For Koreans, confessing their love to a crush is deemed a crucial step for a romantic relationship to begin. Only when one party makes the confession, the so-called “some” stage ends and the two become a couple. Some is a Korean slang that refers to the uncertain stage between being just friends or acquaintances to lovers. It is when two persons are interested in each other and are quasi-dating...

South Korean entrepreneur Do Kwon was a rising star of the global digital asset market when his company Terraform Labs launched the cryptocurrencies UST and luna with the goal of achieving a decentralized economy three years ago. His stardom reached its peak as the price of luna skyrocketed to over $119 early last month, becoming the first Korean-developed cryptocurrency to crack the top 10 list...

The character options are designed to offer users a sense of emotional attachment to the visual agent of A., said Yea Hui-kang, vice president and head of Brand Strategy Office at SK Telecom. “We expect users to create emotional touch from characters because characters are offering a sense of intimacy based on verbal interactions,” Yea told reporters. The app can currently search and recommend ...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reprimanded officials for failing to deliver medicine in time, and ordered the mobilization of the military to stabilize the supply in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, North Korea’s state media reported Monday. Raising concerns over the virus spread, Kim also strongly criticized law enforcement officials for failing to prevent people from hoarding and illegally ...

More chaebol groups are expected to join a business roundtable meeting held on the sidelines of summit talks between Presidents Yoon Suk-yeol and Joe Biden later this week in reflection of the growing presence of Korean businesses spending big in the US recently. The US president is scheduled to arrive in Seoul on Friday for his three-day state visit. His summit talks with Yoon are set to be hel...

South Korea‘s Hana Financial Group announced Monday its support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and said that it has joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, as part of its efforts to bolster ESG value in its management. The WEPs is a joint initiative by UN Women and UN Global Compact to promote women’s empowerment in the workplace and community. Hana said it will expand gender equali...

President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized Monday the need for bipartisan cooperation on passing a supplementary budget to compensate for pandemic losses and to expand economic and security ties with major countries. In his first speech as the president at the National Assembly, Yoon focused on “bipartisan cooperation” and expressed his strong willingness to resolve pending issues with the support of la...

The group won top song sales artist for the second straight year, after being nominated alongside big-name artists, including Adele, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran and Walker Hayes. It also clinched the trophy for the top selling song category for the second year in a row with the megahit “Butter.” The septet’s other hit song, “Permission to Dance,” was also nominated in the same category. BTS did not att...

In Huam-dong, Seoul, near Sookmyung Women‘s University Station, there’s a small bathhouse built by Inus, a company specialized in bathroom interior design and bath products, which opened in February. The place is furnished with a bath tub as well as a separate resting area where people can take a nap on a couch or drink coffee. Customers can reserve the place for a minimum of six hours, which co...

South Korea has yet to arrive at a stage where the option of a “big step” or half a percentage point rate hike can be completely ruled out, with the possibility of higher inflationary pressure looming over the economy, the nation’s central bank chief said Monday. Following his breakfast meeting with Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong told reporters the uncertainti...

TAIPEI , May 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Once lauded as a safe haven and refuge from the Covid-19 pandemic, Taiwan became increasingly isolated in late 2021 as strict prevention and quarantine methods protected the country from the Delta variant. However, since case counts began to spike in April due to the Omicron variant, Taiwan has firmly moved from its successful prevention model to one o...

The 2022 Deoksugung Spring Concert will be held at the fountain located in front of Deoksugung’s Seokjojeon at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Hosted by the Cultural Heritage Administration’s Deoksugung Palace Management Office and the Korean National Symphony Orchestra, the program for the evening includes popular pieces such as Johann Strauss’ “Voices of Spring Waltz,” Johannes Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance No....

When asked whether she believed in magic, Choi said that she used to be skeptical rather than appreciative when watching it, but starring in the series helped her enjoy it. “I was one of the many critical spectators who seek to reveal the trick and truth behind the magic. But I wonder if any of this was necessary. I think we can simply enjoy the power of magic, creating a splendid fantasy and ex...

Telkom Indonesia honored as Organization of the Year FAIRFAX, Va. , May 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Stevie® Awards, organizer of the world's premier business awards programs, announced the winners of five Grand Stevie Award trophies in its ninth annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the only awards to recognize innovation in the workplace throughout the entir...

But at the same time, analysts painted a rosy outlook for K-pop-related investments, highlighting the local entertainment industry’s capacity to become early adapters of new technologies. Korean entertainment companies now own various intellectual property rights that can boost their metaverse-related businesses. This will help them rebound for the rest of the year, according to Mirae Asset Secur...