SouthKorea

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  Seoul launches English language-based subway application for foreign passengers SEOUL -- To help foreigners reach their destinations without difficulties, Seoul has launched an English-language-based subway app that provides various train-related information such as a line map and direction guidance inside stations. Users can find the nearest station just by entering their destinations even if they don't know station names. The smart app notifies users if they get on the wrong train on the opposite side. The English language-based app called "Seoul Su 2023-04-27
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  Seoul partners with SK geo centric to recycle discarded banners into industrial materials SEOUL -- Seoul will collaborate with SK geo centric, a chemical company affiliated with South Korea's SK Group, to recycle some 24,000 discarded advertisement and promotion banners. After removing nylon strings and wood blocks from the used banners, the capital city will send the discarded materials to SK geo centric so the chemical firm can verify whether they can be recycled using its chemical recycling technology. Chemical recycling is used to decompose and refine waste PET 2023-04-26
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  28 S. Koreans safely return home from Sudan through military aircraft SEOUL -- A military transport airplane carrying 28 South Koreans who escaped Sudan suffering a civil war safely arrived at an airbase in Seoul's southeastern satellite city of Seongnam. The presidential office said the aircraft called "KC-330" arrived at Seoul Air Base at 3:57 p.m. (0657 GMT) on April 25. After checking their health conditions, the rescued members will move into accommodation facilities provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The South Korean 2023-04-25
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  President Yoon Suk-yeol welcomes Netflix's $2.5 bln investment plan in S. Korea's content industry SEOUL -- Prior to a summit meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, President Yoon Suk-yeol has welcomed Netflix's $2.5 billion investment plan in South Korea's content industry. The president highlighted that the global streaming giant's four-year investment would become an opportunity for South Korean content businesses and creators as well as Netflix. According to data released by South Korea's presidential office, more than 60 percent of the 231 million households 2023-04-25
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  ​Imports of whisky increase by 78.2% thanks to young consumers SEOUL -- The popularity of whisky, a type of liquor that was formerly regarded as the "old people's drink" in South Korea, has skyrocketed due to young consumers in their 20s and 30s. The number of whisky enthusiasts has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic when people were grounded and restaurants and bars were closed early at 9:00 p.m. to prevent the spread of the infectious disease. Whisky was the icon of old people's drinking culture related to the "bom 2023-04-24
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  Busan to host Asia's first World Barista Championship SEOUL -- A global barista competition to select the best barista among some 60 candidates will take place in South Korea's southern port city of Busan, well known for the city's affection for coffee. Using a coffee machine, participants will create 12 drinks such as espresso and milk-based drinks for 15 minutes in front of certified judges from all over the world. Busan said in a statement that the 2024 World Barista Championship (WBC) will be held on May 1, 2024. The four- 2023-04-24
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  President Yoon embarks on seven-day state visit to U.S. SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Geon-hee will embark on a seven-day state visit to the United States on April 24. President Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden will hold a summit to evaluate the achievements of the 70-year-old South Korea-U.S. alliance and discuss the future direction of economic and security cooperation. The state visit will take place after a classified document was leaked online suggesting that the U.S. has been spying on allies including South 2023-04-24
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  Number of patients with panic disorder rapidly increases in S. Korea SEOUL -- South Korea experienced a sharp rise in the number of patients suffering from panic disorder between 2017 and 2021. The number of people with panic disorder skyrocketed to 205,540 in 2021, up 44.5 percent from five years ago. The anxiety disorder becomes severe if patients delay receiving medical care or if they are frequently exposed to various types of stress. People with the disorder often suffer from extreme anxiety and fear. Panic attacks accompanied by heart palpitat 2023-04-14
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  Seoul offers subsidies for building-integrated solar wall panel system for tall buildings SEOUL -- Seoul will subsidize up to 80 percent of the installation costs for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs), a solar panel system that is integrated into the walls of a building. Compared to the conventional system, which installs external structures on separate sites such as roofs and skylights, BIPVs are suitable for urban areas filled with skyscrapers where there are not many idle spaces. BIPVs can be formed in various ways including semi-transparent window glasses wi 2023-04-14
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  S. Korean elderlies struggle to adapt to over-digitalized world of kiosks and smartphones SEOUL -- "My friend and I went to a fast food restaurant to have a hamburger but we had to turn back and leave because there was no one at the counter but a digital kiosk for ordering. The letters were too small and we did not know how to use the ordering machine." Kim Kwee-hee, a 65-year-old housewife, recalled her recent incident with the ordering robot. Kim said that she has trouble using digital kiosk machines every time she encounters one. "I would at least try 2023-04-12
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  Researchers develop PCR test system capable of detecting viruses within 10 minutes with 95% accuracy SEOUL -- South Korean researchers have developed a hand-sized polymerase chain reaction test device that can detect infectious diseases such as COVID-19 within 10 minutes. The device can be carried to places where a proper screening center cannot be set up or places where quarantine specialists require high-accuracy on-site test equipment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test method has been widely used as its accuracy is much higher than rapid an 2023-04-11
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  Busan to launch consortium to nurture the southern port city's coffee industry SEOUL -- A consortium consisting of various coffee-related associations and research institutes will be launched in South Korea's southern port city of Busan to nurture the city's thriving coffee industry. The group will develop various policies to support the city's coffee industry with the biggest number of coffee shops compared to the city's population of about 3.3 million. According to the Korea Customs Service, South Korea imported about $1.3 billion worth of c 2023-04-10
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  Number of foreign tourists to S. Korea skyrockets by 400% on-year in January and February SEOUL -- Thanks to the reopening of borders and lifting of regulations on compulsory face masks in public places, the number of foreign travelers who visited South Korea in January and February 2023 has skyrocketed by about 400 percent compared to the same period last year, South Korea's state-operated tourism promotion agency said. South Korea's tourism industry is one of the country's industries that was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Shopping districts frequent 2023-04-06
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  S. Korea releases revised standards for construction of fuel cell-powered vessels SEOUL -- In a bid to gain competitiveness in the global hydrogen fuel cell-powered vessel market, South Korea has revised standards for the construction of ships equipped with a clean energy drive system. Global shipbuilders are trying hard to develop efficient eco-friendly fuel-based vessels to reduce their dependency on fossil fuels after the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a U.N. maritime safety agency, adopted compulsory measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions fr 2023-04-05
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  Test service for China-S. Korea multimodal transport kick-started for non-stop cargo truck logistics service SEOUL -- A multimodal transport service that would exempt cargo trucks from unloading and loading containers at docks was kick-started to see if the non-stop cargo logistics process can save time and manpower in international ecommerce parcel delivery processes between China and South Korea. Normally, when a cargo truck carrying a trailer box arrives at an international port, the cargo is unloaded and moved to a storage yard before it is loaded back onto a ship to head to overseas 2023-04-04
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  S. Korean men experiences rapid aging 10 years earlier than American men due to muscle loss SEOUL -- According to a report by InBody, a Seoul-based healthcare company, South Korean men experience rapid aging at the age of 35, about 10 years earlier than American men. The healthcare firm said the phenomenon is related to muscle loss caused by acquired factors such as smoking and a congenital reason. Data released by InBody showed that skeletal muscle mass in South Korean men decreases from the age of 35 while American males begin to lose at the age of 45. The report was cr 2023-04-03
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  Baedal Minjok succeeds turning profit for first time in three years SEOUL -- The operator of the food delivery service Baedal Minjok, Woowa Brothers, has succeeded in turning a profit for the first time in three years, thanks to dramatically increased demand for food delivery orders during the pandemic. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on March 31, Woowa Brothers' consolidated sales in 2022 were 2.9 trillion won ($2.2 billion), and the operating profit was 424.1 billion won. Sales increased by 47 2023-03-31
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  S. Korea likely to lift quarantine regulations for isolation of COVID-19 patients in July SEOUL -- South Korea is likely to take a step-by-step procedure to normalize the lives of people heavily suppressed by the pandemic and related regulations. The government will start by reducing the number of days required for compulsory quarantine isolation of COVID-19 patients to five days in May and completely remove the isolation procedure in July. It has been a long time since the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit South Korea in February 2023 and people had to go thro 2023-03-30
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  ​Eastern city to monitor forest fire accidents using safety drones SEOUL -- Using safety drones, South Korea's eastern city of Wonju will monitor forest fire-related incidents. The remotely controlled flying robots will be mainly used in blind spots where humans are unable to reach. The drones can also broadcast prevention measures against unexpected accidents. Wonju said in a statement on March 29 that drones owned by members of a regional drone association will be used to carry out surveillance activities. The unmanned aerial vehicles will b 2023-03-29
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  Policemen and firemen chase zebra in residential area east of central Seoul SEOUL -- A never-seen-before scene of hide and seek between emergency workers and a zebra at a residential area some 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) east of central Seoul. The striped horse escaped from the Seoul Children's Grand Park Zoo to roam about a nearby area. According to police, the zebra escaped from the zoo at about 2:40 p.m. (0540 GMT) on March 23 and was seen running and jogging around a residential area near the zoo. The police said that policemen and firemen are rollin 2023-03-23