The Korea Times

Seoul, Tokyo, foreign exchange

This year has been dramatic and dynamic so far, with the fallout over a dark political incident dominating the first quarter before giving way to a new president and administration. Oddly and thankfully, Korea's cultural appeal rallied, thanks in part to the surprise Korea-themed hit film "KPop Demon Hunters," which brought in a massive influx of foreign tourists who raided not only Olive Young cosmetic shops but also the National Museum of Korea's gift shop. This helped, despite the Korean won depreciating against the dollar like never before. There is a certain lighthearted ambience and a kind of global assurance that was sorely missing in the wake of the martial law declaration made by former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Dec. 3, 2024. Additionally, Korean society still remains sensitive to where it stands on the global stage and to the scope of its national power, either soft or hard. Against this backdrop, tourism figures have been encouraging. The Korea Tourism Organization has counted the number of foreign tourists to Korea in the first half of the year at 8.83 million; the goal for

Oct 27, 2025By Kim Ji-soo

Today in History

MONDAY, Oct. 13, 2025

54 -Agrippina the Younger murders her husband, Roman Emperor Claudius, with poison to secure the line of succession for her son Nero 1307-French King Philip IV has Grand Master Jacques de Molay and Knights Templar arrested and charged with idolatry and corruption 1884-International Meridian Conference in Washington DC establishes Greenwich in London, England as the universal time meridian of longitude 1924-Mecca falls without struggle to Saudi forces led by Abdulaziz Ibn Saud 1943-Italy declares war on former Axis partner Germany 1944-U.S. first army begins battle of Aachen, first German city captured during World War II 2010-Copiapó mining accident in Chile comes to a happy end as all 33 miners arrive at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground

Oct 12, 2025By Kim Ji-soo

Opinion

Church shooting

Sep 1, 2025By Kim Ji-soo

Opinion

Peak, valley of 'Kedehun'

"The first since BTS to make it to the top of Billboard 100!" This was the glaring headline that stopped me in my tracks to search for this latest K-pop song. Actually, it was a K-pop-inspired song titled "Golden," from Netflix animated film "KPop Demon Hunters." The song also recently topped the British official chart. "Nice job," I thought to myself, and turned toward the film, whose other tracks — including "Takedown," recorded by TWICE's Jeongyeon, Jihyo and Chaeyoung — have also been charting. "KPop Demon Hunters" is the immensely popular story about a K-pop girl band trio whose members live a double life as demon fighters. Things unfurl when they meet Saja Boys, a five-member boy band who are actual demons in disguise. The high-energy K-pop music, rapidfire and engaging dialogue of the protagonists, and soda-pop images are like candy to K-pop fans. In fact, a lot of things about "KPop Demon Hunters," also known by its shortened moniker "Kedehun," hollers K-pop and K-content. But the film, directed by Korean Canadian Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, was produced by Sony Picture

Aug 20, 2025By Kim Ji-soo

Opinion

Back to school tariffs

Aug 3, 2025By Kim Ji-soo

Environment & Animals

'GGGI will become strong player in carbon market and AI'

In the past six months, many in Korea have sought to understand the disrupted landscape brought on by domestic and international political chaos, including the aggressive return of the Donald Trump administration. Kim Sang-hyup, who took office as director-general of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in January, understands that the challenges the institute is facing in advancing the shift to green growth amid climate change may have doubled or tripled. Kim, the first Korean and the fifth chief of GGGI, hit the ground running, visiting cities and countries over the past half-year to forge coalitions for sharing and implementing the green growth policies and initiatives. His nickname of "Conan" — etched on his namecard and name plate — is inspired by the protagonist in the Japanese animated series "Future Boy Conan," set in a post-apocalyptic world. There have been some meaningful results since he took office. Kenya, Algeria and Luxembourg joined GGGI in the first half of 2025, bringing the total member nations to 52. The fact that new member nations are signing up attests to

Jul 31, 2025By Kim Ji-soo

'GGGI will become strong player in carbon market and AI'

Opinion

Movement, expression

As a casual fan of popular music, some songs can feel like a cry and written words can feel like a confession from deep down. What is dance, though? This thought has kept me glued to a recent survival battle television program. "World of Street Woman Fighter" on music entertainment channel Mnet shows women battling one another through dance — bodily movement combining grace and athleticism — in tune with DJ music. The show is currently in its third season, having premiered during the height of COVID-19, in the fall of 2021. The first season had featured top Korean female dance teams that wowed an audience stuck at home under quarantine limitations and generally feeling isolated and disconnected. Over the years, the program has grown significantly, and the current season features diverse teams from around the globe: U.S.-based Motiv, Australian team AG Squad, The Royal Family from New Zealand, OSAKA Ojo Gang and RHTokyo from Japan, and Bumsup from Korea. The massive energy these teams bring from around the globe is brewing special chemistry. These teams, who would have otherwise dan

Jun 25, 2025By Kim Ji-soo

Politics

Next decade to determine whether South Korea can become great power

A new government is in place after six months of interrupted democracy. Voters have cast ballots with apprehension and anticipation that a new leader will restore Korea's democracy as well as reputation as an advanced nation. Lee Geun, a professor of international relations at Seoul National University's Graduate School of International Studies and former president of the Korea Foundation, hopes to inject a national vision that compels South Korea to join in the group of great powers that will rewrite and reshape global order in the next decade or so. His new book represents a scholastic attempt to reinterpret the theories put forward by the likes of John Mearsheimer and John Ikenberry, and offers his take on a liberal global order that is rules-based and multilateral in essence. This order has produced a generalized market, allowed by a global supply and value chain, where nations compete through their ability to exchange commodities rather than fight with military might. "A great power is, simply put, a nation that can design the global order," Lee said. His book, titled "Great Power

Jun 5, 2025By Kim Ji-soo

Next decade to determine whether South Korea can become great power

North Korea

'Championing justice, human rights and good values still in US interests'

WASHINGTON — Morse Tan, a former ambassador-at-large for Global Criminal Justice in the U.S. Department of State during President Donald Trump's first administration, recalled that the nature of his office at that time had limitations in talking about his work on genocides, war crimes and crimes against humanity globally and in specialized regions like North Korea. "In fact, there was one time at a conference at Maryland, different bureaucrats were worried that I would make U.S. policy public through my prayers. So I wasn't even allowed to pray freely," Tan said, laughing. The 51-year-old is a devout Christian known for not skipping prayers. A 1.5-generation Korean American (he left Seoul at the age of 2), his office within the State Department dealt with mass atrocities and provided advice on how to address injustices around the globe to the secretary of state. It is an office not commonly seen in other countries' foreign ministries, dedicated to pursuing justice and addressing injustices. While he could not go into detail, he said he did what he could to advance the situation in No

May 15, 2025By Kim Ji-soo

'Championing justice, human rights and good values still in US interests'

Politics

Korea alliance must be seen holistically: Maxwell

When he visited Seoul last December, following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief martial law declaration, David Maxwell, vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy, observed how different the street protests were. "In the 1980s, we would come down from the DMZ once a month and Seoul would smell like tear gas. ... But there is no political violence, almost no violence at all," said Maxwell, who is also a senior fellow at the Global Peace Foundation. "It looked like Independence Day ... and regardless of your political views, Koreans are protecting their democracy," said Maxwell, adding that this is one of the reasons why the U.S. continues to express support for democracy and the alliance. Speaking on the sidelines of the 2025 Capitol Forum held on Saturday, Maxwell stressed that South Korea, like other allies, must see that the United States thinks about alliances holistically. "Allies need to do that too," he said. Maxwell, a military veteran who served in South Korea, said the country is "a partner in the arsenal of democracy, providing advanced weaponry to friends, par

May 8, 2025By Kim Ji-soo

Kim Ji-soo

Read more

Seoul, Tokyo, foreign exchange

MONDAY, Oct. 13, 2025

Church shooting

Peak, valley of 'Kedehun'

Back to school tariffs

'GGGI will become strong player in carbon market and AI'

Movement, expression

Next decade to determine whether South Korea can become great power

'Championing justice, human rights and good values still in US interests'

Korea alliance must be seen holistically: Maxwell

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