The Korea Herald

[Weekender] World’s first EV expo kicks off on Jejudo

IndustryMar 14, 2014

The International Electric Vehicle Expo, the world’s first exhibition solely dedicated to fully-electric vehicles, will be held from March 15-21 on Jejudo Island, with some 40 carmakers, battery suppliers and other EV-related companies joining from Korea and abroad. Seven carmakers ― Renault Samsung Motors, Kia Motors, BMW, Nissan, GM Korea, Mia Electric and Tajima ― will display their latest EV...
[Weekender] Jejudo an emerging test bed for future cars

IndustryMar 14, 2014

The scenic Jejudo Island is emerging as mecca for the international electric vehicle market. Dozens of global powerhouses are gearing up to release state-of-the-art products on the southern island. BMW, Kia, as well as yet-to-be-introduced French brand Mia have all set their eyes on the “global test bed.” Carbon-free island The biggest attraction of Jejudo Island among electric vehicle compani...
[Weekender] Deja vu

TelevisionMar 7, 2014

The 1990s were a culturally vibrant decade that saw the birth of the legendary boy band Seo Taiji and Boys and first-generation idols like H.O.T. and Sechs Kies. It was the beginning of what we now call K-pop, and a period when Korean popular culture, especially movies and TV dramas, made great strides both in style and content. The decade is often hailed as Korea’s cultural heyday and continues...
[Weekender] Old music bridges generations

MusicMar 7, 2014

In a popular cartoon on the Internet, a man in his early 40s holds a floppy disk and asks a young boy, “Have you seen one of these before?” to which the boy exclaims, “Wow, you made a 3-D model of the save icon!” Poking fun at the generational gap between the youth of today and the middle-aged, the cartoon is a reminder of the inevitable differences in culture and shared memories between differe...
[Weekender] Reliving good old days

CultureMar 7, 2014

When 41-year-old housewife Kim Soo-yeon recalls the early 1990s, it is with dreamy eyes and a hint of excitement in her voice. Her hero, late singer Kim Kwang-seok still roamed the stage, job prospects were bright as Korea’s economy continued to grow, and she was ready to enjoy what the world had to offer. “Those were my golden days. Back then, I felt like I could achieve anything,” Kim said. ...
[Weekender] Analog-faced high-tech gadgets lure buyers

IndustryMar 7, 2014

From digital cameras that feature designs from the 1970s to television sets with dials, a growing number of electronics brands are exploiting the nostalgic yearning for the past to attract people who miss the analog days. Ham Sun-hae is one of those consumers who find retro-inspired appliances a great fit for her home. “Even though I already have a television at home, I want another vintage-look...
[Weekender] Retro fever sweeps Korean consumers

CultureMar 7, 2014

Twenty-four-year-old college student Rho Jyong-ho has been all about retro these days. “Lately, I’ve been spending the majority of my weekends watching movies and dramas that are set in the 1990s,” said Rho. “Although I can relate to some things from when I was growing up, there are a lot more things that I can’t recall, probably because I was too young.” Rho is one of many people in Korea who ...
[Weekender] Chic, handy and green

NationalFeb 28, 2014

Sacrificing style, convenience and utility for the sake of the Earth? That may not be necessary. Here comes a new breed of eco-friendly products that are functional, stylish and environmentally sound, to boot. From recycled clothes to biodegradable takeout coffee cups, eco-designers are diversifying green options so that we can throw away our Earth-polluting lifestyle. Armed with creative ideas ...
[Weekender] Eco-goods carve out niche

Arts&DesignFeb 28, 2014

Some up-and-coming fashion houses are turning upcycling into a lucrative business. In 1993, graphic designer brothers Markus and Daniel Freitag embarked on an experiment to make bags from used truck tarpaulins, bicycle inner tubes, seat belts and airbags, inspired by the multicolored traffic rumbling through Zurich. Twenty years on, Freitag’s versatile, waterproof and robust messenger bags have...
[Weekender] Consumers to drive green market

NationalFeb 28, 2014

Consumer pressure will mean that designers who incorporate green ideas into the way products are conceived, produced and consumed will prevail in future, according to Kim Dae-ho, author of bestsellers “Eco-Design” and “Eco-Creator.” From active recycling to zero waste disposal, people and businesses will value products that are designed in ways that harm the environment less and deliver more soc...
[Weekender] Sustainable design gaining traction

NationalFeb 28, 2014

The concept of eco-design, adding environmental value to design or vice versa, is taking root in Korea as people open their eyes to the importance of the environment and eschew instant gratification when it involves products that pollute. Recognizing the huge economic potential of eco-design, the government is running various programs to help businesses and individuals commercialize their creati...
[Weekender] Biomimicry: Seeking answers from nature

ScienceFeb 21, 2014

The scene of a blind man walking along a street using a white cane may be a familiar sight, but these days his cane might have a secret edge ― an advantage made possible by a process that took place over tens of millions of years. The cane, developed by a U.K.-based company, is fitted with ultrasound emitters and detectors that mimic the echolocation ability of bats. The device uses ultrasound ...
[Weekender] Learning through imitation

ScienceFeb 21, 2014

“Plants and mosquitoes have very tiny structures, and there was internal flow. So, for example, sucking blood is impossible to observe with conventional microscopes,” he said. To overcome this, Lee said his team developed a new X-ray imaging technique to observe the fluid movement and used a new type of particle to measure the rate of flow. Recently his lab has used this to make progress in act...
[Weekender] Saving our blue planet

ScienceFeb 21, 2014

Every day, thousands of factories gush smoke into the air and millions of cars gulp gasoline, with billions of people exhausting the limited resources on the solitary blue planet. Traditionally, human society has depended on the consumption of depletable assets, such as oil and coal. Like the mice in the book “Who Moved My Cheese,” people have just kept on using the resources in the false belief...
[Weekender] The natural look

ScienceFeb 21, 2014

Qualcomm first mass-produced Mirasol displays through Korea’s Kyobo bookstore eReader in 2011. Because of its efficiency, users did not need to charge the device as frequently as rival devices. Ahn Jung-hyun, head of Kyobo bookstore’s Digital Content Team, said the eReader could be used for more than 10 hours without charging. Qualcomm used the Mirasol display for its smart watch, the Toq, in D...