Author: Seoul Reporter

Chef Choi Kang-rok, left, and chef Music Jong-won / Courtesy of JTBC, XportsnewsNetflix’s hit cooking present ‘Culinary Class Wars’ Season 2 has an surprising twist: its champion has nowhere for followers to line up, whilst one other contestant is having fun with a celebrity-fueled reservation frenzy.The season finale aired on Jan. 13, ending with an intense showdown between underdog “Cooking Monster” and elite chef Choi Kang-rok. Choi, who was eradicated from the competitors in Season 1 earlier than making a dramatic comeback in Season 2, claimed the championship in a storyline many viewers referred to as some of the emotional…

Homeplus co-CEO Joh Joo-yun takes an oath throughout a plenary session of the Nationwide Meeting in Seoul, March 18, 2025. Korea Instances picture by Ko Younger-kwonAn injection of emergency working funds would assist revive financially troubled low cost retailer chain Homeplus, an organization government has mentioned, dismissing any probability of liquidation.Homeplus submitted its rehabilitation plan to the Seoul Chapter Court docket final month, with collectors elevating no objections to the proposal.This system focuses on enterprise reorganization and a merger and acquisition (M&A) course of to discover a new proprietor after court docket approval of the plan.It additionally contains measures to…

A emblem of Taiwanse chip large TSMC might be seen in Tainan, Taiwan, Dec. 29, 2022. REUTERS Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Firm (TSMC), the world’s largest foundry (contract semiconductor producer), posted file efficiency final yr. On a quarterly foundation, it additionally surpassed one of the best quarterly efficiency set by Samsung Electronics in Q3 2018. Robust synthetic intelligence (AI) chip demand is interpreted as driving the earnings progress. In response to Taiwan’s Central Information Company (CNA) on Jan. 15, TSMC’s income final yr elevated 31.6% year-over-year to three.809 trillion New Taiwan {dollars} (roughly 177.5 trillion gained).…

Okay-pop boy band ENHYPEN / Courtesy of Belift LabSix years after debuting by means of “I-LAND,” a worldwide audition program that put opponents’ destiny within the arms of viewers world wide, Okay-pop boy band ENHYPEN finds itself at a turning level. What started as a survival present experiment has grown right into a tightly bonded crew with its personal mythology, worldwide attain and a string of milestones, together with a sweep of main year-end awards in 2025.That development feeds immediately into the group’s seventh mini album, “THE SIN : VANISH,” set for launch Friday. The report continues ENHYPEN’s long-running “vampire…

An condominium advanced in southern Seoul (Captured from KB Actual Property TV) Resulting from authorities actual property rules such because the “June 27 measures” and mortgage combination administration, family loans from banks in December final yr recorded the biggest lower ever for a similar month. Financial institution mortgage loans alone retreated for the primary time in 2 years and 10 months. Whereas family loans are lowering, housing worth uptrends proceed in Seoul, deepening considerations for monetary authorities. The Monetary Providers Fee introduced on Jan. 14 that the excellent steadiness of banking sector family loans as of the…

Korean American writer Min Jin Lee attends a press convention held in Seoul, Aug. 8, 2022. YonhapMin Jin Lee, the bestselling writer of the worldwide sensation “Pachinko,” will return this fall with a brand new novel titled “American Hagwon,” specializing in the extreme Korean dedication to non-public training.Cardinal, the writer of Lee’s new e-book, mentioned Wednesday that “American Hagwon” is scheduled for launch on Sept. 29. It marks the third installment in Lee’s “diaspora quartet,” following “Free Meals for Millionaires” (2007) and “Pachinko” (2017).The time period “hagwon” within the title refers to Korean personal tuition corporations that present intensive after-school…

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick speaks after U.S. President Donald Trump introduced a $100 billion U.S. funding by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Firm (TSMC) within the Roosevelt Room of the White Home, in Washington, DC, USA, March 3, 2025. EPA-YonhapHONG KONG — The US and Taiwan reached a commerce deal Thursday that cuts tariffs on Taiwanese items in change for $250 billion in new investments within the U.S. tech trade.The deal is the most recent President Donald Trump has struck — comparable to these with the European Union and Japan — since he unveiled a sweeping tariff plan final April to…

Financial institution of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong presides over a Financial Coverage Committee assembly on financial coverage course on the Financial institution of Korea in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Jan. 15. (Joint press corps) The Financial institution of Korea held its first Financial Coverage Committee assembly of the brand new yr on Jan. 15 and maintained the bottom rate of interest at 2.50% every year. This marks the fifth consecutive freeze following these in July, August, October, and November of final yr. This resolution is interpreted on account of prioritizing monetary stability concerns, together with the…

Korean pop band BTS seems on the 2019 Selection’s Hitmakers Brunch in West Hollywood, Calif., Dec. 7, 2019. AP-Yonhap Ok-pop megastar BTS’ upcoming full-length album will likely be titled “Arirang,” named after Korea’s most well-known people tune, the group’s label BigHit Music mentioned Friday.”Arirang” is scheduled to be out March 20 because the group’s fifth studio album and first because the 2022 anthology album “Proof.” The brand new report will embody 14 tracks.BigHit mentioned the album captures BTS’ identification as a gaggle that started in Korea, together with “the longing and deep love that lie inside their hearts.” The label…

Folks stroll in Tehran Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 15. West Asia Information Company through Reuters-YonhapDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The nationwide protests difficult Iran’s theocracy appeared more and more smothered Thursday, every week after authorities shut the nation off from the world and escalated a bloody crackdown that activists say has killed not less than 2,637 individuals.The prospect of U.S. retaliation for the protesters’ deaths nonetheless hung over the area, although President Donald Trump signaled a doable de-escalation, saying the killing seemed to be ending. The White Home careworn that “all choices stay on the desk.”In the meantime,…