오후 11시를 손꼽아 기다리는 사람들이 있다.  내일자 네이버 웹툰 업데이트가 이때부터 시작되기 때문이다.스마트폰 킬링타임용 콘텐츠로 웹툰이 떠올랐다. 대중교통을 타고 이동하면서, 누군가를 기다리면서, 남은 점심시간을 보낼 때 웹툰을 본다. 한국사람들의 웹툰 사랑은 사회관계망서비스(SNS)에서도 여실히 드러난다. 빅데이터 분석업체 다음소프트는 2010∼2015년 웹툰을 주제로 블로그 70만 6천87 3건과 트위터 320만 2천854건을 분석해 그 결과를 27일 발표했다.SNS에서 ‘만화’하면 떠오르는 나라는 ‘일본’(30만 6천497회)이 압도적인 1위이고 한국(9만 2천725회), 미국(1만 3천334회)이 그 뒤를 따른다.하지만 ‘웹툰’을 논할 때는 다르다. ‘한국’(1만 5천566회)이 ‘일본’(3천517회)을 제치고 언급량 1위를 차지한다는 게 다음소프트의 설명이다.만화가 소비되는 형태를 분석해보면 2010∼2012년만 해도 ‘책’이 1위였고 2013년부터 2015년 최근까지

한국어판 July 27, 2015

Major South Korean banking group Hana Financial Group Inc. said Friday that its second-quarter net profit fell 10.27 percent from a year earlier due to a rise in loan-loss reserves.Net income stood at 374.9 billion won ($321 million) in the April-June period, compared with 417.8 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Compared with three months earlier, the group's bottom line stayed nearly unchanged from 374 billion won.For the first half, its net profit jumped 22.7

July 24, 2015

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Friday it concluded "a very good" review of PyeongChang's preparations for the 2018 Winter Games, saying the South Korean host has its focus on the right places.An IOC delegation, led by Gunilla Lindberg, head of its Coordination Commission, wrapped up its fifth project review over two days in PyeongChang, 180 kilometers east of Seoul and South Korea's first Winter Olympics host.According to PyeongChang's organizing committee, the IOC officials

Sports July 24, 2015

South Korea reiterated Friday that it is supportive of a civic group's move to hold a joint event with North Korea to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's colonial rule but only if it isn't for a "political purpose."The South's preparatory group of the joint anniversary visited North Korea on Thursday to discuss the preparations for the event to jointly celebrate Liberation Day that falls on Aug. 15.But the two sides failed to reach an agreement over details and agreed to

North Korea July 24, 2015

An elderly South Korean woman who was forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II plans to speak about the issue in the United States and Japan, an activist said Friday.Kang Il-chul plans to visit Atlanta and New York from Aug. 1-11 to speak about the wartime atrocities, said Ahn Shin-kwon, director of the House of Sharing, which houses a group of victims of sex slavery.During the visit, Kang will also explain the background of a lawsuit lodged against Japan by the victi

Social Affairs July 24, 2015

Actor Lee Byung-hun made a public apology Friday for causing trouble over a blackmail case in his first public appearance here since the scandal emerged."It's all thanks to your attention that I was able to live as an actor," Lee said in a trembling voice during a press conference to promote the Korean historical action film "Memories of the Sword.""I'm feeling the importance of this attention more keenly than any time before as I spend time in repenting for giving you a big disappointment." In

Film July 24, 2015

South Korea may soon declare an end to the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), although a more official declaration will come later, government officials said Friday.The country has reported no additional infections over the past 19 days with the death toll also remaining flat at 36 for the past two weeks.So far, 186 people have been diagnosed with the potentially fatal disease while 138 of them have been discharged from hospitals following complete recoveries.The remaining 12 a

Social Affairs July 24, 2015

Police said Friday they arrested a man for allegedly posting a letter on the White House homepage threatening to kill the top U.S. envoy in Seoul.The 33-year-old, identified only by his surname Lee, is suspected of writing the letter threatening to kill U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert earlier this month, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said in a press release. After receiving a request for an investigation from the White House, police arrested the man at his home in Seoul

Social Affairs July 24, 2015

South Korea will thoroughly investigate the mistaken shipment of a live anthrax sample from the United States to an American military base in South Korea to prevent a similar incident in the future, the Defense Ministry said Friday.Releasing the outcome of its probe into the shipments of live anthrax samples to laboratories inside and outside of the U.S. disclosed in May, the Pentagon said earlier in the day that 86 laboratories in America and seven foreign countries, including South Korea, Japa

Social Affairs July 24, 2015

Rival parties agreed Friday to reduce the supplementary budget to 11.5 trillion won ($10 billion) and pass it through the parliament later in the day.The government initially submitted an 11.8 trillion won budget plan to the National Assembly for approval on July 6 to boost the troubled economy, with policymakers initially expressing hope it would be passed by July 20. After failing to see eye to eye on the budget's size for nearly three weeks, the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Ne

Politics July 24, 2015

South Korea's trade volume is forecast to hit a five-year low this year as a stronger local currency and low oil prices weigh heavily on Asia's fourth-largest economy, data showed Friday.The country's exports reached $268.7 billion in the first six months of the year, down 5.1 percent from a year earlier, while imports fell 15.6 percent on-year to $222.4 billion, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service.As a result, South Korea posted a 10.1 percent drop in total trade volume

July 24, 2015

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's No. 2 carmaker, said Friday its second-quarter earnings plunged more than 27 percent from a year earlier on weak sales at home and abroad.Net income came to 746.5 billion won ($642.92 million) in the April-June period, down 27.1 percent from a year earlier, the company said in its regulatory filing.Operating profit also sank 15.5 percent on-year to 650.7 billion won, but sales edged up 3.2 percent to 12.44 trillion won.Kia Motors, the smaller affiliate of industry

Industry July 24, 2015

South Korea replaced two injured players on its Women's East Asian Cup football squad Friday. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said forward Yoo Young-a will miss the regional tournament with a sprained left knee, while defender Kim Hye-yeong will be sidelined with a torn right quadriceps.The KFA named midfielder Lee Min-a and forward Lee Hyun-young as replacements.Both Yoo and Kim were members of the national team that reached the round of 16 at the FIFA Women's World Cup last month in Canad

Soccer July 24, 2015

The heiress of Korean Air Lines Co. has been sued in a New York court by an employee involved in last year's "nut rage" incident, industry sources said Friday, marking the second case of legal action taken against her in the United States. In the lawsuit filed with the Supreme Court of the State of New York on Thursday, Korean Air purser Park Chang-jin sought compensation for emotional and physical damages against former vice president Cho Hyun-ah for last year's in-flight commotion widely known

Social Affairs July 24, 2015