The bitter money feud between TV personality Park Soo-hong and his older brother who is also his former manager continues in South Korea, with their father recently entering the media spotlight for his sudden “confession” that he, not the accused son, embezzled Park’s earnings. Although the father’s claim was dismissed as groundless by investigators, it threw light on the country’s long-held legal practice of exempting parents of criminal liability for financial c

Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2022

Amid the white-hot stock rally of 2021, they were the envy of all. Those working at the year’s biggest market debutants Krafton and Kakao Bank were given chances to buy stocks in their company at a set price, via employee share ownership plans. However, none of those who bought the employee stocks are seeing profits now, as the shares are currently trading at less than half the price they paid. On Blind, an anonymous workplace community app, a verified Kakao Bank employee revealed a loss

Market Oct. 12, 2022

  The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories -- a Korea Herald series exploring subway stations and their surrounding areas across the city. – Ed.   Strolling through the vicinity of Seongsu Station, one can get an idea of what is considered hip in Korea these days: It has to be artsy, independent and youthful, with stories, preferably of heritage and history, to tell. Seongsu-dong’s status as a mecca of hipness in Seoul can be seen through millions of Instagram posts in

Social Affairs Oct. 11, 2022

Chi Hye-seol was crouching down inside a pit 1 meter deep. With her face covered in dirt and one hand holding a "homi," a Korean hand plow, she was carefully digging. “I am looking for clues into the past that are deeply asleep under this dust,” said Chi, a senior student majoring in convergence archaeology at Korea National University of Cultural Heritage. When The Korea Herald met her on Sept. 30, she was working on an excavation at Hongsan-myeon, Buyeo, South Chungcheong

People Oct. 8, 2022

Drone light shows are taking over local festivals and company promotion events as a new crowd pleaser. The small vehicles, equipped with colorful LED lights and capable of flying at speeds of 6 meters per second, quickly gather and scatter to form various shapes and relay messages, with the night sky serving as a black canvas. At one moment, the light-bearing quadcopters morph into a slow-moving whale and the next into an angry bull, dazzling spectators on the ground. South Korea is fast catchin

Culture Oct. 8, 2022

Nearly 1 in 5 Koreans say they are not proud of their nationality, and 1 in 3 say they are not willing to fight for the country, according to the World Values Survey, a global research project conducted by social scientists on Wednesday. To a question asking if they feel proud of their nationality, 18.6 percent of Korean respondents said “no,” showed the cross-national, five-year study conducted between 2017 and 2022. In the previous WVS, carried out between 2010 and 2014, 9 percent

Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2022

For Koreans under the age of 40, the most common cause of death is suicide, while cancer remains the No. 1 killer overall, according to recent data from the state-run Statistics Korea. On average, 37 people took their own lives per day in South Korea last year, which is the highest level among the member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Of the 317,680 deaths reported in the country in 2021, those who died from cancer accounted for 26 percent. This was followed b

Social Affairs Oct. 2, 2022

On Baebongsan, a low-lying hill in Seoul’s eastern district of Dongdaemun, there’s a section of a trail that draws a particular type of visitors -- the barefoot walkers. Around lunchtime on a recent Thursday, people were traversing on the 350-meter-long path covered with a soft and fine reddish-yellow soil called loess, commonly referred to as "hwangto" here. Surrounded by leafy trees on both sides, the trail looked as if somebody had rolled out an orange-yellow carpet. Fam

Technology Sept. 29, 2022

Chicken fight is a traditional game that children enjoy playing around the neighborhood individually or as a group. It is also played as an exciting event on holidays or in marketplaces. In the game, contestants raise one leg and grasp their ankle with both hands. The contestants then hop on one foot and try to push their opponent off balance. The last person left standing wins. Chicken fight requires strength, skill and a good sense of balance. It can be played one-on-one or by several people

Hashtag Korea Sept. 22, 2022

Find the answer at the bottom of the page. The popular resort island of Jeju is often referred to as the island of three abundances, or Samdado. In an essay published in 1968, Korean lepidopterist Seok Joo-myung identified characteristics of the southern island as samda and sammu – three abundances and three scarcities. Sam in Korean language refers to the number 3 while da means many, or large in quantity, and mu means nothing or nonexistence. The three things that are plenty on J

Hashtag Korea Sept. 21, 2022

Korean beverage firm Lotte Chilsung’s creamy soda Milkis has become hugely popular in Taiwan, with more than 10 million cans being sold in the first eight months of this year, according to the company on Tuesday. Since it entered the Taiwanese market in late 2020, Milkis has seen a dramatic uptick in sales. The 10 million mark is an 810 percent increase from the same period a year ago. The company expects that more than 15 million cans will be sold this year, equating to a 550 perc

Sept. 20, 2022

Imagine yourself listening to your favorite classical music pieces in a concert hall filled with candlelight. Entertainment discovery platform Fever is bringing this special experience to the Korean audience with a series of gigs in September and October. Showcasing the music of renowned composers like Vivaldi, Chopin or Beethoven, the concert series aims to bring traditional classical music closer to young listeners by discovering local experiences in their cities with “a mission to democ

Culture Sept. 17, 2022

Korean cosmetics brands have been churning out “vegan” makeup and skincare products, driven by rising consumer awareness. However, different sets of accreditation standards from certification agencies are causing consumer confusion. Han Sung-hee, a 32-year-old office worker, recently started her own research on vegan cosmetics products to discover what she could do to lessen her impact on the environment and animals. “It freaks me out when I think of rabbits being kept in a lab

Industry Sept. 14, 2022

Actor Lee Jung-Jae’s win of the Emmy award for his role in Netflix-original series “Squid Game” on Monday created a buzz worldwide but there was someone else who shared the limelight with him -- his longtime girlfriend Lim Se-ryung. Sporting a white Dior dress, she hit the red carpet hand-in-hand with the actor in Los Angeles. Lim, 45, is by no means just a celebrity’s girlfriend. She is the vice chairman of Daesang Group, one of the largest food conglomerates in South Ko

Film Sept. 14, 2022

The frozen relationship between South Korea and Japan seems to be thawing, at least among the general public. Korean people’s positive sentiment toward Japan bounced back to levels last seen in 2019, before Japan imposed trade sanctions on Korea over historical conflicts and S. Koreans responded with the “No Japan” boycott of anything Japanese. According to a report jointly released by Korean think tank East Asia Institute and Japan-based Genron NPO on Sept. 1, 30.6 percent o

Foreign Affairs Sept. 11, 2022