SPOTLIGHT

• Social affairs

  

  Vietnamese sailor found dead after S. Korean fishing boat fire, 1 still missing

  A Vietnamese sailor was found dead by the local coast guard in a bathroom at the stern of a South Korean fishing boat that caught fire. The 23-year-old went missing on Thursday morning, along with a Chinese sailor, after the boat caught fire at around 8:26 a.m. while out at sea. (Yonhap)The 29-year-old Chinese, who jumped off the boat to escape the fire, has not been found. The Korea Coast Guard has mobilized five patrol ships and eight privately-owned lifeboats to search for the missing victim.

• Industry

  

  Naver updates translation service for Korean honorifics

  South Korean internet giant Naver released an update to its online translation service that is capable of rendering English into honorific Korean, as foreign users have often found it difficult to replace English words with formal and polite Korean expressions.　According to Naver on Thursday, users who update the company’s automated translation app, Papago, can receive translations in honorific Korean if they turn on the “honorific button” in the input box. 　Currently, the updated service is ava

• Book Review

  

  New guidebook to help tourists ‘live like a local’ in Seoul

  ‘A Curated Guide: Seoul’ takes travelers beyond Myeong-dong, Hongdae and Gangnam

• Arts&Design

  

  With lights, mythical creatures come to life

  Korean artists Kwon Ha-youn and Jin Si-yon have installed their media artworks at a pavilion outside the Times Square building in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.Under the title of “Lunar Fantasy with Ancient Auspicious Animals,” the two Korean artists have presented their own digital renderings of eight mythical creatures from the Chinese tradition of Feng Shui, which are believed to bring luck, prosperity and wealth.  A pavillion in front of Times Square building in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (Gana Art)“

LATEST NEWS

• 

  Defense

  Seoul-Takyo radar row continues, despite talks

  The end does not seem near for the ongoing radar row between Seoul and Tokyo, as the two governments continue to clash after a recent general-level meeting. The radar row erupted last month when Japan claimed that South Korea’s naval warship had locked its weapons-targeting radar onto its warplane. Korea has rejected the allegation and maintains it was on a humanitarian rescue mission of a North Korean fishing boat adrift in the overlapping exclusive economic zones of South Korea and Japan. The

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  Arts&Design

  JR to unveil new, bigger Louvre project

  Speaking at his first Seoul exhibition, 'photograffeur' talks about how his work interacts with public, upcoming installation in Paris

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  Culture

  A seer’s guide to marriage

  Gunghap compares couple’s saju to determine compatibility

• 

  Social affairs

  Jobless rising fastest among 40-somethings

  SEJONG – With the 2018 GDP growth rate estimated to be stuck at about 2.7 percent, concerns and uncertainty are growing among middle-aged salaried employees.Weakening profitability and lackluster business confidence for the coming months have led more enterprises to cut their payrolls. 　Over the past decade or more, companies’ main solution for difficulties has been to reduce costs through voluntary redundancy programs. Early retirees are usually paid a lump sum in addition to statutory severanc

• 

  Film

  Hip-hop film seeks to show realities of life in the Philippines

  Director says arts to play role in promoting respect, human rights amid ongoing oppression

• 

  International

  Trump names Korean-American woman as USAID assistant administrator

  The US President Donald Trump has named Mina Chang, a 32-year-old Korean-American who heads an international relief organization, as the assistant administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.  Mina Chang (right) stands next to former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. This photo was published on Mina Chang`s official Facebook on Nov. 12, 2015.According to a report by a Korea-American media outlet Thursday, Trump has requested the US Senate’s confirmation of the nom

• North Korea

  South Korea, US to seek UN sanctions exemption for inter-Korean projects

  Working-level officials from South Korea and the US agreed on Thursday that a sanctions exemption was needed to enable the two Koreas to carry out joint projects and said they would ask the United Nations Security Council to waive related restrictions. According to the Foreign Ministry, the two countries reached consensus during a videoconference that it was necessary to bring electronic devices into North Korea for two inter-Korean projects -- surveys to prepare for the reconnection of cross-bo

• 

  Social affairs

  Seoul to add 90 native English teachers this year

  Teachers’ group demands scrapping of native English teacher placements at elementary schools

• 

  Industry

  An afternoon in a hanok

  North European and classic American styles have prevailed among interior design fanatics in South Korea in recent years.But before the invasion of Western culture, it was mostly wooden furniture -- made from either maple or paulownia -- that was favored by aristocrats in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Korea Furniture Museum in Seongbuk-dong, northern Seoul, invites visitors to take a break -- and perhaps, travel back in time -- inside hanok, or traditional Korean houses, where more than 2,500

• 

  Social affairs

  More than 70 percent of new mothers use postnatal care center, spend W2.2m on average

  Over 70 percent of South Korean mothers who had just delivered their babies used a postnatal care center for about two weeks, on average paying 2.21 million won ($1,970), a survey shows.The Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted a survey of some 2,911 new mothers who delivered a baby in 2017. According to the poll released Thursday in which multiple responses were allowed, 75.1 percent of respondents said they used a postnatal care center. Some 70 percent responded they went home while 19.8 pe

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Trump has squandered opportunity his populist campaign offered

  US President Donald Trump is giving an unintentional gift to the burgeoning field of Democratic presidential candidates: He is teaching them how they can win.Trump’s failure as president is that he hasn’t forged a governing party that can unite the country, pass legislation and address America’s problems. He has succeeded in creating an insurgency that has toppled the traditional Republican establishment and intimidated Republican Party members of Congress into stunned, appalled silence. But wit

• Columnists

  

  Why not scrap faulty campaign pledges?

  During the 2017 presidential election following the exit of Park Geun-hye, candidate Moon Jae-in promised the relocation of the presidential office to the central Seoul location of Gwanghwamun from its secluded present position. A year and seven months after he won the election, President Moon scrapped the plan.His campaigners said Cheong Wa Dae was too big and its area too wide to serve as an effective workplace for the chief executive of the state. Compared to the White House in Washington, El

THE INVESTOR

• Startups & Investors

  

  Kakao Mobility’s woes over carpooling service expected to linger

  Kicker: Taxi associations not ready to compromise yet

• Blockchain

  

  Crypto exchange Bithumb scales down on poor market conditions

  BTC Korea, operator of Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, is paring down its workforce as the market is showing no signs of an upturn, according to industry sources on Jan. 17.Once the largest crypto exchanges in the country, Bithumb has retrenched 30 employees, accounting for about 10 percent of its workforce. The company offered retirement packages that included support to help them change jobs.  Passengers look at the price board of cryptocurrencies in front of Bi

• Bio & Medicine

  

  KPBMA aims to make Korea pharma powerhouse

  Korea’s largest biopharmaceutical business association announced on Jan. 17 that it aims to boost the local industry in 2019 and make it a global powerhouse.“This year, we must use all our capabilities to establish a foundation to become a global pharma powerhouse.” Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association Chairman Won Hee-mok said during a New Year’s press conference in Seoul.  Korea Pharmaceutical and Bio-Pharma Manufacturers Association Chairman Won Hee-mok

• Mobile & Internet

  

  KT, Hyundai Mobis to jointly test 5G-enabled cars

  Telecom firm KT said on Jan. 17 that it will work with auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis to develop technologies for connected vehicles running the 5G network.As the first step, the telco has installed 5G facilities and devices at the Hyundai Motor Group subsidiary’s test-driving center in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province. The two companies had signed a memorandum of understanding in August. Deployment of the 5G network for a private company’s research project is the first of its k

K-POP HERALD

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  ‘Save Me’ delves into BTS’ world view

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  SHINee’s Key, Minho to enlist in military

• 

  Winner kicks off US tour in Seattle

HERALD INTERVIEW

• People

  

  Englishmen in Seoul, London and all over YouTube

• Automode

  

  Audi Volkswagen steps up to support Korea’s Industry 4.0 drive

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  Imagining a bona fide global Korea

• People

  

  Life beyond the lens

PHOTO NEWS

• Industry

  

  An afternoon in a hanok

  North European and classic American styles have prevailed among interior design fanatics in South Korea in recent years.But before the invasion of Western culture, it was mostly wooden furniture -- made from either maple or paulownia -- that was favored by aristocrats in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Korea Furniture Museum in Seongbuk-dong, northern Seoul, invites visitors to take a break -- and perhaps, travel back in time -- inside hanok, or traditional Korean houses, where more than 2,500

VIDEO

• Music

  

  WJSN sings about complications of love in ‘La La Love’

• Television

  

  GOT7’s ‘Real Thai’ offers adventure, authentic side of Thailand

• Industry

  

  How Imvely became South Korean women’s fashion and beauty icon

• Music

  

  D-Crunch hopes to spread own stories around the world

FEATURES

• Social affairs

  

  Thunderbird at forefront of nurturing global leaders in Industry 4.0

  Thunderbird School of Global Management opens office in Seoul

• Social affairs

  

  16-years on, Lotto still generates disputes, complaints

  SEJONG -- South Korea’s biggest lottery “Lotto 6/45” has entered its 17th year, with more than 5,600 citizens netting the weekly jackpot since 2002.The jackpots ranged from 40.7 billion won ($36.4 million) to 405 million won – before tax of 22 percent for winnings up to 300 million won and 33 percent for any additional winnings above that. The average pre-tax prize over the past 16 years was 2.02 billion won per winner. (Korea Herald)The Finance Ministry allowed the Internet sales of Lotto ticke

• Social affairs

  

  ‘Korea may have to import surgeons in the future’

  Poor working conditions and unclear future make them unattractive to aspiring doctors

• Industry

  

  Dawn delivery takes retail industry by storm

  In recent years, South Korea’s door-to-door delivery service has evolved to allow customers to expect their parcels the very next day, or within 2 to 3 days at maximum. While much of this dynamic still stands, e-commerce companies and retail giants have rolled out a “dawn delivery” service, striving to cut down delivery times even further. Dawn delivery allows orders to be placed as late as midnight with deliveries guaranteed to arrive by 7 a.m. the next day. Daily necessities and perishable fre