BUSAN -- Nexon's mobile action role-playing game “Heroes of Incredible Tales” won the grand prize at the 2016 Korea Game Awards on Wednesday.“Heroes of Incredible Tales,” also known as “HIT,” was developed by game development studio NAT Games, owned by Korea’s leading game company Nexon.Awardees of the 2016 Korea Games Awards pose for a picture after the ceremony held in Busan on Wednesday evening (Sohn Ji-young/The Korea Herald)Released in November 2015, "HIT" has secured more than 13 million u

BUSAN -- Global gaming convention G-Star is slated to take off in Busan from Thursday, showcasing the latest games and technologies as well as hosting diverse game competitions and promotional events.　G-Star 2016, the biggest in its history, will feature more than 2,700 booths, including those for public enjoyment as well as business partnerships, the G-Star Organizing Committee said Wednesday. A total of 653 game-related companies from 35 countries are partaking in this year’s show.　Leading PC

Industrial designer Ross Lovegrove is currently working on a new household lighting structure using organic light-emitting diodes in conjunction with the OLED business division of an LG company, to be introduced next year.The acclaimed Welsh designer, who recently came to Seoul to speak at the Herald Design Forum 2016, said he was working with LG’s lighting division chief to design a new lighting installation using OLEDs. The installation will be unveiled at the Salone del Mobile 2017, an interi

As mobile data networks speed up, autonomous vehicles fully connected to their surroundings are expected to become a reality in the near future.While other technologies will be required for the commercialization of self-driving cars, South Korean carrier SK Telecom zeroed in on how next-generation 5G networks will serve as a foundation for these futuristic vehicles in a live demonstration here Tuesday.At the 240,000 square-meter BMW Driving Range in Incheon, SKT unveiled the T5, an experimental

US burger joint Shake Shack will open its second outlet in Cheongdam-dong of Seoul’s Gangnam District, the brand’s South Korean licensee SPC Group said Wednesday.　The upcoming Shake Shack outlet is the second to open in Korea’s capital city, following its its first ever store which opened near Gangnam Station. The new store is expected to ease the long lines that still persist at Shake Shack’s first outlet.Construction is underway for Seoul’s second Shake Shack outlet in Cheongdam-dong. (SPC Gro

South Korea’s top portal operator Naver has joined hands with SoftBank Ventures Korea to establish a new 50 billion won ($42.75 million) investment fund to nurture promising start-ups in the media content business and boost its own competitiveness as a platform provider.　　Naver said Monday that it will form the “SB Next Innovation Fund” in partnership with the venture capital arm of Japanese telecom giant SoftBank. They will make early investments in local firms that possess standout services or

MARATHON FOR LOVE -- Participants cheer before starting the “Challenge for Love 63” marathon held inside the 63 Building in Yeouido, Seoul, Sunday. Hosted by Hanwha Life Insurance, the marathon involves running up 1,251 flights of stairs to the top of the building. By taking part in the marathon, participants donate tickets to diverse attractions inside the 63 Building to underprivileged children. (Yonhap)

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on the alarming state of the country’s economy and the challenges to be addressed. This is the fifth installment. -- Ed.Faced with the continued slowdown of its manufacturing sector, South Korea is eyeing new growth in the field of biotechnology, a promising industry expected for a sharp growth in the years ahead.　Biotechnology broadly refers to the use of genetic engineering and molecular biology to modify living cells to produce novel substan

Samsung Group’s combined market capitalization has risen to 375.52 trillion won ($322 billion) following the stock market debut of its biotechnology unit, a local financial data provider said Sunday.After Samsung BioLogics’ Kospi entrance on Thursday, Samsung’s 15 listed affiliates accounted for 29.07 percent of the total market cap of all the companies traded on Korea’s main stock exchange, WISEfn said.The figure marks a 1.25 percentage point increase from the group’s 27.82 percent ownership re

South Korea’s leading game company Nexon said Thursday that its third-quarter operating profit fell 12 percent on-year to 16.3 billion yen ($154.6 million), crediting the decline to a strong yen during the cited period.　The company’s revenue also fell 11 percent on-year to 44.3 billion yen, according to its regulatory filing. The figures reflect exchange rates in the July-September period.Nexon, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, pointed out that its third-quarter performance took a hi

Samsung BioLogics, a contract manufacturer of biologic drugs under the Samsung Group, made a strong stock market debut Thursday, as its shares were buoyed by rosy expectations for the pharmaceutical industry after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.　Shares of Samsung BioLogics opened at 135,000 won ($117.50) apiece on Korea’s main stock market Kospi, slightly lower than their initial public offering price of 136,000 won.　After trading began, the shares continued to rally thro

INGRESS EVENT IN SEOUL -- Niantic, the developer of the smash hit augmented reality mobile game “Pokemon Go” will host a competition for its earlier-launched AR-based game “Ingress” in Jamsil, Seoul from Friday to Sunday. “Ingress” is a multiplayer mobile game utilizing AR technology in which users, belonging to teams, must capture “portals” at places of cultural significance and create virtual triangular “control fields” over geographical areas. The event, titled “Ingress Anomaly Via Seoul Noir

Kakao, operator of South Korea’s largest mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Thursday that its third-quarter operating profit rose 87 percent on-year to 30.3 billion won ($26.4 million), propelled by a strong mobile contents business.　The company‘s revenue in the July-September period also surged 70.5 percent on-year to 391.4 billion won. However, net income fell 7.7 percent on-year to 13.62 billion won due to “costs generated by Kakao’s financial activities,” it said.Kakao’s revenue hike was drive

US pharmaceutical giant AbbVie has won a key patent dispute over its blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis treatment Humira in the US, dealing a blow to those preparing to commercialize Humira biosimilars in the world’s biggest market for biologic drugs.　Coherus Biosciences Inc. said Tuesday that the US Patent and Trademark Office denied the company’s request for an inter partes review -- the procedure for challenging the validity of a patent via the office -- of AbbVie’s formulation patent on Humira

For acclaimed Welsh industrial designer Ross Lovegrove, the essence of successful modern design is bringing humanity in harmony with nature. And today’s revolutionary technologies are making this task more possible than ever before.　“It’s the natural, logical path for design to be born out of nature, where humans with new eyes and computational power can produce more logical and beautiful things in architecture, cars and products,” Lovegrove said in an interview during the 2016 Herald Design For

Providing creative minds a way to pitch their ideas and attract funding is the founding mission of crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, but its CEO and co-founder Yancey Strickler believes its impact is far broader.　“They’re showing their creations off in videos, walking their audience through the design process and giving them an opportunity to look into where things come from,” said Strickler in an interview after speaking at the Herald Design Forum 2016 in Seoul on Tuesday.Founded in 2009 and b

A number of closely watched initial public offerings will take place in South Korea this week, including that of contract drug manufacturer Samsung BioLogics and cosmetics company CLIO.Samsung BioLogics, the biopharma contract manufacturing arm of Korean tech giant Samsung Group, will be listed on Korea’s main bourse Kospi on Thursday, marking the largest IPO of the year here.A sign is seen at the Samsung BioLogics headquarters in Songdo, Incheon. (Sohn Ji-young/The Korea Herald)On Wednesday, ho

Led by the expansion of the South Korean pharmaceutical industry, the size of the local pharma workforce grew by 27 percent compared to four years ago, recent data showed Monday.　According to the Korea Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, a total of 94,500 people were employed at some 842 pharmaceutical companies as of 2015, a sharp increase from 2011, when 74,000 people were employed at 822 companies. (123RF)While the number of pharmaceutical companies rose just 2 percent during the four-y

South Korean mobile carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus on Wednesday collided over the superiority of new networks for the Internet of Things technology as the latter two established a new alliance against the segment’s leader SKT.　　KT and LG Uplus on Thursday announced a new partnership for the swift commercialization and expansion of the Narrow Band-Internet of Things, or NB-IoT, network across the nation.　The two local carriers plan to cooperate in making the NB-IoT the standard network supp

South Korean biopharma developer Green Cross said Wednesday that its self-developed tetanus-diphtheria vaccine for adults has been approved by the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.　It is the first time that a Korean drugmaker has successfully developed and scored regulatory approval to commercialize a Td vaccine here.Right now, Koreans are mandated to receive a Td vaccine between the ages of 10 and 12, and receive new vaccine shots every 10 years.Until now, Td vaccines were entirely impor