Most Popular
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Psy's touch or new trend in music? P Nation’s solo stars lose their shine
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Seoul to hold grand military parade on Tuesday, disrupting major city routes
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Yoon warns North Korea against nuclear attack attempt
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Park Zi-a, the actor who played 'The Glory' heroine's mother, dies
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Miss Universe Korea names 80-year-old model 'best dressed'
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Shut up and dance
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NewJeans fans corner Hybe amid PR backlash, looming National Assembly audit
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Israel targets Palestinian group in first strike on Beirut center
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Brit pop legend Oasis to perform in Seoul next year
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Seoul mayor suggests shift in immigration policy
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ICT Ministry to invest W4tr in R&D
The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said Sunday that it would set aside 3.94 trillion won ($3.35 billion) to fund research and development projects for science, technology and information and communications technology in 2016.The fund is part of the ministry’s initiative, dubbed the comprehensive execution plan, aimed at speeding up innovation in the nation’s science and ICT sectors and creating new growth engines for the economy. Choi Yang-hee, Minister of Science, ICT and Future
TechnologyJan. 3, 2016
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Delayed bill hampers efforts for financial firms’ restructuring
Financial companies are finding it difficult to push for restructuring as the National Assembly failed to pass a relevant bill last year. The 1-year-old law governing restructuring procedures, agreements between firms and creditors and other matters, expired last year, but political parties stopped short of dealing with an alternative bill. Industrial experts said the old law provided legal grounds for companies to voluntarily seek restructuring with the help of creditors to normalize their busi
Jan. 3, 2016
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Former leader quits opposition party
Rep. Kim Han-gil announced Sunday his departure from the main opposition party he had once jointly led, further deepening the party’s factional crisis aggravated by a recent series of defections, including one by another former cochairman, Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo. Since Ahn left the New Politics Alliance for Democracy -- a precursor to the Minjoo Party of Korea -- on Dec. 13, eight other lawmakers, including Kim, have followed suit, reducing its number of parliamentary seats to 118. Ahn, along with K
PoliticsJan. 3, 2016
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Vulnerable industries to step up downsizing
Korea, with its locomotive for growth hurt by a prolonged global economic slump, is likely to see a stronger wave of corporate downsizing in 2016. From shipbuilding, steel and airlines to banking, companies are moving to increase efforts to cut costs through jobs cut, branch closures and outsourcing, while selling off noncore assets, industry officials and experts said. (Yonhap)In financial districts, one of the buzzwords for this year is “voluntary early retirement,” as companies seek to reduce
IndustryJan. 3, 2016
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Uncertainties remain over inter-Korean relations
Uncertainties hang over inter-Korean relations, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sharpened his criticism against South Korea while expressing his will for bilateral dialogue to enhance cross-border ties during his New Year’s address on Friday.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivers his New Year`s speech on Friday. (Yonhap)During the 29-minute address, broadcast by the North’s official Korean Central Television, Kim blasted Seoul’s unification policy, arguing that Seoul “begged foreign forces”
North KoreaJan. 3, 2016
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[Graphic News] Billionaires’ stock value hits all-time high
The total market value of shares held by the top 100 stock-rich people in Korea surpassed the 100 trillion-won ($849.25 billion) mark for the first time last week, according to market researcher Chaebul.comThe data showed that the billionaires held 103. 83 trillion won worth of stocks as of Dec. 30, accounting for 8.3 percent of the total market capitalization.The stock value of the top 100 has been risen steadily over the past several years, to 74 trillion won in 2013 and 92.6 trillion won in 2
Jan. 3, 2016
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South Korea delays approval of death with dignity bill
Uncertainties loom over whether the nation’s death with dignity bill will be passed before the current parliamentary term ends after the general elections in April. South Korea’s parliamentary committee on Thursday delayed its approval of the so-called “well-dying” bill -- which allows patients with incurable diseases to end their own lives by rejecting any life-sustaining treatment. The biggest stumbling block is the ongoing debate among lawmakers on whether or not traditional Korean doctors sh
Social AffairsJan. 3, 2016
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[Editorial] Unconvincing excuses
Undeniably, some negative external factors created big hurdles for the export-driven economy last year. Among those were economic slowdowns in some of South Korea’s key export destinations. Nevertheless, it would be an irresponsible stance if any enterprise focused only on finding reasons to justify a retreat in its trade performance. Cheap crude oil has been one of the few frequent excuses raised by some business lobbies and conglomerates for their sluggish exports and overseas development pro
EditorialJan. 3, 2016
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[Herald Interview] Korea aims to keep tourists coming back
At 25 minutes past midnight on Jan. 1, government officials and corporate executives welcomed the country’s first foreign tourists of the year at Incheon International Airport. Gifts including cosmetics kits and beverages were handed out to inbound travelers, with officials wishing them “Happy New Year” while holding placards that read “Korea Smiles on You.”Over the next two years until the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, Korea will hold a series of grand promotional campa
PeopleJan. 3, 2016
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[Editorial] Taiwanese sex slaves
Following the deal between the South Korean and Japanese governments on wartime sex slavery last month, Taiwan is striving to open similar negotiations with Japan over the same issue for an apology and compensation. Some foreign news outlets reported that the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry has already reached a consensus with its Japanese counterpart on starting discussions as early as this month on compensating Taiwan’s victims. Historic records show that about 200,000 Asian women were dragged into
EditorialJan. 3, 2016
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Billboard names ‘Reboot’ top K-pop album of 2015
U.S. music magazine Billboard released its list of the “10 Best K-pop Albums of 2015” last Wednesday, giving the top spot to “Reboot,” from the Wonder Girls.The top 10 list showed a mixed bag of established idol groups, including Wonder Girls, 2PM and TVXQ, and newcomers such as Red Velvet, BTS and Seventeen.The chart only included full-length albums, rarities in the current Korean music market that is flooded with singles and EPs, and gave credit to artists who crafted records in 2015 based on
PerformanceJan. 3, 2016
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Victoria, Lay join Weibo top 10
Two SM Entertainment artists, Victoria of f(x) and EXO’s Lay, were named among the top 10 artists on Chinese social media network Weibo in 2015. They were the only artists based in Korea to make the top 10.According to Weibo, Lay came in at No. 5 with 90.5 million followers while Victoria came in at No. 10 with over 75 million. Victoria was also the only female star in the top 10.Lay and Victoria are currently supported in their promotions in China by SM Entertainment through a local “workshop”
PerformanceJan. 3, 2016
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[Herald Review] ‘Next to Normal’ a must-see musical of ethical quandaries
To some, a night of musical theater could conjure up thoughts of kitsch song and dance numbers and enchanting fairy-tale love stories. Composer Tom Kitt and author Brian Yorkey’s “Next to Normal” has none of that.Brought to life by leading ladies Kolleen Park and Jung Young-ju, who alternately play the role of the struggling mother Diana, “Next to Normal” stretches the scope of musical boundaries by addressing often socially taboo topics such as suicide, substance abuse and questionable moral di
PerformanceJan. 3, 2016
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[Herald Interview] 12 years since debut, Go A-ra’s just getting started
Twenty-five-year-old actress Go A-ra has spent over a decade in the public eye, starting with the teen TV drama “Sharp” in 2003. Despite her more than 12 years in the industry and her fame, Go has a relatively short filmography: seven TV shows and six films. Although Go has recently appeared on a number of television shows, most memorably hit drama “Reply 1994,” she had been away from the big screen for four years when she returned in December with Kim Dai-seung‘s romance period piece “The Magic
FilmJan. 3, 2016
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South Korea eyes vice FM talks with U.S., Japan
South Korea is trying to schedule a meeting of vice foreign ministers with the United States and Japan, a government official here said Sunday.Confirming an earlier report by NHK, the official said, "The three countries are trying to hammer out details, and we will make an announcement when they are confirmed."NHK said earlier Sunday that the meeting, likely to take place sometime in January in Tokyo, will bring together South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam, U.S. Deputy Secretary of S
InternationalJan. 3, 2016
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[Cass R. Sunstein] The U.S. political incorrectness racket
Among Republicans, it has become politically correct to be politically incorrect. Actually that’s the most politically correct thing that you can possibly be. As soon as you announce that you’re politically incorrect, you’re guaranteed smiles and laughter, and probably thunderous applause. Proudly proclaiming your bravery, you’re pandering to the crowd. A math-filled new paper, by economists Chia-Hui Chen at Kyoto University and Junichiro Ishida at Osaka University, helps to explain what’s going
ViewpointsJan. 3, 2016
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Watershed apology for heinous wartime crime
For Japan, World War II is not resolved history. It is, incredibly, a recurring controversy.Several times in recent decades, Japan’s leaders have expressed remorse and apologized for the nation’s rampage through Asia in the 1930s and ’40s. But to the governments and the surviving civilian victims in South Korea and elsewhere, the words and actions have always come up short. Japan has issued mea culpas, yes. But also from Japan: Revisionist textbooks in schools, a Tokyo shrine that memorializes c
ViewpointsJan. 3, 2016
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[J. Bradford DeLong] Piketty’s writing vs. Piketty’s actions
In “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” the French economist Thomas Piketty highlights the striking contrasts in North America and Europe between the Gilded Age that preceded World War I and the decades following World War II. In the first period, economic growth was sluggish, wealth was predominantly inherited, the rich dominated politics, and economic (as well as race and gender) inequality was extreme. But after the upheaval of WWII, everything changed. Income growth accelerated, wealth was
ViewpointsJan. 3, 2016
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[David Ignatius] Talk is cheap, real strategy is hard
Making New Year‘s predictions is tricky in this turbulent world, but here’s one fairly safe bet: The next president will propose a more assertive U.S. foreign policy. Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, has often sounded nearly as hawkish about use of military force as the Republican contenders. But what would a new American assertiveness mean, in practical terms? What can U.S. military power do, realistically, to combat the Islamic State and other threats more effectively? How can C
ViewpointsJan. 3, 2016
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[Jean Pisani-Ferry] Responding to Europe’s political polarization
In Europe, 2015 began with the far-left Syriza party’s election victory in Greece. It ended with another three elections that attested to increasing political polarization. In Portugal, the Socialist Party formed an alliance with its former archenemy, the Communists. In Poland, the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party won enough support to govern on its own. And in Spain, the emergence of Podemos, another new left-wing party, has ended the traditional hegemony of the Spanish Socialist Workers
ViewpointsJan. 3, 2016