Incheon International Airport Corp. says it is not going forward with a mythical bird-inspired logo for the corporation’s 20th anniversary next year after a leaked image online drew criticism. In an emailed statement on Sunday, the company confirmed it had ditched the new corporate identity design after “considering the majority’s opinions.” “It’s regretful that the draft was misreported as an official one,” the company said as it explained it was one

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction said on Sunday that it plans to see its offshore wind power business generate around 1 trillion won ($831 million) in annual revenue by 2025. In a statement, CEO Park Gee-won said his company would contribute to creating South Korea’s ecosystem for offshore wind power as a leading company in the field and pledged to be actively get on board with the government’s Green New Deal. “The domestic market is expected to grow rapidly thanks

Hyunda Motor became the best-selling car maker in Vietnam during the first half of this year, surpassing Toyota by a slight margin. The South Korean automaker sold 25,358 units during the first six months of 2020, according to data from Hyundai and the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, with its Japanese rival trailing by 181 units. Hyundai cars accounted for 21.3 percent of the market share, up 2.6 percentage points from the same time last year. It marks the first time the

Jeju Air said Thursday it can now walk away from a controversial 54.5 billion won ($45 million) merger deal with Eastar Jet after the troubled low-cost carrier failed to meet the deadline to fulfill its prerequisites. “Eastar Holdings has not fulfilled the prerequisites for its stock purchase agreement” by Wednesday midnight, Jeju Air said in a statement, adding that it is in a position to terminate the deal. “We received an official document yesterday from Eastar Holdings co

Sales of electric vehicles have taken a hit globally as the coronavirus pandemic continues to take its toll on the economy, a new report has revealed. According to data from market analyst company SNE Research, global sales of electric cars between January and May this year dropped by 20.3 percent to 710,000 units, compared to the same time last year. Due to the worsening impact of the pandemic in the US and Europe in particular, global sales of electric vehicles in May were down by 28.7 perc

GS Engineering & Construction said Monday that it will begin using a four-legged robot named Spot at its construction sites following successful trials. This is the first time the robot -- developed by American engineering company Boston Dynamics -- will be put to work on construction sites in South Korea, said the building company, which is teaming up with construction software startup Cupix. During the tests earlier this month, Spot was equipped with cutting-edge devices such as an inter

Premium cosmetic brand Sulwhasoo has launched its products in India through local retailer Nykaa’s online e-commerce channel, its manufacturer Amorepacific said Monday. Following the launch on Monday, the company said it plans to make Sulwhasoo available at Nykaa Luxe stores in major cities across the country, including Delhi and Mumbai. With a population of nearly 1.4 billion and a growing middle class, the South Asian country’s cosmetics market is estimated to be worth $14.8 bill

For this piece, we spoke to Azodi, a music producer who specializes in K-pop and J-pop and has a YouTube channel where he analyzes the production of K-pop songs. In recent years, Blackpink has become one of the biggest girl groups in the world, dominating the music scene with their signature powerful trap anthems. The group debuted in the summer of 2016 with the double-sided single “Square One” featuring “Boombayah” and “Whistle.” Through their journey to g

Sunmi is tackling city pop in her new single “pporappippam” which is slated for release Monday. While known for her dance-pop sound, the new song -- which translates to purple night in Korean -- sees the singer incorporate elements of city pop into her signature upbeat pop sound -- a subset of pop music originated in Japan in the ’70s. “Imagine a breeze that cools you down on a summer day at sunset after a hot day and you are looking up to the sky at a café terra

The members of Blackpink say they want to spread positive energy with their new single, “How You Like That.” It is the group’s first single since “Kill This Love,” which came out in April 2019. Ahead of the song’s release Friday, the bandmates discussed the experience of recording their first full-length album and collaborating with Lady Gaga during a livestreamed press conference. “This may sound a little bit grand. We really tried to give people a

30. “Firework” (2020) Songs on Twice’s latest album “More & More” have a more mature sound and “Firework” is no exception. With Latin guitar melodies sprinkled all over, the rhythmic tune conjures up images of fireworks on a summer night. 29. “Chillax” (2018) As bright and cheerful beats open the song, the group’s warm vocals sing in harmony, “Chill and chill and relax-lax” as the song talks of wanting to go on a holi

After fans of South Korean pop music enjoyed weeks of media attention as an emerging political force, the conversation is now turning partisan in the US. On Monday’s episode of Fox News’ weekly “Fox & Friends,” one host explained the low turnout at US President Donald Trump’s rally on Saturday, then added, “And there were these reports that teenagers on TikTok and fans of the group K-pop took credit because they reserved a bunch of tickets never intending

When the sudden death of singer Yohan from boyband TST came to light this week, the group’s agency KJ Music Entertainment put out a statement pleading with the media to refrain from speculation over the cause of his death at his family’s request, which has yet to be revealed. As the local media at large reported on the sad news as a standalone incident, the news soon reached the other side of the world. The Daily Mail covered the story with a list titled “A year of tragedy a

Who are K-pop fans? It’s a question that not a lot of people bothered to ask until lately. But that seems to be changing in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests across the world: K pop fans flooded the Dallas Police Department’s iWatch Dallas app with fancams and took over the hashtag #WhiteLivesMatter on Twitter with anti-racist messages. BTS fans raised $1 million in just over a day for organizations that help black people. American actor and writer Jordan Peele said he &ldqu

Suga’s solo track “Daechwita” under the alias Agust D in late May begins with a powerful burst from a taepyeongso -- a Korean wind instrument -- as the BTS member sits up from a throne in a period thriller-themed video reminiscent of Netflix’s zombie series Kingdom. “I sampled ‘Daechiwta,’ which is the music played for when a king was on the move,” the rapper said on the group’s YouTube channel. In a swirling pre-chorus, he sings, “Wh

As protests continue following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died at the hands of police in the US, multiple K-pop stars and fandoms have joined in solidarity to speak up against police brutality. In a tweet on Sunday, Mark Tuan from GOT7 told his followers to stay strong and safe as he announced his donation of $7,000 to George Floyd Memorial Fund. Jae from rock band DAY6 donated to Minnesota Freedom Fund as he linked a page that shows ways to help the Black Lives Matter movemen

Monsta X released their new EP “Fantasia X” on Tuesday. The record featuring seven tracks comes seven months after their seventh EP “Follow: Find You,” with all the bandmates taking part in its making. Speaking to the press during a livestreamed press showcase, Kihyun said Fantasia is a “liberating” and “energetic” track that speaks to the signature Monsta X sound. The high energy track featuring ethnic melodies and dynamic synths competed with

Big Hit Entertainment has become the biggest shareholder of its smaller rival Pledis Entertainment, the company said Monday. The acquisition is the latest in a series of moves to expand Big Hit’s presence in the burgeoning K-pop industry. Last year alone, the firm acquired Source Music, the music label for girl band GFriend, and game music company Superb. With the addition of Pledis, the firm now boasts an extensive roster of artists under its roof in a multi-label system, bringing som

Despite K-pop artists landing endorsement deals in China as of late, pop culture and China experts are cautioning against being too optimistic. Earlier this month, G-Dragon from Big Bang made headlines after signing a contract with Chinese bottled water giant Nongfu Spring to promote the company’s tea brand Chapai. The news marks the first promising sign since China effectively banned K-pop in 2016, after South Korea decided to deploy the US anti-missile defense system THAAD. Soon after

Overseas sales of BTS’ 2019 record “Map of the Soul: Persona” are believed to have been massively underreported to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for its prestigious annual global top albums chart. Earlier this year, the septet’s sixth EP was named the third bestselling record of the year in 2019 with 2.5 million unit sales by the London-based IFPI’s Global Top Album Chart. But what would have been a celebratory occasion was soon met wi