T1 secured their playoff spot with a 2-0 victory over Team Dynamics on Sunday, leaving only one final ticket left for the taking. Four teams -- Damwon Gaming, DRX, Gen.G and T1 -- have secured playoff positions already and will battle in the playoffs over the next two weeks. Three teams technically have a chance to clench the final ticket to the playoffs, but all odds are in favor of Afreeca Freecs. Afreeca Freecs is far ahead of its competitors, KT Rolster and Sandbox Gaming, with an 8-6 r

When students from Uijeongbu High School parodied Ghana’s famous dancing pallbearers, South Korea-based Ghanaian television personality Sam Okyere took to social media to criticize the students for painting their faces brown. A few days later, Okyere apologized after people said it was inappropriate to post a photo of the students without permission. They also took exception to his use of the hashtag “#teakpop,” which is typically used in a derogatory way about K-pop. Many K

Located across the west wall of the palace Changdeokgung in Wonseo-dong in central Seoul is what, at first glance, looks like a hanok cafe. Inside, however, authentic Scandinavian dishes are offered on Royal Copenhagen porcelain, offering a cuisine unfamiliar to many Koreans at perhaps the most Korean place. Sogongheon, meaning “a place that brings people together to do good,” opened after two years of construction. The two-story hanok, with a separate hanok annex behind it, breaks

DAEJEON -- With international travel more burdensome than ever because of the spread of COVID-19, many Koreans are traveling domestically for a summer break. The city of Daejeon, about a two-hour drive south of Seoul or an hour by high-speed train KTX, offers a plethora of unique outdoor-contact-free experiences for people thinking of travelling safely amid COVID-19. “In Daejeon and Gyeryongsan there are many socially distanced tourist attractions that are less affected by COVID-19, suc

Korail has introduced multilingual information kiosks in five of the KTX stations most visited by foreigners. The touchscreen machines can be used in four different languages. KTX train schedules and flight schedules as well as live traffic information and routes to destinations are provided. The machines also have information on the station’s facilities and nearby tourist attractions. Information on Korail Pass for foreigners is provided as well. The kiosk is available at Seoul, Yong

Damwon Gaming continues the team’s undefeated second round win streak in the League of Legends Champions Korea, defeating Gen.G in the opening match of the week Thursday to sit at first in the standings. Damwon Gaming, which recently placed second in global power rankings by ESPN after Invictus Gaming of China triumphed over Gen.G 2-1, finally beat them for the first time this year after losing both games in the spring and losing the first round of the summer. With a 12-2 record and an o

As the police investigation of Lim Seul-ong’s car accident continues, a local newspaper released traffic camera footage of the Aug. 1 accident, turning public opinion against Lim. Actor and singer Lim Seul-ong hit and killed a pedestrian crossing the road around midnight Aug. 1 while driving his white SUV in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. The pedestrian light was red when the man was crossing the street on the rainy day and Lim was reported to not have been under the influence of alcohol, causin

’Relax 26 Hours Package’ at Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Hotel & Residences presents a staycation package, “Relax 26 Hours Package.” The package includes a one-night stay, 30,000 won worth of food credit and free use of the hotel’s swimming pool, fitness center and kids’ zone. Guest can check in early, starting at noon, and check out late at 2 p.m. the next day for a total stay of 26 hours. The package, price

The 2020 Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival will take place Oct. 16-17 at Songdo Pentaport Park, the city of Incheon announced on Wednesday. The festival will take place both on and offline, with performances streamed live for the first time in the festival‘s history. While the festival was held for three days in August in previous years, it has been pushed back to October this year with a shortend two-day schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 15th edition of the annual festival aims

The 2020 League of Legends World Championship will be held in Shanghai, opening on Sept. 25, according to Riot Games on Saturday, alarming LCK fans because of the tight schedule. While previous LoL World Championships have been held at multiple cities in the hosting region, this year’s tournament this year will be held only in Shanghai in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the safety of players. “To ensure the health and safety of fans, pro players and everyone in

The first-ever gaming audition program in South Korea, “LoL the Next,” aired the first of seven episodes Sunday, introducing new talent to fans. This is the first program in the country that auditions nonprofessional League of Legends players. Sunday’s episode featured 40 contestants, who included trainees of LCK teams and former pro Hojin of the ROX Tigers. T1 Burdol, the current No. 1 in the Korean solo queue, was also shown. The contenders, all aged 16-29, are expected to

The “Mr. Trot” Seoul concert, featuring top contestants from TV Chosun’s record-breaking program, has been rescheduled to Aug. 7 to 23, after the local government relaxed regulations on large-scale concerts Friday. The concert has been delayed four times due to the spread of COVID-19 and restrictions made by the Songpa-gu Office, which oversees Olympic Gymnastics Arena where the concert is scheduled to take place. Show Play, the concert organizer, announced that the audience

When Choi Hyun-woo, 41, began to learn magic in high school, he did it to overcome his shyness and impress girls. Choi didn’t get a girlfriend, but he became captivated by the wonders of magic. There weren’t many young Korean magicians back then, but he saw David Copperfield perform when the world’s most famous magician visited Korea in 1995. He was immediately shocked and eventually mesmerized. “I went to Copperfield’s house last year and I found the poster of

‘Relax 26 Hours Package’ at Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Hotel & Residences presents a staycation package, “Relax 26 Hours Package.” The package includes a one-night stay, 30,000 won worth of food credit and free use of the hotel’s swimming pool, fitness center and kids’ zone. Guest can check in early, starting at noon, and check out late at 2 p.m. the next day for a total stay of 26 hours. The package, price

Major companies and celebrities in Korea are showing interest in investing in pro League of Legends esports teams, as LoL Champions Korea continues the application process for teams interested in the franchise system next year. Riot Games announced that 21 teams had applied for the franchise system on June 25, of which around 10 will be accepted for the franchise system starting in the spring season of next year, though the number remains flexible. Although the cost to enter the franchise sys

Sky Channel and Channel A’s new adult talk show, “Doomed Marriage” premiered Monday, bringing to light real problems that married couples face. The 90-minute program was divided into two parts with actors reenacting real situations faced by married couples sent to the show’s website in the first half and an actual married couple sharing their issues in the second half of the program. The five panel members then took side with either the husband or wife, with the winner

Ssak 3 made their debut on MBC’s “Show! Music Core” on Saturday, after sweeping the music charts with their song, “Beach Again.” The trio, made up of entertainer Yoo Jae-suk, singers Lee Hyo-ri and Rain, performed their songs “Beach Again” and “In Summer,” on the weekly live music show Saturday afternoon, bringing a ’90s vibe to the K-pop idol stage. “Show! Music Core” reached its highest viewership rating of the year --

The much-anticipated “Mr. Trot” tour, scheduled to start Friday at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul and continue nationwide, has been delayed yet again after the local government banned concerts to crowds of over 5,000. TV Chosun’s “Mr. Trot,” an audition program that chose the best trot singer out of 100 contestants, posted record viewership ratings when it aired from January to March this year. Attesting to its popularity across generations, tickets to the

The mother of Minah, formerly of K-pop group ILUV, posted to Minah’s Instagram in the early hours of Friday that the singer had collapsed and was sent to the emergency room. It was the latest development in an ongoing exchange of accusations online between Minah and her former ILUV bandmates, as well as with ILUV agency WKS ENE. “Mina collapsed today and was sent to the emergency room. She will be hospitalized soon and I hope negative comments and predictions about Mina’s s

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced five people from three teams as winners of the 2020 Korea Young Architect Award on Friday. The award program is led by the ministry and organized jointly by the Korea Architects Institute, Korean Institute of Architects and the Korean Institute of Female Architects. For this year, B.U.S Architecture (Woo Seung-jin, Park Ji-hyun and Cho Sung-hak), JIYO Architects (Kim Se-jin) and On Architect (Jung Woong-sik) received the awards out of the