The search for people missing in April's ferry disaster came to a halt Sunday amid strong winds and rain caused by an approaching typhoon.Eleven people remain missing in the April 16 sinking of the ferry Sewol, with 293 others confirmed dead. The latest recovery of a body was on June 24.With the approach of typhoon Neoguri, barges and other vessels engaged in search operations had to be moved to the inner harbors of Mokpo, 410 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday night, according to officials

Choi Si-won of K-pop idol group Super Junior unveiled a photo titled “with my friend” on his Weibo account last Saturday.  (Weibo)Choi is posing for a camera with Shawn Dou, a Chinese-Canadian actor on the film set for “Breaking Through the Wind.” The duo are smiling, wearing sportswear and making V signs.  　The two are costarring in the upcoming film, directed by Hong Kong director Lin Chaoxian.　The 28-year-old heartthrob will play a Korean-Chinese cyclist in the film about young cyclists overc

K-pop idol band JYJ plans to meet Asian fans in eight cities across Asia including Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Vietnam, starting in August. (C-JeS Entertainment)The trio will begin its concert tour “The Return of the King” with the first concert to be held on Aug. 9 in Seoul. The first round of tickets to the upcoming concert sold out in just 20 minutes. The second round of ticket sales is slated to open on July 8. The concert tour will come shortly after the release of the group’s second s

An upcoming confirmation hearing for a pro-growth finance minister nominee, scheduled ahead of the monthly rate-setting meeting, is adding to speculation that the central bank may take action to boost growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy.On Tuesday, the National Assembly is scheduled to hear from three-term ruling party lawmaker Choi Kyung-hwan. Two days later, the Bank of Korea (BOK) is set to vote on the key rate and release its revised economic growth outlook.Choi's nomination lent a hand

K-pop girl group 2NE1 embarked on a tour around Japan as part of its world tour concert series “All or Nothing,” despite the uproar over its member Park Bom’s alleged drug scandal. The quartet enthralled some 17,000 fans at the two-hour concert last Saturday in Yokohama, Japan.   The members expressed excitement about seeing the fans at the concert, with Sandara Park saying, “I am so glad to meet you all,” Minzy saying, “I wanted to hang out with you,” and CL saying, “Let’s enjoy it together.” 2

South Korea's finance ministry is reviewing cutting tax exemptions and other tax benefits allowed to companies and individuals to make up for an expected large tax shortfall this year and meet an increase in welfare spending, government officials said Sunday.  The ministry last year had announced a tax code revision in which it said it would not raise tax rates but drew criticism by increasing the tax burden on millions of people by reducing benefits and exemptions starting this year.   "Nothing

North Korea has nearly doubled the number of elite hackers over the past two years in an effort to step up cyberattacks, military sources said Sunday."North Korea appears to have some 5,900 personnel for cyberwarfare, up from around 3,000 two years ago," a military source said."The communist country operates a hacking unit under its General Bureau of Reconnaissance, which is home to some 1,200 professional hackers," he said, noting that they have been carrying out cyberattacks by establishing ov

K-pop group f(x) staged a long-awaited comeback with the powerful electro-pop track “Red Light” on Thursday in a departure from their usual upbeat and invigorating music. The group released the music video at noon through its official website, YouTube and local music download sites. In the music video, the five-member group boasts a sexy look with thick eye make-up and military wear, adding to the sensual atmosphere of their performance.  The group’s third full-length album will be available on

영국 뉴캐슬의 한 여성이 KFC 치킨을 씹다가 파란색 휴지를 발견해 충격을 주고 있다고 지난 주 외신들이 보도했다. 　크리스탈 헨더슨(29)은 7살 난 의붓 아들 올리버 할람과 영국 KFC 킬링스워스 지점에서 치킨을 주문, 포장했다. 집으로 돌아와 치킨을 한 입 베어 물었는데 살코기 대신 파란색 수건이 씹힌게 문제가 됐다. 헨더슨은 “입에서 그것을 꺼냈는데 튀김 사이로 파란색 천이 보였다”고 데일리메일과의 인터뷰에서 밝혔다. 　그녀는 또 “차라리 질 나쁜 치킨이었으면 좋았을껄... 그 파란색 휴지는 어딘가에 쓰였었을 것 아니냐”며 답답함을 호소했다.　“살균제나 표백제가 들어있었으면 어쩌냐”며 “누군가가 그 휴지로 손이라도 닦았다면....바닥을 닦았다면 어쩌냐”고 분노했다. 　지난 5월 KFC가 자체 조사를 벌인 결과 “파란색 휴지는 KFC 청결유지에 쓰이는 롤휴지에서 나온 것으로 보인다. 보지 못한 사이에 조리대에 떨어져 체에 들어갔고 조리사가 이를 보지 못한 것 같다”고 밝혔다.　

K-pop girl group KARA will switch to a four-member group as it introduces the winner of a TV audition program as a new member, the group's management agency said Wednesday.(OSEN)The group has been working as a three-member band since the departure in January of two of its original five members -- Kang Ji-young and Nicole.According to DSP Media, Heo Young-ji, 20, became a new member of the group, beating out three competitors in the final round of the cable TV MBC Music's "KARA project-KARA The B

K-pop boy band B2ST’s vocalist Son Dong-woon said that Korean singers should step up efforts to localize their music and style to make the K-pop boom long-lasting at the Hallyu Conference, held Tuesday in Seoul.  (OSEN)“Singers should understand foreign cultures before they perform abroad. There are, of course, cultural differences among fans from different parts of the world,” the youngest member of the group told the audience. The Hallyu Conference, jointly organized by Korea’s national broadc

EXO’s self-taken video clips dominated the top “Vine 360” videos chart, picked by Twitter Korea on Monday.  (SM Entertainment)Twitter Korea revealed the list of the six most popular Vine 360 videos from the first half of the year. Vine 360 videos are short looping video clips that enable users to easily post them through the mobile app “Vine,” owned by Twitter.  EXO’s four videos took the Nos. 1 to 4 spots, with their videos retweeted more than 50,000 times in total. The top honor went to the vi

Chinese actor Gao Ziqi kneeled down to propose to South Korean actress Chaerim on Sunday in Beijing, China. Local news reports say it was a perfect event with the three must-need things for a marriage proposal -- a romantic song, glowing ring and beautiful kiss.  (Weibo)Around 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, Gao Ziqi sang the song “I Believe,” originally sung by South Korean ballad singer Shin Seung-hun, for Chaerim in front of the public, holding a bundle of red roses.The 33-year-old actor then bent down

Sooyoung, a member of the K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation, is mulling over whether to play a lead role in an upcoming drama.  (OSEN)Sooyoung is now in talks about terms and conditions after she was offered a lead role in the MBC-TV drama “Spring Days of My Life,” according to showbiz insiders. The story of the family drama, directed by Lee Jae-dong, revolves around the female character, who is terminally ill but grabs a chance for a new life after a heart transplant operation. “The drama will

G-Dragon, member of K-pop boy band Big Bang, posted a photo of himself taken in Paris on his Instagram, Monday.  In the photo, G-Dragon spreads his arms in front of Centre Pompidou, Paris, wearing a comfy casual look – a black sleeveless top, a pair of retro pale jeans and sunglasses. Meanwhile, his group Big Bang and fellow bands under his label YG Entertainment are gearing up for the upcoming concert “AIA REAL LIFE NOW FESTIVAL” to be held on Aug. 15 in Seoul. 　(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)

Sexy diva HyunA disclosed a no make-up selfie Sunday on her Instagram. In the photo, she shows off her fair skin, big eyes and pink lips without thick make-up on. HyunA will start solo activities in July, one year and nine months after she released her album “Ice Cream” in 2012. 　(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)

Chanyeol of K-pop megahit group EXO is in talks with a Korean film director about making a big-screen debut, local news outlets reported Friday.  EXO's Chanyeol (OSEN)According to film insiders, Chanyeol was offered a role in a film tentatively named “The Last First Love,” to be directed by Kang Je-kyu. An official from SM Entertainment, Chanyeol’s label, said that the idol is positively reviewing the suggestion to debut as an actor. Chanyeol would play an innocent high school student though the

Despite Korea’s defeat in the Group H finale match during the Brazil World Cup, K-pop idol stars expressed their appreciation of the Korean players’ efforts on the football grounds. South Korea crashed out of the World Cup with a 1-0 loss to a 10-man Belgium squad on Friday, Korean time. Right after the match ended early Friday morning, several stars sent messages for the football players to a local news outlet. Yoon Doo-joon of K-pop boy band B2ST said, “Team Korea, You have done really hard. T

A special parliamentary committee on Northeast Asian history said Friday it plans to adopt a resolution next week to denounce Japan for reviewing its 1993 key statement admitting to its wartime sexual enslavement of women.At a closed-door meeting, members of the committee agreed that Japan's review of the Kono statement was seen as being aimed at undermining the credibility of its own apology.A panel of experts appointed by the Japanese government said last Friday that Seoul and Tokyo officials

Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin apologized Friday over last week's shooting spree by an enlisted soldier who killed five of his comrades, and vowed to come up with fundamental preventive measures."I sincerely apologize to the people and the bereaved families for such a regretful incident in the eastern front-line general outpost that killed five and wounded seven," Kim said in a statement to the public.Expressing deep condolences to the fallen soldiers, the defense chief said he will "strive to he