Global map of COVID-19 cases

China｜Cases 74,579｜Deaths 2,119
South Korea ｜Cases 104｜Deaths 1

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  Social affairs

  Coronavirus cases double in a day to surpass 100

  • 20 new COVID-19 cases reported, 14 linked to church

• Politics
  

  Moon, Xi agree to closely cooperate against coronavirus

  South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed in his telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday to strengthen cooperation between the neighboring countries in a desperate fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to Cheong Wa Dae. They also agreed to share relevant clinical experiences of their countries, in addition to close partnership between their quarantine authorities, Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Min-seok said in a press briefing. Xi proposed the

• Money
  

  KCGI slams KAL owner family for losses, rules out heiress' return to management

  Hanjin KAL refutes, alliance’s scheme of taking boardroom is arrangement for her return

• Economy
  

  [News Focus] Number of de facto jobless up 440,000 in 2 months

  SEJONG -- South Korea saw the number of de facto jobless people -- meaning those underemployed -- increase sharply in recent months, the latest data showed. According to Statistics Korea, the “extended (or sentiment-reflected)” unemployment rate climbed to 12.1 percent in January 2020. The figure indicates that 3.58 million of the extended economically active population of 29.65 million are de facto unemployed. This far exceeds the nation’s official jobless rate (4.1 pe

• Social affairs
  

  Shincheonji, a veiled Christian sect, at center of virus outbreak

  At the center of a local outbreak of coronavirus infections in Daegu City is a much-veiled Christian sect that goes by the name of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony. 　  As of Thursday afternoon, 43 of the country’s 104 cases were confirmed to be linked to Sunday services at the sect’s branch in Daegu, which was attended by a 61-year-old woman who tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. 　 Concerns are growing over a further rise in the num

• Social affairs
  

  COVID-19 tests at doctors’ discretion regardless of symptoms, travel records

  Starting Thursday, anyone can be tested for COVID-19 at doctors’ discretion, regardless of his or her overseas travel record. People who have not traveled to China can be tested for the coronavirus if they have been in contact with someone who has traveled to the country and show respiratory symptoms or fever, according to the latest guidelines from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those who have been admitted to hospitals for pneumonia of unknown cause must be iso

• Social affairs
  

  USFK bans travel to Daegu amid virus spread

  United States Forces Korea Commander Gen. Robert Abrams banned service members from “non-essential travel” to and from Daegu on Wednesday, after a surge in cases of COVID-19 linked to church services there. The total number of infected people in Korea was at 104 as of Thursday afternoon. The commander said service members who attended church services in Daegu would undergo mandatory self-quarantine. He urged their family members to do the same as part of “proactive and preca

• Technology
  

  Korean chipmakers start to worry about COVID-19

  South Korean chipmakers have started to be concerned about a looming slowdown in demand for chips and impact on production in the wake of an unexpected spike in the number of COVID-19 infections across the country, according to industry sources on Thursday. “So far, the company is not facing any difficulty in running the production lines as usual, but it is worrisome that signs of demand slowdown from set makers are looming as the situation gets worse and longer,” said an official

• Film
  

  [Herald Interview] Salaryman-turned-director Kim Yong-hoon debuts big

  Newcomer aspires to add color to Korean cinema scene

NEWSMAKER

• Culture

  

  Religious groups respond to COVID-19 outbreak

  Religious organizations are on alert after a drastic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases was linked to a church in Daegu. As of 5 p.m. Thursday, the South Korean government had reported 22 new cases of the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. The total number of infections in Korea had jumped to 104. It is suspected that the nation’s 31st patient hastened its spread by visiting a church in Daegu, which is associated with a minor religious sect. Amid the quick sprea

LATEST NEWS

• Today

  

  Politics

  NSC discusses coronavirus response

  South Korea's National Security Council convened Thursday and  discussed the coronavirus outbreak, as the country reported the first death of an infected person. In its weekly standing committee meeting, top national security officials checked the "seriousness of the situations at home and abroad and the international community's moves and reviewed ways the government will respond going forward," according to Cheong Wa Dae. South Korea announced 53 new confirmed COVID-19 cas

• Today

  

  Social affairs

  Mass infection feared at a hospital in Cheongdo

  Daenam Hospital could emerge as new COVID-19 cluster with 15 cases, including potential first death

• Today

  

  Social affairs

  S. Korea reports 1st military member infected with coronavirus

  A Navy sailor on the southern island of Jeju was confirmed Thursday to have contracted the new coronavirus in the first confirmed case among service personnel in South Korea, government officials said. The man in his 20s was one of the country's 104 patients of COVID-19, according to the officials. He was known to have visited his hometown, Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, recently, where dozens of confirmed cases have been reported since Wednesday. (Yonhap)

• Today

  

  K-pop

  Why Naver is finally shutting down comments on celebrity news

  The nation’s largest web portal, Naver, will not publish comments under its entertainment news until further notice, for the sake of celebrities’ mental health. “We acknowledge that the current technological efforts aren’t enough to relieve the pain felt by celebrities and have decided to close the comment section for entertainment news until a further structural overhaul,” the company said Wednesday. The move takes effect sometime next month. Kakao, which owns th

• Today

  

  Business

  [Graphic News] COVID-19 helps toy sales

  　Sales of toys are surging in South Korea as children stay home longer and people pay more attention to their health due to the prolonged scare over COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus, industry sources said. 　Online shopping site Auction said its sales of toys for toddlers and children skyrocketed from a year earlier in the seven-day period to Feb. 9. 　Sales of ball tents and toy blocks surged 285 percent and 72 percent, respectively, with those of mobile toys like

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SPOTLIGHT

• Television

  

  ‘Crash Landing on You’ star Lee Sin-young sues over school bullying rumors

  Rising star Lee Sin-young, who played a supporting role in the hit drama “Crash Landing on You,” is taking legal action after being accused of school bullying, Lee’s agency, Forest Entertainment, said Thursday. A lawyer from law firm Gangnam, on behalf of the agency, released an official statement saying libel and blackmail complaints have been filed against a man claiming to have suffered school bullying by Lee. Earlier this month, a man claiming to have been Lee’s m

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  Film

  Moon meets Bong, vows govt. efforts against cinema screen monopolies

  President Moon Jae-in said Thursday his government would do its best to introduce a legal measure to curb screen monopolies in South Korean cinemas, speaking at a Cheong Wa Dae meeting with Bong Joon-ho, director of the Oscars-winning movie "Parasite." The president pledged "tangible support" for the further development of the local film industry and cited the proposed ceiling on the total number of screens for a certain movie and the expansion of academies. The Ministry o

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  K-pop

  BTS to unveil teaser for its new song 'ON' ahead of official release

  A sample of "ON," the lead track of K-pop super band BTS' upcoming album "Map of the Soul: 7," will hit the popular video-sharing service TikTok half a day ahead of the song's official release this week, TikTok said Wednesday. A 30-second video will be released on the social networking service at 6 a.m. Friday, 12 hours ahead of the official release set for 6 p.m. the same day, according to the service. It is the first time in its seven-year career that BTS will unveil a

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  Culture

  Wearing face masks, people go makeup free, change style

  Wearing face masks has freed some from makeup, while others try new looks

GRAPHIC NEWS

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EDITORIAL

• Emergency prescription

  Drastic policy shift needed to cope with economic woes aggravated by virus crisis

• New phase of infection

  Concerns rising over community spread as unknown transmissions surface

VIEWPOINTS

THE INVESTOR

• Startups & Investors

  

  Tada executives acquitted

  　The Seoul Central District Court on Feb. 19 found Socar CEO Lee Jae-woong and VCNC CEO Park Jae-wook not guilty of violating transportation laws with its ride service strongly opposed by the taxi industry. Socar is the parent of VCNC, which runs Tada, a 11-seat van-hailing mobile app service. 　The court said in a ruling that Tada is seen as an “innovative mobility business” that cannot be categorized based on the existing transportation business frame. 　“Tada service is ope

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  Economy

  Meet the ‘3 Bs’ behind South Korea’s soft power

  　In 2012, Psy’s “Gangnam Style” made the world do the horse dance and proved that South Korean cultural content could go beyond East Asia and even spread to other continents. Fast forward to 2019, and the country with a population of 51 million is a cultural powerhouse -- with its artists and cultural content not only stealing the hearts of global audiences but winning international acclaim. The proof? Here are three Bs that hail from Korea.  　 　 　Bong Joon-ho 　 Bong J

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  Finance

  Investment firms act to reap windfalls from ‘Parasite’ boom

  South Korean investment houses are moving to reap windfalls from listed companies here involved in the production of Oscar-winning film “Parasite.” 　As the shares of producer Barunson E&A and its affiliate saw a strong upshot over the past week, investors in the firms’ mezzanine instruments are exercising options to convert them into shares to boost valuation in their asset holdings and seek an easier exit opportunity. 　Winasia Partners, a Seoul-based private equity firm

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  Samsung

  [From the Scene] Galaxy S20, Z Flip attract aspiring tech leaders in Silicon Valley

  PALO ALTO, California -- After the Galaxy S20 and Z Flip phones were unveiled in San Francisco on Tuesday, aspiring tech leaders studying and working in Palo Alto, the heart of Silicon Valley, flocked to a Samsung shop in the area. 　Samsung Experience Store in Stanford Shopping Center saw its visitor traffic surge about 80 percent on the day of the “Unpacked” event compared with usual Tuesdays, owing to display shelves spruced up with new devices. 　Opened in December, it is one of

K-POP

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  Why Naver is finally shutting down comments on celebrity news

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  BTS to unveil teaser for its new song 'ON' ahead of official release

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  BTS’ top 50 singles and album tracks, ranked

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  Pre-orders for BTS album top record 4 million

HERALD INTERVIEW

• Film

  

  Salaryman-turned-director Kim Yong-hoon debuts big

  Newcomer aspires to add color to Korean cinema scene

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  Music

  Baritone comes full circle in ‘Barber of Seville’

  Baritone Kim Ju-taek, also known as Julian Kim, is a singer recognized beyond the Italian opera scene, even by non-classical music audiences in Korea. Kim is to perform in opera concert “Barber of Seville” in March, as part of art management agency Arts&Artists’ opera concert series.　 He is exceptionally attached to the opera piece as he made his official debut as Figaro in “Barber of Seville” at Teatro G.B. Pergolesi in Jesi, Italy in 2009, Kim, 33, said. &

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  Industry

  The control engineer out to switch cancer off

  Kaist researcher’s systems approach shows promise in quest to stop cancer cells multiplying

• 

  People

  Web-serial writer Lee Nak-joon juggles three jobs

  Lee Nak-joon, 35, balances three jobs -- web-serial writer, YouTuber and ear, nose and throat specialist. “At first I did not have much problems. I write fast. It usually takes around an hour and a half for me to write one episode (for my daily update). For YouTube, I only spent around 15 minutes shooting a video that is around 10 minutes,” Lee said in an interview with The Korea Herald. It became tougher to manage last year after his web serial “Trauma Center: Golden Hour&

PHOTO NEWS

• Arts&Design

  

  Hop aboard ‘Hotel Express 284’

  The former Seoul Station building -- now Culture Station Seoul 284 -- has been transformed into a hotel complex for an exhibition. With the building symbolic of Korea’s shift to modernity, the exhibition “Hotel Express 284,” organized by the Korea Craft & Design Foundation, highlights the venue as a place where voyages start.  Foreigners flooded into Seoul after the opening of ports in thelate 19th century. Their need for accommodation marked the beginning of hot

VIDEO

• Film

  

  Why does ‘Parasite’ mix pricey beef into instant noodles?

  The food featured in director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” is not just nourishment for the characters but also serves up symbolism and social satire, hinting at social stratification in Korean society. As the movie’s plot gains momentum, one of the foods in focus is jjapaguri -- translated as ram don in the English subtitles. The Korean name comes from its two main ingredients -- the instant noodle brands Jjapaghetti and Neoguri. Bong spices up this otherwise ordinary dis

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  Diplomatic Circuit

  ‘Push for green energy pays off’

  [Meet the diplomat] Danish ambassador discusses renewable energy, life satisfaction and ‘Parasite’

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  Culture

  Flavor chemistry behind cocoa gastronomy

  The mouth-watering sweetness that originated from cocoa serves as the main component of chocolate in the modern confectionery industry. The unique bounties of rare flavors coming from the deep brown beans are undoubtedly the magic hands behind the juicy touch. Many chocolate lovers agree -- a bite of fine chocolate can be as exquisite as a fancy truffle risotto, conveying the pleasure of tasting something truly delectable. On Jan. 10, the world’s largest chocolate festival, “Salon du

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  Transport

  Genesis’ first SUV GV80 launched, threatens likes of Benz, BMW

  GV80 has reasonable price, “Korean luxury” design

MOST POPULAR

• S. Korea's COVID-19 cases soar to 82 amid fears of community spread
• Coronavirus cases double in a day to surpass 100
• 20 new COVID-19 cases reported, 14 linked to church
• Daegu panics with group of COVID-19 infections
• Shincheonji, a veiled Christian sect, at center of virus outbreak
• BTS to unveil teaser for its new song 'ON' ahead of official release
• Wearing face masks, people go makeup free, change style
• Spreading like flu, COVID-19 presents daunting challenge
• Daegu on alert as coronavirus cases surge
• Mass infection feared at a hospital in Cheongdo

FEATURES

• Economy

  

  Number of de facto jobless up 440,000 in 2 months

  SEJONG -- South Korea saw the number of de facto jobless people -- meaning those underemployed -- increase sharply in recent months, the latest data showed. According to Statistics Korea, the “extended (or sentiment-reflected)” unemployment rate climbed to 12.1 percent in January 2020. The figure indicates that 3.58 million of the extended economically active population of 29.65 million are de facto unemployed. This far exceeds the nation’s official jobless rate (4.1 pe

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  Social affairs

  New cases challenge Korea’s coronavirus response

  Experts say COVID-19 more lethal than H1N1, but less than MERS

• 

  Technology

  Samsung chips vs. SK hynix chips: How do they fare against each other?

  The Korea Herald looks at advancements in chip manufacturing technologies, past and present

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  Politics

  Recruitment of new faces remains key task for merged conservative party

  After three years of disarray, conservatives managed to forge a united front to counter the main liberal force of the ruling party, boosting their chances in the upcoming general elections. The question, however, remains. Will the newly formed Party for Future Integration be able to recruit new talent and extend its support base beyond diehard conservative voters? The new bloc was born Monday through the merger of the largest opposition Liberty Korea Party, the New Conservative Party and

WEEKENDER

• Social affairs

  

  At home, safe from the virus

  New coronavirus means more downtime, less active social lives for Koreans

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  Culture

  Forgotten stories behind Jeongwol Daeboreum traditions

  “I crack nuts with my family on Jeongwol Daeboreum. I am not sure why, but I guess the tradition is supposed to shoo away some bad ghosts and bring good luck,” Kang Min-woo, 26, said. “I do know that there are some other Jeongwol Daeboreum traditions, but I do not celebrate them.” Saturday is “Jeongwol Daeboreum” or “Daeboreum,” a traditional holiday marking the first full moon of the Lunar New Year. However, traditions are slowly fading, especia

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  Culture

  Does screen-free parenting work?

  Annie Jeong has always been concerned about her 3-year-old son’s exposure to digital devices. She became more worried recently after learning about the rise of screen-free parenting. But such a scheme is a tall order, she said. With digital-driven education permeating classrooms across South Korea, the use of digital devices and software has become a necessity for the future generation. “I’m worried that my kid might be in trouble in the future if he grows up tech-free,&rd

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  Industry

  Korea’s obsession with tallness

  Koreans embracing “heightism’ create lucrative niche market