Lee Ju-eun, the Korean cheerleader from the "Pikki Pikki" dance viral Tiktok video, in which she danced moving her hands up and down, with her thumbs up during a baseball game, is taking her cheerleading skills to Taiwan. According to Fubon Hyundai Life Insurance on Wednesday, Lee signed an exclusive contract with Fubon Sports & Entertainment and is set to join the Fubon Angels, the cheerleading squad for the Fubon Guardians in Taiwan’s professional baseball league, for the 2025 season. “I’m so

One day, a woman in her 50s dined at Youth Mungan, a small restaurant that serves only one dish, a steaming bowl of kimchi jjigae for just 3,000 won, or a little over $2. After finishing her meal, she insisted on paying for everyone's meals that day — a total of around 100,000 won. "It was not that big of a sum. So, I just thought, 'What a nice gesture,'" said Catholic priest Gabriel Lee Mun-su, who runs the restaurant, during his interview with The Korea Herald. But what struck him was what hap

Son Chang-wan, a former president of the state-run Korea Airports Corporation, who spearheaded a controversial facility upgrade at Muan International Airport, was found dead at his home in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday, authorities confirmed. Muan Airport is where a Jeju Air passenger plane crashed on Dec. 29, bursting into flames after colliding with a concrete embankment at the end of the runway. Gunpo Police said that while an investigation into the circumstances of his death is ongoin

Foley artist Lee Chung-gyu says his best work is the kind you won’t notice — perfectly natural, seamlessly part of the story In the second season of “Squid Game,” players vote to end the deadly competition by pressing buttons marked "O" and "X." And in a small studio in Gangnam, Seoul, Foley artist Lee Chung-gyu is bringing that tense moment to life — not by pressing real buttons, but by using children’s toys to mimic the sound. When the recruiter character, played by Gong Yoo, faces off against

The launch Thursday evening of a group calling itself the "Baekgoldan," which literally translates to "white skull squad," has sparked an immediate backlash for evoking one of the darkest chapters in modern Korean history, when the same name was used by a plainclothes police unit to suppress people protesting for democracy. The group, introduced as a unit of the likewise self-proclaimed "Anti-Communist Youth League," is said to consist of people in their 20s and 30s aiming to thwart any efforts

Hint: It is some 830 meters above sea level and is notorious for icy winds As South Korea shivers through its coldest winter days, you might wonder: Where’s the chilliest spot in the country, and just how freezing does it get in January, the coldest month of the year? According to decades of meteorological data, the answer is Daegwallyeong Pass in Gangwon Province. Based on the Korea Meteorological Administration’s average January temperatures recorded from 1991 to 2020, Daegwallyeong, which is

Fast-fashion brand Brandy Melville's Korea debut draws backlash — not for its sizing, but for speaking English Brandy Melville, the fast-fashion giant known for its “one-size-fits-most” clothes and laid-back California aesthetic, finally opened its doors in South Korea on Jan. 3. But despite the excitement expressed by some, the brand is facing backlash from others — and not for reasons you might think. It’s not the sizing that’s causing a stir. It’s the staff's use of English. The controversy k

The Oxford English Dictionary just got a K-culture upgrade. In its December 2024 update, the dictionary added seven Korean words — "dalgona," "hyung," "noraebang," "maknae," "jjigae," "tteokbokki" and "pansori" — reflecting the growing presence of Korean culture in the English-speaking world. This is not the first time Korean words have made the cut. Back in 2021, the dictionary added 26 Korean terms, including K-drama, Hallyu, mukbang and daebak. Its inclusion of Korean terms reflects the rise

'Kim Sang-sik magic' follows Park Hang-seo, former Korean coach who guided Vietnam to 2018 victory Vietnam's national soccer team, led by Korean head coach Kim Sang-sik, clinched a historic victory in the 2024 ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup, securing a third championship in the prestigious regional tournament. Vietnam defeated Thailand 3-2 in the second leg of the final Sunday at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, sealing a 5-3 aggregate win. The victory marked Vietnam's first ASEAN Cup ti

Pudding, a dog who lost his owner in the Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29, is seen on Sunday visiting the joint memorial altar for the victims set up in front of Seoul City Hall. Pudding belonged to a 79-year-old man, identified as the oldest crash victim. He had traveled abroad with eight family members to celebrate his 80th birthday. The crash claimed 179 lives, marking the deadliest aviation disaster to occur on Korean soil.

Women live healthy lives 4.55 years longer than men, while people are spending more years in poor health, study finds New research data shows that higher income is closely tied to living longer and healthier lives in South Korea, with the gap between the richest and poorest nearing nine years. The research, led by professor Yoon Suk-joon from Korea University’s College of Medicine, analyzed the country’s national health insurance data from 2008 to 2020. An analysis of national health insurance d

Confronting xenophobia, prevalent but largely unrecognized as a problem, is crucial for South Korea‘s transition to truly multicultural society, experts say Online comments dismissing xenophobia in South Korea as insignificant are surprisingly common. For example, when Chosun Ilbo, a major Korean news outlet, published an article in March about racial discrimination and xenophobia in Itaewon, many readers argued it exaggerated the problem. Reactions included: “Don’t talk nonsense, reporter. It’s

Spontaneous movement honors local dentist who was among 179 victims of worst aviation accident in Korea Some dentists in Gwangju are offering free dental services to honor a respected colleague who tragically lost his life in the Jeju Air crash that occurred Dec. 29 at Muan International Airport, in nearby South Jeolla Province. According to the Gwangju Dental Association, many dentists began providing free care on Monday, just a day after the accident. “It seems the dentists are continuing the

A Korean professor has taken aim at ongoing intellectual property theft in China amid the international success of Netflix’s "Squid Game" season two. Seo Kyung-duk, a liberal arts professor at Sungshin Women’s University, criticized the widespread piracy of Korean content in China, where Netflix is not officially available. Nearly 60,000 reviews of the hit series have been posted on Douban, a popular Chinese social media platform. “Piracy ran rampant during the release of (the first season of) '

Visitors weep as they pay their respects at the joint memorial altar for the victims of the Jeju Air passenger plane crash, set up at Muan Sports Center in South Jeolla Province on Monday. Sunday’s crash at Muan International Airport claimed 179 lives, marking the deadliest aviation disaster to occur on Korean soil.