[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jimin going strong on Billboard, Spotify charts

Jimin of BTS is spending his fourth week on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100, according to the publication’s latest charts announced Monday in the US. His second solo album “Muse” ranked No. 58 on the main albums chart while the main track “Who” claimed No. 29 on the songs chart, jumping back up 12 rungs from last week. The single debuted at No. 14 and the album at No. 2, respectively. “Who” is staying strong on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Global char

K-popAug. 21, 2024

Civil defense drill to be held Thursday

The annual civil defense drill is take place across South Korea on Thursday, with an air-raid alarm sounding and traffic blocked on some roads. This year’s drill will last for 20 minutes starting at 2 p.m., the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced. The drill, designed to help people living here be prepared for possible attacks, will begin with a one-minute air-raid alarm. Pedestrians will be guided to swiftly move to nearby safe basements or shelters. People's movements will

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Watch your fingers: Ministry revises safety infographic after pinching gesture complaints

The Ministry of Labor and Employment had to revise images in its public materials following complaints that one of the illustrations featured what some saw as a hand gesture associated with misandry, local media reported Wednesday. The illustration was part of a safety infographic shared via Kakao Talk messenger on Aug. 5 to alert the public about recent serious industrial accidents. It detailed the safety hazards leading to the fatal fall on Aug. 2 of a worker who had been fixing roofing materi

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

[Robin Abcarian] JD Vance’s ‘cringey’ view on women

I was minding my own business, living my grandbaby-free postmenopausal life, when I was suddenly confronted with an existential question: What -- to borrow Barbie‘s lament -- was I made for? And why should I care what Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance thinks? Normally, I don‘t engage in evolutionary biology-based navel-gazing. I’ve heard too many sophomoric arguments about how men are biologically programmed to be unfaithful, blah blah blah. I‘m too busy worki

ViewpointsAug. 21, 2024

Samsung, LG showcase next-gen display tech at IMID

Korea's two top display makers Samsung Display and LG Display have won Display of the Year awards at the International Meeting on Information Display conference that kicked off on Jeju Island Wednesday. Having introduced the world’s first stretchable OLED display in 2017, Samsung unveiled another stretchable panel using the micro-LED technology that boasts the highest resolution and elongation rate among the stretchable products on the market. According to the display maker, the lates

IndustryAug. 21, 2024

Seoul shares up for 2nd day ahead of US payroll data, Fed chief's speech

South Korean stocks ended higher for the second straight session Wednesday as they waited for US payroll data and more clues over the US rate policy direction from this week's Jackson Hole symposium. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 4.5 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 2,701.13. Trade volume was moderate at 406 million shares worth 9.18 trillion won ($6.87 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 448 to 407. F

MarketAug. 21, 2024

[KH Explains] Institutional investors in Korea take slower approach to crypto

Though the introduction of the bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds has paved the way for more institutional investors globally to embrace the cryptocurrency into their portfolios, Korean institutions are still taking a cautious approach. With the US Securities and Exchange Commission approving spot bitcoin ETFs earlier this year, more institutional investors overseas, from hedge funds to private equities, are growing their exposure to the coin. According to Coinbase, a major crypto exchange in th

IndustryAug. 21, 2024

Doctors angered by plan to require additional license to open practices

As the medical standoff extends over seven months, the government has been discussing mandating an additional license in order to open private hospitals, sparking fury among young doctors here, many of whom have walked off the job to protest the government's medical school quota hike. In line with the government's health care reform plan, the Health Ministry is reviewing introducing a so-called “practice license” in the future, arguing that a doctor's license alone can

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Advisory body for Constitutional revision to be launched: Assembly speaker

National Assembly Speaker Rep. Woo Won-shik reiterated Wednesday the need for a bill to revise the Constitution, with the aim of changing the term limit for the president, stressing that an advisory body will be launched soon. Woo’s remarks, made at a press conference at the Assembly in western Seoul, are in line with the opposition’s goal to hold a national referendum in 2026. The ruling party has denounced the referendum as a move to shorten President Yoon Suk Yeol’s single,

PoliticsAug. 21, 2024

Rain to continue until Thursday after Typhoon Jongdari weakens

Though Typhoon Jongdari weakened to a tropical depression late Tuesday evening, the Korea Meteorological Administration said on Wednesday that rain will continue to fall, focusing on central regions of South Korea to Thursday. As of 9 p.m., Tuesday, Typhoon Jongdari weakened to a tropical depression 30 kilometers off the southeastern coast of Heuksando, South Jeolla Province, according to the KMA. The typhoon then passed by Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, at 3 a.m., before dissipating nearby

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Medical standoff puts Korea's COVID-19 response to test

South Korea's health system, which for years worked to shield the nation from the deadly threat of COVID-19, finds itself under renewed pressure from a virus resurgence amid the prolonged standoff between medical professionals and the government, putting its capacity to the test. The virus is likely to peak later this month at a time when the country's health care has for six months been stretched beyond its capacity, after intern and resident doctors resigned en masse in mid-February

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

Yoon aide suggests 'direct hire' of foreign nannies to ease cost burden

An aide to President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday proposed a "private contract" or direct hire between South Korean individuals and foreign caregivers as a way to ease the cost burden for local households having difficulties balancing between work and family life, which she believes is one cause of the country's low birth rate. You Hye-mi, senior secretary to the president for population policy, said in a KBS 1 Radio interview Wednesday that the government is looking for ways to que

PoliticsAug. 21, 2024

Newest Netflix Korea thriller to depict 'frogs' coping with sudden calamities

Inspired by the Korean saying "A carelessly thrown stone can kill a frog," the newest Netflix Korea series unfolds the stories of "frogs," or ordinary individuals, who are suddenly faced with terrible misfortune, the director said Wednesday. "The Frog" is an 8-part mystery thriller featuring Young-ha (Kim Yun-seok), who runs a bed and breakfast in the woods. Young-ha seeks a peaceful life in isolation, but his tranquility is disrupted by a mysterious guest, Sung-ah

TelevisionAug. 21, 2024

SKT, Lambda to open AI data center in Seoul

SK Telecom, South Korea's largest wireless carrier by membership, said on Wednesday that it will open an artificial intelligence data center in Seoul in December by joining hands with US-based graphics processing units-as-a-service provider Lambda. The decision comes as the two sides signed a partnership deal for a joint AI cloud business as they agreed to establish a large-scale Nvidia GPU cluster to support AI cloud business opportunities here, according to SK Telecom. Lambda is a company

IndustryAug. 21, 2024

Traditional crafts and their contemporary adaptions to be shown at Changdeokgung

An exhibition of Korean artifacts and contemporary artworks from clothing to window wallpaper will take place Sept. 3-8 at Nakseonjae in Changdeokgung, one of the five Joseon-era (1392-1910) palaces in Seoul. Around 50 intangible cultural heritage title holders and contemporary artists will show some 80 pieces at the “Korean Heritage Art Exhibition.” Clothing made using the “nubi,” or quilting, known for distinctive, tightly spaced rows of stitches, and celadon will be on

Arts & DesignAug. 21, 2024

LG Energy Solution to expand battery safety software business

LG Energy Solution said Wednesday it is expanding its battery safety diagnostic software business in response to the rising demand from electric vehicle manufacturers for more advanced safety measures. "With the recent EV fires, automakers are under pressure to enhance battery safety, but developing reliable diagnostic software is both complex and resource-intensive. LG Energy Solution is in a strong position here -- we have the diagnostic capabilities, the patents, and the real-world data.

MobilityAug. 21, 2024

Coex to host smart factory trade show in Vietnam next month

The inaugural Automation World Vietnam, a trade show dedicated to smart factory solutions and automation, will be held in Binh Duong Province, north of Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, from Sept. 25 to 27, event host Coex said Wednesday. The upcoming event will be the first Automation World expo held outside Korea. AW, hosted by Coex, which operates a convention center under the same name in Seoul, is one of the largest gatherings of the smart factory industry. The Seoul event in March this year

TechnologyAug. 21, 2024

Govt. to extend financial support for Tmon, WeMakePrice vendors

The South Korean government is ramping up financial aid to address the rapidly growing unpaid bills from Qoo10 Group’s e-commerce subsidiaries, which have now exceeded 800 billion won ($600 million). On Wednesday, the Finance Ministry announced that overdue payments to vendors on Tmon and WeMakePrice, the two struggling online marketplaces owned by Singapore-based Qoo10, have reached 818.8 billion won as of Monday. The unpaid bills have tripled in less than a month due to transaction delay

IndustryAug. 21, 2024

Prosecutors drop luxury bag charges against first lady

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has decided to drop the anticorruption charges against first lady Kim Keon Hee, closing its investigation into allegations that she received a luxury Christian Dior handbag and other expensive gifts in exchange for favors. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, which is in charge of the first lady's case, has recently decided not to press charges and report its decision to Prosecutor General Lee One-seok, according to legal circle

Social AffairsAug. 21, 2024

We Are The Night’s 'Tiramisu Cake' tops TikTok's Song of the Summer in Korea

Indie band We Are The Night’s single “Tiramisu Cake” has topped TikTok’s Song of the Summer in Korea list. TikTok unveiled on Wednesday its Song of the Summer in Korea list consisting of the top 10 most-used local songs in its short-form content. "Tiramisu Cake” is a song released in 2015 that went viral this summer through more than 1 million TikTok clips using the song for dance challenges. The single was followed by Bumkey’s “Attraction (feat. Dy

K-popAug. 21, 2024