Most Popular
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Opposition mulls delay of financial investment income tax
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Immigration policy must go beyond labor supply: experts
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‘Korea crossed the line too far’ disgraced singer’s lawyer cries foul after 3rd visa denial
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Psy's touch or new trend in music? P Nation’s solo stars lose their shine
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S. Korea to showcase Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile on Armed Forces Day ceremony for 1st time
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Park Zi-a, the actor who played 'The Glory' heroine's mother, dies
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Nasrallah's killing reveals depth of Israel's Hezbollah penetration
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Korean American documentary ‘Free Chol Soo Lee' wins Emmy
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KMA chief under pressure after surveyed doctors refuse to back him
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Meditation brings calm to Gwanghwamun
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U.S. Congress to pass Pyongyang sanctions bill Friday: official
The U.S. Congress plans to pass a strong North Korea sanctions bill Friday, days ahead of schedule, to demonstrate its will to punish Pyongyang for its nuclear and missile tests, a South Korean official said.House leaders moved up the vote to Friday noon (Washington time), reversing an earlier plan to hold a vote on or after Feb. 22, the official told reporters on the condition of anonymity.The North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016 passed the Senate with a 96-0 vote Wednesday, demonstrat
World NewsFeb. 12, 2016
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Korean markets jolted by global equity woes
Korean stocks took another drubbing from a plunge in Japan and other major equity markets Friday as panicked investors dumped shares. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 26.26 points, or 1.41 percent, to end at 1,835.28. This followed a nearly 3 percent plunge the previous day.Trading volume was moderate at 465.67 million shares worth 6.2 trillion won ($5.1 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 739 to 113. The tech-
Feb. 12, 2016
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China FM voices 'serious concern' over possible deployment of U.S. shield in Korea
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed "serious concern" over a decision by South Korea to begin formal talks with the United States to adopt an advanced U.S. missile defense system, according to China's foreign ministry on Friday. Wang conveyed the concern to South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se during their meeting in Munich on the sidelines of international talks on Syria on Thursday, the Chinese ministry said in a statement. "Minister Wang Yi expresses serious concern," the stateme
Foreign AffairsFeb. 12, 2016
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Home Cooking: Mapo tofu
Mapo tofu (or mapa dubu) is a popular Chinese dish in which small tofu cubes are braised in a spicy sauce. Mapo tofu recipes typically call for doubanjiang (called dubanjang in Korea) which is a spicy, salty chili with fermented bean paste and Sichuan peppercorns (aka Chinese coriander), but these ingredients are not staples in Korean kitchens. Mapo tofu (Korean Bapsang) So, to recreate this dish at home, Koreans often use a combination of doenjang (fermented soybean paste), gochugaru (red chil
FoodFeb. 12, 2016
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[Around the hotels] Round up of hotel events and news
Gremillet named Grand Hyatt Incheon’s pastry chef Grand Hyatt Incheon has appointed Julien Gremillet the hotel’s new executive pastry chef. Gremillet, who has more than 15 years of experience, will oversee the pastry and dessert items for all the hotel’s restaurants and events. Prior to joining Grand Hyatt Incheon, Gremillet was the executive pastry chef at Raffles Praslin in Seychelles. Born in France, Gremillet began his pastry career in 1999, working at a variety of pastry shops and cateri
TravelFeb. 12, 2016
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Elderly Koreans weary of caring for grandchildren: study
Elderly South Koreans with adult working children are weary of caring for their young grandchildren, while 53 percent of all Korean households with working mothers are primarily relying on their own parents for child care, a study showed Thursday.The study by the Korean Women’s Development Institute surveyed a total of 500 grandparents who care for their grandchildren and 100 working parents who rely on their children’s grandparents for child care. The research found that 59.4 percent of the gra
Social AffairsFeb. 12, 2016
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N.EX.T urge passage of Shin Hae-chul law
Rock band N.EX.T, formerly led by the late Shin Hae-chul, held a concert at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building on Friday. The concert was aimed at gathering the National Assembly members’ signatures to hold a public hearing for a medical law amendment called the Shin Hae-chul Act, according to KCA Entertainment, the late singer’s agency.The poster for the N.EX.T live concert is seen at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building on Friday. (KCA Entertainment) Singer Hong Kyung-min
PerformanceFeb. 12, 2016
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Insooni denies evading taxes
Veteran singer Insooni denied claims of tax evasion after singer Choi sung-su‘s wife, surnamed Park, accused her of evading about 5 billion won ($4.13 million) in taxes, the singer’s agency Blue Sky Entertainment said Thursday. Park submitted documents to show tax evasion by the singer in 2008 to the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office and the National Tax Office on Feb. 5. Insooni (Blue Sky Entertainment) Park claimed that she had returned 4 billion won of the singer‘s 5 billion won investment in her
PerformanceFeb. 12, 2016
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[Travel bits] Round up of travel news from around the world
K-Smile Campaign to greet foreign tourists Visit Korea Committee conducted K-Smile Campaign at Myeong-dong Theater on Feb. 12 to celebrate Korea Grand Sale held as part of 2016-2018 Visit Korea Year. The campaign aims at building a culture of kindness and raising the level of tourists’ satisfaction by improvements in the tourism sector, including accommodation, transportation, food, and shopping. Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Kim Jong-deok, “Non-summit” members Alberto Mondi and Nikol
TravelFeb. 12, 2016
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[Box Office] Latest movie releases
The Dressmaker (Australia) Drama. Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse Opened Feb. 11 Myrtle “Tilly” Dunnage (Kate Winslet) was chased out of her childhood hometown as a young woman, accused of murder. Years later, she makes a dramatic return as an elegant dressmaker. She wins back the hearts of the villagers with fabulous gifts of haute couture dresses, but her true goal is to set right the wrongs of the past. Malice (Korea) Horror. Directed by Kim Yong-woon Opened Feb. 11 After her family’s finan
FilmFeb. 12, 2016
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GM Korea gears up for new car launches
GM Korea is gearing up to launch new Chevrolet and Cadillac models in South Korea this year as it seeks to carve out a bigger slice of the local passenger vehicle market, industry sources said Friday.The plan is in line with the company’s ramped-up efforts to target the domestic market with more new models following a relatively successful year in 2015.“The most important objective for us is to grow in the domestic market first,” James Kim, the president of GM Korea, said in his New Year greetin
MobilityFeb. 12, 2016
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[Album Review] 'Cold Chilling: Compton' just sort of tepid
California knows how to party. So goes the refrain on 2Pac’s enduring rap favorite “California Love.” That love is on display in the form of an homage on “Cold Chilling: Compton,” an album of reimagined takes on West Coast rap classics. Musically, the release is polished. The vocals are carefully crafted and the lyrics are true to their origins. But songs like Snoop Dogg's “Gin and Juice,” reworked by The Rooks, seem conflicted. The lyrics don’t seem a solid fit for the mature, lush vocals. More
PerformanceFeb. 12, 2016
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[Album Review] 'The Driver' focuses on love, life on the road
On the song “Leaving Nashville,” singer Charles Kelley delves into the personal and professional struggles that a songwriter faces after tasting a modicum of success. The complex narrative establishes why this member of the country trio Lady Antebellum wanted to record a solo album: Kelley’s intimate, emotional performance would have sounded out of place with a group identified with vocal interplay and harmonies. Charles Kelley “The Driver” (Capitol Records Nashville) Kelley's album, “The Driver
PerformanceFeb. 12, 2016
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[Album Review] Lucinda Williams' new album isn’t a fun listen
Singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams digs deeper into raw, mystical electric blues on her new double album, “The Ghosts of Highway 20.” Focused on faith, death, the afterlife and rural Southern settings, “Highway 20” sounds like a William Faulkner novel put to music. Lucinda Williams “The Ghosts of Highway 20” (Highway 20 Records) It's not a fun listen; it’s not something you'll sing along to; it’s not something you‘ll put on at a party. But it conveys a haunting gravitas that conjures spirits an
PerformanceFeb. 12, 2016
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[Herald Interview] Um Hong-gil always has a new peak to reach
Stepping into Um Hong-gil's inner office at the Um Hong Gil Human Foundation in Jung-gu, Seoul, one can’t help but be struck by the feeling that everything is small -- the man and the office, both. Um is of medium stature, and the office is ordinary. But when considered against the feats that constantly tail Um's name, his down-to-earth manner, easy smile and unremarkable office are a bit unsettling at first. It’s difficult to imagine him clinging to the Himalayan slopes, fighting back the numbi
PeopleFeb. 12, 2016
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Korean economy struggling with faltering exports, slowing demand
The South Korean economy is dogged by plunging exports stemming from fast falling oil prices and weakening global demand along with domestic consumption, which started to show some signs of a slowdown, the finance ministry said Friday.Outbound shipments dived 18.6 percent to US$36.7 billion in January from a year earlier, marking the largest on-year drop in six years, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance in its latest economic assessment report called the Green Book.The monthly decl
Feb. 12, 2016
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Korea to help firms troubled by Gaeseong zone woes
South Korea on Friday unveiled a set of measures to help minimize any losses incurred by South Korean firms from the closure of a joint factory park in North Korea.North Korea expelled all South Korean nationals on Thursday from the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North's border city and froze factory assets by South Korean firms in retaliation for Seoul's decision to shut down the complex. (Yonhap)Earlier this week, South Korea shut down the industrial park in response to the North's latest n
North KoreaFeb. 12, 2016
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Yellen says no negative interest rates in store for US
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Janet Yellen said Thursday that the Federal Reserve had no plans to move toward negative interest rates, following the Swedish central bank's rate cut deep into negative territory.But Fed Chair Yellen expressed "surprise" at how far European central banks had gone into negative territory, and given the weakness of inflation and the global economy, said the Fed was studying the issues involved "to be prepared.""I was surprised it was possible to move rates as negative as some c
Feb. 12, 2016
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Tokyo stocks dive more than 5% by break on strong yen
Tokyo stocks dived more than five percent on Friday morning as a strong yen battered exporters, with the market tracking a worldwide sell-off fuelled by worries about the global economy.The benchmark Nikkei 225 index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange plunged 5.34 percent, or 838.74 points, to 14,874.65 at the lunch break, after a one-day trading holiday on Thursday.The broader Topix index of all first-section shares declined 5.55 percent, or 70.25 points, to 1,194.71, putting it on track for its bigge
World BusinessFeb. 12, 2016
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Asian markets battered as Tokyo tanks again
HONG KONG (AFP) - A more than five percent plunge in Tokyo led another Asian rout Friday, bringing to an end one of the most painful weeks for investors as fears about the global economy -- and possible recession -- stalk trading floors.The steep losses in Japan came as the yen pushed to more than 16-month highs against the dollar and dealers continued a flight to safe havens.However, oil soared almost six percent following a report that producers' group OPEC could be willing to cooperate on out
Feb. 12, 2016