Huawei announces launch of commercial 5G systems in September, KT chairman praises speed of Chinese competitors

[From the scene]Thousands of Korean football fans could not hide their enthusiasm as they flooded the streets nationwide to cheer for their team in the first Group F match against Sweden that began at 9 p.m. Monday.(Shot and edited by Park Ju-young / The Korea Herald)Lee Sung-wan, 36, could not hide his excitement as he carried his two 3-year-old children dressed up in soccer uniforms in front of Seoul City Hall.“I could not miss out on this historic event. This is my children’s first World Cup

 The Korea Republic national team held an open training Saint Petersburg’s Spartak Stadium on Wednesday ahead of the 2018 World Cup.After the training, several football players, including Kim Shinwook, the striker for K League club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, met their fans, signed autographs and took selfies.The team is to face Germany, Mexico, and Sweden in the Group F games.(Ruptly)

[Herald Interview]A scent can be described as the last garment to complete one’s ensemble -- with Korea no exception to the trend.Among a slew of perfumes displayed at department stores, however, Korean brands rarely make the list. French and other European fragrances dominate the market with the iconic Chanel, Dior, Nina Ricci, Yves Saint Laurent and Lancome as the leading players.The products of Korean perfume houses, such as Perfumelifer, Edenique, Better Than Alcohol and Soohyang, can be fou

Lee Hyun-min, 31, frequents a small bookstore Mystery Union whenever he feels like reading a spine-chilling thriller book. “The store is small and hard to find, but I bet almost every mystery lover in Korea would know this place,” Lee told The Korea Herald.Just like Lee, a growing number of Koreans are hunting for books at small yet specialized bookstores.While large bookstores continue to dominate the market, small players are discovering their own profitable niche.  Poetry bookstore `Wit n Cyn

Summer has suddenly arrived in Korea after an untimely wet and humid May. Temperatures soared up to 31 degrees Celsius Friday, prompting many Koreans to either head outdoors to enjoy the sun or indoors to avoid the heat.Korea is becoming increasingly known for its myriad of themed cafes and equally diverse drinks served in cafes. The following are five iced drinks recommended by Cafe Huamdong, located in Seoul‘s Yongsan-gu. Ice cream cafe latte (Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Herald) Ice in a cup (Rumy

Instead of their favorite coffee, Starbucks-goers on Franklin Avenue were welcomed by a notice reading “we’ll see you tomorrow,” footage from Brooklyn in New York City showed, on Tuesday.　Starbucks closed over 8,000 stores in the United States on Tuesday afternoon, so that 175,000 employees could undergo anti-racial bias training, in response to protests and boycotts amid allegations of racist incidents caused by staff at the coffeeshop.　The protests followed an incident at a Starbucks store in

A restaurant in Binzhou, China, came up with a quirky idea to give discounts to customers who can squeeze through narrow metal bars. “People are always thinking about a big meal when they enter a restaurant. If they fail to squeeze through the frame they might think -- maybe we are overweight, maybe we should control the amount of food we order,” said Zhao Lang, the owner of the restaurant, in an interview.Visitors who make it through the narrowest gap, which is 15cm wide, get free beer for thei

As Seoul continues to evolve into an epicurean city dotted with popular eateries, customers are seeking increasingly exclusive dining experiences.Trending these days are small-scale, one-chef restaurants that often only seat three to four tables. At Rawpie Table, chef Lee Hae-chang wears multiple hats. He’s the cook, the server, the cashier, the kitchen assistant, and even the interior designer at the Italian diner that opened last November in Seoul’s Huam-dong. It’s not an easy task. In charge

Barista Lee reveals secret of his success in Seoul via interview

Demolition seen as first step toward denuclearization

US President Donald Trump declined to hear the translation of his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in’s response to a reporter at the White House on Wednesday, which may have contained crucial information.Moon and Trump held a summit to discuss collaboration for the upcoming Pyongyang-Washington talks. In the last part of the dialogue with the reporters, Moon reiterated that his role in the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Trump was not that of a mediator but one that helps to

South Korean pool reporters, who were initially invited but excluded from the flight to the North from Beijing a day earlier, left for North Korea on a state-owned plane on Wednesday to witness the dismantling of the North’s Punggye-ri nuclear site. The plane carrying a total of eight reporters took off from Seongnam Airport at 12:30 p.m. The plane is expected to arrive in the North’s eastern city of Wonsan, where a press center is located, at around 2 p.m.“As we are reporting on denuclearizatio

Eight South Korean reporters on Wednesday took a train to Punggye-ri, North Korea, to watch the dismantling of the major nuclear test site, after the regime accepted them into the country at the last minute. North Korean guides on a bus carrying South Korean reporters at the Kalma Airport, Wonsan, Wednesday. (Joint Press Corps)The special train departed from Wonsan for Punggye-ri at around 7 p.m., carrying reporters from South Korea, the US, China, Russia and the UK. The closing of the nuclear s

Brightly colored lanterns hang in the air at Jogyesa Temple in central Seoul. Seoul citizens flocked to the chief temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism to celebrate Buddha’s Birthday, a national holiday here that falls on May 22.People joined their hands in prayer, wishing for good fortune and blessings in the future, along with family members’ health and peace on the peninsula.Thousands of Buddhist followers and citizens attended the morning ceremony, according to Jogyesa Temple. Childre