[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

Seokchonhosu Lake Cherry Blossom Festival The annual Seokchonhosu Lake Cherry Blossom Festival will take place April 3-12 this year. Seokchon Lake in southeastern Seoul is recognized for beautiful cherry blossom trees surrounding the lake. In addition to the sights, a variety of performances, exhibitions, and hands-on activities will also take place during the festival period. The lake is easy to approach by public transportation, situated at about 200-meter distance from Jamsil Station. F

TravelFeb. 28, 2020

Visiting the southernmost end of Korea

HAENAM, South Jeolla Province -- Most Koreans have heard of Haenam county’s Ttangkkeut (end of land) Village, the southernmost end of the Korean Peninsula. Many visit the village on Dec. 31 to watch the last sunset or first sunrise of the year. But there is more to Haenam than that yearly ritual. It offers beautiful mountain landscapes and delicacies of Jeolla Province, making the more than four-hour drive from Seoul worthwhile. Plain yet sacred Buddhism beauty  Mihwangsa is hi

TravelFeb. 28, 2020

USFK issues advance furlough notice to Korean employees amid little progress in defense cost talks

US Forces Korea has issued a 30-day advance notice of potential furlough to its South Korean employees, it said Friday, in an apparent move to further pressure Seoul over defense cost-sharing negotiations. South Korea and the United States have been engaged in talks over how much Seoul should pay for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong USFK under their cost-sharing deal, the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), but have yet to reach a deal. "Their loss will have an impact on readiness," U

DefenseFeb. 28, 2020

[Eye plus] Where nobles lived

Black tile roofs of traditional Korean houses are tightly gathered at Bukchon Hanok Village in Seoul, offering a glimpse of how life must have been during the country’s last and longest-lived Joseon Dynasty. Located between Gyeongbok Palace and Changdeok Palace, Bukchon was the neighborhood of choice for yangban, upper-class aristocrats of the imperial dynasty. Today’s Bukchon is divided into two areas, displaying a co-existence of both modern and traditional architecture. On

CultureFeb. 28, 2020

Coronavirus affect life pattern for Koreans, foreigners

With the snowballing numbers of COVID-19 infections in Korea, more people are staying indoors and staying away from public areas. The Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) conducted a survey on changes to daily life due to the coronavirus from Monday to Thursday morning. The online survey involved 204 Koreans and 175 foreigners who visited or are staying in Korea.   When asked what changed the most after the coronavirus epidemic, allowing multiple answers, Korean and foreign responde

CultureFeb. 28, 2020

Tribute bands continue Beatles’ legacy

From the outside, Space the Beatles is just another establishment in the cool entertainment district of Hongdae in Seoul. But a step inside reveals a shrine where Beatles records, posters, artwork and books adorn the walls. Owner Seo Kang-seok counts himself as one of Korea’s biggest Beatles fans. “I listened to the song ‘Yesterday’ for the first time in my life (in 1984) and thought, ‘Wow, it’s very good,’” he said. The pub, opened in 2016, of

PerformanceFeb. 28, 2020

[Weekender] Survival diary of Korean internet cafes

An internet cafe in South Korea goes by many names, but there is one unwritten rule that can’t change. PC room, PC bang or whatever they are called, fees must stay around 1,000 won ($0.85) per hour. “Long ago, when people played StarCraft, they were willing to pay 2,000 won per hour,” said Kwon Young-mi from the marketing team of Sante PC, the No. 2 PC room franchise with 147 outlets in Korea. “However, as franchised and large-scale PC rooms came in, competition g

IndustryFeb. 28, 2020

Korea's Jan. industrial output edges up, virus fallout in store to hit hard

South Korea's overall industrial output rose in January, but the rapid spread of the new coronavirus is widely expected to have an impact on industrial activities this month, data showed on Friday. The country's overall industrial output continued to rise for a fourth straight month, posting a 0.1 percent gain in January from a month earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. But production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries fell 1.3 percent from a

IndustryFeb. 28, 2020

Bidding for Incheon airport duty-free store licenses falls through

The license bidding for duty-free stores at Incheon International Airport fell through due to a lack of tenders, the airport operator said Thursday. The biddings to run a section for perfume and cosmetics and another for apparel in the airport's first passenger terminal failed, according to Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC). Located west of Seoul, the Incheon airport is South Korea's main gateway. IIAC opened the bidding for five sections at the airport, as the contracts of the c

ConsumerFeb. 27, 2020

No. of Chinese entering S. Korea drops amid spread of coronavirus

The number of Chinese nationals entering South Korea is declining, the justice ministry said Thursday, following tighter monitoring of people arriving from the neighboring country amid a spike in the number of new coronavirus cases here. According to government data, 1,404 Chinese entered South Korea on Wednesday, down 92.6 percent from when the tally peaked to 18,743 on Jan. 13. The decline followed South Korea's entry ban on travelers coming from or through China's Hubei province, the ep

Social AffairsFeb. 27, 2020

Chinese embassy provides 25,000 masks to virus-hit Daegu

The Chinese Embassy in South Korea on Thursday provided 25,000 masks to the southeastern city of Daegu amid a spike in the number of the new coronavirus cases in the city. The embassy said the provision was an expression of gratitude to South Koreans over the friendship and support they showed to China, which is trying to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak. "The embassy will continue to secure various supplies for quarantine efforts and actively support and stand by South Korea for it t

Foreign AffairsFeb. 27, 2020

Chinese people's entry to South Korea being effectively controlled: Cheong Wa Dae

South Korea's presidential office said Thursday it does not believe a full entry ban on Chinese nationals is necessary in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, citing multiple reasons. It expressed regrets over continued criticism that the Moon Jae-in administration is currying favor with China and disregarding the safety of South Koreans amid the fast spread of the COVID-19 virus. South Korea has maintained limited travel restrictions against people who have stayed in China's Hubei

PoliticsFeb. 27, 2020

[Graphic News] Ronaldo becomes 1st person to reach 200m Instagram followers

　Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first person in the world to reach 200 million Instagram followers. 　Ronaldo follows just 434 accounts but had more than 200,468,000 followers as of Jan. 30. 　Singer Ariana Grande has the second-most Instagram followers, at 173 million, followed by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Selena Gomez. (UPI)

WorldFeb. 27, 2020

GS Group donates W1b to fight spread of coronavirus

GS Group said Thursday it has donated 1 billion won ($820,000) to the Community Chest of Korea to prevent and deal with the spread of COVID-19 outbreak. “We hope that the donation will help the medical staff and victims who are struggling under difficult circumstances,” said Chairman Huh Tae-soo. “We will continue to do our best to support those vulnerable to the virus, especially in Daegu and low-income people who suffered from the contraction due to economic activities,&r

IndustryFeb. 27, 2020

Drive-thru clinics, drones: Korea’s new weapons in virus fight

South Korea is trying new ploys to battle the novel coronavirus outbreak, with two of the latest being drive-thru clinics and disinfecting drones. Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, set up a drive-thru testing facility on Wednesday, where symptom checks, sample collection and payment receipt are done in one-stop fashion in under 10 minutes. Gyeonggi Province communications official Park Hyun-su told The Korea Herald that the checkups at the drive-thru are about 20 minutes faster than the typical way

Social AffairsFeb. 27, 2020

NPS harvests record yield in 2019

The National Pension Service, South Korea’s largest public pension fund, reaped record investment return in 2019 largely thanks to a bull run in overseas stock markets, its preliminary data showed Thursday. Its annual rate of return came to 11.31 percent last year, the highest since the launch of NPS Investment Management in 1999, followed by 10.39 percent in 2009 and 10.37 percent in 2010. Over the past year, it earned 73.4 trillion won ($60.4 billion) return, which is 1.5 times large

MarketFeb. 27, 2020

Seoul shares fall, bonds gain over BOK key rate freeze

South Korean stocks dipped over 1 percent Thursday after the nation’s central bank decided to keep its policy rate steady for now despite the market’s widespread anticipation of a further cut. The benchmark Kospi opened lower at 2,073.87 -- down 2.90 points, or 0.14 percent, from the previous session. The index edged up in early morning then suddenly headed south after the Bank of Korea’s announcement. The weak trend continued throughout the day to close at 2,054.89 -- the l

MarketFeb. 27, 2020

Co-working spaces could get unexpected boost from coronavirus outbreak

The ongoing coronavirus outbreak has created a new demand for global shared workspace provider WeWork in Korea, despite initial fears the outbreak would spook potential customers. WeWork, which currently operates 19 locations in Korea, told The Korea Herald on Thursday that Korean companies mindful of the COVID-19 epidemic are reaching out to WeWork for an alternative workspace. “Companies of all sizes and industries in the region -- members and nonmembers - have been reaching

IndustryFeb. 27, 2020

Original shows turn the page for opera

Opera is often considered far-off from reality -- featuring aristocrats, princesses and talking animals. But the Korean opera scene is striving to produce original shows that resonate with a wider audience. Usually written in German or Italian, operas can be difficult to understand, even with translated lyrics, as they often feature stories that premiered in the 1700s and 1800s. However, more opera productions are tackling contemporary topics these days. Original productions written in Korean

PerformanceFeb. 27, 2020

‘Sky Castle’ star returns as detective in melo-thriller ‘Nobody Knows’

Actress Kim Seo-hyung, who made her name with JTBC drama “SKY Castle” last year, is making a return to the small screen as a detective in upcoming mystery drama “Nobody Knows.” As fears of the new COVID-19 epidemic are increasingly seeing Koreans lock themselves behind masks and doors, the producer and cast of the new series on SBS say the drama may send a timely message about coexistence in society. “The show is about people living with each other,” produc

TelevisionFeb. 27, 2020