[Herald Interview] 'We just want to be ourselves'

So Sung-uk, 32, met his spouse Kim Yong-min, 33, 10 years ago when they were fulfilling their alternative military service as social service agents. They fell in love like any other couple, decided to live together, and promised to spend the rest of their lives together. But the two men faced a series of challenges as a married couple. Not only did they face a lack of acceptance from their families during the first few years, but they also encountered frequent hurdles in their daily lives becaus

Social AffairsJune 29, 2023

[KH explains] Fear of being short fuels early puberty treatment boom

South Korea’s precocious puberty treatment market has seen rapid growth in recent years, as much as parents’ growing interest in children’s height has led to shortages of the therapies. Precocious puberty treatment is prescribed to children whose puberty begins before age 8 in girls and before age 9 in boys. Children with early puberty may grow quickly at first compared to their peers, but they often stop growing earlier than usual, causing them to be shorter than average later

TechnologyJune 28, 2023

No more ‘chimaek’ picnics by Han River?

  For some, a picnic in Seoul is synonymous with “chicken and beer by the Han River.” The combination of fried chicken and beer is so popular in Korea that it even has its own term -- "chimaek," a combination of "chicken" and "maekju (beer)." And relaxing on picnic mats or in pop-up tents along the river while enjoying chimaek has long been a cherished summer ritual for many. Hungry Seoulites can order chicken to be delivered to their location at an

Hashtag KoreaJune 27, 2023

[Herald Review] BTS' Suga proves solo power with 'D-Day' in Seoul

Suga made a bold jump from BTS rapper to solo musician Agust D this year, dropping his first official album, "D-Day," in April and instantly kicking off a global tour. The two-month odyssey was set to end on Sunday in Seoul, with the world tour -- officially titled "Suga | Agust D Tour ‘D-Day’" making its apparent final two-day run in the rapper's home country, before Suga made the surprise announcement of encore concerts the same day. Opening the act to the

K-popJune 26, 2023

Korea Craft and Design Foundation to promote hansik with 'food culture box'

Boxes created to promote traditional Korean cuisine, named the Korean food culture box, will be sent to Korean Culture Centers in three new cities -- Ottawa, Canada; Abuja, Nigeria; and Jakarta, Indonesia -- bringing the total to 12 cities in 10 countries that are part of the hansik promotion project, according to the Korea Craft and Design Foundation, the project organizer. Launched by the Culture Ministry and the KCDF in 2020, the food culture boxes have been designed to showcase Korean food

CultureJune 25, 2023

Fifty Fifty becomes longest-charting K-pop girl group on British Official Singles Chart

Fifty Fifty's hit song "Cupid" has set a new record for the longest entry on the British Official Singles Chart Top 100 by a K-pop girl group. According to the latest data released Friday (the United Kingdom time), the song ranked 16th, down from 12th the previous week, staying on the chart for the 13th consecutive week. The previous record for the longest-charting song from a K-pop girl group was held by "Kiss and Make Up," a collaborative single between BLACKPINK and D

PerformanceJune 24, 2023

Foreign students to get more rights to work

The Justice Ministry announced Friday plans to allow foreign students to work as interns within their field of study during their vacation. The Justice Ministry said the move, to take effect from July 3, is designed to help foreign students pursue careers in Korea. Additionally, foreign students' maximum weekly working hours during term time will increase to 25 hours, from 20 hours. Currently, students are only allowed to get part-time jobs for up to 20-35 hours, depending on which type o

Social AffairsJune 23, 2023

Korea Inc. heads to Vietnam to strike deals

With South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol taking his largest economic delegation involving top conglomerate chiefs on a state visit to Vietnam on Thursday, anticipation is growing on new joint business opportunities their trip will create for the two countries. For the three-day state visit, Yoon has formed his largest-ever delegation to accompany him, consisting of 205 entities -- 24 conglomerates, 28 mid- and small-sized companies, six economic lobbying groups, six economic associations and th

IndustryJune 22, 2023

[Newsmaker] 82-year-old Seoul Paik Hospital to permanently close its doors

A final decision has been reached to permanently close the 82-year-old Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital, hospital officials announced Wednesday. Located near Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul’s Jung-gu district, the general hospital -- which had opened as the nation’s first surgical hospital in 1941 -- has been suffering from mounting losses. While the exact closure date is yet to be decided, Seoul Paik will “now proceed with necessary preparations in the following weeks, such a

Social AffairsJune 21, 2023

Universal Ballet's Kang Mi-sun wins best female dancer at Benois de la Danse

Kang Mi-sun, a principal dancer at Universal Ballet in Seoul, has won the top prize at the prestigious Benois de la Danse, an annual ballet competition held in Moscow. Kang, along with China's Qiu Yunting, jointly received the best female dancer award at the awards ceremony held at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on Tuesday, according to the organizing committee. Kang was honored with the award for her role as a widow who bids farewell to her husband in "Mirinaegil,” an original pr

PerformanceJune 21, 2023

[Korean History] 1989: The year Koreans started traveling abroad

  A passport was once something reserved for a privileged few in South Korea until the government began allowing all citizens to travel freely overseas on Jan. 1, 1989. To prevent an outflow of foreign currency that would weaken the Korean currency against the dollar, as well as to minimize Koreans’ contact with communists, international travel was only permitted for certain groups of people who had special reasons for it. These included company officials or businesspeople who need to

Hashtag KoreaJune 21, 2023

What 'cagongjok' reveal about Korean culture, psyche

South Korea may not be the birthplace of coffee and cafe culture, but its passion for both is extraordinary, rivaling that of cafe meccas such as Italy and France. Cafes are found in almost every nook and corner of Seoul, as well as elsewhere throughout the country. A common sight in these establishments is individuals occupying tables meant for four, engrossed in their intellectual activities, predominantly studying, with their headphones plugged in. These individuals are called "cagongj

Hashtag KoreaJune 20, 2023

Ramen firms under pressure to lower prices

South Koreans ramen makers said Monday that it is currently difficult to adjust the prices of their ramen products, in response to the South Korean government's recent call for them to cut prices amid the fall in raw material costs. "Milling companies were supplied with months' worth of raw materials when their costs were high. Even if the prices of wheat and other major materials needed for making ramen have fallen recently, it is difficult to adjust the price of ramen immediatel

ConsumerJune 19, 2023

Bustling Jongno pocha street is a regulatory minefield

For avid viewers of Korean dramas, the sight of a lead character nursing a bottle of soju at a "pojangmacha," a makeshift roadside eatery, is a familiar trope. Venture beyond this well-worn cliche, and you will find that the Jongno 3-ga Pojangmacha Street pulses with a more vibrant atmosphere. The 200-meter stretch from Exit 5 to Exit 6 of Jongno 3-ga Station transforms from daily calm into a lively nighttime spectacle, with plastic tables and stools overflowing onto the pavements from

Hashtag KoreaJune 18, 2023

Education Ministry to audit institution overseeing Suneung to make it ‘fair’

South Korea’s Vice Education Minister Jang Sang-yoon said Friday that the Education Ministry would audit the institution overseeing Suneung, the nation’s scholastic aptitude test, to assess the exam's fairness. Jang said the ministry would team up with the Office for Government Policy Coordination regarding when and whom it would audit, as the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation is a government body operating under the OPC, not the Education Ministry. The ministry declined t

PoliticsJune 16, 2023

Instagram partly to blame for Korea's record-low fertility rate, says star lecturer

A star math lecturer’s diagnosis on South Korea’s persistently falling birth attributing part of the blame to Instagram overflowing with “flex posts” went viral Thursday. In a video clip, uploaded to his YouTube channel, apparently from a lecture, Chung Seung-je shares his thought on the issue, starting with a question, “Koreans had more babies in the past when they were much poorer. Things have gotten a lot better now, but why do people have fewer babies?” &l

Social AffairsJune 15, 2023

[From the scene] Is investment drought near end for Korean biotech?

Over 500 Korean companies and institutions gathered in Boston to take part in the BIO International Convention 2023 last week to discover new partnerships and to negotiate potential licensing deals. The number of participating Korean biotech and pharmaceutical firms and agencies doubled this year from a year ago, the largest after those from the United States, raising anticipation for the industry which experienced investment drought last year. “During this year’s event, multinatio

IndustryJune 14, 2023

More flexible workweeks at Samsung, large firms

Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it is introducing more flexible working hours by allowing employees to take one Friday off per month. Keen attention is being paid to the brand new working hour scheme launched by the nation’s largest company by sales, renewing discussions about the idea of a four-day workweek, two decades after a five-day workweek was introduced back in 2002. Samsung’s new policy will be applied to all employees who fulfill the required work hours of 160 to 168 hours

IndustryJune 13, 2023

[News Focus] What's really driving Yoon's war on unions?

    Last week, South Korea’s largest umbrella union declared a boycott of the country’s tripartite social dialogue channel, declaring an "all-out war" against what they called the “anti-labor” administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The decision by the Federation of Korean Trade Unions has effectively struck down the Economic, Social and Labor Council, as it has been the sole labor representative in the presidential consultative body for labor polic

PoliticsJune 12, 2023

4 kids found alive after 40 days in Amazon

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Four Indigenous children survived an Amazon plane crash that killed three adults and then braved the jungle for 40 days before being found alive by Colombian soldiers, bringing a happy ending to a search-and-rescue saga that captivated a nation but also prompted questions about their extraordinary survival. Officials in the South American country announced their rescue Friday, following days of highs and lows as searchers frantically combed through the rainforest hunting for

World NewsJune 11, 2023