The city of Gangneung in Gangwon Province has set up a replica of a bus stop featured on the cover of BTS’ full-length album “You Never Walk Alone.”Gangneung, a city on the east coast of the country, recently built the bus stop on one of its beaches, Jumunjin. The location is the spot where the shooting of BTS’ album jacket took place. (Yonhap)The new bus stop will not function as an actual stop for local buses, according to the Gangneung city government. It will instead serve as a photo spot fo

Performance June 29, 2018

In what became both the first win and the last match for South Korea in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, a number of Korean fans gathered in various venues across the country and lit up the night with chants and screams.The Group F match between South Korea and Germany took place from 11 p.m., Wednesday in Korea.Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul was packed from corner to corner with people clad in red, praying for a “miracle.”According to Soccer Power Index, the chances of South Korea winni

Soccer June 28, 2018

Seoul will roll out measures to reduce the use of disposable cups at cafes and fast-food restaurants, starting in July. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that it will conduct inspections from July 9-25 on whether local cafes and fast-food restaurants are promoting the use of nondisposable cups at their stores.  (FreeQration)The move aims to ensure that an agreement -- signed by the Ministry of Environment, 16 local businesses and 21 brands -- to cut down on using disposable i

Social Affairs June 27, 2018

Black Pink set another record as a K-pop girl group, topping 100 million views for a music video 10 days after its release.The music video for “Ddu-du Ddu-du,” the lead track on the group’s latest EP, set the record at around 11:45 p.m. Monday. The EP, “Square Up,” was released on June 15, 6 p.m.No other South Korean girl group has garnered 100 million views within 10 days of a release. (YG Entertainment)With this new record, every music video released by Black Pink now has more than 100 million

Performance June 26, 2018

A man in his 70s has been booked for killing a woman on Monday, presumably because she had refused to see him.Seongnam Sujeong Police Station said Tuesday that they have booked a 74-year-old man for killing a woman on the day before at around 3:50 p.m., at the victim’s house in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The victim, also in her 70s, was an acquaintance of the man.(Uto Image)The man is also under charges of injuring another woman, who came to visit the victim at her house, as she attempted to s

Social Affairs June 26, 2018

Lotte Duty Free, South Korea’s top duty-free operator, apologized via its official Instagram account Saturday for sending girl group Black Pink off stage mid-performance at its Lotte Duty Free Family Festival. The organizer of the two-day festival, held at the Seoul Olympic Stadium Friday and Saturday, said in its post that the “performance was interrupted during BLACKPINK’s third song, ‘Forever Young’” due to safety issues. Black Pink performed at the opening of the festival on Friday.  Black P

Performance June 24, 2018

The summer solstice fell on Thursday, marking the start of haji, one of 24 divisions of the year on the lunar calendar.The sun reaches its highest altitude in the Northern Hemisphere on this day, resulting in the longest period of daylight of the year. High temperatures were felt around the country Thursday, topping 30 degrees Celsius in some inland regions including Daegu, Andong in North Gyeongsang Province and Chuncheon in Gangwon Province.  A heat haze over the streets of Yeouido in Seoul A

Social Affairs June 21, 2018

Two operators of a “disco pang pang” amusement ride have been booked for sexually harassing a schoolgirl, police said Tuesday.According to Incheon Seobu Police Station, two operators of the amusement ride have been booked without detention for sexually harassing and molesting a middle school student in November last year.The operators, who are referred to as disco pang pang “DJs” in Korea, also face charges of using abusive language toward three other students of the same school. An indoor “disc

Social Affairs June 19, 2018

K-pop artists fromis_9 and Seventeen are confirmed as performers at KCON 2018, set to take place in August in Los Angeles.The two groups will perform at the Staples Center and LA Convention Center at the seventh annual KCON LA, scheduled to be held from Aug. 10-12.  (KCON USA)The nine members of fromis_9 were brought together through Mnet’s reality show “Idol School” in 2017. Before officially debuting in January 2018, the group made a major stage appearance with “Glass Shoes,” its pre-debut sin

Performance June 15, 2018

Tiffany of Girls’ Generation has signed under a major entertainment agency based in the US, taking a step forward in her solo career. Paradigm Talent Agency has recently listed the singer on the list of musicians on its official website as “Tiffany Young.” Tiffany’s official accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Spotify can be reached through her profile.  (Screenshot from Paradigm Talent Agency's official website)With a presence in major cities across the US and internationally

Performance June 14, 2018

On the day of the quadrennial local elections in South Korea, a movement went viral to cast invalid votes as a protest against the lack of female candidates. A Korean hashtag, which translates into “(write) ‘female politicians’ on ballot,” started appearing on Twitter several days before the June 13 elections kicked off. As of Wednesday afternoon, tens of thousands of posts with the hashtag or those mentioning the issue have poured out online. (Yonhap)One Twitter user who used the hashtag clarif

Politics June 13, 2018

Speculations are rising on whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un greeted US President Donald Trump in English, upon meeting for their summit Tuesday at around 9 a.m. in Singapore.According to initial reports from the White House joint press, Kim said in English, “Nice to meet you, Mr. President,” while shaking hands with President Trump at the Capella Hotel on the island of Sentosa in Singapore. A reporter from Politico claimed to have heard Kim say those words, reporting from a short distance

North Korea June 12, 2018

Starting on Monday, workers who get injured while going to and from restaurants during lunch breaks will be able to receive compensation for the accident. According to the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service on Sunday, “industrial accidents” will now include accidents that occur while workers go to, and return from, restaurants outside of the workplace.This undated file photo shows workers coming out of their workplace for lunch. (Yonhap)Current regulations only acknowledged accident

Social Affairs June 10, 2018

TVXQ wraps up its Japanese tour Sunday, with the total in attendance across the concerts expected to top 1 million.According to Japanese news reports, TVXQ’s ongoing “Begin Again” tour in Japan will come to a grand finale with a three-day concert series at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture. TVXQ (Yonhap)Nissan Stadium is the largest concert venue in Japan, and can host more than 70,000 people. The K-pop duo is expected to attract 220,000 fans during its concerts at the stadium, hel

Performance June 10, 2018

A man in his 30s has admitted to killing his girlfriend when the victim demanded to end the relationship.According to Seoul Jungbu Police Station, the man, identified by his last name Kang, killed his girlfriend at a studio apartment in Sindang-dong, Seoul on Friday.  (Uto Image)Kang said during questioning that he killed his girlfriend when she asked to break up during an argument. They had been arguing because Kang “saw his girlfriend messaging with another man.”Police noted that the man had b

Social Affairs June 7, 2018