Hybe has become the first K-pop management agency to surpass 1 trillion won ($838 million) in annual sales, boosted by successes of its artists led by global superstars BTS. The company said in a regulatory filing Tuesday its sales for 2021 were tentatively tallied at 1.25 trillion won, up 58 percent from the previous year. Its operating profit rose 30.8 percent on-year to 190.3 billion won with a net profit estimated at 141 billion won, up 62 percent. It marks the first time Hybe has exceeded

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hwang Hee on Tuesday said that he plans to officially propose “Culture Olympics” to the International Olympic Committee. Hwang said that he pitched the idea to IOC President Thomas Bach at the Beijing Olympics, saying that an Olympics dedicated to culture would fit the goal of the sports event which brings the global communities together, providing opportunities for athletes to have various exchanges, reduce differences and enhance harmony. &ld

The first known COVID-19 death in South Korea was a 63-year-old hospitalized at a closed ward of a psychiatric hospital in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province. The man, who was schizophrenic, died with pneumonia on Feb. 19, 2020, at the hospital where he had been a resident for over 20 years. He tested positive postmortem. In less than a week after his death, six more at the hospital lost their lives to the virus. All of the 101 patients save for just two ended up getting infected. The outbrea

Presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party has come under fire over a scene in his campaign ad where a man side-eyes a woman during a job interview, with the caption “fairness and common sense destroyed.” In one scene during the one-minute ad, a nervous looking job interview candidate in a suit looks at another man sitting next to him briefly before side-eying a woman. As the man comes out of the room, he appears upset as he takes his name card o

Enhypen will drop its second Japanese single on May 3, the group’s agency Belift Lab announced on Tuesday. 　 The single, titled “Dimension: Senkou,” will include Japanese versions of “Drunk-Dazed,” the lead track from its second EP “Border: Carnival,” and “Tamed-Dashed,” the lead track from its first LP “Dimension: Dilemma.” It will also contain “Always,” the band’s second original song in Japanese that was chos

Sejong Center for the Performing Arts unveiled Monday a series of plans to revitalize the ageng cultural complex that is facing competition from newer facilities as well as financial difficulties. Ahn Ho-sang, who took the helm of the center in October, said that the Sejong Center faced competition not just from other performance facilities but also digital content platforms such as Nexflix. Ahn, a former CEO of the National Theater of Korea, said it was therefore “inevitable that center

Making domestic postnuptial trips special, young couples reenact parents’ romantic scenes at same spot

LG Energy Solution was listed on the main Kospi bourse in January, 30 years after the company took its first step as a pioneer in the rechargeable battery business in 1992. Its next goal is to become “a company that is trusted and loved by customers.” LG Energy Solution’s initial public offering set several records, raising capital of more than 10 trillion won ($8.3 billion) and attracting 114.1 trillion won in deposits from some 4.4 million retail investors. As the first K

German psychologist Erich Fromm says self-exploitation, lack of autonomy make us feel inert, while local medical scholar analyzes underlying mental, emotional or physical causes behind the ‘symptom’

SEJONG -- At least 1 in 2 South Koreans were found to have predicted home prices to go down in the coming year, amid a variety of tight regulations and rising interest rates, data from the Bank of Korea showed Tuesday. According to the monthly consumer survey conducted by BOK, the index for households’ outlook on housing prices sat at 97 in February, down three points from a month earlier. The index indicates that the number of households predicting a decline in housing prices was higher

Teachers’ unions are voicing out their concerns after the government announced schools will have the choice to provide full remote classes during the first two weeks of March. The Ministry of Education announced Monday that it has designated March 2 -11 to be a new semester adjustment period, allowing schools to hold online-only classes if needed. Previously, the ministry had warned schools to refrain from switching to an online-only class scheme. However, it changed its stance with a s

The South Korean antitrust regulator granted a conditional approval on Tuesday for a merger between South Korea’s two biggest air carriers to prevent monopoly in the country’s aviation industry. The Fair Trade Commission’s decision was made after concluding that Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana Airlines might limit competition. After the merger, the two air carriers would operate around 48.9 percent of international flights from South Korea and 62 percent of domestic