SPOTLIGHT

• Culture

  

  Translators uplift Korean literature to global heights

  By Joel Lee

  Every time Goksel Turkozu browsed through a bookstore in Turkey, he felt there could be more books of Korean literature in translation in his country where the passion for everything Korean runs high.A devotee of Korean literature and professor at Erciyes University in the city of Kayseri, Cappadocia, Turkozu has adapted several well-known Korean novels into the Turkish language since he first set foot in Seoul in 1990 as a student. His decadeslong dedication to spread Korea’s literary imaginati

• 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

• Social affairs

  

  Oct. 2 designated by Blue House as a Chuseok-season holiday

  By Lim Jeong-yeo

  Oct. 2 has been confirmed as a temporary holiday by the Cabinet, Tuesday, making the sought after 10-day holiday in the beginning of October a reality.From Sept. 30 to Oct. 9, the longest chain of national holidays will unfurl, linking National Foundation Day, Chuseok holidays and Hangeul Proclamation Day.(The Korea Herald)President Moon Jae-in noted that a delay in making the decision will hamper people’s holiday plans upon choosing to make the announcement a month in advance.Experts forecast t

• Automode

  

  Hyundai turns to Europe to pick up lagging business

  By Kim Bo-gyung

  Automaker’s Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun begins trip to Europe, where the automaker has been seeing strong performance

LATEST NEWS

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  Politics

  PM pledges to break 'glass ceiling' against women

  Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Wednesday that South Korea will continue to work hard to end gender discrimination against women, calling the so-called glass ceiling a "useless barrier" impeding the advancement of human society.Speaking at an international conference of female financial specialists, Lee pointed out the big strides that South Korea has made to help expand women's participation in all sectors of the society despite the ancient Confucian perception regarding women as inferior to me

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  Technology

  Doosan Group taps collaborative robot market

  Heavy machinery and power equipment conglomerate Doosan Group said Wednesday that it is planning to enter the so-called collaborative robot market soon with a plan to start selling such robots next year.Doosan set up a robot-developing unit in 2015, which recently showcased four collaborative robot models. (Yonhap)Rather than replacing human laborers, collaborative robots are commonly used to help people with their work.The company said it plans to produce such collaborative robots this year and

• Expat Living

  Seoul Mayor to host forum for South Asian residents

  Seoul Metropolitan Government is inviting residents of South Asia to raise issues and problems they experience living here at a Seoul Town Meeting attended by Mayor Park Won-soon on Sept. 16.Seoul has been holding town meetings for foreign residents of Seoul for about a decade. The aim is for expats to voice their problems so that Seoul can develop policies to address them. The event will be in Korea with English simultaneous translation. As well as the mayor, South Asian ambassadors and about 1

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  Politics

  Govt. seeking ways to discuss US army base pollution with USFK: vice environment minister

  South Korea's environment ministry is reviewing ways to talk with US forces about soil and water contamination on their army bases here, but to an extent that it won't affect the alliance of the two countries, its vice minister has said. "(The ministry) has a particular concern over the contamination and purification process at US army bases and we're seriously considering ways to discuss the issue with our ally for a solution," Vice Environment Minister Ahn Byung-ok said at a press briefing on

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  Defense

  Ex-lawmakers demand redeployment of US tactical nukes

  A group of former lawmakers Wednesday joined a growing chorus of calls for the Moon Jae-in government to seek the redeployment of US tactical nuclear arms to counter North Korea's escalating threats.The Parliamentarians' Society of the Republic of Korea made the demand, stressing that Pyongyang's repeated nuclear tests have reaffirmed that dialogue is not an effective method to address the decades-old nuclear standoff.Since the North's sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date Sunday, calls h

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  Finance

  KDB, Export-Import Bank of Korea return to black in H1

  South Korea's two state-run policy banks -- Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea -- bounced back into the black in the first-half of this year with their loan-loss provisions falling as the restructuring of the shipbuilding industry nears an end.In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, KDB said it posted a net profit of 1.27 trillion won ($1.12 billion) for the January-June period, compared to a loss of 289.6 billion won a year earlier. (Yonhap)The Export-Import Bank of Korea s

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  North Korea

  N. Korean diplomats tussle with defectors: RFA

  North Korean diplomats stationed at the United Nations in New York had a scuffle recently with North Korean defectors who were staging an anti-Pyongyang rally in front of their mission, a US broadcaster reported Wednesday.On Monday, Ma Young-ae, head of the London-based International North Korea's Association for Human Rights and Democracy, and some other INKAHRD members picketed before the North Korean Representative to the UN condemning the North's latest nuclear test and the Kim Jong-un regim

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  Social affairs

  Extra charges to be levied for hospital treatment, drug stores during Chuseok holiday: govt.

  People will have to pay upwards of 50 percent in additional charges when they go to hospitals or drug stores during the Chuseok holiday starting late this month, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday.The government designated Oct. 2 as a one-off holiday to bridge the weekend to make it possible for workers to take 10 consecutive days off.The higher rates are applicable beginning on the Sept. 30 weekend and run through the three-day Chuseok holiday and Oct. 6, designated as an alterna

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  Defense

  US vows full extended deterrence for Korea, Japan

  The United States assured South Korea and Japan on Wednesday of full extended deterrence, based on both its conventional and nuclear arsenal, against North Korea.The US reaffirmed its "ironclad" security commitment for the key regional allies in a working-level video conference on the North's latest nuclear test, according to South Korea's defense ministry."In particular, the US stressed that its extended deterrence commitment will be guaranteed through all categories of military capabilities in

• 

  Foreign Policy

  Opposition whip calls on Moon to retool foreign, security policy

  The floor leader of the minor opposition People's Party called on President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday to reshape his security and foreign policies, pointing to North Korea's escalating threats and perceived friction with the United States and China.During his parliamentary speech, Kim Dong-cheol also demanded the "complete" replacement of Moon's security staff, which critics argue lacks expertise in military strategies and tactics.Pyongyang's sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date Sunday ha

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Red Line?: NK’s 6th nuclear test

  By Lee Jae-min

  The otherwise blue and crispy Sunday afternoon was juxtaposed against the shocking news from the North. The now familiar veteran lady newsreader appeared on the North’s state television channel to announce the successful blast testing of a hydrogen bomb. The latest test has brought North Korea one step closer to the completion of its nuclear program and military deployment of nuclear arsenal.With the sixth nuclear test, North Korea again thumbed its nose at the international community. This late

• Columnists

  

  Where have all the great men gone in times of crisis?

  By Kim Seong-kon

  In his monumental essay, “the American Scholar,” Emerson wrote, “To be great is to be misunderstood.” Indeed, a truly great man can easily be misunderstood by his contemporaries. In English, there is a maxim, “Where everyone is one-eyed, having two eyes is a handicap.” There is a matching maxim in Korea, “How can a sparrow understand eagle’s eye-view?” Perhaps that is why a great man is always alone, surrounded by the people who do not and cannot understand him. In today’s Korea, we urgently nee

THE INVESTOR

• Mobile & Internet

  

  Qualcomm to appeal FTC’s order on unfair biz practices

  US chip company Qualcomm said on September 5 that it will appeal the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s order and penalties for unfair business practices.“Qualcomm continues to believe that the FTC’s decision is not supported by the facts and law, and was the product of a hearing and investigation that denied us fundamental due process rights,” said the US telecom chip giant, adding it would appeal the case in Korea’s Supreme Court.Related:Qualcomm refutes FTC charges, vows to appeal de

• 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

• Automobiles

  

  Hyundai allots W250b for parts suppliers in China

  Hyundai Motor  Group on Sept. 4 said it will allot 250 billion won (US$221 million) to its parts suppliers in China that have suffered sales slump as troubles continue in its largest market. “We will make an advanced payment of 250 billion won to our suppliers in China as part of the investment for (improving) the molding facility,” said Hyundai Motor CEO Chung Jin-haeng at a minister-led automotive industry meeting. The investment -- which in the past was provided in several inst

K-POP HERALD

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  BTS’ Jimin whispers 'let me love you'

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  Lee Jong-suk to star on ‘Three Meals a Day’

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  Bobby dropss teaser photos for 'I Love You'

HERALD INTERVIEW

• 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’

• Diplomatic Circuit

  

  Planning for smart, sustainable future with Singapore

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

• 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

• Economy

  

  Korean firms’ woes over THAAD deepen

  By Kim Kyung-ho

  South Korean companies struggling with restraints on their businesses in China are likely to come under more pressure with the deployment of additional launchers of a US anti-missile battery here set to begin as early as this week.Beijing seems unlikely to ease its stance on the issue in the wake of North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test Sunday.China began to take retaliatory measures in July last year when Seoul agreed to deploy the US missile shield known as the Terminal High Altit

• Technology

  

  Harman CEO: Samsung will outdo Google, Amazon with AI speaker

  By Song Su-hyun

  Samsung, Harman accelerate cooperation on new AI platform

• Social affairs

  

  Indonesian woman’s nightclub beating draws angry reaction

  By Ock Hyun-ju

  An Indonesian woman claimed Sunday that she was discriminated against and beaten up by a Korean bouncer of a club because of her nationality, in an incident that drew a lot of social media attention over the weekend.   　Jessica Setia, a 21-year-old Indonesian national who has studied here for two years, suffered a 0.5-centimeter-deep wound on her lips and a bruise on her chin as a result of her brawl with the male bouncer of a club in Busan around midnight Friday. 　Setia claimed the Korean man w