SouthKorea

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  South Korea's 5G service users increase by about 600 percent since 2019 SEOUL -- The number of South Korea's 5G mobile communication service users increased by about 600 percent compared to some 4.6 million users in 2019. 5G networks that offer up to 100 times faster data transfer speed than 4G networks were commercialized in the country in early 2019. South Korea's 5G mobile communication service was first introduced in April 2019. The number of users increased to some 11.8 million in 2020 and 20.9 million in 2021. Since the latest generation 2023-02-06
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  KT's AI certificate 'AICE' to be adopted in Seoul's vocational schools' curriculum SEOUL -- To nurture artificial intelligence experts, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will adopt AI Certificate for Everyone (AICE), an artificial intelligence-related certificate program created by South Korea's major telecom company KT, at 10 vocational high schools. Students who completed the program can receive benefits when applying to several companies including KT. AICE, which has five different levels from beginner to professional, evaluates the ability to uti 2023-02-06
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  Seoul to deploy portable defibrillators to 175 convenience stores located in populated areas SEOUL -- To help people take action while waiting for rescuers to arrive in emergency situations such as cardiac arrest, Seoul will distribute automated external defibrillators to some 175 convenience stores located in areas with a lot of moving population. Store workers will be given special lessons so that they can skillfully operate the life-saving devices under emotional pressure. An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable device that automatically analyzes the lif 2023-02-02
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  S. Korea-Philippines economic forum holds first meeting to discuss economic effect of carbon neutrality SEOUL -- The forum for the energy development cooperation of South Korea and the Philippines held its first regular committee meeting and discussed the economic effect of carbon neutrality supported by nuclear power plant-friendly policies. The forum was established in September 2022, but meetings were postponed due to a coronavirus pandemic. KPEDCF was established to accelerate the interaction between Seoul and Manila's energy specialists and stimulate the development of nucle 2023-02-01
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  Nongshim's Shin Ramyun pop-up store captivates young spicy instant noodle lovers SEOUL -- Dressed in casual jackets and coats, young spicy food lovers flocked to an offline pop-up store filled with various games and products related to Shin Ramyun, a top South Korean brand of instant noodles well known for its spicy flavor. Despite the cold and rainy weather, some 50 people holding an umbrella visited the store where various items such as pop sockets and keyboard protectors with Shin Ramyun's brandmark engraved greeted them. Some of them took selfies with a sta 2023-01-30
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  Online secondhand market Joonggonara and 7-Eleven officially launches safe offline trading service SEOUL -- Joongonara, South Korea's largest online secondhand market platform operated by Eugene Asset Management, and convenience store franchise 7-Eleven have kicked its safe offline secondhand trading service into full gear. The service was tested in the southern Seoul district of Gangnam earlier this month. According to the Korea Internet & Security Agency, South Korea's internet watchdog, the country has an online secondhand trading market standing at about 24 trill 2023-01-30
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  National pension fund to be depleted in 2055, two year earlier than previously predicted SEOUL -- South Korea’s national pension fund for salaried workers is expected to be depleted completely in 2055, 14 years after it begins to record a deficit, according to a committee evaluating the financial soundness of the fund. The finding said that the depletion will come two years earlier than the committee’s previous calculation conducted five years ago, if the current pension scheme remains unchanged. The panel, affiliated with the Ministry of Health and W 2023-01-27
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  ​S. Korea to invest $215 mln into five-year development project for AI technologies for everyday environments SEOUL -- South Korea will invest some 265 billion won ($215 million) for a five-year project that aims to develop artificial intelligence technologies that can be utilized by people in their everyday environments. AI used in various sectors including the administrative, legislative, judicial, and public sectors will eventually help boost the country's AI technology capability. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo held the second National Data Policy Committee meeting on January 25 and r 2023-01-27
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  ​Unclaimed Lotto prizes top $33.54 billion won last year SEOUL -- Unclaimed Lotto prizes were estimated at 41.31 billion won ($33.54 million) last year, according to a report submitted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance to Rep. Kim Ju-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on January 26. The sum offered by Lotto, the most popular lottery ticket in South Korea, included one of last year’s top prizes that was valued at 2.37 billion won, 23 cases of second prizes with 1.24 billion won, and 1,421 cases of thir 2023-01-26
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  Autonomous vehicles to be deployed in southern city to provide paid shuttle service SEOUL -- A fleet of autonomous vehicles will be deployed to a self-driving car demonstration zone in Daegu some 249 kilometers (149 miles) south of Seoul to offer paid shuttle service. The self-driving cars will carry passengers on a circulation route through an industrial techno-valley area. South Korea's first paid shuttle service using autonomous vehicles was launched in western Seoul in December 2021. 42dot, a domestic self-driving technology startup, operated three autonom 2023-01-26
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  Number of Korean language learners steadily increases on state-run online learning service SEOUL -- The number of foreigners learning to speak Korean through an online classroom platform called "Online King Sejong Institute," run by the state-run King Sejong Institute, has reached 61,337, up 7.7 percent on-year. English speakers accounted for the largest portion with 11,683. Using PC or a mobile phone, anyone can take Korean classes after taking a level test through the online platform. Students can receive personal advice from their online instructors. For tho 2023-01-25
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  Seoul's surrounding province to install more than 76,000 EV chargers in 2023 SEOUL -- In a bid to speed up the distribution of electric cars, more than 76,000 electric vehicle chargers will be installed in Gyeonggi Province, that surrounds Seoul, this year. The number of registered electric cars in the province stood at 77,648 as of December 2022, but there were only 48,520 chargers. South Korea is striving to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 by promoting the use of renewable energy and clean fuels. As of the third quarter of 2022, about 34 2023-01-24
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  S. Korea records $760mln in exports of Ramyeon in 2022 SEOUL -- Exports of Ramyeon, South Korean instant noodles, reached $765.4 million in 2022, up 13.5 percent from a year ago, the state customs statistics showed. According to data released by the World Instant Noodles Association, a South Korean person consumes an average of 73 packs of instant noodles per year. South Korean Ramyeon products started to gain attention in 2015 thanks to K-pop and K-dramas. Various companies sought to grab instant noodle fans worldwide. Shinsegae, Sout 2023-01-23
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  Seoul's northern satellite city reveals blueprint to reduce CO2 emissions by 40 percent in 7 years SEOUL -- Uijeongbu City, a northern satellite city of Seoul, has revealed a blueprint to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by 40 percent until 2030. At the current rate, the environment ministry predicted that Uijeongbu's annual emission of greenhouse gases will reach about two million tons in 2030. The northern satellite city with a population of some 463,700 used to be the largest bed town of Seoul until the late 1990s. Uijeongbu located in the center of Gyeonggi Provin 2023-01-23
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  South Korea to scrap mask mandate for most indoor places January 30 SEOUL -- South Korea plans to lift the mask mandate for most indoor places from January 30 as part of efforts to return to normal life three years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said on January 20 that the mask guidelines will be eased from “mandatory” to “optional” except for some vulnerable indoor facilities as the daily caseload of coronavirus infections continues to fall. He added that the mask mandate, howe 2023-01-20
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  Seoul becomes world's first city to provide metaverse-based administrative services SEOUL -- Seoul became the world's first city to provide administrative services using metaverse, a virtually created world accessible using smart devices or PCs, in various sectors including economy, education and tax. Seoulites can communicate with their mayor regarding public policies by creating avatars in the virtual world. The municipal authorities unveiled its scheme in November 2021 to provide metaverse-based services in every administrative sector by 2026 through a 3. 2023-01-17
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  Marine ministry to promote migration of young people to fishing villages via support program SEOUL -- In an effort to encourage young city people to migrate to under-populated fishing villages, the marine ministry will roll out a promotion program that will include various government-funded supports such as a fishing boat rental service, house rental service, and the operation of incubation curriculums of fishermen. According to the state statistical information service, South Korea's fishermen population is decreasing rapidly. There were about 121,700 people working i 2023-01-17
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  Elderly lone diners more prone to accelerated frailty and aging: study SEOUL -- Old people who eat alone are more likely to show a higher frailty scale than those who eat with others, a joint study by South Korean doctors showed. Doctors said the feeling of social isolation felt during meal times affected the aging process by causing depression and malnutrition. The term frailty normally refers to an aging stage that could develop into elderly diseases. The clinical frailty scale is decided by measuring the functional status of the body and mind of 2023-01-17
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  ​Convenience store GS25 targets "home-aloners" with Lunar New Year festival gourmet menu SEOUL -- South Korean convenience store franchise GS25 has released a premium lunchbox menu for "home-aloners," single-person households who chose to stay at their homes rather than to visit their families in their hometown. The premium meal box consists of traditional Korean menus including Tteokguk, a rice cake soup consumed during the Korean Lunar New Year holidays called "Seol." Seol, a three-day festival that celebrates the Lunar New Year, is the largest tr 2023-01-16
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  Southern port city to operate incubation programs to beef up workers' big data capability SEOUL -- The southern port city of Busan will kick-start an incubation program for its workers to improve their capability to understand and utilize big data in their administrative work processes. South Korea has been collecting public data from various sectors for the last decade. Big data is a collection of data sets that is too large for conventional tools or methods to process. While the vast amount of information has extremely high statistical power, it could also have a high 2023-01-16