Social Media Minute

1. South Korea's exports of K-pop albums hit record high in 2022 2. Korean-language works win Critics Choice Awards for 4 consecutive years 3. Park Hang-seo’s 5-year coaching stint in Vietnam comes to an end

1. Heavy snow in Gangwon Province causes over 100 traffic accidents, leaves dozens of vehicles stranded 2. South Koreans are the world’s biggest spenders on luxury goods 3. Gen-Z finds new-found charm in old-school digital cams

1. Hyundai Motor Group chief named ‘MotorTrend’ Person of the Year 2. Jeff Beck: British guitar legend dies aged 78 3. Artificial intelligence-driven chats are all the rage

1. A farm on Jejudo Island produces 1,120-kg “super hanwoo cow” 2. Police say missing teenage girls in Pakistan ran away to meet BTS 3. Popular Thai actor apologizes for his bullying past; people are calling it “The Glory” effect

1. Data shows marriage in the 30s is the new normal for South Korea 2. Five Russians fleeing war stranded in Seoul's Incheon Airport 3. Onions are so expensive in the Philippines they’re being smuggled into the country

1. 745 of forced Korean laborer are verified through three of 'Korean Tobacco Distribution List' 2. YouTuber successfully apprehends 100 drug offenders with help of volunteer assistants 3. Prince Harry’s memoir hits No 1 on Amazon, predicted to be one of year’s bestsellers

1. Local governments intent on rebranding city image in the new year 2. South Korea’s air quality reaches worst level this winter 3. New Jeans comes under attack from Chinese social media users for promoting hanji paper

1. ‘The Glory’ and ‘Reborn Rich’ latest victims of illegal distribution and sales in China 2. Fried chicken franchise to offer American couple 1-year voucher for helping stranded Korean travelers 3. Historian reveals on TV show that Pocahontas is Edward Norton’s 12th great-grandmother

1. Large-scale venues designed for K-pop concerts to open in Seoul metropolitan area 2. Mainland China music fans willing to pay a fortune to see Blackpink concert in Hong Kong 3. Winter heat records smashed all over Europe

1. Relics believed to be from the Goyreo Dynasty identified in the Cheong Wa Dae grounds 2. Danuri sends back stunning black-and-white photos of the moon's surface and Earth 3. Egypt repatriates looted ancient Green Coffin sarcophagus from US

1. Chilgokhalmae font trends thanks to President Yoon's new year's greeting card 2. IU, Jung Kook among Rolling Stone's 200 greatest singers of all time 3. 16th century French astrologer's gloomy predictions for 2023

1. New Year’s celebrations: How the world rang in 2023 2. Mother in Gwangju gives birth to triplets at the stroke of midnight 2023 3. Notable deaths in final hour of 2022: celebrated photographer Kim Jung-man, trailblazing U.S. news anchor Barbara Walters

1. Lee Seung Gi donates 2 billion KRW to Seoul National University Children's Hospital 2. Pelé, Brazil’s king of ‘beautiful game,’ has died 3. Kabul professor tears up diplomas on live TV to protest Taliban ban on women’s education

1. Translation app gets Korean restaurant menu upgrade 2. NCT 127 to ring in the new year on CNN’s “New Year’s Eve Live” 3. A mother’s heartwarming story about Messi meeting her son shows why Messi is the G.O.A.T

1. Another victim of Japan's wartime atrocities dies, reducing the number of surviving "comfort women" to 10 2. 'Squid Game' director, lead actor receive cultural merit award 3. Rishi Sunak mocked for ‘excruciating’ exchange with homeless man

1. S. Korean travelers get invited into a stranger’s home on Xmas eve after being stranded in snow storm 2. S. Korea reports first case of brain-eating amoeba infection 3. Maya Ruiz-Picasso, the eldest daughter of Picasso and keeper of his legacy, has died

1. New Year’s bell-ringing ceremony returns for the first time in 3 years 2. Int’l flight passengers exceed domestic travelers for first time since pandemic 3. Argentina fans hit back at France by starting their own “France stop crying” petition with 700,000 signatures

1. ‘Decision To Leave’ and ‘Return To Seoul’ make Oscar shortlist 2. Good Samaritan donates truckful of instant noodles to local welfare center under condition of anonymity 3. Jacinda Ardern's offensive MP comment transcript sells for NZ$100,000

1. 2022 Winter solstice brings the longest night of the year to the Northern Hemisphere 2. Seoul City to reopen skating rink after almost 3 years 3. Justin Bieber close to a $200 million deal to sell music rights

1. Lawmakers push for alternative holiday for Christmas falling on weekends 2. Research shows whales can have an important but overlooked role in tackling the climate crisis 3. As ‘Mr. Christmas’ fights cancer, his former highschool students bring the holiday to him

1. Myeongdong street vendors to close on Christmas Eve 2. Gwanghwamun Square lights up with lanterns and media art shows through the holiday season 3. Family gets call of a lifetime: cat missing for 10 years found alive across the ocean

1. Reuters: 10 memorable impressions from the Qatar World Cup 2022  2. “Avatar: The Way of Water” tops 2.4M admissions in five days 3. Angelina Jolie leaves role as UN refugee agency ambassador

1. The first sunrise of 2023 expected to be seen at 7:26am in Dokdo 2. Funeral homes operating around the clock in COVID-hit Beijing 3. Fire at a local kindergarten demonstrates why teaching fire drills to children is important

1. 'Godsaeng' is Instagram's keyword of the year in Korea 2. France defeats Morocco, Les Bleus to face Argentina  3. Myeongdong is bustling again with locals and foreigners  with Instagram-friendly holiday attractions

1. Korea's only university department teaching 'Go' faces closure 2. New Zealand passes legislation banning cigarettes for future generations 3. Han River parks to open sledding slopes for first time since pandemic