[Graphic News] S. Korean cosmetics exports hit record high in H1

Korean cosmetics exports surpassed $4.8 billion in the first half of 2024, setting a new record for beauty product exports within the first six months of a year. The figure is an 18.1 percent increase from the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service. This milestone surpasses the previous semiannual record of $4.63 billion set in the first half of 2021. During the first half of this year, cosmetics imports amounted to $850 million (1.2 trillion won), resulting in a trade s

MarketJuly 30, 2024

[Lisa Jarvis] Extreme heat hits mental health

On July 22, planet Earth achieved a terrifying milestone: Global temperatures reached their highest level in recorded history, breaking a record set just one day before. This year is expected to be the hottest in centuries. Heat waves are hotter, longer and more frequent than they were in the 1960s. By now, most of us understand that extreme heat is bad for our health, making our hearts, lungs, kidneys and other organs work much harder. But too often we overlook the quieter, less obvious toll he

ViewpointsJuly 30, 2024

[Grace Kao] Asian Americans in US Census counts

The United States is a land of immigrants, with many racial and ethnic groups. How the US government counts them changes regularly, and the latest revisions affect all minority groups, including Asian Americans. For immigrants to the US, including those from South Korea, it is often a shocking transition for them as they are identified via the racial categories in the US. Certainly, for new arrivals from Korea, China, India, the Philippines and other countries in Asia, it’s not obvious why

ViewpointsJuly 30, 2024

S. Korea wins 3rd straight gold in men's archery team event

PARIS (Yonhap) -- South Korea claimed its third straight gold medal in the men's archery team event in Paris on Monday, after defeating the home team France in the final. The trio of Kim Woo-jin, Kim Je-deok and Lee Woo-seok secured a 5-1 victory in the set score at Invalides in the French capital. This is the third straight team gold medal for Kim Woo-jin, second straight for Kim Je-deok, and first for Lee. As the third day of competition winds down at these Olympic Games, South Korea ha

More SportsJuly 30, 2024

[Contribution] Achieving gender equality through sports: Reflections on Paris 2024

By Philippe Bertoux and Jeongshim Lee The 2024 Paris Olympic Games mark a historic milestone in sports, featuring an equal number of male and female athletes competing for the first time. This should go without saying: After all, women constitute half of the world’s population. In historical context, the 50/50 gender allocation at Paris 2024 is truly significant. In 1900, also in Paris, women competed in the Olympic Games for the first time, but constituted only 2.2 percent of all athlet

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

On target for improbable gold, teen shooter wants to keep growing

CHATEAUROUX, France, July 29 (Yonhap) - While dabbling at different sports growing up, Ban Hyo-jin switched from taekwondo to shooting three years ago, at age 13. It only took her a couple of weeks to realize she could be good at this new sport. And on Monday at the Paris Olympics, the rest of the world found out just how good Ban could really be. Ban, 16, captured the gold medal in the women's 10-meter air rifle event at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in Chateauroux, south of Paris. She

More SportsJuly 29, 2024

JobKorea, Hirediversity team up to assist foreign job seekers

JobKorea, a job search platform, said Monday it has joined forces with Hirediversity, a local administrative service platform intending to assist foreign national job seekers. The partnership aims to streamline the administration process for foreign nationals interested in working in Korea by leveraging Hirediversity's expertise in immigration administration support and data management. The collaboration will provide administrative support and customized recruitment information, with the ai

IndustryJuly 29, 2024

Violinist Chung Kyung-wha, pianist Lim Dong-hyek to perform as duo for first time

Violinist Chung Kyung-wha, a pioneer in Korean classical music, and star pianist Lim Dong-Hyek will hold a duo performance at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall on Sept. 6. The recital will mark their first as a duo act. The two were previously part of a quintet performing Schubert's "Trout" Quintet in 2017. Chung chose Lim as the pianist for her fall recital tour, having recognized his talent early on and supporting him musically for many years, according to Credia, the recital&#

CultureJuly 29, 2024

TMON, WeMakePrice file for court receivership amid liquidity crisis

  TMON and WeMakePrice, e-commerce platforms of the Singapore-based Qoo10, filed for court receivership Monday, officials said, amid continuing liquidity woes due to the firms' delays in repaying vendors operating on their platforms. The two South Korean marketplaces have been in crisis after failing to make payments to their vendors amid the liquidity issues of their owner, Qoo10, reportedly due to aggressive merger deals. Their unpaid bills came to around 210 billion won (US$151.7 million

IndustryJuly 29, 2024

Kim Jong-un's daughter under succession training: lawmaker

Kim Ju-ae, the 12-year-old daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is seen as being groomed for succession, a lawmaker who attended a meeting of the intelligence committee of the National Assembly told reporters Monday. "(According to the National Intelligence Service,) Kim Ju-ae is being suggested as the most likely successor in the regime, as her succession training is currently underway," said Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the ruling People Power Party, who attended the meeting Monda

PoliticsJuly 29, 2024

'Planet B' to shed light on recruitment process for K-pop survival show

CJ ENM announced on Monday that it will launch a new Mnet program called "Planet B," which will, for the first time, show how K-pop survival program participants are recruited. The producers behind Mnet K-pop idol survival programs such as the "I-LAND" series, which led to the creation of K-pop groups Enhypen and Izna; "Girls Planet 999: The Girls Saga," which resulted in Kep1er; and "Boys Planet," which created Zerobaseone, will be responsible for produci

TelevisionJuly 29, 2024

Blackswan is back with 'Roll Up'

Blackswan, the first K-pop girl group consisting of all members who are not from South Korea, is set to make a comeback. The group will return with new album "Roll Up" on July 31 at 6 p.m. This EP is the group's first release since single album "That Karma" released in May last year, and includes a total of four tracks, with title song "Roll Up." The title track boasts an impressive lineup of producers, including: Rob Grimaldi, Alina Smith, Lauren Dyson, A Wrig

K-popJuly 29, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Twice logs 800m views with ‘What is Love?’ music video

Twice garnered 800 million views on YouTube with the music video for “What is Love?,” label JYP Entertainment said Monday. It is the group’s first to reach the milestone. “What is Love?” is the title track from Twice's fifth EP which came out in 2018. Written by the label’s head producer Park Jin-young, the music video for the upbeat tune turned each member into a movie character. Twice holds the record as the girl group with the most music videos with ov

K-popJuly 29, 2024

Teen shooter Ban Hyo-jin wins gold in women's air rifle

Teen shooter Ban Hyo-jin captured the gold medal in the women's 10-meter air rifle at the Paris Olympics on Monday, becoming South Korea's youngest shooting medalist ever at age 16. Ban edged out Huang Yuting of China in a shoot-off, 10.4 points to 10.3 points, after the two teens tied the Olympic record with 251.8 points in the final at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in Chateauroux, south of Paris. This was South Korea's fourth gold medal of the Paris Olympics and its 100th gold

More SportsJuly 29, 2024

Teens spend most of digital social lives on Instagram: data

Instagram has emerged as the social media app South Korea's teens spend the most time on, outpacing KakaoTalk by more than double, data showed Monday. According to data from mobile marketing and data analysis company IGAWorks, Korea's smartphone users under 20 spent a total of 94.1 million hours scrolling on Instagram in June, making the app the leading social media platform in popularity for the age group. This figure was nearly double the time they spent on the next most popular

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

Heat wave, tropical nights to persist this week

Heat wave warnings and tropical night phenomena are expected to persist throughout this week, with sporadic rain continuing in the Greater Seoul area and some parts of Gangwon Province until the end of the week, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration on Monday. On Tuesday, daytime temperatures are expected to reach as high as 36 degrees Celsius, with precipitation ranging between 5 to 30 millimeters for parts of Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province and 5 to 10 mm for much of Grea

Social AffairsJuly 29, 2024

[KH Explains] Korea-Japan breakthrough? Watershed weekend faces challenges

Last weekend marked a significant turning point for South Korea and Japan, as the Yoon Suk Yeol government attempted to move beyond one of the longstanding historical disputes stemming from Imperial Japan's occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Simultaneously, the defense chiefs of Seoul and Tokyo, meeting on Japanese soil for the first time in 15 years, committed to revitalizing military exchanges and signed an agreement institutionalizing trilateral security cooperation wi

Foreign AffairsJuly 29, 2024

Seoul shares end up for 2nd day ahead of Fed's rate decision

Seoul shares ended higher for a second straight session Monday amid hopes that the US Federal Reserve will hint at a potential rate cut in September. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 33.63 points, or 1.23 percent, to close at 2,765.53. Trading volume was moderate at 449.64 million shares worth 10.78 trillion won ($7.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 634 to 244. Institutions and foreigners bought a combined 522 billion won

MarketJuly 29, 2024

Hyundai Motor accelerates air mobility business in Indonesia

Hyundai Motor and Kia demonstrated their advanced air mobility in Indonesia as they demonstrated a flying aircraft and hailing procedure at the Samarinda Airport in East Kalimantan on Monday. With officials from Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation and Nusantara Capital City Authority in attendance for the presentation, the automakers explained how ride-pooling application Shucle and specialized aircraft can be developed to fit the circumstances of the local customers and advanced furthe

MobilityJuly 29, 2024