Most Popular
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea
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Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
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[Herald interview] Unbridled, yet peaceful rock spirit
Yoon Do-hyun, founder and lead vocalist of YB Band, is one of many celebrities who minimize interaction with the press out of concern that their words may be distorted by the media, stir up controversies, or even be exploited by the government. “I think this is my first interview in over four years. I don’t even remember when was my last one,” said the 47-year-old folk rock singer to The Korea Herald. The energetic and versatile musician has also never been careless with music in his 24-year ca
PerformanceMarch 16, 2018
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[Herald Interview] Blending design to humanize future technologies
Designing technology projects for the future requires a radical change in thinking as social demographics shift and ubiquitous connectivity changes the way people interact with the world around them, says Ju Da-young, an assistant professor at Yonsei University who heads the Technology and Design Research Center.The center is part of the Yonsei Institute of Convergence Technology, a school set up to explore how different disciplines can come together to create new ideas.“We’re seeing completely
TechnologyMarch 14, 2018
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[Herald Interview] So Ji-sub wants to be a good man than a good actor
When So Ji-sub was approached to take on the leading role for “Be With You,” the actor first turned it down due to pressure of playing a dad.“I couldn’t imagine myself as a father, so I didn’t think I would be able to do it. If I started shooting, feeling like that, I would hinder the production,” he said in a group interview on Friday. “But I just couldn’t pass it up. I wanted to work in a film that makes me feel good.”In the movie, he plays the role of a young father lamenting the death of his
FilmMarch 13, 2018
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[Herald Interview] Son Ye-jin has special place in heart for melodrama
Despite decades of prevailing in Korean cinema, melodrama appears to have relinquished its crown to darker and grittier thrillers and action films. Playing her first role in a melodrama film in years in “Be With You,” Son Ye-jin said she has been wanting to present the audience with a quality melodrama flick for a while.“It’s not so much that I wanted to sustain my nickname ‘Melodrama Queen,’ as that the genre has always been something that I wanted to do,” she said in a group interview in Seoul
FilmMarch 13, 2018
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[Herald Interview] ‘Zambia, land of peace, stability and investment opportunities’
For Zambian Ambassador to Korea Wylbur Simuusa, rectifying the mismatch between Zambia’s solid position in Africa and its obscure presence in Korea is one of his most urgent tasks. Zambia is known in Africa as a nation of peace and stability, an honest broker that has mediated numerous peace agreements and helped neighboring countries gain independence, he told The Korea Herald. It has also sheltered countless freedom fighters and refugees from bordering countries, while having no major internal
Diplomatic CircuitMarch 12, 2018
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[Herald Interview] ‘Entertainer’ Lee Seung-gi eyes new album this year
There was a time when Lee Seung-gi was hailed as the “Korean little brother” -- referring to his wholesome, likeable image that was beloved by those across all ages.Now 31, the actor/singer/show host said he wants to be remembered just as an “entertainer,” who approaches various sectors of entertainment in an equally devoted and serious manner. “I like that the nickname has gradually phased out. People all know me now as Lee Seung-gi, and that’s how I like it. A rare entertainer in Korea who doe
FilmMarch 9, 2018
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[Herald Interview] Capturing the unseen: photographer Cho Sei-hon
The PyeongChang Winter Olympics has come and gone with a bang -- Korean athletes reaped a total of 17 medals and were showered with camera flashes at every turn. But the excitement isn’t over yet. Equal in intensity but admittedly smaller in its scale of crowds and media coverage, the Paralympic Games kicked off on Friday.Cho Sei-hon, who has photographed every Paralympics since 2008, said he feels a particular affinity for the event. To the photographer’s eyes, Paralympic athletes’ wheelchairs
Olympic GamesMarch 9, 2018
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[Herald Interview] South Korea-US drills to be “consistent” with previous ones: US Navy commander
Joint South Korea-US military drills will be held on a scale “consistent” with the previous ones, a top US Navy commander stressed, downplaying speculations surrounding the resumption of the annual drills postponed until after the Paralympics here.US Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift. Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald.In an interview with The Korea Herald on Thursday, US Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift also noted that there was “no indication” from the South Korean military to chang
DefenseMarch 8, 2018
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[Herald Interview] How Seoul’s urban regeneration pays off
When the Seoul Station overpass was closed to traffic in November 2015, many had no doubt it was time. After failing its vehicle assessment, the overpass was transformed into Seoullo 7017 -- a reference to original construction year of 1970 and its 2017 transformation -- where people can walk high above the maddening traffic below, enjoying a panoramic view of the city.Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon talks in an interview with The Korea Herald on Feb. 23 at his office at Seoul City Hall. Park Hyun-koo
Social AffairsMarch 7, 2018
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[Herald Interview] ‘Shift to renewables takes political will’
In Korea, spring always comes with an unwelcome guest -- fine dust -- and it has become a norm to check the fine dust level every morning, put on a mask and bear with it. But that does not have be a norm. South Korean people hold the key to challenging the status quo by pressuring the government and businesses, said Marco Lambertini, director general of World Wide Fund for Nature. Marco Lambertini, director general of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)“Negative changes can be reversed. We decide t
Foreign AffairsMarch 6, 2018
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[Herald Interview] Who will be first 5G provider? No one has advantage yet, says Intel engineer
While mobile operators and equipment builders around the world say their fifth-generation network solutions and services are ready for commercialization, Robert J. Topol, in charge of 5G technology at Intel, does not think anyone has an advantage now in the absence of international standards. “We are all targeting 2019 for having a lot of solutions ready,” said Topol in an interview with The Korea Herald at Intel’s booth during the Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona last week. “But I don’t
TechnologyMarch 6, 2018
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[Herald Interview] Tera Funding sets out to hedge risks of P2P project finance
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 11th installment. - Ed.Since last year, South Korea’s financial watchdogs warned retail investors about crowdsourcing funds for peer-to-peer project finance, saying that their repayment capabilities could only be determined on projected cash flow without collateral.The high return -- often at above 10 percent -- that the instrument promises to the lenders, triggered
MarketMarch 6, 2018
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[Herald Interview] ‘Kazakhstan seeks Korean expertise in green technologies, investments’
Kazakhstan, the world’s largest landlocked country, has primarily relied on its coal, oil and natural gas for energy, but is now moving toward renewables as global trends change. With the world shifting away from polluting energy sources to cleaner forms, Kazakhstan is keen on making the transition and eventually becoming the region’s pacesetter in the green economy, according to its top diplomat in charge of green technology investments. The blueprint for Kazakhstan’s plan to become a greener e
Diplomatic CircuitMarch 5, 2018
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[Herald Interview] How embassy staffer became face of Finland in Korea
It’s pretty unusual for a staff member of a Nordic embassy to be a household name in Korea, but Petri Kalliola, a project coordinator at the Embassy of Finland, has made his mark in an unusual way. When he is not at the office, he can often be seen on TV entertainment shows, introducing his country to Korean viewers. Kalliola says his employer, the Finnish Embassy, has been supportive of his TV activities. He thanked his colleagues for putting up with his erratic schedule, but emphasized that hi
PeopleMarch 4, 2018
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[Herald Interview] Despite urgency, quest to unearth active faults face hurdles
For centuries, Korea has been a quake-free zone, but recent events have caused that to change. Of the 10 earthquakes in South Korea that registered 5.0 or higher on the Richter scale in its four decades of state measurement, half occurred after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake off the coast of Japan.The record 9.1-magnitude undersea quake, a subsequent seismic sea wave or tsunami and aftershocks have claimed over 15,000 lives in Japan. However, it also had an impact on tectonic activities in countries
Social AffairsMarch 2, 2018
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[Herald Interview] Corda eyes private, inclusive global banking network: R3 chief engineer
Distributed ledgers like the blockchain system are increasingly setting a new standard for paperwork-free global banking in various financial areas, such as the management of a cash pool for currency exchanges or payments, as well as trade finance. Spearheading the trend to minimize and possibly eliminate the manual business process in interbank transactions is a technology called “smart contract,” through which records of direct transactions between parties can be protected on a dec
MarketFeb. 25, 2018
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[Herald Interview] ‘Sunday Paintings’ record life of artist
In this age of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, people’s lives seem to be fully on display, feeding our exhibitionist and voyeuristic tendencies at the same time. To be seen and to see has come to define our times.Yet, viewing US-based artist Byron Kim’s “Sunday Paintings” series at the Kukje Gallery in Sojeok-dong, Seoul, is an oddly discomfiting experience. In a series of 35.5 centimeter-by-35.5 centimeter canvases, the artist depicts the sky over wherever he may be on a given Sunday and write
CultureFeb. 23, 2018
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[Herald Interview] The man behind Soohorang the white tiger
Athletes competing in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games are presented with a stuffed tiger when they step onto the podium. This peculiar scene often leaves many viewers wondering “Who made it?” Lee Hee-gon, chief marketing officer of mass C&G, explains PyeongChang Olympic mascots Soohorang and Bandabi. Park Hyun-koo/The Korea HeraldThe name of the non-athlete star and mascot of the Olympics is “Soohorang,” a combined word of “Sooho,” which means protection in Korean and “-rang,” the middle lette
Olympic GamesFeb. 22, 2018
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[Herald Interview] GM could ditch more plants: lawmaker
GUNSAN, North Jeolla Province -- As controversy persists over the decision by General Motors to pull out of Gunsan, a lawmaker representing Gunsan said that the US carmaker could ditch more factories in Korea to press the government.“After all, the company is pressurizing the government … If the answers are not enough to satisfy them, the next step could be made,” said Rep. Kim Kwan-young of the Bareun Future Party in an interview with The Korea Herald on Wednesday, a day after he met Barry Engl
MobilityFeb. 22, 2018
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[Herald Interview] Will inter-Korean detente continue after Olympics?
The PyeongChang Winter Olympics have brought about a rare detente between the two Koreas after years of military confrontations over Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missiles programs. The two Koreas created a unified women’s ice hockey team and marched under a unified flag. North Korea even invited President Moon Jae-in for a summit in the North’s capital. Yet, with less than a week to go before the Olympics end, there are concerns the Olympic detente will dissipate with the Winter Games
North KoreaFeb. 20, 2018