South Korea's economy grew at a solid pace in the second quarter and is on track for a 4 percent expansion this year estimated by the central bank thanks to a strong recovery of domestic demand and robust exports, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday. Gross domestic product increased 0.7 percent on-quarter in the April-June period, after a 1.7 percent expansion in the first quarter. The nation's economy grew 5.9 percent on an annual basis, marking the fastest expansion in a decade. The gro

Economy July 27, 2021

South Korean supergroup BTS sat atop the Billboard's main singles chart for the ninth consecutive week as its hit single "Butter" returned to the throne after briefly giving way to its own latest single. "'Butter' officially returns to No. 1 on this week's #Hot100 chart for an eighth total week," Billboard said on its Twitter account Monday (US time). The song had reigned on the singles chart for seven straight weeks before giving way to the septet's latest single, "Pe

K-pop July 27, 2021

WASHINGTON -- An international forum of history teachers from the United States and 21 other countries got under way on Monday to discuss ways to teach the true and accurate account of the Korean War to their students. The 2021 World Congress of Korean War Veterans and History Teachers began at a Washington hotel with some 60 history teachers from the United States taking part in in-person meetings. The annual event is hosted by the Korean War Legacy Foundation (KWLF) and sponsored by South Kor

Foreign Affairs July 27, 2021

TOKYO -- Stop us if you've heard this before. South Korea won an Olympic gold medal in archery. South Korea has gone 3-for-3 in archery events so far at the Tokyo Olympics. The latest gold medal came from the men's team event on Monday, as Oh Jin-hyek, Kim Woo-jin and Kim Je-deok defeated Chinese Taipei by the set score of 6-0 at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo. The trio shot a perfect 60 in the second set, giving South Korea its second consecutive Olympic title in the men's team event

Olympic Games July 26, 2021

South Korea's tidal flats have been officially inscribed as a UNESCO world natural heritage despite receiving a deferral in a preliminary review, cultural heritage authorities said Monday.  Seoul has been pushing to register "getbol," or "Korean tidal flats," on UNESCO's world heritage list in the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee taking place in Fuzhou, China, online. The decision came as a surprise, considering that getbol was deferred from the list of pot

Culture July 26, 2021

TOKYO -- Japan-born South Korean judoka An Chang-rim captured his first Olympic medal in his birthplace on Monday, overcoming a grueling stretch that had the 27-year-old go to extra time in four consecutive matches. An defeated Rustam Orujov of Azerbaijan for the bronze medal in the men's 73kg class at the Tokyo Olympics at Nippon Budokan in the Japanese capital. An was born in Tokyo to second-generation Japanese-Korean parents, and has been competing for South Korea internationally since 2014

Olympic Games July 26, 2021

TOKYO -- South Korea won its back-to-back Olympic gold medal in the men's archery team event on Monday, giving the country a third gold from the sport in as many days in Tokyo. Kim Je-deok, Kim Woo-jin and Oh Jin-hyek teamed up to defeat Chinese Taipei by the set score of 6-0 at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in the Japanese capital on Monday. South Korea earlier collected gold medals in the mixed team event on Saturday and the women's team event on Sunday. The country is now men's and women'

Olympic Games July 26, 2021

TOKYO -- South Korean teenage archer Kim Je-deok screamed and fist-pumped his way to top of the Tokyo Olympic podium for the second time in three days Monday, adding the men's team gold medal to the mixed team event title from the weekend. His voice hoarse from all the yelling, Kim teamed up with veterans Oh Jin-hyek and Kim Woo-jin for the men's team gold over Chinese Taipei at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field on Monday. Kim, 17, is now the second double gold medalist from South Korean archery

Olympic Games July 26, 2021

South Korean stocks retreated nearly 1 percent Monday as investors remain cautious about the local resurgence of the new coronavirus and uncertainties from China's clampdown on tech firms. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 29.47 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 3,224.95 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 813 million shares worth some 12 trillion won ($10.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 662 to 212.

Market July 26, 2021

The highly contagious delta variant is becoming a dominant strain of COVID-19 in South Korea, making it more difficult for health authorities to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, officials said Monday. The delta variant is behind a recent spike in the nation's COVID-19 infections in Seoul and its neighboring areas, while showing signs of spreading much faster outside the greater Seoul region. In the third week of July, 48 percent of new patients were infected with the aggressive delta va

Social Affairs July 26, 2021

South Korea said Monday it plans to expand tax incentives for corporate research & development (R&D) and facility investment in semiconductors, batteries and vaccines as it seeks to nurture them as key strategic technologies. The government will provide tax benefits worth 1.16 trillion won ($1 billion) for R&D expenditures and investments in chips, electric vehicle batteries and vaccines under a tax code revision bill. The 2021 tax code revision centers on underpinning a fast econo

Economy July 26, 2021

President Moon Jae-in sent congratulatory messages Monday to the members of South Korea's female archery team and a judo player, who won medals at the Tokyo Olympics. Moon lauded the archery squad for its ninth consecutive Olympic gold in a message also posted on his social media accounts. "Since archery was adopted as an Olympic program, the women's team has been at the top, showing the power of the archery of the Republic of Korea," Moon wrote on his message for each member of the

Politics July 26, 2021

The American animated comedy "The Boss Baby: Family Business" made a surprise ascent to the top of South Korea's weekend box office in the first week of its release, data showed Monday. The sequel to DreamWorks Animation's 2017 hit "Boss Baby," released last Wednesday, attracted over 256,000 people from Friday to Sunday, bringing its combined total to over 356,000, according to data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). Its first week admissions record marked the second-bes

Film July 26, 2021

TOKYO -- South Korean swimming phenom Hwang Sun-woo has already broken the national record en route to the men's 200m freestyle final at the Tokyo Olympics. While he's at it, the 18-year-old wants to set another record. Hwang qualified for the final by finishing sixth overall in Monday's semifinals with the time of 1:45.53 at Tokyo Aquatics Centre. The final is scheduled to start at 10:43 a.m. Tuesday. He'd made it to the semifinals by winning the heats Sunday, with a new South Korean record

Olympic Games July 26, 2021

The tropical night phenomenon continued in Seoul and other major cities across the country, the state weather agency said Monday. The minimum temperature between Sunday night and Monday morning was 27.5 C in Seoul, 27.1 C in Incheon, 25.6 C in Busan and 26.8 C on Jeju Island, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). A tropical night occurs when the temperature does not fall under 25 C during the nighttime. The country has been in the grip of an intense heat wave for about t

Social Affairs July 26, 2021