SPOTLIGHT

• Music

  

  Ed Sheeran on BTS: ‘I think they are great’

  British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran said on Tuesday that he is interested in working with BTS, saying the band is “great.”  (Twitter)“Actually, I wrote a song that I think they might be messing with. I heard this the other day,” said Sheeran in an interview with a UK media outlet. “I really like BTS though, I think they are great.” (Instagram)Tuesday was not the first time the renowned singer has shown interest in collaboration with BTS. When the boy band released its latest album, “Love Yourse

• Social affairs

  

  Police arrest suspect of sexual offense despite misleading call

  The suspect of alleged sexual offense was arrested in Gyeonggi Province on Tuesday, thanks to a police officer’s intuition. According to Gyeonggi Gapyeong Police Station, the police received a call at 3:23 a.m. in which only screaming and fighting sounds could be heard before it was hung up.  (Yonhap)The police officer who received the initial call made numerous attempts to call back and eventually got through to a woman who said, “It was a minor quarrel because we were drunk, you don’t have to

• Television

  

  Announcer Jo Su-ae to marry Doosan Group’s Park Seo-won

  The upcoming wedding of former JTBC announcer Jo Su-ae and Doosan Group’s Park Seo-won is causing a stir on social media platforms and a search engine’s trending bars.According to local media reports, the couple will tie the knot at a hotel in Seoul on Dec. 18. Maeil Business Newspaper reported that Jo had quit her job. JTBC confirmed that Jo left the company, but declined to confirm reports about the marriage, citing privacy. The couple have yet to confirm news of their wedding. Jo Su-ae and Pa

• Technology

  

  Kakao Mini AI speaker can now read out loud KakaoTalk messages

  Kakao’s smart speaker Kakao Mini can now read out loud KakaoTalk messages sent to your phone -- a feature that users have long been calling for.Kakao said Tuesday that Kakao Mini has been updated to include the new function. Users can go to the settings on the Kakao Mini configuration app to activate the feature.The new function is made available through a combination of natural language processing and voice recognition engines developed by Kakao, the company said. Messages from one-on-one chatr

LATEST NEWS

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  Social affairs

  S. Korean pastor arrested for setting fire on MacArthur statue

  A court issued a warrant on Tuesday to arrest an anti-US South Korean pastor for lighting a fire on a statue of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the commander of the US-led UN troops during 1950-53 Korean War.The Incheon District Court approved the arrest of the 61-year old pastor, citing concerns that the individual may try to flee. The suspect is in police custody. A group of soldiers pays tribute to the late US Gen. Douglas MacArthur at Jayu Park in Incheon, west of Seoul, after laying wreaths at his

• 

  Soccer

  S. Korea demolish Uzbekistan 4-0 in football friendly

  South Korea extended their unbeaten streak under new head coach Paulo Bento by beating Uzbekistan 4-0 in a friendly football match on Tuesday.Four South Korean players scored a goal apiece at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in Nathan, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia, earning their team their first win on the road since Bento took over the helm in August. Bento now has three wins and three draws with South Korea, the longest unbeaten start for a national football team head coach. Jo Bon

• 

  World News

  S. Korean tourist hit by train on Swiss mountain railway, dies

  Swiss police say a South Korean tourist has died after being hit by a train on a mountain railway.Police in Schwyz canton (state) said the accident happened in thick fog Monday afternoon on the Rigi mountain in central Switzerland, a popular tourist destination. The Swiss train pictured does not relate to the article.A police statement Tuesday said the 69-year-old man, who had been traveling with a tour group, was hit by a train between the Rigi Staffel and Rigi Kulm stations. It wasn't clear wh

• 

  Industry

  S. Korea's Jeju Air in $4.4b 40-plane Boeing order

  South Korean budget carrier Jeju Air has ordered 40 airplanes from US manufacturer Boeing for $4.4 billion, the airline said on Tuesday, one of the country's largest-ever aircraft purchases.  Jeju Air is placing firm orders for 40 B737-MAX 8 models, with deliveries running from 2022 to 2026, with options for 10 more, it said in a regulatory filing. (Yonhap)The firm was spending $4.4 billion to buy the planes, it said, describing the deal as the biggest contract by a South Korean carrier for a si

• 

  Baseball

  Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin 'confident' with gamble on self

  By accepting the Los Angeles Dodgers' one-year qualifying offer last week instead of testing the open market, South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin rolled the dice and gambled that he will have a strong 2019 season and his value will rise even higher next winter.And Ryu said Tuesday he was confident things will work out just fine."Considering how I feel physically, I thought I could be in an even better position next year," Ryu told reporters at Incheon International Airport after returning home to

• 

  North Korea

  Koreas to connect road inside heavily fortified DMZ

  The two Koreas will connect a road across the military demarcation line inside the Demilitarized Zone this week to support a joint project to excavate Korean War remains at a notorious battle site, a government source in Seoul said Tuesday.On Thursday, the two sides will connect the road at Arrowhead Ridge, or Hill 281, in Cheorwon, 90 kilometers northeast of Seoul -- a site that they have designated for the project to retrieve war remains from April to October next year. Troops engage in demini

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  Social affairs

  Police further investigate arrested middle schoolers over student’s death

  Police are conducting a school violence survey at a middle school attended by four students who were arrested in connection to their schoolmate’s death. Incheon Yeonsu Police Station said they began surveying students Tuesday, with the cooperation of the Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education, to discover other possible cases of violence inside the school. (Yonhap)Police have also discovered a record of bullying by one of the arrested teenagers in relation to another assault case earlier

• 

  Television

  Kim Sun-a discusses ‘fun’ thriller ‘Children of Nobody’

  Actress Kim Sun-a will play a counselor who works with children in MBC’s upcoming thriller “Children of Nobody.”Kim, who has a number of hit TV series under her belt, including “My Lovely Sam Soon,” will play Cha Woo-kyung on the Wednesday-Thursday show, which starts airing this week. Cha unravels a mystery surrounding a child, and she finds clues in poems.Speaking to the press during a showcase event on Tuesday, the actress said she had taken on the role because the original book was fun to rea

• 

  World News

  UN Command holds ceremony marking return of remains of US soldier

  The United Nations Command on Tuesday held a solemn ceremony marking the return of the remains of a US soldier who died during the 1950-53 Korean War, renewing its pledge to "leave no one behind."UNC Commander Gen. Robert B. Abrams officiated the event in Seoul for the serviceman whose remains were found in October last year in Yanggu, 175 kilometers northeast of Seoul. UNC Commander Gen. Robert B. Abrams(Yonhap)The soldier died in 1951 while fighting as part of the 32nd Infantry Regiment, the 7

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  World Business

  India to see highest GDP growth rate in Asia

  　The Asian Development Bank projected that India would see the highest gross domestic product growth rate in Asia in 2018 at 7.3 percent, though this is lower than the nation's growth rate of 6.7 percent in 2017. 　Vietnam and Bhutan are forecast to see the second-highest GDP growth rate in Asia at 7.1 percent. The former's growing workforce has been instrumental to its growth, boosted by export expansion, rising domestic consumption, strong investments, and a strengthening agriculture sector. Bh

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  After the US midterm elections

  The results of the recent midterm elections in the US were as predicted. Democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives, and Republicans retained control over the Senate. Democrats did slightly better than expected in the House of Representatives, but Republicans did slightly better in the Senate. The election fit closely with the historical pattern of the party of the incumbent president losing seats but fell short of being a wave election that gave control of both houses of Congr

• Columnists

  

  Two inscrutable things in Korea for foreigners

  Famous American poet William Carlos Williams was a pediatrician, so he thought of poetry as spiritual medicine that healed wounded souls. Interestingly enough, his contemporary, poet Wallace Stevens, was a lawyer, so he thought of poetry as a quest for the order of the universe. Another American poet, T.S. Eliot, was a banker who regarded poetry as spiritual wealth and treasure. Recently, one of my Spanish friends asked me, “In Korea, how could musicians hold a picket, demanding severer punishme

THE INVESTOR

• Samsung

  

  Samsung’s foldable smartphone to feature upgraded Bixby

  Tech giant Samsung Electronics held a developer conference on Nov. 20 in Seoul where it highlighted its vision for artificial intelligence solution Bixby.Many of the things introduced at the domestic event were already shared at the firm’s developer conference held earlier this month in San Francisco. They include an AI development kit available for any developer, called Bixby Developer Studio, and Bixby Marketplace through which users can find new AI functions and applications. I

• Startups & Investors

  

  The Investor’s Choice 2018 to crown top startups on Nov. 28

  The Investor’s Choice 2018, an awards ceremony focused on promising startups hosted by The Korea Herald’s investment news platform The Investor, will be held on Nov. 28.The one-day event aims to celebrate startups that have demonstrated the highest level of innovation this year and seeks to encourage open discussions about startups that are breaking new ground here. The ceremony will kick off with opening remarks by Herald Corp. Chairman Jungwook Hong. Fleur Pellerin, co-founder a

• Retail & Consumer

  

  [INTERVIEW] Hotels.com out to secure leadership position in Korea

  Hotels.com, a subsidiary of US online travel company Expedia Group, is looking to step into a leadership position in Korea by investing more in technology innovation, a top executive recently told The Investor in an exclusive interview. “We would like to move from being a challenger to leadership position. Our goal for the next 10 years is to become an industry leader here,” said Nelson Allen, general manager of Hotels.com’s Asia-Pacific region. He was in Seoul to participate in t

• The Boardroom

  

  Hanjin VS. KCGI: Second Round

  Fresh tension is brewing at Hanjin Group, which controls Korea’s largest airline, after a local activist fund made a surprise announcement last week that it has acquired a 9 percent stake in its holding firm Hanjin KAL, becoming its second-largest shareholder. The Seoul-based private equity firm KCGI said on Nov. 15 it has purchased 5,322,666 Hanjin KAL shares for 24,557 won (US$21.47) apiece through its subsidiary Grace Holdings. The firm’s present stake compares to the largest s

K-POP HERALD

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  NCT’s Lucas leads S.M. Station season 3

• 

  Wanna One sweeps music charts

• 

  Crush brings his A-game to N. America

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Television

  

  How Blair Williams ended up hosting family on South Korean TV

• Industry

  

  TMON envisions creating ‘online malling’ experience

• Foreign Policy

  

  ASEAN important for Korea’s peace as well as prosperity: ambassador

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  Tapping Korean experience to tackle world’s development challenges

PHOTO NEWS

• Culture

  

  Chefs awarded for ‘modern’ Korean food creations

  Three young Korean cuisine chefs were awarded Monday by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, for their innovative dishes using local ingredients. An event the same day invited a panel of judges to taste and evaluate 10 up-and-coming Korean chefs’ new creations at the Korean Cuisine Cultural Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)(Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)The contesting restaurants were selected at the start of this year a

VIDEO

• Education

  

  As flights stop, Korean students take Suneung test

• Technology

  

  Meet 'Faker': Korean League of Legends talent extraordinaire

• Television

  

  K-pop stars rock red carpet looks at 2018 MGA

• Music

  

  BTS on red carpet at 2018 MGA

FEATURES

• Economy

  

  Global economy will slow down further in 2019: think tank

  KIEP forecasts 3.5 percent growth for world economy next year

• North Korea

  

  North Korean state media denounces S. Korea’s military procurement program

  　North Korea on Tuesday ratcheted up its criticism of South Korea’s military procurement projects and a recent joint exercise it undertook with the US Marines, but struck a different tone on Iran’s efforts to expand its military capabilities. 　In an editorial titled “Unjustifiable move,” the state-run Rodong Sinmun denounced the South Korean military, saying the South had damaged the inter-Korean detente by purchasing an air-refueling tanker and surface-to-air missiles and by holding a joint exe

• Finance

  

  Korea urges financial firms to advance into Thailand

  FSS, KFB invite officials of Bank of Thailand for seminar with Korean banks, credit card companies

• Film

  

  ‘Default’ both shines and falls short in unexpected places

  When choosing a film to see, the lead actor often plays a major part in cinemagoers’ decisions. Lead actors take up much of the screen time, and thus their performances greatly influence how much the audience enjoys the picture. In rare cases, however, the main narrative can have less impact than the overall atmosphere of the film and the subplots. Director Choi Kook-hee’s drama “Default” is one that exceeded expectations in unexpected aspects.The film takes us back to 1997, to the eve of the wo