US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis assured South Korea that any attack on the United States and its allies will be defeated, as the two allies kicked off an annual joint military exercise sure to draw angry protests from North Korea. Mattis made the remark in a phone call Wednesday (Korean time) with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo as the two countries launched the annual Foal Eagle military exercise that North Korea has denounced as a rehearsal for invasion.US Defense Secretary James

Defense March 1, 2017

Millions of people are expected to crowd the streets of Seoul Wednesday in a last push to oust or reinstate impeached President Park Geun-hye, leading to concerns about violence between the two groups.Park's supporters and opponents have taken to the streets each Saturday since late last year as the Constitutional Court reviews the legality of her impeachment and special prosecutors have conducted an extensive probe into her alleged corruption.The rallies have been largely peaceful, with the pre

Social Affairs March 1, 2017

Autofactory, headed by Lee Jae-wook, announced Tuesday that it recently entered the Internet of Things-based smart farm business, alongside its automotive data service business. A startup company that provides services in the “connected car” industry, Autofactory possesses several types of IoT-based technologies, including LoRa -- long-range, low-power -- telecommunications technology and object search technology. The company has now applied this technology to its new smart farm business. Based

Technology Feb. 28, 2017

EXO took home four trophies at this year’s Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards in Seoul. For the artist of the year award, the sixth annual ceremony divided the section into two parts: album and songs. The album category was awarded per quarter while the songs were awarded for each month.EXO took home the award for the second and third quarter, becoming the only band to receive multiple awards in the category. The band also won the fans’ choice award both as a group and as an individual, with its member Seh

Feb. 24, 2017

The augmented reality mobile game “Pokemon Go” appears to have reached even the reclusive North Korean regime, as shown by PokemonGOMap, a digital map that marks locations in the game. The map shows “Pokestop” locations that players physically visit to collect game items. Pokemon also tend to appear most frequently around these spots, which are usually clustered around dense areas of human population, meaning cities get more than rural areas.In South Korea, Pokestop sites are especially concentr

North Korea Feb. 20, 2017

Kim Han-sol, son of the assassinated Kim Jong-nam, allegedly cancelled plans to attend Oxford University over fears of North Korea’s continued hostility, UK media outlet The Daily Mail reported Sunday.According to The Mail, Kim Han-sol was due to move to the UK after reportedly being offered a place at an Oxford graduate college for the term starting September. His girlfriend Sonia also studies at Oxford.Kim Han-sol is interviewed by Swedish journalist Elisabeth Rehn in 2012. (Youtube capture)Ho

North Korea Feb. 20, 2017

South Korean boy band BigBang has cruised to the top of Japan's Oricon chart with its new album "Made," its agency said Thursday.The band rose to the top of Oricon's Daily Albums Chart on Thursday, a day after the Japanese release of its latest album, YG Entertainment said. (YG Entertainment)The album consist of three new songs -- "Fxxk It," "Last Dance" and "Girlfriend" -- and 11 repackaged songs from its previous "Made Series" album, including "Bang Bang Bang," "Loser" and "If You."Earlier thi

Feb. 16, 2017

Mobile Doctor, a company that has developed a mobile application service to help manage fevers in children, announced Tuesday that it aims to achieve 1.5 million downloads of its application (500,000 in Korea, 1 million overseas) by the end of the year. Fever Coach, the mobile application developed independently by Mobile Doctor, was designed to help parents monitor their children’s fevers based on body temperature, vaccination history and medical records. Using an algorithm based on big data, t

Technology Feb. 13, 2017

Coinplug, a blockchain technology company headed by CEO Joonsun Uhr, announced Monday that it recently launched a wire transfer service in cooperation with BGF finlik, a manufacturer and operator of automatic teller machines headed by CEO Lee Jong-deok. An affiliate of BGF Retail, which operates the CU convenience store chain, BGF finlink currently operates ATMs and cash dispensers at over 10,000 convenience stores, including CU, nationwide. Coinplug’s ATM wire transfer service enables users to

Technology Feb. 13, 2017

In the first quarter of 2017, IDEACONCERT, a webtoon movie producer, will concentrate on offering webtoon movie services to its clients. The term “webtoon movie,” which was coined by IDEACONCERT, refers to a slightly more dynamic version of what is known as a “moving toon” – a webtoon in which certain characters or scenes are animated.IDEACONCERT was able to secure this opportunity thanks to the unique technology it has developed -- a technique for producing video tools that enables webtoon char

Technology Jan. 31, 2017

진행자: 임정요, Kevin Lee Selzer1. 트럼프 TPP 탈퇴 기사요약: 취임 후 백악관에서 보낸 첫 업무날인 23일 (현지시간), 트럼프 미국 대통령은 환태평양경제동반자협정 (TPP)을 탈퇴하는 행정명령에 사인했다. 이어, 북미자유무역협정 (NAFTA) 조약을 재협상하고 한국과의 자유무역협정도 다시 돌아볼 것이라고 예고해 심상치 않은 경제적 파동의 조짐이 보인다.아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2 팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638Trump’s TPP abandonment fans trade fears in Korea[1] On his first full weekday in office Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive action to ab

Podcast Jan. 25, 2017

Authentication security fintech startup SsenStone, headed by CEO Yoo Chang-hun, announced Monday that it had hosted “Partner’s Day” on Jan. 10. Held in the event hall on the fourth floor of Seoul 63 Square, the event was attended by SsenStone’s partner companies, which serve as suppliers of SsenStone’s products and services.SsenStone CEO Yoo said, “SsenStone, a small company, has been able to achieve such remarkable progress by having advocated partner policies based on exclusive distribution si

Technology Jan. 16, 2017

Singer-turned-actress Sulli on Thursday once again updated her Instagram with suggestive photos, stoking controversy.Once known for her sweet, innocent image, the now 22-year-old Sulli has been filling her social media feed with provocative images of herself recently.(Sulli's Instagram)She often takes photos in revealing clothing or suggestive poses. Some claim she seems mentally unstable. Others accuse her of encouraging Lolita fantasies.Those in her defense say she has a right to express herse

Jan. 12, 2017

As paperbacks move over to make room for e-books, what’s become popular to readers in Korea is the serialized romance novels published online.Last year’s hit TV drama “Moonlight Drawn by Clouds” was first a weekly web novel before it was made into a TV show.Celebrity actor Park Bo-gum aside, it was clear to industry insiders from the beginning the show would be a success, based on the staggering 50 million accumulated views the original novel had garnered. An illustration for the original "Moonl

Culture Jan. 11, 2017

The launch of a website with messages of condolence and support from  Korean teenagers to Japan’s Kumamoto earthquake victims is sending ripples of goodwill across the sea and between the two neighboring countries.Min Byoung-chul, chairman of the Sunfull Movement that promotes a campaign to stem cyberbullying, visited the afflicted Kumamoto prefecture on Jan. 5 to present the website with its comments to Ono Taisuke, deputy governor of the region and the prefecture people. Min Byoung-chul, fourt

International Jan. 11, 2017