SPOTLIGHT

• Music

  

  BTS wraps up US tour, drawing 320,000 fans

  Global K-pop sensation BTS has drawn some 320,000 spectators on the U.S. leg of its world concert tour "Love Yourself: Speak Yourself," its management agency said Monday.BTS wrapped up the US edition of its global stadium tour with the final stop at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, over the weekend, according to Big Hit Entertainment. BTS at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on May 18, 2019. (Photo: Big Hit Entertainment)After opening with performances to sellout crowds at Rose B

• Social affairs

  

  Tent regulations in Hangang parks trigger controversy

  On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Yeouido Hangang Park in southwestern Seoul was packed with people seeking to enjoy the greenery at outdoor picnics. A sea of tents is a familiar sight along the riverside parks -- but this time, the tents had to be squeezed into a smaller space due to new regulations from the Seoul Metropolitan Government. As of April 22, tents are allowed only in designated zones within the riverside parks until 7 p.m., and must remain open on at least two sides at all times.A pla

• Industry

  

  Game industry holds breath for this week’s WHO decision on gaming disorder

  The South Korean gaming industry is waiting on tiptoes for the impending final decision of the World Health Organization on whether to classify video game addiction as a disease. The World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO, will convene from Monday through May 28 in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss various policy matters, including the question of game addiction. The WHO classified video game addiction as a disorder in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Di

• Book Review

  

  Entertainment news reporter says BTS opened up new paradigm for K-pop

  A veteran entertainment news reporter with almost 20 years of experience has written a book about K-pop boy band BTS and its global success. In “BTS K-pop,” Herald Business reporter Seo Byung-ki analyzes what has come to be called BTS syndrome. “There are already around 10 books that deal with the BTS syndrome. Many of them, written by professors, take a philosophical view on BTS’ narrative structure, fandom or communication. I thought my book should have a different approach, so I did what I co

LATEST NEWS

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  Finance

  MBK Partners-Woori Bank consortium selected as new preferred buyer of Lotte Card

  Lotte Holdings said Tuesday that it has selected a consortium of MBK Partners and Woori Bank as the new preferred buyer of Lotte Card, amid legal irregularities surrounding former negotiations partner Hahn & Co.　The holdings unit of the Korean-Japanese retail conglomerate said in a disclosure that it had initially chosen local private equity fund Hahn & Co. as its preferred bidder on May 3, but that the priority period for negotiations had expired as of May 13.As a result, Lotte decided to choos

• 

  Finance

  Costco Korea to make switch to Hyundai Card this week

  Costco Wholesale Korea, the South Korean unit of the US wholesale giant, will officially switch to Hyundai Card as its credit card partner from Friday in line with contract stipulations, the credit card company said Tuesday. This means that starting Friday at all Costco outlets in Korea, Costco members will only be able to pay with a Hyundai credit card or cash under the wholesaler’s single-network credit card policy. Samsung cards will no longer be accepted.The change follows an agreement signe

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  Technology

  Tada takes center stage in carpooling service dispute

  Concerns rise over ‘mutual destruction’ between taxi industry and ride-hailing services

• 

  World News

  China may not be the most populous country by 2024

  　Currently, China with a population of 1.41 billion and India with 1.34 billion remain the two most populous countries, comprising 19 percent and 18 percent of the total global population, respectively, according to a UN report. And in about seven years, or around 2024, India’s population is expected to surpass that of China.　According to the UN estimates, after 2024 India’s population is projected to continue growing for several decades to around 1.5 billion in 2030 and approaching 1.66 billion

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  Diplomatic Circuit

  Swiss Embassy opens hanok-inspired building in Seoul

  The Embassy of Switzerland has opened its new building that reinterprets hanok -- traditional Korean houses -- in central Seoul, in the hope that it will serve as a platform for cooperation between the two countries. “This reconstruction of the embassy is a symbol of our longstanding friendship with the Republic of Korea and of Switzerland’s sincere desire to further expand our excellent and mutually beneficial relations in all fields,” Ambassador Linus von Castelmur said during a media conferen

• Editorial

  Fiscal health concerns

  Moon to keep expanding government expenditures; KDI warns of growth plunge

• 

  Columnists

  China’s trade warriors can’t hit Hollywood

  China may want to stand tough against Donald Trump’s trade threats. It’s going to have a hard time retaliating, though, and not only because it doesn’t import enough goods to match the US president tariff-for-tariff.One obvious target would be the $58.9 billion in services the US exports to China. These include everything from Hollywood blockbusters to tourism and education. In theory, Beijing could easily enough cut off the flow of American entertainment into China and Chinese students and tour

• 

  Columnists

  Strategy? It’s foreign to Trump

  Donald Trump once thought foreign policy would be easy.“We would win if we would just sit down and negotiate -- but using our best people,” he wrote as a private citizen in 2008. “We have all the cards.”So as president he named himself negotiator-in-chief and tried to cajole North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to abandon nuclear weapons. He re-imposed tough economic sanctions on Iran, betting he could force the ayatollahs to change their ways. He vowed to force China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union

• 

  North Korea

  NK raises pressure on Seoul while receiving aid from China

  North Korea continued its criticism of South Korea on Monday, calling on Seoul to reject interference from foreign powers and taking issue with a meeting of a Seoul-Washington working group. Meanwhile, Chinese data showed that Pyongyang received aid from Beijing last year despite UN Security Council resolutions.  (Yonhap)A North Korean propaganda outlet on Monday accused the South Korean government of fueling discord by working with the US, focusing on a recent meeting of a Seoul-Washington work

• 

  Politics

  Officials to introduce police reform measures aimed at preventing power abuse

  Officials of South Korea’s legislative and executive branches as well as Cheong Wa Dae on Monday agreed on the need to prevent abuse of power by police, who will be given greater authority under a political reform bill being fast-tracked through the National Assembly.To increase checks and balances, the officials agreed to establish a head office to separate police tasked with investigative assignments from general police. They also talked about amendments to punish police intelligence officers

GRAPHIC NEWS

OPINION

• Columnists

  

  China’s trade warriors can’t hit Hollywood

  China may want to stand tough against Donald Trump’s trade threats. It’s going to have a hard time retaliating, though, and not only because it doesn’t import enough goods to match the US president tariff-for-tariff.One obvious target would be the $58.9 billion in services the US exports to China. These include everything from Hollywood blockbusters to tourism and education. In theory, Beijing could easily enough cut off the flow of American entertainment into China and Chinese students and tour

• Columnists

  

  Strategy? It’s foreign to Trump

  Donald Trump once thought foreign policy would be easy.“We would win if we would just sit down and negotiate -- but using our best people,” he wrote as a private citizen in 2008. “We have all the cards.”So as president he named himself negotiator-in-chief and tried to cajole North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to abandon nuclear weapons. He re-imposed tough economic sanctions on Iran, betting he could force the ayatollahs to change their ways. He vowed to force China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union

THE INVESTOR

• Startups & Investors

  

  [EXIT DAEJEON 2019] Chaebol to play key role in hardware renaissance: HAX founder

  Cyril Ebersweiler, founder and managing director of hardware accelerator HAX, is out to create a startup-driven hardware renaissance. And in his view, South Korea has much potential.“We’ve been quite familiar with the Korean ecosystem and did a few investments there. I think it’s one of the most dynamic ecosystems in the world, and it is doing better than some of its Asia counterparts, while providing a decent market locally for Korean companies as well as quality manufacturing,” said Ebersweile

• LG

  

  'Foldable display ready for commercialization: LGD CTO

  “LG Display’s own foldable display technology is mature enough for commercialization, and it is now up to device makers to adopt the tech and grow the market in earnest,” said CTO Kang In-byeong at the SID Display Week 2019.Speaking at one of the world’s largest display conferences May 14-17 in San Jose, California, he noted that the foldable technology seems to be ready if a 13.3-inch inward-folding display demonstrated during the conference is any barometer. Partnering with LGD, Chin

• Finance

  

  MSCI appoints Tay Kim as chief of Korean unit

  Index maker and analytics data provider MSCI has appointed Tay Kim as the chief of its South Korean unit, filling a post that had been vacant since early last year, the US firm announced May 20.Kim’s term as head of client coverage for Korea came into effect April 1. The length of that term remains confidential under a nondisclosure agreement, according to MSCI.The news came over a year after MSCI’s former head of Korea, Um Tae-jong, was appointed as head of asset manager State Street Global Adv

• Startups & Investors

  

  Startup-driven innovation to take center stage at Exit Daejeon 2019

  South Korea’s fifth-largest metropolitan city is poised to host the Global Startup Festival Daejeon 2019 from May 21-23 as part of its efforts to become a global hub for startup-driven innovation. The three-day Exit Daejeon 2019 event will take place at Daejeon Convention Center. It is co-sponsored by Daejeon Metropolitan City, Herald Corp., Daejeon Center for Creative Economy & Innovation and CEO Clubs Korea.The conference is expected to host 300 participants, including SME and Startups Ministe

K-POP HERALD

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  [INTERVIEW] Winner on new album ‘We,’ Blackpink and YG scandal

• 

  [KpopHerald x TwitterBlueroom] NU’EST members hug each other as fans thank them for last 8 years

• 

  BTS notches third No. 1 on Billboard 200 with new album

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Food

  

  What makes a good bar, and a good bartender

• Technology

  

  ‘Fortnite billionaire’ envisions VR social media

• Health

  

  Why correct information on clean air matters

• Film

  

  ‘Sons of Denmark,’ a glimpse into a dystopian future

PHOTO NEWS

• Travel

  

  Where have all the flowers gone?

  　Along the overpass-turned-park Seoullo 7017 are large pots of flowers that have unfamiliar foreign names but are commonly spotted on the streets of South Korea. 　Among them are pink flowers with the Russian nomenclature Schlippenbach, also known as chuljjuk in Korean, one of the most widespread spring flowers here. Abies Koreana Wilson, better known in Korea as the Christmas tree, also stand on the bridge. 　According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, all the flowers being displayed at Seoul

VIDEO

• Technology

  

  ‘Fortnite billionaire’ envisions VR social media

• Food

  

  Traditional liquor-based cocktails beckon adventurous drinkers

• Automode

  

  Experts urge joint efforts for ASEAN EV market formation, growth

• Industry

  

  Blue Bottle Coffee opens first store in Korea

FEATURES

• Economy

  

  In efforts to curb apartment prices, rate hikes seemingly pushed aside

  SEJONG -- The Moon Jae-in government has repeatedly expressed its commitment to lower housing prices in Seoul, amid an extraordinary situation in which many apartments surged in price more than 50 percent from late 2016 through 2018.Most of its anti-speculation measures have been mapped out by the Finance Ministry, the Land Ministry and the Financial Services Commission.But the presidential office has refrained from seeking to normalize apartment prices by normalizing interest rates. This is des

• Social affairs

  

  Surging Sejong population appeals to mega-shopping malls, hospitals

  SEJONG -- It is now seven years since the government relocated numerous ministries and agencies to the newly developed special autonomous city of Sejong, neighboring the northwestern part of Daejeon, as part of its efforts to decongest Seoul.Sejong has 14 dongs -- administrative divisions -- including Eojin-dong where the Government Complex is located, one eup -- town -- and nine myeons –- townships. (Graphic by Heo Tae-seong/The Korea Herald)Though the city is rapidly expanding, its infrastruct

• Social affairs

  

  We saw helicopters firing in Gwangju: US missionary

  GWANGJU -- Gwangju streets at this time of the year are full of banners on events related to the May 1980 Democratic Uprising as the city remembers the brutal military crackdown on protesting citizens under former President Chun Doo-hwan, with exhibitions, forums, music contests and food sharing.The deadly military crackdown left an estimated 160 dead and some 5,000 injured in the course of 10 days from May 18, 1980.Experts say the figure is expected to be higher given that many of the dead were

• Defense

  

  The first step toward military service: The medical exam

  Upon receiving a letter from the Military Manpower Administration summoning him for his mandatory medical exam, Choi Seong-ryong, who had just turned 19, was both excited and worried. It signaled that he was now an adult with the responsibility to serve in the military.Technically still at war with North Korea, South Korea maintains a draft system that requires almost all able-bodied male citizens aged 19 to 36 to serve in the military for about two years. A mother and son get blood drawn at the