Movie series to binge-watch in time of social distancing

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, many people stuck indoors are coming up with ways to spend time at home, and for movie lovers it is an almost welcome chance to watch famous series one never had a chance to start or rewatch a favorite movie series. Two of the best-known series in cinema of the 21st century are “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001), “The Lord of the Rings: T

FilmApril 2, 2020

Tobacco firm BAT jumps in coronavirus vaccine development venture

BAT’s US biotech subsidiary, Kentucky BioProcessing is developing a potential vaccine for COVID-19 that is now in pre-clinical testing, the tobacco firm said Thursday. BAT aims to gain partners and support from government agencies to manufacture a vaccine, if successful, to a capacity of between 1 million and 3 million doses per week, beginning in June, it said. The venture is not aimed at making a profit, it added. The project involves BAT’s proprietary, fast-growing tobacco pla

TechnologyApril 2, 2020

Kepco excludes China from submarine power cable project

The Korea Electric Power Corp. on Thursday excluded Chinese firms from entering a bid for its submarine power cable project. According to an online notice posting, only countries that are members of the Government Procurement Agreement of the World Trade Organization are eligible for the international bidding of #3HVDC (high voltage, direct current) submarine power cable project connecting Wando, an island off the coast of South Jeolla Province, and Jeju Island. China is not a member of the

IndustryApril 2, 2020

Film and drama crossover for sci-fi anthology series

A project aimed at creating and original science-fiction series has set off in South Korea, jointly led by filmmakers, television networks and an OTT service provider. Soo Film on Wednesday announced that it has started production of “SF8” an eight-episode sci-fi anthology, in conjunction with the Directors Guild of Korea. The series will be released on OTT platform Wavve and network broadcaster MBC in the summer. With each of the eight episodes helmed by a popular director, the s

TelevisionApril 2, 2020

English-only preschools reopen, triggering safety concerns

Some English-immersive preschools began or are set to begin their new semesters, in comparison to regular kindergartens closed indefinitely amid fears over novel coronavirus. 　 All kindergartens and schools in South Korea are closed until April 9, when the new semester will begin online at high schools first.  　 Some English-only kindergartens, however, have already started offline classes, triggering concerns that they could facilitate transmission clusters of the virus. 　 South Korea

Social AffairsApril 2, 2020

Vaccine development must go on: Celltrion

Despite the ambivalent sentiments about COVID-19 vaccine development, South Korean biologics company Celltrion said it was determined to continue with the project. Celltrion on Thursday said it was now screening to select the most effective antibodies to neutralize the virus behind the pandemic with the Korea Centers for Disease Control. The company aims to finish the work in a couple of weeks, after which it will start mass production of the therapeutics for clinical studies while simultane

IndustryApril 2, 2020

Tottenham star Son Heung-min to start 3-week military training

Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min will take part in a three-week basic training for mandatory military service required by South Korea, sources familiar with that matter said Thursday. He is exempt from conscription but will receive the training at a Marine Corps camp on Jeju Island from April 20. All able-bodied South Korean men must serve active duty for at least 18 months, but athletes who win gold at the Asian Games or a medal of any color at the Olympics can complete a basic train

SoccerApril 2, 2020

KRX to ditch 30% cap on index weighting

The Korea Exchange (KRX) said Thursday it has decided not to implement a new rule meant to prevent major indices from dominant influence of a single stock. The stock market operator previously considered applying the so-called “30 percent cap” rule on market bellwether Samsung Electronics by June, as its weight on Kospi 200 increased to 33.5 percent as of Jan. 20 from 29.8 percent of Dec. 2. “The purpose of applying the rule was to comply with regulations. Due to the revisio

MarketApril 2, 2020

Core inflation hits 20-year low amid stalled market sentiment

Suffering the full-blown impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea’s core inflation hit its lowest point in 20 years, as dining prices dwindled amid social distancing and the government’s tax cut measures brought down automobile prices, government data showed Thursday. Due to the country’s consistent rationing system, the average price of KF94 face masks leveled off in the offline market, indicating some cooling in the previous supply-demand imbalance. The consumer p

EconomyApril 2, 2020

Temasek sells Celltrion stake in block deal

Ion Investments, an affiliate of Singaporean investment firm Temasek Holdings, sold millions of shares of Korean biosimilar giant Celltrion and its distribution affiliate Celltrion Healthcare in a block deal before markets opened, according to news reports Thursday. The Singapore-based investment firm sold 2.57 million shares, or 1.9 percent, of Celltrion, and 2.21 million shares, or 1.5 percent, of Celltrion Healthcare via the block trading deal. The stock price of Celltrion fell 8.08 perc

MarketApril 2, 2020

New hobbies #TogetherAtHome with YouTube

Jin Ho-young and Yoon Jung-lin, the creators of YouTube channel “Sewing TV” said the number of subscribers to their channel has surged after they posted a video on making fabric masks with reusable filters at home in February. “Our channel is fairly new and small. After the mask-making video became popular among both Korean and foreign viewers, we saw the daily number of new subscribers jump almost a hundredfold,” Jin, the channel’s editor said during an online pr

TelevisionApril 2, 2020

Danaher rebrands GE Healthcare Life Sciences to Cytiva

Danaher said Thursday it has launched Cytiva -- formerly GE Healthcare Life Sciences, which it acquired for $21.4 billion -- aiming to completely rebrand the biologics side of General Electric’s business. Cytiva’s projects, spanning from cell and gene therapies to protein research, biosimilar and novel biologics drug development, are highly in demand amid the COVID-19, according to the Cytiva CEO and president, Emmanuel Ligner. After the transition from GE Healthcare Life Science

IndustryApril 2, 2020

Virus-stricken air carriers tighten belts with reconstructing, downsizing

Korean air carriers that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic are undergoing restructuring to downsize the workforce amid continued losses from reduced passengers and suspensions of international routes, according to industry sources on Thursday. Eastar Jet, a local budget carrier that halted all services from March 23 for a month, said Thursday it will send 45 percent, or 750 employees, of its total workforce home from April 24.  The air carrier said it will first receive applica

MobilityApril 2, 2020

Amorepacific launches eye shadow palette for men

Amorepacific’s male cosmetics brand BeREADY said Thursday it has launched a new eye shadow palette for men. BeREADY, which was introduced last year, said it rolled out the Mood Up Shadow Eye Palette, the first eye palette product in the market to be developed for men. The brand said the range of cosmetics used by men are expanding from skin base creams to color items. The four colors of the eye palette are chosen based on how well they blend and can also be used for facial contouring,

ConsumerApril 2, 2020

‘Phantom of Opera’ tour production confirms one more case of COVID-19

A second cast member of international tour production of “The Phantom of the Opera” has tested positive for COVID-19, organizers said Thursday. After the first cast member was confirmed to have tested positive for the coronavirus, all 128 members of the production team were tested. On Thursday, another ensemble cast member was confirmed with the infection. Another 80 members of the team tested negative, while 46 were still waiting for results as of Thursday afternoon. The organi

PerformanceApril 2, 2020

Net asset values of funds dive in March

Investment funds in South Korea posted a sharp valuation fall in March over fears of the novel coronavirus, marking the largest decline so far, data showed Thursday. The combined net asset value of public offering and private placement funds, excluding private equity funds that entail management involvement in companies, sank to 646.19 trillion won ($520.74 billion) as of end-March, down 45.66 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association. The t

MarketApril 2, 2020

MMCA launches online museum series for kids

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in South Korea has launched an online museum series for children who are spending most of their time at home amid the COVID-10 outbreak, to help them better understand the modern art. The museum is unveiling a total of five episodes on its YouTube Channel, uploading new episodes on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The episodes will cover four renowned artists: Park Seo-bo, Marcel Duchamp, Ahn Kyu-chul and Choi Jeong-hwa. The videos aim to help kid

Arts & DesignApril 2, 2020

COVID-19 cases near 10,000, authorities call for continued distancing

The number of people who have contracted the new coronavirus crept toward 10,000 as the government considers maintaining social-distancing measures. South Korea reported 89 new cases Thursday, bringing the total number to 9,976, according to Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the new cases, detected in the 24 hours of Wednesday, 21 are in the hardest-hit city of Daegu, 21 are in Gyeonggi Province while 14 are in Seoul. The government said Thursday that it will announce

Social AffairsApril 2, 2020

Outlook for general elections remains uncertain

Campaigns for general elections have kicked off, with both mainstream parties vowing victory, but the outlook remains unclear. Thursday saw the start of the official campaign period for the April 15 general elections, which includes proportional representative parties for the first time, adding new variables to the mix. Recent polls show that both the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and main opposition United Future Party’s support ratings, and those of their satellite parties, have

PoliticsApril 2, 2020

Pengsoo creates hit for retailers

Pengsoo, a popular costumed penguin character from educational television network EBS, is sweeping the local retail market, with sales rocketing. GS25, a convenience store chain here, said Thursday its collaboration products with Pengsoo is hitting record sales. GS25 rolled out four Pengsoo-themed fresh food items, including tuna sandwich and gimbab (seaweed rice-roll), two umbrellas and four socks on March 27. Over 200,000 orders were made from its convenience stores on the first day of la

ConsumerApril 2, 2020