Kakao’s AI service Kanana aims for ‘next KakaoTalk’

South Korean IT giant Kakao on Tuesday unveiled its new conversational artificial intelligence service Kanana at the annual developers conference dubbed "if kakaoAI 2024." “Kakao’s key competitive advantage lies in connecting relationships and in the era of generative AI. We aim to offer hyper-personalized AI services that consider individuals’ context and emotions in various relationships and conversations,” CEO Chung Shin-a said in her keynote speech at the ev

TechnologyOct. 22, 2024

G-Dragon to perform at 2024 MAMA

K-pop icon G-Dragon will perform at the 2024 MAMA, the world’s largest K-pop awards ceremony, held this year in Los Angeles and Osaka, Japan. According to the event’s organizer CJ ENM, G-Dragon will take the stage on the event's last day in Osaka. As this is his first MAMA appearance in nine years, he is expected to unveil new releases during his performance. Other artists performing at this year's MAMA revealed on Tuesday include BoyNextDoor, (G)I-dle, Plave and Bibi. The

K-popOct. 22, 2024

Man attempts to murder neighbor who asked him not to smoke indoors

A South Korean court said Tuesday it handed down a sentence of five years in jail to a man for the attempted murder of another man living next door, who had asked him not to smoke inside the home. The defendant, in his 20s, was found guilty of attempted murder by the Daejeon District Court. On June 20 of last year the convicted man had been smoking inside his home in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, when his 40-year-old neighbor -- with whom he shared a wall -- reportedly said, "Excuse m

Social AffairsOct. 22, 2024

[Oddities] What's in a name? How Koreans faked their way to Kim, Lee and Park

If you meet a South Korean, there's a 45 percent chance that their surname is either Kim, Lee or Park. And there’s an even higher probability -- some say nearly 90 percent -- that their surname originates from a bogus family tree. According to the latest census data from Statistics Korea, these three surnames account for nearly half the population, which is over 20 million people. Expand that to the top 10 surnames, and you're looking at 64 percent of the population. This remarka

Hashtag KoreaOct. 22, 2024

[해커스 TEPS] 텝스 시험대비 단기간 고득점 단어 & 문법 5문제

2) 해커스 텝스 문법 Part Ⅰ Choose the best answer for the blank. 1. A: Didn’t your grandfather marry late? B: Yes, he was at the _______ 40 at the time. (a) aged (b) age of (c) aged of (d) age 해석 A: 네 할아버지께서는 결혼을 늦게 하시지 않았어? B: 응, 그 당시 마흔 살이셨어. 해설 올바른 목적어 채우기 전치사(at)의 목적어가 비어 있으므로 목적어 자리에 올 수 있는 명사 (b)와 (d)가 정답의 후보이다. 빈칸 뒤에 숫자 40이 왔으므로, 명사(age)와 숫자 40을 연결하는 전치사가 필요하다. 따라서 전치사 of와 어울려서 '~의 나이로'라는 의미의 표현인 'at the age of ~'을 완성하는 (b) age of가 정답이다. 어휘 marry 결혼하다 2. A: I can’t

English EyeOct. 22, 2024

Russian, N. Korean flags displayed together on Ukraine battlefield

A pro-Russia Telegram account has posted a photo showing the Russian and North Korean flags side by side on a Ukrainian battlefield, indicating that North Korea has likely sent troops to support Russia in its prolonged war with Ukraine. The image, shared by a blogger named @rvvoenkor_bot on Monday, showed the two flags raised together over a mine in Pokrovsk, one of the strongholds on Ukraine's eastern front. The blogger said that the North Korean flag has recently been raised on a hill at

North KoreaOct. 22, 2024

Seoul shares open lower after Wall Street dip

Seoul shares opened lower Tuesday as US stocks took a breather after reporting their longest weekly rally this year. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 16.66 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,588.26 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8 percent to 42,931.60, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3 percent to 18,540.01. In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 1 percent, top carmake

MarketOct. 22, 2024

8 out of 10 companies support raising retirement age: survey

Eight out of 10 businesses support a proposal to raise the mandatory retirement age for employees, currently set at 60, according to a survey released Monday. The survey, conducted by online recruiter Saramin among 461 companies, also found that the preferred new retirement age averages 65.7 years, with more than half of respondents, 57.9 percent, choosing 65 as the ideal age. Support for allowing older workers to stay in the workforce longer is gaining momentum in South Korea, as the country is

CompaniesOct. 22, 2024

[Graphic News] Convenience store sales approach department stores

A recent report reveals that the sales gap between convenience stores and department stores has narrowed to less than 1 percentage point. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, convenience stores accounted for 16 percent of sales in the first half of the year compared to department stores’ 16.6 percent. In contrast, large supermarkets held an 11.3 percent share of sales. Convenience stores surpassed large supermarkets in annual sales for the first time in 2021 and have

Social AffairsOct. 22, 2024

[Patrick Bolton, Haizhou Huang] Is China facing a deflationary trap?

About two years ago, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s economy hit a roadblock. As all sectors underwent deleveraging, economic growth slowed, household savings rates increased and businesses scaled back their investments and accumulated savings. Many now wonder whether consumers and companies are stuck in a self-reinforcing cycle of declining spending and falling prices, which would have the pernicious effect of increasing the real value of debt. For a long time, the gove

ViewpointsOct. 22, 2024

Opening game of Korean Series suspended due to rain

The opening game of the South Korean baseball championship series was suspended by rain in the southern city of Gwangju on Monday, the first such occurrence in Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason history. Game 1 of the Korean Series between the home team Kia Tigers and the Samsung Lions was put on hold at 9:24 p.m., with the Lions leading 1-0 in the top of the sixth inning at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul. The Lions had runners at first and second

BaseballOct. 21, 2024

Illit releases new EP amid accusations of plagiarizing NewJeans

K-pop girl group Illit has released their second EP, "I’ll Like You," while facing ongoing allegations of copying NewJeans' concept. The group maintained a non-confrontational stance, emphasizing their focus on their own creative path. “We’ve worked hard to show our fans our best, no matter the situation,” member Yunah said during a showcase in Seoul on Monday. “We reflect on all the people who have helped Illit grow and those who have supported and c

K-popOct. 21, 2024

Russia defends N. Korea ties, denies clarifying use of N. Korean soldiers in Ukraine

Russia said on Monday it will continue its cooperation with North Korea but declined to comment on allegations that it plans to use North Korean soldiers in military operations against Ukraine. "There is a lot of contradictory information," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters when questioned about the alleged dispatch of North Korean troops and a possible plan to use them, according to the Russian news agency TASS. He added such questions should be directed to the defense

Foreign AffairsOct. 21, 2024

Yoon, British FM agree to cooperate against NK-Russia military cooperation

President Yoon Suk Yeol met with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Monday to discuss strengthening security and defense industry cooperation amid deepening military ties between North Korea and Russia, Yoon's office said. During the meeting, Yoon shared the latest information on North Korea's preparations for sending troops to Russia to support its war in Ukraine, and pledged to cooperate closely with Britain and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to counter the threats, h

Foreign AffairsOct. 21, 2024

Seoul warns Russian envoy on North Korea troop deployment

South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun summoned Russian Ambassador Georgy Zinoviev on Monday to issue a stern warning over North Korea’s deployment of troops to Russia in support of its war in Ukraine -- a move confirmed by Seoul's intelligence agency last week -- and to demand their immediate withdrawal. The Foreign Ministry in Seoul said that the summoning of Russia's top envoy was aimed at conveying the South Korean government’s "grave stance o

Foreign AffairsOct. 21, 2024

Doosan attempts business restructuring plan again

Doosan Group announced Monday a revised business realignment plan to go ahead with its earlier bid to incorporate Doosan Bobcat into Doosan Robotics as a subsidiary as the conglomerate looks to create better synergy between its affiliates to expand businesses. The two boards of Doosan Enerbility, the parent company of Doosan Bobcat with a 46 percent stake in Doosan Bobcat, and Doosan Robotics approved the plan to spin off a new company that will own Doosan Bobcat’s shares from Doosan Enerb

CompaniesOct. 21, 2024

WGBI inclusion boon for FX market reform: ministry

The recent inclusion on the World Government Bond Index, a global benchmark for bond investments, proves South Korea is headed in the right direction in its efforts to improve its foreign exchange market, an official from the Finance Ministry said Monday. On Oct. 9, the Financial Times Stock Exchange Russell announced that Korea has been added to the WGBI. The inclusion came more than two years after Korea was put on the watchlist in September 2022. In the announcement, FTSE Russell stated that

EconomyOct. 21, 2024

More than 1,000 convicts hiding abroad to evade prison

More than 1,000 convicts sentenced to prison were found to be avoiding imprisonment by hiding overseas last year, data showed Monday. According to Ministry of Justice data from 2019 to 2023 released by Rep. Jang Dong-hyuk of the ruling People Power Party, as of last year, a total of 6,075 criminals sentenced to incarceration had absconded either domestically or overseas. The figure increased from 4,405 in 2019 to 5,911 in 2022. Of the total number of fugitives, 1,014 were on the run in other c

Social AffairsOct. 21, 2024

Korea's first venue for disability arts attracting growing audiences

Korea's first performance venue specifically designed for disability arts, Modu Art Theater, is celebrating its first anniversary Thursday. The black box theater, established and operated by the Korea Disability Arts and Culture Center, accommodates up to 250 guests and holds the distinction of being the only performance space in the country specifically designed with a focus on "mobility convenience" for people with disabilities. “Collaboration between artists with disabili

PerformanceOct. 21, 2024