At restaurants in South Korea, one can easily find lists explaining the origins of ingredients. And next to that, there are usually notifications that say, “We do not use MSG in our food.”Despite public perceptions to the contrary, repeated studies show the additive is not harmful, and may even be healthy as a salt replacement. Now foodmakers are trying to promote the additive as a low-sodium option, especially to younger consumers who don’t have negative preconceptions of it.  123RFMonosodium g

South Korean business tycoons as well as heavyweights from the political circle continued to visit late LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo’s altar on Monday to pay their respects and offer their condolences. Koo died on Sunday morning due to illness. In accordance with the late business tycoon’s wish to hold a simple and quiet funeral, LG had said in a statement that Koo’s funeral would be carried out privately.Samsung Electronics Vice President Lee Jae-yong leaves after paying respect at Koo's altar set u

DIA TV, an online and TV channel for individual content creators, said its number of subscribers had surpassed 160 million as of the end of April, surging from 44 million two years ago. DIA TV’s offline content exhibition DIA Festival is held in Seoul in August 2017. (DIA TV)Content on DIA TV, which is run by South Korean entertainment giant CJ E&M, saw an accumulated 32 billion hits as of the end of last year, following the service’s launch in 2015. “DIA TV will continue to support creative and

US brewing giant MillerCoors has accused South Korean beer brand Hite of copying its light pale lager Lite, in an apparent move to deter Hite Jinro’s growing presence in the US market.  A screen capture that compares Lite by MillerCoors and Hite by Hite Jinro. (United States Patent and Trademark Office)According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, MillerCoors recently filed a petition against Hite Jinro’s registration of a trademark in the US, which the South Korean beer company ha

Koo Bon-moo, chairman of South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate LG Group, died Sunday at the age of 73.  LG Chairman Koo (second from left) and then-LG Cable Chairman Huh Chang-soo (third from left) visit LG Electronics’ factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, for an inspection in October 1995. (LG)Koo (far left) inspects products at LG Display’s liquid-crystal display production line in October 1996. (LG)Koo (left) speaks with former General Electric Chairman Jack Welch during a meeting in

Doosan Industrial Vehicle, a leading South Korean forklift manufacturer, has opened a factory store in Atlanta, Georgia, to expand its presence in the North American market, the company said Thursday. Doosan Industrial Vehicle’s forklifts (DIV)At its factory store, customers can experience one-stop shopping for Doosan Industrial Vehicle and receive customer services such as counseling, according to the firm. The store will be directly managed by the company’s American branch, which aims to expan

Costco Wholesale, a popular warehouse-style discount chain here, has come under fire, as plastic pieces were found again in products from its private brand Kirkland Signature. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Thursday that a 40 millimeter-long piece of plastic was discovered in a Kirkland Signature Jelly Belly product. A 13 millimeter-long plastic vinyl sheet was also found in a Kirkland Signature Protein Bar.It was the fourth time this year that foreign substances had been discovered i

Following the release of different types of heat-not-burn cigarette products by major tobacco companies in Korea, a total of 163 million packs of HNB cigarettes have been sold in the 11 months since the first HNB e-cigarette device was introduced to the domestic market, data showed Wednesday.According to data from the tobacco industry and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, sales of HNB cigarettes have risen sharply since Philip Morris International released the Iqos in May last year. Sales of H

Shilla Duty Free, the airport duty-free retailer under Hotel Shilla, said Wednesday that it posted record-high sales of 1.14 trillion won ($1 billion) in the first quarter of this year.  A Shilla Duty Free store in Phuket, Thailand. Hotel ShillaShilla Duty Free earned 47.6 billion won in operating profit in the first quarter, mainly due to an increase in sales at its overseas duty-free shops. The company recorded 600 billion won of sales last year. It expects sales to hit 1 trillion won this yea

Lotte Shopping, which operates Lotte Group’s retail brands such as Lotte Department Store and Lotte Mart, will invest 3 trillion won ($2.8 billion) to fortify its e-commerce business under one channel, based on its expertise of operating offline business.  Lotte Shopping CEO Kang Hee-tae speaks during a press conference held in Seoul on Tuesday. Lotte Shopping“We aim to make online sales of 20 trillion won by 2022 and become the industry’s No.1, through our focus on strategies for O4O (Online-fo

Samgyeobsal (pork belly) with soju, Pajeon (scallion pancake) with makgeolli (Korean rice wine) and cheese with wine: these are some of the staple pairings of dishes and alcoholic beverages that go hand in hand.Taking cue from the commercial effects of such dining culture, beverage makers and importers have been stepping up their marketing game by finding “the right” pairings of local dishes for their brands in a country where alcohol consumption is shifting towards quality rather than quantity.

Asiana Airlines’ OZ552 departing from Istanbul, Turkey crashed into the tail of Turkish Airlines’ A321 plane Sunday, breaking its wing as well as the other plane’s tail and causing a fire.According to Asiana, the plane was moving on the taxi way at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport at around 5:30 p.m. local time. Its wing accidentally hit the tail of Turkish plane which was parked.The air carrier said none of the people on board were hurt, and the crash was not severe. The fire that broke out on the Tu

A 28-year-old Oh Hye-jin’s day begins with drinking a 125 milliliter pack of non-sweet soy bean milk, mixed with powdered oats. On a strict diet, she prepares her breakfast after a morning exercise. Her option is normally pancakes made of whole grain, drizzled with date palm syrup. Oh has been cutting back on refined carbohydrates for the past three months. She says white flour is the main culprit behind her love handles.If she has time, she cooks and packs her lunch, but she recently began buyi

Korean confectionery company Orion said it will begin manufacturing its signature corn chips Kkobuk Chip for sale in China from Thursday. Orion’s Lang Li Ge Lang, the Chinese version of Kkobuk Chip. OrionIt will be sold under the Chinese name “Lang Li Ge Lang,” which directly translates to a wave inside a wave, referring to the wavy, layered look of the crispy snack. The production and sale of the corn soup flavored snack in China will be done via its overseas corporation in the country, the com

The American-style lager Budweiser, the official beer of the FIFA World Cup, has unveiled its worldwide campaign to promote the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which will kick off in Russia on June 14.  Budweiser’s Light Up the FIFA World Cup global campaign. BudweiserUnder the campaign “Light Up the FIFA World Cup,” Budweiser has released Thursday its advertisement featuring the largest beer delivery to date. In this televised ad which will be aired in some 50 countries around the world, thousands of dron

Amid South Korea’s rising consumer prices and increasing interest for budget meals, sales of lunch boxes at convenience stores are growing, industry data showed Wednesday.  CU lunch box (CU)According to BGF Retail, operator of the country’s convenience store chain CU, the sales of lunch boxes at CU stores surpassed that of instant cup noodles last year for the first time, recording 52.1 percent and 47.9 percent, respectively.From January to April this year, sales of lunch boxes at CU stores hit

Water and air purifier maker Coway said it recorded 647.8 billion won ($598 million) of sales in the first quarter this year with 6.2 percent increase on-year, and 131 billion won of operating profit with 8.6 percent rise on-year, both setting new record highs.  Coway CEO Lee Hae-sun (right) poses in front of Coway’s Fresh Wear Styling System, a clothing cleaning machine, at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show. CowayThe company said the record sales and operating profit are attributable to the hi

Following its sell-off to China’s state-run tiremaker Qingdao Doublestar, Kumho Tire recently requested the government to cancel its designation as a defense-related company. Kumho TireThe tiremaker is categorized as a defense industry company as it manufactures tires for fighter planes. Kumho Tire makes some 1.6 billion won ($1.4 million) annually from the related business. Separately, creditors of Kumho tire such as Korea Korea Development Bank are reportedly planning to sell the company’s def

South Korean auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis said Tuesday that it expects to secure $1.07 billion worth of orders from China this year amid recovering sales following the improvement of relations between China and Korea.  An employee works inside Hyundai Mobis’ factory in Tianjin, China. (Hyundai Mobis)“We have been gradually increasing our market share in China, focusing on our key components sales with global product quality competitiveness. With increased brand value as a high-tech auto parts

Ministries and government bodies in charge of forest preservation in South Korea and ASEAN member countries have launched an intergovernmental platform to strengthen regional cooperation regarding forests and address the impacts of climate change. Attendees including Lim Sung-nam, first vice minister of foreign affairs (sixth from left), Kim Jae-hyun, minister of the Korea Forest Service (sixth from right), Park Eun-sik, acting executive director of AFoCO (fifth from right), and Lee Hyuk, secret