Lifestyle

Incheon airport introduces Smart pass facial recognition system

An Incheon airport official demonstrates the use of the facial recognition Smart pass service at a departure gate of Terminal 2, Incheon International Airport, Friday. The paperless biometrics system allows passengers to go through departure and boarding gates without having to show their passports and boarding passes. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Lee Hae-rinA new biometric identification system using the facial features of travelers now substitutes for passports at Incheon International Airport, Korea's largest international air hub. The enhanced identification process started being used on July 27, the Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) said, Friday.The new service, dubbed “Smart pass,” enables the quick and efficient identification of passengers at departure and boarding gates at the airport without having to present their passports or boarding passes, according to the IIAC.The service has been implemented across all departure gates and 16 boarding gates at the airport as of Friday. “We expect the timely introduction of the Smart pass service (fo

DAILY FORTUNE - JULY 31, 2023

Frieze, Kiaf Seoul to offer array of special programs accompanying art fair

Hong Lee Hyun-sook's "In the Neighborhood of Seokgwangsa" (2021) / Courtesy of the artistBy Park Han-solFrieze Seoul has announced a string of specially curated programs of music, films and exhibitions, as well as talks and soirees that will be featured as part of its upcoming second edition in September.Following its successful debut in Asia last year, the global art fair will return to COEX in southern Seoul from Sept. 6 to 9, this time with a stronger lineup of Asia-based galleries. Among some 120 participating exhibitors, over 40 percent of them are from the region, according to the organizer.An array of special on- and off-site projects are set to run alongside the main show throughout the capital city.Frieze Film, curated by Kim Sung-woo and Sungah Serena Choo, spotlights 14 Korean artists working in time-based media ― including Jun So-jung, Hong Lee Hyun-sook and Kim Hyo-jae.Titled “It was the way of walking through narrative,” the program will host screenings of their video works at four non-profit venues across the city and on Frieze's official website from Aug.

MOU with Rwanda media outlet

MOU with Rwanda media outlet       Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin, top left, and New Times of Rwanda's Managing Director James Munyaneza show copies of a memorandum of understanding on the promotion of cooperation between the two media outlets, during an online signing ceremony, Wednesday. At bottom is First Counselor Claude K. Ganza of the Embassy of Rwanda in Seoul who helped arrange the signing ceremony. Screenshot of online ceremony

KTO brings tourism stakeholders back on Tourism Global Challenge Alumni Day

Participants in the Tourism Global Challenge Alumni Day 2023, hosted by the Korea Tourism Organization, exchange business ideas during a session at a hotel in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Korea Tourism OrganizationBy Lee Hae-rinThe Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) held the Tourism Global Challenge Alumni Day 2023, Thursday.The inaugural event took place as part of its effort to create new tourism business opportunities and further promote cooperation among 150 Korean tourism stakeholders including companies, hotels, convention centers, tourism authorities of foreign countries active in Korea and investors who participated in the KTO's Tourism Global Challenge Program. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the KTO have been running the Tourism Global Challenge Program annually since 2020 to support tourism startups by providing them with the proven tools to develop marketability and business feasibility in Korea and overseas markets.During the first session on Thursday, 44 tourism companies from a variety of fields, including accommodation, food, transportation and medical t

Korea to expand mobile customs declaration, duty payment nationwide in August

The arrival hall at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport is crowded with passengers, June 9. NewsisBy Lee Hae-rin Travelers entering Korea from any airport or seaport across the country will be able to declare taxable items and pay taxes via a mobile application starting next month.The Korea Customs Service announced, Thursday, that the mobile customs declaration service, which had previously been available only at the Gimpo International Airport and Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport, will be expanded to all of the country's airports and seaports in August.Starting Aug. 1, all travelers entering Korea via Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport, six local international airports (Gimhae, Jeju, Cheongju, Daegu, Muan and Yangyang) and seven seaports (Incheon, Busan, Gunsan, Pyeongtaek, Sokcho, Donghae and Jeju) will also be able to declare taxable goods and pay taxes via Korea Customs Service's mobile app.Once a traveler declares a taxable item, the app generates a QR code to be scanned at a goods declaration section of a port upon arrival. Then, an electronic notic

DAILY FORTUNE - JULY 28, 2023

INTERVIEW From marriage migrants to dispatched nurses, photographer captures diasporic women's stories in portraits

Kim Ok-sun's "bsp_ahs130" (2023), left, and "bsp_dnr937" (2023) from her "Brides, Sara" series / Courtesy of the artistBy Park Han-solIn November 1910, the year Korea fell under Japanese colonial occupation, 23-year-old Choi Sara climbed aboard a ship en route to Hawaii. In her hand was a black-and-white photograph of a man, whom she had never spoken to or met in person.The man in the picture was one of thousands of Korean immigrants who arrived in Honolulu years earlier as cheap labor to work on the sugarcane plantations. He was also Choi's husband-to-be.The couple tied the knot shortly after her arrival. Choi thus became Korea's first “picture bride” ― a term referring to women who married immigrant laborers in Hawaii in the early 20th century after the prospective brides and grooms saw each other only through photographs exchanged via a matchmaker.From 1910 to 1924, more than 1,000 Korean picture brides left their homes to begin a new life in a foreign land they knew nothing about. Some did so out of familial obligation or economic concerns, but there were others who h

Maestro Chung Myung-whun tapped as ambassador for Busan's Expo bid

Maestro Chung Myung-whun, left, poses with Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon during Chung's appointment ceremony as the sixth ambassador for the port city's bid to host the World Expo 2030 at City Hall, Tuesday. YonhapBy Lee Hae-rinKorea's award-winning conductor Chung Myung-whun has joined efforts to promote Busan's bid to host the World Expo 2030 after being named as the southern port city's sixth official ambassador.Busan Metropolitan City and the public-private committee promoting the city's Expo bid held Chung's appointment ceremony at Busan City Hall, Tuesday.“I was born in Busan and I came back here with much pleasure after experiencing world stages,” Chung said during the appointment ceremony, expressing his determination to support the bid campaign.Born in Busan in 1953, Chung inherited and grew his passion for music from his mother, who carried a small piano with her when she evacuated to Busan at the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War, he said during a press conference after the ceremony. The southeastern port city became a haven for war refugees from across the coun

DAILY FORTUNE - JULY 27, 2023