SPOTLIGHT

• Industry

  

  Biodegradable plastic? Hanwha Chemical teams up with Yonsei to develop eco-friendly tech

  Hanwha Chemical has established a research center together with Yonsei University to develop innovative eco-friendly technologies, the chemical firm said Monday. The research center, which will run for five years, will focus on five projects involving eco-friendly technologies as part of the firm’s efforts to adapt to climate change. Hanwha chemical websiteOne of the projects will involve using electrolysis to split water molecules to produce hydrogen, a promising alternative to the use of crude

• People

  

  Diminutive ‘Kids Creators’ inject fresh perspective into YouTube

  Twenty years ago, celebrity and K-pop idol crept up the list of dream jobs for children in Korea – a list formerly occupied by doctor, scholar, politician or government official. What followed were a flood of TV talent shows and reality programs on youth aspiring for the limelight.Recent surveys suggest the times are changing once more, as children are opting to perform in front of the much smaller camera of a personal computer as a YouTuber, or as it is more commonly known here, “YouTube Creato

• Social affairs

  

  Opening up workplaces to people with disabilities

  Growing up students are taught to embrace diversity in all corners of life, think in other people’s shoes and to not judge a book by its cover.　In South Korea’s fast-paced, results-focused workplaces, however, core values are often forgotten, with companies applying unilateral recruitment processes, leaving almost no room to spare for persons with disabilities.The right assistance and a shift in social perceptions are needed to pave the way for disabled people to excel at work, ultimately broade

• Social affairs

  

  Seoul to fight against closed tents, trash in Hangang parks

  The Seoul Metropolitan Government laid out plans Sunday to designate tent zones and reduce the amount of trash generated in parks along the Han River, as part of efforts to better preserve the green space and boost public order. Tents will only be allowed to be set up from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 13 specific tent zones in 11 riverside parks – including two in Yeouido Hangang Park and two in Banpo Hangang Park. In the zones, tents must be smaller than 2 meters tall and 2 meters wide, and at least two

LATEST NEWS

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  Industry

  Chinese characters, Korean history outdated: survey

  South Korean companies no longer see knowledge of Chinese characters and Korean history as necessary skills to include in resumes, a poll showed Monday.Obtaining respective qualifications concerning knowledge of Chinese characters and Korean history had been considered by local job seekers as quintessential specifications for employment for decades.The research, conducted by job researcher Saramin, involved 385 local firms. (Yonhap)Of the surveyed firms, 73.2 percent acknowledged there were qual

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  Social affairs

  Garbage returned from Philippines to be incinerated Wednesday

  Some 1,200 metric tons of plastic waste shipped back to Korea from the Philippines in January and 3,400 tons of waste stopped from illegally being exported are to be incinerated starting Wednesday. The Pyongtaek city government will send the unrecyclable garbage currently held at Pyeongtaek Port to four Gyeonggi-area private incineration facilities.Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae is set to visit the port for an on-site inspection on Wednesday to oversee the process, according to the ministry.

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  North Korea

  NK leader's Russia visit may involve tours to art theater, fleet headquarters: report

  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could visit the world-renowned Mariinsky Ballet theater or a Russian Navy fleet headquarters during his widely expected trip to Vladivostok this week for a summit with President Vladimir Putin, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Monday.According to the Kremlin, Kim will visit Russia later this month for talks with Putin. Vladivostok Station (Yonhap)Though no details have been made public, widespread indications are that Kim will make a three-day visit to Vladiv

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  Social affairs

  UNC to approve DMZ peace trails plan 'soon': Seoul military

  The United Nations Command plans to give a green light "soon" to South Korea's plan to open hiking trails involving the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas, Seoul's military authorities said Monday.Earlier this month, the South Korean government announced its plan to open to the public the so-called DMZ Peace Trails in three areas near the inter-Korean border: Goseong and Cheorwon counties in Gangwon Province and the city of Paju in Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap)"Gen. Robert Abrams pla

• Columnists

  Beware of those who only complain

  　A brisk perusal of recent headlines quickly communicates that very few people approve of President Moon Jae-in’s economic policies. 　Online and coffee conversations are dominated by an incessant stream of negativity, replete with words like “disaster,” "disgrace,” and “unforgiveable.” To these critics, I submit a very simple but important question: “What alternatives do you suggest?”　In communication studies, there is something called constructive criticism. This is a form of commentary that fo

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  Defense

  S. Korea’s defense technology 9th in world

  　South Korea’s defense technology ranked ninth in the world last year, with 80 percent of US levels, a state-run military research agency said.　According to the triennial report published by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, the comparative level of Korea’s overall defense technology was tied with Italy, among 16 major countries. 　The US topped the list, followed by France, Russia, Germany, and Britain. China was sixth, and Japan and Israel came next.

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  Politics

  Feud between ruling and opposition bloc deepens

  The friction between the ruling bloc and the main opposition Liberty Korea Party is showing signs of intensifying following a conservative rally Saturday. On Saturday, estimated 20,000 conservatives gathered in central Seoul in a rally organized by the Liberty Korea Party. The party’s rally, the first major demonstration organized by the party since Hwang Kyo-ahn took office as its leader, was joined by members of smaller conservative groups supporting former President Park Geun-hye. Hwang Kyo-a

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  Industry

  CheongKwangJang launches new red ginseng brand

  With growing consumer interest in healthy super food and enhancing immunity levels, South Korean red ginseng product maker CheongKwanJang has launched a special edition of Korean Red Ginseng Extract Everytime -- a 6-year-old Korean red ginseng extract that comes in a portable stick-type pouch. With the spring season in full bloom, the company said it has launched a cherry blossom-motivated package edition called Everytime Blossom, which comprises 100 stick-type pouches in two tin containers.  Ch

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  Columnists

  Robonomic question: economics of scarcity and economics of abundance

  A few months back, I witnessed a massive strike by Korea’s taxi drivers’ union. They were protesting the planned rollout of a ride-hailing application by a technology company. Admirable as their cause was, their fight was an exercise in futility that eventually came to a head when the chief of the taxi drivers’ union immolated himself. In response, the government placed a moratorium on the rollout of the service, another exercise in futility. In my experience, Koreans are often quick to respond

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  International

  No Koreans reported killed or injured in Sri Lanka bombings: embassy

  No South Korean nationals were reported killed or injured in the deadly bombings in the Sri Lankan capital and two other towns on Easter Sunday, the Korean embassy in the South Asian country said.As many as 129 churchgoers and hotel guests were reportedly killed and some 250 others were wounded in the blasts that rocked St. Anthony's Shrine and three hotels in Colombo and two other churches in Negombo and Batticaloa.Local police are still investigating who is behind the bombings, although suicid

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  Robonomic question: economics of scarcity and economics of abundance

  A few months back, I witnessed a massive strike by Korea’s taxi drivers’ union. They were protesting the planned rollout of a ride-hailing application by a technology company. Admirable as their cause was, their fight was an exercise in futility that eventually came to a head when the chief of the taxi drivers’ union immolated himself. In response, the government placed a moratorium on the rollout of the service, another exercise in futility. In my experience, Koreans are often quick to respond

• Columnists

  

  How Xi overplayed his hand with America

  In the rebalancing of Sino-American relations that’s underway, the usual roles are reversed: China’s normally deft President Xi Jinping appears to have badly overreached in seeking advantage. And President Trump, who often seems tone-deaf on foreign policy, is riding a bipartisan consensus that it’s time to push back against Beijing. The two nations will probably make a trade deal soon, patching together a working relationship that has been frayed by a year of tariffs and economic brinksmanship.

THE INVESTOR

• Samsung

  

  Global tech firms face-off over foldable mobile displays

  What was once a Samsung-Apple battle is now seeing many global rivals.The seven-year patent dispute between smartphone giants Samsung Electronics and Apple has thrown the spotlight on intellectual property rights -- the big elephant in the room that will likely determine the fate of market front-runners.The next big buzzword now is “foldable smartphones,” kick-started by Samsung, which is slated to roll out its first-ever foldable smartphone model Galaxy Fold on April 26.Samsung Electronics' mob

• Startups & Investors

  

  AI startup 42Maru showcases solutions at AWS Summit Seoul 2019

  42Maru, an artificial intelligence startup, showcased how its machine learning-based solutions are being utilized at the Amazon Web Services Summit 2019 conference held from April 17 to 18 in Seoul.During a session entitled “Building a Multilingual Question Answering System using AWS AI and AWS ML Services,” 42Maru’s founder D.K. (Kim Dong-hwan) shared the firm’s know-how in creating a deep learning-based business-intelligence solution with multilingual support.  42Maru’s founder D.K. (Kim Dong-

• Economy

  

  Greenpeace calls on Hyundai to hasten shift to carbon-neutrality

  Activist urges tech firms to reduce e-waste by ending ‘planned obsolescence’ in their productsSouth Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor should speed up its efforts in changing its business portfolio toward carbon-neutral in order to avert a major blow in the global market within a year or two, according to senior Greenpeace activist Jude Lee.Globally, countries are setting stricter climate targets in response to growing environmental concerns. The European Union, which aims to be climate neu

• Stocks & Bonds

  

  JYP chief becomes top stock-rich K-pop agency owner

  JYP Entertainment founder and Chief Communications Officer Park Jin-young topped the list of stock-rich entertainment agency owners in Korea, data showed on April 21, amid the industry’s struggle to recover from an ongoing sex scandal involving multiple K-pop stars. The value of JYP stocks held by Park had increased 1 percent, or 1.9 billion won ($1.7 million), from the end of 2018, to 192.2 billion won as of April 18, according to conglomerate research firm Chaebul.com. Park is the largest shar

K-POP HERALD

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  KARD’s Somin, CLC’s Seungyeon to compete to be ‘Next Beauty Creator’

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  BTS returns with new chart-topping album in ode to fans

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  BTS notches third No. 1 on Billboard 200 with new album

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Industry

  

  Rethinking amputee status, prosthetics market in Korea

• Social affairs

  

  George Mason University's Korea campus to expand student quota

• Social affairs

  

  'Underage sex trafficking getting worse’

• Social affairs

  

  Boosting rental housing supply as solution to housing problem

PHOTO NEWS

• Music

  

  Paradise for music players

  In Seoul, there is a paradise for music players.Nakwon Instrument Arcade, otherwise known as Nakwon Music Mall, is a one-stop shopping center of over 300 independent music stores -- selling virtually everything related to music.  (Park Hyun-koo / The Korea Herald)Located in the vicinity of the tourist-heavy Insa-dong and currently Seoul’s hippest street Ikseon-dong, this shop cluster occupies the second and third floors of Nagwon building, which also houses eateries, practice rooms, a concert st

VIDEO

• Industry

  

  Lotte World Tower, witness to group’s twist and turns

• Food

  

  Tongyeong is destination for seafood lovers

• Culture

  

  Throwback to Korea’s roaring ‘20s in Ikseon-dong

• Industry

  

  IFC Seoul, a Yeouido landmark reeling from competition

FEATURES

• Social affairs

  

  Opening up workplaces to people with disabilities

  Growing up students are taught to embrace diversity in all corners of life, think in other people’s shoes and to not judge a book by its cover.　In South Korea’s fast-paced, results-focused workplaces, however, core values are often forgotten, with companies applying unilateral recruitment processes, leaving almost no room to spare for persons with disabilities.The right assistance and a shift in social perceptions are needed to pave the way for disabled people to excel at work, ultimately broade

• Arts&Design

  

  Mindful relaxation at Museum San

  Museum San opens meditation hall, offers art-centered sanctuary

• Social affairs

  

  Gyeonggi Province to build more satellite towns of Seoul

  Gyeonggi’s new cities promise influx of in-city jobs, access to nature, convenient commute to Seoul

• Industry

  

  Korean firms struggle to enter halal market

  Clinching globally acclaimed halal certification key to expansion