SPOTLIGHT

• Music

  

  Twice gives sneak peek at ‘Likey’

  Twice on Thursday revealed the first teaser images for “Likey,” the lead track for its upcoming album.JYP Entertainment revealed the two photos via its official social media pages, which showed the nine bandmates posing in brightly colored clothes. (JYP Entertainment)The new “Twicetagram” is the first full-length studio album by the K-pop act, which has produced hit songs like “Knock Knock,” “TT” and “Signal” since its 2015 debut.The album is slated to be released at 6 p.m. on Oct. 30, and marks

• Music

  

  BTOB presents best musical mash for autumn

  BTOB“Brother Act.”Loen Entertainment It‘s true that BTOB has been underrated to some extent. But just add all 12 tracks of the group’s latest full-length album “Brother Act” to your playlist and bask in the crisp autumn air until it plays out. Without doubt, the autumn-tinged album will provide you with a soothing slow-down to your hectic day. The orchestra-themed album opens with “Prelude: A Day,” an emotional piano melody masterpiece that will immediately soften your heart. The pure instrument

• Television

  

  TV series ‘Witch at Court’ tops ratings

  The new crime-solving drama series “Witch at Court” has topped ratings for the 10 p.m. time slot on Mondays and Tuesdays.　Tuesday’s episode reached 12.3 percent of viewership, Nielsen Korea said Wednesday.　The drama series stars Jung Ryeo-won as Ma I-deum, an ambitious ace prosecutor renowned for her aggressiveness and ill temper. 　 Jung Ryeo-won stars in “The Witch at Court.” (KBS)Yoon Hyun-min stars as Yeo Jin-wook, a former psychiatrist-turned-rookie prosecutor who graduated at the top of his

• Culture

  

  Girls’ Generation’s stylist reveals dark side of entertainment agencies

  Stylist Seo Soo-kyung talks about her career and the structural problems in the K-pop fashion business

LATEST NEWS

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  Technology

  35% of smartphones to be shipped with AI by 2020: report

  More than one in three smartphones in 2020 will be shipped with an artificial intelligence chipset capable of real-time translation and malware detection, giving health care advice and recognizing user behavior, a report said Friday.The ratio of AI chipset-equipped smartphones is expected to rise to 35 percent or more than 500 million units in the cited years from just three percent in 2017.Numbers are forecast to move up to 16 percent in 2018 and 26 percent in 2019, according to the report of C

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  Music

  TWICE becomes fastest-selling K-pop girl group in Japan

  TWICE’s new Japanese single album has sold over 130,000 copies by day two of its release, becoming the fastest-selling K-pop girl group record in the country, its agency said Friday.“One More Time” has so far sold 138,369 copies, with 94,957 and 43,412 purchased on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, according to JYP Entertainment. TWICE has become the fastest-selling K-pop girl group album in Japan based on first week figures. The previous record holder was KARA, which sold 122,820 copies dur

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  Politics

  Proposed resumption of nuclear reactors to delay Moon's new energy policy

  President Moon Jae-in may have been forced to push back the start of his new nuclear-free energy policy, as a public debate commission recommended Friday resuming the construction of two unfinished nuclear reactors the president had promised to scrap.The commission said 59.5 percent of 471 citizens and experts who took part in the debate voted in favor of completing the Shin Kori-5 and Shin Kori-6 reactors, while 40.5 percent sided with the president to remove the unfinished reactors for good.Th

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  Politics

  Resumption of construction for 2 nuclear reactors to affect gov't plan

  South Korea is set to resume work on two nuclear reactors on the southeastern coast after a three-month hiatus as a state commission gave the green light to complete construction Friday, which is expected to affect the government's nuclear phase-out plan. The construction of the Shingori-5 and Shingori-6 units in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, has been put on hold since July 14 as the government wanted to assess public opinions to decide on their fate, the first such action taken by t

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  Economy

  Korea's tax rate will be 5th highest under gov't plan

  South Korea's tax rate will rise to be the fifth highest among major economies if the incumbent Moon Jae-in administration follows through on its plans to collect more dues from very big companies, an opposition lawmaker said Friday.The government and the ruling Democratic Party have said they will increase the corporate tax rate for firms with annual net profits exceeding 200 billion won ($177 million) to 25 percent from 22 percent at present to help finance Moon's welfare and job creation agen

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  Politics

  State commission recommends resuming construction of nuclear reactors

  A state commission recommended resuming the construction of two reactors Friday after months of heated debates about whether it's the right time to begin weaning South Korea off nuclear energy.The commission reached the decision based on a survey of 471 people selected as a jury on whether to abandon or continue the Shin Kori-5 and Shin Kori-6 reactors that have been under construction in the southeastern city of Ulsan since last year.The panel said 59.5 percent of the jury supported the resumpt

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  Foreign Policy

  Korean defense chief to attend ASEAN security forum

  South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo will visit the Philippines next week to attend an international security meeting led by Southeast Asian countries, his ministry said Friday.The defense chiefs of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and eight dialogue partners will huddle together in Clark, Pampanga, some 80 kilometers north of Manila, on Monday and Tuesday.The other member states are the US, China, Japan, Russia, Australia, India and New Zealand. South Korean Defense Minister S

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  Social affairs

  AIDS patients in Korea on increase: data

  The number of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients nearly tripled over the past 10 years, data showed Friday.A total of 13,584 people were diagnosed with AIDS in 2016, up from 5,316 tallied in 2007, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data submitted to the National Assembly.By age, patients in their 30s accounted for 27.2 percent of the total, followed by those in their 20s with 25.9 percent and 40s with 21.3 percent, and between 10-20 with 3.1 percent

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  Industry

  Market for local foods growing fast on cost, quality benefits

  The market for locally grown foods is growing fast, giving benefits to both consumers and farmers by lowering distribution costs, retailers said Friday.E-mart, a leading supermarket chain, said its sales of local foods last year recorded 51.6 billion won ($45.54 million), up from 300 million won in 2008, when they were first introduced on shelves.  Sales this year to September already reached 50.5 billion won and are headed to a 30 percent increase from last year in total. (Yonhap)Local foods ar

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  Social affairs

  National pension falling far short of basic needs for seniors

  An average income earner who pays into the national pension for 30 years would still get far less in return than what he or she needs for the most basic sustenance in senior years, data showed Friday.A worker who makes 2.18 million won ($1,924) a month, the average income as of 2016, would receive a monthly 670,000 won after a 30-year subscription, far short of the 1.04 million won needed to meet basic needs, according to the data released by the office of Rep. Nam In-soon. The figures were deri

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  North Korea Is Playing a Longer Game Than the US

  If we think through the North Korea nuclear weapons dilemma using game theory, one aspect of the problem deserves more attention, namely the age of the country’s leader, Kim Jong-n: 33. Because peaceful exile doesn’t appear to be an option -- his escaping the country safely would be hard -- Kim needs strategies for hanging on to power for 50 years or more. That’s a tall order, but it helps us understand that his apparently crazy tactics are probably driven by some very reasonable calculations, a

• Columnists

  

  Trump‘s personality and his Asian hosts

  As President Trump prepares to head to Asia next month for his most important overseas trip yet, foreign intelligence services are undoubtedly trying to assemble personality profiles to explain this unconventional, risk-taking, domineering president to the leaders he will meet. How will they describe Trump? Probably not with the same hyperbole we sometimes use in our daily news commentary. Foreign governments aren’t as easily shocked or offended as journalists. They‘re used to bullying autocrats

THE INVESTOR

• Samsung

  

  Samsung likely to stop producing small LCD TVs

  Samsung Electronics reportedly plans to ditch the production of TVs with a display size of 20 to 30 inches, and put more focus on fostering its premium TV brands, according to news reports on Oct. 19.“Samsung will gradually phase out the production of TVs in the 20-30 inch range featuring HD and full HD resolutions,” a Samsung official was quoted by local daily JoongAng Ilbo as saying. The official also said the tech giant will pour more resources into beefing up the more profitab

• Samsung

  

  Experts call on Samsung to accelerate development of self-driven cars

  Korean tech giant Samsung, considered a latecomer in the self-driving car sector, needs to speed up development and acquire more firms to compete against rivals like Google’s Waymo, according to industry experts on Oct. 19. “Samsung is relevant (in the autonomous vehicle area). But they are half a step behind compared to where the leaders are,” said Jeremy Carlson, principal analyst and manager of autonomous driving and mobility at IHS Markit, global market tracker, in a press bri

• Retail & Consumer

  

  CJ's Studio Dragon eyes W1tr valuation post-IPO

  Studio Dragon, a subsidiary of Korean media giant CJ E&M, is looking at a market value of almost 1 trillion won (US$883.55 million) after it gets listed on the country’s secondary bourse KOSDAQ next month.The company submitted a registration statement to the Financial Supervisory Service on Oct. 18, and is set to go public next month.Studio Dragon’s market debut is one of the much-awaited offerings this year as investors are betting on Korea’s growing content market that has been

• Mobile & Internet

  

  [EXCLUSIVE] Apple mulls stylus for iPhone

  Apple is mulling something that its late founder Steve Jobs had outright rejected -- adding a stylus to its iPhone, according to industry sources on Oct. 13.Jobs never hesitated to rant how much he hates styluses, famously saying almost a decade ago: “God gave us 10 styluses. Let’s not invent another.”But sources say Apple engineers have recently been working on a new iPhone that comes with a digital pen.The Apple Pencil“Apple is preparing to launch the phone as early as 2019,” an

K-POP HERALD

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  Big Bang to hold year-end concert

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  Secret behind Kim Jong-kook's shirts

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  Park Shin-hye for Swarovski global model

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Music

  

  Block B’s U-Kwon seeks to make name for himself

• Automode

  

  For green cars, UK seeks Korean talent

• Film

  

  Virtual reality is the next great art form: Eugene Chung

• Film

  

  Christoph Terhechte says Korean cinema ‘still has surprises’

PHOTO NEWS

• Travel

  

  Han River covered with buckwheat flowers

  Buckwheat and canola flowers cover Banpo Seoraeseom Island in Seoul on Tuesday. With temperatures falling to 9 degrees Celsius in the mornings and nights in the capital city, Korea has fully entered the fall season. By Park Hyun-koo (phko@heraldcorp.com)

VIDEO

• Film

  

  Viewer responses to VR films at BIFF vary from ‘unbelievable’ to ‘blurry’

• Film

  

  Busan Film Fest embarks on 22nd edition with star-studded red carpet

• Industry

  

  Ikea Goyang focuses on environment, sustainability

• Fashion

  

  Learning to wear hanbok with confidence

FEATURES

• Industry

  

  Incheon Airport named best for 12th consecutive year

  Incheon Airport has been named the best airport in the world for the 12th consecutive year by an international airport council, the airport announced Thursday.It is the first airport to win for best airport worldwide at the Airport Service Quality Awards hosted by Airports Council International for 12 straight years. The annual awards are based on interviews with airport visitors who rank the services of each airport.  Incheon International Airport Corp. CEO Chung Il-young (right) receives the a

• Economy

  

  Inconsistent policy hobbles resources development abroad

  Korea’s policy to develop energy and other mineral resources abroad has been inconsistent, biased toward short-term achievement and swayed by political winds.As a result, the country’s state-run energy and resources firms have shown a pattern of acquiring overseas oil rigs and mining fields at high prices and disposing of them at low prices. (Yonhap)Over the past several years, Korea has swung from an aggressive push for overseas resources development to a hasty withdrawal from it.Under the admi

• Industry

  

  Amazon unlikely to launch in Korea

  Despite rumors about Amazon‘s future plans to enter the South Korean market, it is unlikely that the e-commerce giant will launch a Korean version of its flagship online shopping website, according to industry insiders.“It is unclear what Amazon will have to gain by entering the e-commerce market at this point,” an official at another e-commerce firm operating in Korea said, asking not to be named.Rumors have been circulating that Amazon was planning a launch of a Korean arm after the US e-comme

• Film

  

  Romance titled ‘Let Me Eat Your Pancreas’ grabs attention at BIFF

  A romance film titled “Let Me Eat Your Pancreas” has become one of the most talked-about films among festivalgoers at this year’s Busan International Film Festival.The Japanese film directed by Sho Tsukikawa and starring Minami Hamabe, Takumi Kitamura and Shun Oguri, is based on a 2015 novel of the same titled by Yoru Sumino, which became a bestseller in Japan. In the film, the protagonist, a high school student, discovers that his popular classmate Sakura is suffering from a pancreatic disease