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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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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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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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Today’s K-pop] BTS pop-up event to come to Seoul
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[Weekender] Gardening blossoms in COVID-hit Korea
For viewers of MBC’s popular reality show “I Live Alone,” K-pop boy band SHINee Key’s new hobby struck a chord with their COVID-era lifestyle. His passion of cultivating scallions and other plants at a corner of his home veranda is an illustration of a trend that has been sweeping across South Korea: home gardening. Though raising one or two plants at home may be nothing new, the pandemic has spurred people to take the hobby to the next level. Koreans are now splurging
CultureJune 5, 2021
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[Weekender] The truth about biodegradable plastics
For average customers, one of the easiest ways to pursue a green lifestyle is to purchase eco-friendly products. To target these customers and raise their brand images, companies in South Korea are rolling out eco-friendly products one after another, including some made of biodegradable plastic. Typically made from natural materials such as corn starch, biodegradable plastic is designed to break down naturally when it goes to landfills. However, these efforts – and extra expenses -- m
IndustryMay 29, 2021
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[Weekender] Tired of green-bottle rotgut, drinkers turn to traditional soju
Drinking in South Korea almost invariably involves soju. The ubiquitous green bottle filled with watered-down alcohol has been, and is, at center stage of Seoul’s drinking scene. The soju most people usually think of -- a mixture of water, alcohol and sweeteners -- is very much an integral part of Korea’s social fabric, and accounts for close to 40 percent of all alcohol consumed in Korea. But while it may be an iconic feature of Korean drinking, many say its taste doesn’t l
Social AffairsMay 22, 2021
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[Weekender] [#WeFace] Green architecture brings fresh air
While going green has become an urgent agenda for many industries from retail, fashion to the performing arts and architecture is no exception. Amid the climate crisis, more individuals, companies and the government are paying attention to sustainable architecture, aware of the impact of the lasting footprint left by construction. “Green architecture” refers to an approach to architecture which acknowledges the necessity for improvement in both environmental impact and our healt
Arts & DesignMay 13, 2021
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[Weekender] Living without cash
Oh Jong-gyun, a 35-year-old in Seoul, had an awkward moment when he went to pay for valet service during a blind date last week. Not only was he feeling shy in front of a lady he had just met that evening, Oh also realized that he hadn‘t carried ”real money“ for months. “I risked losing face, on my first date, to ask her for 3,000 won. Well, she didn’t have it either,” he said. Oh is one of growing number South Koreans living without physical money as they
EconomyMay 8, 2021
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[Weekender] The rise of curated fashion platforms
Having a lot of tabs open while browsing for clothes online? For a growing number of shoppers, those days are over. Similar to how going to a shopping mall with a wide range of brands seems more of a safe bet than having to travel between stores far apart from each other, more people in South Korea are turning to platforms like Musinsa and Zigzag -- algorithm-driven e-commerce fashion platforms where shoppers are presented with items from thousands of brands. Musinsa, which boasts some 6,000
ConsumerMay 1, 2021
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[Weekender] Seoul faces tough road ahead to stop Fukushima wastewater release
Since the Japanese government announced plans to dispose of radioactive wastewater from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant by releasing it into the sea, Seoul is scrambling to stop it from happening. At the very least, it wants Tokyo to provide transparent information to the international community. South Korea, Japan’s closest neighbor, views the discharge of more than 1 million tons of contaminated water as a threat to its people and the surrounding marine environment. Even though
Foreign AffairsApril 24, 2021
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[Weekender] Starting the day with a miracle morning
Hong Ha-hyun, an ad designer in her 30s, has an important Zoom meeting to attend at 5 a.m. every day. The meetings are not about work, but about boosting positivity in her life, she said. With 35 people she met online, Hong reads books, meditates or drinks a cup of tea before dawn. Since September, the online community Dawning Designer has given her a chance to practice “miracle morning” rituals, leaving her feeling empowered and relaxed. “I believe the daily lives o
EconomyApril 10, 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
ConsumerApril 3, 2021
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[Weekender] A trip around unique bookstores in Seoul
While some head to mega bookstore chains like Kyobo Book Center and Aladdin Store to find books, others head to smaller neighborhood nooks or unique retailers in hopes of coming across interesting titles. Unique bookstores like Seoul Book Bogo, Arc N Book and Starfield Library have attracted both tourists and Koreans alike looking to both check out books and take lasting photos of the stores’ stunning interior. However, smaller independent bookstores are vastly different from those which
BooksMarch 20, 2021
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[Weekender] Step closer to new economy -- shopping with crypto
Near Cheonggye Plaza, Seoul’s iconic recreational area along the Cheonggye Stream, top coffee brands from Starbucks to Blue Bottle Coffee compete toe-to-toe, luring coffee lovers with distinctive flavors, brand images and cozy sofas for a relaxing moment. While coffee giants engage in an invisible war, one lesser-known coffee franchise is taking a different tactic, with a signboard that reads, ”Get a free cup of coffee if paying with the cryptocurrency Paycoin.” A 40-somethi
MarketMarch 13, 2021
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[Weekender] Cycling, a pandemic-perfect sport
From going out late at night to traveling abroad, the coronavirus pandemic has prevented us from doing many things we love -- except for cycling. On the weekend, serious cyclists with racing bicycles and more casual riders on Seoul Bikes mingle on the cycling lanes alongside the Han River in Seoul which cuts through the city and stretches nearly 500 kilometers. Kim Tae-gyun, a 37-year-old marketing director and a former PE teacher in Seoul, said cycling has become his go-to exercise as of lat
ConsumerMarch 6, 2021
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[Weekender] North Korean defector runs in UK election to defend ‘voiceless’
Park Ji-hyun still remembers the feeling when she first arrived in the UK in 2008. Having fled repression and poverty in North Korea and human trafficking in China, she was glad to find a refuge, but also nervous to start a new life thousands of kilometers away from home. “Many people welcomed me when I got here,” Park told The Korea Herald in a recent interview via Zoom. “Back then, I couldn’t fully grasp the meaning of the word ‘welcome,’ but just
North KoreaFeb. 27, 2021
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[Weekender] 60 is the new 40, literally
Kang, a 65-year-old resident of Gyeonggi Province, had an eye lift surgery three years ago to restore her vision and to give herself a younger appearance before she got any older. “I am very satisfied with the surgery because it made me look younger and more lively. I strongly recommend that my friends get the operation if they want to,” Kang said. “I also have a friend who recently got a face lift surgery to look younger.” Kang and her friend are among the growing num
CultureFeb. 20, 2021
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[Weekender] Something special to celebrate a pandemic Seollal
The fear of the pandemic has forced many to cancel plans for visiting families and friends during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday this year, but instead, has made Seollal gifts more special. Many gift sets are still practical ones, with popular and affordable choices being daily items such as canned tuna or Spam, cosmetics products and health supplements. But local retailers have rolled out a list of eye-catching items for customers wanting to lift up the holiday spirit and deliver their
CultureFeb. 6, 2021
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[Weekender] Inside Korea’s interior design boom amid pandemic
From #OurHome #HomeDecorating to #OnlineHousewarming, Instagram lately is filled with hashtags and posts from users showcasing their homes and stylish interior design ideas. “May I know where you got the bookcase?” one comment read in response to a post showing a well-lit, nearly all-white room. Dambi, an author and blogger, who shared the original post on Instagram replied that it was from furniture company Basic Gagu. These types of interactions are fairly common in the online sp
ConsumerJan. 30, 2021
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[Weekender] Korean gatherings go virtual on Minecraft amid pandemic
Over the Christmas holidays, seven Korean YouTubers gathered in a room to draw lots for a Secret Santa gift exchange. In another room, almost a hundred YouTubers posed together for a group picture. No one wore face masks. Or rather, their virtual, Lego-like avatars didn’t. Under South Korea’s strict social distancing guidelines because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the YouTube community took their gatherings online on Minecraft – the most popular video game of all time. Communiti
CultureJan. 16, 2021
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[Weekender] Young and fearless: Startups enter global race for space, robotics and AI
While overseas global corporations such as Elon Musk‘s Space X, are leading to charge to turn the stuff of science fiction into reality, in South Korea, the brave companies eyeing the likes of space travel and humanoid robots are not its hardware giants, but small startups. Hybrid rocket engine maker Innospace is a prime example. The Sejong-based startup, led by a former Hanwha engineer, manufactures small “hybrid” rocket motors that use a combination of solid fuel and liquid
MarketJan. 9, 2021
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[Weekender] What does the date on your milk mean?
No one wants to get sick from eating food gone bad. So it happens to be a common experience for Koreans to sniff and check the color of food to see if it is still edible, and to discard it when they find out a couple of days have passed from the “sell-by” date on the package. But just as the term indicates, it is not the deadline for the product’s consumption. It is the date by which the product must be sold. This confusion over the date labeling system is costing the soc
IndustryDec. 19, 2020
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[Weekender] Zero waste movement grows amid pandemic
With the pandemic raging on for nearly a year, people are using more online delivery services for foods and daily necessities while staying at home. Although the new normal has brought a lot of convenience, more people have begun to feel uncomfortable about throwing away packaging and disposable plastic containers, and some have been pushing back against the deluge of disposables. “I bring my reusable containers for take-out food these days. It was sort of embarrassing at first to ask
CultureDec. 5, 2020