Advertisement
Advertisement
Korea Times
TOPIC
 / company

Korea Times

Korea Times
Korea Times
News and features from the Korea Times, South Korea's oldest English-language newspaper.
Jennie of Blackpink performs with the K-pop girl group at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 22, 2023 in Indio, California. Photo: Getty Images for Coachella
Tourism

Could we see BTS, Blackpink, Exo and Stray Kids at the same Korean festival?

‘Fanomenon’, a South Korean mega-event planned for December 2027, will feature artists from all four of K-pop’s biggest entertainment labels.

Malaysia

Thousands raised to bring home newlywed Malaysian killed in South Korea

Asia travel

Why are tourists flocking to South Korea’s pharmacies and wellness services?

videocam
Food and Drinks

Instant ramen vs glass noodles – which is healthier if you want to lose weight?

Glass noodles contain less fat than ramyeon but are high in refined carbohydrates. For weight loss, focus on portion control and add vegetables and protein.

Budae jjigae (left) with instant ramen, and japchae, a savory and slightly sweet dish of stir-fried glass noodles. But which noodles are better for weight management? Photos: Getty Images, Shutterstock
Food and Drinks

He’s reviewed over 2,300 varieties of instant noodles. Meet the ‘ramyeon critic’

Pioneering South Korean critic Ji Young-jun reveals why he loves instant noodles and his aim to turn them into a lasting cultural legacy.

Semiconductors

Chinese memory makers step up challenge to Korea’s chip champions

CXMT and YMTC are nearing public listings, giving China’s memory-chip sector fresh firepower in its pursuit of Samsung and SK Hynix.

6
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

Le Sserafim are facing their fears with new album Pureflow Pt.1

When Le Sserafim debuted, their message was about being fearless. Now, the K-pop girl group want to say that facing fear makes you strong.

videocam
(From left) Le Sserafim members Huh Yun-jin, Kazuha, Sakura and Hong Eun-chae in Seoul. The group’s leader, Kim Chae-won, announced last week that she would sit out promotional activities due to a neck injury. The K-pop girl group’s new album, Pureflow Pt.1, is the culmination of facing their fears. Photo: courtesy of Source Music
Music

K-drama actor Ahn Hyo-seop on his new single with US R&B star Khalid

Ahn Hyo-seop says he is ‘nervous’ and ‘thrilled’ at releasing ‘Something Special’, a cross-cultural track that blends K-pop and US R&B.

videocam
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

Naze’s Korean, Japanese and Thai members share how touring before making their self-titled debut album, released on May 4, made them closer.

(From left) K-pop boy group Naze members Kaisei, Ato, Yuya, Dohyeok, Younki, Turn and Kimkun. The seven-member act released their self-titled debut mini-album on May 4. Photo: The Korea Times
Asia travel

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

After plans for it to become a major transport hub fell through, Seoul’s grand Noksapyeong station pivoted. Here’s its fascinating story.

A couple rides an escalator during their wedding ceremony at Noksapyeong station in 2001. After opening in 2000 as a grandiose transport hub to serve a relocated Seoul City Hall that never happened, the station was forced to pivot in interesting ways. Photo: The Korea Times
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.

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.

videocam
Beef director and screenwriter Lee Sung-Jin at the season two premiere at The Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, on April 8, 2026. Photo: EPA
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.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
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.

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.

Jethro Compton attends the 2025 Laurence Olivier Awards after winning the best new musical award for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The playwright says his new role, as a dramaturge on Korean zombie play The Last Man, is about “having new experiences and working with interesting people”. Photo: Getty Images
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.

videocam
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’.

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.

Foreign workers plant potatoes at a farm in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, in March 2024. Photo: Korea Times
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.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement