Korea 24 - 2021.07.28

Korea24 &ndash; 2021.07.28. (Wednesday)<br /> <br /> News Briefing: The daily COVID-19 count in South Korea hits another record high of 1,896. Government officials have said tougher quarantine measures may be adopted if numbers persist. They have also assured the public that vaccinations will proceed as planned, despite reports of a hiccup in delivery schedules. (Koo Hee-jin)<br /> <br /> Going for Gold with Mark Wilson-Choi: We discuss Team Korea&rsquo;s latest silver and bronze medals in fencing and taekwondo at Tokyo2020, as well as swimmer Hwang Sun-woo setting a new Asian record in the 200m freestyle on the way to the finals.<br /> <br /> In-Depth News Analysis: K-pop phenom BTS have topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart once again, with their previous no.1 &lsquo;Butter&rsquo; replacing &lsquo;Permission to Dance&rsquo;. We&rsquo;ll speak to Bernie Cho, President of the Korean music artist and label services agency DFSB Kollective, about this latest feat, as well as K-pop&rsquo;s place on US radio.<br /> <br /> Korea Trending with Walter Lee: A new digital identity verification service is set to be launched early next year (내년 상반기부터 주민등록증 없어도 스마트폰으로 신분확인). Meanwhile, more details on a sexual assault case that took place in broad daylight on a subway train has come to light after the victim came forward to the media (텅 빈 지하철 안에서 성폭행 시도&hellip;급박한 탈출). And US gymnast Simone Biles makes a shock exit from events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (&quot;전 세계가 내 어깨에&quot;&hellip;그 무게에 주저앉은 바일스&middot;오사카).<br /> <br /> Korea Book Club with Anton Hur: This week we discuss a sci-fi thriller called 평형추 or &lsquo;Counterweight&rsquo;, by the mysterious author Djuna. The identity of the author is unknown, but he/she/they have built a reputation as a popular and prolific film critic and writer of speculative fiction. This latest work centers around the construction of a &lsquo;space elevator&rsquo; in a future society, and it explores themes of colonialism as well as delivering on dramatic action scenes.