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Korea Times

Korea Times
Korea Times
News and features from the Korea Times, South Korea's oldest English-language newspaper.
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

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

TV shows and streaming video

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

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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.

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.

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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’.

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.

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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’.

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.

Dogs are seen in cages at a dog farm in Pyeongtaek, South Korea in June 2023. Photo: AP
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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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.

Nest/s (2024), by Do Ho Suh. A comprehensive survey of Suh’s practice will be mounted at the Seoul branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, in September 2026. Photo: Courtesy of Do Ho Suh Studio
South Korea

South Koreans see joy in parenthood but fear economic strain

While 74 per cent see joy in children, 92 per cent say economic burdens impact family planning – a factor in South Korea’s record-low birth rate.

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South Koreans view parenthood as a source of joy, but widespread anxiety about financial burdens highlights a critical tension underlying the country’s low fertility rate and persistent economic worries. Photo: Shutterstock
TV shows and streaming video

Netflix Japanese drama Gimbap and Onigiri serves up romance one meal at a time

Starring Eiji Akaso and Kang Hye-won, Netflix’s Gimbap and Onigiri explores romance and cultural connection through food.

South Korea

South Korea’s proposed foreign crime bill sparks xenophobia fears

Critics say a bill to publish crime stats on foreign nationals stigmatises immigrants and ignores data showing their lower crime rates.

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