SPOTLIGHT

• Fashion

  

  Coloring eyes in pastel hues

  Local colored contact lens market grows in international popularity

• Music

  

  GOT7 ranks No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot Tours Top 10

  K-pop boy band GOT7 has made its debut on Billboard’s Hot Tours chart, ranking No. 9 on Saturday. (JYP Entertainment)According to Billboard, it is first time that GOT7 has ranked on the Hot Tours chart although it has appeared several times on other ranks including No. 1 on the World Albums chart four times and No. 2 on Social 50 chart. The group performed at The Forum in Inglewood, California,in front of some 9,600 fans. The show earned 1.4 billion won ($1.3 million), which placed GOT7 on the “

• Music

  

  Tickets to BTS' first concert in US sell out

  Tickets for K-pop boy band BTS' first concert in a US stadium sold out as soon as sales began, the group's management agency said Saturday.The seven-member K-pop sensation will perform at New York City's Citi Field Stadium on Oct. 6 as part of its world tour of 16 countries, including Canada, Britain, Germany and France. The band will begin the tour with local concerts in Seoul slated for Aug. 25-26.BTS will become the first South Korean singers to hold a solo concert at the home ballpark of the

• Music

  

  iKon kicks off world tour with Seoul concert

  K-pop act iKon kicked off its international tour with a concert in Seoul on Sunday, which marked its first solo concert in the city in over two years.The concert, held at Olympic Gymnastics Arena, captivated 10,000 fans for nearly three hours, with the band performing for almost an hour after the prescheduled performance had wrapped up.The seven-piece act showcased its hits, along with the single “Climax,” which it recorded and released in 2013 prior to its official debut. (YG Entertainment)Afte

LATEST NEWS

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  Soccer

  S. Korea crush Maldives 8-0 in women's football

  South Korea beat the Maldives 8-0 in their women's football match at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia on Sunday.   Son Hwa-yeon scored a hat trick at Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium in Palembang, Indonesia, to lead South Korea to the quarterfinals regardless of their final Group A match against Indonesia on Tuesday. South Korea defeated Chinese Taipei 2-1 in their opening match on Thursday.   Chelsea Ladies forward Ji So-yun converted the penalty kick in the 25th minute to open the scoring for South K

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  Sports

  S. Korean mixed shooting team wins silver

  The South Korean mixed pistol shooting team of Lee Dae-myung and Kim Min-jung captured a silver medal at the 18th Asian Games on Sunday.Lee and Kim finished second in the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event with a score of 467.6 points at Shooting Range inside Jakabaring Sports City in Palembang, a co-host city of the Asian Games along with Jakarta. Wu Jiayu and Ji Xiaojing of China took the gold with 473.2 points. This was Lee's eighth Asian Games medal and Kim's first. South Korean mixed pist

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  North Korea

  89 elderly South Koreans await reunion with North Korean families

  The first group of elderly South Koreans selected to reunite with their relatives in North Korea this week -- the first such group in almost three years -- gathered in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, Sunday, to prepare for their journey across the DMZ.The 89 South Koreans will meet family members they had been separated from by the Korean War from Monday to Wednesday.According to South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, they will be briefed on reunion procedures and protocols Sunday before heading to th

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  Sports

  Taekwondo poomsae practitioner Kang Min-sung wins S. Korea's 1st gold

  Taekwondo poomsae practitioner Kang Min-sung won South Korea's first gold medal at the 18th Asian Games on Sunday.   Kang, 20, defeated Koorosh Bakhtiyar of Iran in the men's individual poomsae final to claim a gold medal at the Asian Games in Indonesia. This was also South Korea's second medal at Jakarta-Palembang 2018. Earlier, Yun Ji-hye took bronze in the women's individual poomsae.    South Korea's taekwondo poomsae practitioner Kang Min-sung overwhelmed after winning the country's first go

• 

  Social affairs

  “South Korea is no country for women”: Women’s groups protest acquittal of top politician

  Some 20,000 South Korean women gathered in central Seoul on Saturday to protest the court’s recent decision to acquit a powerful politician of sexual abuse charges, claiming the judiciary is now complicit in gender-based violence that has prevailed in the country. 　An Hee-jung, the former South Chungcheong Province governor and a onetime presidential contender, was found not guilty of sexual assault through abuse of authority Tuesday. An’s trial had been considered one of the highest profile cas

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  Foreign Affairs

  Gangbuk First: Seoul City to invest W1tr to tackle regional inequality

  Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon announced Sunday that the city government would invest 1 trillion won ($893 million) to tackle regional inequality within Seoul. 　According to the plans, the city government will introduce a set of investment measures to prioritize the development of northern Seoul -- including a plan to establish four new metro lines and relocate a number of government offices to the relatively lesser developed parts of the South Korean capital. 　The announcement was made after Park mo

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  North Korea

  N. Korea accepts on-site inspection of missile launch site: report

  North Korea has agreed to an on-site inspection of its missile launch site by international officials to ensure the safety of international flights, a report said Sunday.According to the report by Japan's Kyodo News, the communist state has agreed to allow a group of inspectors from the UN International Civil Aviation Organization to access its missile launch sites.The report suggested the planned visit is aimed at verifying the measures taken so far by the North to keep unannounced missile laun

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  Social affairs

  Dismembered body at Seoul Grand Park identified

  Police have identified a dismembered body found in a thicket near Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, as a man in his 50s who was a resident in the region.Namyangju Police said it identified the man by the fingerprints left on the body.The police plan to narrow down the list of suspects by investigating those who knew the deceased.  Bushes near Seoul Grand Park where a dismembered body was found on Sunday. (Yonhap)Earlier on Sunday at around 9:40 a.m., the torso of a man was found b

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  Economy

  Market slump raises doubts on Kosdaq revitalization initiative

  Concerns have been mounting recently that despite the government’s continued efforts, the secondary stock market Kosdaq may continue to struggle throughout the year due to sluggish investor sentiment here and external trade challenges.The Kosdaq index on Thursday dived into the 740s, nearing the year’s record-low of 744.11, a figure observed on July 25, according to the nation’s bourse Korea Exchange and Ministry of SMEs and Startups on Sunday.The index soon rebounded to the 770 point range, clo

• Columnists

  China’s summer of discontent

  Politics has a nasty habit of surprising us -- especially in a country like China, where there is little transparency and a lot of intrigue. Five months ago, President Xi Jinping jolted his countrymen by abolishing the presidential term limit and signaling his intention to serve for life. But the real surprise was to come later.At the time of Xi’s announcement, the conventional wisdom was that his dominance inside the Chinese party-state was virtually absolute, and thus that his authority could

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Erdogan makes some worrying friends

  Relations between the US and Turkey have been deteriorating almost as fast as the Turkish lira. In a speech on the Black Sea coast Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the ultimate dig against an ally: He threatened to switch teams.　“Before it is too late, Washington must give up the misguided notion that our relationship can be asymmetrical and come to terms with the fact that Turkey has alternatives,” he told the crowd. If the “disrespect” continues, his government will seek “

• Columnists

  

  Worst lawlessness reigns in Street of Justice

  The new Seoul Eastern Detention House, or “Dongbu Guchiso,” is located on Jeongui-ro, or “Justice Street,” in Munjeong-dong. Across the street are the Seoul Eastern District Court and Seoul Eastern Prosecutors’ Office adjoining each other. Opened a little over a year ago, Dongbu Guchiso has become the judgment grounds of old power, as it accommodates many “celebrities” from the administrations of presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye who are being prosecuted under the Moon Jae-in government

THE INVESTOR

• Mobile & Internet

  

  Foldable patent applications on rise in Korea

  Korean tech giants are competitively filing patents related to foldable panels in a move to make a breakthrough in the smartphone industry slowed down by limits of hardware innovation.　Over the last six years, a total of 276 patents related to foldable panels were applied for in Korea, with 210 patents filed in the last three years, according to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on August 19. LG Display has applied for the highest number of patents (94), followed by its riva

• Retail & Consumer

  

  Sulbing’s plans to takeoff overseas face strong headwinds

  Korean dessert cafe franchise Sulbing has some ambitious plans for this year. “We’re aiming to open 40 stores by the year-end,” the firm said in a statement on Aug. 8 as it announced its first outlet in Cambodia. “We are confident of attracting global customers with our know-how for making Korean desserts.”On the opening day in Cambodia, its outlet attracted over 300 local customers, according to the company. Sulbing also operates in seven other countries outside of Korea, includi

• Economy

  

  Market slump raises doubts on Kosdaq revitalization initiative

  Concerns have been mounting recently that despite the government’s continued efforts, the secondary stock market Kosdaq may continue to struggle throughout the year due to sluggish investor sentiment here and external trade challenges.　The Kosdaq index on August 16 dived into the 740s, nearing the year’s record-low of 744.11, a figure observed on July 25, according to the nation’s bourse Korea Exchange and Ministry of SMEs and Startups on August 19. The index soon rebounded to the

• Startups & Investors

  

  When startups are nipped in the bud

  With widespread internet connectivity, high receptiveness to new technologies and a trend-conscious public, South Korea is arguably the optimal market for startups to introduce and test new tech-based services.　 　Despite these opportunities, however, Korea can also be one of the most challenging places for startups due to rigid regulations that often shut down or limit the growth of new business models, such as those in high-growth sectors like smart mobility and financial technol

K-POP HERALD

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  Cha Eun-woo is having a breakthrough

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  Red Velvet tops brand reputation ranking

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  Stray Kids drops ‘My Pace’ dance video

HERALD INTERVIEW

• North Korea

  

  Playing ping-pong across the border

• Music

  

  ‘We will keep evolving, regardless of our age,’ says Super Junior D&E

• Social affairs

  

  Legislation Minister makes reducing discrimination her mission

• Finance

  

  Balancehero urges govt. to support firms targeting India entry

PHOTO NEWS

• North Korea

  

  89 elderly South Koreans await reunion with North Korean families

  The first group of elderly South Koreans selected to reunite with their relatives in North Korea this week -- the first such group in almost three years -- gathered in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, Sunday, to prepare for their journey across the DMZ.The 89 South Koreans will meet family members they had been separated from by the Korean War from Monday to Wednesday.According to South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, they will be briefed on reunion procedures and protocols Sunday before heading to th

VIDEO

• Music

  

  MXM returns with self-produced album ‘More Than Ever’

• Food

  

  Fish in water? Sliced fish in chilled broth

• Television

  

  Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin talk about remote-acting in ‘The Negotiation’

• Food

  

  Snake-like creature writhes, squirms on grill

FEATURES

• Industry

  

  Jin Air to retain business license

  South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Friday that it had decided not to revoke the business license of Korean Air’s budget affiliate, Jin Air. The budget carrier came under fire in April for having a US citizen, Cho Hyun-min, on its board of directors. For security reasons, foreign nationals cannot serve as board members at Korean airlines under the nation’s aviation law. In April, it was revealed that Cho, the younger daughter of Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho, had

• Culture

  

  Young Koreans ride ‘ripples of love’ on mobile platforms

  From dating apps to mobile messaging, unique rules of romantic engagement emerge

• North Korea

  

  N. Korea says US ‘responsible’ for declaring end to war

  North Korea on Friday stepped up demands for the US to declare a formal end to the Korean War amid expectations of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s imminent visit to Pyongyang. Kim Jong-un (Yonhap)North Korea’s state-run Rodong Sinmun said in an article that the US has “responsibility and duty” to declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War in response to the North’s “good-will gestures” and “generosity.”“The US should show mutual trust through phased and simultaneous action by adopting the decl

• Social affairs

  

  After plastic-cup ban in cafes, some Koreans are ‘fed up’ with the new rule

  Han Ji-young, a professional in her 30s, was almost late for work last week. As she does every morning, she visited her go-to cafe to grab coffee on the way to her office in southern Seoul. The queue was unusually long that day, she said, partly because of the hot weather. When she finally got her coffee, after minutes of waiting, she realized the beverage was served in a glass mug, not the plastic cup that she usually gets for take-out drinks.　“It turns out, one of the staff members at the cafe