Herald Interview In series
A series of in-depth interviews.
#Interview
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Herald Interview In series
A series of in-depth interviews.
Would you like to subscribe?
SK Chemicals zeroes in on recycling, next-level copolyester
SK Chemicals is doubling down on recycling and advancing its copolyester technology, as the Korean green chemical firm seeks to maintain and expand its lead in the global market. “We collect polyester waste, break down polyester from such waste into raw materials and polymerize them. In other words, advancing our chemical recycling business is the most important next step for us,” said Kim Eung-soo, head of SK Chemicals’ Green Materials Business, in an interview with The Korea Herald at the comp
10 hour ago
South Korea ripe for more private credit exposure: Apax exec
Institutional investors in Korea are ramping up their allocations to private credit as they seek to broaden alternative portfolios while maintaining tighter risk control, according to a senior executive at global private equity firm Apax Partners. Derek Jackson, partner and head of Credit at Apax, said Korean institutions are increasingly exploring private credit — debt financing provided by nonbank lenders such as private equity firms — as they look for yield and diversification beyond traditio
Nov. 13, 2025 - 15:26:51
K-culture boom: Are Koreans really that creative? Sam Richards says that's the wrong question
Korea’s reputation as a conformist, hierarchical society has long raised questions about its creative potential. How could a country often described as rigid and rule-bound become a global cultural powerhouse, producing works likes "Squid Game," "Parasite" and the worldwide phenomenon of K-pop? For American sociologist Sam Richards, a professor at Pennsylvania State University, the answer lies in the paradox: Korean hierarchy and conformity that have often been criticized as stifling creativity
Nov. 12, 2025 - 09:00:00
'Squid Game' star Lee You-mi finds power in fragility in 'As You Stood By'
Learning life’s toughest lessons often begins with empathy — the ability to inhabit someone else’s pain. Few professions demand a level of emotional surrender quite like acting. In the new Netflix Korean psychological thriller "As You Stood By," Lee You-mi embodies that challenge, portraying a terrified wife trapped in an abusive marriage — a role she says made her stronger and helped her grow in a healthy way. The series follows Hee-soo (Lee) and Eun-soo (Jeon So-nee), two close friends who con
Nov. 11, 2025 - 14:14:01
Ven. Pomnyun won’t 'answer' thousands of questions
The Ven. Pomnyun walked onstage to a rock beat Friday afternoon, moments after the singer Maya energized the opening of Youth Festa. Before hundreds of young people, he launched into his signature live dialogue — often mislabeled as an “instant Q&A.” “I cannot trust my senses because I’m disabled. I kind of realized that I have to live differently from those without a disability, but I don’t know what to do next,” a person in the audience posed. “I’m struggling in my relationship with my mother.
Nov. 10, 2025 - 15:51:15
Wooriwa plans to triple sales as K-pet food goes global
Wooriwa, barely seven years old, is making a case that the next wave of K-culture will be pet food. Spun off from Daehan Feed in 2018 and merged with US brand ANF the following year, the nation’s top pet food maker has since clawed its way to the top of the domestic market — and it is thinking far beyond it. Wooriwa currently generates revenue in the 100 billion won ($68.8 million) range and aims to triple that to 300 billion won by 2030, under CEO Choi Kwang-yong’s push to scale the business gl
Nov. 10, 2025 - 13:29:34
Lucid Fall's new album is timeless snapshot of his musical journey
For Lucid Fall, an album is more than recorded music; it's the way the 50-year-old musician documents his life, and a medium for him to share his music and thoughts with listeners. "As a person who has been making music and releasing albums, an album is my personal record. Since I release a full-length album every two to three years, each one becomes a reflection of who I am at that moment in time," the singer-songwriter told reporters during an interview held at Antenna, his management agency,
Nov. 9, 2025 - 10:38:18
The patient craftsman's Korean canvas
SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates — Time slowed down in Sharjah. The emirate's film festival moved at its own languid pace, with long gaps between screenings and plenty of empty hours to fill. Ahn Jae-huun, there as a juror for the animation competition, had just come back from a local museum when we sat down to talk. "I saw this Chinese mother and her little boy at the museum today," he says. "The kid was bouncing around everywhere, totally restless. And I thought: It's totally fine that you're lik
Nov. 8, 2025 - 16:00:02
Smart cities can aid aging Korea, if built for people
BARCELONA, Spain — As South Korea continues its ascent as a global leader in smart city innovation, the integration of AI and advanced technology into urban infrastructure is becoming indispensable. In an exclusive interview at the Smart City Expo World Congress held at Fira Barcelona Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain, Kate O'Neill, an AI strategist and tech humanist at KO Insights, shared her thoughts on how Korea’s smart cities can empower citizens while upholding ethical standards. O'Neill’s visio
Nov. 8, 2025 - 16:00:00
Berlin Phil’s Albrecht Mayer brings healing music to hospital before Korea tour
On Thursday afternoon, an unusual musical event unfolded at Myongji Hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Large hospitals occasionally host charity concerts featuring amateur or professional musicians, but this one took the audience by surprise: Albrecht Mayer, principal oboist of the Berlin Philharmoniker, and Amihai Grosz, the orchestra’s First Principal Violist, took the stage. The intimate performance offered patients, caregivers and medical staff a rare chance to experience the warmth and
Nov. 7, 2025 - 18:52:49
'No AI bubble': Industry veterans see chip supercycle intact
Despite the steep selloff in global chip and AI stocks that rattled markets this week, industry veterans Colley Hwang and Kim Sung-soo Eric laid out a rosy outlook, downplaying concerns of an "AI bubble" and predicting that the semiconductor "supercycle" will continue. "I think the concerns about an AI bubble come from not really understanding how much the technology is evolving right now," Kim, CEO of Datacrunch Global, said during an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Friday. "The cur
Nov. 7, 2025 - 17:53:45
'Samsung must rethink everything to survive AI era'
Samsung Electronics needs a bold new strategy to navigate the next industrial shift driven by artificial intelligence — one on par with the late Chair Lee Kun-hee’s “New Management” initiative that reshaped the company more than two decades ago, according to Colley Hwang, founder and chair of Taiwan-based tech research firm Digitimes. Hwang, a four-decade industry veteran, said such reinvention is vital for the future survival of South Korea’s largest industrial powerhouse. He spoke in an interv
Nov. 7, 2025 - 17:45:05
Newbeat channels Michael Jackson in 'Louder Than Ever'
From his unmatched stage presence and charisma to his musical genius and artistic versatility, the influence of Michael Jackson has pervaded nearly every performer, whether rapper or K-pop idol. With hopes of following in the steps of the legendary music icon, boy band Newbeat said the group's upcoming first mini album, "Louder Than Ever," to release Thursday evening, echoes the spirit of the late singer's performance. "We've taken a lot of inspiration from Michael Jackson, and people can see it
Nov. 6, 2025 - 07:00:00
'Korea is a living lab for future of cities': MIT's Carlo Ratti
BARCELONA, Spain — As cities worldwide race to reinvent themselves with sensors, artificial intelligence and green infrastructure, one country stands out as a real-world laboratory for the future of urban living: South Korea. At the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, Italian architect and MIT professor Carlo Ratti told The Korea Herald why he sees Seoul as a “living testbed” for how technology, transparency and citizen participation can reshape cities. Ratti, who leads the MIT Senseabl
Nov. 5, 2025 - 13:35:04
Pritzker-winning Riken Yamamoto warns Seoul faces crisis without new housing vision
Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2024, warns that Seoul's future is in jeopardy if its record-low birth rate persists — a crisis he believes is deeply tied to how the city conceives of and inhabits housing. “Many of the fundamental problems stem from housing. Because housing, at its core, is about how we choose to live,” Yamamoto said during an interview with a group of reporters at Seoul City Hall this September. The Japanese architect, who has com
Nov. 3, 2025 - 17:35:23
