SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – S.M. Entertainment, South Korea’s leading entertainment management agency, said Thursday it plans to hold a yearlong talent audition in 10 countries in 2018. The 2018 S.M. Global Audition will begin on Jan. 21 at COEX in southern Seoul and be held successively in five other South Korean cities, including [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s trade ministry said Thursday it will hold a public hearing on the negotiations to expand the scope of the free trade agreement (FTA) with China to further lower trade barriers in the service and investment sectors. Policymakers, experts and industry officials will take part in the hearing [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – Solji of K-pop group EXID will undergo surgery for exophthalmos, her agency said Thursday. “Solji will undergo exophthalmos surgery next Monday. Her thyroid hormone level has returned to normal but she has shown symptoms of bulging eyes,” Banana Culture Entertainment said. The timing of her comeback will be decided [...]
HWACHEON, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival is back this year with extended nighttime events in an all-out bid to attract a record number of visitors. Just in time for Hwacheon’s famous trout fishing festival, which kicks off this weekend, the Hwacheon County Government has announced plans for a number of evening [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – North Korea has reopened a cross-border communications channel with South Korea nearly two years after the shutdown of the Kaesong Industrial Complex. Two Koreas had their first contact via a hotline that has been suspended for 23 months on Wednesday. The surprising news came only hours after a senior North [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – Former Minnesota Twins slugger Park Byung-ho will return home next Tuesday, more than a month after re-signing with his former South Korean club and ending his brief big league stint. The Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Wednesday Park is scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport next Tuesday afternoon. After arriving he’ll hold a press conference at an adjacent hotel, starting at 6 [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – Jin Air Co., the budget unit of Korean Air Lines Co., has launched a new route to Johor Bahru in Malaysia, company officials said Wednesday, in the latest move to expand its services in the region. The debut service began on Tuesday when a B777-200ER aircraft with 393 seats left for Johor Bahru in southern Malaysia from Incheon International Airport, South Korea’s main gateway. Jin Air said [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will set up their winter training camp in Turkey later this month to prepare for the 2018 FIFA WorldCup, the national football governing body said Wednesday. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the men’s national football team will train in Antalya, Turkey, from Jan. 22 to Feb. 4. “We originally considered … Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as our winter training [...]
POCHEON, South Korea, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – A chicken farm in Gyeonggi Province reported a suspected case of avian influenza (AI) on Wednesday, prompting quarantine officials to impose a temporary ban on poultry transportation in the region. The farm with 197,000 laying chickens in Pocheon, 45 kilometers north of Seoul, reported that about 30 birds have died since Tuesday, and the preliminary test showed that they were infected with AI, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – Unionized workers at Hyundai Motor Co. will resume strikes this week for higher salaries and bonuses in a wage deal that has yet to be finalized for last year, the union said Wednesday. Hyundai’s 51,000-member union will go on strike for eight to12 hours a day over the next four working days in a move topress the company to come up with an “improved” wage package, the union said [...]