'How to be a good father': Ministry publishes parenting guide for men

As part of its efforts to encourage young fathers to actively participate in child care and eventually boost the nation’s low fertility rate, the South Korean government has come up with a parenting guidebook for fathers-to-be.The booklet, which looks like a notepad, consists of practical tips for men during and after their partners’ pregnancies, including what to bring to the delivery room, how to take care of children up to the age of 5 and things like how the sound of rubbing plastic bags can

Social AffairsJune 28, 2016

Campaigners, experts blast use of police water cannons

Foreign and local experts from human rights organizations and academia addressed on Tuesday the danger of the use of water cannons by South Korean police at street rallies and called for better protection of human rights in keeping the public order. An association of human rights organizations investigating the use of police force in last year’s antigovernment rallies held a symposium in Seoul, bringing together a former German judge, a British campaigner and Korean activists and scholars.The ev

Social AffairsJune 28, 2016

Budget carrier Jin Air to start Incheon-Cairns service

Jin Air Co., the budget unit of Korean Air Lines Co., said Tuesday that it will launch a flight service to Cairns, a holiday destination on the northeast coast of Australia, later this year.Jin Air said that it will deploy its B777-200ER aircraft equipped with 393 seats on the Incheon-Cairns route twice a week for about two months, starting Dec. 14.The carrier said it will decide whether to keep the route after the temporary service is over.Australia is a popular holiday destination for Koreans.

IndustryJune 28, 2016

Market rebounds on Korea’s plan for extra spending

Investor confidence was restored Tuesday with the market responding positively to the South Korean government’s plan for extra spending in the second half of this year to cushion the economy from internal and external shocks.The benchmark KOSPI edged up 0.49 percent at 1,936.22 on continued institutional buying, after opening with a loss following overnight selloffs on Wall Street. (Yonhap)But the Seoul equity index soon headed for an upswing as the Finance Ministry announced that it will aggres

June 28, 2016

Jeonnam Dragons sign Aussie-born defender

Korean football club Jeonnam Dragons said Tuesday they are set to sign defender Tomislav Mrcela from Croatian club NK Lokomotiva Zagreb.Jeonnam, currently 10th in the top-flight K League Classic, said that the 25-year-old center back, who holds dual citizenship in Australia and Croatia, will join the club after a medical test. (Jeonnam Dragons)Jeonnam, three-time champions of the Korean Football Association Cup, have yet to disclose the details of his contract.Mrcela made his pro debut in 2011 w

SoccerJune 28, 2016

Celltrion on track to release world’s first flu-targeting therapeutic antibodies

Celltrion said Tuesday that it is on track to introduce the world’s first therapeutic antibody for the treatment of universal influenza, as the new drug will begin the second part of its phase II clinical trials by the end of this year.　The South Korean biopharma company, best known for its biosimilar drugs that reference blockbuster biologic drugs like Remicade, is currently preparing its new influenza drug CT-P27 for phase II 2b trials.Celltrion said it has yet to determine where the next-step

IndustryJune 28, 2016

[Herald Interview] Korean-British artist duo creates physical expressions of light and space

 GWANGJU -- The name of the Seoul-based artist duo Kimchi and Chips pretty much tells where the artists are from.  Korean-British artist duo Mimi Son and Elliot Woods formed an art studio in 2009, adopting the quirky name. Since then, the two have been creating installations that challenge people’s perception of light and space and presenting them at museums and galleries throughout the world. One of the most well-known works is the first edition of the “Light Barrier” series in which the artist

PerformanceJune 28, 2016

[Kim Seong-kon] What will we find on waking up in 2018?

Last night I fell asleep while reading Robert Harris’s alternative history novel “Fatherland.” It is set in a 1964 in which Hitler had won World War II and ruled Europe. The novel induced me to ponder, “What would have happened if Germany had won the Second World War?” Perhaps due to the influence of the bleak novel, I had a fitful night’s sleep. I dreamed I had woken up in 2018 to find Donald Trump in the White House and a Marxist president and his coterie in Cheong Wa Dae. My God, it was the m

ViewpointsJune 28, 2016

Language of China’s emperors in peril

SANJIAZI, China (AFP) - It was the language of China’s last imperial dynasty which ruled a vast kingdom for nearly three centuries. But 71-year-old Ji Jinlu is among only a handful of native Manchu speakers left.Traders and farmers from what are now the borders of China and Korea, the Manchus took advantage of a crumbling Ming state and swept south in the 1600s to establish their own Qing Dynasty.Manchu became the court language, its angular, alphabetic script used in millions of documents produ

CultureJune 28, 2016

Hyukoh concert tickets snapped up fast in China

Korean indie rock band Hyukoh sold all 3,000 tickets for its upcoming concert in China within just one minute of them going on sale, demonstrating the band’s growing popularity in China, the band’s agency Duruduru AMC announced Tuesday.“Hyukoh is set to hold the solo concert ‘20/22’ in Shanghai on July 9, at the enthusiastic request of Chinese fans,” said the agency. The band previously captivated Chinese audiences at the country’s biggest music festival, the Strawberry Music Festival held in Sh

PerformanceJune 28, 2016

[Lee Jae-min] A long-awaited counter-example

Absolute panic is what it is. Four days after the British referendum, people are still struggling to piece together the puzzle that has poured out of London. What does this all mean? To those wary of globalization, the EU has been a beacon of hope and a navigator for an unbroken path. To us outside Europe, the EU is the proof that globalization (together with ensuing integration and liberalization) is the right direction for the global community at large. The outcome of the British referendum la

ViewpointsJune 28, 2016

Seoul ranks 3rd in int'l meeting cities last year

Seoul played host to 494 international meetings in 2015, ranking third in the list of international meeting cities worldwide, the Seoul metropolitan government said Tuesday, citing a report by a Brussels-based research institute.The 2015 international meetings statistics report, compiled by the Union of International Associations, showed that the Korean capital clinched record-high results, up two notches from the previous year.It also achieved the goal of becoming the world's third-ranked city

Social AffairsJune 28, 2016

Hyundai Merchant's creditor-led overhaul scheme to be extended by one month

The financially troubled Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. said Tuesday that its creditor-led restructuring scheme will be extended by one month to late July as its bid to join a global shipping alliance takes longer than expected.In April, its creditors, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank, approved the shipper's restructuring plan in return for the company meeting three key prerequisites -- a debt recast, a charter rate cut and an inclusion into a global shipping alliance.The creditor-led to

IndustryJune 28, 2016

Hotel Lotte ordered to pay damages for canceled Ne-Yo concert

Hotel Lotte Co. is to award a concert production agency damages for canceling a concert featuring the internationally renowned rhythm and blues singer Ne-Yo, a Seoul court ruled Tuesday.The Seoul Central District Court found that the hotel had canceled the concert after organizing it, ruling in favor of the complainant. It ordered Hotel Lotte to pay 200 million won ($170,000) in damages to the concert production agency, whose name was not revealed.  According to the findings, the agency, which h

PerformanceJune 28, 2016