NewJeans' Super Shy selected as seventh best song by online music magazine Pitchfork

SEOUL -- "Super Shy," a summer-themed song by girl band NewJeans, was ranked seventh among this year's top 100 songs by American online music publication Pitchfork. The track is the only Korean language-based song chosen in the online magazine's top 100 songs list. Pitchfork is a prominent online music magazine with more than seven million monthly loyal readers. "Zero-to-hero anthem 'Super Shy' is the daydream wafting through the mind of an overlooked

December 5, 2023

S. Korea succeeds in launch of solid propellant satellite carrier rocket

SEOUL -- South Korea has succeeded in the launch of a four-stage hybrid fuel rocket carrying a commercial satellite. This is the country's third test launch of its solid propellant rocket, and the carrier was able to put a small-sized commercial satellite into low orbit. A solid propellant rocket is a type of rocket that uses a propellant in a solid form, typically in the shape of grains or a single piece. The propellant is usually a mixture of fuel and oxidizer bound together i

December 4, 2023

Boy band TXT wraps up world tour with Seoul concert

SEOUL -- TXT (Tomorrow X Together), a five-member boy band organized by the agency of top K-pop band BTS, has completed its world tour that started in March 2023. The last concert took place at Gocheok Sky Dome, an iconic domed facility in the southwestern part of Seoul. The group has attracted some 407,000 fans through 29 concerts held in 15 cities including Los Angeles, Osaka, and Jakarta. The brother band of BTS wrapped up its world tour at Gocheok Sky Dome on December 3, Big Hit

December 4, 2023

Hanwha Aerospace to showcase self-propelled artillery systems at arms exhibition in Cairo

SEOUL -- Hanwha Aerospace, a defense solution flagship of South Korea's Hanwha Group, will display various self-propelled artillery systems, including a K-9 self-propelled howitzer, at a global defense exhibition in Cairo targeting Middle Eastern and African clients. More than 400 companies from 46 countries will attend the four-day event "EDEX 2023." The K9 is one of the most popular self-propelled howitzers in the world. Egypt is the eighth foreign country to adopt t

December 4, 2023

Southwestern province to operate autonomous parking enforcement vehicle for first time

SEOUL -- The southwestern province of South Chungcheong will operate an autonomous vehicle that would notify the drivers of illegally parked vehicles to move using loudspeakers. The autonomous vehicle will be accompanied by a safety agent sitting in the driver's seat to engage in emergency situations. The South Chungcheong Provincial Office said that the operation of South Korea's first autonomous parking enforcement vehicle was kick-started in Hongseong some 120 kilometers

December 4, 2023

Number of first-grade elementary students in 2024 to drop 12.4% on-year: report

SEOUL -- The number of first-grader elementary students in South Korea is projected to fall to 357,771 in 2024, down 12.4 percent from 2023, state data showed. Due to the country's significantly decreased fertility rate, the number of children entering elementary schools could fall to less than 300,000 in 2026. South Korea is currently facing a severe aging trend, with about 30 percent of its population expected to be aged 75 and older by 2073. The nation's fertility rate in

December 4, 2023

S. Korea braces for impact for China's second export regulations on industrial urea

SEOUL -- South Korea will hold emergency meetings to discuss and prepare for the impact of a second aqueous urea solution shortage crisis after China has shut down the customs process for industrial urea material, just before the products are loaded onto carrier ships. Previously, Beijing stopped exports of urea, vital for the production of aqueous urea solution in 2021, bringing a crippling shortage of products that are critical to the operation of cargo trucks and factory machiner

December 4, 2023

Seoul's education affairs head encourages teachers to nurture students as global citizens

SEOUL -- At a lecture attended by public school teachers and instructors involved in private education, Seoul's education office chief Cho Hee-yeon encouraged audience to nurture students as global citizens. During his speech at a graduate school in eastern Seoul, Cho stressed the importance of such education, pointing out that South Korea should prepare for global challenges. "We must transform our students into global citizens in the third phase of education revolution ag

December 1, 2023

[OPINION] President Biden's Sensible Step Regarding China

KENOSHA -- President Joe Biden’s meeting in November with China’s leader Xi Jinping in Woodside California is important for symbolic and more substantive reasons. Xi

December 1, 2023

Naver scores highest annual webtoon sales record in Japan in 2023

SEOUL -- South Korean web service giant Naver has scored the company's highest-ever webtoon sales in Japan, the home of manga (Japanese-style comic books) and anime (Japanese-style animated cartoons), by surpassing 100 billion yen ($6.1 billion). Webcomics, well-known by the name of webtoons, originated in South Korea in the early 2000s. Web service giants Kakao and Naver are the top players in the global market which is growing at an annual average growth rate of some 40 perc

December 1, 2023