The Medical Tourism Support Center, which opened on Dec. 18 at the arrival section of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport, offers information on medical tourism in Korea and related services for overseas visitors. (Korea Tourism Organization)
By Lee Kyoung Mi and Yoon Sojung
Overseas visitors to Korea can access a wide range of information on medical tourism in the country from the moment...
The pig, a traditional symbol of fertility and wealth, is popular as a model for piggy banks.
By Kang Gahui and Lee Hana
Photos = National Folk Museum of Korea
Seoul | Dec. 19, 2018
2019 is the Year of the Earth Pig according to the Chinese zodiac.
The 12th and final animal to appear in the zodiac's 12-year cycle, the pig has long held significance for...
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon (left) and Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia on Dec. 17 pose for photos in the Algerian capital of Algiers. (Prime Minister’s Office)
By Song Baleun and Yoon Sojung
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Dec. 17 held talks with Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia in Algiers on bilateral cooperation.
On an official tour of three countries in Northwest Africa, Lee and Ouyahia...
Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun will visit Seoul Dec. 19-21 to bolster bilateral coordination toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. In this photo from October 2018, Biegun is shown meeting with National Security Director Chung Eui-yong at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul. (Cheong Wa Dae)
By Yoon Sojung
With U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun starting his three-day...
The National Folk Museum of Korea in a 2014 event reenacts dongji gosa (동지고사, 冬至告祀), a rite that offers patjuk (팥죽), or red bean porridge, to a family shrine at the museum’s outdoor showroom. (National Folk Museum of Korea)
By Kim Young Shin
Dongji (동지, 冬至), the winter solstice and 22nd of the year’s 24 solar terms, falls this year on Dec. 22. This day has the...
Marriage immigrants will no longer be denied victim's compensation. (Ministry of Justice)
By Park Gil-ja and Kim Minji
Marriage immigrants in Korea are now eligible to receive victim’s compensation regardless of whether an applicant gets a guarantee from his or her home country.
The Justice Ministry on Dec. 18 announced that the Cabinet passed an amendment to the Victim Protection Act to this effect.
Victim’s compensation...
Athletes from both South and North Korea on Feb. 9 march together during the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games at PyeongChang Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang-gun County, Gangwon-do Province. (Hyoja-dong Studio)
By Park Gil-ja and Kim Young Shin
With South and North Korea agreeing on a bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics, Seoul Metropolitan Government has estimated the cost to...
President Moon Jae-in (third from left) on Dec. 17 speaks during an extended meeting of economy-related ministers at Cheong Wa Dae. (Cheong Wa Dae)
By Xu Aiying and Yoon Sojung
The government on Dec. 17 said it will do its best to conduct regulatory reform and boost investment to improve economic vitality next year.
The country will get an early start in proceeding with large-scale...
President Moon Jae-in (right) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un embrace ahead of talks during their historic summit on April 27, 2018. (2018 Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps)
By Park Gil-ja and Lee Hana
The two Koreas pledging to end the Korean War and marching under one flag at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics topped two of CNN's list of positive stories from 2018, the...
‘Hongeo samhap’ (홍어삼합) refers to the combination of fermented hongeo skate, kimchi and steamed pork. (Mokpo City Government)
By Kim Eun-young, Kang Gahui and Kim Young Shin
Mokpo | Nov. 29, 2018
China’s stinky tofu, a deep-fried fermented dish, Sweden’s surstromming, or salted and fermented Baltic sea herring, and France’s vieux-Boulogne, cheese made from cow’s milk and washed in beer, all have something in common: a nasty smell but...
South Korean Deputy Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Roh Tae-kang (right) and North Korean Vice Physical Culture and Sports Minister Won Kil-u on Dec. 14 shake hands at the inter-Korean joint liaison office in Gaeseong. (Ministry of Unification)
By Kim Minji
South and North Korea have agreed to pitch their proposed bid to co-host the 2032 Summer Olympics to the International Olympic...
A groundbreaking ceremony for the connection and modernization of inter-Korean railways and roads is slated for Dec. 26 at Panmun Station in Gaeseong, North Korea. (Ministry of Unification)
By Park Hye Ri and Kim Minji
A groundbreaking ceremony is slated for Dec. 26 at Panmun Station in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong to mark the connection of the Gyeongui and Donghae rail...
Military officials from South and North Korea on Dec. 12 shake hands at the Demilitarized Zone in Cheorwon, Gangwon-do Province.
By Kim Young Deok and Kim Young Shin
Photos = Ministry of National Defense
The two Koreas on Dec. 12 completed joint verification of the removal of 11 guard posts within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) a first on the Korean Peninsula since its division in...
Vice Justice Minister Kim O-su (third from right) on Dec. 10 signs a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Consumer Agency at a regional branch of the agency in Jincheon, Chungcheongbuk-do Province. (Ministry of Justice)
By Park Hye Ri and Hahm Hee-eun
"The mobile phone store manager said the Korean government is providing free mobile phones."
This is what was told to an unsuspecting African...
Following a joint field survey of the Hangang River estuary completed on Dec. 9, representatives from the two Koreas discuss the study’s results aboard a South Korean research vessel.
By Song Baleun and Lee Hana
Photos = Ministry of National Defense
While the U.S. and North Korea have entered a stalemate in negotiations on the North’s denuclearization, the two Koreas are pushing forward with two...
President Moon Jae-in on Dec. 10 gives a speech at the Seoul Cathedral of the Anglican Church of Korea during a ceremony marking Human Rights Day.
By Park Gil-ja and Yoon Sojung
Photos = Cheong Wa Dae
President Moon Jae-in on Dec. 10 stressed the role of peace in human rights, saying, “Peace will guarantee human rights and that will secure peace.”
In a ceremony marking...
Andrés Felipe Solano says on Nov. 29 at a cafe in Seoul that Korea’s candlelight protests were the most peaceful scenes he has seen while living in the country.
By Yoon Sojung and Kim Hyelin
Photos = Kim Sunjoo
Seoul | Nov. 29, 2018
People lining up to touch their transportation smart cards on an electronic fare reader before getting off a broken-down bus.
Fairly clean streets despite...
A joint inter-Korean survey team inspects a section of the Gyeongui Line Nov. 30 to Dec. 5. Ministry of Unification (South Korea)
By Kim Minji
A South Korean survey team will visit North Korea to inspect the East Sea (Donghae) Rail from Dec. 8 after having studied the Gyeongui Line from Nov. 30 to Dec. 5.
The team will visit railways and...
President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sept. 19 shake hands after signing the Pyeongyang Declaration at the government guesthouse Baekhwawon in the North Korean capital. (Pyeongyang Press Corps)
By Park Gil-ja and Hahm Hee-eun
More than half of South Koreans welcome a visit to Seoul by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a survey conducted by South Korean polling...
The Bank of Korea on Dec. 6 said Korea recorded a trade surplus of USD 9.19 billion in October 2018 according to the balance of payment. (Korea.net DB)
By Min Yea-Ji and Yoon Sojung
Major economic indicators have shown that the Korean economy is relatively healthy.
The Bank of Korea on Dec. 6 released data saying the country in October enjoyed its 80th straight month...