Koreans prefer cash in Chuseok gifting for parents

More Koreans are expressing a preference for offering cash instead of gift sets to their parents during the Chuseok holiday, data showed Thursday. According to a survey conducted by KB Kookmin Card, a subsidiary of South Korea's KB Financial Group, among a total of 420 survey participants, 91 percent are planning to prepare gifts either in monetary or non-monetary form for their parents, with almost 80 percent opting for cash while 43 percent are considering product purchases. In terms

Social AffairsSept. 22, 2023

[Herald Interview] Gang Dong-won says he’s ready to take on older roles

Dr. Cheon, the fake, comical exorcist Gang Dong-won portrays in the upcoming occult comedy flick “Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman,” has many similarities to the characters he played in 2009’s “Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard” and 2016’s “A Violent Prosecutor.” “I did intend to set the tone of Dr. Cheon character to be somewhere in between Woo-chi and Chi-won -- at least in the first half of the story where Dr. Cheon’s cunning wits had t

FilmSept. 22, 2023

Swimmer Lee Ho-joon enjoys flying under radar

South Korean swimmer Lee Ho-joon has spent the past few years in the shadow of his more famous relay teammate, Hwang Sun-woo. When the two aren't teaming up for the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay, Lee and Hwang engage in an internal competition in the men's 200m freestyle. Hwang is the more accomplished athlete of the two, having won silver and then bronze in the 200m freestyle at the past two World Aquatics Championships. Lee, though, took a big step forward at this year'

More SportsSept. 22, 2023

[김대균의 영어산책] 바른영어표현(2)

영어와 한국어 사이에는 문화적인 차이도 많다. 예를 들어 회사에 입사해서 첫 근무에 ‘ 잘 부탁드립니다’에 맞는 영어가 없다. 필자가 EBS 원어민들에게도 확인해본 결과 실제 그런 취지의 영어가 없다. 영작을 할 때 우리말을 그대로 영어로 옮기면 틀린 영어가 될 때도 많다. 영어를 영어답게 공부하기에는 Korea Herald 가 좋은 자료가 된다. 지난주에 이어서 쉽게 읽으면서 공부할 수 있는 김대균의 바른 영어 표현 원고를 공개한다. No. 6 [과거분사 grounded] 외출 금지! 영문: You are grounded. ground-grounded-grounded(지상에 있는) 이 표현의 유래: 파일럿에게 비행기 타지 말고 땅에 있으라는 말에서 나왔다. cf. grind – ground – ground(갈은) ground beef(갈아서 다진 소고기), ground coffee(갈아서 가루가 된 커피) 문법 포인트:

English EyeSept. 22, 2023

Seoul shares open lower amid woes over Fed's drawn-out rate hike cycle

South Korean stocks started lower Friday, tracking an overnight tumble on Wall Street, amid concerns the US Federal Reserve will keep its restrictive monetary policy in place for longer than expected. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 21.67 points, or 0.86 percent, to 2,493.30 in the first 15 minutes of trading. All three US stock indexes fell on Thursday as investors' risk appetite dwindled after the Fed hinted it may go for another rate hike later this year after a rate

MarketSept. 22, 2023

[From the Scene] HD Hyundai offers a glimpse of second-gen autonomous construction equipment

HD Hyundai XiteSolution, the construction equipment arm of HD Hyundai, revealed the future of construction technology at Boryeong Proving Ground, a mock construction site in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province on Wednesday. The company showcased their second-generation Concept-X equipment, an update following the introduction of the first generation in 2019. Concept-X represents the company's concept integrated IT-driven construction management system. This system employs drone 3D scanning

IndustrySept. 22, 2023

PM to meet with Xi on sidelines of Asian Games in Hangzhou

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, later this week, an official said Friday. Han will depart for China on Saturday to attend the opening ceremony, which is set to take place later in the day. The meeting with Xi is most likely to occur before the event. "It has been confirmed that the meeting will take place, and we are currently finalizing the location and timing," the

Social AffairsSept. 22, 2023

Biden rebukes Russia for turning to N. Korea, Iran for more arms

US President Joe Biden slammed Russia on Thursday for seeking more weapons from Iran and North Korea for use in its war in Ukraine, reiterating such an arms transfer would flout UN Security Council resolutions. Biden made the remarks during a White House summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during which he announced a $325 million military assistance package, including artillery, ammunition, and air defense capabilities. "Russia alone stands in the way of peace. He could end

Foreign AffairsSept. 22, 2023

Yoon revs up efforts to promote Expo bid in back-to-back New York summits

President Yoon Suk Yeol held another round of back-to-back summits with world leaders in New York on Thursday as he rampped up his push to promote South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan. Since his arrival in New York on Monday to attend the UN General Assembly, Yoon has held dozens of two-way summits in a last-ditch effort for the Expo bid. In a morning summit, Yoon met with Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso and said that bilateral talks on the signing of a strategic econ

PoliticsSept. 22, 2023

[Well-curated] A weekend for fall-time festivities

Namhae Oktoberfest comes to Seoul A limited-time pop-up event introducing Namhae German Village is being held in Seongsu-dong through Tuesday. The event sheds light on how Namhae German Village -- a village built by Koreans who went to work in Germany primarily as nurses and miners in the '60s and the '70s and returned to Korea after retirement, many of them with their German spouses. The village was first settled by about 75 families. The event showcases photos and maps of Namhae Germ

CultureSept. 22, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Sleep” (South Korea) Opened Sept. 6 Mystery/Thriller Directed by Jason Yu A pregnant Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) discovers that her husband, Hyun-soo (Lee Sun-kyun), has started exhibiting strange behaviors while asleep. Overcome with anxiety that he may be a danger to the family, Soo-jin goes to great lengths to protect them and their baby. “A Haunting in Venice” (US) Opened Sept. 13 Mystery/Crime Directed by Kenneth Branagh Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot returns to his peace

FilmSept. 22, 2023

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights around Korea

Wonju Dancing Carnival The Wonju Dancing Carnival will be held at the Wonju Sports Complex in Gangwon Province, Sept. 22-24. The event will feature various programs, including art performances, a dance competition, a fringe festival, a free dancing festa and more. K-pop girl group fromis_9 and singers Insooni and Kim Bum-soo are scheduled to perform onstage. Admission is 10,000 won, with a special discounted rate of 5,000 won for Wonju residents. More information can be found at ddcwj.com. Gim

TravelSept. 22, 2023

[Around the hotels] Promotions and packages

Grand Hyatt Seoul presents special dining experiences Grand Hyatt Seoul is offering special dining experiences for the autumn season. The hotel’s Japanese restaurant presents dobin mushi, a traditional Japanese broth served in a tea pot with various ingredients and matsutake mushrooms. Tenkai, another Japanese restaurant at the hotel, offers lobster salad, unadon and meat and vegetable skewers, to be paired with craft beer and sake. The hotel’s Steak House offers premium beef steaks

FoodSept. 22, 2023

[Graphic News] Schedule of competitions for Korean athletes at Hangzhou Asian Games

　South Korea has opted to send 1,140 athletes to compete in 39 of 40 events in its largest delegation ever to the Asian Games, scheduled to begin on Sept. 23 and end on Oct. 8 in Hangzhou, China. 　The first medal events will take place Sunday. 　South Korea is setting its sights to grab around 40 to 50 gold medals and finish within third place of overall medal standings, with its main rivals to be China and Japan. 　At the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, South Korea ranked third with 49 gold me

More SportsSept. 22, 2023

[Jean Guerrero] What first-generation students need

First-generation college students are less alone than they were a decade ago. Today, more than half of America's undergraduate students have parents who never got bachelor's degrees. Many campuses have programs to empower them, such as by connecting them with mentors, academic support and financial aid. But there's a lot more that can be done. Now that the Supreme Court has struck down race-conscious college admissions, first-generation students are a logical group for universitie

ViewpointsSept. 22, 2023

US watching closely for possible N. Korea-Russia arms trade: senior US official

The United States is closely monitoring possible arms trade between North Korea and Russia, a senior US official said Thursday, after last week's summit between their leaders raised concerns about military cooperation. During a meeting with a group of reporters in Brussels, the official also said South Korea has expressed its willingness to actively support North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries that assist Ukraine in its war against Russia. "Obviously Russia is looking fo

Foreign AffairsSept. 21, 2023

Russian Embassy voices 'deep regret' over Yoon's warning on growing Pyongyang-Moscow ties

The Russian Embassy in Seoul on Thursday expressed "deep regret" over President Yoon Suk Yeol's speech condemning military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow at the United Nations and accused him of joining Washington's "propaganda campaign." During his keynote address to the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday (U.S. time), Yoon warned that any arms deal between the two countries would be considered a "direct provocation" against South Korea, relaying

Foreign AffairsSept. 21, 2023

[Herald Interview] Farrar, Straus and Giroux looking for next ‘Parasite’

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, a part of Macmillan USA, boasts an impressive portfolio of Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning titles. Rohan Kamicheril, a senior editor at FSG, said the company has yet to feature a Korean writer and hopes to broaden its literary horizon by discovering new Korean voices. “We want to find writers in other parts of the world who are doing challenging, provocative things,” said Kamicheril. “I don't want to just bring over writers who do something simi

BooksSept. 21, 2023

Art:Gwangju:23 kicks off with special exhibitions

Gwangju city’s annual art fair, Art:Gwangju:23, kicked off Thursday at the Kimdaejung Convention Center with 105 galleries participating. Some 13 booths are dedicated to special exhibitions. The 14th edition of the art fair in the southwestern city is hosted by the city government and run by the Gwangju Branch of Korean Fine Arts Association. The four-day art fair includes culture talks by Kim Byung-hun, director of Sochon Art Factory, and Yoon Byung-hak, director of Chungjang 22, a cultur

Arts & DesignSept. 21, 2023