Latest News

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  Online music streaming service Melon to provide chart data for Billboard SEOUL -- Chart data by South Korea's major online music streaming service Melon will be included in Billboard charts. Melon, operated by the content and entertainment wing of South Korea's web service giant Kakao, became the first domestic streaming service to provide chart data for the global magazine that creates music charts of popular songs all over the world. Kakao Entertainment said in a statement that Melon streams would be provided to Billboard starting on June 7. T 2023-06-07
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  Hyundai shipbuilding group partners with defense company Babcock for submarine technology cooperation SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai shipbuilding group will work with the Canadian branch of Babcock, a defense company based in Britain, to combine key technologies for submarines. Using the combined technologies, Babcock would export submarines to foreign nations. The agreement was made at MADEX 2023, an international maritime defense industry exhibition held in South Korea’s southern port city of Busan, HD Hyundai said on June 7. "We should be able to create synergy if 2023-06-07
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  S. Korean game publisher NCSoft to introduce hyper-scale AI language model in 2023 SEOUL -- South Korea's major game publisher NCSoft will introduce a large language model, a type of deep learning-based artificial intelligence algorithm that can understand, summarize, generate, and predict new content, later this year. The so-called hyper-scale AI language model would help NCSoft create new content platforms including a digital human platform that incorporates an artificially-created interactive human model. Large language models (LLMs) are widely being devel 2023-06-07
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  Research institute KAIST's four-legged robot wins international quadruped robot walking contest SEOUL -- A South Korean technology institute has won an international quadruped robot walking competition in London with its four-legged robot that can autonomously walk on roads and even sandy grounds like beaches and sand dunes. The dog-like robot that won the event over its competitors from the United States and France would be used to carry out missions in disaster situations such as fires. The robot called "DreamWalker" features reinforced learning, which is a typ 2023-06-07
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  ​2 mln S. Koreans 'silently exit' from country's favorite messenger group chat rooms in 3 weeks SEOUL -- Two million people have "silently exited" from group chat rooms created on Kakao Talk, South Korea's favorite smartphone messenger app with more than 47 million monthly active users, during the first three weeks since its operator added a feature that allowed people to leave chat rooms without notifying other users. It is common to see companies of various sizes operate group chat rooms with up to dozens of workers because company operators can easily send 2023-06-07
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  Indonesia partners with Pusan National University to develop hydrogen-based waste management vessel SEOUL -- Indonesia's maritime ministry will work with the Pusan National University to develop and utilize a hydrogen ship capable of cleaning up ocean waste. A joint research institute will be also established at the university located in South Korea’s southern port city of Busan. Pusan National University (PNU) said in a statement that the institute signed an agreement on June 2 to cooperate in the shipbuilding and maritime affairs. The two organizations will carry out 2023-06-05
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  E-commerce platform Lotte On to adopt Upstage's AI-based recommendation solution SEOUL -- Lotte On, an e-commerce platform operated by South Korea's retail giant Lotte Group, will adopt an artificial intelligence-based solution capable of suggesting products based on users' consumption patterns. Lotte ON will also work with Upstage, an AI startup that developed the solution, to increase the purchase conversion rate. Upstage has showcased various types of AI solutions such as FoodLens, which suggests recipes depending on dietary goals and eating habits. 2023-06-05
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  POSCO releases carbon offset steel products for first time SEOUL -- For the first time as a South Korean steelmaker, POSCO has released carbon offset steel products targeting vehicle and electrical device manufacturers that seek to reduce their carbon output and create a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by funding atmospheric carbon reduction actions of another company or organization. Carbon offset products, or carbon offsets, are products that are created using methods that release less carbon in the atmosphere by using renewabl 2023-06-05
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  Cosmetics brand Laneige to preserve Asia's maritime environment with Swiss-based environment group SEOUL -- Laneige, a skincare brand affiliated with South Korea's top cosmetics maker Amorepacific, will work with the World Wide Fund for Nature, a non-governmental wildlife conservation organization, to carry out marine preservation projects in South Korea, China, and Thailand. The Swiss-based group established to preserve endangered species has more than five million members in more than 100 countries. Various types of ocean waste including discarded plastic come from river 2023-06-05
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  ​Veteran actress Chung Ae-rie appointed as ambassador for International Day of Yoga SEOUL -- Veteran actress Chung Ae-rie was appointed as an ambassador for the International Day of Yoga designed to highlight the importance of Yoga, a physical, mental, and spiritual practice originated from India. The 63-year-old actress said that she thinks Yoga is a mental and spiritual tool that can shape the world into a more peaceful place. International Yoga Day has been celebrated across the world since June 21, 2015, after it was incepted in the United Nations General Asse 2023-06-05
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  Action-comedy film 'The Roundup: No Way Out' garners more than 4.5 mln viewers SEOUL -- "The Roundup: No Way Out" has swept over the South Korean box office with an accumulated 4.5 million admissions only five days after its release. In the action film, Ma Dong-seok, an action film actor also known by the English name of Don Lee, plays a tough detective who investigates a drug crime involving yakuza, a crime group that originated in Japan. Data released by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) on June 5 showed that the film attracted 4,512,386 moviegoers. 2023-06-05
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  GI Biome starts clinical trial of colorectal cancer treatment candidate 'GB-X01' SEOUL -- GI Biome, a microbiome-based drug developer in South Korea, has started administering GB-X01, an anti-colorectal cancer candidate, to patients in the first clinical trial in South Korea. Through the test, the company aims to confirm the safety, drug tolerance, and composition variation of intestinal microorganisms before and after administration. The microbiome is a cluster of all types of microscopic organisms that co-exist with humans such as bacteria, fungi, protozoa, a 2023-06-02
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  SK Innovation's subsidiary forges long-term supply deal with N. American companies SEOUL -- SK IE Technology, a battery separator-making wing of SK Innovation, has forged long-term supply deals with companies in North America and other countries, the company said during a conference call. Battery separators act as a barrier between the anode (negative) and cathode (positive) electrodes while allowing the exchange of lithium ions from one side to another. It is a vital component of high-capacity, high-performance lithium-ion batteries commonly used in electric veh 2023-06-02
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  Asian countries become S. Koreans' favorite travel destinations after reopening SEOUL -- As the world entered step-by-step stages of the reopening, the process of normalization from the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian countries including Japan, Viet Nam, and the Philippines have become South Koreans' favorite travel destinations, market data showed. Data released by the Bank of Korea on May 30 showed that travelers to South Korea spent about $3 billion in the first quarter of 2023 while South Koreans traveling abroad spent about $6.3 billion. Frequent travelers w 2023-06-02
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  Ethnic fusion band Second Moon to perform fusion genre of traditional Korean music in Virginia SEOUL -- South Korean ethnic fusion band Second Moon will showcase "Moonlight Flows," an experimental song that amalgamated traditional Korean music with Irish music elements, to mesmerize American fans. The seven member-band will perform at Capital One Hall, a performing arts theater in Tysons, Virginia. Second Moon is known for blending pansori, a traditional Korean narrative music, with different genres such as jazz, tango, Latin music, and American pop. Group members 2023-06-02
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  Dayou AutoParts builds steering wheel plant in Mexico SEOUL -- South Korea's car parts maker Dayou AutoParts has completed the construction of a steering wheel factory in Monterrey, an industrial city in northeastern Mexico. The company aims to establish a production capacity of 700,000 steering wheels every year and supply them to firms in North America including Hyundai Motor's electric vehicle plant. Monterrey is a major hub for global electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers. Tesla revealed its plan in February to establish a $ 2023-06-01
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  W Concept to release BTS T-shirts prior to group's 10th debut anniversary SEOUL -- W Concept, the online apparel shopping mall wing of South Korea's retail giant Shinsegae, will roll out BTS T-shirts designed to celebrate the group's 10th debut anniversary. A limited amount of fashion items would be sold through two official websites to attract both South Korean and overseas consumers. The seven-member band's agency has earlier announced that the 10th-anniversary festival titled "2023 BTS FESTA" would take place at various attractio 2023-06-01
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  N. Korea likely to try launching another space rocket by June 11: expert SEOUL -- A former South Korean Unification Minister has predicted that there is a chance of Pyongyang having another go at launching a space rocket carrying a military spy satellite by June 11 after North Korea's first launch attempt on May 31 ended as a failure. Pyongyang fired off a projectile at 6:27 a.m. (2127 GMT) on May 31 and it flew southwards from Dongchang-ri some 110 kilometers (68 miles) northwest of Pyongyang over Baekryeong Island, a South Korean island located ne 2023-06-01
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  Samsung partners with British magazine Dezeen to host recycled product design contest SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics has worked with Dezeen, a Britain-based design and architectural magazine, to host a design contest aimed at encouraging the recycling and upcycling of Samsung products and materials used for Samsung devices. Anyone who is 18 or older can participate in the competition through Dezeen’s website to win 10,000 British pounds ($12,427). While recycling mainly focuses on collecting waste materials and simply turning them into new product materials, upc 2023-06-01
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  ​HD KSOE selected by EU to participate in research project for development of hydrogen storage tech SEOUL -- HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the holding company of Hyundai shipbuilding group, was selected by the European Union's research program to form a consortium with 13 other companies and organizations to develop large-capacity liquefied hydrogen storage system technologies. To minimize the damage by climate change, the world is starting to engage in a global initiative of reducing dependency on fossil fuels and go completely carbon neutral by 2050. Alo 2023-06-01