Most Popular
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea
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Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
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CU exports 10,000 dalgona to Mongolia and Malaysia
Convenience store chain CU is exporting 10,000 dalgona, the traditional Korean sugar candy from “Squid Game,” to Mongolia and Malaysia, said its operator BGF Retail. Dalgona, an old-fashioned Korean candy made using sugar and baking soda, has become an overnight sensation after the success of the Netflix show. A total of 10,000 dalgona will be shipped to Mongolia and Malaysia, 5,000 to each country, BGF said. The product will feature four different shapes -- umbrella, star, heart
Nov. 9, 2021
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Starbucks to expand reusable cup program to Seoul
Starbucks Korea announced Thursday that a dozen of its locations in Seoul will get rid of single-use plastic cups as part of the chain’s ongoing efforts to reduce plastic waste. Starting Saturday, 12 Starbucks stores in Seoul will serve beverages only in mugs, tumblers or reusable cups. These include the City Hall Station, Seosomun-ro and Eulji-ro branches in the city center. Seoul is the second location where the coffee chain has decided to move away from single-use plastic cups, aft
Nov. 4, 2021
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12-year-old boy injured from a metal screw found in a fried chicken wing
A boy was reportedly injured from biting into fried chicken that had a metal screw in it, sold from a local franchise. According to local media reports Wednesday, the boy, 12, had to have two teeth pulled out after a screw found inside a chicken wing became stuck in his gums. The chicken was reportedly from a major Korean fried chicken franchise brand. Included in the media reports were a photo of the boy’s bloody gums and a doctor’s note showing the boy had two of his te
Nov. 3, 2021
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Lotte commemorates 100th birthday of late founder
Lotte Group is commemorating what would have been the 100th birthday of its late founder Shin Kyuk-ho by publishing his memoirs, giving out scholarships and funding for startups, holding a concert, and opening a memorial hall in the Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, Seoul. On Monday, Lotte unveiled a bronze bust of Shin and a memorial hall displaying media and historical records of the conglomerate’s history, a replica of Shin’s office in the early days, his old shoes, reading glasses, p
Nov. 3, 2021
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CJ Group vows to invest 10 trillion won with focus on culture and platforms
CJ Group said on Wednesday it would invest more than 10 trillion won over the next three years to cultivate four growth engines -- culture, platform, wellness and sustainability. In a video message addressed to employees, Chairman Lee Jay-hyun shared the mid-term business plan – the first time the leader of the conglomerate explained his vision to all employees since 2010, the group said. “With COVID-19 being unpredictable, the world is now going through a fundamental and rapid ch
Nov. 3, 2021
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Instant tteokbokki selling like hotcakes
An instant tteokbokki from Dongwon F&B is on a path to break the 20 billion won ($16.9 million) mark in annual sales by the end of this year, backed by the global popularity of the spicy Korean street food. Sales of “God of Topokki” as of October surpassed 18.5 billion won, the company said. The 10-month figure is a 20 percent increase from total sales generated over all of 2020. A popular Korean snack made with rice cakes and red chili pepper, tteokbokki is often spelled diff
Nov. 3, 2021
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[Feature] ‘Hoesik is back’: After-work dinners return as restaurant curfews end
As South Korea shifts gear toward “living with COVID-19,” after-work dinners, or hoesik, are among the first things to return. After a nearly 1 1/2-year hiatus, the return of office dinners, which often involve binge drinking and are met with mixed reactions from workers, have been welcomed by the hospitality industry and small-business owners hit hard by the pandemic. At Korean barbeque restaurant Blue Roof Town in Seoul’s Mapo district, one of the more popular areas f
Nov. 2, 2021
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Food maker Daesang gets new 65th anniversary logo
The South Korean food company Daesang has a new logo to mark its 65th anniversary. The new logo “reflects Daesang’s ambition to use the past 65 years as a steppingstone to leap into a global company continuing on for the next 100 years,” said Daesang Holdings CEO Choi Sung-soo. The group’s name now appears in lowercase letters that form a tree branching out into the sky. The changes signify the group’s commitment to sustainability and to the health of its custom
Nov. 1, 2021
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All-out effort to revive spending as ‘living with COVID-19’ begins
As South Korea began “living with COVID-19” on Monday, lifting curfews on restaurants and cafes, major shopping events and discount coupon programs also kicked off in hopes of unleashing pent-up consumer demand. This year’s annual Korea Sale Festa, supported by the central government and 17 local governments, will involve over 2,000 companies -- the largest number since the first event in 2016, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Tech giants including Sa
Nov. 1, 2021
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Largest-ever Korea Sale Festa kicks off amid pandemic
South Korea kicked off its annual nationwide shopping event Monday in the latest effort to boost private spending amid the prolonged pandemic. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said 2,053 companies will offer big bargains both online and in stores during the Korea Sale Festa -- the Korean equivalent of Black Friday -- that will run through Nov. 15. This year's run is the largest since the event was launched in 2016, according to the ministry. The central and 17 local governments also
Nov. 1, 2021
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Gmarket’s largest sales event, Mega G Festival, kicks off Monday
South Korean e-commerce giant Gmarket is offering various Korean products at discount prices starting Monday, commencing its biggest sales event, the Mega G Festival. During the festival, which runs until Nov. 12, up to 70 percent discount is being offered on products ranging from cosmetics and food to K-pop merchandise. Participating brands include cosmetics brands Amorepacific and Etude, food company CJ CheilJedang and K-pop merchandise store YG Select. Some brands are offering prod
Oct. 31, 2021
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Antitrust regulator approves Emart’s takeover of eBay Korea
South Korea’s antitrust regulator on Friday approved a plan by E-mart, Shinsegae Group’s hypermarket chain, to acquire the Korean unit of eBay, judging that the acquisition will not restrain market competition. The Fair Trade Commission said the agency evaluated whether or not the acquisition would violate the country’s monopoly regulations, and to see if the companies would hamper competition in five sectors of the retail industry, including the e-commerce market, physical re
Oct. 29, 2021
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Starbucks to provide free barista training to youth
Starbucks Korea will provide free barista training to as many as 200 young job seekers next year, as part of a government project to tackle youth joblessness. The coffee chain inked a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Wednesday to participate in the ministry’s “Youth Employment Support Project.” The project aims to promote companies to provide work experiences and various job training programs for young job seekers. Starbucks is
Oct. 27, 2021
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[Herald Interview] 'We send rockets to the moon, why can’t we make plastic-free pads?'
A woman gets through roughly 14,000 period pads over the course of her life, if that’s the menstrual product she chooses. These disposable pads are about 90 percent polyester -- a type of plastic that is also used to make other everyday items like fishnets, plastic bottles and face masks. As a material, it is versatile and cheap, but it also takes around 450 years to decompose. With more women becoming aware of the global plastic waste problem, more options are being made availabl
Oct. 27, 2021
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Coca-Cola debuts label-less bottles in S. Korea
The Coca-Cola Company on Monday released its first label-free plastic bottles in South Korea. The company has removed the plastic label to increase recycling efficiency and adapt to the nonlabel trend in the industry to protect the environment. According to the company, they implemented a contour crafting design on Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero plastic bottles. The history of the design goes all the way back to 1915, when the company patented the bottle designed with the curved shape and flow
Oct. 25, 2021
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Facing lettuce shortage, restaurants toss the salad
Hamburgers and sandwiches may be served without lettuce for a while, as green vegetables are in short supply nationwide due to the unexpected October cold. Burger chain McDonald’s announced late last week that certain menu items will be served with “less or without any lettuce.” The company said the lettuce supply was “unstable” as a result of the sudden cold wave that hit the nation this month. “Orders that include lettuce will be compensated with a free
Oct. 25, 2021
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Year-end spending on e-commerce platforms to increase this year: survey
Consumers are expected to spend more money during the year-end season this year amid growing excitement over the government’s gradual plan to live with COVID-19, a new survey has found. The survey, conducted on e-commerce platforms Gmarket and Auction earlier this month, showed consumers are willing to spend some 641,000 won ($546) on average during the platforms’ annual shopping event “Big Smile Day” – up nearly 200,000 won from one year ago. Among the respondent
Oct. 25, 2021
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Coal briquette consumption projected to hit record low this year
South Korea’s coal briquette consumption is likely to drop below 500,000 tons for the first time this year on lower demand and higher coal prices. According to the Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corp. on Sunday, domestic coal briquette consumption fell to 508,000 tons last year, a 21 percent drop on-year. The consumption of coal briquettes has been continuously falling since 2014. The number dropped from 1.9 million tons in 2013 to 1.6 million tons in 2014. The biggest
Oct. 24, 2021
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[Weekender] How many tumblers do we need? The greenwashing dilemma
For years, Starbucks Korea enjoyed a boost in sales from its seasonal merchandise such as tumblers -- one of the franchise’s more popular items, often seen as an eco-friendly substitute for single-use cups. But when the coffeehouse chain unveiled a new range of Halloween-inspired items on social media earlier this month, the mood appeared to have shifted. “Introducing the Halloween merchandise mysteriously enchanted and kept in a wizard’s secret room,” a tweet from the
Oct. 23, 2021
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Starbucks Korea to stop using disposable cups in Jeju
Starbucks Coffee Korea said Friday it will stop using disposable cups at all of its stores on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju within this year in the latest move to protect the environment. Starbucks said it eliminated all single-use cups at four of its stores on Jeju in July during a trial run before applying the policy to all of its 23 operations on the island. The four stores only use multiuse cups, both for drinking inside the shops and for take-out. Customers are asked to pay
Oct. 22, 2021