Most Popular
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Yoon warns North Korea against nuclear attack attempt
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AI textbook bubble could burst, expert warns
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Samsung tightens its belt amid crisis winds
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Food tycoon Paik Jong-won's Theborn Korea pushes toward IPO
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[Herald Review] One of Netflix's most expensive Korean originals returns, but at what cost?
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Prosecution closes 'Dior bag' case amid opposition uproar
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North Korean trash balloons cross border day after Seoul military parade
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SF Giants outfielder Lee Jung-hoo back home after injury-shortened rookie season
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Court confirms sentence for rapper who attempted to evade national service
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[Photo News] Armed Forces Day
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Childhood obesity in Korea twice as common in boys: OECD
Boys in South Korea are nearly twice as likely to be obese than girls, a new report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed. According to the report Health at a Glance 2015, 26.4 percent of boys aged 5-17 were either overweight or obese as of 2013. Meanwhile, only 14.1 percent of girls had the same health condition. The gender disparity in Korea was significantly high considering the OECD average for childhood obesity was 24.3 percent for boys and 22.1 perce
Social AffairsNov. 9, 2015
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[Herald Interview] Xuefei Yang wants her music to pull ‘Heartstrings’
Critically acclaimed Chinese classical guitarist Xuefei Yang wants her presence to become more known to Korean audiences with her latest album, “Heartstrings.” A big-time classical music icon across Asia and parts of Europe, Yang is considered one of the classical guitar world’s leading musicians, having been acclaimed as among the “most extraordinary instrumentalists in the world” and the “most impressive advocate for her instrument.” Yet, in Korea, the 38-year-old guitarist has yet to establi
PerformanceNov. 9, 2015
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Police ramp up arrests of hit-and-run drivers
The police said Monday they had arrested all those accused in hit-and-run murders nationwide so far this year, prompted by public furor that erupted in January over the killing of a young father-to-be who was hit by a car and left on the street to die.As a result of stepped-up initial response to reports of hit-and-run, the police arrested a total of 125 people from January to October across the nation who have hit and killed somebody and then left the scene of a car accident.The total arrest ra
Social AffairsNov. 9, 2015
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[Design Forum] Forum to discuss design as platform for convergence, value creation
The Herald Design Forum 2015 is set to kick off Tuesday in Seoul, bringing together some of the world’s brightest minds in design to share their ideas and insights. The one-day celebration of creativity and innovation in design, scheduled to be held at Grand Hyatt Seoul, will invite 11 creative minds across diverse fields of design from architecture, art, and branding to 3-D printing, who will speak at seven lectures and discussions with design aficionados in Korea and at a networking dinner eve
Arts & DesignNov. 9, 2015
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[Newsmaker] Shipping merger rumors resurface
Market rumors are rampant that the government is seeking to force the merger of Korea’s two largest shipping companies as part of its push for corporate restructuring to overcome the deteriorating market conditions.Container ships sit under construction at the Hanjin Heavy Industry shipyard in Busan. (Bloomberg)A local news agency reported Monday that the government will officially discuss a possible merger of the country’s No. 1 shipping line Hanjin Shipping and its rival Hyundai Merchant Marin
IndustryNov. 9, 2015
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Ex-NIS chief announces bid to run in April elections
Former National Intelligence Service director Kim Man-bok said Monday that he plans to run in an open primary to appear on the ruling Saenuri Party’s ticket to run in Gijang, Busan, his hometown, on April 13 next year.His announcement came on the heels of Home Affairs Minister Chong Jong-sup’s press conference Sunday to resign from his post, with heavy indications that he would be running in the parliamentary race. Kim Man-bok (Yonhap)The two join a host of other former Cabinet and Cheong Wa Dae
PoliticsNov. 9, 2015
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Gwangju Design Biennale aims to connect global networks
The Gwangju Design Biennale, Asia’s largest and oldest design biennale celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, is eyeing an expanded role as a facilitator of exchanges among Asian countries in the field of design. The monthlong festival of design, which opened Oct. 15 in the southern city of Gwangju, presents 12 exhibitions -- all based on local and global networks of designers. Held at the Gwangju Biennale exhibition hall, the event convenes some 3,900 Korean and foreign designers, about 1
Arts & DesignNov. 9, 2015
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Two Shin-Wolsong nuclear power plants dedicated
The Shin-Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant No.1 (right) and No. 2 in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.The construction of Shin-Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 and No. 2 in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, was completed Monday, making them the nation’s 23rd and 24th nuclear reactors.The two plants will generate a combined 15.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, which would currently account for 3 percent of the country’s power generation. “We believe that the plants will drive the l
IndustryNov. 9, 2015
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Hanwha gives W4b to youth employment fund
Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn (Hanwha)Hanwha Group said Sunday it will contribute 4 billion won ($3.47 million) toward a public trust fund created by the South Korean government to ease youth unemployment.Hanwha chairman Kim Seung-youn will donate 3 billion won while group employees will give 1 billion won toward the so-called Youth Hope Fund, proposed by President Park Geun-hye in September to develop job creation and training programs for young people.“The group chairman decided to supp
IndustryNov. 9, 2015
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Hanmi seals W1tr licensing deal with Janssen
Leading South Korean drugmaker Hanmi Pharmaceutical said Monday it has sealed a 1-trillion won ($863 million) licensing agreement with Janssen on a new experimental diabetes and obesity drug. The deal marks the latest among Hanmi’s string of mega licensing agreements with global pharmaceutical companies, including a 5 trillion won deal with France-based Sanofi concluded just last Thursday and two similar deals with Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly signed earlier this year. The Hanmi Pharmaceut
IndustryNov. 9, 2015
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5 major disputes surrounding state textbooks
Last Friday, Choi Mong-lyong -- the government’s choice as one of the main authors for a new set of state-issued history textbooks -- resigned after allegations surfaced that he had sexual harassed a female reporter.While denying any wrongdoing, the professor emeritus of Seoul National University said he did not want to bog down the publication process.Professor Choi Mong-lyong is surrounded by the press as he heads to his home in Yeouido, Friday. (Yonhap)The resignation of the seasoned scholar
Social AffairsNov. 9, 2015
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[Herald Interview] Korea needs control tower to nurture global biotech giants: KBIO chief
Faced with aging populations coupled with longer life expectancies, major countries around the world have set health care as their foremost priority in policies as related costs and spending are expected to surge dramatically in the years to come.Driven by such needs, the world’s biotechnology market is geared for significant growth in the coming years. Meanwhile, South Korea must work swiftly to better nurture its own biotech sector, which holds immense potential to become an early leader in th
IndustryNov. 9, 2015
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More Koreans cremated
South Korea’s funeral culture is fast changing with four out of five deceased being cremated rather than buried, government data showed Monday.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the country’s cremation rate accounted for 79 percent of funerals last year, surging fourfold compared to two decades ago. This is a 2 percentage point rise over last year. By region, eight metropolitan cities including the capital recorded 85.2 percent on average, 10 percent more than non-metropolitan and
Social AffairsNov. 9, 2015
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LG Chem inks German battery deal
South Korea’s leading battery-maker LG Chem said Monday that it has secured a deal worth millions of dollars to supply its batteries for a project to build the world’s largest energy storage system for frequency regulation in Germany.The company’s lithium-ion batteries will be utilized in a project led by German power generator Steag to build the ESSs for frequency regulation in six regions in Nordrhein-Westfalen and Saaerland, Germany, in 2016.The ESS for frequency regulation is used to maintai
TechnologyNov. 9, 2015
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[Editorial] Cable car boom
A cable car construction boom is underway across the nation. According to reports, more than 30 cable car projects are being promoted or planned by local governments. For instance, Geoje City in South Gyeongsang Province is building a 1.93-kilometer-long cable car line on Geojedo Island off the southern coast. City officials expect the 42 billion won project, when completed in 2017, will attract more tourists and create economic ripple effects worth more than 200 billion won a year. This and m
EditorialNov. 9, 2015
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[Editorial] Assembly back in business
The operations of the National Assembly have been normalized as the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy ended its boycott of parliamentary sessions over the government’s push for state-designated history textbooks. The opposition party’s decision to return to the National Assembly is well-advised, given the long list of urgent national tasks lawmakers have to deal with without further delay. Legislators have about a month left until the end of the 100-day regular parliamentary s
EditorialNov. 9, 2015
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[Kevin Kumashiro] Testing is not helping U.S. education
Recently released national scores reveal that high-stakes testing is not helping public education. Scores from the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the “nation’s report card,” show declines in student test scores in reading and mathematics for the first time since 1990. SAT scores have also gone down. Students are spending an increasing number of days each year taking standardized tests, dedicating weeks or even months preparing. The Council of Great City Schools ju
ViewpointsNov. 9, 2015
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[John H. Cha] The politics of family reunions
I don’t know why, but we Koreans love to make a spectacle of everything, and the latest round of family reunions at the Mount Geumgangsan adds new wrinkles to the art of spectacle making. It was voyeurism of the worst kind, inhumane to the core, in which the players, including octogenarians and nonagenarians, played out scenes filled with real tears. These tears were painful to watch on television, a thousand times more painful for the elderly, no doubt, whether the tears were of elation or sor
ViewpointsNov. 9, 2015
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Ceremony at Busan U.N. park to commemorate Korean War heroes
An annual ceremony will be held at the United Nations park in the southern port city of Busan this week to commemorate the fallen heroes from the 1950-53 Korean War, where millions of foreign soldiers fought for South Korea, the war veterans ministry said Monday.Nearly 2 million soldiers from 21 countries as far as way as Ethiopia were dispatched to fight alongside South Korean soldiers under the U.N. flag against the invading North and China. More than 150,000 of them were killed, wounded, went
Social AffairsNov. 9, 2015