phone calls without the consent of all parties to the conversation. 　Those who breach the law would face up to 10 years in p

　Nearly 9 out of every 10 South Koreans hold a favorable view of the United States, the second-highest rating among 17 countries surveyed, a poll showed. 　In the poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 89 percent of Koreans surveyed said they hold a favorable view toward the US, the second-highest rating after Poland with 91 percent. 　The survey showed more than 80 percent of South Koreans think the US is a reliable partner. 　South Koreans also showed a high level of confidence in US Pres

　Foldable smartphone shipments are expected to hit 16 million units this year, growing 73 percent from 9 million units last year, according to industry tracker Counterpoint Research. 　South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics continued to lead the foldable category it created with the first Galaxy Fold device. China’s Huawei and Oppo came in a distant second and third. 　Samsung’s share of the foldable market was 62 percent in the first half of this year which is expected to jump

　South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group said it ranked third in first-half global vehicle sales on the strength of high-end model sales, despite difficulties in the global supply of automotive chips. 　Hyundai Motor, its independent Genesis brand and Hyundai’s smaller affiliate Kia sold a combined 3.299 million vehicles in global markets in the January-June period, trailing only Toyota Motor’s 5.138 million units and Volkswagen’s 4.006 million units, according to their sales

　After half a year of war in Ukraine, a slim majority of Americans agree that the United States should continue to support Kyiv until Russia withdraws all its forces, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. 　The polling suggests continued support for US President Joe Biden‘s policy of backing Ukraine, despite economic worries and domestic political developments grabbing Americans’ attention in recent months. 　Out of 1,005 people in the United States who took part in an online p

　South Korea’s contraband trade shot up 60 percent in the first half of the year on a spike in tariff evasion and country-of-origin violations, the customs agency said. 　The Korea Customs Service said it detected and confiscated about 3 trillion won ($2.3 billion) worth of illegal goods and unlawful transactions in the January-June period, compared with 1.9 trillion won a year earlier. 　Yet the number of contraband cases sank 28 percent on-year to 849 in the six-month period. 　The KCS

　Massachusetts has been named the best state to live in the United States in a recent survey. 　WalletHub, a Washington-based personal finance website, has ranked the 50 states’ “livability” according to their affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life and safety in 2022. 　Massachusetts topped the list garnering 62.65 points out of 100. The state ranked first in “education and health,” fourth in “safety” and sixth in “quality o

　Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean forward Son Heung-min was included on the list of 30 finalists for the 2022 Ballon d’Or. 　Son was named on France Football’s annual list for the second time after his nomination in 2019. Before Son, Korea’s Seol Ki-hyeon, who played in the Belgian soccer league and Park Ji-sung, a former Manchester United midfielder, made the list in 2002 and 2005, respectively. 　Paris Saint Germain’s Lionel Messi scored only six goals in the 202

　South Korea’s exports of instant noodles hit a fresh all-time high in the first half of the year amid the increasing popularity of Korean pop culture and a rise in demand for home-cooked food, data showed. 　Exports of instant noodles, or “ramyeon” in Korean, came to $383.4 million in the January-June period, according to data from the food industry and the Korea Customs Service.  　The figure was up 19.9 percent from the same period a year earlier when ramyeon exports r