Home farming is gaining popularity as inflation continues to drive up the prices of produced goods including eggs and vegetables. Recently, the trend has recently taken an interesting turn, with local e-commerce platforms launching mobile farming games that bear real fruit in the physical world. Lee Jae-ram, a 33-year-old office worker in Seoul, recently received his "harvest" of bananas in a package via mail, the fruit of his farming efforts in the mobile game, Al-Farm. Al-Farm is a g

Paris Baguette, South Korean bakery giant SPC Group's flagship bakery chain, announced Thursday that the company has signed a sponsorship deal with French football club Paris Saint-Germain. Of around 30 companies that have partnered with the Paris-based football club, including Nike, Qatar Airways, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, Paris Baguette is the only Korean brand. Paris Saint-Germain is an internationally popular French football club which is widely known for its superstar, Kylian Mba

South Korea's agricultural authorities said Saturday they have vaccinated nearly 82 percent of cattle subject to emergency inoculation amid growing concerns over the nationwide spread of lumpy skin disease. As of Saturday morning, health authorities have administered the vaccine to 357,000 out of 438,000 cows subject to emergency inoculation, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Since the first-ever outbreak of the viral infection last week, the country has so f

Daily card spending in South Korea rose 8.4 percent in the first half from a year earlier on the back of the post-pandemic economic recovery, central bank data showed. Card holders spent an average 3.3 trillion won ($2.47 billion) per day in the January-June period, compared with 3 trillion won the previous year, according to data from the Bank of Korea. Credit card spending rose 8.8 percent on-year to a daily average of 2.56 trillion won, led by use on e-commerce platforms. Credit card use for

Despite consistently falling reader engagement, independent bookstores are surviving -- and even thriving -- in South Korea. "Over the last decade, we've seen a pretty sharp drop in the number of people picking up at least one book a year – down from 72.2 percent in 2013 to just 46.9 percent in 2021. But when you consider all the different ways people can get their info these days, maybe that's not quite the disaster it seems," said Baek Won-geun, the brain behind 15 of

Pernod Ricard’s Royal Salute 21-Year-Old Richard Quinn Edition 2 has recently made its world debut in South Korea, where young drinkers are increasingly turning their eyes to high-end whiskeys. The second collaboration with UK fashion designer Richard Quinn "features a deeper and more flavorful blend, and the design is bolder and more colorful," said Pernod Ricard Korea CEO Frantz Hotton in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. “The reason why Korea was selected as the

The cost of daily necessities in South Korea has surged over the past 50 years amid the nation's rapid economic growth and soaring inflation, revealed data released Monday. According to data compiled buy the Korea Price Research Center, a 1 kilogram cut of Korean beef that would have cost 1,366 won in 1974 now costs 145,900 won ($108), while the price of pork rose from 700 won per kilogram to 31,800 won during the same period. Beef and pork experienced the steepest price hikes of 100-fold a

Price increase rates of about 80 percent of restaurant menus exceeded the price increase rate of a market basket of consumer goods in September, according to data on Monday. According to Statistics Korea, the consumer price index, which functions as an economic metric for the price of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods, showed an on-year growth of 3.7 percent in September. Meanwhile, the increase rate in the sector for dining out, a key indicator of inflation in the food sector f

(From left) Richard Quinn, an English fashion designer and a brand collaborator for Pernod Ricardo Korea; Frantz Hotton, CEO of Pernod Ricardo Korea; Mathieu Deslandes, head of Royal Salute; and Miguel Pascual, chief financial officer of Pernod Ricardo, pose for a photo to celebrate the global debut of the second edition of Royal Salute 21 Year Old Richard Quinn in Seoul on Wednesday. The whisky’s world premiere comes against the backdrop of significant growth in high-end wines and whiskie

The Taiwan-based immersive tech company iStaging said last Wednesday it is expanding its presence in the Asian market by setting up its Asian subsidiary in Seoul. The inauguration event was held on Sept. 21 at the Daewoo Summit Gallery in southern Seoul, with its key partners in attendance. The company offers augmented and virtual reality solutions to more than 100,000 corporate clients globally, including Samsung Electronics. With the latest Asian launch, it aims to bolster ties with companies

For one local beer aficionado, the recent increase in the variety of alcoholic beverages available at convenience stores has been noticeable and -- to a moderate degree -- welcome. "Various Japanese beer brands are now part of the 'Buy four cans of imported beer for 10,000 won ($7.50)' deal," 32-year-old Lee Hyun-soo told The Korea Herald. "So I thought, 'Why not relish their rich flavor?' Especially since I haven't been to Japan in ages,” he said. M

McDonald's Korea said Friday that the company has upgraded its self-service kiosks for visually impaired customers at 15 stores located in Seoul. The company said the new kiosks come with new keypads and headphone jacks, through which visually impaired users can connect their headphones and browse the menu. The 15 stores have been selected based on their proximity to welfare institutions, education institutes and job centers for visually impaired people. McDonald's Korea noted that t

Musinsa, the largest online fashion platform in South Korea, has kicked off a preview event that showcases local fashion brands' collections for spring-summer 2024, the company said Friday. Under the title of “24ss Musinsa Season Preview,” the company will showcase over 200 products designed by 30 local brands at Musinsa Terrace Seongsu and Musinsa’s three separate offline studios in the Seongsu-dong neighborhood in eastern Seoul. Musinsa's latest event has been organ

South Korean bakery giant SPC Group said Wednesday that it is opening nine new Paris Baguette stores in North America this month, seeking a bigger footing in one of the key strategic markets. With the planned nine new openings, SPC will be operating a total of 150 stores in the region. In Canada, SPC will open a Paris Baguette store at the Southpark on Whyte, a residential complex located in Alberta on Friday, while another outlet is set to open in Newmarket, Ontario, next week. In the US, seven

Kolmar Korea announced Monday that the company has won a lawsuit against Italian cosmetics manufacturer Intercos’ local office here, which allegedly transferred trade secrets about sun care product technology. According to Kolmar Korea, the Seoul Central District Court has ruled in favor of Kolmar Korea in a civil case, in which Kolmar Korea accused Intercos Korea and its two former employees of stealing confidential technologies related to Kolmar’s sun care products. The court has o

Oriental Brewery announced Monday its flagship beer brand Cass secured six awards for its innovative marketing campaigns at the 2023 Effie Awards Korea. The Effie Awards spotlight marketing campaigns around the world for their creativity and tangible business impact. Baek Sun-ah, Netflix Korea’s creative production director, was among the judges for this year's Korean segment. Cass won several accolades, including best brand in the 10th Anniversary Special Award category, marking a de

L’Oreal Korea, making its 30th anniversary this year, said Friday it would boost collaboration with South Korean partners to ride the K-beauty boom around the world. “Korea has a very strategic and strong role to play within the ecosystem of the North Asia Beauty Triangle,” Fabrice Megarbane, president of the company’s North Asia Zone and CEO of L’Oreal China, during a press conference at the Korean unit’s headquarters in southern Seoul. The North Asia Beauty

Hyundai Engineering & Construction has started sales of its new apartment complex, Hilstate Sinyong The River, located in Gwangju’s Sinyong district. The apartment complex consists of a total of 19 buildings with 1,647 housing units, which range from 74-square-meter homes to 135-square-meter luxurious penthouses. According to the builder, one of the standout features is its strategic location. The complex is near the brand new Sinyong Station of Gwangju Metro Line 2, set to be operatio

Oriental Brewery CEO Ben Verhaert (third from left) and other executive members pose for a picture to celebrate the completion of a solar power system at the company’s brewery in Gwangju, Tuesday. The company said the solar panels will help eliminate 1,709 metric tons of carbon emissions per year. With more plans to expand the solar power-based production system, the company aims to run all its production facilities on renewable energy only by 2025. (Oriental Brewery)

High-end Korean hotels have continued to raise prices this year of mango bingsu, a Korean shaved ice dessert popular in the summer, despite mango prices having stabilized. This year, Four Seasons Hotel Seoul sold its mango bingsu at 126,000 won ($94), 31.3 percent higher than last year. Shilla Seoul also raised the price of its progenitor luxury mango bingsu by 18.1 percent to 98,000 won, while Lotte Hotel increased the price by 4.5 percent to 92,000 won. The price rally drew particular attentio