K-pop cultural icons including Oscar-winning actor Youn Yuh-jung, television director Kim Tae-ho, idol groups NCT Dream and Oh My Girl were named as the winners of the Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards on Thursday. The 12th edition of the annual awards, conferred by the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, recognized individuals’ contributions in spreading the Korean Wave. A total of 29 celebrities from diverse areas of the entertainment in

South Korean baseball's postseason will begin next Monday, two days after the end of the regular season. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced its postseason schedule Thursday. It will begin with the wild card game between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds Monday. The higher seed will advance to the next round with a win or a tie, while the lower seed must win two straight games to move on. The wild card winner will then face the No. 3 team from the regular season in the best-of-three first

Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Thursday it will allot part of new shares to six Samsung Group affiliates, including Samsung Electronics Co. Samsung Heavy Industries, suffering from continued losses, plans to raise 1.28 trillion won ($1.1 billion) by selling 250 million common shares at 5,130 won per share to repay its debt and develop eco-friendly shipbuilding technologies. Of them, 50 million shares, or 20 percent, have been sold to the company's workers for 256.5 billion won. Later in

Spy agency rules out health issues with Kim Jong-un

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said Thursday that it will take innovative products of small local companies to next year’s CES, the world’s largest tech show held annually in Las Vegas. For the Korean pavilion at the CES 2022, some 210 companies and 13 institutions will travel to the US, according to Kotra. Among them, some 14 local companies had a chance to showcase their latest products at Korea Electronics Show 2021, underway at Coex in southern Seoul, from Tuesda

South Korean IT security solutions provider RaonSecure said Thursday it has won a cyberattack defense competition hosted by the nation’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service. According to the firm, two teams led by ethical hackers from RaonWhiteHat, a subsidiary that provides consulting services on IT security, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 at 2021 Cyber Conflict Exercise & Contest. CCE is an annual cyberattack defense competition hosted by the NIS. Of 282 participants, 30 of tho

Critics call for more realistic approach to help small businesses struggling through pandemic

Park Jihoon held a media showcase to roll out his fifth EP, “Hot & Cold,” in southern Seoul on Thursday.   　 It has been only two months since his previous EP. During that short period he has also hosted an online concert and appeared on TV shows.   　 “I can’t not be busy since there are fans who like me,” he said, thanking them and adding that they are the source of momentum for him. He said he keeps himself healthy by boxing and learning how to pla

Korean steelmakers witnessed their highest-ever profits in the third quarter this year, backed by strong sales due to surging steel prices. On Thursday, Hyundai Steel announced a 2,374 percent jump in operating profit to 826.2 billion won ($705 million) for the July-September period via a regulatory filing. Consolidated sales increased by 31.3 percent on-year to reach 5.86 trillion won, while the operating profit margin also increased to a record two-digit score of 14.1 percent, the company

LG Electronics hit a new high in quarterly sales in the third quarter, owing to the continued consumption in the consumer electronics sector under the pandemic, the company announced Thursday. The tech giant, the largest home appliance provider in South Korea, posted 18.78 trillion won ($16.1 billion) in sales, the highest-ever in the firm’s history. Compared to the same quarter last year, sales soared 22 percent. But the Q3 operating profit stood at 540.7 billion won, a 49.6 perce

Aspiring to achieve the same global recognition as K-pop and K-dramas, North Chungcheong Province, the home of traditional Korean martial arts taekkyeon, plays host to various martial arts-related programs. “At the World Martial Arts Festival in 1998, North Chungcheong Province established the World Martial Arts Mastership, successfully hosting the first and second mastership in North Chungcheong Province in 2016 and 2019, respectively. We developed martial arts into a cultural business b

Four-day event continues to Oct. 30 featuring colorful side events