[Photo news] Double podium

Hyundai Motor said Monday that its racing teams picked up two wins at the 2024 World Rally Championship's 12th round of the Central European Rally and the 2024 TCR World Tour's sixth race in China over the past weekend. According to the automaker, Ott Tanak on Hyundai Motor's world rally team took the highest spot on the podium after he came out victorious with the brand's motorsports car i20 N Rally1 Hybrid. For the TRC race, Mikel Azcona on the BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse w

MobilityOct. 21, 2024

Twice to drop new EP ‘Strategy’ in December

K-pop sensation Twice will release its new EP “Strategy” on Dec. 6. JYP Entertainment announced the news via the group’s official social media channels, sharing an image of a "coming soon" poster. The upcoming release is Twice’s 14th EP and comes approximately 10 months after the previous mini album, "With YOU-th," launched in February. The EP "With YOU-th" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Billboard’s main album chart, on March 9,

K-popOct. 21, 2024

[Bills in Focus] Addressing smartphone addiction, strengthening cooperative finances

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act of Corporate Governance of Financial Companies Proposed by Rep. Lee Jung-mun (Democratic Party of Korea) ● In response to recent financial incidents such as the misselling of funds and large-scale embezzlements, this amendment is part of ongoing efforts to promote responsible management within the financial sector. The core objective of the amendment is to establish unified disciplinary standards for employees across all financial companies when inte

PoliticsOct. 21, 2024

Yoon, ruling party leader set to meet amid controversies surrounding first lady

President Yoon Suk Yeol and the ruling party chief were set to meet Monday to discuss a range of pressing issues, likely including controversies involving first lady Kim Keon Hee. Yoon and Han Dong-hoon, chair of the People Power Party, were scheduled to meet for tea at the presidential office at 4:30 p.m., with the presidential chief of staff, Chung Jin-suk, also attending, Yoon's office said. The meeting comes as Yoon and the ruling party seek to recover from declining approval ratings, w

PoliticsOct. 21, 2024

Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street gains

Seoul shares opened higher Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street last week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 5.19 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,599.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.09 percent to 43,275.91, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 0.63 percent to 18,489.55. In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. fell 0.8 percent, leading auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis

MarketOct. 21, 2024

Exports fall 2.9% during first 20 days of October

South Korea's exports lost 2.9 percent on-year in the first 20 days of October due to falling demand for vehicles and petroleum products and fewer working days, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments reached $32.77 billion in the Oct. 1-20 period, compared with $33.74 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports, however, rose 1 percent on-year to $2.62 billion. The number of working days during the cited period of this year came to 1

EconomyOct. 21, 2024

[Graphic News] Korean police nab 474 suspects over deepfake sex crimes; 80% teens

Police have rounded up 474 people connected to deepfake sex crimes so far this year, the Korean National Police Agency said. Police received 921 reports related to deepfake sex crimes between January and Oct. 14, and they have arrested 474 suspects during this period, according to the NPA. Over half of the reports, or 476 cases, were filed after police launched an intensive crackdown on such crimes in late August after the issue made national headlines following a string of similar cases on Te

Social AffairsOct. 21, 2024

[팟캐스트] (629) ‘흑백요리사’ 대박에 웃는 넷플릭스

진행자: 박준희, Chelsea Proctor 'Culinary Class Wars' producers deny trying to spice up results 기사 요약: '흑백요리사' PD, 공정성 논란에 입 열었다. "방출 규칙 논란, 겸허히 듣고 있다." [1] Netflix's "Culinary Class Wars" is indisputably one of the hottest shows in Korea right now. Since the first episode was released on Sept. 17, the show has skyrocketed in popularity, sitting at the top of Netflix's global non-English TV shows list for two consecutive weeks as of Monday. * Indi

PodcastOct. 21, 2024

[Lee Kyong-hee] Readying young defectors for unification

Yeomyung School is where young North Korean refugees are wrapped in hope. Yeomyung means “the light of dawn.” It embodies hope for the dawning of unification. Perhaps its students will end up being the vanguards of unification as cross-border guides. But nowadays, accusations and provocations are eroding hopes. Of course, the Korean Peninsula is no stranger to bombast and hyperbole. For the authorities on both sides, verbal exchanges have been not much more than brinkmanship to gain

ViewpointsOct. 21, 2024

[Martin Schram] Ike, Reagan and Goldwater help bid your hand

After years of being a proud conservative Republican, you really weren’t happy when you realized some time ago that your patriotic party had somehow morphed into a hero-worshiping cult. But “Make America Great Again” at least made it sound like it was still your kind of place. So you stayed. Even though the mean-spirited, name-calling, threats and lies of Trump Republicans wasn’t really your thing. But in the last couple of weeks the Great News Funnel has been pouring all

ViewpointsOct. 21, 2024

S. Korean air carriers' pilot recruitment up 8 pct through Aug.

The number of pilots newly hired by South Korean air carriers rose 8 percent on-year through August, data showed Sunday, driven by post-pandemic travel demand. The 11 air carriers hired 537 new pilots over the January-August period, compared with 498 in the same period a year earlier, according to Rep. Lee Yeon-hee of the main opposition Democratic Party, who cited data from the transport ministry. The figure marks a significant increase from the annual average of 135 recorded between 2020 and 2

IndustryOct. 20, 2024

KBO's bright young stars on collision course in Korean Series

The two third basemen for the contestants in this year's Korean Series, Kim Do-yeong of the Kia Tigers and Kim Young-woong of the Samsung Lions, are two of the brightest young stars in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) today, former high school phenoms who finally lived up to their hype in their third season in 2024. Starting Monday, the two 21-year-olds will try to make sure their regular-season success will translate to championship glory. Kim Do-yeong had one of the greatest offens

BaseballOct. 20, 2024

Australian Green wins LPGA tournament in S. Korea

Hannah Green of Australia won the lone annual LPGA Tour event held in South Korea on Sunday, fending off multiple contenders with a late birdie for her third victory of 2024. Green shot a one-under 71 to finish at 19-under overall to capture the BMW Ladies Championship by one stroke over Celine Boutier of France at Seowon Hills at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, northwest of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province. With Boutier in the clubhouse at 18-under after shooting a bogey-free 66, Green birdied

GolfOct. 20, 2024

[Behind the K-pop scene] Norwegian K-pop songwriter Eline Noelia Myreng

Norwegian singer-songwriter Eline Noelia Myreng was working part-time as a bartender in Oslo, Norway, when she co-wrote K-pop girl group Ive’s hit single, “I Am,” for their 2023 studio album, "I’ve Ive." That success transformed her dream of becoming a full-time music producer into reality -- at just 25 years old. “I co-produced this track (‘I Am’) with Audun (Agnar Guldbrandsen) and Kristin (Marie Skolem). We wrote it in a basement under an oy

K-popOct. 20, 2024

[Exclusive] Iranian bank may consider closing Korea branch: source

Iranian lender Bank Mellat may have to consider pulling its operations out of South Korea with its hands tied here due to the looming fears of secondary boycott actions from the US. “With the upcoming US presidential election, the pressure on Iran will only escalate. Bank Mellat may have to consider closing its operations in Korea,” an official from Bank Mellat’s Seoul branch said. The official explained the Seoul unit has not been able to fully operate, as Korean companies, in

IndustryOct. 20, 2024

[KH Explains] Indonesia's halal certification: Double-edged sword for Korean food industry?

Indonesia’s new regulation mandating Halal certification for all imported food products is expected to widen the export gap between large conglomerates and small businesses in Korea due to the high costs and time need to meet the requirements. After a five-year grace period, the Indonesian government has officially ordered businesses in most industries to be halal compliant and halal certified, starting Thursday. While products lacking halal certification can still be exported, they must b

IndustryOct. 20, 2024

[AtoZ into Korean mind] Sexless marriages: Why more prevalent in S. Korea?

Ever since the arrival of her daughter six years ago, the precious little being has become the center of Park Eun-jeong's world. It also marked the beginning of a new dynamic in her marriage: a sexless, more companionate relationship with her husband. “(After the baby was born,) we gradually drifted into a sexless relationship. I was tired from taking care of the baby and doing housework. My husband also looked exhausted when he came home. He no longer initiates it either,” Park

Hashtag KoreaOct. 20, 2024

Will any upcoming Hollywood blockbusters be hits in Korea?

Amid the ongoing slump of Hollywood blockbusters at the local box office, attention is focused on whether any of the upcoming mega-scale films can break the trend or struggle to compete against a diverse lineup of Korean movies. First on the list is “Venom: The Last Dance,” an American superhero film. The final installment in the Venom trilogy, opening in Korea on Oct. 23, sees Tom Hardy return to his role as Venom, one of Marvel’s most complex characters. The previous films

FilmOct. 20, 2024

Religious school activities violate freedom: Seoul Education Office

The Seoul education office concluded Sunday that mandatory religious activities at general high schools, such as class worship services and choir competitions, could infringe on students' religious freedom. This conclusion follows an investigation prompted by a student complaint at a private high school in Seoul, alleging that such compulsory extracurricular activities related to religion violated their rights under the city's Student Rights Ordinance. The complaint, submitted by a stu

Social AffairsOct. 20, 2024