Kwon Eun-bi looks beyond 'Waterbomb goddess' with 'Dejavu'

Kwon Eun-bi is a familiar name to K-pop fans in Korea, first as a member of project group Iz*One and later as a solo artist whose performances at the Waterbomb music festival last year cemented her image as one of the country's leading summer performers. Outside Asia, however, she remains a relatively unfamiliar name. She has yet to establish a significant presence in Western markets. Now, after moving to a new agency, Kwon wants to change that — while also showing there is more to her than the

Sept. 3, 2026

[Editorial] Budget built on boom

The government’s budget proposal for next year, totaling 820.9 trillion won ($599 billion), is the largest ever. The 12.8 percent year-on-year rise and the 92 trillion won increase are also the largest on record. The government’s ability to ramp up spending so substantially is due above all to an exceptional tax revenue windfall brought about by the semiconductor supercycle. The ambitious 162 trillion won Future Response Fund, too, would not have been possible without the surge in corporate tax

Sept. 3, 2026

[Wang Son-taek] Why Washington keeps misreading NK

Talk of another North Korea-US summit is expanding. Much of the discussion, however, revolves around what US President Donald Trump has said and what he might offer. One important question is often missing: What does North Korea actually want, and how does Pyongyang calculate its strategic interests? This omission is not new. Washington has repeatedly misread North Korea at critical moments over the past three decades. Understanding North Korea does not mean trusting or defending it. Three episo

Sept. 3, 2026

[David Fickling] Why Nepal needs more dams

In the popular imagination, there’s only one threat to picturesque mountain landscapes that can compete with the destruction wrought by flood disasters like the torrent that swept through valleys on the Nepalese-Chinese border: dams. These concrete behemoths replace the occasional catastrophic natural inundation of such regions with one that’s permanent and artificial. Pristine river valleys disappear beneath reservoirs. Communities are forcibly relocated, their lives uprooted. Those criticisms

Sept. 3, 2026

Anemoi courts Korean shipbuilders for wind propulsion

British wind-propulsion company Anemoi Marine Technologies seeks closer ties with South Korean shipbuilders and shipping companies as the industry faces growing pressure to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. “South Korea combines world-class shipbuilding, sophisticated shipowners and strong marine engineering capabilities,” Anemoi co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer Nick Contopoulos told The Korea Herald in Seoul last week. Anemoi develops Rotor Sails, tall spinning cylinders installed o

Sept. 3, 2026

Intensive search under way for 9 S. Koreans missing in Nepal floods

A South Korean disaster relief team arrived in Nepal on Wednesday to help bolster the ongoing intensive search for nine South Koreans and other victims missing in massive floods and landslides, the foreign ministry said. The 44-member Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT), comprising personnel from the ministry, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and fire authorities, arrived in Kathmandu earlier in the day aboard an Air Force KC-330 Cygnus multirole tanker transport aircraft, accord

Sept. 2, 2026

Uber to cut 3,300 jobs in management overhaul

Uber Technologies will cut ‌3,300 jobs, or roughly 10 percent of its global ‌workforce, as part of an overhaul, as it ⁠looks to reduce the number of managers, the company said ⁠on Wednesday. The cuts will ​reduce the number of managers ‌in the company by ‌20 percent, ‌CEO Dara Khosrowshahi ‌said in ​an email to employees. Uber ⁠had about 34,000 employees globally at the ⁠end ​of ⁠last year, according to its annual ​report. The ride-hailing firm's stock rose 2 percent ⁠on the ⁠news, ⁠which ‌was f

Sept. 2, 2026

Korean ground search team reaches Nepal base camp

A South Korean Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) deployed to flood-hit Nepal decided to move to its search base camp in Battar on Wednesday local time, advancing its timeline by a day to expedite rescue operations for missing Koreans. According to media reports, the 44-member team, led by Lee Kyu-ho -- head of the KDRT and director general for development cooperation at the Foreign Ministry -- arrived in Kathmandu earlier in the day. Lee noted the unit was originally scheduled to inspect potential bas

Sept. 2, 2026

Ex-senior police official indicted over alleged obstruction of Gwangju murder probe

A former head of the National Office of Investigation under the National Police Agency was indicted Wednesday on charges of obstructing an investigation into a high-profile murder case in Gwangju, prosecutors said. Park Sung-ju was charged with abuse of power for allegedly ordering separate investigations into the suspect's stalking and rape case and his subsequent murder case, according to the Gwangju District Prosecutors Office. Park allegedly gave such orders despite repeated suggestions to t

Sept. 2, 2026

Homeplus wins court approval for rehabilitation plan, averting bankruptcy

The Seoul Bankruptcy Court on Wednesday approved Homeplus's corporate rehabilitation plan, letting the hypermarket sidestep bankruptcy and setting it on course to exit court receivership. Secured creditors, unsecured creditors and shareholders voted in separate classes at the same-day meeting, with approval requiring more than 75 percent, 66.7 percent and 50 percent support, respectively. "We declare the rehabilitation plan approved, with 100 percent approval among secured creditors, 75.90 perce

Sept. 2, 2026

Lee pledges to build on Trump opening for US-N. Korea dialogue

President Lee Jae Myung pledged Wednesday to create conditions for renewed US-North Korea dialogue, as he seeks to turn US President Donald Trump’s latest overtures to Pyongyang into an opening for diplomacy. Lee underlined that South Korea must break the inter-Korean deadlock and move the peninsula beyond its decades-old armistice toward a lasting peace regime in his address to Americas-based members of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council. “As President Trump’s determination has created a

Sept. 2, 2026

‘We are still Nepali’: Students in Korea rally for flood victims

More than 100 Nepali students at Hoseo University are far from home as Nepal reels from catastrophic flooding. On Wednesday, they joined faculty members in launching a campaign to help survivors rebuild their lives. “Nepal has suffered severe damage from sudden floods,” said Ajit Yadav, 24, president of the university’s Nepali Students’ Association. “Climate change is melting glaciers, and many precious lives have been lost as a result.” “Nepal urgently needs greater attention and support from t

Sept. 2, 2026

Ground search team closes in on Nepal dam site

South Korea’s six-member ground search team is staying near the flood-hit Upper Trishuli-1 hydropower plant construction site in Nepal, where nine Korean workers went missing Aug. 26. As of Wednesday afternoon, the team was at Dhunche, about 2 kilometers from the hydropower plant’s weir, where one of the nine workers is believed to have been when the flash flood struck. Using drones, the team surveyed the area around the weir with assistance from Nepali authorities. A helicopter was used to sear

Sept. 2, 2026

S. Korea sees surge in suicide-encouraging content, most posts aren't deleted: report

More than 600,000 reports of online content that could encourage or facilitate suicide were filed in South Korea last year, but 7 in 10 remained online at the end of the year, government data showed Wednesday. The Health Ministry received 602,781 reports of what Korean law defines as “suicide-inducing information” in 2025, according to data provided to Rep. Seo Mi-hwa of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and first reported by Seoul Shinmun. The category includes posts seeking suicide partners

Sept. 2, 2026

6 missing, 1 dead after tugboat capsizes off Busan

One crew member died and six remained missing Wednesday after a tugboat capsized off Busan, with strong waves and currents hampering rescue operations, according to the Busan Coast Guard. The TNS Catcher, a 286-ton tugboat, capsized at 1:29 p.m. about 9 kilometers southeast of Oryukdo with eight crew members aboard. It had departed from a government vessel pier at Busan Port at 10:15 a.m. to tow a merchant vessel involved in an earlier accident, the Coast Guard said. The crew comprised six South

Sept. 2, 2026