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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

Seoul to host character game event at Mount Nam

Seoul will host an outdoor game event at Mount Nam — one of the capital's most popular recreational spaces — this Saturday, centered on the city's official mascot characters and promoting the ecological value of the urban mountain. The event, titled "Game Challenge with Haechi and Soul Friends!", will take place June 21 near the octagonal pavilion at the summit of Mount Nam and is open to all visitors free of charge. Haechi is Seoul's mythical guardian mascot, and the Soul Friends are a group of companion characters associated with the four cardinal guardian deities of traditional Korean cosmology — Jujak (Vermilion Bird), Baekho (White Tiger), Cheongnyong (Blue Dragon) and Hyeonmu (Black Tortoise). The event is part of the city's ongoing Sustainable Namsan project and is designed to help visitors engage with the mountain's ecosystem in an interactive, lighthearted way. Participants can pick up a stamp card at the information desk and try four themed mini games, one per character: a shooting game targeting invasive species, a jigsaw puzzle, a trail etiquette game and a water-flow c

Jun 16, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul to host character game event at Mount Nam
Law & Crime

Gov't launches anti-corruption training for Zimbabwe officials

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) began a four-day anti-corruption capacity-building training program for Zimbabwean government officials Tuesday, jointly organized with the Korea International Cooperation Agency. The training, running through June 19, is a follow-up to a memorandum of understanding signed in March 2025 between the commission and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC). Twelve officials from the Zimbabwean body are taking part, ranging from a minister-level commissioner to bureau directors and working-level staff. The program is designed to share Korea's internationally recognized anti-corruption systems and build participants' capacity to design and implement anti-corruption policy from the ground up. On the sidelines, ACRC Chairperson Jeong Il-yeon is set to hold a bilateral meeting with ZACC Commissioner Patrick Tendai Mukorera to discuss deepening cooperation between the two countries. Korea has become a widely cited model for simultaneously achieving rapid economic growth and improving public sector integrity. The country's ranking on Trans

Jun 16, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Gov't launches anti-corruption training for Zimbabwe officials
South Korea

Seoul selects 4 cities to receive urban policy transfers under ODA program

Seoul has selected four overseas cities to receive transfers of the capital's urban policies under its 2026 Seoul ODA Challenge, the city's official development assistance program for developing-country municipalities. The selected cities and projects are San Salvador Centro in El Salvador and Banda Aceh in Indonesia, both for an outdoor library program; Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan for a community fitness program; and Bangkok in Thailand for pedestrian crosswalk design consulting. The Seoul ODA Challenge, launched in 2024, draws on the city's policy expertise — built across fields including transportation, smart city systems and water infrastructure — to help cities in developing countries address urban challenges. Since 2006, Seoul has run 128 ODA projects with 87 cities and organizations across 49 countries. This year marks the first introduction of a "Project Track" for soft-infrastructure initiatives, expanding beyond the program's traditional hard-infrastructure consulting focus. The outdoor library and fitness programs were drawn directly from Seoul's top-rated citizen policies of 202

Jun 16, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul selects 4 cities to receive urban policy transfers under ODA program
Economy

Korea Startup Forum inks MOU with Indian chambers at K-Founder Network debut

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups held the inaugural "K-Founder Network in India" forum in India on Monday, bringing together roughly 70 Korean startup founders, local venture capitalists, accelerators and government officials. The K-Founder Network is a government-backed initiative designed to help Korean entrepreneurs operating abroad build self-sustaining communities. The ministry plans to connect early-stage Korean startups with established founders already active in target markets, reducing the trial-and-error of overseas expansion. India is the pilot country, with expansion to France, China and the United States planned later this year. The network, launched in April, is chaired by Lee Cheol-won, CEO of Affinit, a Korea-founded fintech company operating in India. "Connecting Korean founders in India is the most important thing," Lee said. "This network creates the foundation for startups that previously had no knowledge of each other to exchange ideas and collaborate." On the sidelines, the Korea Startup Forum — the private association running the program — signed a memorandum o

Jun 16, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea Startup Forum inks MOU with Indian chambers at K-Founder Network debut
South Korea

Next generation of climate orators head to Songdo for Green Project 2026

Amid deepening global concerns over climate change, up to 200 Korean students will gather in Songdo next month to pitch concrete environmental solutions — entirely in English. The Korea regional round of the Green Project Public Speaking Championship (GPPSC) 2026 will be held July 25-26 at the University of Utah Asia Campus in Songdo, Incheon. Hosted by New Era Academy, a Seoul-based debate and public speaking education firm, and sponsored by The Korea Times, the two-day tournament challenges young speakers to combine classical oratory with substantive environmental policy. Rather than simply lamenting ecological decline, this year's prepared speech division requires participants to address a specific prompt: "An Environmental Solution." Competitors must formulate, articulate and defend actionable strategies for sustainability, testing both their rhetorical skills and structural thinking on complex climate issues. The format demands that speakers survive rigorous impromptu rounds as well, where they must synthesize arguments on tight deadlines. The competition is divided into two age

Jun 16, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Next generation of climate orators head to Songdo for Green Project 2026
People & Events

Annual bastion of French busking marks diplomatic milestone in Seoul

For a single afternoon this month, the bustling student enclave of Sinchon will trade its typical K-pop soundtrack for Parisian jazz and French indie rock. The Seodaemun District Office said Monday it will host the 2026 iteration of the French street music festival Fête de la Musique on Saturday. The open-air event, co-organized with the Embassy of France in Korea, carries elevated diplomatic weight this year as Seoul and Paris mark the 140th anniversary of establishing formal diplomatic relations in 1886. Inaugurated in France in 1982 to celebrate the summer solstice through free, decentralized public performances, the Fête de la Musique concept has since expanded to roughly 120 countries worldwide. Seodaemun District adopted the template in 2017, transforming Sinchon — a neighborhood historically anchored by student activism and youth culture — into an annual hub for bilateral cultural exchanges. The festival schedule deliberately blends European and domestic sensibilities. The main stage will open at 5:00 p.m. with preliminary showcases by the local K-pop dance troupe Shining an

Jun 15, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Annual bastion of French busking marks diplomatic milestone in Seoul
Companies

SK Telink, KEPCO, Starlink Korea launch satellite network initiative for power grid emergencies

SK Telink, Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Starlink Korea have launched a three-way partnership to deploy low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications technology across Korea’s power infrastructure, aiming to strengthen emergency communications capabilities during natural disasters and network outages. The companies said the initiative will begin at KEPCO’s headquarters in Naju and expand in phases toward a nationwide emergency communications network covering all 15 regional headquarters. The project is being positioned as a model for integrating global satellite communications technology into Korea’s public infrastructure systems. KEPCO operates thousands of facilities nationwide, including headquarters, regional offices, substations and field work sites. Maintaining communications during emergencies such as typhoons, wildfires and large-scale power outages has long been a challenge because terrestrial networks can be disrupted. The partners said LEO satellite systems provide a physically independent communications path that remains available even when ground-based infras

Jun 15, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
SK Telink, KEPCO, Starlink Korea launch satellite network initiative for power grid emergencies

Seoul counts on AI to turn foreign graduates into permanent residents

For a global metropolis facing severe demographic contractions, the roughly 90,000 foreign students enrolled in local universities represent a crucial lifeline. Yet, for many of these expatriates, transitioning from a student visa to a desk in Korea’s notoriously insular job market has long been a bureaucratic and cultural struggle. Seeking to bridge this divide, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday that it is launching its fourth recruitment cycle for "30 Days in Seoul," a specialized integration initiative explicitly designed to convert international students into permanent urban residents. The highly competitive program, which begins accepting applications on June 18, will select 100 foreign students or recent graduates to undergo a multi-week career accelerator. Unlike traditional municipal outreach efforts that concentrate on cultural events like palace tours or cooking classes, this initiative treats administrative and corporate survival as core academic disciplines. Crucially, municipal planners have overhauled the upcoming curriculum to emphasize artificial intelligen

Jun 15, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul counts on AI to turn foreign graduates into permanent residents
Others

Paris hosts massive K-Expo as Korea, France celebrate 140 years of ties

Korea is bringing a sweeping showcase of its cultural and technological exports to France this week, launching the "K-Expo France 2026" in Paris to mark the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations. The four-day collaborative event, which runs from June 16 to 19, is jointly organized by Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the ministries of agriculture, oceans, and health. Designed as a comprehensive springboard for Korean lifestyle brands, the convention pairs business-to-business export consultations with high-profile consumer exhibitions spanning entertainment, cuisine, beauty, fashion and tourism. From June 16 to 18, the Palais des Congrès will transform into an interactive hub of contemporary Korean culture. Global streaming giant Netflix will anchor a joint pavilion with 12 domestic brands, leveraging hit properties like "Squid Game" and "Culinary Class Wars." In a bid to promote regional travel, the Korea Tourism Organization has constructed replicas of Korean subway stations and mountain hiking trails alongside a simulated airplane cab

Jun 15, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Paris hosts massive K-Expo as Korea, France celebrate 140 years of ties
Travel & Food

Luxury hanok reshapes high-end tourism deep in mountains of Gangwon Province

For global jet setters, Korea’s cultural footprint is typically defined by Seoul’s neon-lit corridors and K-pop spectacle. But a quiet enclave tucked deep into the rugged mountains of Gangwon Province is making a bid to redefine the country’s luxury travel market, offering a slower, deeply traditional alternative to the urban rush. The Hanok Heritage, a sprawling 337,000-square-meter cultural complex in Yeongwol, about 100 miles east of Seoul, recently served as a primary host for "Explore Seoul with Connections 2026." The high-concept tourism initiative, organized jointly by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the international luxury travel network Connections, aimed to introduce a side of Korea rarely featured in slick promotional campaigns. Over a three-day familiarization tour, travel advisors and agency executives from the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Lithuania and Hong Kong bypassed standard five-star hotels to stay in hanok — traditional Korean homes. The itinerary focused heavily on regional culture, preservation, gastronomy, architecture and wellness. Gu

Jun 15, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Luxury hanok reshapes high-end tourism deep in mountains of Gangwon Province
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