The incoming Yoon Seok-youl administration will focus on nurturing 6G telecommunication technology, rechargeable batteries, next-generation nuclear reactors, artificial intelligence and cultural content as future growth engines, according to Ahn Cheol-soo, the head of the presidential transition tea...

The Ukrainian government on April 24 deleted a video showing Japan's wartime emperor Hirohito, beside Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini and apologized for linking them.The spat has reignited long-standing debates over Japan's culpability for its wartime atrocities.The video had sparked furious prote...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has threatened South Korea with a preemptive nuclear strike just four days after he exchanged personal letters with outgoing President Moon Jae-in.Kim made the threat during a huge military parade marking the 90th anniversary of the North Korean army in Pyongyang on M...

A delegation sent to Tokyo by president-elect Yoon Seok-youl met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday. They agreed to make joint efforts to restore broken trust between the two countries. Kishida said Tokyo "can wait no longer" for relations to improve, according to the Japanese For...

Spending on expensive goods surged further this year as pent-up demand for overseas travel in lockdown was channeled into palpable luxuries instead.According to Samsung Card on Tuesday, single purchases over W1 million increased 89 percent on-year in the first quarter of this year (US$1=W1,254). Pur...

The Korean economy grew 0.7 percent in the first quarter compared to the previous three months, the Bank of Korea said Tuesday. Private consumption and investment shrank due to the coronavirus pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but exports fared well, rising 4.1 percent led by semiconductors...

Actress Jeon Jong-seo has been cast in Netflix's new action film directed by her boyfriend Lee Chung-hyun.Jeon revealed late last year that she has been dating Lee since working with him on his debut feature film, "The Call" in 2020.Lee's new film, tentatively titled "Ballerina," deals with the stor...

Korea is emerging as a global hub for the semiconductor equipment industry, with the world's top four manufacturers, accounting for 60 percent of the world market, opening research and development centers here.World No. 3 Lam Research of the U.S. opened a high-tech research center in Yongin, Gyeongg...

Newly-wed couples are falling over each other to book honeymoons abroad after quarantine for returning travelers was lifted here. Korea's biggest tour operator Hana Tour said since restrictions were lifted last month, it has seen a 10-fold increase in queries for honeymoon trips to the Maldives or H...

Starbucks had made a killing from its prepaid scheme in lockdown as more people sent online gifts to celebrate anniversaries and occasions.According to data from the Fair Trade Commission, Starbucks Korea bagged W340.2 billion in prepaid charges last year, up 84 percent from a year earlier (US$1=W1,...

Global ratings agency Standard & Poor's has kept Korea's sovereign credit rating at AA with an outlook of "stable."S&P said in a statement Tuesday, "The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the Korean economy will grow more than most other high-income economies over the next three to...

Harvard University is vowing to spend $100 million to research and atone for its extensive ties with slavery, the school's president announced Tuesday, with plans to identify and support direct descendants of dozens of enslaved people who labored at the Ivy League campus.President Lawrence Bacow ann...

He is not low key or known for listening, key attributes of his former German counterpart, Angela Merkel. But with his reelection Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron has arguably cemented another role, some say: succeeding Merkel as the European Union's de-facto leader, with his call for a stro...

A New York judge on Monday held former President Donald Trump in contempt of court for not producing documents subpoenaed in the state attorney general's civil probe of his business practices, and ordered Trump to be fined $10,000 per day until he complies.Trump lost a bid to quash a subpoena from s...

The United States and its allies signaled Tuesday they are moving swiftly and powerfully to support Ukrainian forces as they defend against Russia's two-month invasion, while the United Nations said Russia's president agreed "in principle" to let international aid groups evacuate civilians from the ...

Beijing has begun mass COVID-19 testing most of its 21 million residents amid fears the Chinese capital will be placed under a strict lockdown similar to the one imposed on Shanghai.Authorities expanded testing across 11 districts Tuesday after launching the mass testing drive in Beijing's most popu...

To peel boiled quail eggs easily, rinse them in cold water, put them in an airtight container with water and shake it.

President-elect Yoon Seok-youl will start his term on May 10 in a nondescript government building in downtown Yongsan as he moves the presidential office out of the palatial Cheong Wa Dae. People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Han-hong, who heads the taskforce handling the relocation of the presidential ...

Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong on Monday said inflation is a bigger concern for the bank than economic slowdown."Rising consumer prices and slowed growth are both worrisome, but so far inflation poses a bigger concern," Rhee told reporters in his first press conference since his inauguration...

Popcorn is back in Korea movie theaters now that eating during performances and screenings is allowed again. Many people welcome eased restrictions, but some are startled by how much ticket prices had increased during the coronavirus pandemic. Multiplex chains CGV, Lotte Cinema and Megabox hiked tic...

Monthly exports of Korean instant noodles surpassed US$70 million for the first time last month. The Korea Customs Service said Monday that exports of instant noodles stood at $71.58 million in March, up 20 percent from a year earlier and comfortably higher than the previous monthly record of $66.66...

Korea's figure skating world is witnessing the rise of an up-and-coming star with potential to surpass the decorated superstar Kim Yu-na, who is now retired from competition.Shin Ji-a, who won a silver medal at the International Skating Union World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Est...

Singer-turned-actress Seol-hyun, who is still active as a member of girl group AOA, is set to appear in cable channel tvN's new mystery series slated for airing on Wednesday."The Killer's Shopping List" revolves around a murder case in a peaceful neighborhood where residents and police officers try ...

Automaker Hyundai has posted the highest first-quarter operating profit in seven years and nine months, unfazed by a semiconductor shortage and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The stellar achievement was possible due to rising sales of high-margin cars such as the Genesis premium brand and SUVs. Affil...

The Korean won plunged W10.8 against the U.S. dollar on Monday to W1,249.90, the lowest in 25 months. The won opened at W1,243.50 but weakened to W1,250.10 at one point in trading.The last time the won fell below W1,250 was on March 24, 2020. The only time it surpassed W1,250 was during the eurozone...

Surging raw material prices are pushing up the prices of new cars. Domestic carmakers have been increasing car prices by W1 million to W2 million since 2021 and are poised to hike them even further (US$1=W1,250). Thus the price of a new Hyundai Palisade SUV which is to hit showrooms after a facelift...

North Korea began a much-anticipated military parade in its capital on Monday to mark the 90th anniversary of its army's founding, with outside experts saying it was likely to display powerful missiles and other weapons capable of targeting the United States and its allies. South Korea's military sa...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk reached an agreement Monday to buy Twitter for $44 billion cash. The sale will transform the social media giant from a publicly traded company to a privately held one, owned solely by Musk, the world's richest person. Discussions over the deal accelerated after Musk unveiled a fi...

Beijing residents snapped up food and other supplies as the city's biggest district began mass testing of all residents on Monday, prompting fears of a Shanghai-style lockdown after dozens of COVID-19 cases in the capital in recent days.Authorities in Chaoyang, home to 3.45 million people, late on S...

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is headed to Moscow for a meeting Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a renewed bid to try to get him to agree to a pause or end to his two-month assault on Ukraine.Guterres' spokesperson said the UN chief is later going to the Ukrainian capital of ...

Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday that it had declared 40 German diplomatic staff "personae non gratae" in a retaliatory move after Berlin expelled the same number of Russian diplomats.In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said it had taken the decision after Germany on April 4 declared a...

To reduce the bad smell from a garbage bag, sprinkle it with baking soda.

Thunderstorms will rake the parched country on Monday and Tuesday, beginning with southern regions on Monday night.Until Tuesday, up to 50 mm of torrential rain will fall on Jeju Island, 20 to 70 mm of rain in Chungcheong provinces and southern regions, and 5 to 40 mm in the capital area and Gangwon...

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to visit Korea in the third week of May to meet with President Yoon Seok-youl.A diplomatic source told the Chosun Ilbo the schedule for Biden's visit to Korea is "virtually fixed." Biden is stopping over on his way to Japan to attend at a meeting of the Quadrilat...

Korea's world-class electric-car battery makers are being overtaken by Chinese rival CATL, which is now the world's biggest EV battery maker thanks to huge demand inside China. CATL is expanding production bases to North America, Europe and Southeast Asia as Korean EV battery makers scramble to keep...

The U.S. government has issued a series of warnings against cyber attacks and hacking attempts, especially from North Korea. The Washington Post pointed out the contradictions. "In the world of government-backed hackers, North Korea stands out for its sheer weirdness," it said on April 22. "The vast...

Korean investors own more than W7 trillion worth of Bitcoins (US$1=W1,244). According to data from cryptocurrency exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit on Sunday, domestic investors owned 128,828 Bitcoins as of the end of last month.Based on the closing price on Upbit on March 31 of W55.35 mi...

The music video for "Fake Love" by boy band Bangtan Boys, also known as BTS, surpassed 1.1 billion views on YouTube on Saturday."Fake Love" is the lead track from their album "Love Yourself: Tear" released in May 2018. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It is the group's s...

Girl group TWICE performed sold-out concerts in Tokyo, Japan over the weekend.TWICE opened the shows with "The Feels," their first English-language single, as tens of thousands of fans waved light sticks, illuminating the Tokyo Dome. Originally only two shows, on Saturday and Sunday, were scheduled,...

The music video for girl group Blackpink's "Boombayah" has surpassed 1.4 billion views on YouTube.The feat came some five years and eight months after its release in August 2016.Blackpink now boasts 32 music videos with more than 100 million views on YouTube. Of these, six have attracted more than 1...

Second COVID-19 booster shots for senior citizens started Monday, but the booking rate remains at only 22 percent. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Sunday, a mere 2.39 million out of 10.75 million senior citizens who had their jab more than four months ago have booked ...

Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur has reclaimed the No. 1 spot in Sky Sports' English Premier League Power Rankings, based on players' performance in the previous five matches. He previously rose to the top in 2020. The latest ranking came out last Friday. Son ranked first among 381 players as he r...

The latest K-pop sensations, girl group Aespa, played the main stage Saturday night at Coachella, one of America's biggest music festivals. At the venue in the California desert, Aespa played some of their biggest hits, including "Next Level" and "Savage," along with the unreleased track "Life's Too...