The music video for BTS’ “DNA” gathered 1.4 billion views on YouTube on Thursday, announced label Big Hit Music Friday. 　 This is the seven-member band’s second video to reach the milestone after the music video for “Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey).” 　 “DNA” is the main track from its 2017 album “Love Yourself 承 ‘Her’” and entered Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 85 and climbed up to No. 67 while staying on the chart for four

  Thousands of Buddhist monks from across the nation gathered in Seoul on Friday to protest against the “religious bias” that they claim is prevalent within the Moon Jae-in’s government. An estimated 5000 monks demanded an apology from President Moon Jae-in for ”religious bias and discrimination” during the protest which took place at Jogyesa, the chief temple of South Korea‘s largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order. They also called for the introduction

The Ministry of Justice has opened another third-party visa application center in London earlier this week, the latest in a series of moves to reduce the workload of embassy staff. “Starting from January 17, 2022, the Government of the Republic of Korea will open the Korea Visa Application Center (KVAC) in London, operated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), to manage Korean visa applications submitted by UK nationals and third country nationals regularly residing in th

The escalating geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine is drawing attention to whether Washington will pose restrictions on exports to Russia, and the headache that could pose to South Korean electronics giants. The White House National Security Council has informally asked the Semiconductor Industry Association, a chip lobbying group in the United States, to brace for possible actions against Russia if it invades Ukraine, Reuters reported. The Joe Biden administration may attempt to c

A court on Friday allowed a YouTube-based media outlet to broadcast most of its recordings of phone conversations between one of its staffers and the wife of main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol. In an injunction suit launched by Kim Keon-hee, Yoon's wife, the Seoul Southern District Court allowed Voice of Seoul to disclose the recordings, except for parts that delve into private matters of Kim's family and conversations between Kim and third party entities. The existence of th

Lotte Corp., the holding company of South Korean retail giant Lotte Group, said Friday it has acquired an entire stake of Ministop Korea Co. for 313.37 billion won ($263 million). Under the deal, Lotte will take over 2,600 Ministop convenience store outlets across the country and 12 logistics centers to strengthen its retail business, the company said in a statement. Lotte operates the country's biggest department store chain and the second-biggest large discount store chain in terms of sales

Thousands of Buddhist monks held a rally in Seoul on Friday, demanding President Moon Jae-in apologize for what they called the government's anti-Buddhist bias after a ruling party lawmaker accused temples of collecting admission fees from visitors to national parks. The lawmaker, Rep. Jung Chung-rai of the Democratic Party, has been under a firestorm of criticism from South Korea's largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order, since he compared temples collecting "cultural asset viewing fees&qu

An exhibition that features trends of premium and unique sneakers titled “Neck Breakers” is being held at Hoard Gallery in Samcheong-dong, Seoul. The exhibition will run through Sunday. It displays various valuable sneakers including Michael Jordan’s Nike shoes, Kanye West’s Adidas shoes and also sneakers that were considered futuristic in the films of the ‘80s. The exhibition also features some behind stories related to sneaker companies and celebrities’ p

The Financial Supervisory Service is looking to scrutinize whether executives’ decision to exercise stock options that prompted a stock plunge at Kakao Pay was a sign of risk management deficiencies the financial services firm should address, according to an FSS official. The CEO and two other executives at Kakao Pay stepped down Thursday amid criticism that their exercise of stock options in December last year, a month after the firm listed, brought an unwarranted stock dip.  The C