South Korea's industrial output and retail sales rebounded in September in the latest sign that economic recovery momentum has been maintained despite the fourth wave of the pandemic, data showed Friday. Industrial output rose 1.3 percent in September from the previous month, following a 0.2 percent on-month decline in August, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. From a year earlier, industrial output rose 1.4 percent. Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, also rebounded i

ROME -- President Moon Jae-in was set to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday to discuss peace on the Korean Peninsula and efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic, the presidential office said. The Friday meeting will take place as Moon visited Rome to attend the Group of 20 Leaders' Summit over the weekend before traveling to Glasgow to join the global summit of the COP26 climate change gathering. It will be Moon's second meeting with Pope Francis since October 2018. Moon and Pope

WASHINGTON -- The United States is reviewing the possibility of declaring a formal end to the Korean War from various angles, a ranking US diplomat has said, according to a South Korea official visiting the US. Mark Lambert, deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, made the remark in a meeting with Lee Seok-hyun, vice chairman of South Korea's National Unification Advisory Council, according to Lee. The council offers policy recommendations to the South Korean president. Lamber

Halloween dessert at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul In the spirit of Halloween, Four Seasons Hotel Seoul is offering Halloween desserts and children’s programs in October. A Halloween dessert made by executive pastry chef Alexandre Chersouly is available until Sunday at the hotel’s lobby lounge, Maru, and at the cafe Confections by Four Seasons. The eye-catching bat-shaped dessert features crunchy hazelnut, smooth chocolate sponge cake, and creamy pumpkin and chocolate mousse. It fill

Herb Island Pink Muhly Festival Herb Island Pink Muhly Festival will be available for flower-loving visitors through Sunday at Pocheon Herb Island in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. The autumn season event of Herb Island features a romantic ambiance created by the mesmerizing scenery with the pink muhly. Hands-on experiences with flowerpot decorating, pink soap making and pumpkin carving are offered for visitors of all ages. Every corner of Herb Island is an Instagram photo zone for festival par

A cacophony of images, a riot of colors. That is what I saw at an exhibition in Itaewon, central Seoul, heralded as a hip show. It surely had all the elements of an of-the-moment show: Provocative images, saturated colors, all the glamour of glossy artwork. “Toiletpaper: The Studio” at Hyundai Card Storage in Itaewon is a literal replica of the photography-based magazine Toiletpaper’s Milan studio. The exhibition is touted as the first to ever look inside the studio of Ita

Dune (US) Opened Oct. 20 Science fiction Directed by Denis Villeneuve In the year 10191, Paul Atreides (Timothy Chalamet) is born into a great destiny beyond his understanding. In his dream, he meets a strange woman from the dangerous desert planet Arrakis. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over Arrakis’ exclusive supply of precious resources that could unlock humanity’s great potential, Paul and his family receive an order to head to the planet.  Venom: Let There Be C

America is in a bad mood. Granted, this is a subjective impression, but it is common, and there is no shortage of analyses of it, examining everything from social media to income inequality. I would like to try on for size the simplest possible explanation: If Americans are much more negative than they used to be, it is mostly about politics, and in recent decades political failure has become much more pervasive than it used to be. The result is a kind of national mood disorder. I am not so nai