The official presidential campaign period kicked off Tuesday for a 22-day run, allowing candidates to rally on streets and ad campaigns to hit the air in a final appeal to voters ahead of the election on March 9. Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, launched his campaign of the official period at the stroke of midnight with a visit to a vessel traffic control tower in the southeastern port city of Busan. Yoon Suk-yeol, the candidate of the main opposition People Power Par

BEIJING -- South Korea defeated Japan 10-5 to keep its medal hopes alive in the women's curling tournament at Beijing 2022 on Monday, relying on a combination of superb shotmaking and the opposition's miscues. South Korea, which had lost to the United States 8-6 earlier Monday, evened its record at 3-3 with three games left in the round robin. South Korea is tied with Canada and Britain for fifth place. Switzerland is leading the way at 5-1, followed by Japan (4-2), Sweden (4-2) and the US (4-2)

Strongly believing that visual art has power to influence the human condition, UK-based interdisciplinary artist Hong Young-in has been exploring ways to contribute to the society as an artist. The exhibition “Young In Hong: We Where” at PKM Gallery is Hong’s first solo show after presenting her work at the 2019 Korea Artist Prize organized by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. Born in 1972, Hong studied at Seoul National University and Goldsmiths Co

North Korea will issue commemorative coins to mark the upcoming birth anniversary of its late leader, state media reported Tuesday, in a move to kick up a festive mood for the national holiday. The standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly decided to issue the gold and silver coins in celebration of the 80th birthday of Kim Jong-il, late father of current leader Kim Jong-un, which falls on Wednesday this year, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The coins are

A natural earthquake struck near North Korea's nuclear test site again Tuesday, South Korea's weather agency said, marking the fourth quake to hit the region in just five days. The 2.5 magnitude quake struck about 38 kilometers north-northwest of Kilju, North Hamgyong Province, at 6:52 a.m., the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. "It has been analyzed as a natural earthquake," an agency official said. The epicenter was at a latitude of 41.29 degrees north and a longitude o

Dividend payouts by South Korea's major listed firms fell more than 14 percent in 2021, but seven paid out more than 1 trillion won ($835 million), a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The combined amount of dividends by 53 companies, including top-cap Samsung Electronics Co., stood at 28.55 trillion won for fiscal 2021, down 14.4 percent from a year earlier, according to Leaders Index. The firms cover those that have announced dividends as of Friday out of the country's top 100 listed corporatio

Lee Yoo-mi might be one of the luckiest actors in the world because she instantly skyrocketed to global fame for her roles in two highly successful Netflix dramas, "Squid Game" and "All of Us Are Dead." In the sensational survival drama "Squid Game," released in September last year, Lee played Ji-yeong, or Player 240, a young woman who competes for the 45.6 billion won ($38.1 million) in the mysterious contest after being released from prison for killing her abusive

BEIJING -- The short track speed skating competition at Beijing 2022 will wrap up Wednesday with two finals: the men's 5,000m relay and the women's 1,500m. South Korean star Choi Min-jeong is the defending champion in the 1,500m. She has won two silver medals so far in Beijing -- in the 1,000m and the 3,000m relay. In the men's relay, South Korea hasn't won gold since 2006 and missed the podium altogether at each of the past two Olympics. Hwang Dae-heon, the 1,500m champion in Beijing, is going

South Korea's import prices rose for the first time in three months in January as the costs of bringing in crude and other raw materials became more expensive, central bank data showed Tuesday. The import price index gained 4.1 percent in January from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The rise followed 1 percent and 2 percent on-month declines in November and December, respectively. The January uptick came mostly from increased crude oil and raw materia

The latest blow to democracy is the explosion of coups around the world. Weak democratic governments that are failing to deliver are being overthrown. This global phenomenon has been most evident in West Africa. In the past 18 months, coups have occurred in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Chad. Mali has had two in that period, and Niger and Guinea-Bissau have narrowly escaped coup attempts. More coups occurred in 2021 alone than in the prior five years combined. Africa has been no stranger to coups si

Taeyeon draws the different colors of love through her new album

Two minor natural earthquakes hit near North Korea's nuclear testing site Monday, South Korea's state weather agency said. A 2.3 magnitude tremor occurred about 36 kilometers north-northwest of Kilju, North Hamgyong Province, at 2:33 p.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). At 7:47 p.m., another 2.3 magnitude quake struck about 37 kilometers north of the region, where North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear testing site is located, the KMA said. Both are presumed to have o

A total of 14 candidates will run in the March 9 presidential election, the state election commission said Monday as it concluded the two-day candidate registration. The National Election Commission said 11 people registered their names Sunday and three more joined the race Monday. On Sunday, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party, Ahn Cheol-soo of the centrist People's Party and Sim Sang-jeung of the minor progressive Justi