Kim Woo-bin was appointed an honorary ambassador for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, according to the PyeongChang Organizing Committee.  (Yonhap)The POC said Thursday the actor has been named as the event’s honorary ambassador and will promote next year’s Winter Games in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province. Kim attended the signing ceremony held at the POC office in PyeongChang on Thursday afternoon.  Actor Kim Woo-bin, second from right, poses with Lee Hee-beom, head of the PyeongChang Organizing Co

Television April 13, 2017

Kim Chung-ha of disbanded girl group I.O.I is set to embark on a solo career, according to her agency MNH Entertainment.  Kim Chung-ha (MNH Entertainment)The agency said Wednesday the singer’s first digital single will be prereleased on April 21 via online music streaming sites and Kim will share details of the song via the Naver V app on Wednesday evening. The official album release is slated for May. Kim will be the first to debut as a solo artist among the 11 former members of I.O.I., which w

Performance April 12, 2017

South Korean actor Jang Hyuk will attend Star Awards 2017 in Singapore early next week as a presenter, his agency said Wednesday. (Yonhap)The star of the Korean TV series "Beautiful Mind" and "The Voice" will present awards to this year's top 10 male and female artists during the awards show on Sunday, Sidus HQ said.Star Awards is an annual ceremony held every year by Singapore's state-run media company Mediacorp to honor the best in the local television industry. This year's event is scheduled

Television April 12, 2017

"Good Manager," KBS 2TV's late-night office comedy series, topped a benchmark TV popularity index in late March, while SBS TV's new legal thriller "Whisper" soared to second place, data showed Tuesday. (Yonhap)"Good Manager" scored 260.7 points on the Content Power Index (CPI), becoming the most popular TV program from March 27 to April 2.CPI, developed by entertainment company CJ E&M and Nielsen Korea, measures the popularity of TV shows based on the number of views of related news stories, onl

Television April 11, 2017

South Korean singer-actor Kim Hyun-joong will hold his upcoming publicity events in Japan as scheduled despite being charged with drunk driving, his agency said Monday. (Herald DB)According to Keyeast Entertainment, Kim will release a new single in Japan on June 6 and hold a 16-city tour there, titled "Inner Core," starting the next day. Kim, a member of the K-pop boy band SS501, was caught driving under the influence of alcohol on a street in Seoul's Songpa Ward around 1:55 a.m. on March 26, ac

Performance April 10, 2017

Boy band Winner’s recent single “Really Really” is making an impact on foreign charts, with Apple Music Pop selecting it as one of the songs on its “Best of the Week” list.Winner (YG Entertainment)The list compiles popular songs across the globe, selected by Apple Music’s editors. Among the songs on the latest list were “Last Day Live” by the Chainsmokers and “Galway Girl” by Ed Sheeran.Winner last week unveiled its single album “Fate Number For,” which topped iTunes album charts in 21 regions a

Performance April 10, 2017

A Japanese author rushed to offer an explanation of his comments on a “comfort woman” statue that touched off a wave of criticism via social media in South Korea. According to Japanese media reports Saturday, Yasutaka Tsutsui, author of “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” said he didn’t intend to insult the statue and claimed it was just a joke.(Yasutaka Tsutsui`s Twitter)“The comment was just a joke aimed to arouse a heated controversy over the issue,” he said.His novel, “The Girl Who Leapt Thro

Social Affairs April 9, 2017

‘안경 몰카’ 뿐만 아니라 ‘콘택트렌즈 몰카’가 가능해지는 시대가 온다.  (사진=123rf)지난달 31일 그룹 여자친구 멤버 예린이 팬미팅 자리에서 몰래카메라 안경을 쓴 남성팬을 적발한 ‘몰카 소동’이 있었다. 그가 쓴 ‘몰카 안경’은 안경 한가운데에 초소형 렌즈가 달려 있는 형태였다. 하지만 최근 스마트 기능이 내장된 콘택트렌즈의 개발이 속속 진행되면서 멀지 않아 렌즈를 끼고 눈을 감았다 뜨면 촬영이 되는 ‘렌즈 몰카’가 가능해질지도 모른다. 스마트 콘택트렌즈를 개발하기 위한 경쟁은 2014년부터 시작되었다. 소니, 삼성전자, 구글은 2014년 눈에 착용하는 미래형 콘택트렌즈에 대한 특허 신청을 차례로 낸 바 있다. 상용화되기까지 시간이 걸리겠지만 이들은 지속적으로 스마트 콘택트렌즈 산업에 주력하고 있다. 특히, 당뇨 환자들의 혈당 확인을 주요 기능으로 하는 구글의 렌즈와 렌즈 속 디스플레이를 재생해 증강현실에 집중하는 삼성의 렌즈와는 달리, 일본 소니가 2014년 2월에 특허

한국어판 April 9, 2017

귀신이 들린 듯이 기괴한 가정집 가사도우미의 행동이 카메라에 잡혀 화제가 되고 있다.(사진=유튜브 영상 캡쳐)영국의 한 일간지는 지난달 28일 싱가포르의 한 가정집 CCTV에 포착된 가사도우미의 섬뜩한 영상을 공개했다.영상에는 하얀 가운을 입고 머리를 길게 풀어헤친 가사도우미가 거실로 나온다. 그녀는 등을 구부정하게 구부린 채 아무도 없는 거실을 향해 손가락질을 하고 고개를 위아래로 흔드는 등 기괴한 행동을 보인다. 가사도우미를 고용한 누룰이라는 여성은 최근 가사도우미의 행동이 이상해진 것을 눈치채고 CCTV를 돌려보다 이와 같은 영상을 발견했다고 한다.누룰은 “영상을 봤을 때 도우미가 악령에 쓰인 것 같았다”고 주장하며 “당시 집에 집주인과 아이들이 없던 것이 천만다행”이라고 말했다.영상을 본 해외 네티즌들은 가사도우미가 카메라를 향해 이와 같은 행동을 한 것이 수상하다며 “일을 그만두고 싶어서 일부러 저러는 것 아니냐”라는 반응을 보이기도 했다. 　 (khnews@heraldco

한국어판 April 6, 2017

무거운 장비를 맨 소방관들이 피구를 한다면 어떤 모습일까?(사진=유튜브 영상 캡쳐)유튜브에 게재된 영상에는 미국 캘리포니아의 소방관들이 화재진압 시 착용하는 무거운 장비와 방화복을 착용한 채 피구를 하는 모습이 담겼다.이는 단순한 피구 게임이 아니라 폐활량을 늘리기 위한 훈련이라고 한다. 영상 초반에는 날아오는 공에 맞아 방독면이 벗겨지는 소방관도 보인다.소방관들이 착용한 장비의 무게는 34Kg에 달한다고 한다. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)

한국어판 April 5, 2017

Moon Chae-won’s agency said it would take action against a male netizen who has been allegedly identifying himself online as the boyfriend of the actress.  (Yonhap)Moon’s agency Namoo Actors on Wednesday strongly denied the netizen’s claim that he is dating Moon and said it is considering taking legal action against him for defaming the Moon’s reputation. “We are not going to stand it anymore,” said an agency official. “We have been monitoring the netizen’s preposterous online postings claiming

April 5, 2017

12명을 무참히 살해하고 시신을 훼손한 러시아의 한 60대 여성이 무기징역 선고를 받았다. (사진=유튜브 영상 캡쳐)영국의 한 일간지에 따르면 러시아 상트페테부르크에 사는 타마라 삼소노바(68)는 약 20년 동안 12명을 살해했을 뿐만 아니라 시체를 훼손해 유기했다. 경찰은 12명 이외에도 더 많은 희생자가 있을 가능성을 제기했다. 그녀의 범행은 개와 함께 그녀의 주거지 근처를 산책하던 동네 주민에 의해 알려졌다. 수상한 냄새를 맡은 개를 따라가 보니 토막 난 시체가 담긴 비닐봉지가 발견된 것이다. 그녀는 가장 최근 그녀의 친구에게 약 50개의 수면제를 먹이고 끔찍하게 살해한 후 유기한 혐의를 받고 있다. 또, 타마라의 집을 수색하던 경찰은 ‘살인 일지’를 담은 그녀의 일기장을 발견했다고 한다. 이곳에는 각 희생자에 대한 정보뿐 아니라 살인 과정도 자세히 기록되어 있었다. 경찰은 일기장의 내용을 토대로 그녀가 남편과 양모, 친구, 이웃집 주민 등 총 12명을 살해했음을 밝혀냈고 현지

한국어판 April 4, 2017

(Yonhap)LG Electronics will install electric car charging stations at all of its business sites in a combined effort with the Korean government to build up infrastructure for the eco-friendly car industry. LG said on Tuesday that it sealed an agreement with the Ministry of Environment to join a campaign that supports developing infrastructure for electric vehicles. LG became the first conglomerate to participate in the campaign.Following the deal, LG will install charging stations at all of its

Industry March 15, 2017

Shops selling what is called “giant sponge cakes” are in hot water over their usage of allegedly harmful ingredients, fanning complaints among Korean customers.  Big sponge cake (Yonhap)A local TV program reported on Sunday that the cakes contained an excessive amount of cooking oil and chemical additives. The program also claimed some shops used liquid-formed eggs and paste that included emulsifier and inflation agents. The large sponge cakes, also known as “giant Castella,” recently gained pop

Industry March 14, 2017

(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

Technology March 13, 2017