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

　Final voter turnout for the 20th presidential election is estimated to be at 77.1 percent. 　Of the nearly 44.2 million eligible voters, more than 34 million had cast their ballots. 　The figure is 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous election in 2017, which had the highest turnout since 1997, being held after former President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment. 　By region, Gwangju had the highest turnout, with 81.5 percent, while Jeju had the lowest at 72.6 percent. Seoul’s turn

　More than 1 in 3 people in South Korea said competence and personality are what they look for in a presidential candidate, according to a survey from local pollster Realmeter, which asked people about the qualities they look for in a presidential candidate. 　The survey, which was conducted on Friday and Saturday last week, also showed that around 25.1 percent of people vote based on the candidate’s policy position and election pledges.  　Those people who answered that they look fo

　Political donations to lawmakers last year declined 24.3 percent from a year earlier, data from the state’s election watchdog showed.  　Financial contributions to lawmakers reached 40.7 billion won ($33.8 million) last year, down from 53.8 billion won in 2020, when the April 15 parliamentary elections were held, according to the National Election Commission. 　Lawmakers on average received 135.2 million won in donations last year, down from 179.4 million won in 2020.  　By par

　Instant noodles captured the top spot in production among food products in South Korea in 2020 on a surge in exports amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　The output of instant noodles, or “ramyeon” in Korean, stood at 1.93 million metric tons in 2020, up a whopping 231 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. 　Ramyeon’s ranking in terms of production was up 12 notches from the previous year. 　Carbonated drinks ra

  The proportion of apartments bought by people in their 30s or younger reached an all-time high last year amid “panic buying” over soaring housing prices, data showed. The buyers in this age group accounted for 31 percent of the country’s total apartment sales in 2021, up from 29.2 percent in 2020, according to the data compiled by the Korea Real Estate Board. The agency began compiling the related data in 2019, and the figure for that year came to 28.3 percent. In Seo

  The local performing arts scene saw its revenue soar nearly 80 percent in 2021 from a year earlier, thanks to eased social distancing rules and a rising vaccination rate, data showed. The combined revenue of 12,000 theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances reached 307.1 billion won ($258.1 million) last year, according to the data by the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System. The 2021 amount marked a 78.4 percent on-year surge from 172.1 billion

China's birth rate plummeted to a record low last year, official data showed, as analysts warn that faster-than-expected aging could deepen economic growth concerns. Beijing has been grappling with a looming demographic crisis as it faces a rapidly aging workforce, slowing economy and the country's weakest population growth in decades. The birth rate of the world’s second-biggest economy slipped to 7.52 births per 1,000 people, according to National Bureau of Statistics data, down from

　South Korea’s filmmaking industry contracted for a second straight year in 2021 due mainly to the yearslong COVID-19 pandemic, government data showed. 　The aggregated revenue of the local film market, which includes domestic sales of movie tickets, online releases and exports, reached 1.02 trillion won ($855 million) last year, according to data from the Korean Film Council. 　It is a slight on-year decrease from the previous year’s 1.05 trillion won but marks  plunge from 2.

　The proportion of US adults identifying as LGBT has increased to a high of 7.1 percent, double the figure from 2012 when Gallup first started measuring it, reflecting a generational shift, the polling firm said. 　Gallup asks Americans whether they personally identified as straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual, as part of the demographic information it collects on all its phone surveys. 　Respondents can also volunteer any other orientation or gende

　South Korea’s online food market jumped more than 35 percent to touch an all-time high in 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　The value of online food transactions in Asia’s fourth-largest economy stood at 58.5 trillion won ($48.8 billion) last year, up 35.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea and industry sources. 　The tally covers online transactions of food, groceries, farm produce, meat and fisheries goods, as well as food de

　One out of 4 South Korean students think that unification with North Korea is unnecessary, a survey showed.  　In the online survey of 72,524 elementary, middle and high school students conducted by the education ministry and the Unification Ministry from Nov. 1 to Dec. 10, 61.2 percent replied that unification is necessary, while 25 percent said it is not needed.  　The rate of students against unification increased for the third consecutive year from 19.4 percent in 2019 and 24.2 p

　Six out of 10 South Koreans are positive about the relaxation of COVID-19 curbs on businesses, a poll showed.  　In the survey by the Korea Society Opinion Institute, 62.1 percent said the government should enhance the protection of severely ill patients and those with underlying conditions while easing the curfew on restaurants, cafes and other businesses.  　But 32.6 percent said restrictions on business hours should be maintained firmly until infections are back on the decline. 　

　If a terrorist attack occurs in the Gwanghwamun Square area in central Seoul, Gwanghwamun Station on Subway Line 5 is most likely to become the primary target, a study warned, calling for comprehensive counterterrorism preparedness in accordance with the capital's rising international recognition. 　The study authored by professor Cho Youn-oh of Dongkuk University and her undergraduate students issued such a warning after assessing the risk of terrorism in 16 zones of the central Seoul square.

　South Korea is predicted to see its working age population shrink by a whopping 3.2 million during the 2020-2030 period, amid the country’s graying demographics, a government labor report showed.  　The estimate of people aged 15-64 would represent a turnaround from a growth of 1.17 million between 2010 and 2020 and 2.66 million during the previous decade, the Labor Ministry said in a report illustrating the seriousness of the country’s low birthrate and fast-aging population.

　North Korea retreated four notches in an annual international corruption ranking to 174th among 180 countries last year, a report by an anti-corruption watchdog showed.  　The reclusive country scored 16 out of 100 in the Corruption Perceptions Index report issued by Berlin-based Transparency International, down two points from the previous year. 　The index evaluates countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be, using data collected “by a variety of reputab

　The 2022 Beijing Olympics ended Sunday evening despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 　South Korea finished with two gold medals and three silver medals in short track speedskating despite hurdles and added two silver and two bronze in other speedskating events. The country achieved its stated goal, as the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee previously predicted a medal target of two Olympic gold medals and to finish around the top 15 in the medal race. 　South Korea grabbed its very first

　The South Korean market of instant meals jumped more than 145 percent in 2020 from four years earlier on the increased number of convenience stores and the coronavirus pandemic, data showed. 　Shipments of ready-to-eat items, known as home meal replacement products in South Korea, came to 2.01 trillion won ($1.7 billion) in 2020, up a whopping 145.3 percent from 2016, according to the data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Co

　Drug smuggling caught by South Korea‘s customs agency hit a record high last year as trafficking via non-contact delivery means shot up amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed. 　The Korea Customs Service said it confiscated a total of 1,272 kilograms of drugs in 2021, up 757 percent from the previous year. 　Drug smuggling via international mail and cargo sharply increased as drug delivery by international travelers declined due to the pandemic, according to the customs agency. 　The co

　The number of elementary and secondary school students in South Korea is expected to drop below 5 million for the first time in 2026, the government said, citing an ongoing decline of the school-age population. 　According to the Ministry of Education, the number of elementary, middle and high school students is expected to decrease each year, falling from 5.28 million this year to 5.21 million in 2023, 5.14 million in 2024 and 5.04 million in 2025. 　In 2026, when students born in 2007 - whic