SPOTLIGHT

• Film

  

  Directors, producer of ‘Frozen 2’ to visit Korea

  The creative minds behind the highly anticipated sequel to hit Disney animation “Frozen” (2013) will visit Korea later this month. Walt Disney Co. Korea on Monday announced that directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, producer Peter Del Vecho and animation supervisor Lee Hyun-min of “Frozen 2” will visit Korea from Nov. 25-26 to meet with fans of the film.  They are expected to take part in a press conference, a showcase and other events to promote the film, though de

• Food&Beverage

  

  Michelin reveals new starred restaurants in Seoul

  Suspicions raised of interference in Michelin Guide Seoul’s selection

• Music

  

  Cellist-turned-conductor brings Norwegian trolls to Seoul

  As Peer Gynt enters the hall of the mountain king, he is scared yet fascinated by the sight of trolls. Peer Gynt stands before the king and the trolls roar in harmony, creating echoes throughout the hall. On Wednesday night, cellist-turned-conductor Chang Han-na and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra turned the concert hall at the Seoul Arts Center into the mountain king’s hall. They presented the Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, a collection of compositions conceived by Norwegian maestro Edvard Greig

• Industry

  

  Icelandic game company CEO says he prepared for Korean market for 20 years

  Hilmar Petursson ‘proud’ as he launches Eve Online in Korea

LATEST NEWS

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  K-pop

  Eric Nam talks about first English album, hopes of winning over global fans

  Although he doesn’t make as many TV appearances as he used to, Eric Nam’s musical career is in full swing -- more than ever, in fact. Over the past few years, the 30-year-old Korean American singer has made himself known both in the K-pop scene and elsewhere with world tours, genre-bending music and high-profile collaborations with world-renowned acts. But he decided to get more intimate with his global fans with his first English album, “Before We Begin.” “I’

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  Defense

  S. Korea, Japan to hold director-general talks this week ahead of planned GSOMIA expiry

  South Korea and Japan will hold working-level diplomatic talks this week ahead of the planned expiration of a military intelligence-sharing agreement between the two countries, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.    Kim Jung-han, director-general for Asian and Pacific affairs at the ministry, will travel to Tokyo later in the day for talks with his Japanese counterpart, Shigeki Takizaki, scheduled for Friday.     His trip comes as the General Security of Mi

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  Music

  Mamamoo drops 2nd full-length album, 'reality in BLACK'

  Roaring four-piece K-pop girl band Mamamoo dropped its second full-length album, "reality in BLACK," Thursday, returning to smash the music scene.     The 11-track album, the group's first full-length since "Melting" nearly four years ago, is fronted by brassy, girl-crush number, "HIP," but also carries the band's signature soulful vocal works.      With "HIP," the vocals-oriented band threw away their hand-held microphon

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  North Korea

  N. Koreans deported according to 'principles' and 'standards': official

  GANGHWA ISLAND, South Korea -- Last week's deportation from South Korea of two North Koreans accused of killing 16 fellow fishermen was carried out in accordance with appropriate "principles and standards," a high-ranking unification ministry official said.    The two men in their 20s were sent back to the North through the truce village of Panmunjom last week, five days after they were captured near the eastern inter-Korean sea boarder. Three days of investigation found

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  Social affairs

  S. Korea to conduct anti-fine dust exercise Friday

   The South Korean government will conduct an anti-fine dust exercise this week in an effort to minimize damage from the air pollution, officials said Thursday.    The exercise, slated for Friday, will involve the presidential office, a few ministries and 17 major city and provincial governments to test policy measures to cope with the fine dust air pollution which tends to be worse from December to March.     "The exercise is aimed at comprehensi

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  Industry

  G-Star 2019 sees record attendance from 36 countries

  BUSAN -- Korea’s annual game exhibition G-Star 2019 kicked off Thursday with a record number of participants at Bexco in Busan.The event had 3,208 booths representing 691 companies from 36 countries, the biggest so far for the 15-year-old industry showcase and an 8.2 percent growth from a year earlier, the organizers said. G-Star runs through Sunday, at two halls respectively holding business-to-consumer and business-to-business booths.On the sidelines of the exhibit are G-Con game co

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  Defense

  South Korea, US top military commanders discuss GSOMIA, OPCON transfer

  The top military commanders of South Korea and the United States discussed the allies’ military readiness and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula at the 44th Military Committee Meeting in Seoul on Thursday.South Korea’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Park Han-ki and his US counterpart Gen. Mark Milley were joined by some 20 officials from South Korea and 17 officials from the US, including US Indo-Pacific Command Commander Adm. Philip Davidson and US-ROK Combin

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  Culture

  A treasure house of antique books

  On the bustling main street of Insa-dong -- which once symbolized Korean traditional culture, but is now crowded with souvenir shops -- visitors nonchalantly pass by a store that holds centuries-old treasures.Tongmunkwan, the oldest bookstore in South Korea, keeps its door closed most of the time.  Stepping inside, one is instantly overwhelmed by its massive collection of antique books, stacked from floor to ceiling, and the thick smell of old volumes. The oldest here is from the late Gorye

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  North Korea

  N. Korea ranks 193rd out of 195 countries in ability to cope with epidemic

  　North Korea ranks 193rd out of 195 countries in terms of its ability to prevent, detect and respond to an epidemic, a recent global health security index showed.　The impoverished North scored 17.5 points in the index compiled by the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a US-based nonprofit organization, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, coming higher than only two countries -- Equatorial Guinea and Somalia.　The global average was 40.2 points.　Meanwhile, South Korea ranked 9th in the index

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  Defense

  Seoul says militaries support diplomatic efforts as Esper hints at altering joint military drills

  The Defense Ministry said Thursday the military authorities of Seoul and Washington support the diplomatic efforts for the denuclearization of North Korea, while the US defense chief hinted at the possibility of adjusting the scope of joint military drills.On the plane to Seoul to attend Friday’s Security Consultative Meeting, US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Wednesday he is open to adjusting the combined military exercises with South Korea if it can provide room for diplomacy with

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Viewpoints

  

  Popular protests carry serious risks

  People all over the world are resorting to mass demonstrations to express grievances and press unmet demands. While, in some ways, popular protests are a triumph of democratic principles and civic activism, they also carry serious risks, including violence by and against protesters. Their pervasiveness today points to a failure of governments, democratic and authoritarian alike, to hear, let alone meet, the needs of their people.The issues at stake are wide-ranging. In Catalonia, demonstrators a

• Viewpoints

  

  University program teaches ‘rule of law’ amid Sino-US tensions

  On every visit I’ve made to China, I’ve looked at issues connected with rule of law, a concept interpreted very differently here and in the US.On this trip, I decided to check out a joint program between Temple University and the law school at Tsinghua University, one of China’s finest, a program that is celebrating its 20th anniversary.Temple’s “Rule of Law” master’s degree program, taught on the sprawling, leafy Tsinghua campus, draws Chinese professio

THE INVESTOR

• Mobile & Internet

  

  Naver shares soar on Line-Yahoo Japan merger talks

  South Korean internet giant Naver’s shares soared 13 percent on Nov. 14 following news that its messenger app Line is mulling a merger with SoftBank-owned Yahoo! Japan. Japan’s media reports earlier said that SoftBank and Naver are considering to form a 50:50 venture that would control Z Holdings, which in turn will operate Line and Yahoo! Japan. On Nov. 14, Line, the most popular messenger in Japan, and Z Holdings admitted that they were in talks but nothing has been decided yet. As

• Retail & Consumer

  

  Iljin Materials receives W600b from STIC Investment

  South Korean battery developer Iljin Materials announced Nov. 13 that it has received 600 billion won ($512.47 million) in funding from local private equity firm STIC Investment through its unit in Malaysia.The PEF directly funded Iljn Materials Malaysia through a “STIC special situation fund 2,” which it established in August this year.The PEF will first invest around 300 billion won by buying the company’s convertible bonds this month and will decide the schedule for the rema

• Bio & Medicine

  

  Samsung Biologics receives ISO certification

  Samsung Biologics announced Nov. 14 that it has received 27001 security certification from the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization.The company emphasized that it is the first contract manufacturing organization to obtain ISO 27001 certification. German Ambassador to South Korea Stephan Auer awarded the certification on behalf of DQS, a Germany-based global institute with the authority to certify the effectiveness of companies’ information security management sy

• Samsung

  

  Samsung SDS holds developer conference in Seoul

  IT solutions developer Samsung SDS hosted Techtonic 2019, a developer conference for artificial intelligence, blockchain and cloud computing in Seoul on Nov. 14.The annual conference which was launched last year is aimed at sharing the firm’s cutting-edge technologies with developers, academia and students.  This year, some 1,200 participants took part in the conference.Samsung SDS Innovation Framework is a solution that helps companies to obtain strategic investments and technical ca

K-POP HERALD

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  Eric Nam talks about first English album, hopes of winning over global fans

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  Return of 1st-generation K-pop bands bring old fans back together

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  Blackpink becomes 1st K-pop group to have music video with over 1b YouTube views

HERALD INTERVIEW

• K-pop

  

  Zico returns with new reflective album ‘Thinking’

• Film

  

  Actress knocks up marionette story in directorial debut, ‘Judy and Punch’

• Arts&Design

  

  Shaping crude warmth into tableware and more

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  Korea must develop strategy to be seen as ‘attractive’: soft power expert

PHOTO NEWS

• Travel

  

  Legacy of 1st Korean pilot remains in Yeouido

  In the financial and banking district of Yeouido in the center of Seoul, part of the oldest airport in the country is preserved to remind people of South Korea’s aviation history.Korea’s very first airport was constructed in 1916 on Yeouido, which was a barren sandbank in the capital city, known as Gyeongseong at the time. In the times when the idea of flying was unfamiliar to most Koreans, tens of thousands gathered in Yeouido to watch world-famous American stunt pilot Art Smit

VIDEO

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  Mexico top diplomat in Seoul optimistic on Seoul’s Pacific Alliance associate membership prospects

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  ASEAN delegation relishes ASEAN-Korea Train, future of ASEAN-Korea

• Food&Beverage

  

  A mix of ‘nogari’ and beer in Euljiro, Seoul

• Industry

  

  Looking beyond today’s crises and into the future

FEATURES

• Social affairs

  

  Will K-pop singer Steve Yoo be allowed into South Korea?

  Once a K-pop icon, Steve Seung Jun Yoo, also known as Yoo Seung-jun, is ever closer to entering South Korea again for the first time in more than 16 years.With the exception of a brief sojourn in 2003, the Korean American singer and actor has not been able to set foot in his motherland since he chose to become a US citizen, which immediately relieved him of his duty to serve in the military in Korea. Korea’s Military Manpower Administration, or MMA, viewing his US naturalization in 20

• Social affairs

  

  Year of soccer, Olympics, elections coming up

  SEJONG -- The 2010s will terminate in about 50 days, and South Korean politics will face a turbulent time from the beginning of the 2020s as the nation has already entered the election mode for the 21st Assembly.In 2020, the general election for the National Assembly is slated for April 15, while there will be a presidential election in the US on Nov. 3.Meanwhile, next year will also feature big international sports events.People in Europe and across the globe are waiting for opening of the

• Politics

  

  President’s detractors cite economy as No. 1 reason

  But Moon supporters say prosecution reform is main factor: poll

• Health

  

  Using robotics in dementia prevention, care

  An orb with a set of ears, blinky eyes and the voice and speech manners of a chatty child is making advances in dementia therapy at a hospital in Seoul. Named Bomy, the robot assists cognitive training for patients in the early stages, or at the risk of developing dementia.Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital’s Robot-assisted Cognitive Training Center opened its doors in April, and is headed by Dr. Kim Geon-ha, a neurologist who has been researching related technologies since 2009. The