As worldwide interest in Korean entertainment and content continues its global thrust, the city of Seoul is starting to see an influx in “hallyu-based” tourism, leading to the establishment of Korean drama-inspired tourist guides to assist die-hard fans in tracking down the filming locations of their favorite Korean dramas. “Not long ago, something strange happened on a cold winter day in China -- fried chicken and beer starting selling like hotcakes,” reads VisitSeoul’s Hallyu Tourist Guide. “T

Women relate to female characters overcoming obstacles and their ‘ideal’ male characters

Why Korean drama series with ludicrous plot twists, dysfunctional family relationships, violent emotions attract viewers

In almost every episode of U.S. television sitcom hit “Home Improvement” in the 1990s, viewers were able to see its main star Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor played by stand-up comedian Tim Allen building and tuning a classic hot rod in his garage with his eldest son.They would chat, giggle and joke around, telling stories to one another while tending to their dream hot rod.Even in movies like “The Fast and the Furious” about a band of criminal street racers, its main character Dominic Toretto’s favor

Hundreds of college students study auto mechanical engineering, design and new auto technologies such as hybrid and self-driving cars in Korea every year.But only very few land jobs in tuning, which is one of the most lucrative auto fields in countries such as the U.S., Germany and Japan. This is because the Korean tuning market is extremely small for several reasons including tough regulations against tuning in the country’s automotive aftermarket, lack of industry promotions and opportunities,

In South Korea, car tuning -- the aftermarket modification of an automobile’s performance or appearance -- has long been portrayed under a negative light as an unnecessary practice that disturbs peace and order on the streets.　Although many still associate vehicle tune-ups with noisy, sometimes reckless, cars sporting ostentatious exteriors, there is reportedly a lot more to car tuning than looks alone.　“What most people don’t know is that the biggest merit of tuning up a car is ‘safety’,” said

Regulations, misperception impede development of car modification industry　

Car lovers turn to customizing their ride to be distinctive

A showdown will take place next week in Seoul. Google’s artificial intelligence program AlphaGo will take on top Go player Lee Se-dol for a $1 million prize. Amid mixed outlook for the outcome, the five-day match has already become a global media sensation. Go, called “baduk” in Korea, is considered a more complicated game than chess because of its large choice of 200 moves compared to about 20 moves in chess. Go player Lee Se-dol(left) and DeepMind's CEO Demis Hassabis (Google)Experts say Go is

Smart computers directing chessmen to slash through bishops and knights to capture a chess grandmaster’s king no longer raise exclamations of awe. Computers’ ability to outwit professional chess players has long been accepted as a fact of life. But this was not always the case. Machines have made alarming progress since the first computers programmed to defeat amateur players in chess-like games were introduced in 1956. Slowly but steadily higher-ranked players were defeated, culminating in Deep

Coupled with artificial intelligence, deep learning has been making headlines recently with tech giants such as Google and Facebook turning to the technology to come up with futuristic solutions.Some have expressed concerns about computers ultimately outsmarting and dominating humans, as in many science-fiction scenarios. But as the saying by Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu goes, if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles.So, with that in mind,

Go players Cho Hun-hyun, Lee Chang-ho and Lee Se-dol are familiar names even to Koreans who are not well-versed with the game. The three have dominated international Go competitions since the 1980s, one after another, starting from the eldest Cho. Lee Se-dol, 33, the newest generation of the three, is still making a name for himself as one of the highest earners in the world. Lee, born to a father who was a five dan player, began to learn Go when he was five. He dropped out of middle school to c

Expectations are running high in the technology sector with the upcoming battle between a human Go champion and a computer program. Go is a board game in which two players place black and white stones on empty intersections or points of a board that is lined with a 19-by-19 grid. Google’s artificial-intelligence program AlphaGo garnered media attention after defeating a professional Go player in October for the first time in an even match.(123rf)It has been about six months since that first vict

In the lead up to the historic match between the world’s top Go player Lee Se-dol and Google DeepMind’s artificial intelligence computer AlphaGo, there are mixed views among experts about who will emerge victorious. Experts in the Go field -- including Lee Se-dol himself – said that the human will be the winner of the five-game match, which kicks off on March 9. The professional Go player predicted a 5-0 or 4-1 victory in his favor during a press briefing on Feb. 22. Showing confidence in winnin

The word “frugality” has long had a poor reputation as its association with a similar word “stingy” has often bestowed a negative connotation on its meaning. However, in 2016, the word “frugality” has been rising in importance due to the prolonged economic difficulties that consumers are facing. The Bank of Korea’s consumer sentiment index hit an eight-month low in February, indicating that Korean consumers have become more frugal to adjust to the sluggish economy. Faced with cold hardship, comm