League of Legends Champions Korea’s 2020 summer season kicked off Wednesday, to the joy of many fans watching from home. Although the seats were empty in the LoL Park Arena in Jongno, Seoul, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, thousands of fans watched the opening games online. Although they felt bad about having no audience, players expressed joy at being able to play at the LoL Park Arena again after COVID-19 forced them to play in team facilities for the second half of the spring seas

More Sports June 20, 2020

The 2020 League of Legends Champions Korea Summer season will start Wednesday with its opening match. 　 CGV, South Korea’s largest multiplex chain, will screen the competition on 22 screens across the country at its ScreenX theaters. ScreenX theaters have multiple screens, allowing the main screen to show the match while side screens show game data and analysis. Fans watching at CGV will get vouchers that can be used to purchase in-game items such as emotes and character skins. “

More Sports June 16, 2020

While hot sauces like Tabasco and Sriracha have captured the international palate with a spicy kick, kimchi seasoning is likewise poised to earn its place in the culinary scene. With kimchi being a staple of Korean cuisine, food entrepreneur An Tae-yang, better known as Sun An, hopes to entertain the global palate with kimchi-flavored sauces. An, the CEO of Food Culture Lab, launched a kimchi seasoning mix in 2019.  An was the head of a Korean food franchise based in the Philippines, bu

Food June 16, 2020

As rumors of Song Joong-ki dating a lawyer spread across the internet, History D&C, Song’s agency since January, issued a warning on Thursday to anyone spreading “false rumors.” “These rumors are not true,” said History D&C. “As an agency, in order to protect our artist’s precious yet basic rights, we will take legal action against people who created and spread the malicious rumor as well as those that routinely write malicious comments.&rdquo

People June 13, 2020

Collaboration is in the works between K-pop and K-classic. The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and S.M. Entertainment signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday to spread K-pop and K-classic worldwide by creating content that is not defined by a single genre. Lee Sung-soo, co-CEO of S.M. Entertainment, and Kang Eun-kyung, CEO of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, signed the memorandum, marking the first time a leading orchestra has joined hands with an entertainment company. This is also the

Performance June 13, 2020

Jian “Uzi” Zi-hao, the iconic star player of the League of Legends Pro League in China, announced his retirement June 3 due to chronic injury. He won accolades from players around the world and shed light on some of the common health problems that have plagued the industry. “As of today, LPL 0006 @UziRNG will officially retire. Uzi was not only the heart and soul of RNG, but also an icon in the esports world as a whole. From a teenager onwards he never gave up and worked as h

Culture June 12, 2020

League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) announced new members to its analyst desk and “shoutcaster” lineup Tuesday. Heo “PawN” Won-seok will be joining the analyst desk while Kim “Wadid” Bae-in will join the shoutcasters, providing commentary. PawN retired from professional LoL last year after suffering obsessive-compulsive disorder, which made him unable to play if the setup of his keyboard and mouse weren’t exactly in the position that he wanted. He

Culture June 10, 2020

When Yi Mino came to Riot Games three years ago as the executive producer for esports broadcasts, he was without a broadcast team and the LoL Park Arena in Jongno, central Seoul, had yet to finish construction. With the opening of LoL Park Arena, Riot Games wanted to start self-production of League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), like other regions in the globe. Yi, who worked at terrestrial broadcaster MBC producing sports programs for 12 years and drama series for three years, was the man

Culture June 9, 2020

“Hi, we’re Ssak 3!” said Yoo Jae-suk, Lee Hyo-ri and Rain, as they introduced themselves in the way such groups commonly did in the ‘90s. On the latest episode of MBC’s “Hangout With Yoo” on Saturday, the trio announced the name of the group as well as their individual characters, along with plans to release their song in July. The appearance of the three celebrities saw the show hit the highest viewership rating out of all Saturday entertainment pro

Television June 8, 2020

Channel A reality TV show “Heart Signal” is again under fire for one of its participant’s past actions. A woman in her 20s told the media on Friday that she was awarded 2 million won ($1,660) in damages after suing one of the participants on the third season of “Heart Signal” for kicking her in the stomach at a club in January 2017. Following the report, Kim Kang-yeul posted an apology on Instagram on Friday, admitting to the attack. “It’s been

Television June 7, 2020

Twelve weeks. That’s how long Kim Tae-hwan, 30, trained before getting his body profile picture taken. Kim had added body profile photos to his bucket list for 2020 after he found out about it while working out with a personal trainer. Kim hoped to have it checked off while he was still 30. The 12 weeks were not easy, as Kim, a construction site manager, tried to balance work and exercise while working out 14 hours a week. Spending an hour lifting weights, 40 minutes doing cardio exercis

Culture June 6, 2020

KBS released an official statement on Wednesday saying it felt great responsibility for a spycam incident involving a comedian who appears on TV show “Gag Concert.” He is suspected of having installed hidden cameras in the women’s restroom inside one of its buildings. The state-run broadcaster, however, did not apologize for the incident, emphasizing that the comedian was not officially a KBS employee. “Although the suspect in the case is not a KBS employee, we feel gre

Television June 4, 2020

Many Korean celebrities joined the world in supporting the #blackouttuesday movement, posting black square images on their Instagram accounts on Tuesday. #Blackouttuesday was initiated by Atlanta Records marketing chief Jamila Thomas and Platoon’s Brianna Agyemang, who suggested putting the music industry on a pause and to think of ways to help the Black Lives Matter movement, following the police killing of George Floyd on May 25. With famous artists and major music labels joining the

People June 3, 2020

A Chinese team became the inaugural champion of the League of Legends Mid-Season Cup on Sunday, defeating several Korean teams. The cup features the top four teams from the Korean and Chinese leagues in the popular multiplayer online battle game, based on their spring competitions. Only one of the three League of Legends Champions of Korea (LCK) teams in the tournament, Gen.G Esports, was able to qualify for the semifinals, while three teams of China’s LoL Pro League -- JD Gaming, Top

More Sports June 1, 2020

The post-COVID-19 era is looming, bringing changes to what people considered normal. As the world deals with this highly contagious disease and prepares for other viruses in the future, interior design experts imagine new layout models and architectural changes to minimize the spread of disease. To begin with, more people are expected to work from home, which calls for changes to architectural design so that households can accommodate workspaces. “People will spend more and more time at

Arts & Design May 30, 2020