Author: Jae young

September 23, 2025SEOUL – The 2025 Welcome Daehakro Festival, a premier performance tourism event in South Korea, will take place from Friday to Nov. 2 across Daehangno, the National Museum of Korea and Myeongdong.This year marks the festival’s 9th edition, celebrating the country’s vibrant performance culture.The festival will feature “Welcome Theatre,” showcasing 47 performances including popular nonspeaking works like “Painters” and “Jump,” as well as musicals, plays and traditional arts. International visitors can receive discounts via the Interpark Global page.New this year is “Welcome Fringe,” a free outdoor showcase at the National Museum of Korea this Saturday and Sunday. Highlights…

September 23, 2025SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signaled openness to meeting with US President Donald Trump if Washington drops its pursuit of denuclearization — a pointed message delivered around a month before Trump is set to attend the APEC summit in South Korea.Kim’s outline of conditions for resuming dialogue with Trump marked his first direct reference to their personal rapport since the beginning of Trump’s second term. It was a rare break from Pyongyang’s practice of avoiding direct mention of Trump’s name since the abrupt collapse of their February 2019 summit in Hanoi.In stark contrast, Kim struck a…

September 22, 2025SEOUL – No one knows K-pop methodology better than Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment and currently visionary leader at US-based A2O Entertainment. He believes the future of K-pop will be shaped by artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and fan-driven content.Lee has long championed the concept of Culture Technology, a system encompassing casting, training, production and marketing. He produced some of K-pop’s most iconic acts, from legendary groups like H.O.T., S.E.S., and BoA to TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation and more recent acts such as NCT and aespa — bringing the genre to audiences worldwide.“CT evolves as we pass…

SEOUL – A short video showing a supposed live-action remake of “Kpop Demon Hunters” went viral on Thursday, only to later be revealed as an AI creation. The 35-second clip, titled “K-pop Demon Hunters film leaks,” began spreading rapidly on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. In the video, actors appeared to be preparing for a shoot and are seen interacting with staff on set. The cast members closely resemble the film’s characters, such as Rumi, Zoey and Mira of fictional girl band Huntrix, and Jin-woo and Mystery from Saja Boys. The clip quickly gained traction, racking up more than…

September 22, 2025SEOUL – More than half of international students pursuing degrees at South Korean universities lack the Korean or English proficiency needed to follow their coursework, raising concerns over the country’s push to attract overseas students without adequate support systems.Data released by the Ministry of Education on Friday revealed that only about one-third, or 34 percent, of degree-seeking international students in 2024 had reached Level 4 or higher on the official Korean language proficiency exam known as TOPIK.That level is considered the minimum required to read and understand newspaper articles or standard academic texts.The numbers are even lower for…

September 19, 2025SEOUL – The Malaysia International Halal Showcase, the world’s largest halal trade event, kicked off its 21st edition Wednesday with its most globally diverse showing yet.On its opening day, MIHAS’s hallmark business-matching platform, the International Sourcing Program, facilitated over 4,000 one-on-one meetings between 600 Malaysian exporters and 450 international buyers, 300 in person and 150 online.Asian companies, including South Korean firms, made up a major share of buyers eager to tap into the growing halal economy.Korea stood out among non-Muslim-majority countries, with 13 small and medium-sized enterprises participating as buyers. While China and Bangladesh led in numbers with…

September 19, 2025SEOUL – For 11 years, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism failed to penalize a single unregistered entertainment agency, despite a 2014 law requiring all talent management firms to obtain official licenses.The revelation comes as cases involving singer Sung Si-kyung and musical actress Ock Joo-hyun brought renewed scrutiny to the widespread practice of operating unregistered one-person agencies. The ministry acknowledged that unregistered agencies have long been in a regulatory blind spot.“Each year we receive three to four requests to check whether certain companies are properly registered,” a ministry official told The Korea Herald on Thursday. “But as…

September 19, 2025SEOUL – Economic rankings rarely change without fanfare. Yet this year, for the first time in 22 years, Taiwan’s per capita income will edge past South Korea’s. The symbolism is rich: A supposed imitator has overtaken its former model. For Koreans, long used to viewing themselves as the exemplar among Asia’s “tiger” economies, the reversal is jarring.The numbers are unambiguous. Taiwan’s per capita GDP is set to reach about $38,000 in 2025, with South Korea nearer $37,400. Taipei should join the $40,000 club as early as next year, just five years after crossing $30,000. Seoul has been marooned…

September 19, 2025SEOUL – A woman in her 30s is under investigation Thursday for stabbing a skating coach she accused of rape when she was still in high school.The suspect attacked the coach, who is in his 40s, with a knife at 7:25 p.m. Tuesday at the Taereung International Ice Rink in Nowon-gu, northern Seoul, inflicting injuries on the face and hand, according to the Nowon Police Station.The suspect told police that the attack was motivated by her discontent over the authorities’ handling of a case she filed against the victim more than 10 years ago, accusing him of raping…

September 19, 2025SEOUL – Seoul has launched a “pan-government task force for addressing US visa issues,” formed in the wake of the unprecedented mass detention of South Korean workers by US immigration authorities.The Foreign Ministry said it held the task force’s first plenary meeting on Thursday, with participation from the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the government side.The Korea Enterprises Federation and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses also take part in the task force to “ensure that the opinions of Korean companies are fully reflected…