SPOTLIGHT

• Culture

  

  Korean dance, communication delivered through the body

  People dance for many reasons -- for imparting love and joy, in celebration or when they try to overcome something unexpected through passion. Similarly, the aesthetic movement is an art that can work as a form of communication. The bodily conveyance could be directed toward ourselves, but it could also serve others and even play the role of a medium for emotional release. South Korea’s traditional dances, along with its chronicled history, have developed over a long period -- including th

• Arts&Design

  

  MMCA exhibition highlights Korean video artists, Paik Nam-june and beyond

  Paik Nam-june is inarguably the foremost video artist in South Korea. But who else can we talk about when it comes to video art, and what are the distinctive characteristics that other Korean video artists have developed? The exhibition “Korean Video Art from 1970s to 1990s: Time Image Apparatus” at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea’s Gwacheon venue in Gyeonggi Province chronicles video art in Korea between the 1970s and the 1990s, presenting some 130 wo

• Film

  

  ‘Jumanji: Next Level,’ plays it safe in funny, unoriginal sequel

  Years back when it was announced that a sequel to “Jumanji” would be made, there were skeptics. While the 1995 adventure film had received mixed reviews upon release, its legacy grew over time to claim a place among nostalgic family films.Despite some concerns the sequel would fail to recapture the imagination and spectacle of the original, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” was a pleasant surprise with a creative premise, lighthearted fun and plenty of visual effects.Its u

• Travel

  

  Government launches foreign-language menu website

  A website that provides foreign language translations of local menus was launched Wednesday.According to the state-run Korea Tourism Organization, Food Trip in Korea (foodtrip.or.kr) was launched Wednesday afternoon with translations of 8,500 Korean dishes in English, Japanese and Chinese as its main feature. The service had been previously provided via the agency’s Visit Korea (visitkorea.or.kr) site. The tourism organization plans to add a mobile page of the website, various menu designs

LATEST NEWS

• 

  K-pop

  Academics explain driving force behind BTS’ global success

  Academics from around the world got together in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss the global success of BTS and K-pop in general.Sponsored by Big Hit Entertainment, which houses the likes of BTS and TXT, the global seminar “K-Pop Beyond BTS” took place at Yonsei University, attracting scores of scholars, journalists and YouTubers.  In a keynote speech, Hong Seok-kyeong, a professor of communication at Seoul National University, said BTS and other K-pop boy bands offer “soft ma

• 

  North Korea

  Biegun’s visit leaves slim chance for resumption of US-NK dialogue

  The US top negotiator on North Korea, Stephen Biegun, is expected to visit South Korea next week amid heightened tensions on the peninsula after North Korea conducted a rocket engine test. Biegun’s visit is likely to begin Sunday, and he hopes to meet North Korean officials at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom, according to Japan’s Kyodo news agency and local media. The Foreign Ministry was not able to confirm Biegun’s plans to meet with North Korean officials. The US

• 

  K-pop

  [INTERVIEW] Holland is turning scars into triumphant pop

  The openly queer singer is using his position to highlight school violence with a new single

• 

  Social affairs

  [Exclusive] ‘Prosecution’s abuse of power is foreign in Germany’

  In South Korea, the heated debate on the introduction of prosecutorial reform bills continues to rage on, leaving the National Assembly paralyzed over how to pass the billsThe reform proposals have been prompted by the prosecution’s abuse of power and its history of failing to dig deep into corruption allegations involving prosecutors, among other misconducts.The bills mandate the establishment of an independent anti-corruption body to investigate corruption allegations involving senior ra

• 

  Politics

  Court rebukes prosecutors during trial of ex-justice minister’s wife

  The court has turned down prosecutors’ request to make changes to the initial complaint filed against former Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s wife, Chung Kyung-shim, a professor at a private university.Chung was indicted Sept. 6, the day of her husband’s confirmation hearing, on suspicion of having forged a document to influence her daughter’s admission to medical school.During a pretrial hearing held Tuesday, the Seoul Central District Court rejected the prosecutors’ pro

• 

  Industry

  [Graphic News] US regains dominance in Korea’s imported beef market

  　Beef imported from the United States increased significantly, accounting for over 50 percent of South Korea’s imported beef market this year, a trade promotion agency said.　Korea imported 209,034 tons of US beef in the January-October period, up 7.9 percent from 193,685 tons tallied during the same period a year earlier, according to data from the Korea International Trade Association. 　US beef made up more than 50 percent of all imported beef here for the first time since 2003, when Kore

• 

  Music

  BTS symbolizes cross-border pop culture in new media era: scholars

  The sensational global ascent of K-pop band BTS has brought to the fore the emergence of a new breed of globally connected, dedicated fans as represented by ARMY, the group's fandom.Powered by the connectivity of the internet and social network services, ARMY engages in organized transnational operations to download BTS songs and vote for the septet en masse, spearheading the band's victories on Billboard and major American music awards.BTS fans also helped spawn a new YouTube "reaction vid

• 

  Industry

  Posco Energy tie-up with FCE faces hurdle

  An envisioned joint venture between Posco Energy and US-based FuelCell Energy is making little progress due to mutual differences, an industry insider said Wednesday.The energy unit of steel giant Posco produces molten carbonate fuel cell -- dubbed a second-generation technology -- with technology transferred from the US company.  FuelCell Energy CEO Jason Few was in Seoul to discuss the JV proposal. The talks, however, ended without any agreement, sources noted. The two had signed a memora

• 

  Politics

  Moon asks for confirmation hearing for justice minister nominee

  President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday sent to the National Assembly a request for a confirmation hearing for justice minister candidate Choo Mi-ae, the presidential office said. Moon approved the request earlier in the day, according to the office. In South Korea, nominees for ministerial positions are subject to nonbinding confirmation hearings by the Assembly. According to a related law, the Assembly is supposed to complete a confirmation hearing and send the president a report on it within

• 

  Social affairs

  Seoul to set 50 kph speed limit on roads with bus-only lanes

  The speed limit on Seoul roads with bus-only lanes will be adjusted to 50 kilometers per hour starting late this month as part of efforts to reduce traffic accidents involving pedestrians, the city government said Wednesday.The new speed limit will apply to 14 roads in Seoul with median bus-only lanes, starting Dec. 20. Violators face up to 170,000 won ($142) in fines. Other major roads -- including Hannamdaero and Gyeonginro -- connected to roads with bus-only lanes will have the 50 kph speed l

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Viewpoints

  

  President Trump gets little credit for foreign policy

  Last week’s NATO summit in London should have been a nice little success story for President Donald Trump.For once he went to an international meeting without intending to blow it up. Instead, he planned to trumpet how he had convinced several European allies to boost defense spending, one of his foreign policy priorities.But that storyline got lost the moment Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught on camera making fun of the president, drawing laughter from British Prime Minist

• Viewpoints

  

  Why US can’t end ‘endless wars’

  Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has imported into the American military lexicon a new rationale for US military actions in the Middle East. It’s called “mowing the lawn,” but it has nothing to do with keeping the grass trimmed. “To mow the lawn,” Esper recently remarked to reporters, “means, every now and then” giving your adversary a good, swift kick in the shins. “You have to do these things,” he explained, “so that a threat doesn&rsq

THE INVESTOR

• Mobile & Internet

  

  Korean investors turn to real estate, less interested in stock market

  Korean investors have been turning their attention toward the real estate market, reflected in an increase in mortgage lending, while cash flows in the equity market have been overall stagnant, recent data showed. According to data released by the Bank of Korea last month, the outstanding balance of mortgage loans held by banks and other financial institutions here came to a combined 830.3 trillion won ($700.5 billion) as of September. The latest data is a noteworthy jump from the corresponding

• Startups & Investors

  

  Techstars Korea to accept applications for 1st batch through March 2020

  Global startup accelerator Techstars said it would accept applications for its first South Korea-focused accelerator program through March 1, 2020 to tap into the tech-savvy nation’s large pool of talents in a landscape firmly supported by the government. The first phase of the accelerator program, co-hosted by Techstars and Hillstone Partners, will select 10 startups mainly dedicated to three categories -- enterprise technology, human-device interaction and lifestyle tech -- said Lee Eun-

• Bio & Medicine

  

  Celltrion presents Truxima’s results of phase 3 clinical trials in US forum

  Celltrion announced on Dec. 9 that it has disclosed its biosimilar Truxima’s results of phase 3 clinical trial at the 2019 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology last week.“The clinical trials were conducted among patients in European countries including Germany, Spain and Russia as well as Asian countries like Japan for 40 months,” a Celltrion official said in a statement. More than 17,000 experts of blood diseases from over 100 countries attended the meetin

• LG

  

  LG Chem, GM deal ups ante in EV battery competition

  The recent announcement for a joint venture between South Korean battery maker LG Chem and US carmaker General Motors has upped the ante in the global competition to secure lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, according to industry sources on Dec.8. The 2.7 trillion won ($2.3 billion) joint venture for an EV battery factory with production capacity of over 30 gigawatt hours per year in Lordstown, Ohio, was clinched amid GM’s ongoing transition from combustion engine cars to electri

K-POP

• 

  Academics explain driving force behind BTS’ global success

• 

  Holland is turning scars into triumphant pop

• 

  Big Hit denies report it is in profit dispute with BTS

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Industry

  

  Electricity market competition, price hike needed for green energy expansion

• People

  

  Women’s colleges relevant in world where men enjoy privileges

• Industry

  

  China’s No. 1 aesthetic laser firm sees Korea as bridge to Asian markets

• Defense

  

  ‘We will support conscientious objectors in fulfilling alternative service’

PHOTO NEWS

• Travel

  

  Once a ghetto, now tourist hot spot

  Gamcheon Culture Village, a hilltop village in Busan’s Saha district, is a tourist hot spot, drawing an increasing number of visitors.Camera-toting tourists from Korea and elsewhere explore terraced rows of small houses, painted in pastel colors, and labyrinth-like alleys, with some so narrow only one person can pass at a time. The town has hidden gems as well -- murals, sculptures, installation art, galleries and eateries.Among its recent visitors was Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who

VIDEO

• People

  

  ‘Koreans are like the Latin people of Asia’

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  Paris looks to Korea’s technology, startups for cooperation: French ambassador

• Film

  

  Ryan Reynolds says ‘6 Undergrounds’ shows how times are changing

• Travel

  

  While in Busan, don’t miss 2 things: Excitement and adventure

FEATURES

• People

  

  Frank penguin becomes new star of year, breaks stereotype of EBS characters

  A 210-centimeter-tall penguin walks into a room for an audition at Educational Broadcasting System, insisting he wants to be a star creator. The penguin, who has a strand of seaweed and a seashell on its head, explains that he swam all the way from the South Pole. The 10-year-old’s ultimate goal is to become as popular as BTS.Speaking in a cute -- sometimes husky -- voice, Pengsoo raps, breakdances and even yodels -- a skill he picked up in Switzerland on his way to Korea. When the judges

• Social affairs

  

  Number of Seoulites residing alone up 300,000 in 10 years

  SEJONG -- The number of residents in Seoul stood at 9.73 million as of November 2019, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety. This is estimated to be the lowest figure in more than 30 years.Given unofficial statistics showing that Seoul was home to 9.2 million in 1983 and 10.28 million in 1988, the current population level is assumed to be similar to that seen in the years between 1984 and 1987.Compared to the figure of 10.21 million in November 2009, the population of the capital of S

• Technology

  

  LG Chem, GM deal ups ante in EV battery competition

  The Friday announcement for a joint venture between South Korean battery maker LG Chem and US carmaker General Motors has upped the ante in the global competition to secure lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, according to industry sources on Sunday. The 2.7 trillion won ($2.3 billion) joint venture for an EV battery factory with production capacity of over 30 gigawatt hours per year in Lordstown, Ohio, was clinched amid GM’s ongoing transition from combustion engine cars to electr

• Finance

  

  Unlisted stock market gains momentum with attention to startups

  Interest in unlisted stocks is projected to further grow as there are no other alternatives to Kosdaq and Konex