Seoul becomes world's ninth most expensive city to live for foreign people: study

SEOUL -- Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, has become the world's ninth most expensive city to live for foreigners, a study by a global expatriate information and data analysis and consulting firm showed. New York dethroned Hong Kong to become the world's highest cost of living for expatriates. According to a study of 207 cities in 120 countries across the world, conducted by ECA International in March 2023, Seoul was ranked ninth in 2023's Cost of Living Rankings

June 8, 2023

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

June 7, 2023

HD Hyundai Heavy partners with defense company Babcock for submarine technology cooperation

SEOUL -- South Korea's shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries 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 Heavy said on June 7. "We should be able to

June 7, 2023

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

June 7, 2023

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 t

June 7, 2023

​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

June 7, 2023

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 va

June 5, 2023

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. Earlier this year, the company released "AskUp Lemon Sparkling Highball," a

June 5, 2023

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

June 5, 2023

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

June 5, 2023