Nexon, a global online game company listed in Japan, is out to drive up its presence in the global game industry by continuing its efforts to offer well-developed games that are strategically localized for markets overseas.　Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nexon is already an international company, as around 60 percent of its revenue is currently generated abroad, with China being the biggest overseas revenue driver.Since its foundation in 1994, Nexon has produced classic online games such as

Technology March 30, 2017

Mahra Al Dhahouri, a 33-year-old woman from the United Arab Emirates, suffers from autoimmune hepatitis, a disease in which the body’s own immune system attacks the liver and causes inflammation. 　Her disease progressed to the point that she needed a liver transplant. However, she could not undergo surgery as she could not find a suitable donor that matched her blood type. At South Korea’s Seoul National University Hospital, the patient found a solution: It was possible for her to receive a live

Technology March 30, 2017

South Korean mobile messaging giant Kakao will introduce an artificial intelligence-powered voice assistant platform within the first half of this year, joining forerunners in the field such as Amazon, Google, Facebook and local rival Naver.　Kakao, which operates South Korea’s biggest mobile messenger KakaoTalk, announced Thursday that it has formed a new AI division within the company to develop its own AI voice assistant service platform.The company plans to launch the AI assistant platform by

Technology March 30, 2017

South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Tuesday slapped 3M Korea and two local drugmakers with a temporary import, marketing and sales ban for breaching local pharmaceutical regulations.The local branch of US-based 3M, 3M Korea, which produces and sells office supplies and medical products here, faces a one-month sales ban on three products the ministry found were imported and sold from 2011 to 2015 without undergoing proper declaration procedures.The three 3M products include the 3M C

Industry March 29, 2017

South Korean game developer Com2uS said Tuesday that its hit mobile game “Summoners War” has become the first Korea-made mobile game to rake in more than 1 trillion won ($900 million) in cumulative revenue.　This makes “Summoners War,” a mobile role-playing game launched worldwide in April 2014, the highest-grossing Korean mobile game to date, Com2uS said.After its launch three years ago, “Summoners War” became the No. 1 mobile game in the Apple App Stores of 53 countries and Google Play Stores o

Technology March 28, 2017

South Korean internet giant Naver is on track to completing its envisioned transformation into a “technology platform” that brings cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, voice recognition and autonomous driving into everyday services, its new CEO said Tuesday.　Since first announcing its new direction last November, the country’s biggest web portal operator has made progress in rolling out diverse new tech-infused services, Naver CEO Han Seong-sook said in her first press conf

Technology March 28, 2017

SK Telecom, South Korea’s biggest mobile carrier, said Monday that it will showcase diverse services running on the next-generation 5G network at Incheon SK Happy Dream Park, the home stadium of the SK Wyverns.　SKT has set up a large-scale 5G trial network throughout the baseball stadium and will operate a number of 5G-dependent services for a large crowd of around 20,000 visitors slated to attend the games from Friday to Sunday. “We’ve prepared the 5G stadium to show how services currently host

Technology March 28, 2017

South Korean game company NCSoft said Monday that it has signed a publishing deal with Taiwanese game company Gamania Digital Entertainment Co. for “Lineage M,” a mobile rendition of NCSoft’s hit online PC game Lineage. 　Developed by NCSoft, “Lineage M” is a massive multiplayer online role playing game for mobile devices. It aims to recreate the original PC game’s gameplay and elements in a mobile setting as closely as possible, the company said.Under the new publishing deal, Gamania will releas

Technology March 27, 2017

A group of South Korean people held a ceremony in Dalian, northeastern China, on Sunday to mark the 107th anniversary of the execution by the Japanese of a Korean national hero who assassinated a top Japanese official more than a century ago, as a civic event amid a Seoul-Beijing feud over the planned deployment of an advanced US missile defense system.The national hero, Ahn Jung-geun shot and killed the Korean Peninsula’s first Japanese governor-general, Hirobumi Ito, at a railway station in Ha

Social Affairs March 26, 2017

 South Korean movie director Park Chan-woo was bestowed an award from the Italian city government of Florence in recognition of his role in connecting the cultures of the two countries and his contributions to the development of culture and art.　Florence Mayor Dario Nardella presented the Key to the City honor to Park in a ceremony held on Saturday in Cinema La Compagnia, Florence.　Park is the first South Korean who has received the city award which is conferred on world-renowned artists. Park C

Film March 26, 2017

Prosecutors have recently questioned a senior CJ Group executive as part of a probe into whether the conglomerate was involved in the recording of compromising videos of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, a prosecution source said Sunday. 　The videos leaked to the media in July 2016 indicated Lee bought sex five times between December 2011 and June 2013 at his homes in southern Seoul.　CJ, run by Lee‘s relatives, was part of Samsung before it broke off in 1993. At the time of the recording

Industry March 26, 2017

Blizzard Entertainment on Sunday said it would release “StarCraft: Remastered,” a high-definition remake of its megahit PC strategy game Starcraft, this summer.As its title suggests, the upcoming edition will feature 4K ultrahigh-definition graphics and a refreshed soundtrack, while preserving the original gameplay of Starcraft. It will include the classic Starcraft game as well as the Brood War expansion pack, the US game giant said.Blizzard Entertainment co-founder and CEO Mike Morhaime announ

Technology March 26, 2017

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles highlighting South Korea’s promising start-ups in the emerging sectors of digital health care and next-generation medical devices. This is the sixth installment. – Ed.When it comes to wearables, the immediate image that comes to mind is usually a smartwatch or a fitness tracking band worn on the wrist by an early adopter of new technology.　Looking to overturn this image, a South Korean startup spun off from Samsung’s in-house venture program Cr

Technology March 26, 2017