The South Korean government has begun to use artificial intelligence technology in its fight against illegal sex videos. The state agencies said Monday that they have started applying the AI technology to search and delete illicit sex videos shared on the internet. The technology has been adopted by the Gender Equality Ministry’s center for supporting victims of cybersex crimes. The center expe...

The family company of a 6-year-old South Korean YouTube celebrity has garnered enough money to purchase a building in one of the richest areas of Seoul. According to a report from Maeil Business Newspaper on Tuesday, Boram Family -- the company that operates two YouTube channels featuring 6-year-old girl Boram -- bought a five-story building worth 9.5 billion won ($8.06 million) in Cheongdam-don...

More South Koreans are utilizing social media for sources of entertainment contents than as a means of communications with friends, according to a report released by DMC Media on Monday. According to the survey conducted on 1,000 people here aged between 20 and 60 over the last month, “viewing casually entertaining contents,” selected by 64 percent of the respondents, was the most popular reason...

People in Korea have shown mixed reactions to deepening boycotts of Japanese products prompted by Tokyo’s sudden export controls of high-tech materials to South Korea. In a Realmeter survey of 506 respondents, 54.6 percent were in support of the boycott campaign. On Thursday, “NoNo Japan,” an online community displaying consumer brands and products originating from Japan, was temporarily inacce...

Renowned hanbok designer Park Sul-nyeo expressed disappointment at the way the country’s traditional attire was reinterpreted for a recent beauty contest. In an interview with a KBS1 radio show on Wednesday, the hanbok designer did not hide her negative feelings about the revealing, even suggestive, variations on the traditional costume. “I’m not saying we should wear only the authentic version...

South Korea’s biggest online community dedicated to travel in Japan declared a hiatus Wednesday in a show of support for widespread protests here that increasingly involve boycotts of Japanese goods and services. The protests are a response to the Japanese government’s recent decision to curb exports of high-tech materials to Korea. Founded in 2003, the community, Naver’s Japan Travel Friend, h...

Korean soccer star Lee Kang-in, 18, might have embarked on a new relationship, considering subtle moves he has made on Instagram in recent days. The guesswork has prompted some fans to call for an explanation from Lee. In an online community here, speculations surfaced that Lee could be dating a woman who is two years older than the teen prospect. The only purported evidence so far is that Lee’s...

FINA President Julio C. Maglione received an honorary doctorate degree from Honam University on Monday for his contributions to promoting world peace through the proliferation of sports. The Gwangju-based university cited Maglione’s efforts as a medical practitioner to achieve advancements in proliferation of health and welfare for humanity. An awarding ceremony was held on Monday morning at th...

Despite being brand new, South Korea’s fledgling open-water swim team hopes to popularize the sport here by turning in a strong performance at the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju. As the FINA host nation, Korea competed in an international open-water swimming competition for the first time in its history Saturday morning, with a hastily assembled team taking to the waters off t...

GWANGJU -- The 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships kicked off Friday, bringing athletes and tourists to Gwangju from all over the world, but the venues were far from packed and a number of people expressed disappointment over the number of empty seats. Advance ticket sales were high enough to satisfy the organizers, despite initial concerns that swimming isn’t a popular spectator sport in Sou...

It is quite a spectacle to watch dozens of athletes jump into the ocean at once and swim to the horizon. The open-water events are slated to start Saturday and continue until next Friday at the Yeosu Expo Ocean Park Open Water Swimming Competition Venue in the coastal city. By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)

On the eve of the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships, which kick off in Gwangju on Friday, the host city is holding a cultural festival. According to the city government and the organizing committee for the international event, the festival will take place in the Geumnam-ro area, about 30 minutes from the Nambu University campus, the main venue of the competition. Street markets and activit...

Just the sight of a makeshift diving platform standing 27 meters tall beside a round pool of water is enough to give viewers goose bumps. Imagine athletes performing a death-defying plunge, doing somersaults and twists before hitting the water feet first. Two gold medals are up for grabs in Gwangju -- one for men and the other for women. Gary Hunt of the UK and Steven LoBue of the US are tapp...

Around 8 o’ clock on a recent Sunday morning, more than 30 people waited in line outside a building in eastern Seoul. At the end of the line stood a sign reading “You will not be able to buy from here on.” Just before 9 a.m., a man came out, opened the door and started clearing the street where people stood in line, as they rushed into a small shop. Inside, there’re no tables, just a stack full ...

Part of a building under construction near Sinsa Station in Seoul collapsed Thursday afternoon, crumbling on to cars parked nearby. According to Seoul Seocho Fire Station, the exterior wall of a five-story building undergoing demolition suddenly crumbled around 2 p.m. that day. Two people were injured as the concrete wreckage fell on to several cars parked nearby. They have been transported to a...