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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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Korean Heritage

Korea’s historic envoy ship retraces naval history

A full-scale replica of Korea’s historic diplomatic vessel, the Joseon Tongsinsa, is taking to the seas this month to celebrate the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee session in Busan. The National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage said Tuesday that the vessel will embark on a 24-day voyage, stopping at key historic coastal sites including Goheung, Yeosu, and Tongyeong before arriving in Busan on July 31. The Joseon Tongsinsa ships were international peace envoys that crossed the Korea and Tsushima straits 12 times between 1607 and 1811 at the request of Japan to restore diplomatic ties following the Imjin War (1592–1598) — a devastating seven-year conflict triggered by Japanese invasions of the Korean Peninsula. Reconstructed in 2018, the vessel previously completed symbolic open-sea retracings of its voyages from Busan to Tsushima in 2023, to Shimonoseki in 2024 and Osaka in 2025. This summer’s domestic trip will shift its focus toward local maritime heritage and the country's rich naval history. Operating as a floating museum, the ship will host cultural eve

Jul 7, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea’s historic envoy ship retraces naval history
Korean Heritage

Seoul museum traces history of Sindang-dong

To the casual visitor to central Seoul, the neighborhood of Sindang-dong is both the birthplace of one of the most recognizable styles of Korea’s iconic tteokbokki (rice cakes in sweet and spicy sauce) and more recently, a buzzing enclave of minimalist espresso bars, boundary-pushing design studios and musical venues, giving the area the affectionate nickname of “hip-dang-dong” among young Seoulites. But beneath this contemporary veneer lies a densely layered urban history that spans centuries of transformation. The Seoul Museum of History published a comprehensive cultural survey report Tuesday, titled “Sindang-dong: Shin, Shin, Hip,” illuminating how a village once dedicated to comforting the dead has evolved into one of the country's most dynamic examples of modern urbanism. The report structures the neighborhood's complex trajectory through three distinct linguistic and cultural eras. The story begins with "shin" — the Chinese character meaning "spirit." During the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty, the area lay just outside Gwanghuimun, a historic city gate that colloquially serv

Jul 7, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul museum traces history of Sindang-dong
Environment & Animals

Korea turns to plant extracts to combat urban 'lovebug' swarms

Scientists in Korea have successfully demonstrated an eco-friendly method to suppress the massive swarms of "lovebugs" that have choked the capital region in recent summers, offering a major breakthrough in urban pest management without resorting to toxic chemical pesticides. The National Institute of Forest Science said Tuesday that recent field trials utilizing organic plant extracts achieved a 59.3 percent control rate against Plecia longiforceps, commonly referred to as lovebugs. The findings offer immediate relief to municipal officials and millions of residents across Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. Over the last few years, the sudden, dense emergence of these paired swarming insects has caused widespread headaches. Although entirely harmless to humans and ecologically beneficial as natural decomposers, the insects have routinely coated storefronts, overwhelmed public parks and splattered across vehicle windshields, triggering a deluge of public complaints. Building on successful laboratory tests conducted last year, researchers shifted their focus to real-world environments

Jul 7, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea turns to plant extracts to combat urban 'lovebug' swarms
Defense

Germany’s TKMS beats Hanwha Ocean for Canada submarine deal: Canadian media

Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) has been selected as the preferred bidder to build Canada's next fleet of submarines, according to Canadian media outlet The Globe and Mail on Monday. The decision is expected to deal a setback to Korea's Hanwha Ocean in a contract that could be worth up to $100 billion over three decades. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to formally announce the decision in Halifax before his departure for the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The announcement would name a preferred bidder rather than finalize a signed contract, with negotiations expected to continue for months or longer. The program, known as the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, will replace Canada's aging Victoria-class fleet with as many as 12 new diesel-electric submarines. Hanwha Ocean had reportedly offered a version of its KSS-III Batch-II submarine, a 3,000-ton-class vessel developed for the Republic of Korea Navy that uses fuel-cell propulsion and lithium-ion batteries to stay submerged for more than three weeks. The company had pledged more than $50 billion in economic

Jul 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Germany’s TKMS beats Hanwha Ocean for Canada submarine deal: Canadian media
Society

Seoul ramps up elder care initiatives to combat isolation, digital exclusion

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced Monday a comprehensive restructuring of the capital's senior welfare infrastructure, combining an aggressive rollout of neighborhood leisure centers with streamlined transit options designed to shield elderly residents from tech-driven isolation. Speaking at the Seodaemun Senior Welfare Center, Oh detailed the city's newly minted "Senior Vitality Project." The initiative aims to counter the growing epidemic of loneliness among the elderly by modernizing municipal recreation. Under the plan, Seoul will build 120 neighborhood wellness stations by 2030, alongside two regional megacomplexes dedicated to continuing education, physical fitness and community organizing. The physical expansion coincides with a behavioral health push. The city is developing a standardized social integration curriculum scheduled for deployment across all municipal senior centers later this year, specifically engineered to alleviate anxiety and clinical depression among vulnerable seniors who live alone. The mayor also unveiled structural upgrades to the city’s highly successful

Jul 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul ramps up elder care initiatives to combat isolation, digital exclusion
Travel & Food

Busan emerges as global tourism hub, decentralizing market concentrated in Seoul

Long celebrated by domestic beachgoers but often bypassed by international travelers in favor of Seoul, the southeastern port city of Busan is rapidly transforming into a major engine of Korea’s inbound tourism boom. According to data released Monday by the Busan Metropolitan Government, the city welcomed 1,936,572 international visitors between January and May of this year. The figures represent a staggering 40 percent increase compared to the same period of 2025, vastly outpacing the nationwide tourism growth rate of 21 percent. Local officials project that the city will comfortably breach the 2-million visitor milestone ahead of schedule, placing its annual target of four million global tourists within reach. The boom is reflecting heavily in cash registers across the city. Analysis of credit card transaction data compiled by the Korea Tourism Data Lab revealed that foreign tourist expenditures in Busan reached 454.4 billion won ($328 million) over the five-month stretch. The city secured the second-highest level of foreign tourism spending nationwide, trailing only Seoul, a positi

Jul 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Busan emerges as global tourism hub, decentralizing market concentrated in Seoul
Global Community

German chamber of commerce in Korea outlines plans to launch AI startup competition

The Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI) will hold an artificial intelligence (AI) startup competition this month to identify Korean companies with strong potential to expand into Germany and the broader European market. The Korea-Germany Connect: AI Startup Pitching Challenge 2026 will take place on July 15 at the startup branch of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), located in Seoul's Coex convention center. The event is sponsored by Infineon Technologies and supported by KITA. The competition is part of KGCCI's Korea-Germany Connect initiative, which aims to strengthen cooperation between Korea's startup ecosystem and Germany's industrial and business networks. Five finalists will pitch their technologies and business models before an international panel of judges representing the German Embassy in Seoul, KITA, Infineon Technologies, Aumovio Korea, Mercedes-Benz Korea and The Korea Herald. The panel will evaluate participants based on technological innovation, commercial viability, suitability for the German and European Union markets, long-term busines

Jul 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
German chamber of commerce in Korea outlines plans to launch AI startup competition
Companies

HLB Life Science secures 5th state grant to develop medical hemp therapies

HLB Life Science R&D, the research and development subsidiary of HLB, a prominent Korean life sciences conglomerate, has been selected for its fifth government-backed research project this year, according to the firm. Under the project, HLB Life Science R&D is joining a consortium developing next-generation drug candidates from minor cannabinoids as part of Korea's Gyeongbuk Industrial Hemp Regulatory Free Zone, a special economic zone where companies can legally grow and process hemp for medical and industrial use under relaxed drug-control rules. The 29.6 billion won ($17 million) four-year project, backed by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Office for Government Policy Coordination, will involve HLB Life Science R&D, NeoKenBio, Apack, NBTHEPHARM, TopoLab and INGR, along with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and the Gyeongbuk Institute for Bio industry, to build a full research pipeline from hemp cultivation to raw material production, preclinical studies and commercialization. The project expands existing industrial hemp research, which has focused mainly on can

Jul 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
HLB Life Science secures 5th state grant to develop medical hemp therapies
Korean Heritage

Joseon Dynasty’s royal archives take center stage in Busan

For a dynasty that endured for five centuries, the survival of its memory relied on an almost obsessive commitment to the written word. That legacy goes on display Tuesday in the southern port city of Busan as the National Palace Museum of Korea and the Busan Museum open a landmark exhibition, "The Records and Culture of Joseon: Transmitting to Ten Thousand Generations." Running through Aug. 30, the exhibition is timed to coincide with Busan’s hosting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee session later this month. It aims to introduce an international audience to Korea’s most treasured documentary wealth, showcasing items inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World register. At the heart of the collection are the Joseon Wangjo Sillok, the sprawling daily annals of the dynasty. In a museological first, surviving volumes from all four historic repositories — where duplicates were stored away for safekeeping after the devastating late-16th-century Japanese invasions — will be displayed together in a single room. They are flanked by the Uigwe, highly detailed royal protocols featu

Jul 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Joseon Dynasty’s royal archives take center stage in Busan
People & Events

Seoul museum to host Quebec world music concert

The Seoul Baekje Museum will host a complimentary world music concert this month, offering residents a unique window into Canadian cultural heritage through a contemporary reinterpretation of traditional indigenous sounds. Scheduled for 3 p.m. on July 11 at the museum’s Hanseong Baekje Hall, the concert, titled "Ecliptique," is organized in collaboration with the Quebec Government Office in Korea. The performance is part of an ongoing international cultural exchange program designed to showcase Quebec’s rich cultural diversity. The host venue provides a fittingly historic backdrop for the exchange. Located within Olympic Park in southeastern Seoul, the Seoul Baekje Museum is dedicated to preserving the city's ancient roots as a capital of the Baekje Kingdom (18 B.C. - A.D. 660). Built near the historic Mongchontoseong earthen fortress, the museum serves as a primary cultural hub for exploring Seoul's deep pre-Joseon Dynasty history. "Ecliptique" itself is a joint production by two acclaimed Canadian ensembles: Oktoecho, a Quebec-based group celebrated for blending Middle Eastern and

Jul 6, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul museum to host Quebec world music concert
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