President Yoon to arrive at Netherlands for five-day state visit

SEOUL -- President Yoon Suk-yeol will arrive in the Netherlands for a five-day state visit. The presidential office said that the president will work on accelerating economic cooperation between Seoul and Amsterdam. According to the presidential office, the Netherlands is South Korea's second-largest European trade partner. The European country has strong capabilities in semiconductor facilities, with its industry represented by ASML, the sole maker of extreme ultraviolet lith

December 11, 2023

Boy band Ateez tops Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart with 'THE WORLD EP. FIN: WILL'

SEOUL -- K-pop boy band Ateez has topped Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart with its second full album "THE WORLD EP. FIN: WILL," beating Taylor Swift's "1989" and "For All the Dogs" by Drake. The eight-member band became the seventh K-pop group to grab the top place on the weekly chart that ranks the 200 most popular albums in the United States. The album, released on December 1, arrived atop the list on the Billboard 200 chart with 152

December 11, 2023

Indian Embassy in Seoul collaborates with state food promotion agency to hold special Indian cuisine presentation

SEOUL -- The Embassy of India in South Korea and the Korean Food Promotion Institute, a public Korean food promotion agency operated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, to hold a special presentation on Indian cuisine. Ms. Surabhi Amit Kumar, the spouse of Mr. Amit Kumar, the Indian Ambassador to South Korea, introduced Indian cuisine through a keynote speech "Indian food, a culinary journey through the flavors of India" at the Korean Food Promotion I

December 8, 2023

S. Koreans favor spending holidays in foreign countries due to high consumer prices at home

SEOUL -- South Koreans have chosen to spend their holidays in foreign countries because they feel it is cheaper to travel overseas than to visit places at home due to high consumer prices including food and accommodation. The inflation of various living costs has long been an issue in South Korean society. The national statistical information service said that the increase rate in food prices in November 2023 was found to be larger than the previous month. The consumer price index

December 8, 2023

LG Energy Solution develops technology to upgrade lithium metal batteries' performance

SEOUL -- LG Energy Solution, the battery-making wing of South Korea's LG Group, has developed lithium metal battery technology that enhances driving distance by about 50 percent compared to existing lithium-ion batteries. Using the new technique, the driving range of electric vehicles can be extended to 900 kilometers (559 miles) per charge, up from the current 600 km. Lithium metal batteries have been studied as they were claimed to run longer and hold more energy than lithium-

December 7, 2023

Naver partners with Saudi Arabia's smart city solution company iot squared

SEOUL -- South Korea's web service giant Naver has partnered with iot squared, Saudi Arabia's smart city solution company, to cooperate in various projects including the development of digital twin and robotics technologies. In October, Naver secured an order worth $100 million to build digital twins, virtual replicas, of Saudi Arabian cities including Riyadh, Mecca, and Medina. The digital twin technology will be used for infrastructure-building and disaster management of t

December 7, 2023

BTS' leader RM anticipates finding inspiration from mandatory military service

SEOUL -- K-pop boy band BTS' leader RM hopes to find inspiration from his 18-month mandatory military service which he will start this month along with three other members. The artist will begin his service on December 11. In South Korea, males aged 18 and above are obligated to complete their military service unless exempted for valid reasons. Those enlisted in the army serve for about 18 months. Currently, three BTS members have begun their service -- Jin, J-Hope, and Suga.

December 7, 2023

POSCO's carbon-based materials manufacturer starts mass production of single crystal cathode at Pohang plant

SEOUL -- POSCO Future M, the carbon-based material manufacturer wing of South Korea's steelmaker POSCO, has started the mass production of single catalyst cathode at its plant located in the southern industrial city of Pohang. The Pohang plant is the company's second base of manufacturing for the single catalyst battery electrode as POSCO Future M succeeded in the mass-production for the first time at a plant in the southern port city of Gwangyang in March 2023. POSCO Fut

December 7, 2023

Fierce competition and social anxiety caused S. Korea's low birth rate crisis: report

SEOUL -- The Bank of Korea has identified intense competition as a significant factor contributing to the rapid decline in South Korea's birth rate. The central bank analyzed that the current fertility crisis could be attributed to the anxiety stemming from a low employment rate and the scarcity of high-quality jobs in the country. South Korea's birth rate in 2022 was 0.78 babies per couple. Data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) showed that there is a 90 percent probability that

December 7, 2023

Streaming platform Twitch to exit S. Korea due to 'prohibitively expensive' network costs

SEOUL -- One of the world's most popular online streaming platforms, Twitch, will exit South Korea in early 2024 due to extremely high network fees that are 10 times higher than in most countries, the streaming platform's CEO said through his blog. Twitch, with about 140 million monthly active users as of August 2023, offers creative online spaces for content creators called streamers who mainly broadcast their content live. Fans can choose and access their favorite streamer

December 7, 2023