SPOTLIGHT

• Music

  

  Lee Seung-hwan, CJ to provide leg up for indie musicians

  By Yoon Min-sik

  Three-man rock band iamnot will take the stage in front of a 2,000-strong audience in October as part of CJ Culture Foundation and singer Lee Seung-hwan’s joint project to support up-and-coming indie musicians.The project, which will launch with iamnot’s concert in October, plans to support local aspiring musicians by enabling them to hold bigger stage performances.Lee, a local music legend with a 28-year career under his belt, said there are a lot of talented musicians in the indie scene. Lee S

• Music

  

  Pentagon solid with self-produced ‘Demo_01’

  By Hong Dam-young

  For K-pop artists, pursuing their own projects is a big step forward as many of them find it hard to cultivate their creative sides in the midst of hectic schedules. But for this 10-member K-pop boy band Pentagon, making a quick return to the scene with a new record packed with self-produced songs less than a year after its debut, and only two months after dropping its last record, meant something bigger than a step forward.  Ten-piece boy band Pentagon performs during a media showcase for its f

• Expat Living

  

  The unspoken language of tango

  By Anita Mckay

  Cultural differences pose no barrier to Korea’s tango community

• Expat Living

  

  Latin American group seeks to ‘bridge gap’ between Latin America and Korea

  By Anita Mckay

  When Juan David Mateo Salazar Castro arrived in Korea two years ago from Colombia, he was overwhelmed with culture shock. Unable to find information on life here geared toward Latin Americans, the 25-year-old set out to fill the void. “I came in the summer and everything was so crazy for me at the beginning. People’s outfits, how they behave, the food. It was really difficult,” he said. After discussing the lack of resources with a friend, they decided to create content to “bridge the gap betwee

LATEST NEWS

• 

  Finance

  Labor-friendly government boosts confidence of financial unions

  Unions of FSS, banks raise voices over leadership appointments

• 

  Diplomatic Circuit

  Putin ‘casually late’ for summit with President Moon

  Russian President Vladimir Putin showed up 30 minutes late for the summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday, once again living up to his reputation for tardiness.Bilateral talks between the two leaders were scheduled for 1 p.m. local time. President Moon flew to Vladivostok and headed straight to Far Eastern Federal University, where the summit was set to take place. Moon arrived on time, but was kept waiting. No explanation was given for the tardiness. However, Putin has a re

• 

  Columnists

  How fog of uncertainty can lead to war

  When today’s historians look at the confrontation between the United States and North Korea, they’re likely to hear echoes of ultimatums, bluffs and botched messages that accompanied conflicts of the past, often with catastrophic consequences. “The one thing that’s certain when you choose war as a policy is that you don’t know how it will end,” says Mark Stoler, a diplomatic and military historian at the University of Vermont. This fog of uncertainty should be a caution for policymakers now in d

• Columnists

  Alert and safe truckers: Don’t let Congress delay rule on sleep requirement

  It’s difficult for the average driver to safely navigate congested roads, rain-slicked asphalt and those curvy stretches of highway that seem to materialize out of nowhere. Imagine doing it in a huge tractor-trailer carrying a heavy or dangerous load. It’s hazardous work, and truckers have to be alert to do it safely.That’s why the nation must press ahead with a federal law requiring that electronic logging devices be used by semi drivers and certain other commercial operators to make sure they

• 

  Columnists

  (3): Reach out to NK people, dethrone Kim Jong-un

  Two earlier columns (“Baekbeom and NK human rights” & “Baekbeom would free NK’s political prisoners”) maintained -- on the basis of a dispassionate analysis of Kim Koo’s verified words and by weighing the factual trajectory of his life and thought -- that the independence and unification advocate would have exhibited the profoundest concern and compassion toward North Korea’s political captives if he had lived to see the situation develop. In fact, before his assassination, he called for the rel

• Columnists

  How to make bad situation in North Korea worse

  There are, as is often noted, no good options for dealing with North Korea. All the more reason for the US not to make the few it does have even worse.That‘s what President Donald Trump is doing by linking the security threat posed by North Korea with his trade agenda. Irked by China’s failure to help the US rein in North Korea‘s nuclear program, and having been stymied in his attempts to retaliate against Chinese steel dumping and intellectual property infringements, he’s vowing an implausible

• 

  Politics

  Seoul’s plans for raising heat on NK hits roadblock in Russia

  President Moon Jae-in‘s push to raise pressure on North Korea to a “new dimension” appears to have hit a wall with Russian President Vladimir Putin effectively ruling out further sanctions.Following a summit meeting with Moon in Vladivostok on Wednesday, Putin reiterated his view that sanctions are not the solution. In addition, Putin effectively rejected Moon’s suggestion of cutting off oil supply to North Korea. “No matter how much pressure is applied, North Korea will not give up its nuclear

• 

  Business

  Mobile credit card spending hits record high

  　Average daily spending of mobile credit cards came to 57.9 billion won ($51.2 million) in the first half of this year, up 41.2 percent, data showed　The hike comes as a growing number of Koreans utilize smartphones to buy products ranging from clothes to electronic goods.　South Korea is one of the most wired countries in the world, with one of the highest smartphone penetration rates. Eight in 10 South Koreans use a smartphone, according to government data.

• Editorial

  Minimize impact

  Seoul should brace for longer, stronger nuclear effect on economy

• 

  Columnists

  Try to understand what makes Trump tick

  For nearly 70 years, the Korea-US alliance has stood strong. More than 30,000 US military personnel are stationed in Korea to deter North Korea. The two countries have fought together on the Korean Peninsula and in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.In the decades since the Korean War ended in an armistice signed by the United Nations Command, North Korea and China, South Korea has made great economic development and achieved stable democracy. Korea is one of the best proteges of the US, it could be

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  How fog of uncertainty can lead to war

  By David Ignatius

  When today’s historians look at the confrontation between the United States and North Korea, they’re likely to hear echoes of ultimatums, bluffs and botched messages that accompanied conflicts of the past, often with catastrophic consequences. “The one thing that’s certain when you choose war as a policy is that you don’t know how it will end,” says Mark Stoler, a diplomatic and military historian at the University of Vermont. This fog of uncertainty should be a caution for policymakers now in d

• Columnists

  

  (3): Reach out to NK people, dethrone Kim Jong-un

  By Robert Park

  Two earlier columns (“Baekbeom and NK human rights” & “Baekbeom would free NK’s political prisoners”) maintained -- on the basis of a dispassionate analysis of Kim Koo’s verified words and by weighing the factual trajectory of his life and thought -- that the independence and unification advocate would have exhibited the profoundest concern and compassion toward North Korea’s political captives if he had lived to see the situation develop. In fact, before his assassination, he called for the rel

THE INVESTOR

• Finance

  

  AVCJ Korea Forum to discuss chaebol reforms, investment opportunities

  AVCJ is gearing up to host the Korea edition of AVCJ Private Equity and Venture Forum, cited as the most influential and largest gathering of private equity and venture professionals in Asia. The 2017 AVCJ Forum Korea will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul on Sept. 7, bringing together more than 250 professional investors. The key agenda focuses on emerging investment opportunities in Korea, a standout market filled with both mid- and large-cap firms, as the chaebol are bein

• Mobile & Internet

  

  'Apple’s OLED iPhone specs not yet finalized'

  Korean parts suppliers for Apple’s first OLED iPhone are said to have started their shipments just recently, hinting at the phone’s delayed launch no earlier than November. “We started our shipments from late August,” an official from a local Apple supplier told The Investor on condition of anonymity on Sept. 4. He said his firm usually ships parts for Apple in the initial phase of the supply chain, declining to further elaborate. “Apple has not yet informed us the exact supply vo

• Mobile & Internet

  

  Kakao mulls Tokyo listing in 2020

  Korea’s largest mobile messenger operator Kakao is considering a Tokyo listing of its Japanese subsidiary in its renewed push for global expansion, a company official revealed on Sept. 5. “We are considering diverse ways to continue the growth momentum of Kakao Japan,” a spokesperson said. “A Tokyo listing is one of the proposals but nothing has been decided yet.”In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Kakao Japan CEO Kim Jae-yong hinted at the possible local stock debut of the firm

• Deals

  

  Unison Capital sells Gourmet F&B to LF

  Global private equity firm Unison Capital has sold its 71.69 percent stake in Gourmet F&B, a Korean food importer, to LF Group, one of the nation's top fashion retailers, according to industry sources on Sept. 5. LF Food, the group's food business unit, paid 36 billion won (US$31.81 million) to Unison, which acquired the stake in December last year for about 15 billion won.Gourmet F&B, established in 1998, imports and distributes European fine food materials such as cheese, butter

K-POP HERALD

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  NCT 127 to become DJ for Beats 1 Radio

• 

  Park Bo-young gets surgery for ankle injury

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  Xiumin’s skin care products selling fast

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Film

  

  Daniel Dae Kim wants to populate productions with multiethnic casts

• Culture

  

  BBC journalist Francine Stock talks about Korean films’ richness, complexity and honesty

• Industry

  

  ‘Smartphone OLED will face oversupply by 2020’

• Industry

  

  ‘Korea needs stronger botulinum toxin regulations’

PHOTO NEWS

• Culture

  

  Chinatown in Incheon, still at the heart of Korea-China ties, history

  By Son Ji-hyoung

  A gold-embellished, red-lacquered pailou, or Chinese arch, looms over a street on the shore of South Korea’s port city of Incheon.The blue-colored board attached to the 11-meter high structure reads Zhonghuajia, Chinese for ‘Chinese avenue,’ marking the entrance to Incheon Chinatown, the largest Chinatown in the nation. For over 130 years, Incheon Chinatown has been standing as the only officially recognized one of its kind in Korea since 1884, when Joseon Dynasty leased parts of Incheon to Qing

VIDEO

• Social affairs

  

  Extended Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway unveiled

• People

  

  Meet Korean Billy, the internet sensation of 2017

• Culture

  

  Slimy ‘liquid monsters’ captivate Korean adults

• Industry

  

  Beauty meets IT for customized experience

FEATURES

• Economy

  

  Korea’s fiscal soundness on shaky ground

  By Kim Kyung-ho

  Doubts are rising over the government’s assertion that the country’s fiscal soundness can be maintained even if public spending increases at a faster pace than economic growth during President Moon Jae-in’s five-year presidency, which began in May.Such an optimistic view is based on expectations that tax revenues will continue to rise as the Korean economy is put on a path toward recovery. A draft tax code revision, if passed during the ongoing parliamentary session, would increase levies collec

• Expat Living

  

  Seoul Book Club to showcase 2 young authors

  By Paul Kerry

  The Seoul Book and Culture Club is hosting a question-and-answer session with two young authors on Saturday.Chung Han-ah and Choi Eun-young are among the most recent to have their works translated and published in English as part of ASIA Publishers’ series of short fiction by new Korean authors.The two writers will give a reading from their new books before a short interview with host Barry Welsh. Questions will be opened up to the audience for the second half of the event. The covers of Choi Eu

• Industry

  

  Why smartwatches failed to hit mainstream

  By Shin Ji-hye

  Despite technology advances, smartwatch market posts 1% growth, failing to lure people already owning smartphones

• Television

  

  Alcohol flowing freely on Korean TV

  By Rumy Doo

  As programs spotlighting alcohol abound on Korean television, concerned viewers are questioning whether there are too many portrayals of uninhibited drinking on the small screen.On Aug. 26, K-pop girl group Mamamoo’s Wheein alarmed viewers by drinking during an online live-streaming and cursing in English. 　The next day, “I Live Alone” showed singer Tony An’s friends revealing his drinking habits. An had been discovered numerous times sprawled next to the door to his home or on his bedroom floor