Korean retail group Shinsegae is offering free wireless internet service to shoppers in the Myeong-dong area starting Thursday, the company said Wednesday.The service is intended to appeal to Chinese shoppers, who tend to rely on wireless internet in Korea rather than data roaming services. According to a survey from the Korea Tourism Organization, more than three-fourths of surveyed Chinese tourists said that they wanted free Wi-Fi access near major shopping districts.The welcoming page on Shin

Incheon International Airport said Tuesday that it hit new records for the number of flights and passengers it serviced in one day.On Sunday, Incheon International Airport served 1,020 flights carrying 188,263 passengers, according to the airport corporation. They are the highest numbers on record since the airport opened in 2001, with the number of passengers flying during the summer vacation season growing 26.5 percent just over the past year.Over the past 15 years, the number of flights has g

Korean e-commerce firm Interpark apologized Monday for a massive data leak earlier this year that exposed its users’ personal information. This includes the names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth and phone numbers of some 10.3 million users. “On July 11, Interpark became aware that some of our users’ information had been stolen by a hacker group through an advanced persistent threat attack, and reported the hack to the police the next day,” said an official statement on the company’s

Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-koo is seeking to bring his group back together by re-acquiring Kumho Buslines and Kumho Tire, which had been sold off in an effort to reduce their debt.According to Kumho Asiana Group on Monday, Park decided to rebuy the 100 percent stake in express bus operator Kumho Buslines that was sold to Germany-based private equity firm Consus KHB last year by Kumho Terminal for about 390 billion won.  Kumho Asiana Group chairman Park Sam-kooThat transaction came just

A government agency responsible for setting safety standards for products sold in Korea said Sunday that it will begin surveying the dangers of dressers being sold in Korea following public outcry over dressers sold by multinational furniture maker Ikea.Ikea faced public fury when it was revealed that its Malm line of dressers were being sold in Korea despite being linked to the deaths of six young children abroad.The fatalities were caused when dressers that were not properly fastened to the wa

Australian beer Tooheys Extra Dry will be hitting bars in Korea starting Friday, according to Korean manufacturer Hite Jinro.Tooheys Extra Dry, made by Lion in Australia, is a dry lager beer with 4.4 percent alcohol volume. The beer will only be sold in 345-milliliter bottles through bars, pubs, and dining bars. It will not be available through supermarkets or convenience stores. Tooheys Extra Dry beer (Hite Jinro)According to a spokesman for Hite Jinro, which imports the beer, Tooheys is especi

Korea will be creating a 3-D map for drones to ensure safety and prevent accidents as drones become more widely used, according to the Transport Ministry on Thursday.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that current drone users have found it inconvenient or unsafe to fly drones using the current two-dimensional map which does not account for topographical differences and does not show obstacles such as electric wires.The three-dimensional map will help guide drones safely as m

A survey of restaurants, supermarkets and food production plants showed instances of E.coli in popular foods such as gimbap and lunch boxes, the Food Safety Ministry said Thursday.The products that tested positive for E.coli were being sold in well-known franchises and supermarkets. (123rf)The bacteria were found in gimbap sold in places like fast food chain Pomato‘s branch in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, supermarket Homeplus in Seo-gu, Daejeon, and Lotte Mart in Jeonju.E.coli was also found in foods prod

Air traffic in Korean airspace hit a record high in the first half of 2016 with nearly 2,000 planes flying every day, according to the Transport Ministry on Thursday.Data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed that compared to last year, international air traffic crossing through Korean airspace rose by nearly 10 percent. Much of that increase was due to a 36 percent rise in Chinese airlines flying through Korea. About 11,500 Chinese flights were monitored by air traffic

The late Lee Byung-chull is the founder of the behemoth Samsung, the nation’s top conglomerate, but his legacy is much more than just Samsung. His eight children -- three sons and five daughters -- control several conglomerates that rule the Korean economy today, and they are collectively known as the “pan-Samsung” group.Last year, Forbes Asia ranked the Lee family at the top of its Asian business dynasties, with members of the extended family running “more than 55 business, with total sales of

Lotte Duty Free was voted the most popular Korean duty-free brand by Chinese shoppers in an online survey conducted by Chinese news outlet People‘s Daily Online. Lotte Duty Free received the most votes out of all 250 Korean brands in the survey, according to the company. Pictured: Lotte Duty Free PR manager Noh Jae-seung (center right) accepts the award on behalf of Lotte Duty Free from Zhang Yue, People's Daily Online Korea Vice CEO, at the awards ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul

Shinsegae DF has completed its opening of seven luxury stores in its Incheon International Airport outlet, the company said Wednesday.The duty-free operator began bringing in luxury brands in mid-June, starting with Balenciaga. After Balenciaga, Moncler and Miu Miu stores soon followed. Celine, Fendi and Marc Jacobs stores opened on July 8, and a Hermes outlet opened on July 12. All of these brands are operated exclusively by Shinsegae DF at Incheon International Airport with the exception of He

Cigarette sales for the first half of 2016 have risen 14 percent compared to the same period last year, coming back from a sharp drop early last year due to a price hike, according to data Wednesday.According to research firm Nielson, over 35.3 billion cigarettes were sold in the first half of the year compared to 31 billion in 2015. This year‘s sales are still significantly lower than the 40 billion cigarettes sold in the first half of 2014 before the government’s increase of the excise tax. Ho

British Airways signed an agreement Monday with KTX, Korea’s express train operator, and the Busan Tourism Office to make travel from Busan to Europe easier, the airline said.The agreement, which takes effect on Oct. 1, will allow travelers in Busan to take British Airways’ flights out of Incheon, after taking a KTX train directly from Busan to Incheon International Airport. Until now, many flyers of British Airways had taken a domestic flight from Busan as a stopover before taking off from Inch

Air Seoul, a budget airline operated by Korea’s second-largest carrier Asiana Airlines, is off to a good start, filling on average 97 percent of seats on its flights, officials said Tuesday.Its route from Gimpo to Jeju saw an average of 96 percent filled seats and its Jeju-Gimpo route saw 98 percent of seats filled between July 11 and 17.Air Seoul (Air Seoul)It currently operates four flights daily between Gimpo International Airport in Seoul and Jeju Airport.The airline also said that 95 percen

Shinsegae Food will be jumping into the food market with a new brand set to roll out in September, according to the company.This is the first time in the company’s 21-year history that it is creating its own brand, although it had previously launched the brand Peacock for its supermarket affiliate E-mart, and manufactured other generic products.The new brand is expected to focus on the home meal replacement market, which has picked up momentum this year.While Peacock faced difficulties widening

Wolfgang‘s Steakhouse in Seoul is an unusually large restaurant, especially for the upscale Cheongdam-dong area of Seoul. Step inside and walk past the mahogany reception desk, and the main dining hall seems to spread out endlessly, countless tables covered in white tablecloths floating above wooden floors. Overhead, private dining rooms line the second floor.“Our Seoul branch is about twice the size of some of our other restaurants,” said Peter Zwiener, who currently heads up the franchise, on

British American Tobacco Korea has raised the price of its Kent cigarettes as of Monday, according to the company.BAT Korea increased the price of Kent Convertible 6 milligrams cigarettes -- the only product in the Kent line currently sold in Korea -- from 4300 won ($3.80) to 4500 won, the standard price of cigarettes here.Kent Convertible 6 mg is the only product that BAT Korea imports from its Singapore factory to the Korean market. All other BAT products sold in Korea are made in its factory

A Korean Air flight bound for Hawaii was canceled Sunday night at its transfer point in Japan after a defect was found in the engine’s generator, according to the airline Monday.The 220 passengers on board flight KE001 were stranded at Narita Airport in Tokyo overnight.According to Korean Air, the plane could not leave as soon as the generator was fixed because of Narita Airport’s regulations regarding nighttime takeoffs.Passengers spent the night at the airport lounge because there were no othe

The number of registered cars in Korea has increased by nearly 500,000 in the past six months to exceed 21.4 million vehicles, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. This is equivalent to one car registered for every 2.4 Koreans.