[OPINION] Some promising events regarding Iran

KENOSHA -- On August 10, Iran released four Americans held in a notorious Tehran prison. They joined a fifth in less restrictive house arrest, with the understanding all will le

August 17, 2023

Busan port operator to build S. Korea's first swing bridge by 2026

SEOUL -- South Korea's main maritime gateway in the southern port city of Busan will create the country's first swing bridge in its northern port area by 2026. A part of the 171-meter-(561-foot)-long bridge would swing to open a bridge span between support columns when yachts and ships approach and one side of the bridge will move in the horizontal direction. The Busan Port Authority (BPA) said the swing bridge that connects a park with a maritime recreation center will be buil

August 17, 2023

Hyundai's ultra-fast EV charging service 'E-pit' installed in southeastern industrial city

SEOUL -- "E-pit," an electric vehicle charging service platform created by South Korea's Hyundai auto group, was installed at a public parking lot in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan. Unlike normal chargers take about 40 minutes to charge 80 percent of electric cars' battery, E-pit can charge 80 percent of the battery in just 18 minutes. South Korea had 205,205 EV chargers across the country with some 390,000 registered EVs as of January 2023. Currently, more

August 17, 2023

President Yoon to visit Maryland for summit meeting with US and Japan

SEOUL -- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will depart Seoul on August 17 to attend the South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit meeting scheduled to be held at Camp David, the official United States presidential retreat near Washington, D.C., on August 18. Yoon will depart in the afternoon from Seoul Airport on a presidential jet for his trip to the U.S. and First Lady Kim Geon-hee will not accompany the president. Yoon's father passed away on August 15 and the president will complete

August 17, 2023

Samsung to produce AI chips for California-based AI semiconductor startup Groq

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics has partnered with Groq, an artificial intelligence-based chip designer based in California, to manufacture the American company's next-generation AI semiconductors. The South Korean conglomerate will produce four-nanometer chips for Groq at a chip plant in Texas' central region, which is set to begin commercial operation in the second half of 2024. AI semiconductors with neural processing units specialize in processing AI-related application

August 16, 2023

BLACKPINK's 'Lovesick Girls' surpasses 700 mln views on YouTube

SEOUL -- The music video for BLACKPINK's dance song Lovesick Girls has garnered more than 700 million views on YouTube, about two years and 10 months after its release in October 2020. The title track of the group's first studio album incorporated electronic dance music and country-style guitar sound. It debuted at No. 59 on Billboard's weekly song chart which ranks top 100 popular songs. The music video exceeded 700 million views at 4:06 p.m. (GMT) on August 16, the

August 16, 2023

S. Korea's third tallest skyscraper 'Busan Lotte Tower' to be built in southern port city

SEOUL -- Lotte Shopping, a retail company affiliated with Lotte Group, will build a 342.5 meter-(1123.6 foot)-tall tower in South Korea's southern port city of Busan. The new skyscraper called the "Busan Lotte Tower" would become the country's third tallest building after Seoul's Lotte World Tower and Haeundae LCT The Sharp, a residential and commercial complex in Busan. Through the new tower, the retail company aims to attract more than one million tourists annually.

August 16, 2023

US soldier crosses border due to mistreatment within US Army: N. Korea

SEOUL -- North Korea has confirmed that a United States soldier identified as Army Private 2nd Class Travis T. King is currently in its territory. According to Pyongyang's state news agency's report, King crossed the border into the North because of mistreatment and racism within the U.S. Army. The 23-year-old, enlisted in January 2021, was a private stationed in South Korea. The American soldier ran across the border on July 18 when he was visiting the truce village of Panmunj

August 16, 2023

S. Korea records highest level of tourism deficit in 1H 2023

SEOUL -- South Korea's tourism deficit for the first half of 2023 has reached the highest level in five years, data released by the main state tourism promotion body showed. The domestic tourism industry now focuses on whether the tourism balance will improve when Chinese group tourists return to South Korea. China imposed a ban on travelers to South Korea as part of retaliatory steps over the installment of an Advanced American missile shield system in 2017. About eight million

August 14, 2023

AI developer Upstage launches alliance to establish world's top Korean-based LLM

SEOUL -- South Korean artificial intelligence technology developer Upstage has launched an alliance of companies and organizations in the private and public sectors including media companies, academics, and corporates in a bid to establish an ecosystem for large language models that would incorporate Korean language-based AI models capable of understanding and generating natural conversations in Korean. A large language model (LLM) is basically a smart computer program that understan

August 14, 2023