South Korean food giant Pulmuone said Monday it has sponsored a documentary production with the Culinary Institute of America, one of the world’s most prestigious culinary schools, to promote Korean food to a global audience. In partnership with Pulmuone, the CIA plans to document Korea’s plant-based recipes and food culture. The documentary will be used for educational purposes for chefs, CIA students and food and cafeteria service providers in the US. Starting with Korea, the CI

Consumer June 27, 2022

LG Electronics said Sunday it is making its foray into the burgeoning electric vehicle charging market, calling the sector one of its key growth drivers for its next big leap. As part of the big push, the firm said it has acquired a 60 percent stake in AppleMango, a local battery maker, in partnership with GS Energy and GS Neotek that took over 34 percent and 6 percent in the company, respectively. Following the deal, AppleMango has become a subsidiary of LG Electronics. Through the new su

Technology June 26, 2022

South Korean social media platform Cyworld on Sunday launched a new service called “digital inheritance,” which allows the family of a deceased user to inherit digital data. Family members will gain access to published photos, videos and even the diary of the deceased, while other private materials open to friends or the account owner may not be disclosed due to privacy issues. The company added the “inheritance” will be made only if the user agrees to the terms befo

Technology June 26, 2022

With fast-growing interest in high quality skin and hair care products in South Korea, the dermocosmetics market -- cosmetics that are just as effective as dermatological care -- has expanded in recent years to surpass the 4 trillion won ($3.1 billion) mark, a report showed Thursday. According to Samjong KPMG, a Seoul-based consulting firm, the country’s dermocosmetics market size has increased by 17.6 percent to 4.5 trillion won in 2020, compared to five years ago. The report said new

Consumer June 23, 2022

GOHEUNG, South Jeolla Province -- In its second attempt, South Korea successfully launched the nation’s first domestic rocket into orbit on Tuesday, a landmark step that opens a new era of homegrown space technology and lays the foundation for outer space excursion. After spending eight months on improving technical problems that caused an early shutdown of the third-stage rocket engine, the Nuri rocket (KSLV-II), weighing 200 metric tons, once again flew to outer space at the state-run

Technology June 21, 2022

South Korea’s homegrown rocket Nuri is all set for liftoff on Tuesday, six days after a last-minute technical glitch was found.　 The Ministry of Science and ICT said Friday the Korea Aerospace Research Institute has identified the problem in one of the electric components of the sensor in the oxidizer tank and replaced it with a new one. After changing the 1.2-meter-long core component of the sensor, the KARI carried out a series of tests on the rocket and concluded that it is ready for

Technology June 17, 2022

For Kim Sang-ji, a 28-year-old white-collar employee working at a trading company in Seoul, healthy lunch meals had been her usual choice -- until recently. Now, she heads to a convenience store nearby. When picking up a 5,000 won ($3.80) lunchbox or a 2,000 won gimbap roll, she feels unsatisfied. But when thinking about the cost of eating out these days -- particularly in the business district of Gwanghwamun, where her office is located -- plus the extra cost of coffee, she has decided to go o

Consumer June 17, 2022

W Concept, a South Korean online fashion platform under retail giant Shinsegae, said Thursday that it has started its first global campaign to support the overseas business of the country’s fashion brands. From Friday to June 24, the company will release a series of fashion photo shoots featuring Leandra Medine, a global fashion influencer, wearing items from Korean fashion brand Eenk. The items are from Eenk’s Spring/Summer 2022 collection, which includes patterned tops, dresses,

Consumer June 16, 2022

The launch of South Korea's homegrown rocket Nuri has been indefinitely postponed due to technical glitches found during the final round of preparations before its planned launch on Thursday. The Ministry of Science and ICT said Wednesday the Korea Aerospace Research Institute found a problem in one of the sensors in the oxidizer tank that measures the amount of oxidizer there. According to KARI, the sensor was failing to point to the correct level of oxidizer in the tank. “Once we ack

Technology June 15, 2022

The launch of homegrown rocket Nuri will be delayed by one day to Thursday due to windy weather at the launch site, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Tuesday, a day before the space rocket was to be launched. It is the second space rocket to be launched after the first blastoff last October failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit. Due to the bad weather, the government and state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute have pushed the transportation of the rocket to Wednesday, and the act

Technology June 14, 2022

Amid price hikes and rising food bills, retailers in South Korea have come up with a new marketing strategy to keep customers satisfied. Convenience store chain CU has launched packages of vegetables, meat and fruit that are smaller and less expensive than the ones they usually sell. The store chain also offers packaged Korean pork belly, jowl meat, false lean, and flat iron steak in 200-gram packages. The company said it has cut margins by directly purchasing vegetables from distribution cen

Consumer June 13, 2022

McDonald’s Korea, the local unit wholly owned by the US fast-food giant, is seeking a new owner -- joining the latest burger chain sales rush here. The company confirmed Friday that its US headquarters is selling its entire stake in the Korean unit as well as its business license after its first failed attempt six years ago. According to news reports, Mirae Asset Securities, the deal’s lead manager, plans to send letters as early as next month to invite potential bidders. With

Consumer June 12, 2022

Hyundai Steel said Thursday it has developed high-quality alloy steel that reduces noise emitted by electric vehicles. The steelmaking technology was jointly developed with Hyundai Motor Group and its affiliate, Kia, and was certified as a New Excellent Technology (NET) by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The company said reducers made of the alloy steel enhances thermal management of car batteries by 48 percent compared to other steels and reduces the sound of shifting gears. It a

Industry June 9, 2022

South Korean retail companies have been on a shopping spree recently, purchasing real estate in Seoul’s major commercial districts and preparing for new business development. According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service, on May 31 fashion company CreaS F&C finalized the purchase of 1,950 square meters of land and a 9,338-square-meter building in Nonhyeon-dong, within Seoul’s Gangnam-gu. Based on the deal worth 130 billion won ($103.6 million), the firm stated that

Consumer June 8, 2022

With the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic’s endemic phase, South Korea’s duty-free shops are starting to see their long-awaited business recovery with a growing number of group tours, industry sources said Tuesday. According to a Lotte Duty Free official, some 150 tourists from Malaysia shopped at the Myeongdong branch for an hour on Tuesday before returning to their country. “It’s the first time in two years since COVID-19 started that a group of over 100 tourists

Consumer June 7, 2022