LG Elec. targets North American digital healthcare market

LG Elec. targets North American digital healthcare market

South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. has made inroads into the North American digital healthcare market with US telehealth company Amwell as the ...

Springtime hopeful for K-Culture’s continued Belle Époque

Springtime hopeful for K-Culture’s continued Belle Époque

In the spring of 2020, the South Korean stock market was still not over the COVID-19 scare. While going through the indices, I came across the ...

South Korea's contact lens exports surge in 2021

South Korea's contact lens exports surge in 2021

South Korea's contact lens brands accelerated their penetration into the global market estimated at $10 billion in 2021, thanks to the market's rebo...

K Car's evolution into top Korean used car sales platform

K Car's evolution into top Korean used car sales platform

When Seoul-based private equity firm Hahn & Co. acquired K Car Co. from SK Group in 2018, the No. 1 used car retailer in South Korea controlled ...

Korean content shares jump on Beijing’s eased restrictions 

Korean content shares jump on Beijing’s eased restrictions 

South Korean content shares finished Friday’s trade higher, buoyed by expectations of resumed exports to China and news that Disney+ will rele...

Korean bio ventures struggle with fundraising

Korean bio ventures struggle with fundraising

Biopharmaceutical companies of South Korea are having a tough time fundraising of late. Bio ventures without specific public offering plans are pa...

BTS returns to Korean stage for 1st time since 2019

BTS returns to Korean stage for 1st time since 2019

SEOUL — In the latest sign that life is going back to something that resembles the pre-pandemic past, BTS is returning to the stage in Seoul.The...

K-pop shares rebound on return to offline concerts

K-pop shares rebound on return to offline concerts

Shares of major South Korean entertainment companies are on an upward trend this month. The rebound is thanks to eased COVID-19 restrictions leading...

K-beauty vegan rebel Dear Dahlia in Paris' Galeries Lafayette

K-beauty vegan rebel Dear Dahlia in Paris' Galeries Lafayette

South Korean cosmetics brand Dear Dahlia successfully opened a boutique in Europe’s largest department store in 2019 – just two years ...

Live commerce platforms like Grip to keep growing in Asia Pacific: Google

Live commerce platforms like Grip to keep growing in Asia Pacific: Google

In April 2021, there were some 200 unicorns in the Asia Pacific region, second only to the United States which had 290 startups each valued at $1 bi...

VR star signs with K-pop label YG Entertainment

VR star signs with K-pop label YG Entertainment

South Korean game developer and publisher Smilegate announced Monday that its virtual human signed an exclusive contract with an affiliate of global...

Squid Game’s mega-hit spurs Netflix to release record K-content

Squid Game’s mega-hit spurs Netflix to release record K-content

Netflix Inc. plans to release 10 additional Korean-language originals this year as the smash success of Squid Game has impelled the world’s to...

Lotte acquires Chicago-based hotel for $36 mn K-style rebrand

Lotte acquires Chicago-based hotel for $36 mn K-style rebrand

Hotel Lotte Co., retail conglomerate Lotte Group’s luxury hotel operator, completed the acquisition of Kimpton Hotel Monaco in Chicago for $...

SK Networks invests in AI-based US healthcare startup LVIS

SK Networks invests in AI-based US healthcare startup LVIS

South Korea’s SK Networks Co. said on Tuesday it joined a $15 million in Series B-2 funding for US healthcare startup LVIS Corp.LVIS, headquar...

KIC eyes tech, healthcare, telecoms via PE and VC

KIC eyes tech, healthcare, telecoms via PE and VC

Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) aims to increase alternative investment to 25% of its total investment by 2025 as well as rank among the world's ...

Former K-pop dancer turns to AI for personal training services

Former K-pop dancer turns to AI for personal training services

When Dia Kang first moved to Silicon Valley in October 2016 to create a dance app to learn K-pop moves, there was no worldwide pandemic. By Jan...

HK inno.N’s K-CAB a blockbuster drug with $843 million exports

HK inno.N’s K-CAB a blockbuster drug with $843 million exports

South Korea’s HK inno.N Corp. has signed a 640 billion won ($540 million) contract to license out its technology for K-CAB, a gastroesophageal...

Strong Ventures, KB Investment invest in K-pop metaverse

Strong Ventures, KB Investment invest in K-pop metaverse

South Korea’s KB Investment Co. and US venture capitalist Strong Ventures LLC have invested in Stan World, a K-pop metaverse platform operator...

Korea’s No. 2 art auction house to go public in Jan

Korea’s No. 2 art auction house to go public in Jan

K Auction, South Korea’s No. 2 art auction house, is set to go public in January 2022 as it aims to court the domestic leader Seoul Auction Co...

Dunamu, Naver Z invest $8.5 mn in metaverse firm Persona Space

Dunamu, Naver Z invest $8.5 mn in metaverse firm Persona Space

Persona Space, a subsidiary of South Korean metaverse company Galaxy Corp., said on Dec. 16 it has attracted 10 billion won ($8.5 million) investm...

K-startups take note of growing demand for 'meta fashion'

K-startups take note of growing demand for 'meta fashion'

Meta fashion, a combination of fashion, metaverse, and NFT, is becoming a global trend. The MZ generation, as those in their 20s and 30s are ca...

Kimchi on track for first trade surplus in 12 years

Kimchi on track for first trade surplus in 12 years

Kimchi exports hit record high Kimchi, Korea’s traditional fermented food, is raising its status in the global food market. Korea exported $1...

ViacomCBS, CJ ENM join hands to expand global businesses

ViacomCBS, CJ ENM join hands to expand global businesses

ViacomCBS Inc., one of the top four US media conglomerates, and CJ ENM Co., South Korea’s entertainment powerhouse, have teamed up to expand t...

Kakao extends rivalry with Naver into digital healthcare

Kakao extends rivalry with Naver into digital healthcare

Kakao Corp., an operator of South Korea's top mobile messenger app KakaoTalk, has set its sights on the digital healthcare market, launching an in-h...

Korea Venture Investment creates global fund worth $2 billion

Korea Venture Investment creates global fund worth $2 billion

Korea’s government-backed fund of funds (FOF) management institution announced its latest selection of funds late last month, which would bene...

Costa Rican president: His family K-drama fans, seeks joint production

Costa Rican president: His family K-drama fans, seeks joint production

Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada has praised South Korean movies such as the Oscar-winning Parasite and drama series such as Squid Game...

K-bio's out-licensing this year reaches $9.3 bn

K-bio's out-licensing this year reaches $9.3 bn

Overseas technology transfers from South Korean biotechs and pharmaceutical manufacturers this year have exceeded 11 trillion won ($9.3 billion), al...

BTS, TWICE to lead restart of K-pop global live concerts

BTS, TWICE to lead restart of K-pop global live concerts

K-pop artists such as BTS and TWICE are set to resume global live concerts – suspended by the global pandemic for about two years – as c...

Hawaiians, tourists to enjoy BB.Q’s signature K-chicken

Hawaiians, tourists to enjoy BB.Q’s signature K-chicken

BB.Q Chicken has brought its Korean fried chicken to Hawaii, one of the world’s top tropical resort destinations, as it aims to raise its bran...

Korea MCN startup Treasure Hunter aims for leading K-content maker

Korea MCN startup Treasure Hunter aims for leading K-content maker

Song Jae-yong, a leader of the new business taskforce team at South Korea’s CJ ENM Co. went to New York in 2013 to have business meetings for ...

Samsung to buy US health tech firm Xealth in digital health push Korean waste management firm Koentec on market for $730 mn US unveils 25% tariffs on S.Korea, sets Aug. 1 deadline for agreement Samsung’s Q2 operating profit halves amid sluggish chip sales Samsung Heavy Industries clinches $635 mn preliminary FLNG deal with African shipowner