SPOTLIGHT

• Technology

  

  73% of mobile gamers not bothered by in-app ads: report

  By Sohn Ji-young

  A majority of those who play free mobile games turned out to be indifferent to in-app adds in the form of banners or videos, considering the benefits earned in exchange of watching them, according to an industry report.Around 73 percent of gamers are happy with the ad-funded model of mobile app games, according to the “Mobile Games Research 2017” report from London-based market research firm 2VC, commissioned by the Facebook Audience Network.The report was based on more than 6,000 online intervi

• Industry

  

  Alleged Samsung Galaxy S7 explosion causes severe burns

  By Kim Min-joo

  A Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone, a model previously offered in exchange for the recalled Galaxy Note 7, caught fire while charging, a Korean phone owner claims. The 20-year-old user said Wednesday that her Galaxy S7 smartphone she had left charging in the room caught fire at around 3 a.m. on Aug. 14.Sparks from the fire burned the floor and furniture in her bedroom, as well as her hands, resulting in severe blisters. (Yonhap)The user clarified she has been using Samsung’s official charger and the

• Culture

  

  New cultural heritage chief vows ‘attitude overhaul’

  By Yoon Min-sik

  Kim Jong-jin, the recently-named head of Cultural Heritage Administration, emphasized the importance of preserving cultural heritage and vowed changes in the CHA employees‘ attitude in achieving the goals of the organization.Kim who has been with CHA since 2001, however, stopped short of suggesting specific plans for revamping the system that has been criticized for lacking expertise, resulting in such fiascos as the recent “fake royal seal” controversy. Kim Jong-jin, head of Cultural Heritage A

• Social affairs

  

  Teacher-pupil sex incident leads to misguided witch hunt

  By Lim Jeong-yeo

  Personal data about unrelated teachers leaked online following sex case of female teacher, 12-year-old student

LATEST NEWS

• 

  Culture

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

  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

• 

  Film

  Movies in theaters this week

  Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets(France)Opened Aug. 30Sci-fi, adventure. Directed by Luc BessonIt is the 28th century. Species from all corners of the universe have formed a federation and come together to build Alpha, a sort of galactic capital. They live in harmony there, exchanging knowledge and culture. Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) are federal agents who keep the order of space. The two set out on a mission to retrieve a rare treasure, and uncover the sec

• 

  Defense

  Additional THAAD deployment likely next week: report

  Deployment of four more Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launchers may begin as early as next week, local media reported Friday citing unnamed South Korean and US military sources. According to reports, Seoul’s Ministry of National Defense and US Forces Korea are likely to transport four additional THAAD launchers, and materials required for their temporary deployment to the site in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, next week.  A THAAD launcher stationed in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Provinc

• 

  Film

  Busan Film Fest announces New Currents nominees

  The Busan International Film Festival announced the nominees for its New Currents category, which awards up-and-coming Asian directors, Friday.　The selections provide distinctive perspectives and themes found throughout east and southwest Asia, BIFF said in a statement. 　Three of the nominated films are Korean pieces that convincingly tell tragedies in different ways. Shin Dong-seok’s “Last Child,” about parents’ ambivalent feelings toward a child who survived an accident that claimed the life o

• 

  Music

  Lena Park to become KBS World Radio DJ

  Power vocalist Lena Park will be debuting as a radio DJ on the program “One Fine Day” on KBS World Radio.　“It’s been my longtime dream to be a DJ,” she told reporters at a press conference Friday at the Yeouido KBS headquarters. 　“One Fine Day” will be delivering Korean music and musicians’ stories to listeners in English. “I want to make a program that can get close to and offer good music to foreigners in Korea and people abroad,” the veteran R&B singer said. 　Park, who married a Korean-Americ

• 

  Technology

  Plugging in

  Listeners freed, isolated by culture of earphones

• 

  North Korea

  US vows close consultation with S. Korea over military options against NK

  US Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris has vowed to seek close consultation with South Korea to review military options in response to North Korea's threats, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday.Harris made the remark during his meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo on Thursday at the headquarters of the command in Hawaii. It is part of Song's five-day visit to the US which started Tuesday."The US commander reaffirmed Washington's ironclad commitment to defending South Ko

• 

  Diplomactic Circuit

  Top diplomats of Korea, 5 Mekong nations agree to closer cooperation

  BUSAN -- The top diplomats of South Korea and a group of five countries surrounding the Mekong River agreed on Friday to strengthen diplomatic and economic cooperation in their annual meeting held in the southern port city of Busan.The 7th Mekong-Republic of Korea Foreign Ministers' Meeting co-chaired by Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith adopted a three-year action plan outlining the vision for cooperation between the two regions, the Ministry of

• 

  Industry

  No. of Koreans traveling to China continues to drop amid THAAD row: data

  The number of South Koreans traveling to China continued to drop in August, with more people opting to fly to Japan or Southeast Asia instead, industry data showed Friday, as the ongoing diplomatic spat between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of a US missile defense system does not show signs of letting up. According to the data by Hana Tour, the country's No. 1 travel agency, 320,000 people took overseas trips through its tours offered last month, up 13 percent from the previous year.Of t

• 

  Industry

  Biggest consumer price hike in more than 5 years in August

  South Korea’s consumer prices in August made the greatest jump in more than five years, mainly due to a sharp increase in food prices, government statistics showed Friday. Korea’s consumer price index rose 2.6 percent last month from the year before, which is bigger than the previous months’ 2.2 percent hike, according to Statistics Korea. It is the highest gain since April 2012, when the inflation rate had hit 2.6 percent.The statistics bureau attributed the inflation hike to a monthlong drough

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Viewpoints

  

  China’s car sector needs a shakeup

  By Bloomberg

  China’s SUV specialist Great Wall Motor Co. may, in the end, never get its hands on Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s Jeep division. But expect more and more Chinese automakers to seek out foreign acquisitions. The Chinese government has long dreamed of creating a globally competitive car industry, and having Chinese automakers purchase established companies and brands would seem one obvious way to accomplish its goal.Unless the government rethinks its own industrial policies, however, the strategy

• Viewpoints

  

  Korea’s ‘Look South Policy’

  By Korea Herald

  Two weeks after his inauguration, President Moon Jae-in unprecedentedly sent a special envoy to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He also announced that his government would bring its relations with ASEAN up to the level of the four major powers -- the US, China, Japan and Russia. While such efforts are on the rise, we may still ask, what is exactly the Korean government’s vision and strategy toward ASEAN?　Pursuing mutual and sustainable prosperity, increasing people-to-people exchange

THE INVESTOR

• Samsung

  

  [IFA] 'Leadership vacuum deals serious blow to Samsung'

  BERLIN -- Amid mounting uncertainty over the future of Samsung, with its de facto leader Lee Jae-yong in jail, the world’s largest chip and handset maker has recently lost a business opportunity to acquire an artificial intelligence technology company, said one of the top brass of the company on Aug. 31.  Lee Jae-yongIn a rare speech, Yoon Boo-keun, president and CEO of the consumer electronics division of Samsung Electronics, expressed concerns about the unprecedented leadership

• Mobile & Internet

  

  Apple plans to launch 6-inch screen iPhone next year

   Apple has started the development of a 6-inch OLED iPhone with aims to launch the largest-ever screen iPhone next year, industry sources said on Aug. 31.The largest iPhone available now is a 5.5-inch LCD model. Sources said Apple plans to launch two OLED iPhones next year -- a 5.85-inch and 6.46-inch models. The 5.58-inch is the same size screen of the upcoming iPhone 8 this year. Apple has started development work with Samsung Display, the sole OLED supplier, and other parts makers ea

• Samsung

  

  Samsung Galaxy S9 likely to debut in Jan.

  Samsung Electronics’ next flagship smartphone Galaxy S9 is highly likely to debut earlier than usual, possibly in January, The Bell reported on Aug. 31. The report said Samsung Display’s OLED panel shipments will start in November, two months in advance of the current S8 whose display shipments started in January this year before the phone’s unveiling in March. Galaxy S8Display panels are usually shipped earlier than other parts such as camera modules and cases. After the panel sh

• Deals

  

  Yum! Brands sells Pizza Hut Korea

  US restaurant giant Yum! Brands announced on Aug. 31 that it has sold its 100 percent stake in Pizza Hut Korea to a Korean investment firm. The deal price has not been revealed. The Korean unit’s ownership rights will be handed over to Orchard One, a newly established firm for the deal by Korean investment consulting firm KHI. Pizza Hut Korea said it will continue operations through a master franchise contract with the US headquarters. Despite the ownership change, the company add

K-POP HERALD

• 

  EXO listed in Guinness World Records

• 

  ‘Be With You’ to be remade in Korea

• 

  Park Bo-gum in tug of war with girlfriend

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’

• 미분류

  

  Planning for smart, sustainable future with Singapore

PHOTO NEWS

• 미분류

  

  Signs of fall in the sky in Seoul

  By Park Hyun-koo

  Cool breeze and a clear sky signaled the arrival of fall in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday. Daytime temperature dropped to an average of 18 degrees Celsius nationwide, creating an optimal weather for outdoor activities. A dry spell is anticipated in the following weeks. Photographed by Park Hyun-koo (phko@heraldcorp.com)

VIDEO

• People

  

  Meet Korean Billy, the internet sensation of 2017

• Culture

  

  Slimy ‘liquid monsters’ captivate Korean adults

• Industry

  

  Beauty meets IT for customized experience

• Technology

  

  A tattoo that is painless, removable and safe

FEATURES

• Film

  

  Korean film's depiction of brutally abused women -- Is it too much?

  By Rumy Doo

  Recent thriller “V.I.P.” at center of a whirlwind debate about artistic expression, gender sensitivity

• North Korea

  

  South Korea to upgrade Kaesong guidelines amid UNSC sanctions

  By Jung Min-kyung

  South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Thursday it will launch a research project that aims to overhaul and upgrade the operational guidelines of the now-suspended Kaesong Industrial Complex. “It is necessary to draw an expansive management plan of the Kaesong industrial complex by improving its operational guidelines, to prepare for a progress in the inter-Korean relationship,” a Unification Ministry official said Thursday. North Korean workers at Kaesong Industrial Complex. (Yonhap)The joint

• Social affairs

  

  ‘Excrement School’ changes name to protect students from ridicule

  By Lim Jeong-yeo

  An elementary school named “Daebyun,” whose sound in Korean can make one think about “feces,” is changing its name to “Yongam,” the school said Thursday. The school had been named after the area of Gijang County in Busan where it is located. Most of the residents in this area are alumni of this elementary school. Yongam refers to the name of the village which had been used a century earlier.  A sign by Daebyun students reads, "We want to have a good school name" (Instagram @mey_moon)For decades

• Industry

  

  Ikea Goyang to open on Oct. 19

  By Won Ho-jung

  Ikea Korea‘s second store in Korea will open in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on Oct. 19, the company said on Tuesday. Ikea Korea Country Retail Manager Andre Schmidtgall gives a press presentation at Bread Comma Café in Seoul on Tuesday. (Ikea)“We had heard from customers that they wanted us to come closer to them, and that sometimes our (existing) store is too crowded,” Ikea Korea Country Retail Manager Andre Schmidtgall told reporters at the Bread Comma Cafe in Seoul.According to Schmidtgall, the