[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Parasite(Korea)Opened May 30Drama, Black ComedyDirected by Bong Joon-hoThe Kims, a poor, jobless family of four, find their way into the wealthy glamorous Park family by landing jobs through deceitful means. They earn the affection of the Parks, who are worlds apart from them and yet are somewhat alike. Their new way of life is turned upside down when an unexpected visitor comes knocking on the door, kicking off a series of unexpected events.The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil(Korea)Opened May 15Cr

FilmMay 30, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Everland Rose FestivalLaunched in 1985, the long-running Everland Rose Festival opens every year in May. This year it continues until June 16. At a 20,000-square-meter rose garden, visitors can see various kinds of flowers while enjoying the amusement park.It is held inside Everland, South Korea’s largest theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and is open to visitors of all ages.To find out more about the event, including admission fees and how to get there, visit everland.com for inform

TravelMay 30, 2019

7 Koreans dead, 20 missing in ferry accident in Hungary

A sightseeing boat carrying 33 South Koreans capsized in Budapest on Wednesday, leaving at least seven Koreans dead and 19 others missing. The boat capsized in the Danube River at about 9:15 p.m., with 33 Koreans and two Hungarian crew members onboard. Of the Koreans onboard, seven have been rescued while another seven Koreans and one of the Hungarian crew have been confirmed dead. The rescued individuals are said to be in stable condition, and search for the missing 20 is ongoing.Of the 33

Social AffairsMay 30, 2019

[News Focus] Moon, ruling party lose support from wider brackets, regions: polls

SEJONG -- Poll results released Tuesday show that the main opposition Liberty Korea Party may have overtaken the ruling Democratic Party of Korea in terms of approval ratings, though the gap is negligible.Pollster R&Search surveyed 1,000 people nationwide in coordination with media outlet Asia Today, asking questions such as, “Which party would you vote for if the general election were held tomorrow?” While 37.7 percent of the respondents picked the Democratic Party, 38

PoliticsMay 30, 2019

[Herald Interview] ‘MRO market crucial for future of South Korea’s aviation industry’

Riding on the growing demand for overseas travel and fast expanding cargo volume, South Korea has quickly become a major gateway, handling more than 1,000 aircrafts at Incheon International Airport alone.The airport is the world’s top service provider and the third-largest cargo terminal which processes 800,000 tons of outbound cargo annually. But when it comes to fleet maintenance and repair services, Asia’s top airport is still in its infant stage, said Paik Soon-suk, president and

IndustryMay 30, 2019

[Monitor] S. Korea’s birthrate plunges to monthly low in March

The number of births in South Korea plunged to an all-time monthly low of 27,100 in March, according to Statistics Korea, reflecting the nation’s declining marriage and fertility rates. Data showed that 27,100 babies were born in March, down 9.7 percent on-year, marking the lowest figure for March since the agency began compiling related data in 1981. This is also the first time the birthrate in March has dropped below the 30,000 level. The number of marriages also dropped to 19,600 in the

EconomyMay 30, 2019

Hyundai Oilbank promotes culture of philanthropy

South Korea’s petroleum and refinery company Hyundai Oilbank has been actively promoting a culture of philanthropy through its “1% Nanum Foundation,” which is funded through a portion of the employees’ monthly salary, the firm said Thursday.The foundation, which was established in 2011, has been serving as a means for more than 95 percent of the firm’s employees and executives to donate a portion or 1 percent of their salary for charitable work.  Nanum means &l

IndustryMay 30, 2019

Wife of child rapist Cho Doo-soon defends him as ‘polite person’

The wife of convicted child rapist Cho Doo-soon, whose brutal rape of an 8-year-old girl in 2008 shocked the nation, described him as a “polite person” in a petition she wrote on his behalf while he was under trial, a TV program revealed late Wednesday. The petition she wrote in 2008 was disclosed as public concerns grow over Cho’s release on Dec. 13, 2020. Some have taken to the presidential petition board to ask for his 12-year sentence to be extended.　Cho is very likely to r

Social AffairsMay 30, 2019

LG starts producing washers at Tennessee plant to minimize US tariff impact

LG Electronics said Thursday it has completed its new plant for washing machines in Tennessee, the United States, and will start producing 1.2 million washers annually for the American market.The South Korean electronics manufacturer held a ceremony to mark the completion in Clarksville, Tennessee, attended by US Rep. Mark Green, State Gov. Bill Lee, Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett, Clarksville City Mayor Joe Pitts and other Korean government officials. LG will move forward to December full

TechnologyMay 30, 2019

[Newsmaker] Foreign ministry decides to fire diplomat accused of leaking Moon-Trump talks

The foreign ministry decided Thursday to fire a diplomat for leaking the content of a phone conversation between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump. The decision was made at the ministry's disciplinary panel held earlier in the day, ministry spokesman Kim In-chul said. Another official who was also investigated for relaying the diplomat a copy of the conversation received a penalty of three-month wage reduction. The diplomat, who worked at the South Korean Embassy in Washingto

PoliticsMay 30, 2019

Ship carrying North Korean coal appears to return to Indonesia after drifting for over a month: VOA

A Panama-flagged vessel suspected of carrying North Korean coal appeared Tuesday to be returning to Indonesia, from where it had departed, after being refused port entry and drifting in the sea for over a month.Citing a ship tracking site, Voice of America Korea reported that the bulk carrier, Dong Thanh, started to move again after staying on the southernmost waters off Malaysia for about three weeks. As of Tuesday, the vessel is 242 kilometers from the Port of Jakarta in Indonesia, according t

North KoreaMay 30, 2019

Sanctions motivated NK cybercrimes: US officials

US intelligence authorities say North Korea carried out cybercrimes such as cryptocurrency mining and bank theft to get around sanctions, according to US broadcaster Voice of America. Tonya Ugoretz, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s cyber readiness, outreach and intelligence branch, said Wednesday at a conference hosted by private US think tank the Aspen Institute that sanctions had motivated North Korea to carry out the hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014, the Bangladesh B

North KoreaMay 30, 2019

Ballet Festival Korea to take place in June

The ninth Ballet Festival Korea is slated to take place from June 18 to 30 at the Seoul Arts Center, introducing 14 ballet recitals from classic to modern.Since 2011, the annual festival has introduced the genre to a wider audience in an effort to promote the overall ballet scene. For this year’s event, the Korea National Ballet and Gwangju City Ballet will cooperate with private ballet companies and young dancers. The opening performance will feature Korean ballerinas who are members of f

PerformanceMay 30, 2019

FM to head to Hungary to cope with deadly boat sinking

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha will head to Hungary later Thursday to oversee rescue and other efforts to cope with a deadly boat sinking that left at least seven South Koreans dead and 19 others missing, her ministry said."Minister Kang will head to the site of the accident to lead the on-site operations underway by our officials," ministry spokesman Kim In-chul told a press briefing."The ministry will mobilize every effort to effectively and swiftly deal with the situation by c

Social AffairsMay 30, 2019

Construction of world’s first hydrogen station at parliament breaks ground

Hyundai Motor broke ground for a hydrogen refilling station in the middle of the National Assembly complex in Seoul on Thursday, marking the world’s first charging facility for fuel cell electric vehicles to be built at a parliament.It is also the first commercial hydrogen facility to be built in central Seoul, the company said. The project, the first case of the regulatory sandbox, will start operating at the end of August. The hydrogen station will operate from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. I

MobilityMay 30, 2019

Google changes unfair terms for YouTubers’ content at FTC’s request

Google has changed terms and conditions related to copyright infringement on its video-streaming platform YouTube at the request of South Korea’s antitrust watchdog, the government said Thursday. The Fair Trade Commission said the US tech firm had changed eight terms and conditions in a follow-up to the request in March. The authorities had asked for the revision of clauses that allowed YouTube to arbitrarily delete and reuse videos posted by users.Under the revised terms, if a user’

IndustryMay 30, 2019

SK Broadband expands program varieties for B tv

SK Broadband, a subsidiary of SK Telecom, announced Thursday its IPTV service B tv will provide subscribers more program varieties.B tv will be rolling out children educational programs, health and fitness programs, as well as E-mart discount coupons, the company said.Of the programs dedicated to infants and toddlers, one is called “Playsongs Home,” a music service made by SK Broadband and music preschool Playsongs.Infants and toddlers under the age of three can watch music programs

IndustryMay 30, 2019

EXO's D.O. to join military in July

D.O., a member of the popular boy band EXO, will join the military in July, putting his flourishing entertainment career on hold, his management agency said Thursday. The 26-year-old, whose real name is Do Kyung-soo, will enlist in the Army on July 1 to fulfill his mandatory military service, according SM Entertainment. "D.O. wanted to fulfill his duty of national defense as soon as possible after Xiumin started his military service on May 7 as the first EXO member to do so," SM said.

PerformanceMay 30, 2019