Ivanka Trump makes headlines by donning Korean designer’s dress

White House adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump turned heads during her recent visit to South Korea by wearing a dress designed by a Korean designer.Trump, known as a fashion enthusiast, arrived in Korea with US President Donald Trump last Saturday. During a forum held Sunday to discuss gender role issues at Grand Hyatt Seoul, she sported an ivory coat-style dress.  The dress was designed by designer Jong Go-en who leads her namesake label Goen.J. The creation was a part of the 2019 Re

Arts & DesignJuly 5, 2019

Pan-govt effort to deal with Japan’s trade move underway: Cheong Wa Dae

The government is working closely with the corporate community to respond to Japan’s trade regulations against South Korea, a top Cheong Wa Dae official said Friday. “(Cheong Wa Dae) is listening to the voices of local companies and seeking solutions,” the official said on condition of anonymity, in response to criticism that measures such as taking the issue to the World Trade Organization would be insufficient in reducing the impact on local businesses.  Japan has r

Foreign AffairsJuly 5, 2019

Samsung Q2 earnings guidance shows slight improvement

Samsung Electronics’ earnings for the second quarter of 2019 are forecast to show a slight improvement from the previous quarter due to recovery in the display business, according to its earnings guidance announced Friday. The South Korean tech giant is expected to post 56 trillion won ($47.8 billion) in sales with operating profit of 6.5 trillion won during the April–June period, the guidance showed. The figures hovered above market expectations that had estimated Samsung to registe

TechnologyJuly 5, 2019

Finance chief to talk with top CEOs on Japan’s export curbs

South Korea’s top fiscal policymaker said Friday he is likely to meet the top executives of Samsung Group and other ranking conglomerates to address Japan’s export restrictions.“There seems to be no reason why I shouldn’t meet (with them),” said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki.“I shall confirm (the details) after discussing (the possibility of the meeting) with Cheong Wa Dae.” The remarks came in answer to the reporters’

EconomyJuly 5, 2019

[Weekender] Behind South Korea’s ‘fatcaron’ sensation

Around 8 o’ clock on a recent Sunday morning, more than 30 people waited in line outside a building in eastern Seoul. At the end of the line stood a sign reading “You will not be able to buy from here on.” Just before 9 a.m., a man came out, opened the door and started clearing the street where people stood in line, as they rushed into a small shop. Inside, there’re no tables, just a stack full of very fat and thick macarons. In less than 50 minutes, the door closed again

FoodJuly 5, 2019

A bank robber’s polite request for police

A 40-year-old man has been booked for intimidation after he requested to be arrested in a fake bank robbery, the police revealed earlier this week. According to the police, the suspect entered a bank in Daejeon on June 25, carrying a toy knife. Once in the bank, the suspect brandished it at a clerk, and “politely” requested for the police to be called to the scene. The suspected is then said to have stood still without making any other demands until the police arrived some four minut

Social AffairsJuly 5, 2019

[Eye Plus] Making science fun for kids

With the summer vacation season now upon us, parents with school-aged children can visit city-run science centers for kids instead of crowded indoor playgrounds and shopping malls. The Seoul Metropolitan Government runs a center in Hagye-dong, Nowon-gu, where children and teens can have fun learning about science. The Seoul Science Center is a three-story building on 12,330 square meters of land, with four exhibition halls. It is the first city-run science museum in the northern part of the city

CultureJuly 5, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Spider-Man: Far From Home(US) Opened July 2Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Directed by Jon WattsPeter Parker (Tom Holland), aka Spider-Man, is unsure of himself and is torn between wanting a normal life as a high school student and wanting to shoulder his responsibilities as a superhero. Peter decides to use the school field trip to Europe to get close to Michelle “MJ” Jones (Zendaya), for whom he has developed affection, but troubles follow him, as well as a run-in with a mysterious super

FilmJuly 5, 2019

[Around the Hotels] Packages and promotions

Korean bingsu with Danish flair at Grand InterContinental Seoul ParnasIn celebration of its 30th anniversary, Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas presents bingsu in collaboration with Danish porcelain brand Royal Copenhagen.Retro Mugwort Bingsu will be served in an exquisite bowl from Royal Copenhagen until the end of August. The bingsu comes with mugwort jelly, mugwort-flavored fresh chocolate, mugwort-flavored condensed milk, injeolmi rice cake, adzuki beans and granola on top.Those who order

FoodJuly 5, 2019

Housemade pasta and more at It’el JAE

When the tajarin arrives tableside at the newly minted It’el JAE, it is a decadent, mouthwatering affair -- a sumptuous tangle of handmade pasta bathed in sage-infused butter, strewn with translucent slices of black truffle and showered with pungent Pecorino and Grana Padano cheeses. A barely poached yolk, golden and glossy, is nestled in the center. After politely waiting for diners to document the dish in photos, the servers use a fork and spoon to break the yolk and delicately blend eve

FoodJuly 5, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Mega Wave Festival at Caribbean Bay The Caribbean Bay water park at Everland is celebrating summer with a 50-day Mega Wave Festival.The festival, which kicked off June 21 and runs through Aug. 18, offers flyboard performances and other fun events for visitors of all ages. The Mega Pool Party music festival, which takes place at the wave pool and features popular acts like Mamamoo and DinDin, is one of the highlights. Outdoor attractions such as the Aqualoop and Water Bobsleigh will be rolled out

TravelJuly 5, 2019

[Herald Interview] Living the Korean dream at the pool table

Sports stars often say they never expected to become such big players. This is easy to believe from Sruong Pheavy, the Cambodian-born Korean billiards star. She had absolutely no reason to believe she would become the women’s three-cushion champion in South Korea: She had never grabbed a cue before coming here.Pheavy, 29, came to Korea about 10 years ago to marry her husband, Kim Man-sik. Kim, twice her age, runs a small printing shop in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Like so many c

PeopleJuly 5, 2019

[Weekender] The dessert craze

Beside a coin launderette and a convenience store inside a dowdy, two-story building in a not-so-fancy residential neighborhood in Gayang-dong, Seoul, nestles a small dessert shop specializing in French macarons. Selling the colorful confections for 1,800 ($1.55) to 2,300 won apiece, shop owner and baker Kim Hyun-seo also makes party favor boxes and occasionally hosts macaron-baking classes. “Being a dessert lover myself, I have been baking at home for years and recently decided to open a

FoodJuly 5, 2019

Samsung Electronics' Q2 earnings more than halve on weak memory chips

Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday its operating earnings more than halved in the second quarter from a year earlier amid the weak memory chip and handset market.  The operating profit was estimated at 6.5 trillion won ($5.6 billion) in the April-June period, a 56.3 percent drop from a year ago, according to its earnings guidance. The Korean tech giant expected its overall sales to have fallen 4.2 percent on-year to 56 trillion won in the three-month period. The figures were above mar

IndustryJuly 5, 2019

One dead, three injured in building collapse in southern Seoul

One person was killed and three were injured in a building collapse Thursday afternoon in Seoul’s southern district of Seocho. Of the four known casualties, three were rescued and one was pronounced dead by the emergency medical team on the scene. According to fire authorities, the five-story building with a single underground floor collapsed at around 2:20 p.m. Thursday. The building, located on a four-lane street, fell on to three cars, two of which had two passengers

Social AffairsJuly 4, 2019

Ministry asks police to investigate doctor suspected of giving rebates in exchange for sex

The Ministry of Health has asked the police to look into an online post by a doctor in which he claimed to have received sexual favors from a pharmaceutical company employee.The post was published on a website accessible only to certified public health doctors. Public health doctors are doctors working at state-run medical facilities as an alternative to military service.In the post, the writer admitted to having received sexual services from a pharmaceutical company saleswoman in exch

Social AffairsJuly 4, 2019

[Graphic News] Number of museums to rise to 1,310 by 2023

　The number of museums, including art galleries, in South Korea will increase by 16 percent over the next five years under a government proposal to make representative cultural infrastructure more accessible to the public, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said.　The ministry unveiled a medium and long-term museum expansion plan to raise the number of museums nationwide by 186 from the current 1,124 to 1,310 in 2023.　By the target year, the nation will have 1,013 museums, up from 873, a

CultureJuly 4, 2019

SoftBank chief highlights investment for Korea’s AI

Son Masayoshi, chairman of Japanese IT conglomerate SoftBank, highlighted the importance of investments in leading artificial intelligence businesses for Korea to become an advanced AI-powered country during a meeting with President Moon Jae-in on Thursday. In response to President Moon’s acknowledgement that Korea is a latecomer in the AI technology industry, Son said, “AI should (be) the top priority for Korea, and the country needs to focus on related education, policies, investme

TechnologyJuly 4, 2019

[News analysis] Experts skeptical of Moon’s claim of de facto end-of-war declaration between US, N. Korea

Debate has been sparked among experts over President Moon Jae-in’s recent remarks that the US and North Korea have effectively agreed to end the Korean War with the recent meeting of their leaders at Panmunjom. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un created fresh momentum for stalled denuclearization talks with symbolic gestures, such as shaking hands on the North’s side of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas and then crossing together t

North KoreaJuly 4, 2019

Korean sitcom on multicultural families in Jeju exported to Vietnam

Korean sitcom “Haiphong Families,” which deals with the realities of multicultural families here, will soon be shown in Vietnam.Aired from May to October last year, the 20-episode sitcom by broadcaster KCTV Jeju was sold to Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group, a state-operated company that is the second-largest entity in the country.  This marks the first time a program by a regional cable broadcaster in Korea is being exported to Vietnam, according to KCTV Jeju. The one-

TelevisionJuly 4, 2019