[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Joker(US)Opened Oct.2Drama, mystery & suspense Directed by Todd Phillips A clown-for-hire by day, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) aspires to be a stand-up comic at night. But finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty character study. Crazy Romance (Korea)Opened Oct.2RomanceDirected by Kim Han-gyeolJae-hoon (Kim Rae-won) is hu

FilmOct. 11, 2019

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Grand opening at Nine Tree Premier Hotel InsadongNine Tree Premier Hotel Insadong, a business hotel property under Parnas Hotel, opened to the public Wednesday.Located in Insadong, central Seoul, the newly-minted hotel offers 301 rooms from the fifth to the 14th floors, restaurants for all-day dining, a rooftop bar, a rooftop garden and conference rooms. Its room portfolio is diverse, ranging from bunk beds to three-person rooms for family guests. The hotel is equipped with self-service locker r

FoodOct. 11, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Everland ‘Horror Club: Fear the Night’ festivalEverland theme park is presenting a horror-themed party “Horror Club: Fear the Night” on each Saturday of October.The event, held as part of its annual zombie-themed festival “Blood City,” will feature DJs like Bequz and Cream, along with performance by rock band Devil’s Rock.Around 100 staff will be dressed as zombies, clowns and monsters, creating a Halloween vibe. Photo spots will be set up at various pla

TravelOct. 11, 2019

Senior police officer arrested in nightclub scandal

 Prosecutors said Friday they will widen investigations into a ranking police officer allegedly involved in attempts to cover up irregularities at southern Seoul nightclubs, following his arrest the previous night.   A senior superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, identified only by his surname, Yoon, was placed under arrest Thursday night after the Seoul Central District Court approved a warrant for his pre-trial detention, citing concern about his destruction of

Social AffairsOct. 11, 2019

S. Korea to provide full support to boost industrial competitiveness

   South Korea will provide support worth more than 2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) each year to strengthen industrial competitiveness, the finance minister said Friday, amid an ongoing trade row with Japan.   Hong Nam-ki also said South Korea will push for a stable supply of key industrial materials, parts and equipment.   The move is the latest in a series of South Korea's efforts to reduce South Korea's heavy reliance on Japan in the key industrial sector amid Jap

EconomyOct. 11, 2019

'N. Korea poses one of biggest ballistic missile threats to US'

North Korea's short- and medium-range ballistic missiles represent one of the "ballistic missile threats of most concern" to the United States, along with those from Iran and China, a U.S. congressional report has said.North Korea has an arsenal of hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) that can reach all of South Korea and perhaps dozens of medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) capable of reaching Japan and U.S. bases in the region, according to the Congressional Researc

North KoreaOct. 11, 2019

[Newsmaker] Railway services affected as 72-hour strike begins

Railway services across South Korea are expected to be affected Friday and throughout the weekend as workers began a 72-hour strike demanding better working conditions.Around 20 to 60 percent of passenger and cargo train services are forecast to be affected by the labor action, according to the Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.Intercity subway operations will be reduced to 88.1 percent of normal operations, while high-speed train services and

Social AffairsOct. 11, 2019

Prosecution denies reports of chief prosecutor’s connection to sex scandal

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on Friday denied reports that Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl is linked to the sex-bribery scandal involving a former deputy justice minister. Hankyoreh 21, a weekly magazine affiliated to the left-wing daily Hankyoreh, reported Friday that Yoon was entertained by construction business operator Yoon Joong-cheon. Yoon Joong-cheon is accused of bribing and providing sexual services to a number of influential figures, including former Deputy Justice Mini

Social AffairsOct. 11, 2019

Moon to meet with Seoul-based foreign diplomats next Friday

President Moon Jae-in will meet with Seoul-based foreign diplomats next week in an effort to seek cooperation to bring about peace on the Korean Peninsula, his office said Thursday. The chief executive will hold a meeting with diplomatic corps on Oct. 18 at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae to encourage promoting closer ties, sources said.It would be the first time that the president would meet foreign diplomats based in Seoul at once.Such a meeting was held on a regular basis under past adm

PoliticsOct. 10, 2019

Olga Tokarczuk, Peter Handke win Literature Nobels

Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk on Thursday won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, which was delayed over a sexual harassment scandal, while Austrian novelist and playwright Peter Handke took the 2019 award, the Swedish Academy said. Tokarczuk, considered the most talented Polish novelist of her generation, was honoured "for a narrative imagination that with encyclopaedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life".Her books portray a polychromatic world perpetually

CultureOct. 10, 2019

Speaker to visit Japan next month for G-20 parliamentary meeting

National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang plans to visit Japan next month to attend a parliamentary meeting of the Group of 20 leading nations, officials said Thursday. Moon has received an invitation from Japan's parliament to take part in the speakers' gathering, which will be held on Nov. 4 in Tokyo, according to parliamentary officials.A detailed itinerary is under consultation, they added. It would be Moon's first trip to Japan since he was elected as the speaker in July 2018.Moon is pushing

PoliticsOct. 10, 2019

S. Korea to travel to Pyongyang for World Cup qualifier via Beijing on match's eve

The South Korean men's national football team will travel to Pyongyang for a World Cup qualifier against North Korea via Beijing on the eve of the match, the sport's governing body here said Thursday. The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced the itinerary for the Taeguk Warriors for the World Cup qualifying match scheduled for next Tuesday. Coached by Paulo Bento, South Korea will fly to Beijing on Sunday and stay there overnight, and then fly to Pyongyang on Monday.The KFA said it had pro

PoliticsOct. 10, 2019

[Herald Design Forum] Breathing new life into used plastics

Plastic can be a valuable material if effectively upcycled, argued Dutch designer Dave Hakkens in his speech, “The Power of an Open Source” at the Herald Design Forum 2019 held at Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul on Thursday. “Less than 10 percent of the plastics (used around the world) get recycled. For companies, it’s just easier to buy new plastic. The plastic waste is burned, sent to landfills or to the ocean,” he said. Hakkens said, he started to

Arts & DesignOct. 10, 2019

Alex Mustonen talks about breaking prejudice about architecture

Alex Mustonen, co-founder of New York-based studio Snarkitecture, talked about breaking some of the biased perceptions that people have about architecture at the Herald Design Forum 2019 on Thursday.“A lot of time, we think of architecture as something quite serious. I think the same limitations that people have with art can also be applied to architecture. They are seen as something that has to be looked at and not necessarily something that they can engage with,” Mutonen said. &ldq

CultureOct. 10, 2019

Moon vows 'bold' gov't support for new-generation display sector

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday his government will offer "bold support" for South Korea's development of next-generation displays as he paid a visit to a local factory of Samsung Group, the country's largest conglomerate.  "Now, it's important (for South Korea) to keep the No. 1 spot, changing the trend of the world's display market," he said during a speech at Samsung Display's factory in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, 90 kilometers south of Seoul. "The gov

PoliticsOct. 10, 2019

S. Korea voices hope for replenishment of Green Climate Fund

South Korea's finance minister expressed hope Thursday that Seoul's increased contribution to the U.N. Green Climate Fund could help with its successful replenishment. Hong Nam-ki made the comment in a meeting with Yannick Glemarec, executive director of the Green Climate Fund, at the government complex building in central Seoul.Last month, Asia's fourth-largest economy announced that it would double its contribution to US$200 million for this first round of the replenishment of the fund. Seoul

EconomyOct. 10, 2019

[Graphic News] S. Korea;s annual greenhouse gas emissions hit record high in 2017

　South Korea’s annual greenhouse gas emissions reached a record high of 709.1 million tons in 2017, a government environment agency said Monday.　The Greenhouse Gas General Information Center, under the Ministry of Environment, disclosed the emissions results after getting confirmation by a government committee in charge of controlling greenhouse gas.　The output marks growth of 2.4 percent from 2016 when the corresponding figure came to 692.6 tons, according to the center.　It is also the fi

NationalOct. 10, 2019

S. Korea to open 5G centers on K-pop

South Korea said Thursday that it will build two 5G experience centers in central Seoul to showcase K-pop and other cultural content through the latest technology.The centers near Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul will provide interactive ways to imitate K-pop dances while providing such content as K-pop concerts and the changing of royal guards ceremony at Gyeongbok Palace.K-pop -- which mostly features choreographed singing and dancing by boy or girl groups -- has gained ground in not only A

IndustryOct. 10, 2019

S. Korea's top nuke envoy returns from US trip

South Korea's top nuclear negotiator returned home Thursday after talks with his US and Japanese counterparts in Washington over how to make progress in denuclearization negotiations with North Korea.Lee Do-hoon had bilateral and trilateral meetings with his US and Japanese counterparts, Stephen Biegun and Shigeki Takizaki, on Tuesday, after the unfruitful working-level talks between the US and the North in Sweden on Saturday last week.When asked whether the talks between Washington and Pyongyan

Foreign AffairsOct. 10, 2019

4 Chinese boats seized for alleged illegal fishing

South Korea has seized four Chinese fishing boats on charges of illegal fishing in its exclusive economic zone in the West Sea, the oceans ministry said Thursday.The West Sea Fisheries Management Service seized the four vessels, including two 99-ton fishing boats, between Saturday and Wednesday. The four boats had permits to enter South Korea's western exclusive economic zone for fishing, but they are suspected to have used gillnets with a mesh 41 millimeters in diameter on average.The ministry

Foreign AffairsOct. 10, 2019