IPARK Hyundai Development Co., the builder behind the IPARK apartment brand, posted its strongest quarterly operating profit in five years, as higher-margin housing projects lifted earnings despite elevated construction costs. The company said Monday that consolidated operating profit reached 122.7 billion won ($89.4 million) in the second quarter, up 52.9 percent from a year earlier and 53.1 percent from the previous quarter. Revenue rose 35.7 percent on-quarter to 914.6 billion won, while net

South Korea has launched its first government-backed container ship voyage through the Arctic in a decade, testing whether a route 35 percent shorter than the Suez Canal passage can become commercially viable despite high operating costs, limited cargo and geopolitical risks. The PanStar Acro departed Busan New Port on Aug. 22 carrying 737 twenty-foot-equivalent units of cargo. It will travel through the Northern Sea Route and call at Felixstowe in Britain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Gdans

South Korea's four major conglomerates — Samsung, SK, Hyundai and LG — are stepping up to provide relief support in the country's southern regions following heavy rain damage. Together, the four groups have pledged 7 billion won ($5.1 billion) to affected areas, while their affiliates are providing emergency supplies and services to residents. The southern cities were hit by heavy rain from Aug. 15 to Thursday, resulting in at least 187 landslides in Geoje and Tongyeong alone, according to the K

Lee Moonwon Korean Medicine Clinic, a Gangnam-based facility specializing in hair-loss treatment, is expanding Korean traditional medicine's global footprint, building a global patient base through its whole-body approach to hair-loss care. The clinic was recently selected for "100 Seoul Beauty & Wellness Spots" for the second consecutive year. The annual list features Seoul's leading beauty and wellness destinations for international visitors. "Treating hair loss is not just about regrowing hai

The new mayor of Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, is trying to carry forward the city’s unconventional social media legacy, built under his predecessor, by dressing up, dancing and lip-syncing in an 18-second promotional video. In a video titled “I Love Chungju Fancam (Moving Stone Version),” posted Friday to his YouTube channel, Lee Dong-seok, wearing a long wig and scarf, makes a heart gesture, dances and lip-syncs to “I Like You,” a song by fictional ballad singer Choi Sung-gon from the m

Jan van Zanen, mayor of The Hague, Netherlands, paid tribute Sunday to Yi Jun, a Korean independence activist who traveled to the Dutch city in 1907 to defend Korea’s sovereignty before the international community and died there. Van Zanen visited Yi’s tomb in Suyu-dong, northern Seoul, ahead of the 120th anniversary of the activist's death in 2027. Kang Yunjin, vice minister of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, also attended. Yi was one of three Korean envoys dispatched to The Hagu

More South Korean municipalities are introducing so-called “climate insurance,” a new kind of social safety net designed to compensate residents for some of the health and financial costs of extreme weather. Busan said Sunday that it plans to amend a municipal ordinance to lay the legal groundwork for providing administrative and financial support through climate insurance as part of its climate action plan. The move follows similar programs by local governments in Gyeongi Province and Jeju Isla

The Ven. Myeongjin, a former head of Bongeunsa temple in central Seoul and a longtime advocate for reform within South Korea’s largest Buddhist order, died Saturday while freediving off the coast of Jeju Island. He was 75. According to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and local authorities, Myeongjin was found floating near Haye Port in Seogwipo at about 9:30 a.m. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:29 a.m. Police are investigating the circumstances of his dea

South Korea’s largest theme park, Everland, opened an online vote to name its 77-day-old baby panda, with five finalists in the running. All five candidates are two-character Chinese names ending in “Bao.” The character means “treasure” and appears in the names for pandas from the same family. Voters can select their favorite from: Ju Bao (“treasured jade”), Jun Bao (“outstanding treasure”), Lin Bao (“treasure precious as jade”), Yu Bao (“blessed treasure”) and Shu Bao (“dawn-bright treasure”).

Lee Yong-soo, a 97-year-old survivor of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, attended a commemorative ceremony at the Kim Koo Museum & Library in Seoul on Friday to mark the Memorial Day for Victims of Japan's Military Sexual Slavery. Lee is one of the five surviving victims and the only survivor currently well enough to speak about her experiences. Lee first testified as a victim in 1992. For the past three decades, she has worked as a human rights activist, calling for a resolution to the sexual sl

Cheaper and more visually entertaining stamina-boosting dishes are popping up at local cafes as Koreans find new ways to mark malbok on Friday, the last of the three hottest days of summer. The unusual cafe items have drawn plenty of praise from customers for their taste and affordability. The Venti garnered particular attention online after launching chilled vinegar chicken noodles, or chogye guksu, on Tuesday, largely because of the dish’s unusual presentation. The dish is served in a coffee c

South Korea is seeing a surge in foreign tourism driven by the global popularity of K-pop and Korean culture, but tourism focused on its modern history remains underdeveloped. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said on Friday that there is a significant gap in foreign visitor numbers between dark tourism sites and other attractions. Dark tourism, also known as black tourism or grief tourism, involves visiting sites linked to tragic events such as wars, massacres and disasters. Notable

Three websites offering illegally copied webtoons, web novels and other Korean content have been shut down, and their operator has been arrested, the South Korea's Culture Ministry said Thursday. The sites had distributed more than 83,000 items of pirated content, about 57 percent of which was Korean, according to the ministry. The operator, a North African national, was arrested in mid-July following an international investigation involving the ministry, the Korean National Police Agency and In

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea ruled that a public bathhouse charging only female customers for towels and soap violated equal rights protections, recommending corrective measures to the owner and the local government. According to the NHRCK on Thursday, a woman visited a public bathhouse in North Gyeongsang Province in September where towels and soap were provided free of charge to male customers, while female customers had to pay 500 won ($0.35) per towel and 700 won for a dispo

A website that helps Koreans trace their family origins and learn about historical figures and genealogies has experienced a boost in traffic after actor Ahn Ha-young came under public scrutiny over her ancestor’s alleged pro-Japanese activities during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea. As interest in the website, whose Korean name translates as “In search of roots,” surged over the past few days, its server was overloaded for several hours Wednesday evening and continued to crash for sever