[News Focus] Sejong residents much younger than Seoulites

SEJONG -- It is now seven years since the launch of Sejong Special Autonomous City in July 2012.The centrally located city borders Daejeon to the south, Gongju to the west, Cheonan to the north and Cheongju to the east. It is also relatively close to the southern provinces of North Jeolla and North Gyeongsang.As of June 2019, its population came to 327,643 with the number of households reaching 129,937.As the fastest-growing city in South Korea, Sejong is actively attracting people from neighbor

Social AffairsAug. 1, 2019

Maestro Chung Myung-whun to conduct, perform at upcoming concert

Maestro Chung Myung-whun will play the piano and also take the baton at One Korea Orchestra’s upcoming concert. One Korea Orchestra, led by the 66-year-old maestro, will hold its third performance at the Seoul Arts Center on Aug. 18, presenting Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 in B minor. The organizers had hoped to invite a North Korean pianist to perform the Mozart piece, but failed. Instead, Chung will play the piano for the piece.&n

PerformanceAug. 1, 2019

Mountains and music: Olympic city PyeongChang lifted up by classical music

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- A two-hour drive from Seoul, PyeongChang is widely known as a Winter Olympics host city filled with ski slopes, rental shops and resorts. But this week PyeongChang got a sudden infusion of classical music.“A Different Story,” the 16th Music in PyeongChang event also known as the Great Mountains Music Festival, kicked off Wednesday and will continue until Aug. 10. 　Located 700 meters above sea level in PyeongChang, the Alpensia Resort welcomed visitors

PerformanceAug. 1, 2019

LG CNS to introduce AI-based X ray analysis system for public health center

　South Korean information technology firm LG CNS said Thursday it will install an artificial intelligence-based X-ray analysis system at a local public health center to offer patients speedier medical assessments. 　Starting from late September, the AI-based X-ray assessment will be brought to a public medical facility in the Eunpyeong district of Seoul. The system is expected to help doctors and patients receive accurate X-ray images within 20 seconds, LG CNS added. 　According to the IT solution

TechnologyAug. 1, 2019

Korean Air to place smaller jets on Japanese routes amid trade row

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's flag carrier, said Thursday it will begin placing smaller jets on several Japanese routes this month amid escalating trade tensions with Japan.  The move is part of Korean Air's extended efforts to respond to a fall in Japan-bound routes after the neighbor implemented tighter restrictions on exports of key materials to Korea, in apparent retaliation against a series of South Korean court rulings last year over Japan's wartime forced labor.Japan is also se

IndustryAug. 1, 2019

Delta increases stake in Korean Air's parent firm

Delta Air Lines, Inc. said Thursday it has increased its stake in Hanjin KAL, the parent company of Korean Air Lines Co., in what it called a just investment.  In a report to the bourse operator, the Korea Exchange, Delta said it increased its stake in Hanjin KAL to 5.13 percent from 4.3 percent. "The purpose of the investment is not aimed at affecting the management rights," the report said. In June, Delta announced it purchased the 4.3 percent stake in Hanjin KAL, and it would e

IndustryAug. 1, 2019

Disgraced Produce X 101 faces class-action suit amid the downfall

The name of “Produce X 101,” the most recent installment in Mnet’s TV talent show franchise pitting K-pop trainees against each other, is likely to go down in infamy, as fans are suing the program’s producers for allegedly fixing the competition.Local law firm Mast Law & Consulting said Thursday it has filed a class-action suit on behalf of 260 “citizen producers” -- the label the show gives fans voting for their favorite contestants on the show -- accusin

PerformanceAug. 1, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Exit(Korea)Opened July 31Action, ComedyDirected by Lee Sang-geunYong-nam (Jo Jung-suk) is a young loser struggling in the job market with no real marketable skills. At his mother’s 70th birthday party, he runs into Ui-ju (Im Yoon-ah), an old crush from his college rock-climbing club. Then, a terrorist attack in a nearby building forces Yong-nam to act so he can get the family to safety.Divine Fury(Korea) Opened July 31Mystery, Action, FantasyDirected by Jason KimPark Yong-hu (Park Seo-joon

FilmAug. 1, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Everland Summer Water FunHeld annually since 2005, Everland’s summer festival is back with a variety of programs, such as water shows, light shows and other fun activities. It is open to visitors of all ages.For more information in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese, visit www.everland.com.Hangang Summer FestivalThe Hangang Summer Festival, also called the Hangang Mongttang Festival, is a large-scale riverside cultural event.It consists of about 80 programs, including water leisure spor

TravelAug. 1, 2019

Despite earnings shock in Q2, Yuhan to rebound in H2: analysts

Despite Yuhan Corp.’s second-quarter earnings shock, analysts on Thursday predicted the company would make a turnaround in the second half of the year. Yuhan’s second-quarter report showed Wednesday that the company marked 355.7 billion won ($299 million) in quarterly revenue, a 7 percent fall from a year earlier. Operating profit dropped more than 98 percent to 444 million won, while net profit fell nearly 75 percent to 4.7 billion won.Analyst Sun Min-jung from Hana Financial Invest

IndustryAug. 1, 2019

Moon holds meeting with top officials on Japan's export curbs

President Moon Jae-in held a meeting with top government officials Thursday over Japan's expected move to expand export restrictions on South Korea, his office said. Moon was briefed by related ministers on the status of the dispute and discussed Seoul's possible countermeasures during the session that was held for 2 hours and 15 minutes from 10:30 a.m., presidential spokesperson Ko Min-jung said in a brief press release. On Friday, Japan's Cabinet is expected to approve a bill to drop South Kor

PoliticsAug. 1, 2019

Cheong Wa Dae to review petition calling for ban on real-size sex toys

South Korea’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae is now required to reveal its official position on a petition calling for the ban of real-size sex toys. The online petition exceeded 200,000 signatures on Wednesday in less than a month from its filing, becoming eligible for a response. On July 8, the petition titled “Ban imports and sales of RealDolls” was filed on the presidential office’s website.The petition was raised in response to the recent decision of the Supreme C

Social AffairsAug. 1, 2019

LOT Polish Airlines to launch Seoul-Budapest route in Sept.

Poland’s flagship airline, LOT Polish Airlines, said Thursday that it would start operating direct flights between Seoul and Budapest in September. Starting Sept. 23, the airline will offer direct flights to and from Budapest three times a week on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The flight will take around 13 hours and passengers will have access to Korean in-flight entertainment and Korean-speaking flight attendants, the airline said.“The new route will meet the expectations of both Kore

IndustryAug. 1, 2019

Lotte, Shinsegae among top 10 retailers in Asia

South Korean retail conglomerates Lotte Group and Shinsegae Group ranked among the top 10 retailers in Asia, a list dominated by e-commerce companies, market data showed Thursday. According to market researcher Euromonitor International, which compiled a list of the top 100 retailers in Asia based on sales last year, Lotte ranked eighth and Shinsegae came in at No. 10, having respectively recorded $27.4 billion and $25.3 billion in sales. Chinese online marketplace Alibaba topped the l

IndustryAug. 1, 2019

Top diplomats of S. Korea, Japan fail to defuse trade, diplomatic tensions

South Korea and Japan failed to defuse a deepening trade and diplomatic row on Thursday, the eve of Tokyo's widely expected decision to strip Seoul of a preferential trade status in a move sure to aggravate the already high tensions.After the talks with her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, in Thailand ended with little progress, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha warned that Seoul could reconsider a rare line of bilateral security cooperation if Tokyo presses ahead to remove South Korea from its &q

Foreign AffairsAug. 1, 2019

Man sets self on fire in apparent protest against Japan’s trade curbs

A 72-year-old man was hospitalized after setting himself on fire near Sejong Center in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, Thursday morning.Fire authorities said the man attempted self-immolation at 8:34 a.m. at a park near the performing arts theater.Police found at the scene a bag believed to belong to the man, inside which were a written note asking Japan to “retract export curbs” along with a flier which read “people demand Abe apologize,” and a book on Kim Bok-dong, a victim

Social AffairsAug. 1, 2019

Aston Martin to display W2b Valhalla at Coex this weekend

Aston Martin Seoul said Thursday that it would be unveiling its newest hypercar, Valhalla, through Sunday at Coex in southern Seoul.The Valhalla, scheduled to be released in 2021, will be limited to production of just 500 units around the world, and comes with the hefty price tag of about 2 billion won ($1.68 million) here.The Valhalla will be on display at a special exhibition hall in front of Megabox Coex. A video explaining the philosophy and technology of Aston Martin will be shown alongside

MobilityAug. 1, 2019

Vietnamese nabbed after stealing 958 pieces of clothing in five days

Police said Thursday they had detained a Vietnamese man, 32, on suspicion of stealing nearly 1,000 items of clothing in five days using a theft alarm-proofed bag.According to Jongno Police Station, the man stole 958 pieces of clothing worth about 36 million won from seven stores between July 20 and July 24. Police said the man used a customized bag to dodge anti-theft sensors at stores. The bag was designed to have the clothes with theft-proof tags go undetected through security device.The suspe

Social AffairsAug. 1, 2019

Report linking Korea-Japan conflict with election stokes criticism

The ruling Democratic Party was hit with a barrage of attacks from opposition parties over a report by its think tank on South Korea’s conflict with Japan over Tokyo’s export restrictions and how the responses of the various political parties might affect the parliamentary elections next year. The Institute for Democracy distributed the report to DP lawmakers Wednesday, and then said in a statement Thursday that “inappropriate content was distributed in an inappropriate way.&rd

PoliticsAug. 1, 2019

[Newsmaker] Three dead at construction site hit by heavy downpour

A 15-member task force team was launched under Yangcheon Police Station on Thursday to investigate an accident at a rainwater pump construction site in Seoul that left three people dead, amid criticism that the accident could been avoidedAll three workers who went missing at the site amid heavy rainfall were confirmed dead, after two bodies were found early Thursday morning, according to fire authorities. Torrential downpours on Wednesday morning isolated three workers at a rainwater drainage fa

Social AffairsAug. 1, 2019