For the first time, esports — competitive video gaming — is set to be incorporated as an official medal event at the 2018 Asian Games that kick off in Indonesia in August. And all eyes are on whether South Korea, an esports powerhouse, will be participating in the inaugural event.　Until recently, it was uncertain whether Korea would be sending esports players to the upcoming Asian Games due to domestic administrative issues.In order to send national athletes to the Asian Games, at least one regi

South Korea's energy ministry said Tuesday it has agreed with China to complete a joint study to check the feasibility of connecting the electricity grids of the two countries by the end of the year.The project is the first step of the so-called Northeast Asian super grid initiative that would allow electricity generated from wind in Mongolia to be used in South Korea and Japan and throughout China.South Korea's state-run power utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. and its Chinese counterpart

Information and communication technology ministers of South Korea, Japan and China met for the first time in seven years in Tokyo to discuss ways to boost exchanges, officials said Monday.The trilateral meeting was the sixth of its kind, after the last one held in Malaysia in 2011.Since the creation of the ICT meeting among the three North East Asian countries in 2000, Korea has been seeking to hold the meeting annually, but Japan and China were not available for unknown reasons due to domestic

Korea’s tech startup Looxid Labs develops VR headset that analyzes user reaction to content using eye-tracking and brainwave sensors

From parking towers to vehicle elevators, South Koreans have found ways to alleviate the chronic parking space shortage. In particular, parking is a nightmare in Seoul, as the city’s nearly 10 million-strong population inhabit just 605 square kilometers of land and many households own more than one car. But with the advent of technologies, the struggle of finding a parking space is becoming less excruciating.Living up to its reputation as the most-wired nation in the world, Korean companies have

SK Telecom said Friday it will participate in a government-led research project to develop an autonomous public transportation system. The mobile operator said it will take part in the project led by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Infrastructure with an aim to develop a public transportation system based on self-driving technologies by 2021. Other participants of the project include Hyundai Motor Company and Seoul National University. The 35.9 billion won ($33.2 million) project aims to dev

South Korean tech titan Samsung Electronics on Friday vowed to consider all options over a US verdict that ordered it to pay its rival Apple additional damages for design infringement, including seeking an appeal.　A jury of the US District Court in San Jose made a decision that Samsung must pay Apple $539 million in damages for infringement of Apple’s design patents. “Today’s decision flies in the face of a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in favor of Samsung on the scope of design patent damages,

Engineers examine more than 1,000 factors for color perfection, and hundreds of sound effects for three-dimensional sound

Blockchain, a distributed ledger system, is viewed as a revolutionary technology with applicative value across diverse sectors. But the big question has always been: where and how can blockchain be used to bring about practical changes?　A handful of South Korea’s startups have set their eyes on healthcare data management -- creating a new blockchain-based healthcare data platform where health records can be safely stored and actively traded among stakeholders.The platform would be self-operation

SK Telecom said Wednesday it will form an alliance with four global map developers to launch a global standard high-definition map for autonomous driving. Dubbed the “OneMap Alliance,” SKT and HERE Technologies of Europe, NavInfo of China and Pioneer of Japan will co-develop the first global HD map for North America, Europe and Asia for autonomous car manufacturers and GPS service providers by 2020.  (Herald DB)The HD map is a digital representation of the road environment that utilizes visual a

South Korean mobile operator KT has created a special task force to support inter-Korean economic cooperation and expand exchanges in information and communication technology, following the third summit between the two Koreas last month, according to the company on Wednesday. The task force is operating directly under the president of its corporate planning division in order to support the South Korean government’s joint economic projects with North Korea and prepare a comprehensive plan for sof

Samsung features 5-step 4K upscaling tech Q Engine, while LG offers 4-step color-focused Alpha 9

YouTube is South Korea’s top-used mobile app for not only streaming online videos, but also listening to music, according to new survey results recently released by the Korea Internet Corporations Association.The “Mobile Service User Behavior Survey” was jointly carried out by the internet business body and Research & Research. It asked 1,000 people between the ages of 15 and 60 about their mobile service usage patterns and app preferences.According to the survey, the top mobile app activities u

Samsung holding global forums in US, China, Japan and Germany to attract global foundry customers

The Daejeon Metropolitan City Government offered to partner with US computer software company Adobe Systems, seeking to bolster the digital literacy of its citizens, officials said Sunday.Han Sun-hee, director-general of the city government’s science and economy bureau, suggested Adobe establish a digital literacy education center in Daejeon, in a meeting on May 14 with Adobe Systems Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen at the US company‘s headquarters in San Jose, California.　 Han Sun-hee (third fr