The official music video for girl group Black Pink’s latest single “As If It’s Your Last” surpassed 300 million views on YouTube.The video, released in June 2017, reached the mark at around 3 a.m. Monday, the group’s management agency, YG Entertainment, said Monday. The video has gained the most views among K-pop music videos uploaded on YouTube last year.  (YG Entertainment)YG chief Yang Hyun-suk also congratulated Black Pink via Instagram, while apparently announcing an upcoming return for the

Performance May 14, 2018

Leaks of private photos and videos on South Korea’s college campuses are fueling fears of hidden cameras.A female model who leaked photos of a male model posing nude for a drawing class at Hongik University in Seoul was arrested Saturday. She took photos of the man without his knowledge and posted the images on an online community on May 1, sparking nationwide controversy.Another case went viral Friday after a Korea Aerospace University student “mistakenly” uploaded a sex video to a Kakao Talk g

Social Affairs May 13, 2018

The 2018 Lotte World Tower International Sky Run wrapped up on Sunday morning.A total of some 1,500 vertical runners and citizens ran up from the Arena square on the bottom floor to the 123rd floor of South Korea’s tallest building, in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Twenty-four professional vertical runners -- 12 men and 12 women -- participated in the elite competition. Piotr Lobodzinski from Poland and Suzy Walsham from Australia came in first, at 15 minutes 53 seconds and 18 minutes 45 seconds, respective

Social Affairs May 13, 2018

For craft beer lovers, N Seoul Tower will be the place to visit next week.CJ Foodville announced Thursday that it will host the Beer Week & Music Festival at N Seoul Tower on Namsan from May 14 to 20.  (123RF)Beer specialists will hold special classes during the week. Beer tasting programs will also be held in front of the tower starting on May 18, along with indie band performances from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.A pairing service to recommend the right beer for your meal will also be provided throughout

Culture May 10, 2018

Police have begun investigating a case where photos of a high school dorm room taken by hidden cameras were reportedly spread online. According to Gyeonggi Province Nambu Police on Thursday, a report was filed Wednesday that “screenshots from an illegally taken video” of a high school dormitory, located in the south of Gyeonggi Province, seem to be circulating. (123RF)Some 20 screenshots from a video taken with a hidden camera showed female students inside a dorm room. The photos appear to have

Social Affairs May 10, 2018

Yoona of Girls’ Generation will release the single “To You” in collaboration with guitarist Lee Sang-soon at 6 p.m. Sunday.According to S.M. Entertainment, “To You” is a song written by Lee with lyrics by Yoona. The two appear in the second season of “Hyori’s Bed & Breakfast” on JTBC.  (S.M. Entertainment)The new track will be an acoustic ballad reminiscent of Jeju Island, the setting of the variety show, where K-pop star Lee Hyo-ri and her husband Lee Sang-soon provide lodging for guests at the

Performance May 9, 2018

Police said Tuesday that a man who killed himself after stabbing his wife on Monday had shown symptoms of delusional, or pathological, jealousy.A man, 58, stabbed his wife at a restaurant in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, at around 11:30 a.m. on Monday. The man stabbed himself in the stomach and died afterwards, according to Deokjin Police Station.  (123RF)Acquaintances of the couple said during questioning that he had repeatedly suspected his wife’s relationships with other men. The man had bee

Social Affairs May 8, 2018

Police have booked 12 people without detention for allegedly using forged degrees or college transcripts to get a job or a marital partner. According to North Chungcheong Provincial Police, the suspects contacted a forger via online advertisements and requested counterfeit documents to seek employment, apply for loans or deceive their partners. An unnamed suspect, 36, requested the forger to make a counterfeit college transcript and other documents in February 2017. The suspect reportedly submit

Social Affairs May 7, 2018

Upon reaching the 20,000th issue of The Korea Herald, one of our faithful readers shared why he has been reading the paper and offered personal tips on effective reading. Baek Nam-hak, 69, said he first subscribed to The Korea Herald in the early 1970s when he was in college.“I was living outside the capital back then and did not have much resources for studying,” Baek told The Korea Herald. He said he had mainly read editorials in the paper to prepare for job entrance tests, which had required

People May 3, 2018

Younger generations in Korea tend to leave work on time rather than stay late, according to data compiled by a local credit card company.Around 42.8 percent of workers in their 30s made payment on transportation between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. after leaving work, BC Card announced Thursday, based on analysis of its credit card user data.Meanwhile, only 31.6 percent of those in their 40s and 25.6 percent of 50-somethings made transportation payments via card during that time, BC Card said. In South Kor

Social Affairs May 3, 2018

K-pop boy band iKON will hold a fan meeting to celebrate 1,000 days since the group’s debut, YG Entertainment said Wednesday.IKON debuted on Sept. 15, 2015 with digital single “My Type.” June 10 will mark the 1,000th day, just a day after the scheduled fan meeting event titled “iKON 2018 Private Stage Kolorful.”  (YG Entertainment)After releasing the group’s first full-length studio album in November 2015, iKON made a long-awaited return with its second studio album “Return” in January. The albu

Performance May 2, 2018

Suwon City has started its ‘Green Curtain’ project to cover building facades with plants, as a way to lower indoor temperatures and the level of fine dust in the atmosphere.The city government plans to install green curtains at 23 institutions in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province by the end of May, including the city hall building, district offices and several elementary schools.  Pictured is an outer wall of a house with green curtains. (Yonhap)Green curtains refer to climbing plants which are planted o

Social Affairs May 2, 2018

K-pop group SHINee will make a comeback near the end of May, according to SM Entertainment.The agency said Monday that “SHINee is in its final preparations to release a new album at the end of May.”The group is also scheduled to hold a fan meeting on May 27, celebrating the 10th anniversary of debut.  (SM Entertainment)SHINee made its debut in 2008 with “Replay.” Some of its other hit tracks include “Love Like Oxygen,” “Juliette,” “Ring Ding Dong,” Lucifer” and “View.”The unexpected death of lea

Performance April 30, 2018

As the #MeToo movement continues to sweep across various industries in South Korea, efforts are under way to address sexual violence on college campuses, but signs for a tangible change remain elusive. Ewha Womans University recently called on its president to take procedures to expel a professor of arts and design, who is accused of sexually harassing and groping his students from 2005 to 2017. Students at Ewha posted memos on the door of the professor’s office, criticizing his acts and demandi

Social Affairs April 25, 2018

A Seoul appellate court on Wednesday upheld a two-year jail sentence for a graduate student who attacked a professor with a homemade bomb last year.According to the judges of the Seoul High Court, the defendant, a mechanical engineering student at Yonsei University in Seoul, had spent more than two weeks making a bomb from a coffee tumbler in June last year. The crime “is far beyond what society can tolerate and deserves strict punishment,” the judges explained in their sentence.The graduate stu

Social Affairs April 25, 2018