New drama series featuring BTS' growth story being produced

A new drama series featuring the growth story of global K-pop band BTS is under production to be aired next year, the head of the band's music label said Wednesday."With a view to launch it in the second half of 2020, (we) are preparing a drama series based on BTS' (musical) universe," Bang Si-hyuk, CEO of Big Hit Entertainment, said in a briefing on the firm's corporate vision. The CEO said the drama series will go back in time to the moment when the seven BTS members first met as a t

PerformanceAug. 21, 2019

Hyundai Motor unveils new truck Pavise

Hyundai Motor Group unveiled Wednesday a rendering of its new truck Pavise, which will go on sale next month. There had been rumors that Pavise would be a new crossover after the company trademarked the name in April. According to Korea’s largest automaker, Pavise stands for practical, adaptable, volume, information, safety and economical.Hyundai Motor said the new truck’s grille design has a powerful structure with dynamic strokes. The front grille was designed to be solid and

IndustryAug. 21, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Cyrano’ returns to stage with better visuals, but loses some poetic flair

In the story of “Cyrano,” love has always been in the air. A love letter, serenade, love triangle, misunderstanding and betrayal ... they are all there in the musical. And yet, the 2019 season has returned with even more love than before. Based on a play of the same name written by Edmond Rostand in 1897, the love story of Cyrano has grown in popularity across the world, being adapted into films, a drama, a novel, and finally to a musical in 2009 by legendary duo, Leslie Bricusse and

PerformanceAug. 21, 2019

Justice minister nominee in trouble in face of snowballing scandals

Justice Minister nominee Cho Kuk faces snowballing corruption and fraud allegations involving his family, with political parties bickering over whether he is qualified to lead the law ministry.A series of scandals ranging from academics-related allegations about Cho's daughter and his dubious hefty investment in a private equity fund to his previous involvement in a left-leaning group have made headlines since his nomination in a Cabinet shakeup on Aug. 9. In particular, college students have sh

PoliticsAug. 21, 2019

N. Korea continued nuclear program in 2018 in Yongbyon: IAEA

North Korea continued and further developed its nuclear program last year at a 5-megawatt reactor in Yongbyon, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in its annual report.According to the IAEA report, which will be submitted to the 74th United Nations General Assembly in New York next month, the agency observed through satellite imagery “indications that were consistent with the operation of the Yongbyon Experimental Nuclear Power Plant (five-megawatt) reactor until mid-August 2018.&r

North KoreaAug. 21, 2019

[Video] Trendy treats on offer at Seoul Dessert Fair 2019

South Korea’s biggest dessert festival, the Seoul Dessert Fair, closed the doors on its 23rd event last weekend at the Setec exhibition hall in Gangnam, Seoul.(Shot and edited by Choi Ji-won / The Korea Herald)The three-day event ran Friday to Sunday and garnered more than 30,000 visitors. Around 240 dessert shop owners and individual sellers from around the country presented assorted confections ranging from seasonal sweets to those following the latest trends.Traditional Korean treats an

FoodAug. 21, 2019

8 years, 3 doping cases later, race walker becomes 1st S. Korean with world championships medal

It's been a long time coming, and race walker Kim Hyun-sub has finally become the first South Korean to win a world championships medal, set to receive a prize that he should have been awarded eight years ago on home soil.Kim finished the men's 20-kilometer race walk in sixth place at the 2011 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Daegu, 300 km southeast of Seoul. But three athletes who finished ahead of him have since been stripped of their records bec

More SportsAug. 21, 2019

Facebook hiring journalists to curate its new News Tab

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) -- Facebook on Tuesday confirmed plans for a News Tab that will be edited by seasoned journalists, in a departure from its longstanding practice of letting algorithms dictate a user's experience.A human team will select relevant, reliable breaking and top news stories. Other sections of the tab will rely on algorithms to figure out a user's interests based on "signals" such as pages followed, interactions with online news or subscriptions to publications."Our g

World NewsAug. 21, 2019

Top 3 memory chip makers' sales fall over 30% in H1

The world's big three memory chip makers saw their revenues decline over 30 percent in the first half of the year due to weak demand and steep price declines following a two-year boom, a report said Wednesday. The Big 3 memory suppliers -- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix of South Korea and Micron of the United States -- grappled with slumping sales in the first six months of the year compared with a year ago amid weak memory chip markets, according to the report from IC Insights. Samsung and SK

EconomyAug. 21, 2019

Biegun holds talks with S. Korean counterpart over resumption of nuke talks with NK

US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun held talks with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss joint efforts to resume and make progress in nuclear talks with North Korea.The US envoy met Lee Do-hoon at Seoul's foreign ministry, kicking off his official schedule for a series of meetings with senior Seoul officials, including Unification Minister Kim Yeong-chul. He arrived here from Japan on Tuesday for a three-day visit. His trip came as the conclusion of

North KoreaAug. 21, 2019

Marvel's involvement in 'Spider-Man' movies may be in doubt

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- With great success comes great re-negotiation. In the wake of the announcement that "Spider-Man: Far From Home'' is now the highest-grossing film ever in Sony Pictures' history, reports surfaced that Marvel Studios may be stepping away from the cross-studio partnership.  The Hollywood trade Deadline reported Tuesday that there was a disagreement over the profit-sharing structure. According to a person close to the deal who was unauthorized to speak publicly, negotia

FilmAug. 21, 2019

Thailand partnering with South Korea on electric bus development

BANGKOK -- An all-electric bus with the national flags of South Korea and Thailand printed side by side sits on a campus of one of the national research universities on the southern side of Bangkok. The electric bus is a joint project between Korea and Thailand, led mainly by Korean automaker Edison Motors, which currently provides public transport services with eco-friendly buses at Namsan in Seoul and on Jeju Island. The project involves 11 organizations from both sides, including Korea’

IndustryAug. 21, 2019

At age of 100, philosopher says ‘I love; therefore I am’

Widely known as the “100-year-old philosopher,” professor Kim Hyung-seok recently published a collection of essays that delves into the meaning of life. Kim, 100 this year by Korean age, was born in 1920 in Pyongyang, which is now the capital of North Korea. He studied philosophy at Sophia University in Tokyo. After Korea’s liberation from Japan in 1945, he taught at a local middle and high school in Seoul and eventually joined Yonsei University. He is now a professor emeritus

PeopleAug. 21, 2019

Top diplomats of S. Korea, China, Japan to hold talks in Beijing

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for meetings with her Chinese and Japanese counterparts over three-way cooperation and a possible summit among their leaders.Her trip drew keen attention as she plans to meet bilaterally with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on Wednesday afternoon amid heightened tensions between the two countries over trade and history.Their meeting comes at a delicate time when Seoul is mulling whether to renew a bilateral military i

Foreign AffairsAug. 20, 2019

Rapper Kisum challenges herself with first dance hip-hop record, 'Yeah!sul'

Female rapper and songwriter Kisum on Tuesday dropped a new EP, "Yeah!sul," fronted by a funky dance number, transforming sharply from her previous dark hip-hop music.The EP's title, "Yeah!sul," translates in Korean as "Yeah! alcohol," or as "art" when read together, and the six-track album is led by "Let's Drink Up."Kisum sampled the widely loved refrain from male duo Vibe's hit song with the same Korean title in composing and writing the main t

PerformanceAug. 20, 2019

GM Korea union enters partial strike for higher wages

Unionized workers at GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., on Tuesday entered a two-day partial strike, demanding higher wages. GM Korea workers held a four-hour strike on Tuesday and plan to stage another four-hour walkout on Wednesday, GM union spokesman Dang Sung-geun said over the phone. "Union leaders will hold a meeting on Thursday to decide on whether to enter another round of strikes," he said. GM Korea and its union have held seven rounds of talks since Ju

MobilityAug. 20, 2019

Amorepacific spins off tea brand Osulloc

South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific Corp. said Tuesday that its premium green tea brand Osulloc will be launched as an independent entity this year to boost its value.Osulloc will begin independent business activity starting on Oct. 1, the company said in a regulatory filing. The move is part of efforts to reinforce Osulloc's brand image as a premium organic green tea brand, the company said. "Osulloc will solidify its brand as a leading premium tea brand through efficient and re

IndustryAug. 20, 2019

Antitrust watchdog approves plan to establish ‘Netflix of Asia’

Korea’s antitrust watchdog on Tuesday approved the integration of two popular video streaming businesses, giving the nod to the local companies’ ambition to establish a massive home-grown streaming platform to compete with Netflix. The Fair Trade Commission said it greenlighted the merger of SK Telecom and territorial broadcasters’ over-the-top video services. Combining SK Telecom’s Pooq and the broadcasters’ Oksusu, new OTT service Wavve will be launched next month

TechnologyAug. 20, 2019

[Graphic News] Korea's coal consumption up in 2018, bucks global trend

　South Korea’s coal consumption increased last year, bucking the global trend for reducing carbon emissions, a report showed. 　South Korea consumed 88.2 million tons of oil equivalent, a unit of energy, in 2018, up 2.4 percent from a year ago, according to the London-based energy company BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2019.　The latest figure makes South Korea the world’s fifth-largest coal consumer, following China, India, the United States and Japan, BP said. (Yonhap)

World BusinessAug. 20, 2019

Are ‘water drop’ breast implants a ticking time bomb in the chest?

South Koreans with Allergan’s textured breast implants are expressing fear and complaining about a lack of direction from authorities, a week into the latest developments surrounding the first Korean patient being diagnosed with breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma, or BIA-ALCL, a rare cancer of the immune system.The first BIA-ALCL diagnosis in Korea was publicly announced Wednesday last week by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. It was the fourth such case in

IndustryAug. 20, 2019