An LG Electronics worker is busy manufacturing washing machines ahead of a year-end spending spree at the firm’s factory in Clarksville, Tennessee, Friday.  The company’s lines of key products such as washing machines and refrigerators are running full throttle 24/7 to meet soaring year-end demand in the market. (Yonhap)

On Black Friday, which refers to the day after Thanksgiving in the US, stores there typically offer goods at highly discounted prices. In recent years, retailers have tended to prolong the duration of the promotion, cutting prices before Thanksgiving even starts. Korean online shoppers have bought enormous amounts of products directly from foreign websites in the past few days. Due to the Black Friday shopping spree, packages containing a variety of goods shipped from the US were piling up at

The US state of Kentucky is well reputed for its bourbon. However, during the holidays, something quite unexpected but still related to bourbon is what entertains the people of Kentucky. Instead of the liquor itself, a gigantic Christmas tree made of bourbon barrels is on display in Smiths Grove, a small town of not much over 700 people nearby Mammoth Cave National Park. This interesting tradition began in 2020 when Cody Vincent and his family made a tree out of bourbon barrels they sold t

Every year, millions of red crabs migrate from the forest toward the ocean to mate in preparation for winter. On Australia’s Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, red crab migration season has already begun, as can be seen from the streets literally covered in crabs. A female crab can produce up to 100,000 eggs, and in some areas there can be up to 100 crabs per square meter of beach or rock.  Migration usually begins after the first rainfall. According to the Parks Australia websi

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong poses with Noubar Afeyan, co-founder of Moderna, at the headquarters of Flagship Pioneering, a biopharmaceutical investment firm invested by Afeyan in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Tuesday.  Lee discussed cooperation measures for the COVID-19 vaccine with the Moderna co-founder, as Samsung Biologics is currently bottling Moderna’s vaccine at its plant in Songdo, Incheon, Samsung said.

(jylee@heraldcorp.com)

On Nov. 11, the “Turn to Busan” annual ceremony to commemorate the sacrifices of UN soldiers during the Korean War was held at the UN Memorial Cemetery in the southeastern port city of Busan. The UN Memorial Cemetery is the only UN cemetery in the world and more than 2000 troops from 11 countries are buried there.  According to the veterans’ affair ministry, approximately 300 people, including UN Command (UNC) chief Gen. Paul LaCamera, war veterans, their families and di

Merchants at Yukgeori Market in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, gathered Thursday to make kimchi for people who are struggling financially. 　 Approximately 80 people, including Cheongju Mayor Han Beom-deok and North Chungcheong Province Gov. Lee Si-jong, participated in the kimchi-making event using 1,000 heads of cabbage. “As merchants of the landmark traditional market of this region, all of the members of our merchant association will contribute to our local community and spread

Rolls-Royce’s latest model in its bespoke cars lineup, the Black Badge Ghost, is unveiled in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, Wednesday.  The new model is a redesign of the New Ghost released last year. It is topped with a 6.75-liter twin turbo V12 engine and boasts a maximum 600 horsepower.  Retail prices start at 550 million won ($423,000).

The first snow of the season fell Monday on Hallasan, South Korea’s tallest mountain, on Jeju Island. Last year, the first snow fell on Nov. 29 in the province. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the temperature hit minus 3.1 degrees Celsius at Utse Oreum, a volcanic crater of Hallasan.  The KMA forecasts 1-5 centimeters of snow to fall by this Wednesday and warned hikers of the slippery trek up the mountain.  Meanwhile, snowfall was also recorded at Gwanak

What could be the world’s largest potato was found in Wellington, New Zealand, on Aug. 30. Donna and Colin Craig-Browns, a couple living in New Zealand, dug up a potato that weighs 7.9 kilograms. They were unsure of its identity before digging it out but once they did, they were absolutely flabbergasted. To give their discovery a funny twist, the couple decided to name the potato Doug, after the way it was unearthed.  The previous potato record-holder weighed 4.98 kilograms. The cou

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has given final approval to using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5-11 years old. CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday that approximately 28 million children are now eligible to receive the vaccine for free. Last week, the FDA authorized a 10-microgram dose of the Pfizer vaccine for children under 12, which is one-third of the adult dose. Health authorities forecast that the lower dose will help reduce the chances of si

Representatives of Hyundai Motor Group and Seoul National University pose for photographs after the two organizations signed an agreement to establish a joint battery research and development center at SNU’s campus in Gwanak-gu, southern Seoul, Wednesday.  Hyundai Motor will invest more than 30 billion won ($25.4 million) over 10 years into the research center to develop next-generation batteries with significant improvements in driving range and charging time. From left are SNU Pres

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission is set to lift off this weekend, carrying an international crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station. According to NASA, it will send SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance to space from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday. The mission will be the third operational NASA commercial crew flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. The team members consists of three astronauts from the US and one astronaut from Germany. The commander

Yangcheon Urban Agricultural Park is hosting various events from Thursday to Oct. 29 at Sintree Park, located in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, to give children an opportunity to experience various events that aren’t easily accessible in the city. The program offers safety education on agricultural equipment and hands-on experiences with activities such as rice cutting and threshing machine observation -- with the supervision of a farming instructor.  After the hands-on activities, children c