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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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South Korea

Woongjin Foundation holds summer mentoring for math scholars

The Woongjin Foundation held its annual summer mentoring session for math scholars at the Korea Press Center in Seoul on Thursday, marking the foundation's 18th anniversary. Established in 2008 by the Woongjin Group, the organization provides academic support to high school and university students across Korea. Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Woongjin Group Chairman Yoon Seok-keum and former Seoul National University President Oh Se-jung gave congratulatory remarks, with Oh speaking on the role of mathematicians and scientists in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). Mathematician Kim Min-hyong, a chair professor at the University of Edinburgh who has mentored Woongjin scholars for 11 years and recently proved a long-standing conjecture related to Fermat's equation, lectured on Diophantine equations, a category of polynomial equations central to number theory. Sociologist Song Ho-keun of Hallym University's Institute of Advanced Studies, meanwhile, spoke on reading and writing. Mathematician Baek Jin-eon, a Woongjin scholarship alumnus and fellow at the Korea Institute for

Jul 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Woongjin Foundation holds summer mentoring for math scholars
Health

Health care paradox: Korea achieves world-class longevity with fewest doctors among developed nations

Koreans are living longer, healthier lives than almost anywhere else in the industrialized world, even as the nation operates with one of the most severe shortages of practicing physicians among developed economies. According to new data released Thursday by the Ministry of Health and Welfare based on the OECD Health Statistics 2026, life expectancy in Korea reached a record high of 83.7 years. The figure places the nation comfortably above the OECD average of 81.2 years and just behind Switzerland, which leads the 38-member bloc at 84.2 years. The statistics reveal a health care ecosystem defined by extraordinary access and world-class preventive care, alongside mounting structural strains. Korea’s rate of avoidable mortality — deaths preventable through timely medical intervention or public health measures — stood at 139.0 per 100,000 people, far below the OECD benchmark of 208.8. Yet this longevity is supported by a strikingly lean clinical workforce. Korea recorded just 2.6 practicing physicians per 1,000 people (including practitioners of traditional Korean medicine), the seco

Jul 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Health care paradox: Korea achieves world-class longevity with fewest doctors among developed nations
Travel & Food

Korea's tourism boom surpasses prepandemic heights

Nearly seven years after global travel ground to a sudden halt, Korea’s inbound tourism market has not merely rebounded — it has decisively expanded past its historical benchmarks. According to data released Thursday by the Korea Tourism Organization, nearly 2 million foreign visitors arrived in June, marking a 23.1 percent increase compared to the same month last year. More significantly, the total of 1.99 million visitors represents a striking 35 percent surge over prepandemic levels recorded in June 2019, underscoring the enduring global appetite for Korean cultural exports and revamped travel infrastructure. The rally was heavily anchored by strong gains across key Asian and Western markets. Mainland China led the influx with nearly 650,000 arrivals — accounting for roughly one in three foreign visitors and jumping 36.8 percent from 2019 levels. Japan followed as the second-largest source market with 348,000 visitors, while Taiwan sent 223,000 travelers, an 88.4 percent leap over prepandemic figures. Western long-haul travel also demonstrated robust momentum, with U.S. arrival

Jul 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea's tourism boom surpasses prepandemic heights
Films

Chaotic grace: Na Hong-jin captivates New York with 'Hope'

Long celebrated as one of East Asia’s most uncompromising genre purveyors, Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin arrived at Lincoln Center this week to do what he does best: leave audiences entirely unnerved and thoroughly exhilarated. At the 25th New York Asian Film Festival, Na’s latest cinematic juggernaut, "Hope," held its North American premiere as the festival’s centerpiece selection. The film — a sprawling, claustrophobic thriller set in Hopohang, an isolated port town near the demilitarized zone, where local police officer Beom-seok investigates reports of a tiger, only to confront an unexplainable threat — has dominated Korea's domestic box office since its release. Following the screening Monday, Na was presented with the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema, a prestigious honor recognizing creators who push the physical architecture of film forward. The director, celebrating his birthday on the night of the premiere, was serenaded by the audience before accepting the prize. "I find myself celebrating my birthday for a third consecutive day — before I left,

Jul 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Chaotic grace: Na Hong-jin captivates New York with 'Hope'
Companies

Upstage unveils Solar Open 2, open-weight AI model built for autonomous tasks

Upstage, a Korean artificial intelligence (AI) company, said Thursday it has released Solar Open 2, an open-weight large language model designed to complete multistep tasks rather than simply answer questions. The company published the model's weights, the underlying parameters that determine how the AI processes information, on Hugging Face, a global open-source platform, along with a technical report detailing its architecture and training methods. The model was developed under a government-backed project to build Korea's own foundation AI models, in which Upstage serves as the lead organization. Solar Open 2 has 250 billion parameters but activates only 15 billion at a time, using a "mixture of experts" structure that Upstage said makes it more efficient for token-heavy agent tasks. It can process up to 1 million tokens of context and, when compressed through quantization, can run on two Nvidia H200 chips. The company said the model outperformed DeepSeek's V4 Flash, Mistral's Medium 3.5 and Cohere's Command A+ on benchmarks measuring instruction-following, tool use and overall agent p

Jul 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Upstage unveils Solar Open 2, open-weight AI model built for autonomous tasks
Companies

Hyundai Motor, Kia open UX research studio in Shanghai

Hyundai Motor and Kia said Thursday they opened a new user experience research center in Shanghai to study Chinese consumer trends and apply them to future vehicle development. The facility, called UX Studio Shanghai, relocated from the automakers' previous site in Shanghai's Huangpu district to a standalone building in the busy Jing'an district, making it more accessible to visitors. The companies said China's advanced digital ecosystem and high consumer receptiveness to new technology, including multiscreen interfaces, voice-based services and connected in-car systems, make it a key market for studying future mobility trends. Researchers at the site will study Chinese consumers' lifestyles and travel habits to shape what the companies call AI-Defined Vehicles — a concept in which artificial intelligence (AI) continuously learns from and optimizes a vehicle's functions, performance and user experience. The companies said they also plan to work with local academic institutions, including Fudan University's School of Management, to study how social and cultural trends shape mobility ex

Jul 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Hyundai Motor, Kia open UX research studio in Shanghai
Defense

Korea claims growing stake in global aerospace supply chain

Long dependent on foreign suppliers for critical aviation components, Korea is rapidly asserting itself as a high-tech manufacturing power in the global aerospace supply chain. At the Farnborough International Airshow on Wednesday, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) showcased a breakthrough suite of domestically developed lightweight aviation materials. The unveiling marks a pivotal moment for the nation’s aerospace ambitions, backed by cumulative export contracts and deals totaling 40 billion won ($29 million). The exhibition highlighted nine specialized alloys — including advanced aluminum extrusions and super-heat-resistant nickel fasteners — developed under a state-led project aimed at localizing crucial aerospace materials. Led by KASA alongside the Korea Institute of Materials Science and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the initiative established K-MIDAS, a standardized design allowable software platform built on international aerospace certifications. For global aircraft manufacturers, the Korean-made components are already proving their mettle. The high-performanc

Jul 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea claims growing stake in global aerospace supply chain
South Korea

Redefining skyline: Seoul honors open spaces, bold young visionaries

Korea’s crowded capital has long prioritized high-density construction and commercial efficiency, often creating rigid boundaries between public streets and private structures. But this year, city planners and design critics are celebrating a decisive shift toward open, accessible civic spaces and speculative urban ideas. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday the winners of the 44th annual Seoul Architecture Award, bestowing top honors on buildings that dismantle traditional barriers to integrate seamlessly with surrounding neighborhoods. Under the theme "Assembling Seoul: Discovering Seoul," the prestigious awards program recognized 20 project proposals and built works — including a newly introduced student category designed to elevate the next generation of Korean architectural talent. Taking the Grand Prize in the completed works category was the Seo-Seoul Museum of Art (Seo SeMA) in Doksan-dong, designed by Chanjoong Kim of THE_SYSTEM LAB. Celebrated by judges for its high-level craftsmanship, the museum was crafted without conventional thresholds, allowing ever

Jul 22, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Redefining skyline: Seoul honors open spaces, bold young visionaries
People & Events

Busan launches expanded evening cultural festival to boost nighttime tourism

Long celebrated for its sprawling sandy beaches, fresh seafood markets and bustling international port, Korea’s second-largest city is making a concerted bid to capture the imagination of travelers long after the sun goes down. City officials announced Wednesday the official return of the "Starry Night Busan Night Festa," an ambitious five-month cultural showcase that begins Saturday and runs through the end of the year. Backed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as part of its specialized night-tourism initiative, the festival aims to transform the coastal metropolis into an after-dark entertainment hub designed to extend visitor stays and invigorate the local urban economy. This year’s centerpiece is a new series of permanent street performances in Busan's historic downtown core. Dubbed the "Balcony Music Show and Street Festa," the program transforms the pedestrian-friendly Gwangbok-ro boulevard into an open-air theater. Beginning Saturday, the Street Festa will blend traditional Korean performing arts, street dance and live music with interactive cultural booths, flea

Jul 22, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Busan launches expanded evening cultural festival to boost nighttime tourism
People & Events

Korea courts global investors to build next generation of tourism unicorns

Korea is betting big on tourism innovation, turning to international venture capital to transform its domestic startups into global market leaders. At the 2026 Tourism Global Business Day, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism alongside the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), more than 270 entrepreneurs, investors and industry delegates gathered at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas for a two-day dealmaking summit. The event, which concluded Wednesday, set a record turnout for the annual gathering. Central to this year’s expanded program was a newly introduced matchmaking system that facilitated more than 330 one-on-one consultation sessions between promising local startups and institutional investors. Representatives from 20 prominent venture capital firms across six key overseas markets — the United States, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong — attended the Seoul conference. Many of these cross-border investors were brought in through KTO’s network of specialized Korea Tourism Startup Centers currently operating in Singapore, Tokyo and Bangkok

Jul 22, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea courts global investors to build next generation of tourism unicorns
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