
NCSoft launches new mobile casual games unit
The initiative is part of NCSoft's strategy to diversify its global game portfolio and strengthen its competitiveness in AI- and data-driven games.
The company plans to expand its AI capabilities and data expertise into the mobile casual game sector. To enhance corporate value and competitiveness, it will also actively seek global investment opportunities.
Anel Ceman is a mobile casual games expert with over ten years of experience, primarily in the European market. He has held business leadership roles at global companies such as Tripledot Studios, Wildlife Studios and Outfit7, best known for the Talking Tom franchise.
NCSoft said the new division will focus on securing new growth engines by enhancing its existing strengths in large-scale MMO development, building clusters for shooting and subculture games, and now, increasing competitiveness in the mobile casual segment.
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Korea Herald
14 hours ago
- Korea Herald
When light embraces classical music
New festival transforms the Theatre des Lumieres into a symphony for the senses A new classical festival running Aug. 8-24 at Theatre des Lumieres in Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul, invites audiences to immerse themselves in music and visuals alike. Led by soprano Hong Hye-ran as artistic director, Classic Weekends presents eight performances that marry live music with large-scale media art projections. The venue, located within the Walkerhill Hotel complex, is a 4,958-square-meter space with a 21-meter ceiling, equipped to project 360-degree visuals across its walls and ceilings floors. Originally designed for digital art exhibitions, the space has been adapted for concerts under the direction of Hong and Jeong Tae-yang, a pianist and the festival's music director. The opening weekend featured three performances by leading Korean classical musicians: a trio recital with violinist Lim Ji-young, pianist Son Jeong-beom and cellist Mun Tae-guk on Aug. 9; a vocal recital by bass-baritone Samuel Youn and countertenor Lee Dong-gyu; and Verdi's "La Traviata," which will be staged on Aug. 16, 22 and 24 as well. "La Traviata" will feature Hong as Violetta, tenor Son Ji-hoon — winner of the 2023 Tchaikovsky Competition — as Alfredo, and baritone Lee Dong-hwan as Germont alongside a seven-piece string ensemble, a pianist and a 15-member chorus. Projected visuals will replace traditional opera sets. The 'Going Home Project' with celebrated pianist Son Yeol-eum, violinist Svetlin Roussev and flutist Cho Sung-hyun will take place on Aug. 15. The festival will also present the 12-member Cellista Ensemble on Aug. 23. One of the festival's defining features is its 90-minute, no-intermission format, designed to sustain focus and immersion. 'Video projections will run on all sides of the theater for opera and instrumental performances alike, with visuals produced to match the program's content and mood," Jeong, who previously served as an opera coach with the Korea National Opera, said. 'The visuals will change depending on the atmosphere of the piece — in some performances, it may feel as though the audience were being transported to another place.' The organizers describe Classic Weekends as a way to broaden the audience experience by integrating visual and musical elements, while adding a new entry to Seoul's growing roster of summer classical festivals, which includes the Seoul Arts Center International Music Festival and Lotte Concert Hall's Classic Revolution. For Hong, the festival is as much a mission as a performance series. 'We talk about popularizing classical music, yet opportunities for performers keep shrinking,' she said. 'Here, the audience will feel as though they've stepped inside the work itself, expanding their senses in new ways.'


Korea Herald
14 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Seoul's foreign minister, Koizumi discuss shared economic priorities
Japan's agricultural minister calls for Seoul to lift ban on Japanese seafood imports South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi exchanged views on overall bilateral ties between Seoul and Tokyo and ways to enhance economic cooperation, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said Monday. Cho held separate talks with Koizumi, who visited South Korea on Monday afternoon, at the Foreign Ministry building in Seoul. 'The two ministers also exchanged views on mutually interesting agenda items in the economic sector and emphasized the need for close communication between the two countries on matters of common interest and pending issues,' the Foreign Ministry said in a Korean-language statement, without sharing further details. However, Koizumi further disclosed Monday that he and Cho 'conducted a frank exchange of opinions regarding various issues between the two countries,' following the meeting on his official X account. 'I called for the lifting of import restrictions on Japanese marine products and raised the matter of the safety of Japanese food products," Koizumi said in his Japanese-language post. 'Toward the resolution of pending issues since the Great East Japan Earthquake, I will steadily build up progress one by one,' Koizumi added, referring to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In September 2013, South Korea banned all seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures — Fukushima, Ibaraki, Gunma, Tochigi, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Chiba — due to concerns over radiation contamination following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant meltdown. Koizumi embarked on his three-day trip to South Korea on Saturday to participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Food Security Ministerial Meeting on Sunday in Incheon. Koizumi also attended a trilateral meeting of agricultural ministers from Korea, Japan and China on Monday, which took place for the first time in seven years since 2018. 'Minister Cho stated that more active communication at all levels is necessary in order to develop Korea–Japan relations, which mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties, in a more solid, mature and future-oriented way,' the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said in the statement. 'Minister Koizumi said that he hopes that ways of cooperation between the two countries in various fields will be discussed in more concrete terms, expressing agreement with the view that at all levels there should be greater attention and discussions to advance a future-oriented development of Korea–Japan relations,' the Foreign Ministry added. Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries explained that Koizumi and Cho "exchanged views on various issues between the two countries, including trade issues" in its separate press statement. Cho's separate meeting with Koizumi commanded attention, in light of his rise as a contender to be the next leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, amid domestic political turbulence following the party's recent election debacle. The LDP-led coalition's loss of its upper house majority in a historic defeat in the July 20 election has left the fate of Prime Minister and party leader Shigeru Ishiba hanging in the balance. A recent public opinion poll conducted by Japan News Network on Aug. 2 and 3 among 2,531 people nationwide aged 18 or older found that Koizumi was favored, when asked who would be the most suitable as the next prime minister, should Ishiba step down. Koizumi topped the poll with the support of 20.4 percent of respondents, followed by former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi with 16.7 percent. The Foreign Ministry in Seoul previously explained that the meeting between Cho and Koizumi was part of Seoul's efforts to seek various high-level exchanges to forge a more solid and mature relationship between Korea and Japan. As the most pertinent example, Cho visited Tokyo on July 29 for a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya — the first destination of his inaugural overseas trip as South Korea's top diplomat. The choice was considered unusual, coming before his visit to Washington on July 31 to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Asahi Shimbun daily on Saturday reported, citing multiple Japanese government sources, that South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung is most likely to hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Aug. 23, before heading to the United States for his meeting with US President Donald Trump.


Korea Herald
15 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Claudia Kim to host BIFF closing ceremony
Marvel actress joins Lee Byung-hun as festival bookends for milestone edition The Busan International Film Festival has tapped actor Claudia Kim as solo host for its closing ceremony on Sept. 26, organizers announced Monday. Kim will present the inaugural Busan Awards to winners of the festival's new competitive section — marking BIFF's historic shift to competitive status after 29 years as a non-competitive event. Kim bookends the festival's 30th edition, whose opening ceremony will be hosted by actor Lee Byung-hun. The festival runs Sept. 17-26 at the Busan Cinema Center and venues across the city. The event will screen approximately 240 films, up from 224 last year. Known as Soo-hyun in Korea, Kim broke ground as the first Korean actor in a Marvel film with "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015). She's since built a dual-track career spanning Hollywood blockbusters — including "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald" (2018) and "The Dark Tower" (2017) — and Korean productions such as Netflix's "Gyeongseong Creature" (2023-2024) and "The Atypical Family" (2024). Her performance in the Disney+ film "A Normal Family" earned her best supporting actress at the 2025 Baeksang Arts Awards. The actor, 40, spent six years of her childhood in the United States and studied international relations at Ewha Womans University before pivoting to entertainment after winning a modeling competition in 2005. Festival organizers praised Kim's "elegant presence and depth on screen" as well as her command of English, noting her ability to bridge Korean and global cinema. Following Park Eun-bin's solo hosting debut in 2023, Kim will become the second woman to helm a ceremony alone at the festival.