SPOTLIGHT

• Music

  

  Ode to Kobe: Korean rapper pays tribute to retired NBA superstar

  Black Mamba may be gone but he will always be remembered, even among Korean fans as rapper myunDo is set to release a tribute song for the retired L.A. Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.myunDo said that he decided to release “Black Mamba” because he was deeply sorry for Bryant’s departure as a long-time fan. The Lakers’ shooting guard hung up his sneakers last year after wrapping up his highly-decorated 20-year career. The Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant salutes the crowd after his final game, on Apr

• Music

  

  EXO to bring ‘ElyXiOn’ to Gocheock Sky Dome

  EXO will hold its fourth solo concert “EXO Planet #4 -- The ElyXiOn” from Nov. 24-26 at Gocheok Sky Dome, Seoul, its agency S.M. Entertainment said Thursday. It is the group’s first concert at the venue in two years since it held “2015 EXO-Love Concert in Dome” in October 2015.Gocheok Sky Dome, the first domed baseball stadium here, accommodates more than 22,000 spectators. EXO was the first-ever act to hold a concert at the site and will again be the first to hold a second concert.  A promotion

• 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

• 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

LATEST NEWS

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  Film

  Busan film festival audience up 17 pct to top 190,000

  The number of attendees at this year's Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) increased about 17 percent from last year to top 190,000, its organizer said Saturday.The 22nd BIFF opened in Busan on Oct. 12 and closed its 10-day run after featuring 299 movies from 69 countries which have been shown on 32 screens at five theaters in the southern South Korean port city. World and international premieres reached 99 and 31, respectively. (Yonhap)In a closing news conference, the BIFF organizing comm

• 

  Politics

  Moon likely to speak as early as Sunday on recommendation for resuming reactor construction

  President Moon Jae-in is expected to state his position as early as Sunday on an independent state panel's recommendation that the government resume the construction of two nuclear power reactors that Moon had pledged to abandon during the election campaign, sources said Saturday.The panel unveiled the recommendation Friday, saying an official survey of 471 people selected for the jury showed that 59.5 percent support the resumption of the construction of the Shin Kori-5 and Shin Kori-6 reactors

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  Music

  Singer-actor Choi Si-won apologizes for death of neighbor bitten

  Korean singer and actor Choi Si-won on Saturday offered an apology over the death of a local businesswoman who recently died after being attacked by his family's pet dog at an apartment in southern Seoul.The 30-year-old Choi, who gained fame as a member of the Korean boy band Super Junior, said in his social media post that he is deeply sorry for the death of his neighbor bitten by a dog raised by his family and offered an apology to the bereaved family.(Yonhap)News reports said earlier that the

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  Social affairs

  Deeper NIS involvement found in plot to have Kim's Nobel prize

  The National Intelligence Service had provided a conservative civic group with the Norwegian Nobel Committee's address during the previous Lee Myung-bak administration as they worked together to have the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to former President Kim Dae-jung revoked, investigators said Saturday.Prosecutors have found that after Kim's death in 2009, the NIS and the rightist group discussed a plan to petition the Norwegian Nobel Committee to strip Kim of the prize in a bid to block nation

• 

  North Korea

  N. Korea's top university to admit more foreign students

  Kim Il Sung University, North Korea's most prestigious seat of higher learning, plans to open its doors wider to foreign students by expanding major studies available for them, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper published in Japan said Saturday.According to the Choson Sinbo, international students will be allowed to major in various economics and social science studies, including philosophy, law and history, in addition to literature, at Kim Il Sung University, starting next year. (Yonhap)At present, abo

• 

  North Korea

  Trump visit to DMZ could provoke N. Korea: US expert

  North Korea could feel threatened if U.S. President Donald Trump visits the demilitarized zone on the inter-Korean border next month, a U.S. expert said Friday.Trump could include a trip to the buffer zone dividing South and North Korea when he visits Seoul from Nov. 7-8, according to news reports. There are concerns it could provoke Pyongyang amid high tensions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.(Yonhap)“They’re seeing almost everything as a threat,” Sue Mi Terry, a former

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  Social affairs

  Two former NIS officials arrested for involvement in interference in politics

  Two former senior officials of the National Intelligence Service were arrested Saturday for their alleged roles in the spy agency’s interference in domestic politics during the past two conservative administrations.The Seoul Central District Court issued arrest warrants for the two -- Shin Seung-kyun, a former chief of the NIS’ office for national interest strategy, and Yoo Sung-ok, who served as chief of the agency’s psychological warfare team -- saying they may attempt to flee or destroy evide

• 

  Foreign Affairs

  Tehran mayor hopes for Korean firms' investment in Iran

  Tehran Mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi on Friday expressed hopes for South Korean companies' investment in the country, especially in the construction, manufacturing and energy sectors.He was in Korea to attend the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth, an international mayors' forum jointly hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and OECD.(Yonhap)"I met with a dozen Korean industries to talk about business opportunities... We expect their participation in our city transportation projects, suc

• 

  Food

  Yeongeun jorim (sweet soy braised lotus root)

  Yeongeun jorim is a popular fall side dish that’s made with lotus roots. It’s sweet, savory, and crunchy! It surely deserves a spot on your favorite basic side dish (mitbanchan) list.To make the dish, you first peel and slice the lotus roots, and then pre-boil in water with a little bit of vinegar before braising. This is a technique Korean home cooks use to reduce the starch level and remove any bitterness from the lotus root.  Yeongeun jorim (sweet soy braised lotus root)As for the braising li

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  Industry

  Consumer orientation highest in cosmetics, lowest in auto repairs: data

  The cosmetic sector turned out to be the most consumer-oriented in the goods and services market, while the automobile repairs sector was the most detached from customer feedback, data showed Friday.According to a survey conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency, the cosmetic sector scored 80.3 in the consumer market evaluation index, while the car repairs sector stood at 75.9. The market average for 47 individual sectors was 78.1, up 1.3 points from 2015.Also, the average for products sectors was

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Courageous Macron leans to the right

  After visiting France as a guest of honor at the Bastille Day parade earlier this year, US President Donald Trump said of French President Emmanuel Macron, “He‘s a great guy -- smart, strong, loves holding my hand.” A couple of months later, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Macron repaid the compliment during a press conference with Trump: “I have to say just for the American people, that our people in France were very proud to have you and your wife, Melania, in Paris ... for

• 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

THE INVESTOR

• Start-ups

  

  [INTERVIEW] Skelter Labs seeks to be AI game-changer

  Placing big bets on artificial intelligence, tech giants like Google, Microsoft, IBM and Samsung have been making huge investments, rolling out their own versions of AI-based assistants.So far, they have mostly been in the form of digital assistants that understand natural language queries. The products in the market, however, are not sophisticated enough to cater to the real needs of people. Ted Cho, CEO of Skelter LabsTo take the next step, and prepare adequately, it’s all about

• LG

  

  LG, Qualcomm join hands for autonomous car push

  LG Electronics is teaming up with Qualcomm Technologies to jointly develop telecommunication solutions for self-driving cars -- a crucial tie-up for the two tech giants to gain an upper hand in the burgeoning industry. The two firms said on Oct. 19 they will develop a so-called vehicle-to-everything technology based on the next-generation 5G network that enables cars to communicate with other cars, traffic infrastructure and even pedestrians. Even though cameras and sensors are co

• 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

K-POP HERALD

• 

  EXO to bring ‘ElyXiOn’ to Gocheock Dome

• 

  Taeyang, CL, Oh Hyuk team up for new show

• 

  Up10tion walks the runway

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Economy

  

  ‘Korea should take leadership in the world intellectual property sector’

• 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

PHOTO NEWS

• Culture

  

  Letting loose in sea of birch trees

  Every year around this time of the season, Korea’s forests turn into a palette of colors, palpably signaling the onset of autumn and advent of winter on the horizon.Wondaeri Birch Forest in Inje County, Gangwon Province, is an ideal place to experience the fall foliage, as groves and greeneries bring out their inner colors of reds, scarlets and ambers toward a clear blue sky. The park, which opened in 2012 as an ecological tourism site, has over 700,000 birch trees that were planted between 1989

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

• Culture

  

  Girls’ Generation’s stylist caps K-pop fashion industry over years

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

• 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

• 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