At the outset, it looks like ordinary tteok. A bite into the Korean rice cake immediately brings a surprise, as where one might expect sweet red bean paste, you find a dizzyingly sweet filling of chocolate and almonds.It is just one of many variations that Good Rice Cake Corp., a fusion rice cake shop, offers in its selection of fusion rice cakes along with traditional ones.“Ang-beo tteok” and traditional tteok from Jung-ae-mat-dam (Kim Hye-soo / The Korea Herald)A market for rice cakes with inn

Industrial Bank of Korea now has a record-breaking film on its movie investment list, with “Extreme Job” having drawn over 12 million moviegoers as of Sunday.IBK invested some 800 million won ($711,000) in the movie, including indirect investment of 100 million won and 700 million won directly, accounting for about 12 percent of the total production cost of 6.5 billion won, according to industry sources. (CJ Entertainment)“Extreme Job” surpassed its breakeven point of 2 million viewers four days

The number of newly opened health-and-beauty shops in Korea increased 7.7 percent on-year in 2018, a much slower pace than that of recent years, according to data compiled by industry insiders. The number of newly opened drugstores in Korea had surged between 30 and 40 percent yearly from 2015 to 2017. However, last year’s single-digit growth appears to indicate that the market has reached saturation, industry insiders said.  (Yonhap)The number of Lalavla stores operated by GS Retail even decrea

Han Sung Motors will run a residual value guarantee program for Mercedes-AMG certified secondhand vehicles, according to the company on Friday. The program launched by the largest dealer of Mercedes-Benz in South Korea makes it the first company to offer such a program, according to company officials. (Han Sung Motors)Customers who buy an AMG-certified secondhand car from Han Sung Motors can have up to 90 percent of the purchase price guaranteed upon reselling after some six months of use, and 8

Four in 10 married South Koreans said they would like to receive gifts related to fashion from their spouse to relieve holiday stress, a survey showed Thursday.According to the survey conducted by an online shopping site Auction, 71 percent of some 500 respondents said they wish to give a present for their spouse who worked hard over the holiday to prepare for family gatherings and traditional rituals. (Yonhap)Fashion gifts including clothing, bags and jewelry took up 39 percent, being the most

Apartment transactions in Seoul sank to a six-year low in January from a year earlier, according to data from the land administration department of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The number of apartments sold in the capital city plunged to 1,857 last month, down 81.8 percent from 10,198 in January 2018 and the lowest level for the month since 2013. Real estate experts noted that with increased supplies of new houses in the midst of fortified anti-speculative regulations, the lease

A 47-year-old man surnamed Kim was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday for attacking a convenience store clerk with a hammer. The Supreme Court confirmed the original sentence of 15 years in jail and wearing an electronic anklet for 30 years for the attempted murder.The man had attacked a 21-year-old convenience store worker on Jan. 14, 2018, near Bupyeong station in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province.  (Yonhap)“As I lacked money, I was sitting outside the convenience store hesitating whether to

A 20-year-old who set her house on fire last year was apprehended Thursday. According to Gwangju Bukbu Police on Thursday, the suspect, surnamed Baek, set fire to her home on Nov. 22 after breaking up with her boyfriend.  (Gwangju Bukbu Fire Department)The suspect is believed to have started the fire by turning on the gas stove with a plastic object on it. As the fire spread, Baek escaped into the bathroom and called her boyfriend. The suspect, then 19, was rescued by firefighters, while some 10

The Ministry of National Defense’s website made for children’s educational purposes contain inappropriate contents, according to claims Wednesday. In a local media report on Wednesday, some categories -- including the cartoons, games and comments sections -- on the site were shown to contain inappropriate contents. (The Ministry of National Defense’s website for children)Cartoons on the site included a scene showing a man swearing after being caught having an affair at work, as well as a soldier

A murder suspect wanted in connection with a death in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, died of self-inflicted wounds Tuesday when police tried to apprehend him.According to the Hwaseong Dongtan Police station, Kwak Sang-min, 42, cut and stabbed himself multiple times in a taxi in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. (Hwaseong Dongtan Police station)Kwak was reported to the police by a taxi driver, who recognized him from a police leaflet. The officers went to the scene after getti

Governors will have the authority to recommend the temporary closure of educational facilities, including schools and kindergartens, when emergency measures to reduce fine dust are initiated. According to the Ministry of Environment, the Special Act on Fine Dust, which passed a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, takes effect on Feb. 15. (Yonhap)Under the law, governors will be able to recommend the temporary closure of educational facilities and flexible work arrangements to business owners if the level o

A Chinese national who wanted to go to prison turned himself in after setting a house on fire and injuring a market employee with a knife. According to Yeongdeungpo Police on Monday, the man in his 50s set fire to his sibling’s home in Daerim-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Sunday at 6:10 p.m. The man was reportedly staying with his sibling.  (Yeongdeungpo Police)According to an official from the fire department, the blaze was put out at 6:32 p.m. and two neighbors were transferred to the hospi

Three teenagers were apprehended in connection with 28 robberies involving 20 million won ($17,900) worth of cash, cigarettes and other items.According to the Busan Jin Police station on Monday, a 16-year-old surnamed Park and two 17-year-olds surnamed Kim and Choi were booked without detention on suspicion of special larceny and intimidation.  (Busan Jin Police station)Park is accused of stealing cash and cigarettes worth some 20 million won on 28 occasions. Most of the alleged crimes took plac

A taxi driver who kidnapped and attacked a female passenger was detained and his case submitted to the prosecutor’s office, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Thursday. The driver in his 40s drove from Hongdae to Seonyudo Park in Seoul as the female passenger in the back seat fell sleep. The driver tied the passenger’s hands using duct tape he had brought with him for the purpose. When the victim woke up and screamed, the suspect allegedly threatened her with a knife.  (Yonhap)

A 57-year-old patient who injured a doctor and a citizen by wielding a deadly weapon has been caught and is being investigated, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Thursday.“The patient has been accused of swinging a lethal weapon toward a 39-year-old psychiatrist, who was pregnant, at the hospital lobby on 4:10 p.m. on Thursday,” said the police.   (Yonhap)The daily news media KBS reported that the 57-year-old suspect had been hospitalized with auditory hallucinations and insomnia since Novem

A wild boar rampaged through a residential area in Busan and was captured 16 hours after the initial sighting, according to the Busan Wildlife Conservation Commission.On Wednesday at 3:59 a.m., Busan police received a call about a boar running on a street in the Dangni-dong area of Busan and heading toward the underground parking garage of an apartment complex.  (Busan Police Station)The animal is reported to have run around the first and the second floors of the parking garage, causing severe d

A man who worked at eight pharmacies over a four-month period with a fake pharmacist license has been arrested for violating pharmaceutical laws and fabricating official documents, according to police Monday.The 31-year-old is reported to have worked as a short-term pharmacist dispensing medicine at eight pharmacies located in Ulsan, Busan and South Gyeongsang Province from August to November last year.  (Yonhap)The offender reportedly pretended to be pharmacist with knowledge he gleaned from wo

The pipeline rupture on Dec. 4, 2018 that killed one person turned out to be the result of weak welding when the pipeline was first installed in 1991, according to police Tuesday.“We have received results from the National Forensic Service that say the underground pipe burst due to weak welding done 27 years ago when it was first installed. Bearing water pressure for many years, it seems a piece of welding fell off,” said an official from Ilsan Dongbu Police, adding that police are tracking down

Total Lotto sales in Korea last year of 3.9 trillion won ($3.45 billion) set a 15-year record, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Tuesday.As one ticket costs 1,000 won, the sales volume last year from January to December equals some 3.9 billion games. The year’s sales topped 3.8 billion won in 2003 and sales volume of 3.7 billion games in 2017.  (MBC)The 2018 records translate into each person in South Korea buying 76.8 games, spending 76,800 won on average.Half of last year’s s

The inappropriate handling of Saturday’s knife incident at Dangsan Station in Seoul was the result of the limitations of text message-based police reports, the police said Monday. According to the police, the system limits the length of a text message to 40 characters, causing longer messages to be cut off so police cannot read them in full.“The officers sent to the scene did not receive the details about the man and the incident so inevitably had to search for the person who made the report, wh