S. Korean industry minister visits Africa for World Expo bid, economic ties

South Korean Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu has met with President of Cabo Verde Jose Maria Pereira Neves and asked for the African country's support for its bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southern city of Busan, his office said Saturday. Bang visited Cabo Verde on Friday (local time) as President Yoon Suk Yeol's special envoy and discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation on agriculture, trade, investment, energy infrastructure and the overall economy, according to the M

Foreign AffairsSept. 30, 2023

S. Korea in contention for team medal in women's golf

South Korea remained in the hunt for a medal in the team event of the women's golf tournament of the Asian Games in China, following the end of the third round on Saturday. South Korea sits in a tie for fourth place with Japan at 20-under through 54 holes at West Lake International Golf Course in Hangzhou. Kim Min-sol, Yoo Hyun-jo and Lim Ji-yoo entered the competition, and Lim missed the 36-hole cut Friday. The two best scores for each country are added to determine the team rankings. With

More SportsSept. 30, 2023

S. Korea to extend $5 mil worth of fertilizer aid to Ukraine via U.S. agency

South Korea will deliver US$5 million worth of fertilizer to support Ukrainian farmers in partnership with the United States' international development agency, officials said Saturday. South Korea's foreign ministry will send fertilizers to support Ukraine's agricultural sector affected by the ongoing war with Russia through the partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), according to the Seoul government officials. "This generous contribution unde

Foreign AffairsSept. 30, 2023

Households in capital areas hold 70 pct larger assets than non-metropolitan families: data

Assets held by South Korean households in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan areas were some 70 percent larger than those owned by households in the non-metropolitan regions, data showed Saturday. The average per-household assets in Seoul, the western city of Incheon and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province came to 692.46 million won (US$512,554) as of end-March, some 69.2 percent greater than 409.35 million won owned by each non-capital household, according to the data by Statistics Korea pres

EconomySept. 30, 2023

Traffic heavy on expressways following Chuseok

Traffic was backing up heavily on many expressways across the country Saturday as people traveled back home on the third day of the extended six-day Chuseok holiday. This year's Chuseok, the Korean fall harvest celebration, fell on Friday, and the holiday runs from Thursday through Tuesday when the country marks National Foundation Day. According to Korea Expressway Corp., major highways, particularly Seoul-bound ones, were jammed with vehicles. As of 2 p.m., the estimated travel time to Se

Social AffairsSept. 30, 2023

S. Korea picks up 1st gold in roller skating

South Korea won its first gold medal from roller skating at the 19th Asian Games in China on Saturday. Jeong Byeong-hee clocked in 15:39.867 and scored 19 points in the men's 10,000m point-elimination final race at Qiantang Roller Sports Centre in Hangzhou, outpacing Zhang Zhenhai of China by five points. His compatriot Choi In-ho finished third with 11 points. This is South Korea's first gold medal from the roller sport at the Hangzhou Asiad. Earlier in the day, Yu Ga-ram won bronze i

More SportsSept. 30, 2023

With teammate's help, inconsolable shooter regroups in time to win bronze

After the qualification stage for the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event ended Saturday morning here in China, South Korean shooter Kim Bo-mi was inconsolable. Kim and her teammate Lee Won-ho had just combined to shoot 574 points out of a maximum 600 in the qualification round, putting them in fourth place. South Korea reached one of two bronze medal matches, while the top two teams, India and China, advanced to the gold medal match. South Korea finished only two points back of China in the qu

More SportsSept. 30, 2023

Inflation driving up costs to eat out

The inflation rate for food prices at dining establishments and prices of processed foods has been increasing at a faster pace than the overall inflation rate for consumer goods, a state-led agency’s data showed Saturday. According to Statistics Korea, the inflation rate for food prices at dining establishments in August came to 5.3 percent, while the inflation of consumer prices reached 3.4 percent. Government data also showed that food prices at restaurants have been increasing for 27 st

EconomySept. 30, 2023

Jungkook of BTS sweeps iTunes’ Top Songs charts in 100 different regions

Jungkook of BTS topped iTunes’ Top Songs charts in 100 different regions with his second solo single “3D,” according to Big Hit Music. The single “3D” featuring Jack Harlow swept iTunes charts in numerous countries, including the US, the UK, Japan, Canada, and Italy, immediately upon its release on Friday. The instrumental and alternate versions of “3D” also reached No. 2 and No. 3 on iTunes’ Top Songs charts in various countries. The music video f

K-popSept. 30, 2023

NCT Dream to perform on 2023 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour

NCT Dream will be featured in the annual iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour which kicks off on Nov. 26. The iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour is a holiday concert presented by Capital One, with the year’s top artists performing their No. 1 hits. NCT Dream will take the stage in Boston on Dec. 10, Washington D.C., on Dec. 11 and Atlanta on Dec. 14. Other artists joining the star-studded lineup for the event include SZA, Nicki Minaj, OneRepublic, Flo Rida, and Sabrina Carpenter. NCT Dream has been expa

K-popSept. 30, 2023

Swimmer, gamers celebrate Chuseok with gold medals

  HANGZHOU, China -- South Korean athletes competing at the 19th Asian Games here in China celebrated one of the country's biggest holidays, Chuseok, with a slew of medals Friday. Freestyle swimmer Kim Woo-min became the country's first triple gold medalist in Hangzhou on Friday by winning the men's 400m title. It was one of four swimming medals that South Korea picked up Friday, as the country finished with its Asiad-record total of 22 medals. In the inaugural esports competition, South Ko

More SportsSept. 29, 2023

Swimmer Kim Woo-min captures 3rd gold in Hangzhou

HANGZHOU, China -- South Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min won the men's 400-meter freestyle gold medal at the Asian Games in China on Friday, becoming only the third swimmer from the country to win three titles at a single Asiad. Kim finished the race in first place with a time of 3:44.36. Pan Zhanle of China was a distant second in 3:48.81 Kim had earlier won gold medals in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay and the men's 800m freestyle. He joins Choi Yun-hui and Park Tae-hwan as the onl

More SportsSept. 29, 2023

S. Korea cruises past N. Korea in women's basketball

HANGZHOU, China -- South Korea defeated North Korea 81-62 in a highly-anticipated women's basketball preliminary game at the Asian Games in China on Friday, as the countries that formed a joint team five years ago returned as foes. South Korea overcame an early 21-11 deficit to win its second straight game in Group C at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium, as the closely-contested affair quickly turned into a blowout. Five players on both sides had also played on the 2018 unified Korea

BaseballSept. 29, 2023

S. Korea wins gold in League of Legends competition; Faker tops podium

HANGZHOU, China -- South Korea won the inaugural title of the League of Legends (LOL) competition at the 19th Asian Games in China on Friday, helping LOL superstar Lee Sang-hyeok, or Faker, become a gold medalist at the Asiad. In the LOL final held at China Hangzhou Esports Centre in Hangzhou, China, the team of Lee, Seo Jin-hyeok, Park Jae-hyeok, Jung Ji-hun, Ryu Min-seok and Choi Woo-je beat Chinese Taipei 2-0 to claim the Asian Games crown. This is South Korea's second gold from esport

More SportsSept. 29, 2023

NewJeans hits 1 bln streams mark on Spotify with debut album

South Korean girl group NewJeans has hit the 1 billion streams mark on Spotify with its namesake debut album, the group's management agency said Friday. The accumulated streams generated by the album, "New Jeans," reached 1,000,760,129 on the streaming platform as of Thursday, 422 days after its release on Aug. 1, 2022, ADOR said. The agency said NewJeans is the first K-pop girl band that has achieved the feat with its debut album. It is particularly meaningful given the album has

K-popSept. 29, 2023

Same day, different holiday: Mid-autumn festivals across East Asia

People staring at screens to book tickets to home, jammed highways and families enjoying festive foods are typical scenes associated with Chuseok, one of South Korea's biggest traditional holidays. Along with Seollal, Chuseok is one of two holidays that span three consecutive days. The origins of Chuseok are unclear, but similar holidays are celebrated across East Asia on the same date -- Aug. 15 on the lunar calendar -- though some have come to mark Aug. 15 on the solar calendar as well.

CultureSept. 29, 2023

The many regional flavors of songpyeon, a Korean holiday dessert

Chuseok is a time for enjoying many different traditional foods in Korea. Among them, one of the must-have sweet treats is songpyeon. Songpyeon is a Korean traditional rice cake, or tteok, with filling that varies from region to region. Vibrant five-colored songpyeon of Seoul Seoul-style songpyeon are colorful and small, while most of the images of songpyeon that people know well are osaek songpyeon. Osaek, or five-colored, songpyeon is traditionally dyed with natural colorants including omija,

FoodSept. 29, 2023