Most Popular
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Qoo10 liquidity crisis sparks massive complaints, fears of wider damage
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Yoon urges municipalities to embrace foreigners
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What is happening at Hybe?
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Korea unveils tax reform bill to spur economy
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S. Korea to consent to Japan's Sado mines gaining World Heritage status: official
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Actor’s excessive airport security sparks probe into human rights violations
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Crowded public transport, long commutes top stressors for Seoul, Gyeonggi workers: survey
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Man who let his father die due to financial difficulties to be released on parole
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Actor Yoo Ah-in accused of sexual attack
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S. Korea, China shifting from tensions to cooperation: Seoul
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Fashion brand Juun.J unveils uniform for Hybe’s museum staff
South Korean fashion brand Junn.J has revealed the uniform for staff at entertainment giant Hybe’s new museum. The ensemble consisting of a white T-shirt and a black wide sleeve top and a pair of black cargo jogger pants will be worn by staff at Hybe Insight, which opened last week on the two basement floors of Hybe’s new headquarters in Yongsan, central Seoul. The design took on board Hybe Insight’s image, a venue where music can be experienced in various ways and Junn. J&rs
May 17, 2021
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Japan beauty firm DHC under fire again after CEO’s discriminatory comments
Japanese beauty firm DHC has come under fire once again after its chairman used discriminatory language targeting ethnic Koreans in a recent column on its official website. CEO Yoshiaki Yoshida claimed the company’s request to place an advertisement in newspapers and air a TV commercial has been rejected by multiple media outlets in Japan. The proposed ad featured names of ethnic Korean celebrities who “deserve to be despised for the benefit of Japan,” according to the post.
May 16, 2021
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Gmarket kicks off ‘Mega G Festival’ for foreign shoppers
Gmarket is holding its Mega G Festival, an online shopping event targeted at foreign shoppers at home and abroad until next Tuesday, offering discounts for a wide range of items including K-pop albums, K-beauty and Korean food products. The event kicked off on the Gmarket Global Shop in conjunction with eBay Korea’s Big Smile Day, a shopping event organized by operators of multiple e-commerce platforms including Gmarket, Auction and G9. The event saw some 2.87 million items sold on its op
May 16, 2021
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Meat analogues find way onto Korea’s fast food menus
Fake meat, or meat analogues are becoming more familiar in the South Korea’s food scene, with fast food franchises rolling out items that use plant-based meat alternatives. It was just February last year when Lotte GRS’ burger chain Lotteria became the first fast food franchise to roll out a meat analogue option. The Miracle Burger uses a specially developed patty made of wheat and beans. Since then, more fast food franchises have added options with meat alternatives to their menu
May 16, 2021
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Coupang deliver record-breaking revenue of W4.7tr in Q1
South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang posted a record-breaking 4.7 trillion won ($4.2 billion) in revenue during the first quarter of this year as the business continues to grow in size but its operating loss nearly doubled due to an increase in operating and administrative costs. According to the firm’s earnings report, revenue was up 74 percent compared to one year ago, its biggest Q1 sales figure to date. “We ended the quarter with 16 million active customers, a 21 percent year-
May 13, 2021
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E-commerce giant Coupang logs record sales in Q1
South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. said Wednesday its first-quarter sales hit a new high, but operating losses widened sharply due to increased costs and investment. Sales stood at $4.21 billion in the January-March period, up 74 percent from a year earlier, Coupang said in a regulatory filing. The figure was the largest top line for the first quarter, the New York-listed company said. Yet Coupang registered an operating loss of $295 million for the last quarter, up a whopping 180 per
May 13, 2021
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HiteJinro to sell Terra in US, Singapore and Hong Kong
South Korean liquor maker HiteJinro said on Wednesday it will bring popular lager Terra to the US, Singapore and Hong Kong. The move marks the first time the green-bottled beer will be sold outside Korea since its release three years ago, with a batch of 1.2 million 330-milliliter bottles set to hit the shelves in Hong Kong first, before they are made available in the US and Singapore. Terra will be supplied to Korean communities in the countries first, where high demand is expected, before be
May 12, 2021
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[Feature] One year into pandemic, contactless businesses continue to thrive
Once fueled by an emphasis on social distancing and hygiene woes, contactless businesses are continuing to thrive in Korea nearly one year into the coronavirus pandemic as companies rush to prepare for the post-pandemic era. Lee Do-shim, a 29-year-old Pilates instructor in Sejong City, is among the many who have become used to meeting basic necessities such as grocery shopping and getting takeout food without human interaction. “After the pandemic began, social distancing became the norm
May 12, 2021
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Samsung announces global launch of expanded BESPOKE home appliance lineup
Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday introduced its expanded lineup of customizable home appliances to global audiences as the South Korean tech giant aims to boost sales amid the pandemic-driven stay-at-home trend. The company said its BESPOKE Home solutions will be available in more countries this year with more products. BESPOKE is a brand promoted by Samsung that allows consumers to tailor their own configurations by material, color and modules to meet user preferences in home ap
May 11, 2021
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Designer behind controversial GS25 poster, accused of ‘misandry,’ breaks silence
The designer behind a controversial image used by South Korean convenience store chain GS25 -- accused of being “misandrist” -- has apologized to customers, store owners and colleagues for the inconvenience her work caused but rejected claims that she was part of a group known for mocking men online. In a post uploaded on Blind, an anonymous forum designed for employees of a corporation to discuss internal affairs, the designer, who remains anonymous, said she was breaking her silen
May 10, 2021
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Firms target young people with senior models
Zigzag, a fashion e-commerce platform that mainly targets customers in their 20s and early 30s, has recently hired Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung, who is 73 years old, as a model. In Zigzag’s advertisement revealed online, Youn asks, “There are a lot of people who are younger and prettier, but then, I got the role (for the advertisement). Did you guys make a mistake?” The hire came as a “fresh” idea, attempting to break the norm that young figures are hired as model
May 5, 2021
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Namyang Dairy chairman resigns after yogurt COVID-19 prevention claims
Namyang Dairy Products Chairman Hong Won-sik offered his resignation Tuesday, after the company came under fire for the claim that its yogurt drink Bulgaris can help protect from COVID-19. Hong, who took over the company from his father, the late founder Hong Doo-young, also said he will not hand over management rights of the company to his children. “We have received much love from the public as the oldest private dairy company. But I failed to fulfill the expectations of the consumer
May 4, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Retailers accused of being ‘man-haters’ over gesture
Several South Korean retailers including convenience store GS25 and an online fashion store were forced to delete advertisements after critics accused “pinching hand signs” of being a symbol of misandry. In a statement to store owners on Tuesday, GS25 CEO Cho Yoon-sung apologized for the design of a poster that caused “pain” and “inconvenience” to customers and vowed to “thoroughly” investigate those involved in making the image. The now-deleted
May 4, 2021
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Lotte Foods to switch to EVs for sales activities
Lotte Foods will replace all of its company cars used for sales activities with electric vehicles in a bid to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the company said on Monday. The South Korean food manufacturing firm will distribute about 380 units of Chevrolet’s Bolt EV for all of its sales employees, who drive over 20,000 kilometers on average per year, the company explained. Lotte Foods said it will be distributing the cars in May and June. Prior to the change, the company installed 90
May 3, 2021
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[Weekender] The rise of curated fashion platforms
Having a lot of tabs open while browsing for clothes online? For a growing number of shoppers, those days are over. Similar to how going to a shopping mall with a wide range of brands seems more of a safe bet than having to travel between stores far apart from each other, more people in South Korea are turning to platforms like Musinsa and Zigzag -- algorithm-driven e-commerce fashion platforms where shoppers are presented with items from thousands of brands. Musinsa, which boasts some 6,000
May 1, 2021
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No more lining up over summer merch as Starbucks introduces reservation system
Starbucks Coffee Korea is introducing a reservation system for this year’s seasonal loyalty reward program, so that customers do not have to wait in line for its limited-edition merchandise, the coffee chain said Thursday. Starbucks said it is starting the summer event May 11, where customers can collect stamps by buying Starbucks drinks and can then exchange 17 stamps for seasonal merchandise. This year’s merchandise consists of the Starbucks Summer Day Cooler and Starbucks Nig
April 29, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Pernod Ricard’s fight for millennials’ hearts comes with whisky and art
In an online auction early this month, Scotch whisky brand Royal Salute sold artworks inspired by the brand with the help of Seoul Auction. Bidders scrambled until the last minute to get hold of the items that ended up selling at prices higher than the company had expected. “It was really impressive to see these brand-inspired artworks sold out at such high prices,” said Florent Leroi, marketing director at the South Korean unit of global liquor company Pernod Ricard, during an int
April 27, 2021
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Retail sales up 18.5% in March on spring promotions, revenge shopping
Retail sales in South Korea jumped 18.5 percent in March from a year earlier on the back of seasonal promotions by offline stores, with local consumers also turning to "revenge shopping" amid the prolonged virus pandemic. The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 13.1 trillion won ($11.7 billion) last month, up from 11.1 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Sales from offline stores jumped
April 27, 2021
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‘BTS effect’: Why corporations want a piece of the action
BTS’ success in the music industry is fast spilling over into the advertising business as more companies seek a promotional boost from the group and their fans’ social media omnipresence. Last Monday, McDonald’s announced it would team up with South Korean pop group BTS for a new celebrity meal named The BTS Meal. A few days later, French fashion house Louis Vuitton named the pop icons as its new House Ambassadors. The two companies’ posts on Twitter were soon met with
April 25, 2021
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Oriental Brewery taps Youn Yuh-jung as brand ambassador
South Korea’s largest brewer, Oriental Brewery, has tapped veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung as the new brand ambassador for its flagship beer brand Cass, the company said Friday. In a commercial, Youn, the first Korean woman to be nominated for an Academy Award and a strong contender for best supporting actress, discusses opening herself up to form relationships with people as she promotes the beer. The company said Youn, “who is not afraid to speak her mind,” is an inspiration
April 23, 2021