BTS' J-Hope releases collaboration with Becky G

J-Hope, a member of K-pop boy band BTS, will release Friday a hip hop single featuring American musician Becky G, his management agency said. The song, "Chicken Noodle Soup," set for release Friday evening through BTS' official social media channels, is a recreation of the namesake song released by American musician, DJ Webstar and rapper Young B.  The new song will also come with a music video featuring J-Hope and Becky G, according to Big Hit Entertainment. J-Hope wrote Kor

PerformanceSept. 27, 2019

[Weekender] Taste of the North

North Korea is a forbidden land for South Koreans. But there is a way to experience the contemporary culture of the reclusive communist state without actually crossing the border: Visiting restaurants here that specialize in North Korean cuisine. With over 32,000 North Korean refugees calling South Korea home now, such eateries, either targeting fellow homesick defectors or curious South Korean diners, are easy to find with a quick search on the internet. “Having been separated for nearly

FoodSept. 27, 2019

Seoul stocks open lower on US political uncertainties

South Korean stocks opened lower on Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street following a potential impeachment probe into US President Donald Trump.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 10.95 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,063.57 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On the Seoul bourse, top market cap Samsung Electronics plunged 1.52 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix nosedived 2.76 percent. LG Display shed 0.75 percent. Financials also got off to a weak start. Shinhan Fi

MarketSept. 27, 2019

S. Korea, US hold 2nd day of biannual defense talks on N. Korea, alliance

South Korea and the United States held the second and final day of biannual defense talks in Seoul on Friday on regional security and other alliance issues, the defense ministry said.The 16th Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue, which began on Thursday, took place at a time when the allies are facing tricky issues such as Seoul's termination of a military information-sharing deal with Japan and security challenges posed by North Korea."The two sides are to discuss the overall security issu

Foreign AffairsSept. 27, 2019

Pompeo says US-NK talks not yet arranged

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that working-level denuclearization negotiations with North Korea that were expected this month have not been arranged.Pompeo made the remark at a press conference on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying the US stands ready to resume negotiations with the North."We've not been able to make those happen. And we don't have a date yet when we'll be able to get together," he said. "The North Koreans kn

North KoreaSept. 27, 2019

Ninth case of African swine fever confirmed in Ganghwa

Another case of African swine fever has been found in the Ganghwa district of Incheon, pushing up the total number of confirmed cases to nine.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Friday that the ninth case of the disease had been detected at a pig farm on Ganghwa Island, about 60 kilometers west of Seoul. Two other suspected farms in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, tested negative. The farm where the most recent case was detected has some 2,000 pigs.The first outbreak of the deadl

Social AffairsSept. 27, 2019

Foreign ministers of S. Korea, Japan meet amid trade, history row

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan held talks in New York Thursday but produced no breakthrough in a row over trade and wartime history.South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with her new Japanese counterpart, Toshimitsu Motegi, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, their first meeting since Motegi took office earlier this month. Kang said the two sides reiterated their respective positions on the bilateral dispute, which has seen Tokyo impose export cont

Foreign AffairsSept. 27, 2019

Nutrilite to launch “Korean-customized” dietary supplement

US vitamin and dietary supplement brand Nutrilite said Thursday that it is launching the upgraded all-in-one dietary supplement Double X in Korea next month, calling it a product tailored to local eating habits.“Double X has been upgraded to tailor to the Korean market, which we developed by determining habits and cultures over the past 10 years,” said Sam Rehnborg, head of the Nutrilite Health Institute and son of the Nutrilite founder, in an interview with The Korea Herald. Rehnbor

IndustrySept. 27, 2019

N. Korea says Trump is unlike former US leaders, hopes for progress

A former chief North Korean nuclear envoy said Friday he believes US President Donald Trump is different from his predecessors, and looks forward to him making a "bold decision" in nuclear talks despite calls in Washington for Pyongyang to denuclearize first.Kim Kye-gwan, currently an adviser to the North Korean foreign ministry, made the remarks in a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, amid expectations that the US and the North could hold working-lev

North KoreaSept. 27, 2019

S. Korea's gender pay gap widened to 37% last year: survey

South Korea's gender pay gap widened in 2018 from a year earlier, marking the largest difference among the 36 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a local workers' union said Thursday. Last year, the wage gap between male and female workers in Asia's fourth-biggest economy widened to a "serious level" of 37.1 percent, up from the previous year's 34.6 percent, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) said in a forum. "The widening pay gap

Social AffairsSept. 26, 2019

Justice minister's phone conversation over raid sparks uproar in parliament

Justice Minister Cho Kuk said Thursday he spoke by telephone with a chief prosecutor in charge of raids on Cho's residence over allegations of corruption, sparking a row over the appropriateness of the conversation, during a parliamentary interpellation session.The telephone conversation was with a prosecutor who was on the scene of the raids of Cho's residence on Monday. Prosecutors are investigating corruption allegations involving his family, including his wife's alleged forgery of a school a

PoliticsSept. 26, 2019

Ex-French President Chirac, who stood up to US, dies at 86

PARIS (AP) -- Jacques Chirac, a two-term French president who was the first leader to acknowledge France's role in the Holocaust and defiantly opposed the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, died Thursday at age 86.His son-in-law Frederic Salat-Baroux told The Associated Press that Chirac died ``peacefully, among his loved ones.'' He did not give a cause of death, though Chirac had had repeated health problems since leaving office in 2007. His death was announced to lawmakers sitting in Franc

World NewsSept. 26, 2019

What's next now that Pelosi has launched impeachment inquiry

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Now that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has launched an official impeachment inquiry of US President Donald Trump, what's next?In some ways, the investigations of the Trump administration won't look too different from those underway in the House, but now they'll have a focus on the Ukraine situation and an urgency to act.Pelosi embarked on the impeachment inquiry she had long resisted after an uproar from Democrats in Congress. It stemmed from a whistleblower's complaint of Trump

World NewsSept. 26, 2019

Trump 'quite likely' to visit Pyongyang: ex-US nuke envoy

US President Donald Trump could visit Pyongyang for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to try to use the event to boost his reelection campaign, a former top US nuclear envoy said Thursday."A possibility of him going to Pyongyang, I think it's quite likely. He's focused on reelection. Anything that helps the reelection, he would be wanting to do it," Joseph Yun, former US special representative for North Korea told a forum in Seoul."Another summit is likely. Trump has e

North KoreaSept. 26, 2019

A journey to find memories, origins

Global silver reserves are shrinking fast and may run out as early as 2029 if we continue to mine the metal at the current rate without finding any new deposits, according to some experts.Korean-French artist Daphne Nan Le Sergent recalled reading reports about diminishing silver supplies earlier this year and worrying if the depletion of silver would mean the disappearance of traditional photography. Sergent’s exhibition “Silver Memories: How to Reach the Origin” at Atelier He

Arts & DesignSept. 26, 2019

[Graphic News] Most imported fake products are Chinese-made: data

　Nearly 90 percent of the counterfeit goods found by customs authorities in the last five years were from China, with Louis Vuitton  the biggest victim among reputable brands, data showed. 　The value of imported fake goods uncovered between 2015 and August this year amounted to 1.86 trillion won ($1.55 billion), with 89 percent, or 1.65 trillion won, from China, according to data from the Korea Customs Service obtained by Rep. Hong Il-pyo.　Louis Vuitton was on top among counterfeited brands

Social AffairsSept. 26, 2019

Will KakaoTalk kill off text messaging services?

　Despite South Korean mobile carriers’ efforts to rekindle the use of text messages, the prospects of the once-lucrative business continue to look grim.　The country’s three biggest telecom firms -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- have upgraded their text message services with advanced features like group chatting and video sharing in recent years. 　But the moves have so far failed to draw users away from the popular messenger service KakaoTalk. While the chatting app has seen a dramat

TechnologySept. 26, 2019

Korea bans sales of ranitidine generics over carcinogen concern

　South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety tentatively put the brakes on the manufacturing, import and sale of 269 ranitidine-based drugs from 133 companies in the country, Thursday, upon alert from the US Food and Drug Administration that a carcinogenic chemical was found in the widely used medicine Zantac and its generic versions.　Ranitidine is a drug that decreases stomach acid production. It is used to treat peptic ulcer disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease, or indigestion

IndustrySept. 26, 2019

S. Korea joins Gothenburg Book Fair as guest of honor

South Korea on Thursday took part in the 2019 Gothenburg Book Fair as the guest of honor, providing the Nordic audience a rare glimpse into its literature and culture.The four-day annual book fair, the largest cultural event in Scandinavia, opened in Gothenburg, the second-largest city in Sweden, earlier in the day, with some 85,000 people from about 40 nations joining at an 11,000-square-meter exhibition center. This year's book fair presents three themes -- "South Korea-Guest of Honor,&qu

CultureSept. 26, 2019

[Noah Feldman] UK top court’s Brexit ruling will have wide-ranging impact

The UK Supreme Court’s ruling voiding Boris Johnson’s suspension of Parliament is one for the ages -- a landmark in British constitutional law of the kind that comes around only once every few centuries.The court’s judgment tried to downplay how astonishing its decision was. But the reality is that the unanimous court broke new ground in making the judiciary, not Parliament, the ultimate arbiter of constitutional legality in the UK. Although, the court said this case was a &ldq

ViewpointsSept. 26, 2019