N. Korea, Russia hold joint IT exhibition in Pyongyang for 1st time in 18 yrs

A joint exhibition aimed at promoting information technology exchanges between North Korea and Russia has opened in Pyongyang, the North's state media said Wednesday, marking their first such event in 18 years. The exhibition, held at the People's Palace of Culture, opened Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency, as international attention has focused on North Korea's troop deployment in Russia in apparent support for Moscow in its war with Ukraine. With no mention of

North KoreaOct. 30, 2024

Seoul shares open lower on tech, car losses

South Korean stocks started lower Wednesday due to losses from large-cap shares in tech and auto firms. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 15.27 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,602.53 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, Wall Street finished mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 percent, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.8 percent to a record high on better-than-expected earnings from Alphabet, the parent company of Google. In Seoul, most market heavyweights

MarketOct. 30, 2024

[Graphic News] Lottery sales on constant increase to hit all-time high in 2024: data

Lottery sales in South Korea rose 7 percent on-year during the first half of this year to reach an all-time high, data showed. Sales of lottery tickets stood at 3.62 trillion won ($2.67 billion) in the January-June period of 2024, compared with 3.38 trillion won the previous year, according to the data from the Finance Ministry. The figure has been on a constant increase, surging 38 percent in four years. Sales came to 2.62 trillion won in the first half of 2020, 2.94 trillion won in the same

Social AffairsOct. 30, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] Living in the animal kingdom

These days, intellectuals lament that humans behave as if they were living in the animal kingdom. It means that we have lost our humanity and act like animals. An animal’s primary concern is to eat and survive. In addition to searching or hunting for food, some animals flock together and others fight for dominance over territorial disputes. Of course, animals also have some admirable traits, such as caring and sharing, but these behaviors tend to be limited to family or individuals within

ViewpointsOct. 30, 2024

McDonald's global sales fall on muted demand; E. coli outbreak fallout looms

McDonald's posted a steeper-than-expected drop in quarterly global sales, hurt by muted demand across key markets, including Europe and the United States where it is expected to face more weakness as the burger giant reels from a deadly E. coli outbreak. Shares of the company were down 2.4 percent before the bell on Tuesday even as it beat profit estimates. Global sales fell 1.5 percent in the third quarter, the biggest decline in four years, compared with analysts' average estimate of

World NewsOct. 29, 2024

China confirms detention of S. Korean national on suspected espionage charges

China confirmed Tuesday that it has detained a South Korean citizen on suspicion of violating the country's anti-espionage law, marking the first case where a South Korean national has been arrested in China since the revised law took effect last year. "A South Korean national was arrested by Chinese authorities on charges of espionage," Lin Jian, a spokesperson at China's foreign ministry, told a press briefing, without disclosing other details. He said China has notified th

Foreign AffairsOct. 29, 2024

Top diplomats of S. Korea, EU to hold talks next week amid NK troop deployment

Top diplomats of South Korea and the European Union will hold talks next week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday, with discussions likely to cover North Korea's dispatch of troops to Russia. Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Josep Borrell, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, will meet in Seoul next Monday at the inaugural South Korea-EU strategic dialogue. The strategic dialogue platform was established following a bilateral summit held in May

Foreign AffairsOct. 29, 2024

Court dismisses injunction by ex-ADOR head Min seeking reinstatement as CEO

A Seoul court on Tuesday dismissed an injunction request by the former CEO of K-pop label ADOR seeking to be reinstated to her position, amid the ongoing dispute with ADOR's parent company, Hybe. Min filed for the injunction last month as she contested the board's decision to remove her from the job over Hybe accusing her of attempting to take control of ADOR and its flagship group, NewJeans. Min has denied the claims. The Seoul Central District Court said it was dismissing the case as

K-popOct. 29, 2024

Top security adviser meets Danish parliament delegation

National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik met with a visiting Danish parliament delegation Tuesday, and discussed the bilateral partnership and other issues, including North Korea's troop deployment to Russia, the presidential office said. In the meeting with the delegation, which included Michael Aastrup Jensen, head of the foreign affairs policy committee of the Danish parliament, Shin stressed that South Korea is urging North Korean troops to withdraw from Russia immediately and end its ill

DefenseOct. 29, 2024

Yoon's foreign policy adviser visits Australia to discuss security, frigate project

Chang Ho-jin, foreign policy adviser to President Yoon Suk Yeol, has visited Australia to discuss cooperation in the security and defense industry, including Canberra's frigate project, the presidential office said Tuesday. Chang visited Australia from Monday to Tuesday for meetings with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Vice Minister of Defense Greg Moriarty to exchange opinions on regional security issues and Australia's military acquisition program. During the meetings, Cha

Foreign AffairsOct. 29, 2024

Painter Hwang In-ran's exhibition at Art Cube 2R2 shows abyss, solitude

Painter Hwang In-ran has unveiled her solo exhibition “Abyss at Noon: Beatrice of Silence.” The new paintings feature meticulous brush strokes and repetitive, layered lines to convey the artist’s solitude and silence. Hwang's acrylic paintings at the exhibition are based on the artist's meditative imagery, some of which show images of flowers, birds and a woman. The exhibition kicked off on Oct. 24, running through Nov. 28 at the Art Cube 2R2 in Gangnam-gu, southern S

Arts & DesignOct. 29, 2024

Ukraine envoy to travel to S. Korea as Yoon, Zelenskyy vow strategic cooperation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will appoint a special envoy to South Korea following talks held with President Yoon Suk Yeol over the phone pledging strategic cooperation in a bid to counter North Korean troops in Russia, according to the presidential office Tuesday. Yoon and Zelenskyy "denounced the illicit military cooperation between North Korea and Russia with the strongest language possible," as the two countries agreed to seek strategic countermeasures, Yoon's offic

PoliticsOct. 29, 2024

Flexibility granted to medical schools on student leave

In response to pressing demands from national medical schools, the government has decided to allow universities to individually authorize leaves of absence for medical students, reversing its previous stance. The Ministry of Education announced Tuesday afternoon that the government and presidents of 40 medical universities reached a consensus that students return by the 2025 academic year at the latest. In order to pave the way to accelerate the return of students and normalize studies in medica

Social AffairsOct. 29, 2024

Busan adding longer-haul flights with Bali route to start Wednesday

Longer international flights are being added at Gimhae International Airport, starting with a new route to Bali, Indonesia, the Busan city government said Tuesday. Starting Wednesday, flights to Bali operated by Air Busan will take off four times a week from the Busan airport. This is the first regular flight longer than 5,000 kilometers to be scheduled from an airport outside Seoul and Incheon. Until now, the farthest destination served by Gimhae Airport was Singapore, around 4,600 kilometers f

MobilityOct. 29, 2024

Once known for heavier themes, DMZ and Pohang to get new energy through music festivals

Located on opposite ends of the country, the Demilitarized Zone and the southeastern city of Pohang are emblematic of two contrasting features of the Korean Peninsula: the tension of a frozen conflict and the prosperity of South Korea as an industrial powerhouse. The DMZ stands as a stark reminder of the Korean War, while Pohang is a bustling coastal city of about 500,000 people, whose identity is deeply intertwined with heavy industry, particularly steelmaker Posco, which was founded there in 1

CultureOct. 29, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] NewJeans surpasses 600m Spotify streams with debut single

NewJeans hit the 600-million mark on Spotify with “Hype Boy,” agency Ador said Tuesday citing the platform. “Hype Boy” is one of the focus tracks from its namesake debut album released in August 2022. The single is the group’s fourth song to reach the milestone, after “OMG,” “Ditto” and “Super Shy.” It was the first song from the quintet to generate 100 million plays on the platform, doing so in 98 days. NME magazine picked it fir

K-popOct. 29, 2024

[Herald Interview] ‘Uprising’ shows unprecedented sides of Gang Dong-won, Park Jung-min

A scruffy man with windblown hair is dragged down to kneel on the ground. Despite his untidy looks, his glaring eyes are fixed on the enemy as he swings his sword, a movement akin to dancing. The man is Gang Dong-won, portraying a seemingly unlikely character for the actor: Cheon-young, a main character in Netflix’s “Uprising.” Ranking third in some 190 countries on Netflix’s non-English Global Top 10 movie chart soon after its Oct. 11 release, the period action flick fol

FilmOct. 29, 2024

AmCham, KITA host seminar on doing business in US

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea hosted a seminar on Tuesday in Seoul, partnering with the Korea International Trade Association to explore key business opportunities and challenges associated with expanding into the US market. Now in its sixth year, the annual seminar focused on providing essential insights and practical strategies for Korean companies aiming to establish or expand their presence in the US, with particular emphasis on US market trends and key implications of the 2024 U

IndustryOct. 29, 2024

Hybe apologizes over controversial internal documents, reassigns writer

Hybe CEO Lee Jae-sang on Tuesday apologized over the recent disclosure of an internal document that contained controversial remarks about K-pop artists. The document, intended for Hybe executives as part of an industry trends review on a weekly basis, surfaced during a National Assembly audit on Thursday and has since sparked widespread backlash. “I bow my head in apology to the artists, industry colleagues and fans affected by the language used in our monitoring document, which was highli

K-popOct. 29, 2024