Tag: South Korea

It appears the policies of prior President Yoon did have one positive impact which is improving the birthrate:

The number of babies born in South Korea rose at the fastest pace in 34 years in April from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, driven by a rise in marriages and demographic changes.

A total of 20,717 babies were born in April, up 8.7 percent from 19,059 babies born a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

It marked the steepest on-year increase in monthly births since April 1991, when the figure also rose by 8.7 percent.

It was also the first time in three years that the number of monthly births surpassed the 20,000 mark after hitting 21,164 in April 2022. 

The country’s total fertility rate, the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, also rose by 0.06 from a year earlier to 0.79 in April.

“The rise in births appears to be influenced by increased marriages since last year, growth in the population of women in their early 30s, and various birth promotion policies by the central and local governments,” an official at Statistics Korea said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but we will see if President Lee can continue this momentum to improve the birth rate with his policies.

Kamakura is a beautiful area of Japan filled with various temples and shrines. It is not surprising to me that they would have a Korean shrine there as well. Good to hear the shrine is returning to its original home in Korea:

A building believed to be a royal shrine from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) has returned to Korea, about 100 years after it was taken to Japan.

The Korea Heritage Service (KHS) and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation announced Tuesday that they had received parts of the structure, known as Gwanwoldang, under an agreement reached a day ago with Kotoku-in, a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Japan. 

The return was made possible through the decision of Takao Sato, chief priest of the temple, who concluded that the shrine should be preserved in its original home — Korea.

It marks the first time an entire Korean building located overseas has been repatriated. Previously, in 1995, 110 tons of remains from Jaseondang Hall of Gyeongbok Palace, discovered in a garden path at Tokyo’s Okura Hotel, were returned. However, those remains consisted mostly of stone components, such as stylobates and cornerstones.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The number of millionaires in South Korea continued to grow this year:

South Korea had the world’s 10th-highest number of millionaires globally last year, with 1.3 million individuals holding wealth exceeding $1 million, or 1.37 billion won, a report showed Thursday.

According to the Global Wealth Report 2025, released by Swiss investment bank UBS, the figure marked a slight increase from 1.2 million recorded in 2023, placing the country 10th among 56 countries surveyed.

There were about 60 million millionaires globally, holding a total of $226.47 trillion in wealth.

The US topped the list with 23.8 million millionaires, accounting for 39.7 percent of all millionaires worldwide.

The report noted that the millionaire population in the US rose by 379,000 throughout last year, meaning about 1,000 people joined the millionaire club each day.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

I guess we will soon see if Naver and Kakao will have any competition in South Korea for mapping services:

The debate over the overseas transfer of South Korea’s high-precision map data, a sensitive issue that had been largely dormant since the launch of President Lee Jae Myung’s administration, has reignited. The government is moving to develop countermeasures as global tech giants intensify their efforts to gain access to the data.

Apple recently sought legal advice from a Korean law firm regarding its application to export 1:5,000 scale map data. The move follows the company’s earlier attempt in 2023, which was aimed at enhancing services, such as its Find My device tracking feature, Apple Pay’s local operations and the in-car navigation system integrated into Apple CarPlay, according to industry sources on Thursday.

Apple’s previous request was rejected by the Korean government due to national security concerns. Industry watchers believe the US tech giant will quickly reapply should the government approve Google’s pending application to export similar map data.

The review of Google’s request is ongoing. The government, which deferred its decision last month, must deliver a verdict by Aug. 11. As the Lee administration seeks to ease trade tensions with Washington, attention is focused on how it will respond to Google’s bid.

Maps at a scale of 1:25,000, used for navigation and route guidance, are already provided to foreign companies for their map services. However, both Google and Apple are seeking to secure high-precision maps as a necessity for expanding their mobility, AI and autonomous driving industries.

According to regulations, high-precision maps can only be used if the company has a data center located within Korea. As a result, only Naver and Kakao, which operate domestic data centers, are currently able to use high-precision map data free of charge.

Korea Herald

You can red more at the link.

If Iran conducts any terrorist attacks against the U.S. and refuses to give up on the pursuit of nuclear weapons the war will continue and oil prices will likely go up:

South Korea’s economy has enjoyed a boost since the inauguration of President Lee Jae Myung, but now finds itself bracing for the impact of the US attacks on three of Iran’s core nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said in an address at the White House that Tehran’s “key nuclear enrichment facilities” had been “completely and totally obliterated” by US forces.

“There will be either peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,” noted Trump, adding that the US will go after other targets if Iran does not agree to peace.

Industry insiders here are concerned that this escalation of the conflict in the Middle East may increase oil prices in Korea, which imports approximately 70 percent of its crude oil from the region.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but China gets a majority of their energy from the Middle East and Iran as well. It would be in their interest to put pressure on the mullahs to compitulate to the U.S. nuclear demands. It would keep a government friendly to China in power in Iran and cause no further impact to energy supplies which is all in China’s national interest.

President Lee maybe talking nice about the Japanese now, but we all know how this is going to end. When Lee inevitably begins to slide in the polls or some scandal pops up, be prepared for the latest Dokdo or comfort women crisis to happen:

 President Lee Jae-myung on Monday called for South Korea and Japan to join hands for a better future, casting the two neighbors as important partners bound to work together amid a rapidly changing global environment.

Lee made the remark in a congratulatory video message at the start of an event hosted by the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, which falls on this Sunday.

“South Korea and Japan are key partners who must cooperate closely in responding to a rapidly changing global landscape. Let’s join hands and move toward a better future,” Lee said.

The phrase “join hands and move toward a better future” is the official slogan for the 60th anniversary of the normalization of the ties. Korea was under Japan’s colonial rule from 1910-45

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I guess Korean consumers are just not into Canadian coffee:

Canadian coffee brand Tim Hortons, operated in Korea by BKR, closed its Cheongna location in Incheon on Sunday, according to industry sources on Friday.

This marks the first closure of a directly operated store since the brand entered Korea, coming just over a year after the location opened in April 2024.

Industry experts attribute the decision to multiple factors, including declining profitability and the fierce competition within the saturated Korean coffee market.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.