Singer-actor Kim Woo-seok will bring out his third EP, “3rd Desire [Reve],” on March 7, according to agency TOP Media on Monday. It has been over a year since he released his second EP “2nd Desire [Tasty.]” “Reve” means dream or daydream in French and the forthcoming EP will be the last installment of the “desire” series he has released since his debut as a solo musician. Kim debuted ...

A new president is about to be elected, leading South Korea through the next phase of the pandemic. So why is COVID-19 getting so little attention in the presidential race? It wasn’t until after a hospital bed shortage induced by the “living with COVID-19” scheme in November that the leading candidates -- the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s Lee Jae-myung and main opposition People Power Par...

Rival candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party, who is running neck and neck in polls with Lee, has put on “performances” with various items to grab the attention of the voters. In an event in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, on Sunday, Yoon also beat on a large drum his campaign team had prepared, “just like how Yi Sun-sin, the admiral and military general, declared hi...

Young voters are serious To persuade young voters, the candidates should present “sustainable” policies that can change the fundamental structure of society, Eom told The Korea Herald. “The candidates are presenting pledges and activities targeting young voters almost daily, but a lot of them appear to be promises to give away government money,” Eom said. “And the voters are aware of that.” Vo...

The nation’s low-cost carriers facing financial difficulties caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic are bringing in cargo planes and planes for long-haul flights to diversify their source of revenue. T’way Air, for instance, will introduce on Thursday Airbus A330-300 planes that can cover long-haul distances for more than 300 passengers. The plane will begin to operate within the country in ...

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Monday said it will inject another batch of capital to support workers in the performing arts sector, which has been hit hard by COVID-19. The ministry and the Arts Council Korea, a state-run organization dedicated to supporting the arts and performers, will support 2,000 workers in the sector with a budget of 22.8 billion won ($19 million). The lat...

Tattoo and regulation The aforementioned survey said 74.6 percent of respondents had some level of fear regarding infection from an unhygienic procedure, which is a legitimate concern. “The Risk of Bacterial Infection After Tattooing” in 2016 by German researchers, performed a systematic review on cases between 1984 and 2015, and found reports of both local skin infections and systematic infect...

Chinese movie star Fan Bingbing will make her first Korean drama appearance in JTBC’s new series “Insider.” According to local cable channel JTBC, the shooting of Fan’s segments in the series was recently completed. The broadcaster did not say whether the actor is making a cameo or appearing in a minor supporting role. “Though the actor has joined ‘Insider,’ detailed information about Fan Bing...

SEJONG -- The average monthly salary for Korean employees climbed to 3.2 million won ($2,680) as of 2020 on the back of drastic hikes in the statutory minimum wage between 2018 and 2020, state data showed Monday. According to Statistics Korea, the average monthly wage for salaried workers rose by 430,000 won, or 15.5 percent, in just four years -- from 2.77 million won in 2016. During the perio...

Hanwha Defense, the South Korean manufacturer of the K9 self-propelled howitzer, plans to launch a forum of its user countries in April to share their experience in operating the artillery system, officials said Monday. The company will hold the inaugural session of the "K9 User Community" in Changwon, 400 kilometers south of Seoul -- the manufacturing hub for the weapons system currently run by...

President Moon Jae-in on Monday called for unvaccinated people to get Novavax Inc's vaccine, as the nation started administering fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines amid a surge in omicron infections. Moon made the remarks at a meeting with senior aides as the government is grappling with a new wave of infections driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. Starting Monday, health authorities...

South Korean stocks closed almost unchanged Monday after paring most of its earlier heavy losses due to hopes of a summit between the United States and Russia over the Ukraine crisis. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slipped 0.72 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 2,743.8 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 484 million...

The US Forces Korea (USFK) has completed the deployment of the newest Apache attack helicopters to South Korea, its aviation unit said, as the allies have stepped up joint efforts to counter Pyongyang's evolving military threats. In a Facebook post last Friday, the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade said that the process to deploy the latest AH-64E Version 6 helicopters to Camp Humphreys, a main USFK b...

“I congratulated her and she said thank you. I really had not expected the news because we didn’t share much about our personal life on set but I was happy to hear the news,” he said. “I am looking forward to witnessing the next chapter in her life and career.” The 146-minute film “Serve the People” will hit local theaters on Feb. 23.

It is unclear how Seoul Station became the country’s homeless mecca, although many suspect the economic crisis of the late 1990s played a large part. In early 1998, Jeong Won-oh, professor of social welfare at Sungkonghoe University, released a study that showed the number of homeless people in Seoul Station increased to around 500, up drastically from 20 to 30 the year before. It also showed th...