PyeongChang gets ready to bring Olympics live to viewers with 5G

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province – Approximately 180 kilometers east of Seoul, PyeongChang, in Gangwon Province, is preparing itself to become a base camp for the country’s upcoming fifth-generation wireless network system. Despite the mountainous region’s disorderly altitudes ranging from 800 meters to over 1,000 meters, the host city for the 2018 Winter Olympics is expected to be the first area to experience the 5G network before its commercialization in 2019. As an official Olympics sponsor, Kor

March 14, 2017

Cisco Korea head vows to attract more investment for Korean tech firms

The US top network equipment and security solution provider Cisco will help globalize promising Korean technologies and services with financial support, said Cho Bum-coo, president of Cisco Korea. “There are a handful of intriguing solutions and services developed by Korean firms, which I am considering proposing to the Cisco headquarters,” Cho said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “Cisco is very keen in making investments, and it is my job to attract as much as possible to the Korean mark

March 14, 2017

South Korea has world’s fastest internet

South Korea ranked No. 1 for the 12th consecutive quarter for the world’s fastest internet connection speed, data showed Tuesday.According to Akamai Korea, a branch of US-based content delivery network and cloud services provider, South Korea’s average broadband adoption rate reached 26.1 megabits per second in the fourth quarter of 2016.  (Herald DB)South Korea was followed by Norway at 23.6 Mbps, Sweden at 22.8 Mbps, Hong Kong at 21.9 Mbps and Switzerland at 21.2 Mbps. South Korea was the only

March 14, 2017

Korean firms shine at 2017 MWC

South Korean tech firms successfully showcased their advanced technology at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain, earlier this month, industry and government officials said Tuesday.About 170 local firms, including many small and midsized companies, took part in the annual technology event, marking the largest number of South Korean companies to do so, they said.  Participants at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain, on March 1, 2017 (Yonhap)The remarks were made durin

March 14, 2017

Galaxy S8 tops viral video chart

(Screen capture from YouTube)An advertising video clip for Samsung Electronics’ upcoming flagship Galaxy S8 is sweeping social media. The 30-second ad promoting the Galaxy S8 last week was the most-viewed video on the Viral Video Chart, a weekly list of viral videos.The ad titled “This is a Phone” attracted more than 26 million views on YouTube the previous week beginning from its release on Feb. 26. It overtook “YouTube Rewind,” a compilation of last year’s popular YouTube videos that ranked se

March 13, 2017

Naver to debut PC version of web browser Whale

Naver will debut Tuesday its web browser Whale, which the company has been developing for the past six years to challenge the dominance of the widely-used Internet Explorer and Google Chrome browsers.　　Naver, the operator of South Korea’s largest portal website, said it will release an open beta version of its Whale browser for PCs, following a series of closed beta tests that have been ongoing since last year.　The Whale browser for Windows will become available from Tuesday, Naver said. The fir

March 13, 2017

Scientists discover REM sleep's role in memory development

A group of South Korean scientists discovered that rapid eye movement sleep has a role in memory consolidation, a state-run science laboratory said Monday, a finding that could lead to a treatment for diseases related to sleep disorder.The team led by Choi Jee-hyun found that REM sleep -- which usually occurs during nighttime -- is critical for brain development and memory consolidation, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology said. Brainwave map developed by the Korea Institute of Science

March 13, 2017

LG's portable projector keeps No. 1 spot in global LED projector market

LG Electronics Inc. said Monday that its portable projector maintained the No. 1 spot in global markets for electro-luminescent display projectors last year. Citing recent data by market tracker Pacific Media Associates, LG said its "Minibeam TV" projector was named as the world's top-selling LED projector in terms of revenues in 2016.   This photo shows LG Electronics Inc.'s 'Minibeam TV' projectors. (Yonhap file photo)It marked the sixth consecutive year that the LG projector stood at the top

March 13, 2017

Korea's IT industry relies heavily on hardware

South Korea's information technology industry depends overwhelmingly on hardware, failing to keep pace with the global trend of focusing on software, a report said Monday.According to the report by the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Promotion, software companies accounted for 15 percent of the total market capitalization of local IT firms in 2016, compared to 9 percent a decade ago. (Yonhap)Notably, the share of the IT hardware business, which includes South Korea's top-ca

March 13, 2017

TCL to launch BlackBerry KeyOne in Korea this year: report

Chinese electronics company TCL Corp. is reportedly reviewing plans to launch the BlackBerry KeyOne in South Korea via local carrier SK Telecom within this year.　The information was made public by Nicolas Zibell, the chief executive of TCL Communication Technology Holdings, a subsidiary of TCL Corp., who spoke to the local media in Seoul last week. The BlackBerry KeyOne presented at the MWC 2017 in Barcelona (Reuters-Yonhap)“There are around 100,000 BlackBerry users in Korea. We’re currently con

March 12, 2017

[Health-tech Korea] Speclipse aims to increase early detection of skin cancer

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles highlighting South Korea’s promising start-ups in the emerging sectors of digital health care and next-generation medical devices. This is the fourth installment. -- Ed.While humans have yet to reach Mars, unmanned missions to the planet have already begun. Since 2012, NASA’s rover Curiosity has been studying the planet’s rocks and soils by using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy, or LIBS. 　The technology works by shooting a high-energy lase

March 12, 2017

Scientists develop easy blood glucose monitoring device for diabetes patients

A group of South Korean scientists has developed a convenient and accurate blood glucose monitoring device that does not require a blood sample, the state-run research center said Sunday, a development that would help diabetes patients.The team led by Lee Hyun-jae at the Center for Nanoparticle Research under the Institute for Basic Science developed the sweat-based system that allows rapid glucose measurement and also comes in a disposable strip sensor.(Photo courtesy of the Institute for Basic

March 12, 2017

Mobile data traffic doubles over impeachment ruling

Mobile data traffic doubled before and after the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, a mobile phone operator said Friday, as people exchanged news of the historic ruling through their mobile messaging apps.The ruling immediately removed Park from office, about three months after she was impeached by the National Assembly over a corruption and influence-peddling scandal.Lee Jung-mi, acting chief of the Constitutional Court, delivers the ruling on the impeachmen

March 10, 2017

LG’s G6 sales begin modestly on impeachment day

LG Electronics’ newest flagship smartphone G6 hit market shelves here Friday as planned, despite the nation being mostly engrossed in the news of the confirmation of former President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment.LG has vowed to seek a turnaround in its mobile communications business with the latest G6, but inquiries about the new product on the first day of its official launch turned out to lag market expectations, especially in the morning when the court ruling was televised nationwide. Rather t

March 10, 2017

Kakao Pay further extends bank account transfer service

South Korean mobile messaging giant Kakao has introduced a new direct bank account transfer function on its simplified mobile payment platform Kakao Pay, further expanding the scope of its mobile-friendly money transfer service.　 Kakao said Thursday that it has added the “to account” money transfer function on Kakao Pay -- directly accessible via the mobile messaging app KakaoTalk -- which lets users transfer money directly to any local bank account. (Kakao)Kakao Pay is a simplified mobile payme

March 9, 2017

Samsung mulls moving Mexico plant to US

Samsung Electronics is considering the relocation of its manufacturing facilities for home appliances from Mexico to the United States, a senior Samsung official confirmed Thursday. At a media event to introduce the company’s latest premium model washing machine, dubbed “Flex Wash,” Suh Byung-sam, executive vice president of the digital appliances business of the consumer electronics division at Samsung, admitted that the company is seriously reviewing such a plan at the moment. “The company is

March 9, 2017

Obesity sharply raises risk for kidney disease

Obesity sharply increases the risk of developing chronic kidney failure, a report said Thursday, urging obese people to undergo regular testing to prevent the disease.In the report released to mark World Kidney Day, the Korean Society of Nephrology said chronic kidney disease has been found to be 3.8 times more likely to develop in super obese people with a body mass index of 35 or higher. (Yonhap)The prevalence of kidney disease for super obese people stands at 25.2 percent, compared to the cor

March 9, 2017

SKT’s 5G roaming technology to be studied by NGMN

SK Telecom’s core 5G roaming technology has won approval to be studied this year by Next Generation Mobile Networks, the South Korean mobile carrier said Wednesday. NGMN is an international organization established by 28 telecom companies around the world in 2006 to discuss the standardization of wireless network infrastructure and telecom services.  SK Telecom's logo (Yonhap)SKT’s technology is one of four chosen technologies out of 20 proposed by other telecom companies. The Korean mobile carr

March 8, 2017

Samsung launches more efficient, accurate LED module

Samsung Electronics announced Wednesday it has launched a light-emitting diode module based on a fine chip scale package. Named “T Type 2.5 Generation,” the new LED module will be applied in outdoor lighting in tunnels and on streets. Samsung’s Chip Scale Package, known as CSP, is the company’s flagship package of chips for designing tiny electronics products. Users can achieve brightness a nd a color temperature of up to 5,700 Kelvin by combining more than two of the new LED modules. T Type 2.5

March 8, 2017

KT to introduce new insurance program that rewards healthy lifestyles

South Korean mobile carrier KT has partnered with Nonghyup Life Insurance to introduce a new digital health care-based insurance program that offers benefits to a customer based on his or her fitness achievements tracked by wearable devices.The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday, agreeing to merge KT’s Internet of Things technology and big data management capabilities with Nonghyup Life Insurance’s insurance package planning and marketing expertise. A woman wearing a fi

March 8, 2017