Society, Travel & tourism
181 storiesKCTU to vote Oct 7 on return to social dialogue; council ready to talk
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (민주노총) will hold its 85th temporary delegate conference at 1 p.m. on Oct 7 at KINTEX in Goyang to vote on joining the Economic, Social and Labor Council (경사노위), which would end a 27-year absence from…
Busan shark Bukkangi crosses net, returns to waterway; rescue paused
The shark nicknamed Bukkangi, believed to be a dusky shark about 3 m long, crossed a large net and returned to the artificial waterway at Busan's Bukhang Chinsu Park around noon on Oct 3, a day after a second attempt to guide it to open sea…
South Korea re-designates 92 population decline regions, adds Busan Geumjeong, Dongducheon and Tongyeong
South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety re-designated 92 cities, counties and districts as population decline regions on Oct. 7, up from 89 in the first designation five years earlier. Busan's Geumjeong-gu, Gyeonggi's Dongducheon …
UAE President calls for rain prayer at all mosques on Friday 9 October
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has called for Salaat Al Istisqaa, a prayer for rain, to be performed at all mosques across the country on Friday 9 October, half an hour before the Friday prayer. The President called on eve…
France suspends lycée lessons as high-school protests hit 1,800 schools
Protests by high-school students in France on Tuesday affected around 1,800 lycées, according to RIA Novosti, while AFP, cited by TASS, reported that classes were suspended in nearly 900 senior schools — about a quarter of the country's tot…
Russian tourism body denies mass hotel refusals for single men in Turkey
The Russian Union of Tourism Industry said reports that Turkish hotels are mass-refusing single men and male groups are incorrect, though it confirmed some individual hotels do so. Its press chief, Artur Abdyukhanov, said the practice is lo…
French student protests leave 24 schools burned or looted, 400-plus shut
Protests by French high school students left 24 schools burned or looted and halted classes in 400 to 500 institutions nationwide, according to TASS, Kommersant and Vedomosti. The education minister, named by TASS and Kommersant as Édouard …
Magadan authorities check reports of grave dug up at city cemetery
Authorities in Magadan are checking reports that a grave at a city cemetery was dug up. TASS reported officials are trying to establish whether a bear was responsible, and that no remains of a body or parts of a coffin were found. No result…
Patriarch Kirill congratulates Putin on his 74th birthday
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus congratulated President Vladimir Putin on his birthday, with the text published on the Russian Orthodox Church's official website. Putin turns 74 on 7 October; the Kremlin said he would spend the day o…
Korean Catholic Church replaces 50-year-old domestic Mass wine with imports
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea said the church's official Mass wine will switch from the domestic “Majuang” to Australia's “Sevenhill” and Italy's “Alagna Vini”, starting in the 2026 Advent season. Majuang, produced by Lotte Chil…
Seoul singles' asset gap widens with age, welfare foundation says
The Seoul Metropolitan Welfare Foundation said an analysis of 921,328 single-person households in Seoul found asset levels differ sharply depending on whether the person owns a home, and that the gap widens with age — from about 2.5 times a…
Shanghai music teacher out of contact in Thailand returns safely, embassy says
A Shanghai music teacher who had been out of contact in Bangkok, Thailand, has returned safely to Shanghai, China's embassy in Thailand said on 7 October. The embassy statement, reported by China News Service, gave no dates for when contact…
Nanjing Massacre survivor Guo Xiulan dies at 94; 20 registered survivors remain
Guo Xiulan, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, died at her home at about 10 a.m. on Oct 7 at the age of 94, according to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. She was five when Japanese troops occupied …
China’s National Day holiday brings crowds to small counties and towns
Small counties and towns across China drew heavy tourist traffic during the National Day holiday, with Qinghai’s Qilian County receiving more than 100,000 visitors on 3 October and all of its 400-plus hotels and guesthouses full, according …
43.6% of foreign children in state care miss living expense support, data show
Data obtained from the Health and Welfare Ministry show that 17 of 39 foreign children in national child welfare facilities (43.6%) received no separate living expense support as of June 30, and 24 (61.5%) had no record of local government …
Actress Jun Won-ju, 87, says she gifted half her assets to prevent inheritance dispute
Actress Jun Won-ju, 87, said she gifted half of her assets to her two sons and their wives in advance so they would not fight over her estate, speaking on MBC’s “PD수첩” episode “2026 Inheritance War: Time of the Family Left Behind,” which ai…
China-Vietnam border Hekou port crossings top 5 million in 2026, up 6.12%
Cross-border traffic at the Hekou port in Yunnan, China's largest land crossing on the border with Vietnam, passed 5 million people for the year as of October 6, according to the Hekou Exit-Entry Border Inspection Station. The station count…
KCTU vote on rejoining Korea's social dialogue council collapses
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) failed to hold a vote on returning to the Economic, Social and Labor Council at an extraordinary delegate meeting in Goyang on October 7, after opposing delegates walked out and quorum was los…
YouTubers patrol Busan waterfront at night to shield stranded shark from lanterns
YouTube streamers including “Busan Jam” and “Heunggugi” have been broadcasting live from Busan's North Port waterfront park at night and, according to Maeil Business and Asia Economy, also keeping watch for visitors who shine strong lights …
Gangwon Land to hold second Untan Highland trekking on Oct 31 with three courses
Gangwon Land, Jeongseon county and the Gangwon Tourism Foundation will hold the second “Untan Highland Wishing Path Trekking” on Oct. 31 at High1 Resort and along the Untan Highland in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province. The route follows a road o…