NewJeans' mini album 'Get Up' gains explosive popularity on Spotify

SEOUL -- K-pop super rookie band NewJeans has garnered explosive popularity on Spotify, the world's most popular music streaming service, through its new mini-album "Get Up." All six songs in the album entered the top 50 on Spotify's daily chart which ranks most streamed songs in the United States. Six songs in the album entered the US Daily Top Song Chart on Spotify on July 24, the five-member band's agency said. "Super Shy" landed at number 10, &qu

July 25, 2023

2023 World Scout Jamboree to be held on S. Korea's reclaimed land

SEOUL -- About 36,000 teenagers from 158 countries will participate in a global Scouting event designed to link up young people from all around the world through various camping activities. The event held every four years will take place in Saemangeum, an industrial zone set up on reclaimed land near the southwestern port city of Gunsan. Along with about 36,000 members aged between 14 and 18, 7,000 instructors and safety guards will take part in the event called the "World Sc

July 25, 2023

BTS' Jungkook tops Billboard's top 100 popular song chart with 'Seven'

SEOUL -- Jungkook, the youngest artist of BTS, has topped Billboard's top 100 popular song chart with the title track for his first solo album "Seven." The 25-year-old became the second BTS member who ranked first with a solo song in Billboard's weekly chart, after Jimin who topped the song chart with "Like Crazy" in April 2023. "'Seven (feat. Latto)' debuted #1 on the HOT 100! We're always grateful for your love and support," Big H

July 25, 2023

GI Biome partners with multi-target antibody developer ProGen to research next-gen obesity treatment

SEOUL -- South Korea's microbiome-based drug developer GI Biome has partnered with ProGen, a Seoul-based company that develops multi-targeted antibodies for anti-cancer and immune disease treatment, to jointly research and develop a next-generation obesity treatment drug. GI Biome said that the company signed a memorandum of understanding with ProGen to cooperate in the research and development of a next-generation obesity treatment drug. The two companies will jointly research GI

July 25, 2023

N. Korea fires ballistic missiles after US nuclear submarine arrives in S. Korea

SEOUL -- North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea in less than a day after the United States Navy's nuclear-powered submarine arrived in South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju on July 24. The South Korean Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) detected two short-range ballistic missiles that were fired from an area near Pyongyang, North Korea, at about 11:55 p.m. (1455 GMT) on July 24. Two ballistic missiles were fired and flew about 400 kilometers

July 25, 2023

Daesang starts mass production of low-calorie alternative sweetener product

SEOUL -- South Korea's major food manufacturing group Daesang has started the mass production of allulose, a low-calorie alternate sugar product, in a bid to target the domestic sweet alternative market valued at 330 billion won ($257.6 million) in 2020. The growth of the South Korean alternate sugar product market gained traction over the last five years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people's awareness of wellness and eating healthy food had increased. One b

July 24, 2023

CGBIO acquires medical aesthetics product company targeting domestic plastic surgery market

SEOUL -- CGBIO, a total healthcare provider in South Korea, has acquired DNC AESTHETICS, a medical aesthetics product maker, to target the domestic plastic surgery market that was valued at $1.95 billion in 2021 with products that are used at plastic and cosmetics surgery hospitals. South Korea has a plastic and cosmetics surgery market that is growing at an average annual growth rate of 13.2 percent, according to Expert Market Research, a global market research firm. For the last deca

July 24, 2023

Japan attracts about 30% of S. Korean overseas travelers in 1H 2023: data

SEOUL -- About 30 percent of travelers who left South Korea to foreign countries in the first half of 2023 traveled to Japan, data released by South Korea's land ministry showed. China, which used to be one of South Koreans' favorite getaway spots, attracted about six percent of the total outbound travelers. Japan became a popular tourist spot for South Koreans after all coronavirus-related travel restrictions were lifted this year. Japan's geographical distance from Sou

July 24, 2023

State-run police hospital adopts Lunit's AI chest X-ray solution

SEOUL -- "Lunit INSIGHT CXR," a chest X-ray analysis solution developed by South Korea's medical artificial intelligence company Lunit, was adopted by the country's national police hospital to detect various types of chest diseases. The solution can significantly help human doctors treat police officers and firefighters suffering from lung diseases. The AI-based solution is used to compare and analyze X-rays and medical images of patients with chest diseases and healt

July 21, 2023

[COLUMN] Let's ask fortune-tellers if it is time for a Korean War peace treaty

SEOUL -- Next week marks the 70th anniversary of the armistice when the guns of war fell silent across the 38th parallel. Imagine if you were here at that time, wondering what to do with your life, and that you went to a fortune-teller for advice. “It’s only a ceasefire,” the lady might have said. “Don’t buy property in Seoul until there&

July 21, 2023