Free-of-charge multilingual translation services for tourists will be available in Songpa-gu, Seoul, by voluntary street translators. Dubbed “We Can,” the service group will take off with a launching ceremony scheduled for 5 p.m. at Songpa YMCA, Tuesday. Some 100 residents inhabiting the Jamsil Special Tourist Zone in Songpa-gu are in the volunteer group, including retired seniors over 50 years old and teenagers. Songpa-gu Office (Yonhap)The volunteer workers can speak English, Chinese, Japanese

The parents of an elementary school student living in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, were taken aback when they were contacted by police for an inspection into their alleged child abuse.A local media outlet reported Monday that the parents had raised a stick to their child for stealing from a friend and a store. The act was intended to be for discipline’s sake, but a visiting teacher who glimpsed the act thought of it as child abuse and alerted the police. Another family in the same regio

In Seoul, the first snow of the year only counts as official if it is seen and recorded by government officials stationed at Seoul’s weather station in Songwol-dong, Jongno-gu, next to Gyeonghuigung.Early morning on Friday, social media was abuzz with sightings of snow in some parts of the capitalOpinions clashed on the accuracy of the claims. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, although it could be true that snow fell in some parts of Seoul, it is only officially the first sno

In short, the answer is no. But while radio probably won’t get to outshine video, it also won’t lose its place, either. Technology has changed quite a lot since The Buggles released “Video killed the radio star” in 1980 -- but it has not always changed for the better.Screens now have a dominant presence in Korea, where the most common sight of people is with their faces glued to their smartphones that have thousands of videos and other contents demanding simultaneous attention.But has video real

Long padded coats made as part of goods for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics have become all the rage in Korea since their launch on Oct. 26. Within two weeks, the coats, which cost 149,000 won ($135) each, have sold out at both online and offline stores. It is not known when they will be restocked.The coats come in white, black and gray. They became “it” items after positive reviews spread that they were light and warm. Celebrities were also seen wearing the long padded coats, adding to the

One third of foreign expatriates residing in Busan were found to be low-skilled laborers with insufficient capacity to spend, a report by the Bank of Korea’s Busan office showed Thursday. A spokesperson from the BOK Busan voiced the opinion that the influx of foreign residents should be selective to encourage contributions to local economic growth.According to report by the central bank office, in 2015, Busan -- as Korea’s second-largest city -- had 3.5 percent of the total foreign p

Koreans of legal age consumed an average 9 liters of pure alcohol per person in 2015. The figure was confirmed by professors from the Catholic University of Korea Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital and Inje University Graduate School of Public Health, through a study on data, Chosun.com reported Tuesday.Nine liters of alcohol would be 121 bottles of soju or 366 cans of 500-milliliter beer. Soju typically has 21 percent alcohol by volume while beer is about 5 percent.  (Yonhap)The research team analyz

The increasing number of Koreans who dine alone, dubbed the “honbab” trend in Korean, is proving to be a boon for sushi sales at major supermarkets nationwide. E-mart, the country’s largest discount chain operator, said Thursday that the number of sushi sold between January and October this year amounted to 63 million pieces. In the same period, E-mart had made extra efforts to carry “premium sushi” for consumers.The brand said its sushi sales revenue is rising 20 percent each year and that sush

South Korea’s first lady Kim Jung-sook danced the iconic horse dance to a rewritten version of Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” dubbed “PyeongChang Style,” at an event held in the Philippines on Wednesday. The song was sung by Ryan Bang, a Korean TV personality based in the Philippines, to promote the upcoming 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in Korea. Kim reportedly displayed the popular dance moves upon excitement at hearing the familiar tune. (Yonhap)Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife were atten

15일 경북 포항에서 발생한 강진이 전국 곳곳에서 감지되며 사회적 불안을 야기했다. 　　포항에선 오후 2시 반쯤 규모 5.4 지진에 이어 규모 3.6의 여진이 발생했다. 서울에선 동대문 및 국회 일대, 인근인 천안-아산 지역과 전라도 광주에서도 심한 흔들림을 느꼈다는 제보가 들어왔다.　　　　수능을 하루 앞두고 일어난 자연재해 현상에 학교 건물들에 금이 가며 뒤숭숭한 분위기다.　　교육부는 수능이 차질 없이 포항 등 전국에서 예정대로 진행될 것이라 발표했다. 　　사진은 포항시 북구 두호동 한 아파트의 벽에 간 금이다. 　 (사진=연합뉴스)　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

Gangnam Police Station on Tuesday released black box footage from actor Kim Joo-hyuk’s car showing the moments leading up to the crash that killed him.　The police discovered the black box beneath the passenger seat of Kim’s Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. The video shows Kim’s car suddenly slowing, then steering erratically. It hits another car while attempting to change lanes, before suddenly veering off the road, across the sidewalk and into a building. 　The video has no audio recording, lending little

In Korea, where capitalism is tantamount to religion, every 14th of the month is another chance for companies to hawk their wares -- with a special theme to justify it.The corporate trend likely stems from the commercial success of Valentine’s Day, which comes every Feb. 14. At least five different themes are contending for supremacy of the Nov. 14 slot. The five ways to enjoy the 14th of November: 1. Movie Day -- for lovers to watch films of an, ahem, “adult theme” together 2. Cookie Day -- to

　디트로이트 프리프레스 보도에 따르면 다 자란 캐나다거위는 하루에 약 1kg의 분변을 본다고 한다. 　　사람의 경우 72kg 몸무게의 남성이 하루 평균 약 450g의 배변을 본다. 　　이에 반해 캐나다거위의 몸무게는 고작 3-9kg이다. 자기 몸집의 1/10 이상에 해당하는 양을 내보내는 것이다. 　 (사진=영상 캡쳐) 캐나다거위 (사진=영상 캡쳐)(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

Police moved to quell rumors about a narcotic substance in Korea that turns people into zombie-like monsters, following a feature broadcast by SBS’ “Curious Stories Y,” Friday. Reports speculate that the rumored “zombie drug” is a type of “bath salts” -- recreational designer drugs that come in powder form. In Korea, those in possession of bath salts are liable to a minimum of one year in prison, while those who import, manufacture or sell the drug face a minimum of five years’ imprisonment.The

유모차를 탄 아기가 쇼윈도에 진열돼 있는 광경이 뉴요커들 발길을 잡아끌었다. (사진=온라인커뮤니티)실제로 살아 숨쉬는 아기인지 의아해하며 몇 초간 쇼윈도를 들여다보다 간다는 것이다.　그러나 이는 예술가 두안 한슨(Duane Hanson)이 1983년 자신의 아들을 본뜬 형상을 조각으로 작품화한 것이다. 　미국 예술 헤리티지 경매의 아비바 리먼에 따르면 이 아기는 미화 8만~12만 달러에 경매에 출품되었다.　경매는 오는 30일 시작된다.　(khnews@heraldcorp.com)　

Over 1,500 people joined an online petition calling for the legalization of marijuana via Cheong Wa Dae’s site, Monday.The petition, launched on Oct. 30, has 15 days remaining until it expires on Nov. 29. A steady stream of people have signed to join in supporting the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana consumption. (Cheong Wa Dae's online petition board)The original petitioner is anonymous save for his introduction of himself as being in his mid-20s and under police probation for

The Ministry of Employment and Labor will investigate a university-affiliated private hospital at which nurses were pressured to perform a suggestive dance in revealing clothes during a sports event.Nurses at the Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, claimed that they were forced to dance in front of some 1,000 co-workers and hospital officials during an annual sports competition, held October.The case came to the light after a video of scantily-clad women seducti

Yeongcheon, a quiet city 350 kilometers southeast of Seoul in North Gyeongsang Province, is reinventing itself as the mecca for Korean wine. With population of some 100,300, Yeongcheon was originally most known as a major producer of grapes.The city forayed in to the wine business in 2007, and after 10 years, Yeongcheon now counts 68 wineries and 35 percent of Korea’s domestic wine. About 270,000 bottles of wine come from the region annually. (Yeoncheon Agricultural Technology & Extension Center

Calendars for next year featuring topless well-built firefighters will be on sale for the next two months at five stores online and offline, said the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters, which is behind the project, on Friday. All profits from the calendars will go to supporting burn patients who lack financial means for medical care. The project for a good cause began in 2014, with a total of 26,729 copies sold over the past four years.  (Yonhap)The firefighters who posed for the

Artificial intelligence may be able to sift through the vast pool of online information and discern which news are fake and which are true -- or closer to the truth.A research presentation on the topic was made Thursday at KAIST, a public research university in Daejeon.Cha Mi-young, a professor at the KAIST School of Computing, proposed a future where artificial intelligence trained through deep learning can tell fake news apart from real.Professor Cha Mi-young of KAIST School of Computing (Yonh