The Korea Times

Migrant communities push back against Lee's 'reverse discrimination' framing

People from multicultural families and migrant rights advocates are pushing back against President Lee Jae Myung’s recent suggestion that certain support policies could amount to “reverse discrimination,” warning that his remarks risk deepening social divisions and reinforcing prejudice. While acknowledging that Lee may have intended to address fairness in welfare provisions and labor shortages in rural areas, they say his language risks portraying migrants as undeserving beneficiaries. Speaking to The Korea Times, they urged the president to exercise greater care, adding that his words carry particular weight in shaping public attitudes toward migrant communities. At a Cabinet meeting on Oct. 27, Lee said bringing in foreign workers “does not greatly benefit the national economy,” arguing that they “send all their wages back to their home countries.” In subsequent social media posts, he questioned whether government policies should “go beyond” protecting multicultural families from disadvantages to granting them better treatment, citing priority access to public postp

Nov 2, 2026By Jung Min-ho and Hyun Jin-hyeok

Migrant communities push back against Lee's 'reverse discrimination' framing

Society

In super-aged Korea, social isolation leaves seniors searching for connection

Tucked away near the rear entrance of Seoul Station is a building bustling with older adults coming and going. Inside, dozens of white-haired visitors fill the space, some drinking cheap coffee while others watch television. Farther inside, two barbers cut the hair of older visitors. A narrow staircase leads down to a basement, where a small PC cafe with a row of computers and tables for "baduk" (go) and "janggi" (Korean chess) is located. Nearly every seat is occupied by an older person. “The door is always open and we don’t ask them to do anything, including pray,” said Woo Yeon-shik, a pastor who runs the center, Dream City, which also doubles as a church. Operating near Seoul Station since 2011, Dream City draws more than 300 older people each day from across the capital. For Woo, the space increasingly serves a purpose that goes beyond its original mission of helping homeless people: giving older people somewhere to go and someone to be around. That role has become more urgent as Korea, one of the world’s fastest-aging societies, grapples with high suicide rates and social i

Oct 31, 2026By Hyun Jin-hyeok

In super-aged Korea, social isolation leaves seniors searching for connection

Shows & Dramas

Korean webtoon finds new audience in India, creator eyes global reach

The Korean webtoon "Here We Go Again" by Go Eun has found a new audience in India, with a locally produced adaptation released Friday. Available on JioHotstar, one of India's major streaming platforms, "Love Always" was directed by Madhumita Sundararaman and stars Indian actors Gouri G Kishan, Ramzan Muhammed, Jayaprakash and Jayasudha. The series is the first adaptation of a Korean webtoon in India. The original work ran on Kakao's webtoon platform between 2015 and 2017, and garnered more than 200 million views. The Korea Times spoke with the webtoon artist about the adaptation and her hopes for the global reach of Korean comics. Go said she learned around 2020 or 2021 that her work was being adapted for Indian audiences. “My first reaction was like, ‘Wait, my work is getting adapted? Really?’ Then came, ‘In India?’ I was fascinated, but also dumbfounded,” Go recalled. “Here We Go Again” is a romantic fantasy about a married couple who, after spending 60 years together without love, are given the chance to turn back time and become young again. The experience allows them t

Oct 31, 2026By Hyun Jin-hyeok

Korean webtoon finds new audience in India, creator eyes global reach

Society

Call of Duty game under fire for using real Itaewon crowd crush footage

The latest installment in the global Call of Duty game franchise drew condemnation from bereaved families and civic groups in South Korea after players discovered that it contained real footage from the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush. The game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, depicts a full-scale North Korean invasion of South Korea, and initially drew attention in South Korea for its realistic portrayal of the country. However, the reception turned hostile after viewers identified what appeared to be real footage of bystanders performing CPR during the Itaewon tragedy in a sequence showing civilian casualties from the fictional war. The crowd crush killed more than 150 people on Oct. 29, 2022, and Thursday marks its fourth anniversary. The council representing bereaved families and a coalition of civic groups supporting them issued a joint statement Wednesday, condemning the use of the footage and demanding its removal. “We cannot help but be appalled that the chaotic and desperate scenes of citizens performing CPR to save one another, with victims lying in the cold streets, were used unchan

Oct 28, 2026By Hyun Jin-hyeok

Call of Duty game under fire for using real Itaewon crowd crush footage

Society

'44 minutes before rescuers reached her': Families view footage of foreign Itaewon victims' last moments

Families of foreign victims of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush watched second-by-second footage of their loved ones’ final moments and said the recordings showed too few police officers at the scene and a rescue response that came too late. “Yesterday was a difficult day for me. I watched my sister’s final moments, where she walked and how she died,” Damira Sherniyazova, who traveled from Kazakhstan, said during a press conference in Seoul Wednesday. Her sister, Madina, was among the 26 foreign nationals killed in the crowd crush that claimed 159 lives in a narrow Seoul alley four years ago. A total of 35 members of 18 families across 10 countries arrived in Korea at the government’s invitation starting Friday to mark the fourth anniversary of the tragedy. During closed-door meetings with individual families on Wednesday, the special investigation commission presented footage showing each victim’s movements prior to the disaster, their final moments and rescue attempts. The footage drew on some 1,000 videos the commission had collected, including CCTV and firefighters’ body

Oct 28, 2026By Hyun Jin-hyeok

'44 minutes before rescuers reached her': Families view footage of foreign Itaewon victims' last moments

Society

Pharmacies emerge as new K-beauty stops for foreign tourists

In Seoul's bustling Namdaemun Market, a group of American tourists stepped out of a pharmacy and opened their shopping bags to show their haul: a box of Bacchus energy drinks and three packages of polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) skin care products. Inside, other foreign shoppers queued at the counters with acne treatments, scar gels and cosmetics in hand. Pharmacists in white coats scanned their purchases at the registers. Scenes like this are becoming increasingly common as Korean pharmacies emerge as a new stop on the K-beauty tourism route. Foreign visitors are seeking both over-the-counter (OTC) dermatological drugs available only at pharmacies and pharmacy-sold cosmetics promoted through social media. “Foreign tourists now account for 40 to 50 percent of our sales,” Park Jun-sun, who runs one of the pharmacies in Namdaemun Market, told The Korea Times. “There weren’t that many when I opened two years ago, but the number suddenly started rising about a year ago.” Even at larger pharmacies that cater mainly to Korean customers, foreign shoppers have become more visible. Staff

Oct 24, 2026By Hyun Jin-hyeok

Pharmacies emerge as new K-beauty stops for foreign tourists

Others

Michael Jordan's Steak House named Korea's best hotel restaurant

Michael Jordan’s Steak House, the only location of the U.S. restaurant brand outside the United States, has been named “Korea’s Best Hotel Restaurant 2026” at the World Culinary Awards. INSPIRE Entertainment Resort in Incheon, which houses the restaurant, said Friday that the steakhouse received the award at a ceremony held Wednesday in Jamaica. The awards recognize outstanding restaurants and culinary destinations through votes cast by industry professionals, experts and consumers. The event is a sister event of the World Travel Awards, described as the “Oscars of the travel industry.” The restaurant opened in Incheon in 2023 as the brand’s first and only location outside the U.S., bringing a selection of steaks that had proved popular in its home market. Cornerstone Restaurant Group oversees the brand in partnership with basketball legend Michael Jordan, with two U.S. locations in Chicago and Connecticut. The Incheon restaurant also received a Best of Award of Excellence in June from Wine Spectator, a U.S. wine publication, as part of its annual Restaurant Awards. “This

Oct 16, 2026By Hyun Jin-hyeok

Michael Jordan's Steak House named Korea's best hotel restaurant

Companies

Korea's 1st homegrown obesity drug likely to intensify price competition

Korea’s first homegrown obesity drug could shake up a market dominated by Mounjaro and Wegovy, an industry official said, as more Koreans travel to Japan to obtain cheaper Mounjaro and bring it home illegally, driven by the high cost of obesity treatments in Korea. Chung Sang-won, director of pharmacy innovation at the Korea Pharmaceutical Association, said the launch of Eppe, Korea’s first domestically developed glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based obesity treatment, could intensify price competition, as seen in China. “The price of Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro fell by as much as 66 percent in China earlier this year, from 1,758 yuan ($262) to 599 yuan. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy also saw a substantial price drop,” Chung said. The price cuts came amid intensifying competition in China, where domestically developed GLP-1-based obesity treatments have entered the market. In 2025, Innovent Biologics’ mazdutide, a dual glucagon and GLP-1 receptor agonist, received approval from Chinese authorities, adding to competition in the country’s obesity drug market. Sciwind Biosciences’ ecnogl

Oct 16, 2026By Hyun Jin-hyeok

Korea's 1st homegrown obesity drug likely to intensify price competition

Companies

POSCO, Hanwha Ocean team up on high-manganese steel LNG cargo tanks

Korean steelmaker POSCO and shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean are teaming up to build a demonstration liquified natural gas (LNG) carrier equipped with high-manganese steel cargo tanks, aiming to strengthen Korea’s technological competitiveness in a market long dominated by foreign technology. LNG fuel tanks store the fuel used to power LNG-fueled vessels, while cargo tanks on LNG carriers are large storage systems that hold the LNG itself for transportation overseas. According to POSCO, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the shipbuilder’s Geoje shipyard to develop the demonstration vessel. The signing ceremony was attended by senior executives from both sides, including POSCO President Lee Hee-geun and Hanwha Ocean CEO Kim Hee-cheul. The partnership comes amid expectations of rising LNG demand as countries seek lower-carbon energy sources, fueling demand for LNG carriers. Korean shipbuilders, however, remain dependent on foreign technology for cargo tanks, a key component of the vessels. Under the MOU, the companies will develop cargo tanks using POSCO’s high-m

Oct 15, 2026By Hyun Jin-hyeok

POSCO, Hanwha Ocean team up on high-manganese steel LNG cargo tanks

Companies

HD Hyundai, Siemens launch joint center for digital shipbuilding

HD Hyundai and Siemens Digital Industries Software opened a joint center in Busan on Tuesday as part of their efforts to accelerate digital transformation in the shipbuilding industry. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding intermediate holding company, held an opening ceremony for the Global Marine Center, attended by key officials from both companies, including CEO Kim Hyung-kwan and Siemens Digital Industries Software Chief Revenue Officer Robert Jones. The center will house about 50 professionals from both companies specializing in ship design, production, artificial intelligence (AI) platforms and product lifecycle management. It will serve as a key hub for combining HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding expertise with Siemens’ digital engineering technology. The two companies signed an agreement in July to work together on establishing a next-generation marine platform, a project that aims to connect all aspects of shipbuilding, from design, production and supply chain management to quality control and maintenance with AI and digital technology. The cente

Oct 13, 2026By Hyun Jin-hyeok

Hyun Jin-hyeok

Read more

Migrant communities push back against Lee's 'reverse discrimination' framing

In super-aged Korea, social isolation leaves seniors searching for connection

Korean webtoon finds new audience in India, creator eyes global reach

Call of Duty game under fire for using real Itaewon crowd crush footage

'44 minutes before rescuers reached her': Families view footage of foreign Itaewon victims' last moments

Pharmacies emerge as new K-beauty stops for foreign tourists

Michael Jordan's Steak House named Korea's best hotel restaurant

Korea's 1st homegrown obesity drug likely to intensify price competition

POSCO, Hanwha Ocean team up on high-manganese steel LNG cargo tanks

HD Hyundai, Siemens launch joint center for digital shipbuilding

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