[Photo News] Facebook VP meets with Korea's media regulator over network usage costs

FACEBOOK IN KOREA -- Kevin Martin, Facebook‘s vice president for mobile and global access policy, enters the government complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, to meet Korea Communications Commission Chairman Lee Hyo-seong and discuss local network providers’ claims that foreign internet giants fail to pay enough for the networks they use here. During the meeting KCC Chairman Lee Hyo-sung urged Facebook to pay Korean internet service providers network usage fees that reflect the amount of traffi

TechnologyJan. 10, 2018

[Photo News] Where two Koreas hold talks

South and North Korea held their first talks in two years at the truce village of Panmunjeom, Tuesday.Talks were held at Peace House of Panmunjeom (Yonhap)The soured relationship between the divided Koreas took an abrupt turn following the recent New Year’s address by Kim Jong-un, where the North’s leader said he was willing to hold talks with the South for participation in the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Games.Cho Myoung-gyon, the South’s Unification Minister, met with his counterpart Ri Son-gw

North KoreaJan. 9, 2018

[Photo News] Some 4,500 take a swim in Busan winter sea

The 31st Polar Bear Swim Festival took place at Haeundae Beach in Busan, Sunday. Some 4,500 people braved the winter sea like the bears the festival is named after. Of the crowd, 200 were non-Korean participants. Sunday marked a brief break in the cold spell, with the daytime temperatures rising as high as 7 degrees Celsius, compared to the previous day of minus 8 degrees. The age range of the participants this year went from 3 years old to 82 years old. The 31st Polar Bear Swim Festival took pl

TravelJan. 7, 2018

[Photo News] Trout fishing festival

A tourist clad in traditional Korean clothing shows off a trout that she caught on a frozen river in Hongcheon, some 100 kilometers east of Seoul, on Jan. 4, 2018, the eve of an annual trout fishing festival. (Yonhap)

NationalJan. 5, 2018

[Photo News] Massive Move-in

Final-stage works are being done at Raemian brand apartments in Seocho district, Seoul, Tuesday. Residents will start to move in from January next year. According to local market research company Real Estate 114, a total of 43,066 households will move in, a record high for the month of January. Throughout next year, some 440,000 households are expected to settle into new apartments, surpassing a record-high figure marked in 1990s when five new metropolitan towns opened, the report added. (Yonhap

IndustryDec. 26, 2017

[Photo News] Korea's largest Starbucks

The largest Starbucks branch in Seoul, named “The Jongno branch,” is set to open Wednesday at Jongno Tower in Seoul. The 1,100-square-meter store is divided into six zones including a lounge zone and open stage and offers exclusive premium services such as Teavana products made with the Siphon brewing method to enhance flavor. Customers can enjoy over 100 beverages and 60 types of food at The Jongno branch. (Starbucks Korea)

IndustryDec. 19, 2017

[Photo News] Korea Importers Association celebrates 47th anniversary

CELEBRATING IMPORT -- Participants attend a ceremony marking the 47th anniversary of the Korea Importers Association at Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul on Wednesday. From front row fifth from left are Ghana Ambassador to Korea Difie Agyarko Kusi, Canadian Ambassador Eric Walsh, KOIMA Chairman Shin Myoung-jin, wife of Chairman Shin Lee Kyung-hee, Czech Ambassador Tomas HUSAK and South African Ambassador Nozuko Gloria Bam. (KOIMA)

IndustryDec. 14, 2017

[Photo News] Cold snap freezes Han River

The Han River was seen solidly frozen over Tuesday, with a cold wave warning issued in the capital city of Seoul. Temperatures in the city dropped to minus 17 degrees Celsius. In the usually busy city center in Gwanghwamun Square, people burrowed in to their thick coats and hurriedly moved to their destinations.Cold wave warnings were also issued in some areas of the Gangwon and Gyeonggi provinces. In Gangwon Province, mountainous regions such as Yanggu, Inje and Cheorwon were issued the advisor

Social AffairsDec. 12, 2017

[Photo News] ‘Suneung’ scores delivered to 530,000 contenders

Korean students received their results for the annual college entrance exam, Suneung, on Tuesday morning.According to Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation, 531,327 students, including 398,838 high school students and 132,489 high school graduates, took the exam this year.Test takers can refer to their scores via KICE website from 9 a.m., Tuesday to 6 p.m., Jan. 31.The website, however, temporarily crashed due to a surge in traffic.Students at Yeouido High School check their scores for t

Social AffairsDec. 12, 2017

[Photo News] KAIST’s humanoid robot carries 2018 PyeongChang Olympics torch

HUMANOID ROBOT CARRIES OLYMPICS TORCH — Hubo, a humanoid robot developed by a team of researchers led by Professor Oh Jun-ho at Korea’s top science and technology research university KAIST, receives the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics torch from Dennis Hong, the founding director of the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory at UCLA, in Daejeon, Monday. It is the first time that a robot has carried the Olympic torch. (Yonhap)HUMANOID ROBOT CARRIES OLYMPICS TORCH — Hubo, a humanoid robot developed by a tea

TechnologyDec. 12, 2017

[Photo News] Samsung SDI steps up community service

KIMCHI FOR YOU -- Samsung SDI’s foreign staff pose with kimchi made during a company event on Wednesday at its Suwon office as part of a monthlong kimchi-making event participated in by 600 employees at the battery maker. The kimchi, made of 6,600 heads of napa cabbage, was sent to rehabilitation centers for the disabled and orphanages near the company’s offices in Giheung and Suwon in Gyeonggi Province, Ulsan, Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, and Chungju, No

IndustryDec. 10, 2017

[Photo News] ‘Battlegrounds’ named ‘Best Multiplayer Game’ in US

BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME -- "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," the hit survivor shooter game developed by PUBG, a subsidiary of Korea's Bluehole Studio, was named Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards held in Los Angeles last week. As of early December, "Battlegrounds" had sold more than 24 million copies via online game platform Steam and achieved more than 3.04 million concurrent players, breaking Steam records, according to Bluehole Studio. Pictured are PUBG's CEO Kim Chang-han (left) and Creat

IndustryDec. 10, 2017

[Photo News] Winter storm brings blizzard in PyeongChang

The traditional Korean calendars divided a year into 24 solar terms. Today, Dec. 7, matches to “Daeseol,” the 21st term in the calendar, which means “Big Snow” in Korean. Just like the name of the term, a strong winter storm has brought massive snowfall in Gangwon Province since Wednesday night. Ski jump slopes for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics are covered with snow (Yonhap)As of 7 a.m., 4.5 centimeters of snow has accumulated in PyeongChang, where the 2018 Winter Olympic Games will be he

TravelDec. 7, 2017

[Photo News] Line Friends x Castelbajac artworks on sale in Seoul

LINE FRIENDS X CASTELBAJAC -- French pop artist Jean-Charles de Castelbajac shows limited-edition works of art created in collaboration with Line Friends at the Art Major Cafe in Gangnam, Seoul, Wednesday. The four types of collaborative art pieces, designed by Castelbajac, feature Line Friends characters Brown, Cony and Sally. A total 400 pieces are available for sale. (Line Friends) LINE FRIENDS X CASTELBAJAC -- Limited-edition works of art created by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac in collaborati

IndustryDec. 6, 2017

[Photo News] Love Thermometer Tower warms hearts

People of Seoul pass by the Love Thermometer Tower at Gwanghwamun Square, Tuesday.The makeshift thermometer is annually erected by nonprofit organization Community Chest of Korea around the end of the year as a fundraiser for “neighbors in need.” This year’s charity event started Nov. 20 and will continue for 73 days through Jan. 31.The mark on the thermometer goes up a degree each time the raised money notches 1 percent of the target figure. The meter on Tuesday shows the temperature at 13 degr

Social AffairsDec. 5, 2017

[Photo News] Resolution in sight for Paris Baguette?

(Yonhap)Bakers work at a Paris Baguette store in Seoul on Friday. The bakery chain said Friday that its third-party corporation dubbed “Happy Partners” has launched as an alternative to the existing hiring system, judged illegal by the Labor Ministry, by improving wage and benefits and unifying the job supervision channel. According to the firm, 70 percent of the bakers hired through contractors do not wish to be directly hired by the company as ordered by the ministry. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

IndustryDec. 1, 2017

[Photo News] KT&G aims to quadruple overseas sales by 2025

KT&G’s CEO and President Baek Bok-in (sixth from right) pose for a photo with some 150 employees at a global vision declaring ceremony held at the company’s headquarters in Daejeon on Thursday. The firm, South Korea’s top tobacco maker with 60 percent market share, vowed to increase sales volume overseas fourfold by 2025, targeting important markets in the Middle East, Russia, central and southern America and Africa. The company marked 941.4 billion won ($865.8 million) in overseas sales last ye

IndustryDec. 1, 2017

[Photo News] Mercedes-Benz Korea celebrates AMG's 50th anniversary

50TH ANNIVERSARY -- Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Dimitris Psillakis introduces the latest Mercedes-Benz AMG models and services at the event held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the German luxury automaker‘s iconic performance division AMG in Seoul on Thursday. (Mercedes-Benz Korea)

MobilityNov. 30, 2017

[Photo News] Peninsula verging toward wintry days

As the trees shed their foliage, the cold winter looms over mountains across the country.Seemingly disappointed in winter coming so early, the leaves did not fall so quickly.A snow-covered mountain peak welcomes the change of the seasons.The first snowfall of winter arrived in Gangwon Province on Nov. 3 and the first big snow storm dropped up to 16.2 centimeters of snow in the Daegwallyeong distirct, Pyeongchang-gun, on Sunday.A blueberry farm located in Yanggu-gun, a northern district of the pr

TravelNov. 29, 2017

[Photo News] Kumho folds tire unit ambition

Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo speaks to reporters at group headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul on Tuesday. At the press conference, Park said that he has “no interest” in buying Kumho Tire, and that he will focus on strengthening Kumho Asiana focusing on the group‘s competitiveness in express bus lines, construction and aviation. The group’s holding company Kumho & Co. completed its merge with Kumho Buslines Monday, restructuring the group to have Kumho Holdings control Kumho Industrial,

IndustryNov. 28, 2017