Representatives of Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs gathered at the aT Center in Seoul on Tuesday, along with domestic producers of agricultural goods, to discuss strategies for the ASEAN region. The meeting, called the New Southern Export Expansion Strategic Conference, was a chance for companies to share business know-how and plan the future direction of Korean agricultural exports to ASEAN countries. aT and MAFRA host t

Industry Jan. 31, 2019

HiteJinro will be releasing premium a soju gift set for the upcoming holiday, the company said Wednesday.In a promotion using the latest consumer trend favoring “sohwakhaeg,” or “small but fully satisfactory,” the firm said it has designed the gift set to cater to premium soju demand at a reasonable price.(HiteJinro)The gift set will consist of two 375-milliliter bottles of Ilpoom Jinro 1924, a premium line of soju, as well as two shot glasses and two rocks glasses. The gift set will also contai

Industry Jan. 30, 2019

Recent tests conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency indicated that smart bands fell short on accuracy when it came to collecting data.Smart bands are digitized fitness trackers that collect health data including the user’s heart rate, number of steps and calories burned. The accuracy of the data was tested for six of the smart bands currently on the market: the Things SmartBand 2, Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro, Xiaomi Mi Band 3, InBody BAND 2, COA Korea CK COLOR and FitBit Alta HR.  (Yonhap)In tests mea

Technology Jan. 29, 2019

Coupang has recently set a new record for single-day delivery, bringing 1.7 million items to households in a day. It is a record-breaking figure for both daily and weekly deliveries in South Korea, the company said.(Coupang)There are also other records set within Coupang. Marketplace, a new feature in Coupang that allows direct interaction between buyers and sellers, has seen a 92 percent growth. Its weekly sales reached the highest since its establishment, attracting attention from many in the

Industry Jan. 29, 2019

Posco has become the first company in the domestic steel industry to obtain Environmental Product Declaration certification from the Ministry of Environment, the firm said Sunday.Five products from Posco -- plates, wire rods, plated steel sheets (HGI), giga steel (980DP), and high corrosion-resistant steel plates -- have all gained certification for seven environmental indicators, including carbon footprint, resource footprint, ozone layer influence, acid rain, eutrophication, photochemical smog

Industry Jan. 27, 2019

Korean Ginseng Corporation, known for producing Korean red ginseng under the brand CheongKwanJang, has opened cooking classes for foreigners as a way of promoting Korean red ginseng.The classes comprise of well-known Korean cuisine specialists teaching how to make authentic Korean dishes such as samgyetang or tteok galbi. To match the theme of the class, all the dishes add red ginseng as a twist.Participants in CheongKwanJang cooking classes learn how to make dishes with red ginseng. (KGC)The cl

Industry Jan. 24, 2019

Spam, a well-known brand of canned cooked meat and a popular South Korean holiday gift, has attained 4 trillion won ($3.54 billion) in cumulative sales since its launch 32 years ago.CJ CheilJedang said Wednesday that it had sold around 1.2 billion 200-gram cans of Spam in the product’s history -- the equivalent of 24 cans for each person in Korea. Spam has become an indispensable item in Korean households. (Yonhap)Spam was introduced to Korea by the US army during the Korean War, and domestic pr

Industry Jan. 22, 2019

Coca-Cola said Monday it will be releasing a New Year’s special package featuring BTS song titles.Each package option will have images of BTS as well as adaptations of song titles, such as “Your spring is today,” “You‘re my idol” and “This year is on fire.” (Coca-Cola)The company stated that the packaging intends to convey “hopeful messages to hard-working consumers that they are great the way they are.” The messages were influenced by BTS song titles as the band has been continually spreading p

Industry Jan. 21, 2019

Exports of kimchi have been rising steadily in recent years, reaching $97.5 million last year, up 20 percent from the previous year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs showed Wednesday.The ministry has been collecting kimchi export data since 2006 and said last year’s was the biggest annual jump in kimchi exports. The highest export figure for kimchi was $104 million in 2012. (Yonhap)The number of countries importing kimchi also increased, from 63 in 2017 to 68 last ye

Industry Jan. 16, 2019

Bench parkas, widely known in South Korea as “long padded coats,” have become must-have winter fashion items in recent years. The parka trend transcends age boundaries but is especially strong among middle and high school students. As the long coats -- which reach the wearer’s ankles in some cases -- become increasingly popular among students, more parents are complaining about the cost burden: anywhere from 200,000 won ($178) to 1,000,000 won, depending on the brand. The wide price range means

Culture Jan. 8, 2019