A key hurdle the Korean economy faces is the fast-aging population. One way to coax a soft-landing of this problem is to speed up deregulation so that local startups can carry out innovation and improve productivity, according to Startup Alliance Korea Managing Director Lim Jung-wook. “Considering how fast South Korea is aging, we really should have a sense of urgency. Instead of spending too m...

It’s far from perfect, but South Korea’s latest adoption of a regulatory sandbox may provide some relief to the country’s startups, according to the head of one of the largest and oldest startup associations. “Urging member companies to utilize the regulatory sandbox is one of our priorities for this year,” Korea Startup Forum chief Choi Sung-jin said during a recent interview with The Korea Her...

One of the Moon Jae-in administration’s primary goals has been to create jobs and rejuvenate the economy. However, failing to gain momentum, the nation’s conventional growth engines, such as semiconductors, smartphones, and auto businesses are sputtering, while the unemployment rate has hit record lows. Since it looks like these industries aren’t likely to get back on track soon, the government ...

South Korea is riding the global trend of high liquidity in the startup scene. Money is pouring into the sector, and investors are looking for the next big thing to invest in. However, concerns linger that the upcycle is being maintained by government spending, and not a real appetite for startups. In 2018, venture capital investment surged 43.9 percent on-year to 3.4 trillion won ($3 billion),...

On a Friday afternoon, a customer enters a beauty spa that looks like the whole place has been dipped in pink. The difference from ordinary spas is that everything here at Shushu & Sassy is miniature-sized, from the gowns to the chairs. Clad in a pink bathrobe and a hair band shaped like rabbit ears, the customer lets go of her mother’s hand and soaks her feet in a bubbly basin. A spa specialis...

Baby care products have usually taken up only a small section at department stores in South Korea, with a handful of baby care stores filling about half a floor. But brands for babies and toddlers have recently expanded their territories at many of the major department stores here, which have traditionally targeted affluent women in their 40s as their main customers. Buoyed by demand from paren...

South Korean parents’ enthusiasm for child education goes back as far as the moment they are born. It is common for parents to wonder whether they are doing enough for their children, and whether they are giving them as many opportunities possible to ignite their hidden genius. Such is the sentiment that propels the infants and toddlers’ educative playthings markets in Korea, which now has toys...

It is undeniable that many things in life are determined by the circumstances of one’s birth -- nationality, genetics and socioeconomic class not least of all. Added to that list, it was the three-hour window in which I was born in June 1985 that determined I’d be focused on justice and live a life defined by wanderlust. Similarly, the time of my partner’s birth almost exactly a year later deci...

Fortunetelling. Is it frivolous entertainment, or a glimpse of another dimension? And is the saju any different from other fortunetelling methods I’ve tried over the years? I had a chance to find out this past weekend. Since my dog passed away in 2016, I’ve asked fortunetellers about her with disappointing results. One long-distance psychic in Canada came highly recommended, but he charged me f...

Whether you are a believer or a skeptic of divination, the following are questions you may ask a Korean “saju” reader: Is 2019 a good year to change jobs, start a business, or relocate to a new country? Will I meet “the one” this year? When is a good year to get married, if ever, and will I have a wholesome family? If I heighten my nose through plastic surgery, will my luck slide down my newly st...

Apartments are everywhere in Korea. The country’s first apartment block was built as housing for employees of a construction materials maker in 1956. At the time, this type of building was a sight most had only heard or read about. Apartment construction sites were unusual enough to warrant a visit by the president in the 1950s. Since then, apartments have become the most visible, preferred and...

The success of high-rise apartment complexes has been a unique phenomenon in Seoul. Widely spread throughout the city, dense apartment complexes have shaped Seoul, more than a third of whose residents live in apartments. By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)

When looking down at Seoul up in the sky, the capital is filled with square-shaped apartment clusters and gray sky-high office buildings. South Korea’s rapid economic development centered on Seoul has made the country’s capital one of the most populous cities in the world, with skyrocketing housing prices. Over-the-top housing prices have become a major social problem here, amid widespread publ...

Apartments have long been considered a symbol of the concrete jungle. No matter which part of a Korean city you are in, the scenery is the same, with stacks of gray and ivory apartment buildings surrounding you. While it has been around 30 years since apartments became a common form of housing, there has been little change in the design. The height may have increased, but the essential structur...

It cannot be explained scientifically in today’s hypermodern society. But for hundreds of years, Koreans have pinned high hopes on the new year by reinterpreting the symbolic significance of each of the 12 zodiac animals. And this year, Koreans celebrate the Year of the Pig, which symbolizes abundance, luck and fecundity. According to Chinese astrology, the pig is the 12th animal in the 12-year...