Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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[News Focus] Coupang, E-mart, Market Kurly join race to offer cheapest price as competition grows
Major e-commerce giants in South Korea are offering the cheapest prices and free delivery to keep an edge over their rivals, as competition grows amid the pandemic-fueled online shopping boom. E-commerce grocer Market Kurly was the latest to ramp up competition on Monday as it announced its “Every Day Low Price” -- a lowest-price guarantee program for some 60 food products. The new measure will see the platform offer products such as rice, instant noodles, fresh vegetables and fru
April 12, 2021
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Kakao in talks to acquire fashion shopping app Zigzag: report
Kakao, the South Korean tech giant behind popular messaging app KakaoTalk, is taking steps to acquire mobile shopping app Zigzag, according to local reports Friday. The reported deal could see Kakao buy a controlling stake in the operator of the shopping app -- estimated to be worth about $1 billion -- and create a new subsidiary for a merger. Kakao, however, has not yet confirmed the move, saying it is taking into account “a range of options.” The reports came after Kakao, once
April 9, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Innisfree forced to clarify ‘paper bottle’ packaging after customer discovers plastic bottle inside
Innisfree, a cosmetic brand under Amorepacific, has been forced to clarify its eco-friendly “paper bottle” packaging after a customer’s complaint about plastic usage and a “misleading” label went viral online. In a post on a Facebook group called “No Plastic Shopping,” a customer shared photos of what is inside the package for the brand’s face serum product after cutting the bottle in half. Despite the label reading “Hello, I‘m Paper
April 8, 2021
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Dior’s revenue in Korea jumps more than twofold despite pandemic
French luxury fashion house Christian Dior racked up 104.7 billion won ($93.2 million) in operating profit last year despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Christian Dior Couture Korea, the operator of the brand’s South Korean unit which produces clothes, bags and makeup products, also saw its revenue rise 75.8 percent to 328.5 billion won, while its net profit jumped by 250 percent to 77.7 billion won. The figures buck the trend seen
April 7, 2021
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Starbucks Korea to do away with single-use cups by 2025
Starbucks Korea has vowed to stop the use of disposable cups by 2025. As part of its long-term sustainability “Better Together” project, the coffeehouse chain said Tuesday it will roll out reusable cups at all stores across the country and replace single-use cups completely in the next four years. The new eco-friendly cups will be rolled out first at a select few shops during the second half of this year. The reusable cups come with a deposit that will be returned to customers when
April 6, 2021
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Department stores mark highest sales jump in 25 years
Sales at department stores increased 34 percent year-on-year in February in the biggest jump in 25 years since 1996, the latest data from Statistics Korea showed Monday. The retail sales index, which is designed to reflect consumption trends, appears to have recovered to near pre-pandemic levels during February, as it stood at 115.2 after adjustments for seasonal factors. The figure stood at 116.2 in December 2019. The first case of coronavirus was detected in Korea the following month. Februa
April 5, 2021
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[Weekender] New era opens for frozen mandu
Dumplings have long been one of the popular staples Koreans have in their daily meals. Served steamed, fried or boiled, the dish, called mandu here, would make for a good snack, or a tasty and filling meal. Yet there was also nothing spectacular about the humble dish of chopped meat, seafood or vegetables wrapped in dough. That is until food companies began to rediscover the potential of frozen mandu, propelling it into a new heyday with growing global recognition. According to data from Ni
April 3, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Brewery serves up sparkling makgeolli in blend of tradition and modernity
Makgeolli, a centuries-old traditional Korean rice wine, is enjoying its new life as a trendy and premium drink as of late. Easily found at convenience stores and casual dining restaurants in Korea, it was once thought to be an “old man’s drink” over its affordability and stereotypes surrounding it. But one man’s journey to revolutionize makgeolli and give it a more youthful and upscale makeover seems to have paid off in triggering a trend in recent year. The Korea Agro
April 1, 2021
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Convenience store chain CU opens 1st outlet in Malaysia
CU has opened its first outlet in Malaysia as part of its overseas push, the operator of South Korea's top convenience store chain said Thursday. The 165-square-meter outlet started operations at a shopping mall in a middle-class neighborhood in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, according to BGF Retail Co. South Korean goods account for 60 percent of all products it carries. The store also sells CU's popular private-label products and such "Korean street foods" as "tteokbok
April 1, 2021
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Coway wins global nod for ESG, corporate transparency
Coway, a South Korean home appliances rental firm, has been honored at this year’s Business Integrity Society summit for its continuous commitment to a framework for environmental, social and governance, or ESG, standards as well as corporate transparency, the company said Tuesday. It was chosen as an “Excellent Anti-Corruption Company” at the BIS Summit 2021 Anti-Corruption Awards held last week by the UN Global Compact and the Korea Social Responsible Investment Forum. &l
March 30, 2021
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Fila stays silent after Chinese unit vows to continue using Xinjiang cotton
Fila Korea is staying silent on the ongoing controversy surrounding Xinjiang cotton after its Chinese unit vowed to continue using the fabric. When asked about Fila China’s statement on Chinese social media platform Weibo last week confirming its support for Xinjiang cotton, a representative of the company acknowledged the existence of backlash but refused to comment. In a statement on Weibo last week, FILA China said it “has always purchased and used cotton produced in China inclu
March 30, 2021
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Family, business community mourn late Nongshim Group chairman
Local business leaders and mourners paid tribute on Sunday to the founder of Nongshim Group, Shin Choon-ho, who died of chronic illness on Saturday at the age of 92. Shin led the country’s major food conglomerate and leading instant noodle producer for 56 years. The late chairman was born in Ulsan in 1930 and was the younger brother of the late Shin Kyuk-ho, who founded South Korean retail conglomerate Lotte Group. At the funeral altar at Seoul National University Hospital on Sunday
March 28, 2021
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Shinsegae Department Store’s fruit subscription service proves popular
Shinsegae Department Store’s fruit subscription service is enjoying a surge in popularity as the number of subscribers jumped threefold in 10 months. The service, which began at the retailer‘s Gangnam branch, will be extended to its main store in Myeongdong, the department store said. Those subscribing to the service for a monthly fee of 220,000 won ($194) can have a selection of seasonal fruits worth 260,000 won delivered to their doorstep on a weekly basis. Tips on how to pick,
March 25, 2021
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Pulmuone aims to challenge Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods in plant-based food
Amid the growing popularity of plant-based proteins as healthy and eco-friendly alternatives to meat, Pulmuone aims to become a leader in the plant-based food industry, the company said Wednesday. The South Korean food company’s Plant Protein Meal Bureau will release new products domestically and globally, in countries including the US, China and Japan, it added. Pulmuone, which revealed a three-year plan for the plant-based food push, chose six categories to focus on: plant-based pro
March 24, 2021
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Nongshim rakes in W2tr in ramen sales
South Korean food and beverage company Nongshim’s instant ramen sales reached 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) for the first time last year on the back of the coronavirus pandemic and the “jjapaguri” dish from the Oscar-winning film “Parasite.” Sales of the company’s instant noodles rose to 2.09 trillion in 2020, a 16.3 percent year-on-year increase from one year ago and accounted for 79 percent of its total revenue, the firm’s annual report revealed on We
March 24, 2021
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Gmarket app completely renewed for more intuitive usage
Gmarket’s mobile app has undergone a complete reform to be more intuitive and easier to use, eBay Korea, the company behind the online marketplace, said Tuesday. According to the e-commerce platform operator which also runs G9 and Auction in South Korea, the app has been renewed to match Gmarket’s new brand identity. The changes are not just in the way it looks, but in the way the app operates to offer a more convenient shopping experience for customers, it stressed. Having la
March 23, 2021
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Courier services used once every four days in 2020
South Korea’s economically active population used courier services once every four days on average last year, spending an average of 2,221 won ($2) per order, new government data revealed. The volume of parcels reached 3.37 billion, a 20.9 percent year-on-year increase, the National Logistics Information Center said on Sunday, citing data from the Korea Integrated Logistics Association. The country’s economically active population -- those aged 15 and over either in employment or s
March 21, 2021
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Coupang announces early stock lockup agreement release; employees allowed to sell stocks
About a week into its debut on the New York Stock Exchange, Coupang is allowing some of its workers to sell their shares. Coupang announced an early stock lockup agreement release for about 34 million shares held by employees, which became eligible for sale at the opening of trading Thursday US time. According to the South Korean e-commerce platform company, the condition of the release -- that its stocks must close at or above the initial public offering price, $35 -- was satisfied as of th
March 19, 2021
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Samyang Foods tops W600b in sales in 2020, setting record
Samyang Foods achieved record sales of 648.5 billion won ($572 million) and an operating profit of 95.3 billion won in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the South Korean food company said Friday. Samyang Foods, which produces the globally popular Buldak Spicy Chicken Noodle, said both its sales and operating profit jumped last year from a year earlier, by 19.3 percent and 21.9 percent, respectively. Sales from overseas backed the sales growth, having increased 35.8 percent on-year to reco
March 19, 2021
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OB releases series of new beers to maintain edge
Oriental Brewery Co. has released a series of new “high tech” beers in recent months to maintain its market lead. OB accounted for some 52 percent of Korea’s home beer market last year, according to Nielsen Korea, with its flagship beer Cass Fresh alone accounting for some 40 percent. In a statement, CEO Ben Verhaert said the company is seeking to continue to progress to accommodate changing consumer trends. All New Cass Hoping to continue its lead in the market, OB unveil
March 18, 2021