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Korea Times

Korea Times
Korea Times
News and features from the Korea Times, South Korea's oldest English-language newspaper.
Instant noodle critic and expert Ji Young-jun holds packets of Shin Ramyun and Buldak Swicy Spicy Ramen, two of the most-loved Korean instant noodles. Photo: courtesy of Ji Young-jun
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

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K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

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

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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.

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Ahn Hyo-Seop arrives for the 2026 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, on May 4, 2026. He recently released “Something Special”, a cross-cultural track that blends K-pop and US R&B, with US star Khalid. Photo: AFP
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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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