N. Korea's Kim attends events marking 71st anniversary of armistice signing

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with war veterans and attended celebrations marking the 71st anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, the North's state media said Sunday. The Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950, when tank-led North Korean troops invaded South Korea. The United States and 20 other allied countries fought on the side of South Korea under the UN flag. The conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, on July 27, 1953. Kim attended a

North KoreaJuly 28, 2024

Daewoo E&C boosts technology portfolio to tackle climate crisis

Daewoo Engineering & Construction is expanding its eco-friendly technology portfolio amid growing calls for green energy solutions to tackle the climate crisis. One of the builder's notable innovations is greenhouse gas reduction technology, called DECO2, a proprietary continuous process for capturing and recycling carbon dioxide, first developed in 2012. This technology captures carbon dioxide and repurposes it into raw materials. By-products from this process can be used immediately a

IndustryJuly 28, 2024

Fire put out at S-Oil plant in Ulsan

A fire at a plant of S-Oil Corp., a major refiner, was completely extinguished Sunday, about five hours after it started, according to firefighters. No casualties were reported as the fire erupted at 4:47 a.m., with photos showing dense flames rising from the plant. Fifty-six vehicles and some 300 personnel were mobilized to extinguish the blaze. The fire is presumed to have broken out in a heating facility used to produce xylene. Fire authorities are investigating the exact cause and scope of t

Social AffairsJuly 28, 2024

IOC chief apologizes to President Yoon over opening ceremony gaffe

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach apologized to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday over an incorrect introduction of the South Korea delegation as North Korea during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, Yoon's office said. In their 10-minute phone conversation, Yoon expressed his regret over the incident and asked Bach to prevent a recurrence of similar cases. "As people of the country that has hosted the Summer and the Winter Olympic Games, alo

More SportsJuly 28, 2024

Decorated fencer completes career puzzle with 1st individual gold

Since bursting onto the national fencing scene in 2015 as a high school phenom, South Korean sabre fencer Oh Sang-uk has been winning almost every title there is to win in his sport. "Almost" is doing a lot of work in that sentence, because Oh's otherwise impressive resume was missing an Olympic individual medal. The 27-year-old finally filled that hole Saturday in Paris and did so emphatically with the gold medal at Grand Palais. Oh defeated Fares Ferjani of Tunisia 15-11 in the

More SportsJuly 28, 2024

Impressive career progression culminates in 1st Olympic medal for swimmer Kim Woo-min

They say development is not always linear for athletes, but South Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min, who won the bronze medal in the men's 400-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, may beg to differ. Consider his record progression over the past two years. He finished sixth at the 2022 world championships in 3:45.64 and then improved to fifth place at the 2023 worlds with a time of 3:43.92. Kim captured his first world title this February in 3:42.71. About four months later, Kim set a

More SportsJuly 28, 2024

Oh Sang-uk wins gold in men's individual sabre fencing

Oh Sang-uk captured the gold medal in the men's individual sabre fencing at the Paris Summer Games on Saturday, giving South Korea its first gold of this year's Olympics. Oh, world No. 4, defeated 14th-ranked Fares Ferjani of Tunisia by 15-11 in the gold medal bout at Grand Palais in Paris, a match he mostly dominated despite the closer-than-it-should-have-been final score. Oh, 27, became the first South Korean man to win an individual sabre gold. His former teammate, Kim Jung-hwan, had won two

More SportsJuly 28, 2024

S. Korea secures at least silver in mixed rifle team event for 1st medal in Paris

South Korea secured its first medal of the Paris Olympics in shooting Saturday, the first day of the medal race following the opening ceremony the previous evening. Park Ha-jun and Keum Ji-hyeon qualified for the gold medal match in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in Chateauroux, about 270 kilometers south of Paris. Park and Keum will grab at least a silver medal, even if they lose to the Chinese team of Sheng Lihao and Huang Yuting. The battle for the

More SportsJuly 27, 2024

IOC apologizes for S. Korea gaffe in Olympics opening ceremony

The International Olympic Committee apologized Saturday for a gaffe during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in which South Korean athletes were incorrectly introduced as North Korean. As the South Korean delegation sailed down the Seine River in the French capital, they were introduced with the official name for North Korea: "Republique populaire democratique de Coree" in French, then "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" in English. "We deeply apologise

Foreign AffairsJuly 27, 2024

S. Korea's top diplomat calls for sending 'united message' against N. Korean nukes at ASEAN-led gathering

South Korea's top diplomat on Saturday called for sending a "united message" against North Korea's nuclear development program at a foreign ministerial gathering led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul made the call during the ASEAN Plus Three foreign ministers' meeting in Vientiane, noting that North Korea is causing uncertainties on the Korean Peninsula and the region through its provocations and military cooperation with

Foreign AffairsJuly 27, 2024

[Weekender] What we are reading at Korea Herald

The weather has been nothing short of erratic in Seoul, swinging from torrential rain to searing heat. Amid such atmospheric unpredictability, there’s no better moment to retreat indoors with a stack of books. Here are some summer reading recommendations from The Korea Herald. Lee Joo-hee Managing editor, The Korea Herald "American Diplomacy" by George F. Kennan "American Diplomacy" by the late diplomat and historian George F. Kennan is a compilation of his lectures a

BooksJuly 27, 2024

[What to watch] 3 Korean box office flops with cult followings for unpredictable laughs

While it’s certainly harder to call Korea’s box office flops “great” movies to watch, some have gained cult followings similar to B-movies, due to being “so bad they’re good.” Korean movies in this vein don’t fall into a particular genre or follow a typical storyline. They are unpredictable and elicit uncontrollable laughs, rather than forced ones. How good these movies actually are is a tricky question to answer. But if you have any love for black

FilmJuly 27, 2024

[Weekender] Summer reads: Suggestions for books to take with you on vacation or staycation

The weather has been nothing short of erratic in Seoul, swinging from torrential rain to searing heat. Amid such atmospheric unpredictability, there’s no better moment to retreat indoors with a stack of books. To help you do just that, The Korea Herald asked around for some summer reading recommendations. The responses of the following figures, arranged alphabetically, have been edited for length and clarity. Cha In-pyo Author/actor "Questions and Answers on Trees" by Hwang Kyu

BooksJuly 27, 2024

Vacationers headed for East Coast should expect substantial traffic: agency

Traffic between Seoul and Gangwon Province is expected to surge considerably during the summer vacation season, with trips from Seoul to the eastern coast taking as long as five hours and 50 minutes. According to the Gangwon Provincial headquarters of the Korea Expressway Corporation, an estimated 433,000 cars a day were expected to be on the expressways of the province between July 25 and Aug.11, the peak of the vacation season in South Korea. This is up 11.6 percent from the daily 386,000 ca

TravelJuly 27, 2024

Klook makes Everland priority passes foreigner-friendly

Travel and leisure e-commerce platform Klook announced on Thursday that two types of foreigner-friendly tickets that offer priority access to Everland attractions are now available. Everland is the largest theme park and zoo in South Korea, located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Everland’s priority boarding ticket Q-Pass is available exclusively on Klook. The two Q-Passes -- Plan-it 2 and Plan-it 3 -- allow ticket holders to make reservations for the theme park's popular attractions, i

TravelJuly 27, 2024

17-year-old who died at church was subject to severe abuse: document

A high school girl who recently died at a church had been subjected to severe abuse by church members including sleep deprivation and physical labor, a bill of indictment provided by the South Korean prosecution showed. Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party on Wednesday revealed the content of the document he received from the prosecutors, which showed details of their investigation related to the girl's death on May 15. Three members of the Incheon church are currently on tr

Social AffairsJuly 27, 2024

What ultraluxury hanok looks like, if built right

YEONGWOL, Gangwon Province -- Luxury travel is incomplete without a stay at a high-end hotel, where the pampering includes exquisite food, decor and seclusion, while sessions for restoring mental and emotional wellness enrich the experience. All that is available at the Hanok Heritage House in Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province -- the latest example of how far entrepreneurs are willing to go when refashioning “hanok,” the traditional Korean house. The architect behind the $130 million

TravelJuly 27, 2024

PM says S. Korea will not tolerate any N. Korean provocations

South Korea will not tolerate any provocations from North Korea, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Saturday, as the country marked the 71st anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. Han made the remark during a ceremony in Seoul commemorating the sacrifices made by U.N. forces that supported South Korea during the three-year conflict, which began with North Korean aggression and ended without a peace treaty. "Through overwhelming strength and solidarity w

Foreign AffairsJuly 27, 2024

S. Korea backs Japan's Sado mines UNESCO bid contingent on colonial history disclosure

South Korea on Saturday consented to Japan's long-pursued bid to have the gold and silver mines on Sado Island designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, signaling a step towards reconciliation over historical disputes. Seoul's agreement is contingent on Tokyo's commitment to take concrete actions to confront and acknowledge the dark history of forced Korean labor at the Sado mines during its colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said. South Korea approve

Foreign AffairsJuly 27, 2024

Military vetting info leak of agents spying on N. Korea

The military is conducting an investigation into a leak of personal information of agents assigned to an intelligence unit tasked with spying on North Korea, sources said Saturday. The Korea Defense Intelligence Command discovered about a month earlier that classified information, including personal data of its agents stationed overseas, had been leaked, prompting an investigation by the Defense Counterintelligence Command. The leaked information is said to have included those on official cove

DefenseJuly 27, 2024