The star director of hit Korean TV dramas "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" (2016) and "Mr. Sunshine" (2018), Lee Eung-bok is back with the much-awaited second season of Netflix's "Sweet Home." Lee's first season of "Sweet Home," a 10-part Netflix original series, gained a global following in 2020, making it to the Netflix US top 10 list as the first Korean TV drama to do so. "When I decided to direct 'Sweet Home', I didn't

Film Dec. 5, 2023

Netflix Korea's popular dating reality show "Single's Inferno" has returned with its third season, with a brand new group of young, attractive singles and a plot that moves faster than ever. “Single’s Inferno,” the first season of which debuted in December 2021, has garnered worldwide attention, with the series becoming the first Korean reality show to be listed on Netflix's global top 10 chart. Building on this success, Netflix extended the series wi

Television Dec. 4, 2023

The 49th Seoul Independent Film Festival, the only independent film festival in South Korea that features a competitive showcase, will for the first time screen independent Korean animation films from the 1980s and 1990s in local theaters. This year's Independent Film Archive Exhibition, being held alongside the film festival, will feature six indie Korean animations from the 1980s and '90s created using the cel animation method. Cel animation involves the manual creation of two-dimens

Film Dec. 3, 2023

Netflix's monster horror franchise "Sweet Home" is back with new characters and more sophisticated visual effects. "Sweet Home 2" is directed by Lee Eung-bok, who helmed the series' first season three years ago and a slew of other megahits such as "Descendants of the Sun" (2016), "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" (2016) and "Mr. Sunshine" (2018). The first season of "Sweet Home" followed people living in Green Home, a dilap

Television Nov. 30, 2023

Works by filmmakers from Korea and Association of Southeast Asian Nations member countries will be screened at the Korea Foundation ASEAN Culture House in Busan in December. Films to be screened include the works of directors who participated in the Film Leaders Incubator, a film-making training program organized by the Busan Film Commission and funded by the ASEAN-ROK Cooperation Fund. Also known as FLY, the program accepts aspiring filmmakers from ASEAN member countries and South Korea, and pr

Film Nov. 30, 2023

Popular South Korean over-the-top streaming services Tving and Wavve are reportedly seeking a merger, according to the media reports on Wednesday. Currently, entertainment giant CJ ENM owns Tving, while conglomerate SK Square runs Wavve. The two OTT brands are seeking a merger to increase their share of the local OTT market, aiming to clinch the deal in December, according to a local media outlet, citing industry sources. According to the report, CJ ENM will become the largest shareholder of t

Television Nov. 29, 2023

Subscription rates for streaming services are rising amid already high inflation, and such price hikes are stoking a boom in Koreans' use of illegal streaming sites. Local streaming service Tving is the latest to jump on the bandwagon, raising its subscription price some 20 percent starting in December. The subscription price for Tving's basic plan -- which allows content viewing at a resolution of 720p and is limited to one viewer at a time -- will rise by 20.3 percent from 7,900 won

Television Nov. 29, 2023

SINGAPORE -- A picturesque scene unfolds at the Jewel Changi Airport -- a lush entertainment and retail complex hemmed in and connected to Changi Airport, the main gateway to Singapore. The metallic-hued automated people mover dubbed the Changi Airport Skytrain smoothly glides across a rail standing high off the ground to carry the passengers to their destinations in an average of four minutes. Across from the rail on which the APM leisurely transports passengers, water pours down with thunder

Industry Nov. 23, 2023

BATAM, Indonesia -- Indonesian workers in red vests and yellow helmets can be seen rushing to and fro across sparsely-situated construction sites at the airport, conversing animatedly as they carry metal rods and other construction equipment to fulfill their duties. This airport, which is currently undergoing construction, is Batam Hang Nadim International Airport at Batam, Indonesia -- a 571 billion won ($440 million) public-private partnership led by a consortium between Korea's Incheon I

Industry Nov. 23, 2023

Getting a snack shouldn't be this difficult. To get a packet, you must outpace rival shoppers who constantly check convenience stores applications for restocking alerts. Otherwise, the only way to get the 1,650 won ($1.26) product is by buying it online for more than double the price. The snack in question is Nongshim's pungent, addictive fish-flavored snack, Meoktaekkang. Based on "meoktae," a type of pollack, this salty, sweet snack seasoned with zingy green chili pepper, i

weekender Nov. 18, 2023

Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. on Thursday declared "Global Kimchi Day" to raise awareness about the Korean staple food globally, together with Korean food buyers and foreign diplomats during the Buy Korean Food trade fair in Seoul. The state-run food trade agency, known as aT, has already celebrated Nov. 22 as Kimchi Day following a revision to the Kimchi Industry Promotion Act in February 2020. At Thursday’s event, aT vowed to seek the day’s global recognitio

Industry Nov. 16, 2023

The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. said Wednesday it has launched a consultative body to promote low-carbon diets, against the backdrop of escalating calls to combat climate change. According to the food trade agency, the newly launched Low-carbon Diet Campaign Forum aims for the voluntary cooperation of officials from some 600 institutions -- such as major K-food buyers and international Korean organizations -- to spread low-carbon diet practices. A low-carbon diet refers to the co

Industry Nov. 15, 2023

Korea Airports Corp. said Tuesday the head of the state-run airport operator met with the head of Japan Airport Terminal, in a bid to discuss the two airport operators' future strategies for airport operations. According to the KAC, Chief Executive Officer Yoon Hyeong-jung met with Isao Takashiro, the CEO of Japan Airport Terminal, during the two airport operators' annual meeting, which was last held in 2019, took place in Tokyo on Monday. The KAC currently operates Gimpo International

Industry Nov. 14, 2023

Kakao founder Kim Beom-su said he will review the entirety of the platform giant's services and businesses, including management personnel, from the ground up, ahead of an emergency management meeting held earlier Monday. "(We will) aim to become a company that meets the public's standards by reassessing all of (Kakao's) services and businesses," Kim told reporters at Kakao Mobility's headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province. Kim, who currently serves as the head o

Industry Nov. 13, 2023

INCHEON -- At CJ Logistics' Global Distribution Center, a total of 140 red, box-shaped robots with four wheels zoom across rows of stacked-up bins. The robot then drops down wires and hoists up a bin filled with goods. Carrying the bin, the robot scurries along the metal railings, transporting the bin to the packaging station, where an employee selects a set number of items from the bin to pack into a box for delivery. The robot then bustles back again and heads for another bin, repeating t

Industry Nov. 12, 2023