SPOTLIGHT

• World News

  

  Taiwan holds first gay marriages in historic day for Asia

  TAIPEI (AFP) -- Taiwan made history on Friday with Asia's first legal gay weddings as same-sex couples tied the knot in jubilant and emotional scenes, the culmination of a three-decade fight for equality.The weddings, which came a week after lawmakers took the unprecedented decision to legalise gay marriage despite staunch conservative opposition, places Taiwan at the vanguard of the burgeoning gay rights movement in Asia.Some dozen couples were among the first to arrive at a government office i

• Film

  

  ‘A Boy and Sungreen,’ a pleasant and loveable coming-of-age story

  Director Ahn Ju-young’s first feature film is not a masterpiece, yet it has a strange appeal to it.The narrative and the plot are a bit plain, and I felt like Ahn dropped the ball a bit in the climax, but it is well-cast, the two leads are fantastic and work extremely well together and the tone of the film is adorable. The small-budget film is getting barely any exposure, and without any big names and standout effects will likely drown rather quickly in sea of blockbuster films. But I feel like

• Technology

  

  Seoul to become first global city to use 5G network in public transit

  SK Telecom and Seoul city government agree to develop 5G-based map for self-driving cars

• Finance

  

  Inaugural Korea Fintech Week kicks off

  The inaugural Korea Fintech Week event kicked off in Seoul Thursday, bringing together more than 50 local startups and 2,500 attendees to share business ideas and clinch new investment opportunities.The three-day event taking place at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul through Saturday is organized by the Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service and Fintech Center Korea.The CEOs of fintech operators, including mobile payment platform Kakao Pay, personal finance management a

LATEST NEWS

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  Food

  Packages and promotions

  Avocado afternoon at Grand InterContinental Seoul ParnasLobby Lounge at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas presents the Avocado Royal High Tea Set.The set offers avocado cream dacquoise; avocado scones with clotted cream; avocado brownies; brioche sandwich with roasted avocado; roasted avocado stuffed with mushroom, spinach and chicken; and avocado salad with harissa shrimp. Guests can choose either coffee or tea to accompany the food. The set costs 75,000 won person. It is available from 2 p.m

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  Film

  Movies in theaters this week

  The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil(Korea)Opened May 15Crime, ActionDirected by Lee Won-taeA notorious gangster Jang Dong-soo (Ma Dong-seok) narrowly survives a random attack by a serial killer, and sets out to bring justice to his attacker in his own way: by brutally murdering him. At the same time, a cop Jung Tae-suk (Kim Mu-yeol) seeks to arrest the killer. The two men join forces to form the most unorthodox and perilous team, which will break down the moment they locate Kang.Miss & Mrs. Cop

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  Travel

  Festivals, sights across Korea

  Everland Rose FestivalLaunched in 1985, the long-running Everland Rose Festival opens every year in May. This year it continues until June 16. With a 20,000-square-meter rose garden, visitors can see various kinds of flowers while enjoying the amusement park.It is held inside Everland, South Korea’s largest theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and is open to visitors of all ages.To find out more about the event, including admission fees and how to get there, visit the homepage at everl

• 

  Industry

  Green magic blooms in heart of Seoul

  Farming in the densely populated city of Seoul is nothing new. Many urban farmers make use of vacant spaces on top of apartment buildings, schools and public buildings to grow vegetables. Some rent privately owned spaces to start their own green experiments. As of 2017, Seoul had 170 hectares of these farms, about the size of 238 soccer fields combined. In 2011, the figure was 29 hectares. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is a key backer of this growing urban farming trend.Earlier this year, it

• 

  Food

  Chef puts faith in gimbap

  Kim Rock-hun bent on giving Korea’s beloved street food a gourmet makeover

• 

  Automode

  Chinese minister plays down inter-Korean railway project

  LEIPZIG, Germany -- Chinese Transport Minister Li Xiaopeng on Thursday said that China is not going to be involved in an inter-Korean railway project, saying it is “their own business.”When asked about China’s role in facilitating the project of reconnecting the railroad between South and North Korea, he said the project should be carried out by both countries, clearly indicating that China won’t be involved.“Reconnecting the railway network between two Koreas is their own business, and they hav

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  Social affairs

  Hydrogen tank explosion kills 2 in Gangneung

  A hydrogen tank explosion killed two people and left six injured in the eastern city of Gangneung in South Korea, the firefighting authorities said Thursday. One was seriously injured and five others suffered minor injuries when the hydrogen tank blew up at Gangwon Technopark, a factory-type venture complex, in Gangneung, 240 kilometers east of Seoul, a spokeswoman at Gangwon Fire Headquarters said over the phone. (Yonhap)"We immediately deployed firefighters to the scene after receiving a call

• 

  Travel

  An eerie reminder of precarious peace at DMZ Peace Trail

  Cheorwon section of 3-route hiking trails at border area offers unique combination of history, nature

• 

  Life&Style

  ‘Avengers: Endgame’ becomes most-viewed foreign film in S. Korea

  　 “Avengers: Endgame” became the most-watched foreign film in South Korean history, with 13.4 million admissions, its distributor said.　The latest Marvel superhero flick set the record at around noon on Sunday, Walt Disney Company Korea said based on a real-time box-office tally from the Korean Film Council.　The previous No. 1 was “Avatar” (2009), which sold 13.30 million tickets from 2009 to 2010.

• 

  Industry

  Blizzard receives award for youth support

  Game publisher Blizzard Entertainment Korea received an award from the state-run Korea Student Aid Foundation on Thursday for supporting youths. Blizzard -- known for hit games “Starcraft,” “World of Warcraft,” “Hearthstone” and “Overwatch” -- has been providing scholarships and overseas training for youths who dream of careers in information technology and games.Since 2014, it has run the corporate social responsibility program Realize Your Dream in Korea.  Blizzard Entertainment Korea CEO Jeon

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Trump confronts China's tech threat

  Huawei’s name is often translated in English as “Chinese excellence.” The Trump administration last week embarked on a campaign to rebrand the tech giant, in effect, as a “Chinese threat” and check its expansion in the West. The Huawei assault may be the Trump administration’s most important long-term strategic decision, because it confronts China’s technological challenge to America head on. The goal is to prevent Huawei from dominating 5G wireless communications, the next phase of the digital

• Columnists

  

  Insatiable ‘historians,’ enough is enough

  Korea today has an abundant supply of photo artists, poets and historians. New smartphones are equipped with high-definition cameras of 12 to 16 megapixels, which can produce great pictures. But our amateur photographers, many of whom are old, need something different. They go about on city streets, mountains and seashores carrying branded cameras -- the digital version -- with long lenses and even tripods to take thousands of shots of anything within their sight. Poets, of course self-styled, m

THE INVESTOR

• Startups & Investors

  

  Wongnai aims to become Thailand’s Naver

  BANGKOK -- Thailand-based restaurant review platform operator Wongnai founder and CEO Yod Chinsupakul wants to turn the startup into a tech company that can run internet portals and search engines. “In South Korea, there is Naver. In Thailand, we don’t have a tech company doing something like this. Whatever it takes, and how long it takes, we need to make a big tech company in Thailand,” Chinsupaku said in an interview with The Investor. He also added that Thailand needs a unicorn and he hopes t

• Startups & Investors

  

  Exit Daejeon announces W14.2b startup funding agreement

  DAEJEON -- Startups from across South Korea, global startup community leaders and representatives of Daejeon Metropolitan City flocked to Daejeon Convention Center on May 23 to mark the end of the three-day Exit Daejeon 2019 event. Located some 140 kilometers south of Seoul, Daejeon served as a venue where local startups were given an opportunity for more international exposure. In the meantime, global startup community organizers like Slush and Junction, as well as early-stage startup investors

• Deals

  

  Corrugated fiberboard maker Tailim put up for sale

  South Korea’s biggest corrugated fiberboard makers Tailim Packaging and Tailim Paper are up for sale, according to industry sources on May 23. Seoul-based private equity firm IMM PE, the largest shareholder of the two companies, has sent out a memorandum to a dozen potential buyers via the deal manager, Morgan Stanley, sources said. The expected price for a 70.9 percent stake in Tailim Packaging and 100 percent of Tailim Paper ranges from 650 billion won ($546 million) to 1 trillion won. Tailim

• Industrials

  

  K-water hosts global forum to address water scarcity

  Experts discuss measures to tackle severe drought DAEJEON -- Scientists, government officials and representatives of global environmental organizations gathered in Daejeon City on Thursday to discuss water shortage around the world and possible response measures at the 2019 International Drought Forum.Organized jointly by Korea Water Resources Corp., or K-water, the South Korean Ministry of Environment and Asia Water Council, the forum running through Friday touches upon a range of issues relate

K-POP HERALD

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  R&B Singer Katie is ready to step back into the spotlight

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  Katie: “Log” review -- a rising R&B star

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  [V Report] BTS teases live-streaming of upcoming London concert

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Technology

  

  The Shortcut to train talent from diverse backgrounds

• Technology

  

  Line pushes Thai startups to scale up

• Food

  

  What makes a good bar, and a good bartender

• Technology

  

  ‘Fortnite billionaire’ envisions VR social media

PHOTO NEWS

• Industry

  

  Green magic blooms in heart of Seoul

  Farming in the densely populated city of Seoul is nothing new. Many urban farmers make use of vacant spaces on top of apartment buildings, schools and public buildings to grow vegetables. Some rent privately owned spaces to start their own green experiments. As of 2017, Seoul had 170 hectares of these farms, about the size of 238 soccer fields combined. In 2011, the figure was 29 hectares. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is a key backer of this growing urban farming trend.Earlier this year, it

VIDEO

• Technology

  

  ‘Fortnite billionaire’ envisions VR social media

• Food

  

  Traditional liquor-based cocktails beckon adventurous drinkers

• Automode

  

  Experts urge joint efforts for ASEAN EV market formation, growth

• Industry

  

  Blue Bottle Coffee opens first store in Korea

FEATURES

• Social affairs

  

  Korea’s farming population decreases 42% since 2000

  SEJONG -- South Korea saw the number and percentage of population engaged in agriculture continue to drop, though the number of urbanites returning or turning to farming has notably increased over the past decade.According to Statistics Korea, the number of farm population (farming-household population in official) stood at 2.31 million as of 2018, which is a decline by about 750,000 individuals in the 2010s, compared to 3.06 million in 2010. (Graphic by Heo Tae-seong/The Korea Herald)Further, g

• Economy

  

  In efforts to curb apartment prices, rate hikes seemingly pushed aside

  SEJONG -- The Moon Jae-in government has repeatedly expressed its commitment to lower housing prices in Seoul, amid an extraordinary situation in which many apartments surged in price more than 50 percent from late 2016 through 2018.Most of its anti-speculation measures have been mapped out by the Finance Ministry, the Land Ministry and the Financial Services Commission.But the presidential office has refrained from seeking to normalize apartment prices by normalizing interest rates. This is des

• Social affairs

  

  Surging Sejong population appeals to mega-shopping malls, hospitals

  SEJONG -- It is now seven years since the government relocated numerous ministries and agencies to the newly developed special autonomous city of Sejong, neighboring the northwestern part of Daejeon, as part of its efforts to decongest Seoul.Sejong has 14 dongs -- administrative divisions -- including Eojin-dong where the Government Complex is located, one eup -- town -- and nine myeons –- townships. (Graphic by Heo Tae-seong/The Korea Herald)Though the city is rapidly expanding, its infrastruct

• Social affairs

  

  We saw helicopters firing in Gwangju: US missionary

  GWANGJU -- Gwangju streets at this time of the year are full of banners on events related to the May 1980 Democratic Uprising as the city remembers the brutal military crackdown on protesting citizens under former President Chun Doo-hwan, with exhibitions, forums, music contests and food sharing.The deadly military crackdown left an estimated 160 dead and some 5,000 injured in the course of 10 days from May 18, 1980.Experts say the figure is expected to be higher given that many of the dead were