In the 2025 season, South Korean soccer reached new heights as three national stars — Kim Min-jae, Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min — each lifted major trophies with their European clubs. Kim Min-jae anchored Bayern Munich’s defense en route to winning the 2024–25 Bundesliga, securing his first German league title. In doing so, he became the first Korean player to win top-flight championships in two of Europe’s Big Five leagues, having previously triumphed in Serie A with Napoli. Lee Kang-in enjoye

As the average price of a new book in South Korea approaches 20,000 won ($14.70), readers are increasingly feeling the financial burden, driving up demand for more affordable secondhand books. According to recent data from the Korean Publishers Association, the average price of newly released books in 2023 was 19,526 won, marking a 4.8 percent increase from 18,633 won the previous year. Book prices have been climbing steadily since 2020, when the average new book price stood at 16,420 won. Over

The number of registered drones in South Korea has increased sevenfold over the past five years, reflecting their growing role in daily life and industry. As of April, 67,902 drones were registered with authorities -- an increase of nearly 3,000 from 64,863 recorded at the end of last year, according to data from the Korea Transportation Safety Authority and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Drone registrations have risen dramatically in recent years, climbing from 2,226 in 201

The numbers of coffee shops, eateries and convenience stores in South Korea are on the wane amid a prolonged economic slowdown and sluggish domestic demand, data shows. According to data compiled by the National Tax Service, 95,337 coffeehouses were in service in the first quarter, down by 743 from the same period a year prior. In 2018, there were just 45,203 such cafes, before the figure jumped to 53,102 in 2019, 62,916 in 2020, 72,847 in 2021, 85,609 in 2022 and 93,913 in 2023. Fast food chain

Nearly half of the public selected Cheong Wa Dae (the former Blue House) as their top choice for the presidential office that the next administration should use. Support for the Government Complex Sejong and the current Yongsan presidential office both fell in the 20 percent range. According to a Media Tomato poll published in May, when asked, “Where do you think the next government should establish the presidential office?” 47.3 percent of respondents chose Cheong Wa Dae. This was followed by 2

Over one-third of all voters cited “capability and experience” as the most important factor when choosing a candidate to vote for in the presidential election, according to a recent survey. This was followed by “policies and pledges” at 27.8 percent, “morality” at 25.3 percent, “party affiliation” at 5.6 percent and “electability” at 4.7 percent. The survey was commissioned by the Local Korea Press Association and conducted by polling agency Ace Research. It was carried out nationwide from May 2

More than 15 million voters have cast ballots in early voting for the presidential election, according to the National Election Commission on Friday, with attention now turning to how the near-record turnout might affect Election Day voting on Tuesday. The final early-voting turnout was 34.74 percent, the second-highest figure since nationwide early voting was introduced in 2014, according to the NEC. This year's turnout is down 2.19 percentage points from the all-time high of 36.93 percent, rec

The most frequently cited reason for new hires leaving is a mismatch between job roles and employee expectations (58.9 percent), followed by low pay and an incompatible company culture, a survey has found. The survey was conducted by HR tech firm Incruit and based on responses from 446 human resources professionals. Over 80 percent of respondents said early resignations hurt morale and operations, citing wasted resources, heavier workloads, weaker team cohesion and rising turnover. The survey, f

The number of bank branches fell for the sixth year running in 2024 amid the popularity of mobile and online banking services, data showed. South Korean banks ran 5,792 branches at home and abroad combined as of end-December, down 57 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea. Banks have opted to shut down branches as part of cost-cutting measures as more customers prefer mobile and internet banking. The pace of branch closures appears to be accelerating this year.

South Korea ranked 20th out of 193 countries in the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Index, which evaluates the quality of life in each country. According to the UNDP’s 2025 Human Development Report, South Korea achieved an HDI score of 0.937 for 2023, up from 0.928 the previous year. Despite the increase, the country slipped one spot in the global ranking, from 19th to 20th. Iceland topped the list, followed by Norway, Switzerland and Denmark. Among neighboring countries,