[Contribution] APEC, passing the baton to Korea

On Nov. 16, President Yoon Suk Yeol will participate in the APEC Leaders' Summit in Lima, coinciding with his official visit to Peru. This is a significant occasion as Korea will assume the presidency of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation for 2025, a forum which serves as the primary platform for economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Over the past 35 years, APEC has effectively promoted trade and investment integration in the world's most dynamic economic region, which curren

Diplomatic CircuitNov. 8, 2024

Tourist doing yoga in front of Gyeongbokgung stirs debate

Photos of a woman practicing yoga in green leggings in front of Gyeongbokgung in Seoul have stirred up debate online. The incident occurred when a woman, 37, from Hanoi, Vietnam shared photos on TikTok showing herself doing a yoga handstand pose in front of the stone wall surrounding Gyeongbokgung, the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), during a visit to Seoul, Sunday. The photos went viral on social media, drawing criticism for being "rude," "disgraceful" a

Social AffairsNov. 8, 2024

Seoul shares open sharply higher on US rate cut

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, after the US Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-percentage point. The Korean won also sharply gained against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 25.57 points, or 1 percent, to 2,590.2 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The rate cut marked the second consecutive reduction following a 50-basis-point cut in September. The move came after Republican flag

MarketNov. 8, 2024

US Fed cuts key lending rate by quarter-percentage point

The US Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-percentage point on Thursday, marking the second consecutive reduction following a jumbo 50-basis-point cut in September. After the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the central bank announced the decision to reduce the rate to the 4.50 to 4.75 percent range. It came after Republican flag-bearer Donald Trump won in Tuesday's presidential election over Vice President Kamala Harris. In a press release, the Fe

EconomyNov. 8, 2024

[Well-curated] Treats for esports fans, galleries and gingko trees at Samcheong-dong

Explore 2024 League of Legends champion's merch shop For those who are still excited about South Korea’s League of Legends team T1’s victory at the 2024 LoL World Championship Finals last week, a visit to T1 HQ Shop may swell their pride even further and give them the chance to dwell a bit longer on the miraculous story that the team has written. Located in Gangnam, southern Seoul, on the first floor of T1's headquarters -- where the T1 esports players are -- T1 HQ Shop is

CultureNov. 8, 2024

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

DoubleTree by Hilton Seoul Pangyo offers child-friendly package DoubleTree by Hilton Seoul Pangyo, located in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, is collaborating with the makers of the hit animated series “Catch! Teenieping.” The “Teenieping Adventure” package offers a one-night stay with breakfast at the hotel restaurant, Demeter, for three guests, along with an animated character-themed camera set and access to a photo booth, hotel swimming pool and fitness center. Children w

CultureNov. 8, 2024

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Pink muhly at Hueree The Pink Muhly Festival is running at Hueree Park on Jeju Island through Nov. 17. Relish in the shining pink muhly grass -- a tall, flowering variety known for its mauve-hued inflorescences. Admission costs 13,000 won for adults with discounts available for those younger and those participating in group tours. For more information, go to hueree.com. Autumn colors at Hwadam The Autumn Colors Festival is taking place at Hwadam, a botanical garden bursting with fall f

TravelNov. 8, 2024

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Venom: The Last Dance” (US) Opened Oct. 23 Action/Sci-fi Directed by Kelly Marcel Former journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and his gooey, alien symbiote Venom, conclude their journey as Venom tries to stop the creator of the symbiotes Knull (Andy Serkis) from escaping his celestial prison. “Amazon Bullseye” (South Korea) Opened Oct. 30 Drama/Adventure Directed by Kim Chang-joo Former archer Jin-bong (Ryoo Seung-ryong) crash-lands in Boledor where he meets members of

FilmNov. 8, 2024

[Lee Byung-jong] US presidential election and Korea

Now that the US presidential election is over, with former President Trump’s victory, it may be time to review the heated and divisive campaigns of the election, along with its close resemblance to South Korea’s polarized politics. Perhaps because Korea borrowed its political system from the US at the time of its inception, there are alarming similarities between the two countries’ politics, notably during elections. It is alarming because the bitter and destructive nature of t

ViewpointsNov. 8, 2024

Police clear Jessi of charges in fan assault case

Singer-rapper Jessi has been cleared of charges in a case involving the assault of a fan by someone accompanying her, Seoul police said Thursday. The Gangnam Police Station in southern Seoul said it decided not to send Jessi's case to the prosecution, concluding that it is difficult to acknowledge the charges of concealing and aiding the escape of a criminal against her. The incident occurred on the night of Sept. 29 in southern Seoul, where an 18-year-old fan approached Jessi for a photo

K-popNov. 7, 2024

Netmarble swings to black in Q3 on steady-selling titles

Netmarble Corp., a South Korean game developer, said Thursday it swung to net profit in the third quarter on steady sales of its webtoon-based game title Solo Leveling: ARISE. The company posted a net income of 20.6 billion won ($14.8 million) for the July-September period, shifting from a loss of 28.4 billion won a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing. Operating income was 65.5 billion, compared with a loss of 21.9 billion won a year ago, while sales rose 2.6 percent to 647.3 billion

TechnologyNov. 7, 2024

[Herald Interview] Take a step back, ponder what’s ‘in our nature’

The 27th edition of the Singapore Writers Festival kicks off this weekend, inviting audiences to explore the theme “In Our Nature.” Running from Friday through Nov. 17, this year’s festival will be held across venues throughout Singapore, offering over 200 programs that delve into humanity’s relationship with the natural world. For Yong Shu Hoong, the newly appointed festival director, poet and educator with a background in computer science, this theme took shape during h

BooksNov. 7, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] NCT Dream to drop pre-release from 4th LP

NCT Dream will unveil a music video for a track from its upcoming fourth LP on Friday, announced label SM Entertainment Thursday. As hinted through a teaser trailer, the music video for “Flying Kiss” will show the seven members visualize “dream” and “love,” key themes of the pop tune. Haechan wrote the lyrics for the love song. The pre-release will be one of the 11 tracks from “Dreamscape” which will be fronted by “When I’m With You.&rd

K-popNov. 7, 2024

South Korean courts suffer website outages in suspected cyber attacks

The websites of South Korean courts temporarily went down Thursday afternoon, a day after South Korean military websites suffered similar outages. The court websites, including that of the country’s largest Seoul central district court, were inaccessible due to suspected cyberattacks. The court administration office told reporters it suspects a distributed denial of service attack, in which servers are overwhelmed with large amounts of traffic to block access, by a potential foreign source

PoliticsNov. 7, 2024

Political sphere divided over Yoon’s public address

South Korea’s political sphere expressed divided opinions on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s public address delivered Thursday, with the main opposition party criticizing it as a speech “full of excuses” and the ruling party praising it as “honest.” In the televised address and press conference marking the second half of his term, Yoon did not directly mention his wife, but offered an apology amid the public discontent due to the multiple controversies surrounding f

PoliticsNov. 7, 2024

KT&G reports record cigarette sales in Q3

KT&G, the nation’s largest tobacco company, said Thursday its cigarette sales hit a new record in the third quarter, largely buoyed by overseas sales. In the July-September period, the company reported 1.04 trillion won ($780 million) in cigarette sales, up 7.7 percent from a year ago and the highest-ever quarterly figure. Operating profit in cigarette sales also soared 23.6 percent to 333 billion won. Overseas sales made up about one-third of its total cigarette sales, worth 419.7 bil

IndustryNov. 7, 2024

Poster of Kim Jong-un behind bars launches S. Korean groups' anti-NK campaign in Geneva

A group of South Koreans held a campaign denouncing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in front of the North’s permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva on Wednesday, one of its organizers said Thursday. The campaign, organized jointly by the South Korean civic group People for Successful Corean Reunification and the Seoul-based advertising agency Jeski Social Campaign, was initiated at the plaza in front of the United Nations Office building where a session of the UN Human Rights Cou

North KoreaNov. 7, 2024

Mirae Asset Securities Q3 earnings more than double

Mirae Asset Securities, a leading brokerage house in Seoul, reported robust earnings in the third quarter, largely buoyed by the strong performance of overseas units. In its earnings report on Thursday, the brokerage firm said its operating profit more than doubled to 370 billion won ($265 million) in the July-September period compared to a year ago, while its net profit soared to 290 billion won, almost tripling on-year. The company attributed the upbeat earnings to the growth of its foreign su

IndustryNov. 7, 2024

[Pressure points] Do we still need school yearbooks?

Yearbooks have long been cherished as a way to remember the school days, friendships and experiences that shape our youth. However, in South Korea, people are now questioning whether the tradition of creating photo albums featuring all students and faculty should continue. This shift in sentiment comes after an increase in deepfake pornography, where photographs of classmates have been illegally used to create sexually explicit content using artificial intelligence technology. While some are cal

Hashtag KoreaNov. 7, 2024