BTS agency to hold global audition to launch girl group in 2021

The music label of boy band BTS said Wednesday it will throw a global audition this year to launch a K-pop girl group around 2021."In cooperation with Source Music, Big Hit is set to host the 'Plus Global Audition' to recruit members for a new girl group with a view to get it to debut in 2021," Big Hit Entertainment said, referring to the label for GFriend, which was merged into Big Hit earlier this year. The global audition will start off with its first sessions in Los Angeles and New

PerformanceSept. 4, 2019

S. Korea seeks global support for NK denuclearization, peace on Korean Peninsula

South Korea's vice defense minister on Wednesday held a series of bilateral talks with his counterparts from foreign countries and asked for their continued support for efforts to denuclearize North Korea and build peace on the peninsula, his office said. On the sidelines of the 8th Seoul Defense Dialogue under way in Seoul, Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min met with his counterparts from Singapore, Uzbekistan, the Philippines and Ethiopia, to share their assessment on the recent security situa

North KoreaSept. 4, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Bad Guys’ epitomizes why we love Don Lee

Don Lee, known here better by his Korean name Ma Dong-seok, has a unique place in Korean cinema. Never before had a muscle-bound, middle-aged man -- who looks like he could move a tank with his right hook -- become the image of “cuddly and cute.” What’s more bizarre is that he built the image not by playing family-friendly roles, but by bashing bad guys’ brains on screen.Comparisons of Lee to pro wrestling superstar and Hollywood darling Dwayne “The Rock” John

FilmSept. 4, 2019

Kim Jong-un stresses science and technology education

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un highlighted the importance of science and technology education, saying people educated abroad should be hired as university professors in the North, Pyongyang’s state media said Wednesday. Kim made the statement during a meeting with leading officials of the North’s Workers’ Party last month. The message was delivered to a national conference of teachers held Tuesday, the North’s Korean Central News Agency said.“Science and technology

North KoreaSept. 4, 2019

UN chief urges N. Korea to release all political prisoners

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on North Korea to release all political prisoners, accusing Pyongyang of a series of human rights abuses at prison camps, such as arbitrary arrests, beatings, forced labor and executions.Guterres made the appeal in a report submitted for the 74th Session of the General Assembly, which is slated to kick off on Sept. 17. The report covers the North's overall human rights situation from September last year to July this year."Citizens of the Demo

North KoreaSept. 4, 2019

Controversy erupts over 'different' treatment of CJ scion in drug probe

Prosecutors in Incheon, west of Seoul, are drawing fire for treating CJ Group Chairman Lee Jae-hyun's eldest son, who was caught smuggling liquid marijuana in cartridges from the United States over the weekend, differently from suspects in similar past cases.Lee Sun-ho, the heir apparent of CJ Group, a leading food and entertainment conglomerate, is accused of attempting to smuggle liquid marijuana in cartridges, as well as other banned substances, into the country via Incheon International Airp

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2019

Samsung opens 'digital playground in London

Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it has opened an “experience center” at King’s Cross in London, UK, with the aim of offering a new space where customers can check its future technologies. The South Korean tech giant has built the Samsung KX center in an area measuring 1,858 square meters on the top floor of the Coal Drops Yard shopping complex, where visitors can attend various cultural events and workshops organized by local educational institutions and experience the lates

TechnologySept. 4, 2019

Typhoon Lingling likely to hit S. Korea as early as Friday

Typhoon Lingling is forecast to affect South Korea as early as Friday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to the southern and western regions of the country, the state weather agency said Wednesday.The typhoon was moving northeast at 5 km per hour in waters 450 km southeast of Taipei as of 3 p.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The southern island of Jeju and the southern part of the country will experience strong wind and heavy downpours starting on Friday, the KMA said

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2019

US says it respects S. Korea's decision to expedite return of bases

The United States respects South Korea's decision to seek an early return of more than two dozen American military bases in the country and will work with its ally to get the bases returned "as expeditiously as possible," US Forces Korea said Tuesday.South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae announced the decision last week, saying the move is in line with the relocation of all US bases to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul. "We are aware of the ROK g

DefenseSept. 4, 2019

K-Pop and Kimchi: Tokyo's 'Little Seoul' shrugs off spat

TOKYO (AFP) -- In the "little Seoul" area of Tokyo, Japanese shoppers flock to get their fix of K-pop and Korean face cream, seemingly shrugging off a deep freeze in Japan-South Korean ties.Visitors to Shin-Okubo could be forgiven for thinking they had stumbled into a district in Seoul, with rows of restaurants serving kimchi and music shops selling the latest K-pop hits from BTS or Wanna One.And in contrast to South Korea where anger over a deterioration in bilateral ties has sparked

Foreign AffairsSept. 4, 2019

Ahngook Pharm. executive arrested over illegal clinical tests

Prosecutors said Wednesday they have arrested an executive of Ahngook Pharmaceutical Co. on charges of carrying out illegal clinical tests. The KOSDAQ-listed company's Vice Chairman Auh Jin is suspected of having performed the illicit act in violation of the pharmacy law, the Seoul Seobu District Prosecutors' Office said.  The drug company also publicly announced Auh's arrest earlier in the day. In a separate case, Auh has been indicted without detention on charges of having offered kickbac

IndustrySept. 4, 2019

South Koreans using spy gadgets to fight workplace bullying

South Korean workers fed up with bullying are being increasingly emboldened by a new tougher labour law to secretly record alleged abuse or harassment by their bosses, boosting sales of high-tech audio and video devices.Gadgets disguised as leather belts, eyeglasses, pens and USB sticks are all proving popular with employees in a country where abusive behaviour by people in power is so pervasive that there is a word for it - "gabjil". Several incidents have made international headlines

Social AffairsSept. 4, 2019

Aug. foreign car sales dip 5.6% on weak Japanese car demand

Imported vehicle sales in South Korea fell 5.6 percent last month due to a slump in sales of Japanese vehicles amid trade tension with Japan, industry data showed Wednesday.The number of newly registered foreign vehicles stood at 18,112 in August, down from 19,206 a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association.  Weak demand for Japanese cars led the overall decline. Sparked by Japan's July trade restrictions against South Korea, anti

MobilitySept. 4, 2019

Crisis level of peninsula remains unchanged despite NK missiles: think tank

The crisis level of the Korean Peninsula remained unchanged last month despite a series of short-range projectile launches by North Korea, an international think tank said in a recent report.The International Crisis Group's global crisis tracker Crisis Watch marked the situation on the peninsula as "unchanged" while noting the five rounds of projectile launches carried out by the North in August. The group also said South Korea and US President Donald Trump played down the North's laun

North KoreaSept. 4, 2019

Devastation in Bahamas as Hurricane Dorian crawls along US coast

NASSAU, Bahamas (AFP) -- Weakening slightly but still packing a powerful punch, Hurricane Dorian churned along the southeastern coast of the United States on Tuesday after delivering a devastating blow to the Bahamas.Bahamas National Security Minister Marvin Dames said several children were among the five deaths reported in the Atlantic archipelago from the monster storm and predicted more fatalities."I can't see any way out of it," the Nassau Guardian newspaper quoted Dames as telling

World NewsSept. 4, 2019

Major defeat for British PM as lawmakers seize Brexit agenda

LONDON (AP) -- On a day of humiliating setbacks, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered a major defeat in Parliament on Tuesday night as rebellious lawmakers voted to seize control of the Brexit agenda, prompting the embattled prime minister to say he would call for a new general election.The 328 to 301 vote, made possible by fellow Conservatives who turned their back on Johnson's pleas, cleared the way for his opponents to introduce a bill Wednesday that would seek to prevent Britain fro

World NewsSept. 4, 2019

Hong Kong leader insists she will stay on

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Hong Kong's embattled leader insisted Tuesday she had no intention of stepping down after an audio recording emerged of her saying she wanted to quit over three months of unrest in the southern Chinese city.Hong Kong has endured dozens of sometimes violent pro-democracy protests triggered by opposition to Chief Executive Carrie Lam's bid to push through a law allowing extraditions to mainland China.The protests have evolved into a wider democracy campaign involving clashes bet

World NewsSept. 4, 2019

Royal palaces and tombs open doors to all during Chuseok

Joseon-era landmarks of royal tombs and palaces in Seoul and adjacent areas will be open free of charge during the upcoming Chuseok holidays, the Cultural Heritage Administration said Tuesday.This measure applies to the palaces Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung along with Jongmyo Shrine, all located in the center of Seoul in Jung-gu and Jongno, from Sept. 12-15. Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, registered as on the UNESCO World Heritage list and distributed across th

CultureSept. 3, 2019

Ex-Chicago Cubs scout hired as new GM for KBO's Lotte Giants

Former Chicago Cubs scout Sung Min-kyu has been named the new general manager for the South Korean club Lotte Giants.The Korea Baseball Organization team announced Tuesday that Sung will succeed Lee Yoon-won, who resigned in July, in the front office.Sung, 37, had been in the Cubs organization for more than a decade, first as a minor league player, then as a minor league coach and, most recently, as the Pacific Rim scouting supervisor and special assignment professional scout.Sung has also dabbl

BaseballSept. 3, 2019

Samsung begins replacing Japanese materials in chip production amid export curbs

Samsung Electronics, the world's leading memory chip and smartphone maker, has begun replacing Japanese materials with local supplies for its production of semiconductors, company officials said Tuesday, a move that could offset Japan's restrictions on high-tech exports to South Korea."(The company) has injected supplies other than Japanese imports in certain manufacturing processes," the Samsung official said, while speaking on condition of anonymity.Another informed source said the c

TechnologySept. 3, 2019