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Jhoo Dong-chan

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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

Exhibition honors heroes of Korean War

Against the backdrop of escalating regional security anxieties and a booming domestic arms export industry, Korea’s defense establishment is turning its focus to the human cost of the conflict that defined its borders. LIG Defense & Aerospace (LIG D&A), a major player in the nation's defense industry, opened a striking photography exhibition at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan. Marking both the company’s 50th anniversary and Korea’s designated Patriots and Veterans Month in June, the exhibition offers a somber, artistic look at the aging faces of those who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War. Titled "Remember, Respect, Reconnect," the exhibition functions less as a corporate celebration and more as an urgent historical archive. It features intimate portraits of surviving international veterans and their families, captured by two distinct documentary photographers. Rami, an artist leading the "Project-Soldier" initiative, has spent years traveling globally to document U.N. veterans. A recent trip to New Zealand in March was directly sponsored by the defense contractor. Complementi

Jun 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Exhibition honors heroes of Korean War
South Korea

Gov't eases tax fears for returning diaspora via anonymous counseling

For many older adults who are members of the global Korean diaspora, the desire to spend their retirement years in their ancestral homeland is often complicated by a daunting, opaque obstacle: the local tax code. Fearing that the wealth they have accumulated overseas will be heavily penalized upon entry, many foreign citizens of Korean descent hesitate to pull the trigger on relocation. To eliminate that anxiety, the National Tax Service (NTS) said Tuesday that it will launch a dedicated, one-on-one online tax counseling service starting in July. The initiative aims to dispel pervasive tax myths and ease the transition for the country's 7 million global diaspora members looking to return to Korea. "Many overseas Koreans hesitate to return due to vague tax anxieties or outright misinformation," a spokesperson for the agency said. Common misconceptions include the belief that the Korean government automatically taxes all historic global income once a person registers as a resident, or confusion over how capital gains taxes apply to foreign real estate. The new program, managed by a specia

Jun 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Gov't eases tax fears for returning diaspora via anonymous counseling
South Korea

Busan opens 8 km of pet-friendly trails across 5 scenic routes

Korea’s second-largest city is putting its best paw forward in an effort to smooth over growing tensions between dog lovers and the rest of the public. The Busan Metropolitan Government announced on Tuesday the completion of five dedicated pet-friendly trails stretching a combined eight kilometers across the coastal metropolis. The project is the latest step in Mayor Park Heong-joon’s initiative to transform Busan into a pet-friendly city. As the number of domestic pet owners continues to skyrocket nationwide, municipalities are searching for creative urban planning solutions to minimize friction in shared public spaces. Busan's solution targets five of its most popular scenic spots, retrofitting existing pathways to better accommodate four-legged pedestrians without inconveniencing two-legged ones. The newly minted trails feature clever puns incorporating the word "daengdaengi," from the internet slang for dogs. They include "Haeundaeng-gil," a 1.4-kilometer stretch near the city's famed beach, and "Geumgangdaeng-gil," which winds through the forested slopes of Geumgang Park. The c

Jun 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Busan opens 8 km of pet-friendly trails across 5 scenic routes
South Korea

Seoul forges arts pacts across Europe to boost global soft power

Seeking to transform Korea's capital into a global hub, the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture announced Tuesday a sweeping diplomatic push across Europe designed to project the city's "soft power" through major festival partnerships and artistic exchanges. The initiative, led by the foundation’s president Song Hyeong-jong, marks a strategic effort by metropolitan officials to elevate Seoul into the ranks of the world's top cultural cities. Following a diplomatic tour through Singapore earlier this year, Seoul arts officials secured long-term partnerships with civic leaders and cultural institutions in Spain, Romania and the Netherlands. The centerpiece of the European tour came on June 9 in Barcelona, where Song signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with Xavier Marcé, the Spanish city's councillor for culture and creative industries. During the summit, Barcelona officials formally invited Seoul to be the guest of honor at La Mercè in 2028, Spain's largest street arts festival. The agreement establishes a permanent pipeline for performing and visual arts exchanges. Beginn

Jun 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul forges arts pacts across Europe to boost global soft power
South Korea

No more baggage claim: Korea, US expand luggage-free transfers to LA, Seattle

People flying from Korea to the United States will soon experience a vastly simplified layover. Starting Tuesday, transit passengers flying from Incheon International Airport to Los Angeles and Seattle will no longer have to collect and recheck their bags during transfers, slicing at least 20 minutes off connection times. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday it is expanding its International Remote Baggage Screening (IRBS) program to Los Angeles International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The initiative, built on an aviation security partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, allows for a seamless, "luggage-free" transfer to connecting domestic flights. Under the current system, travelers transferring through Los Angeles or Seattle face a logistical hurdle: They must clear immigration, go to the baggage carousel to claim their checked bags, pass through customs, and then drag their luggage to another check-in counter to re-verify it for their next flight — a process that typically takes 90 minutes. The remote screening progr

Jun 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
No more baggage claim: Korea, US expand luggage-free transfers to LA, Seattle
Korean Heritage

Rare shamanic paintings gain national heritage status

Korea has officially designated a rare set of 19th-century shamanic paintings as National Folklore Cultural Heritage, honoring a vibrant religious tradition that historically thrived on the fringes of the peninsula's rigid social hierarchies. The collection, known as the Seoul Geumseongdang Mushindo, consists of eight hanging silk scrolls originally housed inside the Geumseongdang shrine in Seoul. The paintings depict an array of deities governing human destiny, including the blind Taoist, the goddess of smallpox and the patron spirit of musicians. While Korea is celebrated as a high-tech powerhouse, its ancient animistic and shamanic roots remain deeply woven into the country's cultural fabric. For centuries, "mushindo", a genre of shamanic paintings, served as portals for the spirits during "the intense, ecstatic rituals performed by shamans to cure illnesses, pacify malevolent ghosts and bring good fortune. According to the National Heritage Administration, which announced the designation Tuesday, these specific paintings hold immense historical weight because of their indisputable l

Jun 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Rare shamanic paintings gain national heritage status
Travel & Food

APEC summit sparks tourism surge in ancient Korean capital

Gyeongju, the historic capital of the ancient Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-935 A.D.) known for its valley of grass-covered royal tombs and Buddhist temples, is rapidly transforming into Korea’s newest international tourism powerhouse following its role as host of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. According to data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, foreign tourist arrivals in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, surged 18.3 percent to nearly 569,000 between January and May compared to the same period last year. More strikingly, foreign tourist spending skyrocketed by 34.1 percent to 11.1 billion won ($8 million), underscoring a lucrative shift toward high-value experiential travel. Officials are moving swiftly to capitalize on the momentum of last year's summit, launching an aggressive strategy to cement Gyeongju as a premier destination capable of drawing crowds away from the heavily saturated capital of Seoul. "The successful hosting of the 2025 APEC summit was a decisive moment that showcased Gyeongju's deep historical and cultural ch

Jun 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
APEC summit sparks tourism surge in ancient Korean capital
Entertainment

Korea allocates $8.6 mil. to retrofit regional stadiums for K-pop concerts

Korea’s culture ministry said Tuesday that it will spend 12 billion won ($8.6 million) this year to transform regional sports arenas and multipurpose facilities into makeshift K-pop concert venues, addressing a chronic shortage of specialized performance spaces outside the capital. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will select six underutilized regional facilities with a capacity of 1,000 seats or more — one in each of six provinces and regions outside the immediate Seoul metropolitan area. Each facility will receive up to 2 billion won in government funding, but they must provide matching funds from other sources. The initiative comes as the global explosion of K-pop runs into a stark logistical bottleneck at home. While high-octane choreography and meticulous sound engineering define the genre abroad, domestic concerts are frequently staged in municipal gyms or athletic stadiums lacking basic acoustic systems and proper staging support. "This new project is a crucial first step in expanding the performance infrastructure to match the global status of K-pop," said Choi Su

Jun 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea allocates $8.6 mil. to retrofit regional stadiums for K-pop concerts
People & Events

'KPop Demon Hunters' director visits Lotte World Adventure

Fresh off a historic run at the Academy Awards, filmmaker Maggie Kang made a high-profile return to her roots Monday, visiting Lotte World Adventure in southern Seoul with her family. Kang, the acclaimed director behind Netflix’s global animated juggernaut "KPop Demon Hunters," was greeted at the theme park by its signature mascot characters, Lotty and Lorry. During her visit, she rode the park’s popular Balloon Ride with her daughter, Lumi, and toured the Lotte World Folk Museum, an exhibition space dedicated to immersive displays of traditional Korean history and cultural heritage. Born in Korea and raised in Canada, Kang has transitioned into the upper echelon of global animation. Her 2025 feature, "KPop Demon Hunters," shattered streaming metrics upon its release, ultimately surpassing 500 million cumulative views to rank among the most-watched animated properties in Netflix’s history. The film’s commercial dominance was matched by critical acclaim this past March at the 98th Academy Awards. Celebrated for seamlessly blending contemporary music subcultures with traditional l

Jun 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
'KPop Demon Hunters' director visits Lotte World Adventure
Health

Mexico fast-tracks Korean drug approvals

In a significant breakthrough for transpacific pharmaceutical trade, Mexico has officially designated Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as a Reference Regulatory Authority for medicines. The landmark decision is poised to dramatically streamline the entry of Korean pharmaceutical products into Latin America’s second-largest market. Under the newly established framework, Korean medical products can now bypass exhaustive local evaluations in Mexico by leveraging an Abbreviated Regulatory Pathway. The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS), Mexico's health regulatory body, will significantly simplify technical reviews of the quality, safety and efficacy of these drugs. This fast-track mechanism will slash standard bureaucratic timelines, guaranteeing that final approval decisions are rendered within a maximum of 45 business days. The policy stems from regulatory revisions enacted by COFEPRIS, which grant expedited processing to nations holding elite international standing — specifically, standing members of the International Council for Harmoni

Jun 23, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Mexico fast-tracks Korean drug approvals
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