Uzbekistan hopes to boost cultural, tourism ties with S. Korea

Uzbekistan's partnership with South Korea is important not economically but also in cultural aspects as the central Asian country hopes to boost tourism, Uzbek Minister of Tourism Umid Shadiev said at a recent event. Speaking to tourism professionals and the media at the Uzbekistan-Korea tourism forum held on the sidelines of "Uzbekistan Roadshow Seoul 2024," Shadiev highlighted the cultural ties that lasted over 2,000 years, via the Silk Road. “Our partnership with South Ko

Foreign AffairsOct. 9, 2024

[영어답게 표현하기] 유용한 비즈니스 영어 표현들

이번 회에는 저희 책 Advanced Vocab에서 소개한 중상급 영단어들을 알려드립니다. 단어의 우리말 뜻을 기억하는 데에 그치지 않고, 난이도 있는 단어를 실제로 활용하는 단계까지 나아가 보기 바랍니다. 〈군집, 모임〉 1. gravitate [ɡrǽvətèit] 인력에 의해 끌리다 ‘중력’을 뜻하는 gravity는 ‘무거운’, ‘심각한’이라는 뜻을 지닌 grave와 어원이 같다. gravitate는 중력에 끌리듯 어떤 것에 마음이 이끌리는 것을 표현하는 단어다. People, like bees drawn to honey, gravitate towards the new and unusual. 사람들은 마치 벌들이 꿀에 이끌리듯 새롭고 평범하지 않은 것에 끌린다. ● 사내아이들은 자연스레 자동차에 끌리고 여자아이들은 인형에 끌린다. Boys naturally gravitate t

English EyeOct. 9, 2024

N. Korea amends constitution at parliamentary meeting without disclosing details

North Korea has convened a key parliamentary meeting to revise the constitution, state media reported Wednesday, without disclosing details about whether it removed unification-related clauses or stipulated territorial boundaries in line with an order by leader Kim Jong-un. At the 11th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly Monday and Tuesday in Pyongyang, North Korea unanimously decided to amend and supplement parts of the country's socialist constitution, according to the Kore

North KoreaOct. 9, 2024

Blinken to raise NK-Russia cooperation issue at ASEAN gatherings in Laos: State Dept.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to raise the issue of the "concerning" and "deepening" partnership between North Korea and Russia during annual gatherings involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos this week, a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday. Blinken is set to represent the US at the East Asia Summit and the US-ASEAN Summit on behalf of President Joe Biden during his trip to the Laotian capital of Vientiane, which lasts u

Foreign AffairsOct. 9, 2024

[Graphic News] Ohtani’s Dodgers jersey tops 2024 MLB merchandise sales

According to MLB.com, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ new superstar Shohei Ohtani topped merchandise sales this season, with his No. 17 jersey being the most popular. Ohtani, in his debut season with the Dodgers, made history by becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. This year, he recorded a .310 batting average, 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, 134 runs scored and 59 stolen bases, positioning him as a frontrunner for his third MVP title. Trailing Ohtani in

BaseballOct. 9, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] Hoping for no 'October surprises' this year

In 2006, I briefly stayed in Buffalo, New York, on my way from the University of California, Berkeley to Harvard. In October that year, a heavy blizzard hit Buffalo so hard that everyone was stuck at home for about a week, suffering through all manner of ordeals, from blackouts and empty refrigerators to road blocks caused by huge piles of snow. The people of Buffalo called the untimely weather calamity “the October surprise,” because a blizzard was not expected in the fall. In the U

ViewpointsOct. 9, 2024

[Nedra Rhone] Americans ready to flee the country?

The first time Jen Barnett and her now husband Brett Andrews discussed permanently leaving the US was in 2016. Barnett, an Alabama native and Emory University alum, said rising political polarization in the US and a long-standing desire to live abroad pushed them to scout out Vancouver, Canada, as a possible destination -- with Seattle as a possible “blue state” home. But it turned out, neither city felt like a place they wanted to live long-term. So they shelved the idea until 2020

ViewpointsOct. 9, 2024

Twins outlast Wiz to reach verge of KBO postseason series win

Powered by a pair of homers and a dominant relief outing from a young hurler, the LG Twins outlasted the KT Wiz 6-5 on Tuesday to move within a win of reaching the next round in the Korea Baseball Organization postseason. Austin Dean slugged a three-run homer off starter Wes Benjamin in the fifth to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, just south of Seoul, after Park Dong-won had opened the scoring with a solo homer in the second. Starter-turned-reliever Son Ju-young twirl

BaseballOct. 8, 2024

Netflix's latest runaway hit is a Korean reality cooking show

Netflix’s latest bet on Korean reality series has created another runaway hit. For the last two weeks, the cooking competition "Culinary Class Wars" topped its global weekly TV chart for non-English titles. The unscripted, 12-episode show started off with 100 chefs, divided into two categories. The “white spoons” run acclaimed places, many with Michelin stars; they’re pitted against underdog chefs tagged as “black spoons.” The final two episodes were

TelevisionOct. 8, 2024

Jay Park returns with quintessential R&B album after 8 years

K-pop singer-rapper Jay Park returned Tuesday with a studio album his fans will want to own. Park's sixth full-length album, "The One You Wanted," features 20 tracks, including nine new songs alongside 11 previously released singles. It marks his first R&B album in eight years. The number of tracks is unusually large, given that most K-pop studio albums feature no more than 10 songs. "Since 'Everything You Wanted,' I had planned to release more R&B albums. B

K-popOct. 8, 2024

Bucheon hotel fire started from faulty AC unit wiring: police

The fatal hotel fire from August was found to be a man-made disaster, caused by the negligent management of firefighting equipment and poor electrical wiring, according to police officials on Tuesday. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency stated during its press briefing Tuesday that they have applied for a preliminary arrest warrant for four hotel authorities -- including the hotel owner, his daughter, the hotel operator and the hotel manager -- on charges of failing to fulfill their mana

Social AffairsOct. 8, 2024

Yoon visits Hyundai Motor's AI-powered factory in Singapore

SINGAPORE -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday visited the highly automated Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore, a car manufacturing facility powered by artificial intelligence and robots, on the sidelines of his state visit to the city-state. Yoon inspected the automated car manufacturing line that uses the "cell production" system in which a small team of human employees and robots is responsible for a specific assembly process. The factory operates 27 such cells. Accord

IndustryOct. 8, 2024

Taking away phones during school hours not a human rights violation: watchdog

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea ruled that taking away students’ mobile phones at high schools during school hours is not a violation of human rights, reversing its stance after 10 years. The decision was made Monday at a meeting where all 10 commissioners were present to deliberate on a petition filed by a high school student last year, according to local media. Eight commissioners voted to reject the petition, which claimed that the school’s policy on collecting mobil

Social AffairsOct. 8, 2024

AliExpress Korea chief questioned on product safety at Assembly audit

AliExpress Korea CEO Ray Zhang expressed the company’s commitment to enhancing product safety during a parliamentary audit, where he faced criticism from South Korean lawmakers for the platform’s failure to stop the sale of hazardous products despite previous pledges to do so. The audit, led by the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee on Monday, was convened to address growing concerns about unsafe products circulating on Chinese e-commerce platforms. These platforms,

CompaniesOct. 8, 2024

K-pop merchandisers punished too lightly for unfair consumer practices: lawmaker

Punishments for unfair consumer practices by K-pop merchandise producers are too light compared to their profits, a lawmaker argued in the National Assembly audit. Rep. Kang Yu-jung of the main opposition Democratic Party said Monday that entertainment giant Hybe was fined only 3 million won ($2,200) for violating the rights of K-pop product consumers while earning over 1 trillion won over a period of three years from selling such products, raising questions over the punishments’ effective

K-popOct. 8, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] NCT Dream to host encore concert

NCT Dream will return to Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul for a three-date concert that will close its world tour, label SM Entertainment announced Tuesday. The seven-member NCT subunit will host the encore concert "Finale in Seoul" from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1. The group will be hitting the same stage where it launched its tour “The Dream Show 3: Dreamscape” in May. The band has visited eight cities in Asia, 11 in North and Latin America, and it will begin touring five across Europe fr

K-popOct. 8, 2024

Banks, brokerages, insurers spent W2.4tr in entertainment expenses over last five years

South Korea’s financial sector, including banks, brokerage houses and insurers, spent a staggering 2.4 trillion won ($1.78 billion) on entertaining clients over the past five years, data showed Tuesday. From 2019 through the first half of this year, banks, brokerages and insurance companies spent 957.8 billion won, 1.13 trillion won and 308.5 billion won, respectively, on entertainment expenses, according to Financial Supervisory Service data submitted to Rep. Kim Hyun-jung of the main opp

EconomyOct. 8, 2024

US ambassador discusses battery supply chain at Posco Future M plant

Posco Future M CEO Yoo Byung-ok and US Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg have discussed the importance of stabilizing supply chains as the Korean battery material and chemical producer struggles to cope with declining anode prices due to competition from China. According to Posco Future M on Tuesday, the US Ambassador visited the Korean company’s artificial graphite anode plant in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, the previous day. “Despite being the only alternative for sta

CompaniesOct. 8, 2024

Seoul shares end lower on weak earnings by Samsung, US losses

Seoul stocks finished lower Tuesday due to weaker-than-expected earnings results by Samsung Electronics and overnight US stock losses. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 0.61 percent, or 16.02 points, to 2,594.36. Trading volume was moderate at 313 million shares worth 8.98 trillion won ($6.65 billion), with losers outpacing gainers at 569 to 305. Institutions and foreign investors together sold a net 72 billion won, while retai

MarketOct. 8, 2024