[Today’s K-pop] SHINee’s Onew to hold solo concert in Korea, Japan

Onew of SHINee is planning to take the stage as a solo singer in Korea and Japan, according to agency Griffin Entertainment on Friday. Onew's solo fan concert “Hola!” will be held in Seoul on Oct. 5-6 and in Yokohama, Japan on Nov. 21-22. The set list will include songs from his third solo EP “Flow” which will be released on Sept. 3. The album comes about 1 1/2 years after his first solo studio album “Circle.” The LP was atop “The 25 Best K-Pop Al

K-popAug. 23, 2024

Seoul to build large marina in Jamsil

The largest marina in Seoul is planned to be constructed at Jamsil Hangang Park in Songpa-gu, in the southeastern portion of the capital. The new facility is to accommodate 220 vessels, including yachts, as part of the city’s initiative to expand water leisure amenities. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Friday that it had signed an agreement with private company Hangang Marina to carry out the project. Construction is slated to begin early next year, with completion and openin

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

Fun, laughters to fill port city as Busan International Comedy Festival opens for 10-day run

Korean and international comedians will converge for the 12th Busan International Comedy Festival, one of Asia's largest comedy events, which kicks off Friday. This year's BICF will begin with an opening ceremony on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Busan Cinema Center, hosted by popular Korean comedians Yoo Se-yoon and Jang Dong-min. The opening ceremony will showcase performances by the group Koyote and comedian Youn Sung-ho, also known as DJ Ven. New Jean. International comedians, including p

CultureAug. 23, 2024

YouTube account of former singer convicted of raping minors shut down

The YouTube account of Go Young-wook, a former member of the popular '90s band Roo'Ra who served 30 months in prison for raping and sexually harassing minors, was shut down Friday, 17 days after its creation. "It seems my YouTube channel was shut down overnight. I didn't upload any harmful content, yet it seems YouTube applied a rule (to shut down accounts) solely to me just because of my criminal record. I've already served my legal punishment, so why is it that some pe

TelevisionAug. 23, 2024

Military Manpower to inspect BTS’ Suga military service onsite

The Military Manpower Administration is set to conduct an on-site inspection to check whether BTS’ Suga is faithfully performing his military service as a social service worker. Suga of the world-renowned K-pop boy group BTS is also currently being investigated by the police for driving an electric scooter under the influence of alcohol. On Aug. 6, Suga was caught by the police drunk driving an electric scooter in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gut, Seoul. In Korea, electric scooters are classified

K-popAug. 23, 2024

‘Pachinko’ season 2 about characters’ growth, emotions

Apple TV+’s Korean original series “Pachinko” has returned with the new second season narrating the internal growth of the characters and their portrayal of a range of emotions, the show’s main actors said Friday. Based on Korean American author Min Jin Lee’s bestselling novel of the same name, the period drama chronicles the life of a Korean family spanning four generations, who moved to Japan in the early 1900s. The second season continues to depict the life of Su

TelevisionAug. 23, 2024

Seoul shares snap 3-day rise ahead of Fed chief's speech

South Korean stocks ended slightly lower Friday, snapping three consecutive sessions of gains, as investors sat on the sidelines ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speech later in the day. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Indexfell 5.98 points, or 0.22 percent, to close at 2,701.69. Trade volume was moderate at 324 million shares worth 8.1 trillion won ($6.05 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 429 to 428. Foreigners sold a

MarketAug. 23, 2024

Korea's private consumption to pick up after H2: BOK

South Korea’s domestic consumption is expected to recover gradually after the latter half of this year, but an aging population and sluggish self-employed businesses could dampen the rebound hope, the country’s central bank said Friday. The Bank of Korea said that the recovery of private consumption remains delayed as the debt repayment burden has risen due to high prices and interest rates in a report analyzing the current economic situation. It said deferral in corporate performa

EconomyAug. 23, 2024

[Photo News] Art meets high-tech at Samsung’s TV exhibition

Samsung Electronics kicked off an exhibition Friday that features a 10-meter art wall displaying contemporary works of art on its QLED TVs. "Bazaar Exhibition: Under/Stand with Samsung The Frame" is a collaborative event the tech giant is hosting in partnership with the fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar. The show will run at Process Itaewon in Seoul through Sep. 14. The exhibition suggests new ways of enjoying artwork through The Frame, Samsung's lifestyle series mid-range QL

TechnologyAug. 23, 2024

Ruling party highlights need for intergenerational equity in pension reform

The ruling People Power Party on Friday called for further intergenerational equity in the government’s plan to reform the country’s ailing pension system. “In order to make the country’s retirement security system sustainable enough to be effective for the next 100 years beyond the current generation of youth to a future generation, we cannot overlook the issue of fiscal sustainability. This means that our foremost task for (the government’s) pension reform is to b

PoliticsAug. 23, 2024

Deepfake sex crimes spread among teens

  Recent progress in video technology has had some alarming effects in South Korea, as a growing number of tech-savvy youngsters are using deepfake technology to produce sexual images of people without their consent, often of their peers. A recent report showed that there had been 180 criminal cases related to deepfake images last year. Ninety-one of the 120 people punished in those crimes were teenagers, according to a report compiled by Rep. Cho Eun-hee of the ruling People Power Party, w

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

Hanwha Aerospace opens 1st overseas plant in Australia

Hanwha Aerospace announced Friday that it has completed the construction of the Hanwha Armored Vehicle Centre of Excellence, or H-ACE in Geelong, Australia, signifying the first overseas production foothold for a Korean defense company. “This facility represents Hanwha's commitment to Geelong, Victoria and Australia, demonstrating that the company is focused on the future of programs in this region, including howitzers, vehicles and other technological advancements beyond our current

CompaniesAug. 23, 2024

Hanwha heir makes W54.4b tender offer for Galleria shares

Kim Dong-sun, the youngest heir of Hanwha Group and vice president of Hanwha Galleria, has initiated a public tender offer to increase his control over the retail subsidiary. According to a regulatory filing released Friday, Kim has offered to purchase 34 million shares, representing 17.54 percent of Hanwha Galleria, from Aug. 25 to Sept. 11. The offer price is set at 1,600 won ($1.19) per share, a 23 percent premium over the previous day's closing price of 1,303 won. The filing noted that

IndustryAug. 23, 2024

Korean-ethnic high school wins prestigious Japanese baseball tournament

TOKYO -- A Korean-ethnic high school in Japan won a prestigious national baseball championship for the first time on Friday. Kyoto International High School defeated Kanto Daiichi High School in the final of the National High School Baseball Championship, better known as "Summer Koshien," by the score of 2-1 in extra innings at Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, just west of Osaka. Kyoto International was founded in 1963 as an ethnic institution for students of Korean descent. S

BaseballAug. 23, 2024

Bereaved families mourn, survivors recall chaos of Bucheon hotel fire

Among the seven people who died in Thursday's hotel fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, was a 28-year-old woman whose final moments have deeply resonated with the public. The woman, surnamed Kim, made her last desperate phone call to her father at 7:42 p.m., just three minutes after the fire broke out, according to reports by the JoongAng Ilbo. "Something terrible has happened. The smoke is so thick I can’t get out," she said. In a second call, just over five minutes later, she a

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

Sung Kim to receive US diplomatic award

Sung Kim, a former United States ambassador to South Korea and currently an adviser for Hyundai Motor Group, has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy’s George F. Kennan Award for Distinguished Public Service, the Korean auto conglomerate said Friday. The NCAFP, which was established in 1974 as a think tank for supporting the US government’s diplomatic and foreign policies, underscored that Kim has built an outstanding diploma

CompaniesAug. 23, 2024

Gyeonggi bus drivers vote for Sept. general strike

A labor union of bus drivers in Gyeonggi Province, responsible for the operation of over 90 percent of all bus routes in the province, plans a general strike early next month, sparking concerns about disruptions in the public transit system. The walkout plan was approved in a vote Thursday, with 98.3 percent of the 12,613 participants voting in favor. The union, under the Korean Automobile and Transport Workers’ Federation, represents 16,592 members across 45 bus companies in 31 cities i

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

Changgyeonggung Nighttime Feast to open during Chuseok

An interactive program where participants can experience what it was like at celebrations hosted by Joseon-era (1392-1910) heirs to the throne will be open to the public during the Chuseok holiday at Changgyeonggung. The Changgyeonggung Nighttime Feast, an annual event in its fourth year, will accept 90 people a day to take part in the feast as ranking officials in traditional attire, prepared by the Joseon-era palace in Seoul. Royal music performances and food will follow. Tickets purchases in

Arts & DesignAug. 23, 2024

Number of COVID-19 patients continues to rise

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 continued to increase in the third week of August, according to the most recent tally Thursday, but at a lower growth rate than weeks before. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, 1,464 people were newly hospitalized with the disease between Aug. 11 and Aug. 17, marking a 7.2 percent increase compared to 1,366 new patients in the previous week. The figure by the state-run agency refers to the patients admitted to one of 22

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024

Skeletal remains of man found in abandoned Jeju motel

Skeletal remains of a man in his 70s were discovered Thursday in a defunct motel in Ora-dong, Jeju City, police said Friday. The deceased, believed to be a former welfare recipient, had reportedly been living in the facility before its closure in 2019. Welfare officials had placed him on a watch list after losing contact in August 2020. An official conducting a premises check located the remains in a room of the abandoned building and alerted local authorities around 9:36 am Thursday. Investigat

Social AffairsAug. 23, 2024