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Jhoo Dong-chan

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.

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People & Events

Busan brings 'Carmen' to waterfront under summer stars

On a sweeping industrial expanse along Busan’s historic waterfront, workers will soon begin transforming a prominent landmark development site into a massive open-air theater. The production is French composer Georges Bizet's "Carmen," and the backdrop will be the shifting silhouettes of container ships and the night sky over the North Port. The grand-scale staging, scheduled for July 11 and 12, is a calculated cultural overture by Classic Busan, the city’s performing arts body. Conceived as a public celebration ahead of the highly anticipated opening of the Busan Opera House, the two-day festival aims to democratize an art form traditionally sequestered behind gilded indoor walls. At the center of the production is Chung Myung-whun, the renowned conductor and artistic director of Classic Busan. Chung, who led a critically acclaimed concert version of "Carmen" indoors last year, is expanding the opera into a sensory public festival. Director Eom Sook-jung is tasked with adapting the psychological drama of the free-spirited gypsy and her tragic lover to the vast spatial demands of a

17h agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
Busan brings 'Carmen' to waterfront under summer stars
Companies

OpenAI brings ChatGPT ads to Korea, keeps paid plans ad-free

OpenAI said Friday it has expanded its ChatGPT advertising pilot program to Korea, making it the sixth market to feature ads after the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Ads will appear only for adult users on ChatGPT's free and Go tiers. Users on paid plans — Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu — will not see advertisements. OpenAI said it is applying three core principles to the rollout: keeping ChatGPT's responses independent from advertiser influence, protecting user conversation data and personal information from advertisers and giving users control over their ad experience. Ads will be clearly labeled as "sponsored content" and kept visually separate from ChatGPT's generated responses. Advertisers will have access only to aggregated performance metrics such as impressions and clicks, and will not be able to view individual users' conversation history or personal data. Users can hide ads, submit feedback and manage ad personalization settings directly within the app. Ads will not be shown to accounts identified or predicted to belong to minors,

1d agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
OpenAI brings ChatGPT ads to Korea, keeps paid plans ad-free
Companies

Cosmax Neo wins award for waste-reducing packaging design

Cosmax Neo, a functional cosmetics packaging subsidiary of the Cosmax Group, said Thursday it won a prize at the Korea Star Awards 2026, an annual national packaging competition organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. The company received the Korea Packaging Technologist Society President's Award for its Smudging Drop Bottle, a container that integrates dispensing and skin application functions into a single structure. When the cap is opened, a built-in applicator automatically rises. Pressing the curved top section releases a measured amount of product through an air-push mechanism, allowing users to apply contents directly to skin without touching the formula by hand. The curved dome design minimizes residue, addressing a common problem with conventional air-push containers that tend to leave excess product behind. The applicator material can be customized to client specifications, and the bottle is compatible with a range of product types including serums, essences and base makeup. The announcement also highlighted the continued international success of the Motion D

1d agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
Cosmax Neo wins award for waste-reducing packaging design
Travel & Food

Seoul's Jung District prescribes forests to cure urban burnout

For residents of Seoul’s dense architectural core, the relentless landscape of Jung District offers little spatial reprieve. Yet looming just above the financial district's glass towers is a sprawling forest canopy. This year, local authorities are seeking to leverage that proximity to nature, transforming the southern slopes of Mount Nam into an expansive, open-air wellness sanctuary. The Jung District Office announced it will run a suite of free forest leisure programs along the Namsan Sky Forest Trail through November. The initiative, which logged satisfaction rates as high as 97 percent among participants last year, seeks to alleviate urban burnout through specialized ecological therapy, organized trekking and youth sensory education. At the center of this season's push is a newly minted forest therapy program led by certified instructors. Designed to lower stress and restore emotional stability, the sessions guide urbanites through barefoot trail walking, deep meditation and outdoor tea ceremonies. Operating four times a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the

1d agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul's Jung District prescribes forests to cure urban burnout
South Korea

Seoul pitches itself as Asia’s quantum gateway to court European tech firms

The Seoul Investment Promotion Agency staged a targeted investment seminar, dubbed “Seoul Forward,” at Europe’s largest tech conference this week, making a direct pitch to European innovators to view the Korean capital as their primary gateway into the Asian market. The event, held as an official workshop at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, reflects Seoul's intensifying efforts to court foreign tech firms in highly specialized, high-stakes sectors like artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Rather than relying on broad bureaucratic promises, the agency anchored its pitch on a high-profile validation: Pasqal, the French neutral-atom quantum computing heavyweight. Representatives from Pasqal shared their firsthand experience establishing a footprint in Seoul, citing the city's robust tech infrastructure, engineering talent pool and strategic position for regional expansion as critical factors in their successful deployment. Following the case study, Korean investment officials conducted one-on-one intensive consultations with a curated group of European startups spec

1d agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul pitches itself as Asia’s quantum gateway to court European tech firms
People & Events

Korea turns traditional crafts into regional tourism drivers

Korea is launching an ambitious cultural initiative aimed at transforming its local heritage into a vibrant driver for regional tourism, leveraging its ancient artisanal traditions to stimulate local economies. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in tandem with the Korea Craft and Design Foundation, launched "Korea Craft Week 2026" on Friday. Running through June 28, the ninth edition of this national festival spans 10 cities across five regional hubs, presenting more than 450 cultural events designed to weave traditional artistry directly into the fabric of everyday life. The policy marks a distinct shift toward sustainable, stay-based travel. By reinterpreting local histories through a modern artisanal lens, officials hope to inject economic vitality into provincial destinations facing demographic challenges. This year's primary focus settles on Buyeo, an ancient fortress town in South Chungcheong Province. The government has effectively turned the entire village of Gyuam-myeon into an open-air theater of heritage. Visitors can wander through the "123 Sabi Craft Village," eng

1d agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea turns traditional crafts into regional tourism drivers
Travel & Food

Suburban Seoul walking trail finds its rhythm under banner of Czech icon

Seoul’s Seocho District has launched a new music-themed walking trail along Yangjae Stream, combining natural scenery with curated audio content to create a unique recreational experience for residents and visitors. The project, called the Havel Music Walk, stretches along the upper embankment trail between Havel Bench and Yeongdong 1 Bridge. The route takes its name from Vaclav Havel, the late playwright, dissident and first president of the Czech Republic, whose legacy of human rights and cultural diplomacy is memorialized along the stream. The starting point features a "Havel’s Place" installation — a public memorial bench and table design found in major global cities to promote dialogue and democratic ideals. District officials said the initiative is designed to transform Yangjae Stream from a simple walking path into a cultural waterfront destination where nature and the arts can be enjoyed together. The trail's theme, "The Melody of Culture Flowing on the Waves of Yangjae Stream," is reflected in a series of audio installations positioned along the route. The system is desig

2d agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
Suburban Seoul walking trail finds its rhythm under banner of Czech icon
Travel & Food

Seoul opens 6 Han River park pools, water playgrounds for summer season

Seoul will open six outdoor swimming pools and water playgrounds along the Han River starting Friday, offering residents and tourists a popular urban escape from the summer heat. The facilities — located at Ttukseom, Yeouido, Jamsil, Gwangnaru, Nanji and Yanghwa parks — will operate through Aug. 30, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The sites are part of the city's extensive Han River park system, a major recreational destination that stretches across the capital. The city said more than 552,000 visitors used the facilities last year, a 77 percent increase from 2024, highlighting growing demand for affordable outdoor leisure activities in Seoul. Most locations will operate daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with extended evening hours until 10 p.m. from July 3 through Aug. 30 at selected venues, including Ttukseom, Yeouido, Jamsil and Nanji. Operations may be suspended during severe weather events, including typhoons, heavy rainfall or poor air quality conditions. City officials have also prepared special summer programs, including live acoustic guitar performances, orchestral

2d agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul opens 6 Han River park pools, water playgrounds for summer season
Foreign Affairs

Korea, Czech Republic tighten nuclear, robotics ties

Bolstered by one of the largest energy infrastructure initiatives in Central Europe, Korea and the Czech Republic moved this week to expand their partnership from nuclear engineering into the frontier sectors of robotics, electric vehicle batteries and future mobility. The diplomatic push was cemented during a series of high-level bilateral meetings in Prague, where Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Kim Jung-kwan met with Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlicek Wednesday and Thursday. The sessions served to solidify both nations' commitments to the multibillion-dollar Dukovany nuclear power plant construction project. During the second assembly of the Dukovany Steering Committee — a specialized regulatory body established in February — officials confirmed that Team Korea, the corporate consortium tapped for the project, remains on track. The ministers reviewed critical licensing and regulatory documents that were submitted, and proactively addressed systemic logistical challenges, including labor shortages and the transport of heavy cargo. To ensure local

2d agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea, Czech Republic tighten nuclear, robotics ties
Companies

Shinsegae seeks to create World Cup magic under giant screen in Seoul

A historic retail district in the heart of the capital is preparing to transform into a massive outdoor stadium this month, as one of Korea's premier luxury department stores pivots from high fashion to international sports. Shinsegae Department Store will host large-scale public viewing events for the Korean national football team's upcoming World Cup matches at Shinsegae Square, a giant digital media facade attached to its flagship store in central Seoul. The company said it will broadcast Korea's matches against Mexico on June 19 and South Africa on June 25 live on the venue's massive outdoor screen. Visitors will be able to watch the games from designated cheering areas and participate in a range of fan events. Shinsegae Square is a 1,300-square-meter media facade installed on the exterior of Shinsegae Department Store's main branch in Myeong-dong, one of Seoul's most popular shopping and tourism districts. The site has become known for showcasing digital content such as music videos by major pop artists, and has emerged as a prominent destination for visitors to the Korean capital. Sh

2d agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan
Shinsegae seeks to create World Cup magic under giant screen in Seoul
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