my timesThe Korea Times
jhoo

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.

Go to Email

Read more

People & Events

Seoul to offer hands-on art workshops at Jamsil Hangang Park this month

Residents looking for a weekend activity can head to Jamsil Hangang Park, one of the public parks along the Han River that runs through Seoul, for a hands-on art program running from July 11 to 18. The municipal initiative, officially titled “Hangang Sagaksagak Art Place: Creative Experiences With Artists,” will run from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on both Saturdays. The workshops are set to take place at Sagaksagak Place, a compact enclave of modular studio spaces established by the city in 2018. Designed to insulate emerging creators from the city's prohibitive real estate market while demystifying the creative process for the public, the complex will open its doors to participants of all ages. Four resident artists will lead the intimate, specialized sessions, bringing together traditional Korean craftsmanship with contemporary trends. Gwak Bukku, a visual artist whose given name is Gwak So-ra, will guide attendees in fabricating custom keyrings modeled after the Han River’s native otter population, utilizing a specialized heat-shrink plastic technique. In another workshop, the art

Jul 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul to offer hands-on art workshops at Jamsil Hangang Park this month
South Korea

Seoul warns pop-up stores flouting consumer, privacy laws

Many of Korea’s highly popular pop-up stores — the transient retail spaces driving many modern street fashion and online trends — are quietly violating consumer rights and data privacy laws, city officials warned Wednesday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government recently released the findings of a sweeping joint investigation conducted with the Green Consumer Network in Korea, a civic consumer advocacy group. The study — which surveyed 1,000 frequent retail visitors, in addition to conducting physical inspections of 24 major pop-up venues in Seoul's retail districts — revealed that a staggering number of temporary shops fail to meet basic legal requirements for data collection, portrait rights and refund policies. Temporary retail spaces have evolved from brief marketing experiments into a consumer lifestyle trend. According to the city's market survey, shoppers visited an average of 3.1 pop-up stores over the past year, spending an average of 50,500 won ($36.50) per visit. Consumers cited exclusivity as the primary driver, with 57 percent indicating they went to purchase limited-

Jul 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul warns pop-up stores flouting consumer, privacy laws
Travel & Food

Vote for Korea's top travel spots extended

An ambitious government initiative to map out 10,000 essential tourism destinations across Korea has drawn an unexpected level of public interest, forcing authorities to extend nationwide voting. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization said Tuesday that their joint interactive project, “100×100 Project to Uncover Korea’s Attractions,” saw more than 30,000 public participants within the first week of its June 29 launch. Describing the voter turnout as exceptionally rare for a state-led campaign, officials confirmed that the voting window will now be extended through July 17. The project leverages grassroots consensus to build a comprehensive domestic travel directory. A panel of 100 travel experts initially curated 100 distinct micro-themes, and the public is now tasked with voting for the top 100 destinations in each category to finalize a master list of 10,000 representative locations. The diverse subcategories are organized under eight primary pillars: Architecture, Leisure and Sports, Nature and Ecology, Lifestyle, K-Content, Culture and

Jul 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Vote for Korea's top travel spots extended
People & Events

Korea takes center stage as guest of honor at Europe's premier modern dance festival

Korea has been named the official guest of honor at ImPulsTanz 2026, Europe’s largest contemporary dance festival, marking a significant expansion of the country’s cultural influence into the upper echelons of the global performing arts scene. The Korean Cultural Center in Austria said Wednesday that it will launch Fokus Südkorea (Focus South Korea), a dedicated, monthlong spotlight program running from July 9 through August 9 across Vienna. The milestone marks a shift for Korean culture, which has enjoyed global popularity through K-pop and K-drama, as it cements its footprint in the avant-garde world of contemporary choreography. Established in 1984, ImPulsTanz operates as a critical five-week hub for international choreographers, artistic directors and producers to premiere new works and secure global distribution. Korea’s selection as the guest of honor elevates the nation from a recurring invitee to a central curatorial partner. Officials in Seoul framed the initiative as a major execution of the "K-Initiative" — a state-backed strategy leveraging language, arts and media

Jul 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea takes center stage as guest of honor at Europe's premier modern dance festival
People & Events

BTS partners with British Museum to illuminate Korean heritage

Global K-pop juggernaut BTS is expanding its cultural footprint from stadium stages to the venerable halls of antiquity, launching an unprecedented collaboration with the British Museum. The partnership, titled the “Korea Gallery Trail,” forms the centerpiece of the group’s broader “BTS THE CITY ARIRANG-LONDON” project, which aims to transform the British capital into an immersive space celebrating Korean heritage through the lens of modern pop music. Running through July 23, the curated trail bridges the gap between contemporary fandom and centuries-old history. Curators and organizers have selected permanent artifacts within the museum’s Korea Gallery that mirror the thematic emotional core of BTS’s latest chart-topping fifth studio album, "ARIRANG" — specifically its overarching narratives of hope, resilience and belonging. Visitors navigating the gallery will encounter ancient treasures intentionally paired with the group’s creative concepts. Featured artifacts include a traditional "sarangbang" or scholars' quarters, symbolizing new beginnings; a pristine Joseon D

Jul 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
BTS partners with British Museum to illuminate Korean heritage
Society

Seoul to transform gritty tech hub into lush green IT district

G-Valley, the massive high-density IT and digital technology cluster in southwestern Seoul, has long been a concrete engine of Korea’s economic growth with virtually no room for nature. Operating with a public park ratio of nearly zero percent, the area has struggled to provide adequate breathing room for the hundreds of thousands of young tech workers who crowd its high-rises daily. The Seoul Metropolitan Government launched a major environmental pivot on Tuesday to change that, announcing the completion of its first "street forest garden" in Guro District. The 7,750-square-meter green space marks the inaugural milestone of the city’s aggressive "Garden Valley Project," designed to inject 100,000 square meters of greenery into the industrial zone by 2030. The municipal government's policy shift reflects a fundamental change in how it views economic competitiveness. In the era of artificial intelligence and digital technology, city officials argue that securing top-tier talent requires more than just modern office spaces. It demands a livable, wellness-oriented urban ecosystem. "The

Jul 7, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul to transform gritty tech hub into lush green IT district
Companies

Paik's Coffee rebrands as DABANG for global push

Paik’s Coffee, a popular low-cost coffee franchise operated by Korean culinary giant Theborn Korea, unveiled a comprehensive brand identity overhaul Tuesday as part of an aggressive push into international markets. The centerpiece of the rebranding is a transition from Korean-language signage to a logo with English script saying "Paik’s DABANG." The strategic shift is designed to enhance brand recognition among international consumers and ensure visual consistency as the franchise expands into new territories. The commercial rollout begins next month. Theborn Korea, helmed by celebrity chef and CEO Paik Jong-won, confirmed it will open its first flagship Tokyo location in August 2026, with a second Japanese outlet slated to open by the end of the year. The company is also doing feasibility studies and creating localized business models to enter other major markets, including China, Taiwan and the United States. Company officials noted that use of the romanized Korean word "dabang" — an older term for a traditional coffee house — was intentional. By retaining the word, the brand

Jul 7, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Paik's Coffee rebrands as DABANG for global push
Environment & Animals

Endangered spoonbill's dramatic rebound anchors Incheon's green ambitions

Decades ago, the black-faced spoonbill, a striking wading bird with a distinct spatula-shaped beak, was hurtling toward extinction. In 1995, its global population plummeted to just 430, forcing the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to classify the species as critically endangered. Today, that same bird is the centerpiece of an environmental renaissance in Incheon. The western port city said Tuesday that the global population of the black-faced spoonbill has surged to 7,081, a 16-fold increase that has prompted the IUCN to downgrade its threat level to "vulnerable." More than half of that global population — 3,828 birds — now nests in Incheon, making it the vital capital of the species’ survival. The milestone will be celebrated next week at the 20th anniversary of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway Partnership, an international coalition dedicated to protecting migratory waterbirds and their habitats. At the event, Incheon will become the first city in the world to receive official biodiversity certification from the IUCN, a formal recognition of its urban co

Jul 7, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Endangered spoonbill's dramatic rebound anchors Incheon's green ambitions
Companies

Dongwha Electrolyte clinches supply deal with global battery maker

Dongwha Electrolyte, an affiliate of Korea's Dongwha Enterprise, said Tuesday it has clinched a supply contract with a major global battery manufacturer to provide electrolyte for energy storage systems (ESS). Under the terms of the agreement, production will take place at Dongwha’s manufacturing facility in Clarksville, Tennessee, before being shipped directly to the client’s localized production sites. The company declined to disclose the financial value of the deal or the identity of the buyer, citing a strict nondisclosure agreement. Electrolyte is a critical liquid chemical component that facilitates the movement of lithium ions within a battery, serving as a core building block for both electric vehicles (EVs) and stationary energy storage. ESS units function as large-capacity batteries designed to harvest and store electricity from power grids or renewable sources, such as solar and wind, for later deployment. The contract marks a significant operational pivot for Dongwha’s Tennessee footprint. While the Clarksville plant previously focused entirely on supplying electrolyte

Jul 7, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Dongwha Electrolyte clinches supply deal with global battery maker
Policy

70% of Koreans back pursuing EU-style economic community with Japan: survey

Nearly 70 percent of Koreans support pursuing an EU-style economic community with Japan, while 60 percent of Japanese respondents agreed, according to a survey released Monday by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). KCCI, which has repeatedly floated the idea of a Korea-Japan economic community as a response to shifting global trade rules, commissioned Hankook Research to survey 500 people each in Korea and Japan. Some 69.8 percent of Korean respondents favored forming an EU-style bloc, either immediately or over the medium term, versus 59.8 percent of Japanese respondents. Support among Japanese who had visited Korea in the past five years reached 74.5 percent, compared with 45.4 percent among those who had not. Support for expanded tourism cooperation stood at 76.8 percent in Korea and 58 percent in Japan. A majority in both countries — 60.4 percent of Koreans and 44.8 percent of Japanese — backed allowing travel between the two countries using only a national ID card instead of a passport. Only 17.5 percent of Japanese citizens held a passport as of February 2025, ac

Jul 7, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
70% of Koreans back pursuing EU-style economic community with Japan: survey
previous page
1920212223
next page

Top 5 stories

Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.