Children show their unmasked smiles at a kindergarten in Gwangju, Jan. 30. YonhapStudents with and without masks attend a class at an elementary school in the southeastern city of Daegu, Jan. 30. YonhapPeople without masks work out at a gym in Seoul, Jan. 30. YonhapPeople wearing masks walk in a subway station in Seoul as the government lifted most remaining mask rules, Jan. 30. Masks are still required on public transportation and at hospitals. YonhapMiddle school students pose for a photo during a P.E. class in Daejeon, Jan. 30. YonhapCivil servants without masks work in front of computers at a public service center in Gwangju, Jan. 30. YonhapPeople wearing masks shop at a mall in Daejeon, Jan. 30. YonhapThrough window of a cafe, a maskless barista can be seen making coffee on Jeju Island, Jan. 30. YonhapVisitors without masks look at a brick art display at a theme park on Jeju Island, Jan. 30. Yonhap

Visitors to the National Museum of Korea take a look at Bohemian glass relics at a special exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and the Czech Republic, Monday. The exhibition runs until April 26. / Yonhap

Ewha Womans University President Kim Sun-uk, right, points to an artist’s rendering of a dormitory planned for the school’s campus in Seoul, Tuesday, during a groundbreaking ceremony. Those listening to her are, from left, Choi Kyung-hee, the next president of the university; Chang Myong-sue, head of Ewha Haktang; Yoon Hoo-jung, Ewha’s honorary president; and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon./ Courtesy of Ewha Womans University

An ancient chest used to store Buddhist texts is on display during a ceremony at the National Museum of Korea, Tuesday. The nation’s flagship museum acquired the rare Goryeo Kingdom (918—1392) heritage from a Japanese collector./ Yonhap

2014 Miss Korea Kim Seo-yeon, 22, waves after winning the annual pageant at the Olympic Hall in the Olympic Park, southern Seoul, Tuesday. The first runners-up were Lee Seo-bin, 21, and Shin Su-min, 20; the second runners-up were Kim Myeong-seon, 21, Sarah Lee, 23, Baek Ji-hyun, 21, and Ryu So-ra, 20. The Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, organized the beauty contest./ Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seok

Dami Im, who was the winner of the Australian audition program “The X-Factor” last year sings at the showcase for her debut  album “Dami Im” in Samseong-dong, Seoul, Wednesday. / Yonhap

Relatives mourn the death of Yurii Kulyk, 27, during his funeral in Kalynivka, near Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 21. Kulyk, a volunteer in the armed forces of Ukraine, was killed during a rocket attack on Feb. 15 in Lyman, a city in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. AP-YonhapNina Nikiforovа, 80, cries outside a church during the funeral of her son Volodymyr, a Ukrainian military serviceman who was killed in the east of the country, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 11. AP-YonhapPeople wait for a train at the main railway station of Lviv in western Ukraine, as they try to leave the country amid Russia's ongoing assault. Feb. 26, 2022. YonhapA man looks at the gutted remains of Russian military vehicles on a road in the town of Bucha, close to the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, March 1, 2022. AP-YonhapA bloodstained stuffed horse lies on a platform after Russia carried out a missile strike killing 60 civilians, including seven children, and wounding more than 110 others at Kramatorsk Railway Station, Ukraine, April 8, 2022. AP-YonhapUkrainians and supporters hold flags and banners opposing the Ukraine war during a protest held in Tbilisi, Georgia on Oct. 16, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP-YonhapA Ukrainian soldier helps a wounded soldier at a hospital in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday. Nov. 9, 2022. AP-YonhapUS President Joe Biden welcomes Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. Dec. 21, 2022. AFP-YonhapOlga Srednyakova, right, 51, a single mother of eight children, hugs her youngest daughter Vera, 8, as the others look for mushrooms to gather at their now-destroyed school in Konstantinovka in the Donetsk region Oct. 13, 2022. AFP-Yonhap

Children show their unmasked smiles at a kindergarten in Gwangju, Jan. 30. YonhapStudents with and without masks attend a class at an elementary school in the southeastern city of Daegu, Jan. 30. YonhapPeople without masks work out at a gym in Seoul, Jan. 30. YonhapPeople wearing masks walk in a subway station in Seoul as the government lifted most remaining mask rules, Jan. 30. Masks are still required on public transportation and at hospitals. YonhapMiddle school students pose for a photo during a P.E. class in Daejeon, Jan. 30. YonhapCivil servants without masks work in front of computers at a public service center in Gwangju, Jan. 30. YonhapPeople wearing masks shop at a mall in Daejeon, Jan. 30. YonhapThrough window of a cafe, a maskless barista can be seen making coffee on Jeju Island, Jan. 30. YonhapVisitors without masks look at a brick art display at a theme park on Jeju Island, Jan. 30. Yonhap

Travelers head to a bus station in the southwestern city of Gwangju to return home on the last day of the four-day Lunar New Year holiday, amid heavy snowfall, Jan. 24. YonhapA person crosses the street during a blizzard in the city of Jeju on the namesake resort island, Jan 24. YonhapPeople are bundled up against the cold in central Seoul, Jan. 24. YonhapA person stands at a bus stop amid heavy snowfall in the city of Jeju, Jan. 24. YonhapA snowplow truck clears a snow-covered road in the city of Jeju, Jan. 24. YonhapA police officer controls the entry of cars onto a road on the southern resort island of Jeju amid heavy snowfall, Jan. 24. YonhapPeople cross the road in front of Jeju International Airport during a blizzard, Jan 24. YonhapPeople bundled up against a cold snap stroll by Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul, Jan. 24. NewsisPeople in winter jackets walk past statues at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, Jan. 24. Yonhap

Pope Francis, center, attends a funeral mass next to the coffin of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday. Benedict died at 95 on Dec. 31 in the monastery on the Vatican grounds where he had spent nearly all of his decade in retirement. AP-YonhapPope Francis touches the coffin of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI before it is carried away after a funeral mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday. AP-YonhapPope Francis presides over the funeral ceremonies of former Pope Benedict in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday. Reuters-YonhapCardinals arrive in procession ahead of the funeral mass for late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday. AP-YonhapA guard stands as the fog covers the St. Peter's Basilica Dome in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday. AP-YonhapMembers of the church attend the funeral mass for late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday. AP-YonhapA woman holds a cross as she waits the funeral mass for late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday. AP-YonhapFaithfuls in Saint Peter's Square to attend the funeral ceremony of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger), in Vatican City, Thursday. EPA-YonhapFaithful attend the funeral mass for late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Thursday. AP-YonhapGeneral view during the funeral ceremony of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) in Saint Peter's Square, in Vatican City, Thursday. EPA-Yonhap People wait to pay respect to late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI lying in state inside St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Wednesday. EPA-YonhapThe body of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is lied out in state inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday. AP-Yonhap

A rabbit sculpture is silhouetted against the full moon at Yulhyeon Park in Seoul, Dec. 30. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulThe sun sets at Incheon International Airport, Dec. 26, a week before the start of the New Year. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulA ground crew member at an airport does a final check on the refueling of an airplane against the backdrop of the rising sun, Dec. 27. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulChildren wear rabbit masks in the southwestern city of Gwangju, Dec. 29, ahead of 2023 the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. YonhapThe bright setting sun is seen at Incheon International Airport, Dec. 26. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulCalligrapher Lee moo-ho writes a message for the New Year at the National Assembly, Dec. 29. YonhapThe sun sets over an airplane at Incheon International Airport, Dec. 26. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul