This is the 10th installment in a series of interviews with chiefs of United Nations offices in Korea. ― Ed. The Sewol ferry disaster in April raised global alarm over disaster prevention and crisis management. A public furor persists over the government’s flawed response, while the state auditor billed it a “man-made debacle” resulting from a concoction of official negligence, corruption and co...

Maserati, the maker of niche sporty, exotic Italian driving machines, is betting big on South Korea, where its car sales are expected to soar almost sevenfold to some 700 vehicles this year. “Nothing comes as surprise,” Umberto Maria Cini, Maserati’s managing director of overseas markets, told The Korea Herald in Seoul on Thursday. Umberto Maria Cini, Maserati’s managing director of overseas ma...

Jeongdong Theater, established and run by the government, has a clear mission: to introduce Korea’s traditional arts to foreign visitors. Tucked away behind Deoksugung Palace in Seoul, the small theater with 250 seats has been mounting traditional arts performances every day for the past 17 years. On Sunday, it celebrated its millionth audience member, a milestone in its devoted history since i...

Winix, once a parts supplier for Samsung Electronics’ refrigerators and water dispensers in the 1980s, has grown into a leading dehumidifier manufacturer in South Korea, beating home appliance giants including LG Electronics. Dunstin Yoon, senior director of Winix’s management innovation, said the company will make all-out efforts to retain its leadership in the dehumidifier market, especially d...

Adding a spoonful of cream to a cup of coffee doesn’t sound too special, but Dongsuh Food’s powdered coffee cream Frima is more than that. It is used in many different ways including as a dry milk replacement, as an ingredient for cereal mix and baking mix, and as a taste enhancer for bubble tea. Having started to sell beyond the Korean market in 1982, Frima is now sold in 27 countries, ranging ...

Natural gas from shale rocks in North America could provide more options for energy-thirsty countries such as South Korea, according to energy experts at global market research firm IHS. “(Shale gas) supply from North America creates more opportunities for Korea and options for Korean buyers,” Ron Kapavik, Vice President of IHS Energy’s Asia Pacific division said in an interview with The Korea H...

Characterized by a Western sound, synchronized dance moves and a repetitive and addictive melody, and sung by well-crafted performers with a dedicated following, K-pop, or contemporary South Korean music, has become a defining aspect of modern Korean culture, gaining international recognition over the past decade. The government, media and entrepreneurs have taken a keen interest in K-pop, which...

Hibrand, a premium shopping outlet, located in the affluent Yangjae area of Seoul, is eager to change the tide in local shopping trends by attracting more people to outlet stores, a move that its CEO sees to be critical as the shopping center seeks the next level in business. “With the Korean economy entering a low-growth era, more high-end shoppers are migrating to premium outlets from departme...

Decoding human DNA and targeting mutant proteins used to be seen as the key to curing cancer and other chronic diseases. But the drugs that have come out of years of DNA research are still unable to prevent recalcitrant cancer cells from terminally spreading. A Korean biologist said ribonucleic acid, or RNA, one of three classes of biological macromolecules essential for life, will likely play ...

Very few South Korean low-to-mid-range accessory makers survived after the influx of cheaper Chinese products in the 2000s. They remained anonymous as outsourcers for the global market or nestled in online markets. JMarkers, the company behind the accessory brands accessory kitchen and Rustik, is a rare breed, building up its own brand and exporting products under its own brand. Established in 2...

South Korean architectural firm Heerim Architects & Planners is aiming to make its services available to more countries around the world, mostly to emerging regions where architectural know-how is in big demand. “Heerim hopes to become Asia’s No. 1 and the world’s fifth (largest)global architectural service provider by 2020,” Heerim’s chief executive Jeong Young-kyoon told The Korea Herald in an...

The allegedly rigid hierarchical culture in the cockpit has often been cited as a cause of poor communication between senior and junior pilots in Korea and other Asian countries. The story at Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific Airways, however, goes a bit differently as it says its pilots ― almost 80 percent of them being foreign nationals ― are one of its best-selling points, according to M...

Sports may seem like the least-digitalized activities humans have designed for themselves, as they mainly involve physical movement. But Nike, the world’s largest sporting goods maker, has refused to accept this concept. Instead, it has decided to begin a digitalization initiative for all aspects of its business ― everything from marketing to the product line-up. “Innovation is always at the co...

CJ CheilJedang, the nation’s top food maker, is spearheading the globalization of Korean cuisine by distributing its food products through global retail channels under its food brand Bibigo. “When the company set a goal of going global in the mid-2000s, what we needed the most was to develop a global brand to draw the attention of global consumers,” said Kim Chul-ha, CEO of CJ CheilJedang, a fla...

When people talk about Lee Kwang-soo, they usually describe him with a smirk on their face. He is tall, skinny and very funny. He is best known for his role on TV entertainment show “Running Man,” which earned him various nicknames: “Giraffe” for his 190 cm height, “Prince of Asia” for his mysterious popularity in Asia ― he says he doesn’t understand why ― and “Icon of Betrayal” for his sneaky h...