The COVID-19 pandemic is once again standing in the way of the local broadcasting industry, with a long list of TV shows featuring top Korean comedian Yoo Jae-suk being canceled Tuesday, after he tested positive for coronavirus. Yoo will not be participating in both local broadcaster SBS’ hit TV show “Running Man” and the annual SBS Entertainment Awards this Saturday, which Yoo has been attendin...

Netflix on Tuesday confirmed the return of its Korean original series “D.P.” with a second season. Short for “Deserter Pursuit,” the series presents the life of Pvt. Jun-ho (played by Jung Hae-in) and Cpl. Ho-yeol (played by Koo Kyo-hwan) and reveals the reasons that some soldiers try to escape the army. The series, helmed by “Coinlocker Girl” and “Hit-and-Run Squad” director Han Jun-hee, is an...

Seol, who has united with Byun after “The Merciless,” said his strong faith in the director led him to join the project. The veteran actor, however, found much difficulty in playing the role of politician Kim Woon-beom, he said. “Since the movie features a political story, it was burdensome. ... Although my character was motivated by an ex-president, I couldn’t imitate such a great figure. I did...

AB6IX will hold a standalone concert titled “Complete With You” next month, according to agency Brand New Music on Tuesday. The four-member band will perform in front of fans in southern Seoul from Jan. 15-16, more than two years after its previous concert. Separately, the bandmates invited fans for a one-on-one live call session and an in-person autograph session, both slated for Saturda...

Though South Korea is to go ahead with its controversial “vaccine pass” plans for teenagers, details of the scheme may be adjusted. The government’s decision to expand the vaccine certification system to those aged 12 to 18 from Feb. 1 has been met with criticism from many students and parents. Faced with opposition, the Ministry of Education is considering making some adjustments regarding the...

LG Group’s AI research hub LG AI Research on Tuesday unveiled its new “ultra-large” artificial intelligence language model Exaone that boasts more parameters than any other similar models created by its South Korean rivals. Exaone, which refers to “expert AI for everyone,” has some 300 billion different parameters or variables that it can tune in. Being large means that the AI model has a better...

The People Power Party presidential nominee’s wife is under fire for possibly exaggerating her career history on top of allegations of her involvement in academic plagiarism and stock manipulation. Kim Keon-hee, wife of presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, partly acknowledged in an interview with news broadcaster YTN released Tuesday that she exaggerated her credentials in successfully applying...

The main opposition People Power Party is looking beyond its own ranks as it builds a support team for Yoon Suk-yeol’s presidential campaign. In most campaigns, parties have let political allegiances govern directions and appointments, but the main opposition bloc is emphasizing unity and inclusivity in its battle against the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. "Our election campaign committee wi...

All four products, including one without the formaldehyde sensor and destroyer called Dyson Purifier Cool, are capable of capturing 99.95 percent of particles as small as 0.1 micron. These products sell in Korea at prices ranging from 899,000 to 1.3 million won ($760-$1,100) per unit, depending on functions each product has to offer, such as its heating functions and air multiplier technology for...

Samsung Biologics will begin manufacturing AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 antibody combination Evusheld by expanding their earlier deal, officials said Tuesday. The newly expanded deal is estimated at $380 million, up about $50 million from the initial contract of the two pharmaceutical giants’ long-term strategic partnership signed in September 2020. Evusheld, formerly known as AZD7442, is a combinati...

In the wake of Monday’s summit between South Korea and Australia, President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Scott Morrison adopted a joint statement on territorial disputes in the South China Sea. “As major maritime trading nations, Australia and South Korea recognize that the stability of the Indo-Pacific depends on adherence to international law in the maritime domain, including in the South Ch...

Global K-pop stars BTS and Netflix hit series Squid Game were among the most popular hashtags across the world on Instagram this year, Instagram Korea said Tuesday. “Popular contents and accounts on Instagram in 2021 reflected the most notable social and cultural phenomena of this year, such as the dance craze, K-content syndrome, and the Tokyo Olympics,“ Meta Korea’s CEO Jung Ki-hyun said in an...

The government's digital vaccine pass system malfunctioned for the second day on Tuesday, leading to a number of access failures during lunch time despite the addition of emergency servers to deal with heavy user traffic. COOV, a government smartphone application that authenticates users' vaccination status by QR codes, along with affiliated third party programs, such as Naver and Kakao talk, ha...

“Squid Game,” the nine-part thriller that became Netflix’s most successful series this year, is nominated for the best drama series alongside “Lupin,” “Pose,” “Succession” and “The Morning Show.” The nominees for the 79th Golden Globe Awards were announced by HFPA President Helen Hoehne and American rapper Snoop Dogg, a departure from the usual star-studded lineup of presenters. The announcemen...

The Korea Tourism Organization predicted next year’s domestic travel trends with the acronym, HABIT-US, on Tuesday, the results showing a shift in travel preferences and patterns brought out by the COVID-19 pandemic. The results were based on travel-related big data analysis over the past three years, including travel expenses and use of social media, as well as in-depth interviews with industry...