The state-run Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has launched a series of events in Seoul to mark the United Nation’s World Humanitarian Day to honor the contribution of people working on the frontline of emergencies. Under the theme “Gather Together for Humanity,” the KOICA will hold a photo exhibition and talk concerts at Seoul Citizens Hall for eight days from Monday to Aug. 26, jointly with Korea NGO council for Overseas Development Cooperation, UN organizations

Foreign AffairsAug. 19, 2019

Artist couple Yi Joung-min, 48, and Jin Shi-u, 44, of Okin Collective were found dead at their home Friday, sources within the local art community said Monday. According to the sources, the couple had experienced financial difficulties and conflicts with others in the art world. Police are currently investigating, they said.Okin Collective was a three-member artist collective founded in 2009 to address issues surrounding the eviction of residents of the Okin Apartment Complex in Jongno-gu, centr

Arts & DesignAug. 19, 2019

South Korean banks and brokerages are in hot water for selling high-risk derivatives-linked securities and related funds to their customers, mostly retail investors, allegedly without providing sufficient warnings or instructions. According to the watchdog Financial Supervisory Service on Monday, eight major financial institutions here sold a combined 822.4 billion ($678.8 million) worth of DLS and funds that use the high-risk product to 3,654 individual investors and 188 businesses as of Aug. 7

MarketAug. 19, 2019

The sales unit of South Korean biopharma giant Celltrion Group is accelerating efforts to expand its overseas operations by launching 10 additional offices in Europe and Central America in the first half, the company said in a regulatory filing Monday.Celltrion Healthcare, the overseas sales and marketing unit of the biosimilar drug manufacturer, has launched offices in Italy, Germany, Belgium, Norway, France and Finland. The list also includes Canada, Chile and Peru.  Celltrion has been ex

TechnologyAug. 19, 2019

Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday reaffirmed his plans to “stand against the left-leaning tyranny” of the Moon Jae-min government by staging a nationwide rally this weekend, widely seen as a move to shore up the main opposition party’s dwindling approval ratings. “In launching an all-out protest we will stand against the left-leaning tyranny of the Moon administration,” he said at a top-level party meeting.“Starting with the rally on the Aug

PoliticsAug. 19, 2019

Seeking changes in the way a conglomerate operates, SK Group kicked off an annual in-house forum Monday in search of a new path to transform its wide range of businesses. Hosted by Chairman Chey Tae-won, the Icheon Forum invited CEOs of affiliates, executives and rank-and-file employees to discuss the future of the nation’s third-largest conglomerate, which faces growing geopolitical risks, technological competition and fast-changing consumer markets, officials said.During the third editio

IndustryAug. 19, 2019

The annual Busan International Film Festival is gearing up for its October opening, as it named actors Bae Jong-ok, Jung Jae-young as presenters for this year’s “Actor & Actress of the Year” award.Organizers for this year’s BIFF made the announcement Monday, ahead of the festival that will be held Oct. 3-12 this year. The award will be announced at the closing ceremony on Oct. 12, and will receive 5 million won ($4,130) in prize money. The award was created to shine l

FilmAug. 19, 2019

Wolseong (Moon Palace), a now-destroyed royal dwelling of the Silla Dynasty (57 B.C.-A.D. 935), is now the subject of a Danish exhibition held to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.The Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage of the Cultural Heritage Administration, along with Gyeongju City, has been hosting the exhibition “Korea in Denmark - Welcome to the Moon Palace: Wolseong” at the Nikolaj Kunsthal in Copenhagen, Denmar

CultureAug. 19, 2019

Hip-hop artist Flowsik announced Monday at midnight that he will release a new digital single on Sunday, through a teaser image that he uploaded on his social media page. According to the teaser image, the single will be released at 6 p.m. with the title “1 week,” marking the rapper’s first release in eight months.Flowsik’s agency, Wonder Co. Ltd., told local media that an artist who will “surprise everyone” will take part in the upcoming song, and will also m

PerformanceAug. 19, 2019

Gugak Museum, South Korea’s only museum dedicated to traditional music gugak, reopens today after a yearlong renovation, offering interactive, high-tech and hands-on exhibits. First opened in 1995 under the auspices of the National Gugak Center, the museum, located in Yangjae-dong, southern Seoul, has been a treasure trove of Korean music and instruments. The remodeling has enhanced visitors’ experience with cutting-edge audio and music-making installations, officials said. 

PerformanceAug. 19, 2019

Police are to review revealing the identity of a suspect in the murder of a 32-year-old man whose torso was found without a head or limbs in the Han River on Aug. 12.Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency said Monday a committee was to be launched to decide whether to make the suspect’s identity public and to what scope.The suspect, a 39-year-old motel employee, turned himself in to Jongno Police Station on Saturday after police identified the victim via fingerprint analysis after a sever

Social AffairsAug. 19, 2019

Global fashion houses Gucci and Louis Vuitton have incorporated 8-bit retro games into their mobile apps and online websites to attract more millennial attention. Gucci, the first from high fashion house to pivot to games for marketing, has launched the Gucci Arcade corner in its smartphone application since July. The Gucci Arcade currently has two titles Gucci Bee and Gucci Ace, whose names take after the iconic fashion lines of the Italian brand. Users can play the game for free after download

IndustryAug. 19, 2019

Humidifier disinfectants, suspected to have been a cause for at least dozens of deaths, were widely used in military barracks and hospitals in the early 2000s, a state-funded agency revealed Monday, raising speculation that a large number of service members could have been exposed to the chemicals.The Special Commission on Social Disaster Investigation said it has confirmed 12 institutions affiliated with the Army, Navy, Air Force and units under the defense ministry had purchased more than 800

DefenseAug. 19, 2019

Papago’s image translation function will be updated to automatically detect text and improve accuracy for three languages.South Korean tech giant Naver said Monday its service Papago will upgrade its image translation for English, Chinese and Korean. The function translates text captured in images.The improved image translation uses deep learning technology to enhance text extraction and recognition from an image.With the “Translate all” feature, users will no longer need to ma

TechnologyAug. 19, 2019

Big Hit Entertainment, the agency of BTS, has recently acquired a domestic game developer as the company continues to expand its business portfolio.  The company said Monday it has completed a contract to take over Superb, which has developed games based on music since 2016.  "We believe gaming is an industry that will generate a strong synergy with our core field of music," Bang Si-hyuk, Big Hit founder and co-chief executive, said in a press release.  Superb CEO Oh Min

PerformanceAug. 19, 2019

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on the quest of South Korea’s government and businesses to switch to renewable energy. -- Ed.New environmental regulations in international waters could serve as a momentum for Korean oil refiners and shipbuilders to seek new opportunities in the sluggish markets. In response to heightening environmental concerns and growing harmful emissions from ships, the International Maritime Organization has ruled that from January 2020 ships will h

IndustryAug. 19, 2019

South Korea is still reviewing the timing and the scale of semiannual maritime defense drills to be held on and around its easternmost islets of Dokdo, the defense ministry said Monday.This year's drills have been pushed back amid an escalating trade row with Japan stemming from differences over wartime forced labor. South Korea usually stages the drills in June and Dec. to better defend the rocky outcroppings and the surrounding waters.Japan, which has made territorial claims to Dokdo, has prot

DefenseAug. 19, 2019

A "new historic chapter" has opened in relations between North Korea and China in the wake of visits by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping to each other's country, a top Chinese military official was quoted Monday as saying.Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, made the remark during a meeting in Beijing on Saturday with a North Korean military delegation led by Kim Su-gil, director of the General Political Bureau of the North

North KoreaAug. 19, 2019

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump on Sunday warned China that carrying out a Tiananmen Square-style crackdown on Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters would harm trade talks between the two countries."I think it'd be very hard to deal if they do violence, I mean, if it's another Tiananmen Square," Trump told reporters in New Jersey. "I think it's a very hard thing to do if there's violence." The months-long trade dispute between the US and China has been blamed for s

World NewsAug. 19, 2019