Encouraging diversity Will such changes in our perceptions of jobs diminish the need for nearly two decades of schooling? Not quite, says Lee Bohm, a social critic of the education system in Korea. Lee, a founding member of the online and offline private education institute Megastudy, led what one would call the perfect elite education course. He graduated from a science-focused high school f...

If health warnings about smoking tobacco did not hit close to home before, they should now: Smokers are at higher risk of developing severe disease and death from the novel coronavirus, according to top health authorities. “COVID-19 preys on lungs -- while the (the use of) tobacco makes them more vulnerable,” the World Health Organization said in a Facebook post. The international health organiz...

Wedding day disasters Under the Level 2 social distancing rules, gatherings of 50 or more people indoors and of 100 or more people outdoors are restricted, which means weddings cannot be held in the usual way. With the government requiring wedding venues to comply with the guidelines, conflicts between the venue operators and couples are deepening. Most wedding halls require a certain “minimum ...

“Undergoing the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of clients tend to make investments in global markets, rather than the local market,” Seo told The Korea Herald in a recent interview. “Their investments are not just about stocks but alternative investment products such as gold, silver and oil.” The senior private banking and wealth management expert currently has about 300 clients, with t...

Xxblue, a subunit of the auction house SeoulAuction Blue, is providing a differentiated offline shopping opportunity in Sinsa-dong, Seoul. Sneakerheads can saunter in to try on limited edition kicks and purchase them on the spot. Xxblue launched in September 2019, gaining 100,000 sign ups and up to 400 of transactions amounting to 200 million won a day. An Xxblue official told The Korea Herald ...

Not all lives lost due to the pandemic are from the virus. Nearly half a year into the coronavirus crisis, statistics show an uptick in fatality rates that are not officially linked to the virus, but may have been part of its repercussions. According to data analyzed by preventive medicine professor Dr. Hong Yun-chul of Seoul National University, the number of excess deaths in Daegu -- the count...

“I used to checkout sets of Harry Potter audiobook tapes from the public library and listen to it with my brother when I was in elementary school. Now I listen to audiobooks while commuting to work by bus and sometimes it reminds me of my childhood,” Kim Jung-yeon, a 34-year-old office worker, said. For Kim, who spent most of her childhood in Canada, audiobooks are a familiar form of content tha...

Foreign fashion experts are now eyeing Korean customers, saying a luxury rebound here could drive up a recovery for international luxury labels. “Korean customers are famous for loyalty towards the high-end brands. I didn’t notice (open run shopping) such a phenomenon in West Europe where people here are usually queuing for Zara (a Spanish fashion retailer), not Chanel,” said Yana Bushmeleva, ch...

The question remains: Why do humans create other human-looking things? Why should artificial intelligence take on the form of a biped, with an inviting smile and a helpful tone of voice? Confronted with bizarrely realistic computer graphics-generated digital humans, don’t we end up questioning our own humanity? “The process of socialization is of mirroring. Humans observe and imitate others – w...

Summer is in full swing amid an ever deepening pandemic. As the virus is new, figuring out how to navigate the season safely can be daunting. Health experts share their responses to some of the popular queries about the coronavirus in summertime. Will hot temperatures mitigate the spread? Contrary to earlier conjectures, warmer weather does not stop the coronavirus from spreading. Countries wit...

The Seogwipo Daily Olle Market is the biggest market in Seogwipo. Founded in 1960, it has 200 stores and 140 stalls. Though the market has a 60-year history, the facilities are relatively modern as it was renovated in 2001. This once-neglected traditional market is now frequented by young tourists at night as rows of food stalls sell unique snacks. Croquettes made with pork from Jeju black pig, ...

Since its inception in 2015, robo-investing has emerged as a tool with the potential to minimize the impact of market volatility in South Korea. The profitability of this investment method -- based on computerized data analysis, not human instinct -- has been questioned. But the time has come, unexpectedly, to prove who is correct. The catalyst is the coronavirus outbreak that has been rattling ...

This year, Dongwon added Beyond Beef and Beyond Sausage to its imported products. In February, Lotte’s fast-food chain Lotteria rolled out its Miracle Burger, a first plant-based patty burger presented by a major burger chain here. Convenience store chain 7-Eleven also rolled out two new prepackaged meals of Green Meat last month, using a meat alternative made of beans and mushrooms. There are...

Since 2000, the government has been extensively excavating battle sites and recently expanded the project to cover areas including Arrowhead Ridge, a site of fierce battles that now falls inside the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Seoul and Pyongyang, at the third summit in 2018, agreed to cooperate to retrieve the bodies in the DMZ, but have not worked together since, as the North c...

The post-COVID-19 era is looming, bringing changes to what people considered normal. As the world deals with this highly contagious disease and prepares for other viruses in the future, interior design experts imagine new layout models and architectural changes to minimize the spread of disease. To begin with, more people are expected to work from home, which calls for changes to architectural d...