South Korean girl group TWICE will hold two concerts at Tokyo Dome on April 23-24 as part of its ongoing world tour, the group's management agency said Monday. They will become the group's first performances in Japan since 2019, when it performed in seven big cities in the country as part of a world tour, according to JYP Entertainment. The new world tour titled "III" began with two concerts in...

Seoul shares opened lower Monday on profit taking amid lingering concerns over the impact of the omicron variant. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.62 points, or 0.12 percent, to 3,008.81 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Individuals and foreigners' stock selling worth a combined 48 billion won ($40 million) exceeded institutions' stock purchases valued at ...

North Korea is spurring online education at major universities as part of efforts to train "intellectual-type workers" with science and technology expertise, according to its state media Monday. The North's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, said around 100,000 workers are currently enrolled for online classes across the country, including 10,000 newly registered this year. North Korea has been...

South Korea's two leading presidential candidates are in a very tight race, with one opinion poll putting the main opposition's Yoon Suk-yeol ahead of the ruling party's Lee Jae-myung and another survey showing contrary results. Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) had 40.4 percent, down 4 percentage points from a week ago, while Lee of the Democratic Party (DP) posted 39.7 percent, up 1.7 perce...

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min has stretched his goal scoring streak to four matches, helping his London club stay undefeated in their past six contests. Son rounded out Tottenham's scoring in the 74th minute of their 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday (local time). Son has now scored in four consecutive Premier League matches. ...

During his annual press conference on Dec. 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin railed against NATO enlargement. “How would the US react if we delivered rockets near their borders with Canada or Mexico?” he pointedly asked. Putin’s increasingly combative rhetoric, coupled with Russia’s huge troop buildup on its border with Ukraine, suggests that the Kremlin is readying an invasion to pull the co...

Container volume at Incheon Port, the nation’s gateway for seaborne trade, has tumbled to a six-month low due to severe bottlenecks at major ports around the world and more lucrative offers by Chinese cargo owners. According to Incheon Port Authority on Sunday, the goods volume transported through the port was 1.64 million 20-foot-long containers in the June to November period this year, down 5....

Edison Motors, South Korea’s leading EV bus maker, and the bankrupt SsangYong Motor are likely to seal their merger and acquisition deal this week. Legal circles and automobile industry insiders expect the M&A to take place by this week or by January 7 the latest. “We need to adjust the contents of the contract, but if the discussion goes well, it can be done within this month. If the adjustmen...

Scented skincare Creating a unique and enjoyable smell is also becoming important for skin care brands. And more new K-beauty brands are starting to apply unique and signature fragrances to their products. “It used to be only luxury, niche perfume brands that applied their signature scent to hand creams and body lotions. Now we are seeing more Korean skincare brands putting extra care in smell ...

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who doubles as head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has called for a justifiable and practical approach to dealing with the governance structure issue of South Korean conglomerates. “Samsung had a leader who jumped into semiconductor (business) and overcame difficult challenges. Without such structure, who could have had managed such risks?” the KCC...

People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol’s spouse Kim Keon-hee apologized in public Sunday for causing controversy with the allegations that she had made false claims about her career history. “There were my faults in the process of working and studying together,” Kim said with her head bowed as she read out a statement at a press conference in Seoul. “I inflated my career to look...

Over the Christmas weekend, extreme cold with heavy snowfall hit large parts of Korea, with temperatures dropping to as low as minus 25.4 degrees Celsius in some regions and heavy snow leading to flight cancellations. With the mercury beginning to fall from Saturday afternoon, the capital city’s Sunday morning low reached minus 16 C, the coldest temperature in December in nearly 41 years. The lo...

The landscape of South Korea’s game industry has been shaken up in the past year, as newcomers took the market by storm while traditional powerhouses slipped. Krafton, developer of online multiplayer shooter PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds, and Kakao Games, maker of massively multiplayer online role-playing game Odin: Valhalla Rising, saw their sales soar on-year, as the two games gained popularity ...

South Korea's military on Sunday reported 31 additional COVID-19 cases, including 30 breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 3,120. Of the new cases, 22 are from the Army, six from the Navy and three from units under the direct control of the defense ministry. Currently, 278 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,327 are brea...