NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

Statistics Korea's survey shows nearly 70 percent of Koreans think that it is necessary for married couples to have children. The statistics agency today announced the results of the survey conducted in 2018. Contradicting the result, however, the nation's total fertility rate fell below one baby per woman in 2018 for the first time ever. It even hit a record low of 0.92 babies in 2019.
Two out of ten Korean people say they feel lonely. According to Statistics Korea, the number of Korean people reporting feeling lonely grew 4.5 percentage points year-on-year to 20.5 percent in 2019. The loneliness rate jumped again last year after remaining on a downward track for five years since 2014.
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will goonline to offer consolation to healthcare workers and others exhausted from the prolonged coronavirus pandemic. It will stream a concert live on Naver TV, Facebook and YouTube Saturday night. Under the baton of its associate conductor Wilson Ng, the orchestra will perform classical masterpieces and present a classical-pop crossover in collaboration with Korean pop group Yeohaeng Sketch.
In cooperation with telecom provider KT,the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will introduce a system that measures crowdedness at beaches during the hot season. Designed to help beachgoers find less busy spots, the system will first be introduced at the nation's ten major beaches, including Haeundae. It will then be expanded to 50 other beaches by mid-July.