Feb 14, 2019

[Weekender] What is S. Korea doing to combat fine dust pollution?

South Korea’s Special Act on the Reduction and Management of Fine Dust went into effect across the country Friday to tackle fine dust pollution amid growing concerns over public health. This come...

Feb 7, 2019

[Weekender] Reinterpreting taxis in era of sharing economy

Taxis are more than a means of transport for Koreans. They serve as a platform where people talk about life, societal changes and, of course, politics, with those behind the wheel. On top of their c...

Feb 7, 2019

[Weekender] How soon will flying taxis arrive here?

It is the clash between taxi operators and carpooling services that is making headlines today. But automakers and tech startups around the world are already taking the next step, showcasing the lates...

Feb 7, 2019

[Weekender] Carpooling, an option not threat

Amid the ongoing clash between taxi drivers and those moving to create new technology-based services, the head of a local ride-sharing company has called for ways to coexist, saying that carpooling i...

Feb 7, 2019

[Weekender] Why do Korean taxi drivers oppose carpooling?

In tech-savvy South Korea, ride-sharing and ride-hailing mobile apps are an untouched market due to vehement protest from some 300,000 taxi drivers, who claim new technologies will ultimately wipe ou...

Jan 31, 2019

[Weekender] Startup innovation can solve Korea’s quagmire of aging society

A key hurdle the Korean economy faces is the fast-aging population. One way to coax a soft-landing of this problem is to speed up deregulation so that local startups can carry out innovation and imp...

Jan 31, 2019

[Weekender] Pinning fresh hopes on ‘sandbox’ phenomenon

It’s far from perfect, but South Korea’s latest adoption of a regulatory sandbox may provide some relief to the country’s startups, according to the head of one of the largest and oldest startup asso...

Jan 31, 2019

[Weekender] Korea, always in search of the next unicorn

One of the Moon Jae-in administration’s primary goals has been to create jobs and rejuvenate the economy. However, failing to gain momentum, the nation’s conventional growth engines, such as semicond...

Jan 31, 2019

[Weekender] How long can the startup boom cycle last?

South Korea is riding the global trend of high liquidity in the startup scene. Money is pouring into the sector, and investors are looking for the next big thing to invest in. However, concerns ling...

Jan 24, 2019

[Weekender] ‘I want to be pretty like mom!’

On a Friday afternoon, a customer enters a beauty spa that looks like the whole place has been dipped in pink. The difference from ordinary spas is that everything here at Shushu & Sassy is miniatur...

Jan 24, 2019

[Weekender] For you, anything: Children put on pedestals

Baby care products have usually taken up only a small section at department stores in South Korea, with a handful of baby care stores filling about half a floor. But brands for babies and toddlers h...

Jan 24, 2019

[Weekender] When 1-year-olds learn coding

South Korean parents’ enthusiasm for child education goes back as far as the moment they are born. It is common for parents to wonder whether they are doing enough for their children, and whether th...

Jan 17, 2019

[Weekender] A seer’s guide to marriage

It is undeniable that many things in life are determined by the circumstances of one’s birth -- nationality, genetics and socioeconomic class not least of all. Added to that list, it was the three-h...

Jan 17, 2019

[Weekender] How does saju experience measure up?

Fortunetelling. Is it frivolous entertainment, or a glimpse of another dimension? And is the saju any different from other fortunetelling methods I’ve tried over the years? I had a chance to find out...