[Community Discovery] Gwanak transforming from 'goshi town' to youth innovation hub

Gwanak-gu, home to South Korea's most prestigious university Seoul National University, has been a key incubator for the nation's top elites for decades. Located in the southwestern part of Seoul and nestled within Gwanaksan, the district is home to numerous cram schools, small residential units, and affordable eateries. These support those preparing for South Korea’s notoriously competitive civil service exams, which facilitate significant social mobility and early career advanc

Social AffairsAug. 28, 2024

APR's Medicube seeks bigger footing in US, Canada

South Korean beauty tech company APR, known for its Medicube brand, announced Wednesday that it has signed a supply agreement with The TJX Companies, a global retail giant operating nearly 5,000 stores across nine countries, including the United States and Canada. With this agreement, Medicube's popular skin care products and AGE-R beauty devices will now be available in TJX-owned stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls, both well-established names in the North American retail landscape. The prod

CompaniesAug. 28, 2024

Dark side of AfreecaTV, livestreamers in Korea

With the recent news of numerous AfreecaTV livestreamers -- commonly known here as "BJs" -- being arrested for drug use and accused of engaging in group sexual activities making waves, a spotlight has been shone on their conduct. As livestreamers become increasingly successful in the entertainment market, pop-culture experts call to attention the circumstances that make livestreamers on AfreecaTV, the country’s largest one-person streaming platform, vulnerable to crime. Explosi

TelevisionAug. 28, 2024

[Herald Interview] Hwaseong, Korea's newest special city, aims to become sustainable metropolitan hub

As Hwaseong Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun reaches the midpoint of his term, he reflects on both the progress he has made and his ambitious plans for the city's future. "On Jan. 1, 2025, Hwaseong is set to debut as South Korea's fifth special city officially, ‘Hwaseong Special City,’" Jeong told The Korea Herald. "We are fully preparing to make it more livable, work-friendly, and enjoyable." Achieving special city status requires surpassing a population of 1 mi

Social AffairsAug. 28, 2024

How should S. Korea tackle growing China conundrum?

As US-China strategic competition has continued to intensify with expectations that it will likely persist, Seoul finds itself increasingly ensnared in a web of structural challenges in its relations with Beijing. With the rivalry itself serving as a key determinant that has caused challenges in critical areas such as economics and security, South Korea's already delicate and intricate China conundrum has become further complicated. South Korea-China relations have reached a pivotal crossro

Foreign AffairsAug. 28, 2024

[Exclusive] Samsung unsure of Suga's future as brand ambassador: source

Amid the ongoing controversy over K-pop star Suga’s drunk driving incident, Samsung Electronics is considering not extending its brand ambassador contract with the singer. “There is a risk in promoting someone as a brand ambassador who has caused a social controversy, regardless of the person's fandom. It is a serious matter and requires a lot of careful consideration,” a source familiar with the situation told The Korea Herald Tuesday on condition of anonymity. Samsung will no

K-popAug. 28, 2024

One Store goes global with Taiwan launch

Korean mobile app store operator One Store said Wednesday that it aims to expand globally with Taiwan being the first strategic market. “Our hyper localization strategy involves partnering with local companies globally to tailor services specifically for each region, aiming to compete with global monopolies on a global scale," CEO Chun Dong-jin said during a press conference in Seoul, earlier in the day. "One Store aims to become the most competitive app market globally by 2030.&

IndustryAug. 28, 2024

Woori to reenter insurance market after 11-year hiatus

Woori Financial Group has finalized a deal to acquire Tongyang Life Insurance and ABL Life Insurance, marking its reentry into the insurance sector after 11 years. The group announced Wednesday that its board of directors has resolved to incorporate Tongyang Life Insurance and ABL Life Insurance as subsidiaries and has signed the stock sale agreements. Woori will acquire a 75.34 percent stake in Tongyang Life for 1.28 trillion won ($958 million) and the entirety of ABL Life for 265.4 billion won

IndustryAug. 28, 2024

Long-lost woman reunited with daughter after 40 years

A 71-year-old woman has been reunited with her daughter with the help of the police, 40 years after she ran away from home due to the domestic violence of her husband. Daejeon police on July 29 were investigating the woman related to an argument that had occurred between her and a customer in the small corner store she had been managing, according to the Jungbu Police Station in Daejeon. Investigators found that she had been registered as deceased for decades, after going missing in 1984. Back

Social AffairsAug. 28, 2024

Shinhan Bank offers AI interpretation service for foreigners

Shinhan Bank, one of South Korea's five major commercial banks, is enhancing services for foreign customers with the introduction of a new speech-to-text interpretation service at its brick-and-mortar branches. On Wednesday, the bank announced the launch of its "Banking for Everyone" service, designed to assist foreign customers facing communication challenges due to language barriers or disabilities. The service converts spoken language into text for both bankers and customers vi

IndustryAug. 28, 2024

Overdue apology issued to fishers wrongly accused of being NK spies

A former chief of a local police station has apologized for an illegal police investigation that occurred over half a century ago into fishers were then wrongly convicted of being spies for North Korea. Lee Eun-sil, the recently retired chief of Goseong Police Station in Gangwon Province, visited the fishers and offered her apology, according to the victims' group based in the province. This was among her last actions as police chief, and marked the first time an incumbent head of an inve

Social AffairsAug. 28, 2024

Min Hee-jin objects to dismissal from Ador CEO position

Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of the K-pop agency Ador representing girl group NewJeans, has raised objections to her recent dismissal. In a statement issued through her legal representative Shin & Kim, Min argued that the decision to remove her as Ador CEO was "unilateral" and in direct violation of the shareholder agreement and court injunction prohibiting the exercise of Hybe’s voting rights to dismiss Min during a shareholders' meeting. The shareholder agreement stipul

K-popAug. 28, 2024

Police use translator app to help child of foreign nationality

Seoul police recently helped a lost child of foreign nationality locate her parents, according to its official YouTube channel. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Monday posted a video of the child's rescue, as part of the ongoing effort to promote its activities. A child was wandering near a police precinct station affiliated with the Gwangjin Police Station in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on an unspecified date in August. The station's officers invited her in, but the crying child did not sp

Social AffairsAug. 28, 2024

A major Korean webtoon, web novel pirate site shut down

South Korean authorities shut down Agitoon, a major piracy platform of Korean webtoons and web novels, and arrested its operator on charges of copyright infringement, officials announced Tuesday. According to the Daejeon District Public Prosecutors’ Office, which led the crackdown with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Agitoon, at two different sites, shared unauthorized copies of over 2.5 million web fiction titles and 740,000 webtoon series. Based on the volume of pirated co

Social AffairsAug. 28, 2024

KTO unveils award-winning tourism souvenirs

The Korea Tourism Organization announced 25 award-winning items for the 2024 Korea Tourist Souvenir Contest, each showcasing beauty and charms of Korea. The contest, held by the organization in May, received 580 applications of creative souvenirs under 300,000 won ($225). Gamseonok Original Set, a premium dessert box featuring iconic regional specialties like the dried persimmons of Sancheong, South Gyeongsang Province, won the top prize this year. The gold prize went to Aengganghyangcha, a medi

CultureAug. 28, 2024

Yeongyeongdang Feast to take place at Changdeokgung

A reenactment of a royal feast showing how Joseon-era (1392-1910) officials celebrated events involving kings and their families will take place Sept. 4-5 at Yeongyeongdang in Changdeokgung, one of the five Joseon-era palaces in Seoul. The Yeongyeongdang Feast was first held by the eldest son of King Sunjo to mark Queen Sunwon’s 40th birthday in 1828 at Yeongyeongdang -- a hall Crown Prince Hyomyeong, the eldest son, set up during the same or the previous year to host royal celebrations. T

Arts & DesignAug. 28, 2024

[Herald Interview] Lee Min-ho, Kim Min-ha talk about what ‘Pachinko’ means to them

Apple TV+’s Korean original series “Pachinko” aired its first episode of season two on Aug. 23. The show’s main protagonists Lee Min-ho and Kim Min-ha, who played a fish broker tied to Yakuza Hansu and a sturdy, hard-working young woman from a small town Sunja, respectively, said they assimilated to their characters. The second season of the period drama chronicles the life of a Korean family spanning four generations, who moved to Japan in the early 1900s. Over the eight

TelevisionAug. 28, 2024

Yoon postpones dinner with PPP leaders amid row over medical school quota increase

President Yoon Suk Yeol has postponed his planned dinner with ruling People Power Party leaders until after the Chuseok holiday, his office said Wednesday, amid a row with the PPP leader over the issue of the medical school quota increase. Yoon had planned to host a dinner Friday with PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, five Supreme Council members, and the party's policy chief, but the presidential office said the meeting has been put off to prioritize the issues of peopl

PoliticsAug. 28, 2024

More than 3 out of 10 deepfake victims are minors

Three out of 10 deepfake victims who sought help from a state agency tackling digital sex crimes were minors, officials said Wednesday, underlining the seriousness of such crimes. A total of 781 deepfake victims asked for help from the Advocacy Center for Online Sexual Abuse Victims between Jan. 1 and Sunday, and 288 of them, or 36.9 percent, were minors, according to the Women's Human Rights Institute of Korea under the gender ministry. The number of underage victims of deepfake crimes rep

Social AffairsAug. 28, 2024

N. Korea test-fires multiple rocket launcher equipped with new guidance system

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has overseen a test-fire of a 240mm multiple rocket launcher with a new guidance system, state media reported Wednesday, amid speculation that the new artillery system could be provided to Russia for use in its war with Ukraine. Kim attended Tuesday's test of the multiple rocket launch system that is produced at defense industrial enterprises under the Second Economic Commission, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The weapon could put Seoul and its

North KoreaAug. 28, 2024