South Korea - The Korea Times

Ancient Korean dog DNA decoded for 1st time, revealing distinct 2,000-year-old lineage

A joint research team has successfully sequenced the complete genomes of ancient dogs excavated from archaeological sites on the Korean Peninsula, marking the first such analysis of ancient Korean dog DNA, the Korea Heritage Service announced Thursday. The study, published in the international journal PLOS ONE, was conducted by researchers from the Gaya National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, the Conservation Science Division of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH), the Seokdang Museum of Dong-A University and Japan's Graduate University for Advanced Studies. The team analyzed the remains of four dogs unearthed from the Neukdo site in Sacheon and the Bonghwang-dong site in Gimhae. Using next-generation sequencing technology in a dedicated ancient DNA cleanroom at NRICH's Conservation Science Division, researchers reconstructed the complete genomes of dogs that lived approximately 2,000 years ago. The analysis showed that ancient Korean dogs were genetically closest to the Australian dingo and the New Guinea Singing Dog, but formed their own distinct lin

May 7, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan

Ancient Korean dog DNA decoded for 1st time, revealing distinct 2,000-year-old lineage

Seoul's air clears as fine dust drops 40% over 2 decades

Seoul's fine dust levels have dropped significantly over the past two decades, marking a hard-won turnaround even as ozone is emerging as the capital's next air quality threat. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that the annual average concentration of ultrafine dust, or PM2.5, fell 40 percent from 30 micrograms per cubic meter in 2006 to 18 micrograms in 2025. Fine dust, or PM10, dropped 47 percent over the same period, from 60 micrograms to 32 micrograms. Days with poor PM2.5 levels, defined as concentrations at or above 36 micrograms per cubic meter, fell from 108 in 2006 to 32 last year, while days with clean air, at or below 15 micrograms, more than doubled from 73 to 182 over the same period. The city credited the gains largely to the de-dieselization of its bus fleet. Between 2006 and 2014, Seoul converted about 8,900 diesel buses to compressed natural gas and other cleaner alternatives. The shift has continued since, with electric buses now making up about 23 percent of the city's fleet. Fitting aging diesel vehicles with particulate filters and subsidizing early sc

May 6, 2026By Park Ung

Seoul's air clears as fine dust drops 40% over 2 decades

Wild boar sightings in Seoul surge 137%

A video of firefighters struggling to subdue a wild boar in an apartment building in Seoul’s Mapo District went viral, April 27. The footage shows four firefighters wrestling with the animal before it was eventually killed. Six days earlier, Ewha Womans University put up an unusual notice for dormitory residents, warning them about wild boars on campus and advising them not to walk alone at night, or make any sudden or provocative movements if they encounter one. The university said it had increased patrols while spraying repellent, but failed to spot or capture any animal. The number of wild boar sightings has been on the rise over the past few years. The incidents reflect a broader trend. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the number of wild boars reported in the city rose137 percent, from 205 in 2022 to 486 in 2024. Eunpyeong District recorded the most cases at 158, followed by Dobong District with 126 and Seongbuk District with 79. Fire department callouts related to wild boars in Seoul reached 589 in 2024, up 55.4 percent from 2022, with 290 cases already logged in th

May 1, 2026By Park Ji-won

Korea’s zoos face reckoning after repeated deaths, escapes

A string of animal deaths and escapes is intensifying calls for a sweeping overhaul of zoo operations in Korea, casting doubt on the effectiveness of a licensing law that replaced a looser registration system more than two years ago. The death of Bomunyi, a popular white lion cub at a Daejeon aquarium, was confirmed April 24, weeks after the animal died on April 2 at just 7 months old. The cause was identified as multiple cartilaginous exostosis, a rare hereditary joint disorder more commonly seen in white lions, which are frequently bred through repeated inbreeding to preserve their rare coloring. The case renewed criticism of exhibition-driven zoo practices, fueling calls for a shift toward animal welfare and conservation. Earlier on April 8, a wolf named Neukgu escaped from Daejeon O-World and was recaptured alive nine days later after surviving in the wild. The incident drew backlash over possible lapses in management. After the capture, the zoo released footage of the wolf eating, prompting further backlash from animal rights groups which accused the facility of once again turning

Apr 30, 2026By Jung Da-hyun

Korea’s zoos face reckoning after repeated deaths, escapes

Daejeon's beloved white lion cub dies at 7 months from rare skeletal disorder

Bomunyi, a 7-month-old white lion cub at Daejeon Aquarium, died earlier this month from a rare congenital skeletal disorder, according to the Daejeon Metropolitan City on Friday. The cub, a female born in August last year to white lions Leo and Remi, was introduced to the public in November and quickly drew widespread affection from visitors. In recent weeks, however, speculation circulated on social media that she had gone missing or died. “As she grew and gained weight, her joints, weakened by the rare disease, could no longer keep up, and her condition gradually worsened," said an official at Daejeon Aquarium, a freshwater aquarium with small indoor animal facilities. “We held out hope that she could overcome the disease as a wild animal and tried many things, but her condition deteriorated sharply last month and she ultimately did not survive.” White lions are a genetic rarity originating from the Timbavati region of South Africa. After her mother, Remi, failed to care for her after birth, Bomunyi was taken care of by zookeepers. Established in 2015, the Daejeon Aquarium has fa

Apr 24, 2026By Park Ung

Daejeon's beloved white lion cub dies at 7 months from rare skeletal disorder

Power demand forecast to increase nearly 30% by 2040

Korea's annual electricity demand is expected to jump nearly 30 percent from the current level by 2040, the climate ministry said Wednesday. In 2040, annual power consumption is forecast to reach a minimum of 657.6 terawatt-hour (TWh) and a maximum of 694.1 TWh, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said. The estimates were made at a policy forum on the 12th basic plan for electricity supply and demand for the 2026-2040 period, which is being devised by the government. The figures represent a 26 percent increase from the annual power consumption of 549.8 TWh tallied in 2024. The peak electricity demand is also expected to reach a minimum of 131.8 gigawatts (GW) and a maximum of 138.2 GW in 2040, compared with the current level of 100 GW, according to the ministry. It said the forecast was based on two scenarios, one where the current economic growth level continues and the country implements the nationally determined contribution (NDC) goal for 2035. The other, reflects a faster pace of growth than previously expected thanks to the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) and suc

Apr 22, 2026By Yonhap

Power demand forecast to increase nearly 30% by 2040

How Seoul turned its biggest garbage dump into beloved park

On a sunny afternoon last week, Park Ju-young, 28, brought her lunch up to Haneul Park in Mapo District, one of Seoul's most beloved green spaces, unaware she was sitting atop a mountain of buried garbage. “Both my home and office are nearby, so I come here often for a run after work,” Park told The Korea Times. “But I had no idea this place used to be a landfill.” Oh, a 90-year-old daily visitor who moved to the neighborhood four years ago, remembers the site differently. Before it became Haneul Park, it was Nanjido, Seoul's main landfill. "Back then, everyone knew it as a dirty, smelly garbage dump," she said. The park is now one of the city's most dramatic environmental turnarounds — and a fitting symbol for Earth Day, which falls on Wednesday. Starting in 1978, Nanjido served as Seoul's landfill for 15 years, absorbing more than 92 million tons of waste, enough to form two garbage mountains rising 98 meters high. The area was thick with foul odors and dust, while methane gas and leachate from decomposing waste triggered serious environmental damage. The Seoul Metropolitan Go

Apr 22, 2026By Park Ung

How Seoul turned its biggest garbage dump into beloved park

Wolf instinct: how an escaped South Korean zoo wolf survived nine days on carcasses

A wolf that escaped from a zoo in Daejeon was captured alive nine days later after surviving in the wild by feeding on animal carcasses and drinking from nearby water sources, according to the authorities. According to Daejeon city officials on April 17, the wolf, named Neukgu, was captured at around 12:44 a.m. near the Anyeong Interchange on the Daejeon Southern Ring Expressway, about 1 kilometer from Daejeon O-World, from where it had escaped. The search intensified after a citizen reported spotting the animal near a hiking trail by Ppuri Park on the afternoon of April 16. The authorities initially mistook another animal for the wolf but later identified its location using a drone at around 11:45 p.m. A team of veterinarians and zookeepers approached the wolf cautiously and fired a tranquilizer dart at 12:39 a.m. The dart struck the wolf in the thigh, and after staggering for about five minutes, the animal fell into a nearby waterway and was captured. An official said, “The wolf was not moving much when we found it, which allowed us to hit it with the tranquilizer dart,” adding tha

Apr 18, 2026By Hankookilbo

Wolf instinct: how an escaped South Korean zoo wolf survived nine days on carcasses

World Island Exhibition Yeosu set for September, but readiness questioned

Organizers of the 2026 World Island Exhibition Yeosu said preparations are on track, pushing back against a wave of public concern that the coastal expo could become a repeat of the disastrous 2023 World Scout Jamboree, and welcoming President Lee Jae Myung's attention to step up support. “We know people are worried about a 'second Jamboree,' but this is not a rushed, makeshift event,” an organizing committee official told The Korea Times Wednesday. “Now that the president said he will look after the expo, we will collaborate more with the central government to scrutinize any weak spots even more closely.” The anxiety was largely sparked by a viral video posted by YouTuber Kim Seon-tae — widely known as "Chungju Man," who formerly ran a popular YouTube channel for Chungju, North Chungcheong Province — showing the main venue in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province as a vast dirt lot and parts of nearby islands littered with abandoned fishing gear. The footage spread quickly, prompting critics to invoke the Jamboree debacle, referring to the 2023 World Scout event in Saemangeum, North

Apr 16, 2026By Jung Min-ho

World Island Exhibition Yeosu set for September, but readiness questioned

Spring or summer? Korea’s April heat set to last another week

Unseasonably hot, summer-like weather has swept across South Korea in mid-April, with daytime temperatures nearing 30 degrees Celsius and breaking records in several regions. Weather officials say the heat, driven by warm and humid southeasterly winds, is expected to persist for about a week, raising concerns that spring heat is becoming a “new normal” due to climate change. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration on April 14, temperatures in Cheongpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, reached 29.7 degrees Celsius at around 3 p.m. the previous day. Around the same time, Seoul recorded 27.4 degrees, the highest so far this year. The figure was the highest temperature ever recorded on that date in Seoul since weather observations began in 1907. It was about 10 degrees higher than the seasonal average high of 17.3 degrees Celsius for the period between 1991 and 2020. On April 14, Seoul again saw unusually high temperatures of 27.8 degrees at 3 p.m., the second-highest on record for the date, following 2024. Similar record-breaking highs were reported nationwide, including in Wonju, G

Apr 14, 2026By Hankookilbo

Environment & Animals