According to a report by HS Ad, there has been rising demand for “speakeasy bars” in Korea in recent months. Speakeasy bars were originally illicit establishments that served alcohol during the prohibition era (1920-1933) in the US. While definitely not illegal in 21st-century Korea, these new types of restaurants here rely on word-of-mouth rather than full-fledged promotion, and often operate ...

The growing popularity of strength training among women can be seen in sales figures. According to e-commerce site Gmarket, sales of fitness equipment preferred by women -- such as kettle bells and dumbbells -- have increased by 36 percent this year as of Oct. 27, compared to a year earlier. A survey by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on participation in everyday sports showed an ...

Changing fashion One hashtag that stands out this year is #Deungsanfashion. Before 2020, middle-aged men and women wearing sun hats and brightly colored professional hiking garb were the norm on mountains in Korea. However, with the growing number of millennials going to less challenging mountains in and around cities, more fashionable yet comfortable ensembles are frequently seen on the trails...

Ko of Kyung Hee University stressed a need to shed light on homegrown wines to discover which ones go well with Korean dishes. One of the newly emerging pairing principles is to look at the ingredients of a dish and their country of origin. The optimal accompaniment for Korean foods is a Korean wine, made from grapes grown in one of the country’s 140 or so vineyards, including ones on Incheon’s ...

Switzerland has four official languages: German, Italian, French and Romansh. The country teems with people from all parts of Europe who understand how matters are done in their respective home countries. Hence, penetrating Switzerland becomes a shortcut to the continent. There are also Korean companies who invest in Swiss technology. GCMS, a diagnostics subsidiary of Green Cross Corporation, h...

“The reason for the popularity of sound bars is due to their convenience and affordable price compared to home theaters. Sound bars complement TVs, which have become thinner and as a result don’t have very good sound,” said Jung. Major digital and home appliance companies like LG and Samsung have released new products since the spread of COVID-19. Samsung, which has the largest share of the glo...

Now, with the government asking people to refrain from long-distance travel in an effort to rein in the new coronavirus, those who are not fans of the holiday are likely to take full advantage of the situation. The trend among younger people -- those in their 20s, 30s and 40s -- is to travel during the holiday instead of taking part in family gatherings. The Korea Airport Corp., which oversees ...

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...