Latest News

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  Seoul partners with Hyundai to reduce carbon emissions thru vehicle mileage program SEOUL -- Seoul has joined hands with South Korea's Hyundai auto group to upgrade the city's vehicle mileage program that was designed to encourage citizens to use public transports and reduce carbon emissions. The capital city will establish Hyundai's connected car capabilities to create a convenient automatic mileage registration service. The program encourages citizens to voluntarily reduce the use of personal vehicles. Participants are required to hand over mileage i 2021-11-26
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  (INTERVIEW) A dream that was realized at the end of numerous auditions. 'I will overcome the walls of language and culture.' SEOUL -- "Hello, I'm Ahn, a Vietnamese member of Beauty Box," Tran Nguyen Tram Anh with round and cute eyes said, greeting brightly with an inarticulate Korean pronunciation. The 22-year-old known as her stage name Ahn is the only Vietnamese member of Beauty Box under BY-U Entertainment that consists of six girls, including two Koreans, two Japanese, one Thai, and one Vietnamese. They released a teaser video on June 21 and made their debut three months later with the sing 2021-11-26
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  (INTERVIEW) There are numerous aspirants to become K-pop idols in Vietnam SEOUL -- ​Two major K-pop-related communities in Vietnam have about 39,800 members. An 18-year-old member who used the anonymous name "Kyu" from Binh Dinh located on the southern coast of Vietnam has enjoyed listening to K-pop from childhood, but her parents showed a cold attitude and said, "You don't understand anything, but do you still want to listen to them?" The language barrier was not a big deal. The rhythm and charm of K-pop continued to grab Kyu' 2021-11-26
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  Kakao partners with domestic digital card service operator to beef up digital wallet service SEOUL -- South Korea's web service Kakao has partnered with Moca System, a domestic digital card service company, to create office environments that do not need employee identification cards or any other kinds of plastic cards for authentication. Kakao will upgrade the areas of service and the capability of its existing digital card wallet service. Kakao released a digital wallet service in December 2020 to help users verify their identity and carry digitally issued national ce 2021-11-25
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  Seoul reveals plans to establish citywide autonomous driving infrastructure by 2026 SEOUL -- Through a 148.7 billion won ($125 million) project, Seoul will carry out its five-year plan to build safe autonomous driving infrastructure throughout the city. While the city has focused on the establishment and demonstration of self-driving technology infrastructure during the last few years, Seoul will develop and demonstrate various autonomous transportation services as the next step towards the full adoption of self-driving technologies that will improve citizens' liv 2021-11-25
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  Researchers develop 5G-based standalone small cell software for ultra-fast data transfer SEOUL -- South Korean researchers have developed software for standalone 5G small cells, which are low-powered radio access network nodes designed to provide mobile data network coverage to a radius of a few kilometers. The newly-develop software will help network operators to easily set up specialized 5G networks such as for Most nodes, or base stations, being used for 5G are non-standalone (NSA), meaning that an NSA base station supports both 4G and 5G. NSA nodes are established 2021-11-25
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  Hanwha Solutions seeks new business model thru investment in U.S. startup Lancium SEOUL -- Hanwha Solutions, a renewable energy service provider affiliated with South Korea's Hanwha Group, will accelerate its transition to an IT-based future energy provider by acquiring a stake in Lancium Technologies, an American startup specializing in power management in data centers. Hanwha Solutions signed a contract to invest $100 million in Lancium. Without disclosing the size of its stake, Hanwha Solutions said it would participate in management in Lancium by securi 2021-11-25
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  U.S classification society ABS to enact regulations on offshore green hydrogen plants SEOUL -- A U.S. classification society joined hands with South Korea's Hyundai shipbuilding group to establish guidelines for the design of offshore green hydrogen plants. Green hydrogen is produced from water using renewable power. Hyundai Heavy Industries will develop an electrolysis plant that produces green hydrogen from seawater using electricity generated by floating wind turbines. The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) will enact regulations such as risk assessment, mate 2021-11-24
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  Hyundai E&C jumps into SMR market in cooperation with U.S. reactor maker Holtec SEOUL -- Hyundai E&C, a major builder in South Korea, jumped into the small modular reactor market in cooperation with Holtec International, a U.S. company specializing in the design and manufacture of parts for nuclear reactors. Under a teaming agreement, Hyundai E&C and Holtec would jointly develop a commercialization model, promote joint projects and participate in marketing and bidding together. Small modular reactors (SMRs) allow for less on-site construction, increa 2021-11-24
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  DL E&C develops twist design for apartments with abundant views and lighting SEOUL -- Twisting or spiraling towers adorn various urban skylines. They progressively rotate floor plates, with each plate similarly shaped and turned on a shared axis. Twisted tall buildings are achievable thanks to advances in materials, engineering and architectural software that enable aerodynamic, energy-efficient and esthetic designs. Twisted skyscrapers are rare in South Korea. There have been no actual cases of construction in domestic residential buildings due to strict 2021-11-24
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  Daewoo shipyard delivers plant installed with methanol steam reforming system for submarine fuel cells SEOUL -- Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, a shipbuilder involved in the construction of attack submarines, delivered a plant installed with a methanol steam reforming system for submarine fuel cells following a successful performance test that met requirements requested by a defense technology provider. The plant that produces high purity hydrogen through methanol and water was delivered to the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), a defense technology development ag 2021-11-24
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  Grammy nominates BTS for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for two consecutive years SEOUL -- K-pop phenomenon BTS has been selected by Grammy Awards as a nominee for "Best Pop Duo/Group Performance" section for the seven-member band's global hit song "Butter," a full English song released in May 2021. Grammy, organized by the U.S. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), is one of the world's most prestigious music awards events. It features various performances by prominent artists. On November 24, NARAS unveiled f 2021-11-24
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  Fresheasy absorbs diet therapy company to grow big in domestic meal kit market SEOUL -- South Korea's top meal kit maker Fresheasy has merged with a diet therapy company to expand its presence in the rapidly-growing ready-to-eat packaged meal market, which is projected to stand at five trillion won ($4.2 billion) in 2022. Home meal replacement (HMR) products, also known as meal kits, are convenient heat-and-eat food packages designed for quick and easy consumption. Meal kits are favored by young working people and single households who do not feel the nee 2021-11-24
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  KAI invests in domestic firm to incorporate advanced technologies into aviation and defense SEOUL -- Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the sole aircraft maker in South Korea, will secure a 10 percent stake in Konan Technology, a domestic company that offers IT solutions and data analysis, to incorporate technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and deep learning into aviation and defense fields. KAI will cooperate with Konan Technology to develop AI-based prognostics and health management (PHM) applicable to fighter jets and urban air mobility, which is an e 2021-11-24
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  Taylor selected as site for Samsung's new chip fabrication plant in US SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics selected the city of Taylor, Texas, as the site for its new chip fabrication plant in the United States, with an estimated injection of $17 billion to help boost the production of advanced logic solutions. Construction begins in the first half of 2022 for commercial operation in the second half of 2024. The new facility will manufacture products based on advanced process technologies for application in areas such as mobile, 5G, high-performance comput 2021-11-24
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  Hotel Shilla unveils premium meal kits using fine dining food items SEOUL -- As food for ordinary people and busy office workers, meal kits or ready-to-eat meal sets that only need to be heated before eating are available at South Korean convenient stores and online stores that provide quick delivery services. Hotel Shilla, a luxury hotel brand run by the sister of Samsung Group's de facto leader Jay Y. Lee, made a gutty experiment that may change the concept of consumers. With the same ingredients and optimal recipes used in its kitchen for fin 2021-11-23
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  VUNO partners with S. Korea's tuberculosis association to upgrade AI-based diagnosis technology SEOUL -- VUNO, South Korea's diagnosis technology company, partnered with the Korea National Tuberculosis Association to cooperate in a research project for artificial intelligence (AI)-based tuberculosis diagnosis technology. About 26,000 South Koreans contract tuberculosis every year and 1,800 patients die from the disease. VUNO said in a statement on November 23 that the company has signed a cooperation agreement with the Korea National Tuberculosis Association (KNTA) to uti 2021-11-23
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  Researchers develop eco-friendly nano-hydroelectric generator SEOUL -- South Korean researchers have developed an eco-friendly nano-hydroelectric generator that can charge batteries using a droplet of water which is about 50 microliters. Although the device's generating capacity is not high, it can be used in any environment if moisture is collectible. The generator can also be used on wearable devices to use sweat drops to generate power. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) said in a statement on November 23 2021-11-23
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  SKC sets up joint venture with two domestic firms to produce biodegradable PBAT SEOUL -- SKC, a leading polyester film and chemical material manufacturer in South Korea, will set up a joint venture with two domestic companies to produce polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), a biodegradable random copolymer marketed as a fully biodegradable alternative to low-density polyethylene. The joint venture tentatively named "Ecovance" will build a plant capable of producing 70,000 tons of high-strength PBAT annually from 2023, using nanocellulose extrac 2021-11-23
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  S. Korea develops small-sized radar for stealth jet fighters SEOUL -- South Korea's defense technology development agency has succeeded in the development of a small-sized radar structure that has a minimized surface area. The special radar will maintain its low observable capability when it is installed on the hull of a stealth jet fighter. Stealth jet fighters are designed to maintain a low radar cross-section (RCS), the electromagnetic signature of an object, to be almost invisible to flight radars. Their wings and hull use special 2021-11-23