[Graphic News] 90% of global citizens want to ban unrecyclable plastic

Ninety percent of global citizens say that types of plastic that are not recyclable should be banned, according to a study. The World Wildlife Fund’s latest report is based on a survey of around 25,000 people from 32 countries, asking for their opinions about unrecyclable plastic products and their negative impact on human health. In Korea, 1,000 people participated in the survey. In the survey, 87 percent of respondents are against the use of unrecyclable plastic products, and 85 percen

World NewsMay 9, 2024

[Graphic News] 1 in 4 US teachers experiences gun-related school lockdown

With school shootings in the United States reaching 82 cases in 2023, a majority of the country's teachers worry about the possibility of a shooting occurring at their school. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 59 percent of US public school teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade, or K-12, say they are at least somewhat worried about such an occurrence. Among them, 7 percent say they are extremely worried. About a quarter of teachers report experiencing a gun

World NewsMay 8, 2024

[Graphic News] Diesel vehicles rapidly lose luster

In the first quarter of this year, the proportion of domestically registered diesel cars fell below 10 percent for the first time. As more consumers in South Korea avoid diesel cars due to decarbonization regulations and the need to import urea for them mainly from China, the decline in sales is expected to accelerate this year. According to data from the Carisyou data research institute, a total of 39,939 diesel vehicles were registered in the domestic market during the first quarter of this

IndustryMay 7, 2024

[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%

The number of franchised coffee branches in South Korea rose by more than 3,000 on-year in 2022 on growing demand for food and beverages with the ebbing of the COVID-19 pandemic and the expansion of budget brands, the antitrust regulator said. The country had 26,217 franchise coffee shops as of the end of 2022, up 13 percent from the previous year's 23,204, according to data from the Fair Trade Commission. It marked the highest growth among all kinds of food and beverage franchises in 202

Social AffairsMay 3, 2024

[Graphic News] 23% of US adults have used ChatGPT

The latest survey from Pew Research Center showed that artificial intelligence chatbot use is ticking up in the US. The survey showed that 23 percent of US adults have used ChatGPT, an increase from 18 percent in the previous July 2023 survey. Adults under the age of 30 stood out the most, with 43 percent of them having some type of experience in using ChatGPT. However, there was also a slight increase in older age groups as well. Despite the overall increase in usage, Americans tend still to

World NewsMay 2, 2024

[Graphic News] National Museum of Korea 6th most-visited museum globally

The National Museum of Korea in Seoul ranked sixth among museums and art galleries worldwide in terms of its total number of visitors in 2023, according to the UK-based Art Newspaper. The annual number of visitors in 2023 reached 4,180,285. The number of visitors to the National Museum of Korea increased by 22.5 percent last year from 3,411,381 a year earlier. This is the largest number of visitors since its opening in 1945. The museum has a collection of 420,000 artifacts from ancient times t

World NewsMay 1, 2024

[Graphic News] Samsung tops global smartphone market in Q1

Samsung Electronics has reclaimed the top spot in global smartphone sales, surpassing Apple. According to market research firm IDC, Samsung Electronics ranked first in market share (20.8 percent), with 60.1 million smartphones sold, in the first quarter of this year. Apple, which sold 50.1 million smartphones, retreated to second place in Q1 with 17.3 percent of the market share. Samsung’s sales fell by 0.7 percent compared to the first quarter of last year, but Apple sales showed a shar

World BusinessApril 30, 2024

[Graphic News] Korean farming households fall below 1m for first time in 2023

The number of farming households in South Korea fell below 1 million for the first time ever in 2023, and half of farmers were aged 65 or older, data showed. The number of farming households came to 999,000 as of December 2023, down 2.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the first time that the figure has fallen below the 1 million mark since 1949 when the agency began compiling related data, though the data has a margin of error of about

Social AffairsApril 29, 2024

[Graphic News] Exports of cosmetic products hit record high in Q1

South Korea’s exports of cosmetic goods rose more than 20 percent on-year to reach an all-time high in the first quarter of 2024, amid the growing popularity of Korean culture, data showed. Outbound shipments of cosmetics totaled $2.3 billion during the January-March period, up 21.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. It marked the highest level ever for any first-quarter figure. Overseas sales of South Korean cosmetic goods reached a yearly h

World NewsApril 26, 2024

[Graphic News] Traffic deaths drop to record low

The number of traffic deaths in South Korea dropped to a record low of around 2,500 last year, nearly half the figure recorded a decade ago, data showed. A total of 2,551 people died from road accidents in 2023, a 6.7 percent decline from the 2,735 deaths recorded the previous year, according to the National Police Agency. It marks an 81 percent drop compared with 1991, when the death toll hit the highest at 13,429, and nearly half the rate from a decade ago, when fatalities from vehicle crash

Social AffairsApril 24, 2024

[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent

A recent survey from the employment platform Catch revealed that around 8 out of 10 Koreans in their 20s and 30s were still economically dependent on their parents. According to the survey conducted on 1,903 job-seekers in their 20s and 30s, 77 percent replied that they were still economically dependent on their parents, and only 23 percent replied that they were independent. At a closer look, 43 percent of the participants replied they still live with their parents and 41 percent said they re

Social AffairsApril 23, 2024

[Graphic News] Hallyu boosting image of Korea: survey

Two-thirds of overseas residents reported a positive change in their perception of Korea thanks to Korean cultural content, a government report showed. The 2024 report issued by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and its affiliate, the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, showed that 66.1 percent of respondents who had engaged with Korean content, such as TV dramas and films, said it had a favorable impact on their perception of Korea. The report was based on an onli

World NewsApril 22, 2024

[Graphic News] French bulldog most popular breed in US, Maltese most popular in Korea

The French bulldog has been chosen as America’s most popular dog breed for the second year in a row, according to the data collected by the American Kennel Club. The Labrador retriever, which held the top place for 31 years before being dethroned by the French bulldog in 2022, came in at second place once again. The French bulldog has seen a rapid rise in popularity since 2015, when it first entered the top 10 list in 100 years. The top 5 dog breeds in 2023 remained the same as 2022 with

World NewsApril 19, 2024

[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year

Long-distance travel will be more active this year than before, and many will leave for North America or Europe. A local online tourist agency, yeogi.com, surveyed its 233 mobile app users in March, and 62.2 percent of respondents said they are planning long-distance travel to destinations including the US, Canada, France and the UK. These results show a change from recent preferences for short trips to countries nearby such as Japan and Vietnam. North America was named the most preferred dest

Social AffairsApril 18, 2024

[Graphic News] Users of high-speed trains KTX, SRT hit record Q1 figures

The number of passengers on South Korea’s bullet trains, the KTX and SRT, hit a record high during the first quarter this year, the trains’ operators said. From January to March, the number of KTX users jumped to 19.26 million from 17.91 million during the same period last year, according to Korea Railroad Corp. SR Inc. said the number of SRT users rose to 6.43 million from 6.3 million during the same period. The operators said pent-up travel demand after years of the COVID-19 pand

Social AffairsApril 17, 2024

[Graphic News] Samsung took top spot in US home appliance market last year: data

Samsung Electronics was the most popular home appliance brand in the United States last year in terms of market share, data showed. Samsung Electronics took up 21 percent of the home appliance market share in the US in terms of sales in 2023, followed by Korean rival LG Electronics at 19 percent, General Electric at 18 percent and Whirlpool at 15 percent, according to data from market researcher TraQline. A survey by also showed that Samsung was the most considered brand when consumers purchas

World BusinessApril 16, 2024

[Graphic News] Beverage exports reached $572m in 2023

Exports of South Korean beverage products jumped to a record $572 million last year, helped by the popularity of Korean culture, government data showed Monday. The country’s beverage exports jumped 11.5 percent in 2023 from $513 million a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Corp. By country, beverage shipments to China accounted for 21 percent, or $121 million, followed by shipments to the United States with $83 million, Cambodia with $54 million and

FoodApril 15, 2024

[Graphic News] Four out of 10 households say their children don’t eat kimchi

A recent survey on Korea’s kimchi consumption has shown a shift in preference toward shop-bought kimchi rather than home-made kimchi. And 4 out of 10 households found that their children did not eat kimchi. According to the 2023 Kimchi Industry Survey Analysis Report by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., 40.9 percent of the 3,183 households surveyed answered that their children do not consume kimchi. The ratio of children that do not eat kimchi has been rising gradually, from 3

FoodApril 10, 2024

[Graphic News] Mumbai has most billionaires in Asia

India’s financial hub Mumbai, with a population of 21.6 million, now holds the highest number of billionaires in Asia and ranks third behind New York and London in the world ranking, according to Hurun Research Institute’s global rich list. Mumbai overtook Beijing to become Asia’s leading billionaire hub for the first time with 92 billionaires. South Korea’s Seoul places 19th globally with 31 billionaires. In country rankings, China was still at the top of the list with

World NewsApril 9, 2024

[Graphic News] Most Chinese e-commerce platform users in S. Korea dissatisfied: poll

Most South Korean users of recently burgeoning Chinese e-commerce platforms were dissatisfied with various aspects of their services despite their competitive pricing, a poll showed. In the poll conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently on 800 consumers with experience using either AliExpress, Temu or Shein in the past year, 80.9 percent said they have experienced dissatisfaction with the services. Delayed delivery was cited as the biggest reason for dissatisfaction, at

MarketApril 8, 2024