[Newsmaker] Two K-pop stars found guilty of sex crimes

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced K-pop star Jung Joon-young to six years and his friend K-pop singer Choi Jong-hoon to five years in prison Friday for sex offenses. They were found guilty of gang raping women who were under the influence of alcohol. Jung was also found guilty of sharing secretly filmed sex videos and photos, including those taken during the gang rape, via online group chats. But he was acquitted on a separate sexual assault charge at the same trial. Jung and Cho

Social AffairsNov. 29, 2019

Opposition leader declares end to hunger strike

South Korea's opposition leader has decided to terminate his hunger strike of more than a week but vowed to toughen his struggle against the Moon Jae-in administration over contentious reform bills, his party said Friday.Hwang Kyo-ahn, chairman of the conservative Liberty Korea Party, ended his eight-day fast Thursday afternoon on the recommendation of doctors, party officials and family, party spokesperson Jun Hee-kyung said in a press release.Hwang lost consciousness and was rushed to Severanc

PoliticsNov. 29, 2019

BOK keeps base rate steady, sees slower economic growth

The Bank of Korea Friday kept its policy rate frozen for the remainder of the year to see the impact of recent rate cuts on Asia's fourth-largest economy.But the central bank again trimmed its growth outlook for this year and next year amid still prevailing headwinds.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said the local economy is estimated to grow 2 percent on-year in 2019 and 2.3 percent next year.The figures mark downward revisions from the 2.2 percent for 2019 and 2.5 percent for 2020 forecast in July."T

EconomyNov. 29, 2019

Trump visits troops in Afghanistan, says Taliban talks back on

BAGRAM (AFP) -- President Donald Trump said Thursday the US had resumed talks with Taliban insurgents as he made a surprise trip to Afghanistan to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with troops.On a brief visit to Bagram Airfield outside the capital Kabul, Trump served turkey dinner to soldiers, posed for photographs and delivered a speech after meeting Afghan President Ashraf Ghani."The Taliban wants to make a deal and we're meeting with them and we're saying it has to be a ceasefire,"

World NewsNov. 29, 2019

Imports of Japanese beer in freefall on boycott

South Korean imports of Japanese beer tumbled more than 99 percent on-year in the past two months due to a boycott of Japanese products amid a bilateral trade row, data showed Friday.South Korea brought in Japanese beer worth US$38,000 in October, down 99.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Association. Imports of Japanese beer were valued at a mere $6,000 in September, 99.9 percent lower than a year earlier.During the July-October period, impo

IndustryNov. 29, 2019

Industrial output down for 2nd consecutive month in October

South Korea's overall industrial output declined for the second straight month last month due mainly to a decrease in the production of auto and display panels, government data showed Friday.The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed the country's overall industrial output fell 0.4 percent in October from a month earlier.The agency said auto output dropped 4.4 percent in October from a month earlier, and the production of electronic parts declined 7 percent.Meanwhile, the output of the service

IndustryNov. 29, 2019

S. Korean shares open lower on US-China trade woes

South Korean stocks opened slightly lower Friday on fears of a delay in a US-China trade deal.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 2.82 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,115.78 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The local shares closed slightly lower Thursday, one day after US President Donald Trump signed the law on support for protesters in Hong Kong, possibly creating a last-minute hurdle in US-China trade negotiations aimed at ending their prolonged trade dispute. Hit by the leng

MarketNov. 29, 2019

Seoul, Tokyo to hold high-level talks over bilateral trade row in Dec.

South Korea and Japan will hold high-level talks with Japan in December, the first step toward resolving their bilateral trade row, Seoul's trade ministry said Friday.On Thursday, working-level trade officials from South Korea and Japan met in Seoul, apparently to discuss the schedule and agenda for director-general level talks."Through the meeting, the two countries agreed to meet in Tokyo around the third week of December on export policies," South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry

IndustryNov. 29, 2019

N. Korea says it tested super-large multiple rocket launcher under leader's guidance

North Korea said Friday it successfully tested a super-large multiple rocket launcher's successive firing system under leader Kim Jong-un's guidance in the launch of two projectiles the previous day.On Thursday, South Korea's military said the North fired two projectiles from what is presumed to be a super-large multiple rocket launcher from Yeonpo in the country's eastern South Hamgyong Province toward the East Sea.The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the Academy of Defence Scie

North KoreaNov. 29, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite FranceThe sixth Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France will be held throughout the Petite France Park in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, from Dec. 1 to Feb. 29. The annual festival is inspired by the southern French town of Montpellier. In addition to lighting decorations at night, one highlight is the 30-meter-long light tunnel installed next to a round structure modeled after asteroid B 612, home of the Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exup

TravelNov. 29, 2019

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and Packages

Delight X-mas Buffet at Courtyard Seoul Times SquareThe hotel offers the “Delight X-mas Buffet” for upcoming Christmas season from Dec. 21-25 at prices of 89,000 won for adults and 40,000 won for kids. Grilled lobster tail will be served to each table while carving stations for roasted turkeys, grilled ribs and pork ribs will be prepared along with a variety of seafood. For those seeking to stay one night at the hotel along with the buffet, the hotel has prepared the “Very Merr

FoodNov. 29, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Frozen 2(US)Opened Nov. 27Animation, Adventure, Comedy Directed by Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee Anna (Kristen Bell), Elsa (Idina Menzel), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gad) and Sven leave Arendelle to travel to an ancient forest in an enchanted land. They set out to find the origin of Elsa’s powers in order to save their kingdom. Bring Me Home(Korea)Opened Nov. 27ThrillerDirected by Kim Seung-wooJeong-yeon (Lee Yeong-ae) heads to a village after receiving a tipoff that her son, wh

FilmNov. 29, 2019

[Weekender] [Herald Interview] Unraveling the mystery of kimchi

GWANGJU -- The unmistakable smell of spicy cabbage greets visitors at Gwangju’s Kimchi Town, where everything exudes Koreans’ love for that fermented dish ubiquitous on dining tables in the country. The grandiosely named World Institute of Kimchi occupies a building next to the kimchi museum in a corner of the complex. There, scientists and experts from various disciplines of research have gathered for a national mission: unraveling the science behind kimchi.  “We study ev

FoodNov. 29, 2019

[Eye Plus] Beauty of silver threads

Ipsa is the traditional Korean art of inlaying thin threads of silver or gold onto harder surfaces such as iron to create exquisite decorative patterns or images. The craft reached its pinnacle in the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) and expanded under the ensuing Joseon Kingdom, when it was widely used for everyday objects such as incense burners, metal jars and candlesticks. In ipsa art, everything is done by hand. From preparing thin wires to hammering them onto the finely chiseled and engraved surf

Arts & DesignNov. 29, 2019

[Weekender] Kimchi season

Korea is in the midst of the kimchi-making season. In early winter, when temperatures just start to fall below zero, Koreans go through the annual ritual of gimjang -- making large quantities of the spicy, fermented cabbage dish to last the coming year. It is such an important family event that “have you done this year’s gimjang already?” becomes a typical icebreaker among housewives during this time of year. Added to UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage in

CultureNov. 29, 2019

[Weekender] Kimchi fridges evolve with new designs, technology and functionality

Wine aficionados have wine coolers and cabinets at home. Fish-loving Japanese have fridges with special features for raw fish storage. Koreans, likewise, have a refrigerator for their beloved kimchi. Although Korea’s very first kimchi refrigerator dates back to 1984 (Gold Star, now LG Electronics, was its inventor), the market only began to take shape in the late 1990s, with the rise of apartment complexes as the norm of urban dwelling. Traditionally, kimchi was stored in earthenware burie

FoodNov. 29, 2019

LG Group taps younger leaders in pursuit of change

LG Group, the fourth-largest family-run conglomerate in South Korea, said Thursday it has changed the group’s top brass and tapped young leaders in their 30s as new executives at affiliates in a bid to respond more swiftly to market changes, in its annual organizational reshuffling. Jo Seong-jin, vice chairman and CEO of LG Electronics, stepped down from the top position of one of Korea’s main tech firms as the group intends to choose change over stability. LG Electronics is the flag

TechnologyNov. 28, 2019

[Graphic News] French nationality ranked No. 1 globally

　France topped a worldwide nationality ranking for the eighth consecutive year, ahead of the Netherlands and Germany. 　The Kalin and Kochenov’s Quality of Nationality Index examines factors including the freedom to travel and settle, peace and stability, economic strength and human development to come up with a score. 　European Union countries dominate the top of the index, “largely due to the liberal degree of settlement freedom permitted between member states, as well as the stand-

World NewsNov. 28, 2019

Lee Ja-ram transforms ‘Old Man and the Sea’ into pansori

Pansori artist Lee Ja-ram is known for her success in taking the audience to places that are utterly new. Her latest work, “The Old Man and the Sea” at Doosan Art Center, does a perfect job of bringing Ernest Hemingway’s story of a Cuban fisherman to the stage. Lee’s “The Old Man and the Sea” takes the form of pansori, or traditional Korean narrative singing. Except for a few changes, Lee’s pansori production follows the original storyline of Santiago, H

PerformanceNov. 28, 2019

Opposition lawmakers continue ailing chairman’s hunger strike

Main opposition Liberty Korea Party lawmakers are taking up the outdoor hunger strike started by party chief Hwang Kyo-ahn, after he was hospitalized Wednesday night, on the eighth day of his fasting.Hwang, who fell unconscious around 11 p.m. Wednesday, was rushed to Severance Hospital in Sinchon, Seoul, where he is receiving medical treatment, party officials said. Upon regaining consciousness, Hwang insisted on resuming the hunger strike despite dissuasion from party members concerned about hi

PoliticsNov. 28, 2019