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Korea Times

Korea Times
Korea Times
News and features from the Korea Times, South Korea's oldest English-language newspaper.
Children play in a fountain at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul on April 26. Photo: Yonhap/EPA
South Korea

South Korea adds ‘extreme heat emergency’ to first major alert update in decades

Over the past five years, the average number of heatwave days and tropical nights has surged nearly threefold compared to the 1970s.

K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

‘We’ve prepared so much’: K-pop newcomers Naze on what sets them apart

Asia travel

How Seoul’s strangest subway station made escalator weddings a thing

Asia travel

This mall is one of the best places to buy anime and fan merch in Seoul

I’Park Mall in Seoul’s Yongsan district focuses on fandoms built around animations, games and character-based intellectual property.

People shop for products themed around Japanese animations at a store in I’Park Mall in Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea. Photo: The Korea Times
Asia travel

The best things to do in Gwangju, South Korea, from buildings to buns

Gwangju is known for its fine architecture, including traditional Korean hanok houses, as well as its cafes and a certain sticky rice cake.

TV shows and streaming video

Beef season 2 is ‘a bridge between West and East’, says director Lee Sung-jin

Lee Sung-jin shares how the new season of the hit drama, with Oscar Isaac and Charles Melton, explores a mixed-race character’s Korean roots.

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Food and Drinks

Why are young Koreans going crazy for Chinese restaurants?

Chinese food has become part of everyday life for South Koreans in their 20s and 30s thanks to viral trends and their own lived experiences.

A whole simmered fish is served at Bantianyao Kaoyu, a Chinese restaurant in the Myeongdong area of central Seoul. Dishes like spicy hotpot and candied fruits that went viral in South Korea in the 2010s introduced young people to powerful Chinese flavours, which has grown into an established love of Chinese cuisine for many in the country. Photo: The Korea Times
Food and Drinks

Crispy, chewy, soft: why texture rules South Korea’s viral food trends

Korean food trends are prioritising texture over taste thanks to social media videos in which food can be experienced as a tactile sensation.

Asia travel

Visiting South Korea? 10 BTS pilgrimage spots every Army should visit

Explore iconic landmarks throughout the K-pop band’s history, from the current Hybe headquarters to their trainee-era haunts.

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Food and Drinks

The ‘soju artist’ teaching the world to drink soju with an English guide

‘Soju artist’ Kim Wan-jun has published the English translation of his book on the drink’s history, etiquettes and social rituals.

Kim Wan-jun is the author of How to Drink Soju: A Guide to K-Drinking Culture & Games, a 300-page book now translated into English. Photo: Instagram/funnyjun_
South Korea

Showcase your Korean and compete for prizes in language speaking contest

Running until May 7, The Korea Times’ Korean Language Speaking Contest is split into speech and pronunciation categories.

The Korea Times’ Korean Language Speaking Contest, which is open to foreign nationals and overseas Koreans who are not native Korean speakers, is divided into two categories: speech and pronunciation. Photo: Shutterstock
Food and Drinks

‘I am currently unemployed’: Culinary Class Wars’ Venerable Seonjae on her fame

South Korea’s first designated master of temple food shares why she’s avoiding commercial hype and her most important cooking virtue.

World of performing arts

This award-winning playwright rejected Hollywood… for a Korean zombie musical

Jethro Compton shares why his choice to adapt musical The Last Man for UK viewers is about ‘experiences’ rather than advancing his career.

K-drama news

Why Blackpink’s Jisoo is jealous of her Boyfriend on Demand character

Jisoo stars in the Netflix K-drama as a young woman who finds her dream boyfriends via a virtual dating app.

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Lee Soo-hyuk (left) and Blackpink’s Jisoo in a still from Korean drama Boyfriend on Demand. The singer-actress will portray an exhausted webtoon producer who finds escape in a mysterious app. Photo: Netflix
South Korea

#SEAbling: the hashtag uniting Southeast Asia against South Korea

A row over K-pop fan behaviour in Malaysia has spiralled into a bitter regional dispute online, with echoes of the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’.

A meme circulating on social media under the hashtag #SEAbling. Photo: X/sna_zizah17
South Korea

‘Smaller than a closet’: the tiny Seoul flats going viral on YouTube

YouTuber Drew Binsky tours Seoul’s US$250-a-month micro-flats, sparking conversation on urban housing and South Korea’s hidden pressures.

South Korea

Seoul tightens migrant language screening over safety concerns

A rise in worksite accidents involving poor comprehension of safety instructions is driving the shift as South Korea increasingly relies on foreign labour.

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TV shows and streaming video

When K-drama meets J-drama, sparks fly on screen

From Netflix’s Romantics Anonymous to Disney+’s Merry Berry Love, Korean-Japanese collaborations are on the rise.

Korean actress Han Hyo-joo (left) and Japanese actor Shun Oguri in a still from Romantics Anonymous. The casting of Japanese actors in Korean productions – and vice versa – is becoming increasingly common. Photo: Netflix
K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

K-pop-loving business expert breaks down the systems that drive the industry

Choi Jung-kiu’s new book analyses K-pop’s working parts using examples drawn from active idol groups, recent releases and everyday practices.

South Korea

South Korea urged to ease inheritance tax as wealthy exit at record rate

Rigid inheritance laws blamed as 2,400 wealthy residents leave the country. Business group seeks reforms including tax payment via stocks.

South Korea

Why South Korea’s Gen Z steer towards bus driving as job market shifts

Bus driver licenses for people in their 20s and 30s rose 43 per cent in three years, driven by better pay, job security, and changing attitudes.

A bus driver walks between parked buses at the Yangcheon Public Garage in Seoul. Photo: The Korea Times
Art

Remembering Korean artist Chung Sang-hwa, master of monochrome

Korean modern art icon Chung Sang-hwa was known for his ‘dansaekhwa’ paintings, which demanded ‘foolishly endless repetition’.

Artist Chung Sang-hwa in his studio in Yeoju, Gyeonggi province, South Korea, in 2023. The artist died on January 28, 2026, after a prolonged illness. Photo: courtesy of Gallery Hyundai
Tourism

How Seoul became the world’s esports capital and attracts fans from across Asia

Tickets at venues like LCK Arena sell out fast as fans travel to South Korea’s capital to see the best play games such as League of Legends.

South Korea

South Korea banned dog meat. Now what happens to 500,000 animals?

As South Korea moves to end dog meat consumption by 2027, the government lacks a clear survival plan for nearly half a million caged dogs.

TV shows and streaming video

‘Age of barbarism’: how Made in Korea shows country’s dark 1970s underbelly

Director Woo Min-ho explains why he chose 1970s South Korea to explore themes of power, corruption and ambition for his first TV series.

Hyun Bin in a still from the recent K-drama “Made in Korea”, directed by Woo Min-ho. Photo: Disney+
South Korea

How Project 2025 is reshaping immigration for Korean-Americans

Activist Kim Dong-seok warns lack of White House restraint has blurred immigration lines, leaving Korean-American residents in constant fear.

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ICE federal agents conducting an enforcement operation at a Hyundai-LG electric vehicle battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia, on September 4, 2025. Photo: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement/AFP
Tourism

What’s fuelling South Korea’s running boom? A look at the fitness obsession

From office workers to ultra-marathoners, South Korea’s running boom is reshaping streets, travel and retail as millions hit the pavement.

Art

Damien Hirst and Do-ho Suh among top artists showing in Seoul in 2026

Seoul’s 2026 art scene will also see the opening of the Centre Pompidou Hanwha Seoul and the return of the Gwangju and Busan biennales.

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