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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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K-pop

Jay Park surprises fans with new single 'Daddy'

Jay Park, the Korean American artist who helped forge the modern blueprint for idol hip-hop stardom, will release a surprise single Monday evening, leaning into the sultry R&B that has served as his calling card. The track, titled "Daddy," arrives on digital streaming platforms at 6 p.m., marking Park’s first solo release since "Keep It Sexy (Mommae 2)" roughly 15 months ago. Since departing the K-pop boy band 2PM nearly two decades ago, the 39-year-old performer has spent his career constructing a bridge between Seoul’s idol ecosystem and Western urban contemporary music. Produced by Ben10k — the American beatmaker whose credits include collaborations with Drake, Chris Brown and Don Toliver — "Daddy" anchors Park’s smooth vocals atop a lush, groove-heavy rhythmic foundation paired with deliberately provocative lyrics. According to his agency, the track is intended as a direct continuation of the polished aesthetic that defined his mid-career creative revival. The surprise drop arrives in a period of intense global activity for the singer, who is currently nearly two decades in

Sep 7, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Jay Park surprises fans with new single 'Daddy'
K-pop

I-dle's Soyeon unveils new solo project with tales of resignations and romance

Soyeon, the powerhouse leader of K-pop group i-dle, makes her return as a soloist this Monday at 6 pm with "What a Wonderful Life" — her first full-length album and first standalone project her 2021 EP, "Windy." The album's lead single "I'm Quitting" centers on the experience of resigning from a job — a theme widely relatable to Korean office workers — set to a band-driven sound. The song features narration from Kian84, a webtoon artist and television personality signed to hip-hop label AOMG. Promotional material for the release had the tagline, "I'm quitting. No regrets, nothing to miss. I never intended to work this hard anyway. Time to enjoy my glamorous life with a little romantic day." Two music video teasers showed Soyeon throwing salt behind her, a Korean superstition meant to ward off bad luck, before leaving the office and working through a personal bucket list. Soyeon wrote and composed every track on the eight-song album, which spans rock, hyperpop, disco and band sound, and collaborated with producers including Groovyroom and R.Tee. She debuted as a soloist in 2017 befo

Sep 7, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
I-dle's Soyeon unveils new solo project with tales of resignations and romance
South Korea

Under new program, Korea preps Mongolian migrant workers before arrival

Long before Mongolian workers board their flights to Seoul, their preparation for Korea's fast-paced industrial shop floors will now begin at home in Ulaanbaatar — part of a new push by labor officials to prevent workplace accidents before foreign hires even touch down. The Korea Labor-Foundation (KLF) said Friday that Secretary-General Park Jong-pil was leading a four-day delegation to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from Wednesday through Saturday to streamline the training and integration pipeline for Mongolian workers bound for Korean factories and job sites under the Employment Permit System (EPS). Rather than waiting for foreign laborers to undergo safety briefings after entering the country, the initiative links predeparture instruction in Mongolia directly with post-arrival orientation in Korea. By sharing standardized safety materials developed alongside the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, KLF said it aims to build early safety awareness and curb workplace accidents. The policy shift comes as Korea relies heavily on foreign labor to counter severe demographic shifts and w

Sep 5, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Under new program, Korea preps Mongolian migrant workers before arrival
Environment & Animals

Seoul to hold cleanup festival at Han River park for Resource Circulation Day

Seoul will host a two-day environmental festival at Gwangnaru Bicycle Park along the Han River, Saturday and Sunday, combining trash pickup with hands-on activities to mark Resource Circulation Day, observed Sept. 6, the city said. The event, called "Our Neighborhood Hangang Park Beautification: GREEN Hangang," invites participants to pick up litter, learn proper waste sorting and try upcycling crafts, including making cotton candy powered by pedaling a stationary bike and building musical instruments out of discarded materials. It builds on an ongoing citizen program in which the Gwangnaru Environmental Volunteer Corps has cleaned the park and removed invasive plants every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday since April, drawing about 900 participants so far; those regular cleanups continue through November. A similar event tied to Environment Day in June drew 1,800 participants. Organizers said the festival also highlights the Han River's recovering ecosystem, which has recently seen the return of otters and other wildlife. The event runs across four zones. In Han River Guardians, participan

Sep 4, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul to hold cleanup festival at Han River park for Resource Circulation Day
South Korea

Korea Customs Service to run 24-hour clearance support ahead of Chuseok

The Korea Customs Service will roll out a package of special measures ahead of Chuseok, Korea's autumn holiday, to speed the supply of seasonal food items, ease import clearance and reduce the financial burden on exporters, the agency said. From Sept. 7-27, 34 customs offices nationwide will operate 24-hour special clearance teams, including nights and holidays, to fast-track imports of holiday food staples and urgently needed raw materials, while stepping up inspections of imported food to block unsafe or illegal products. Separate teams will handle the surge in direct overseas purchases — personal imports bought straight from foreign online retailers — at customs offices in Incheon, Pyeongtaek, Gunsan, Yongdang and Gimpo Airport. To curb the stockpiling of items covered by tariff-rate quotas, such as frozen pork and fruit, the agency will impose penalty surcharges on delayed import declarations and step up inspections of bonded warehouses to ensure timely release of goods. A "special customs refund support" period will run Sept. 10-23 to ease exporters' cash flow, with refunds gene

Sep 4, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea Customs Service to run 24-hour clearance support ahead of Chuseok
People & Events

Seoul's taekwondo performance series returns for fall season after summer break

The free 2026 Seoul Taekwondo Performance series resumes Sept. 5 at Namsangol Hanok Village and the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), the city said, following a summer hiatus after drawing more than 20,000 spectators in the first half of the year. The city held 35 performances in the first six months of 2026, attracting 20,809 viewers — more than double last year's turnout for the same period and already surpassing all of 2025's annual attendance of 19,835. Of the 22,308 people who took part in performances and hands-on experience programs combined, 7,462, or 33.4 percent, were foreign tourists — meaning roughly one in three participants came from abroad. The series combines traditional taekwondo demonstrations with staged performance elements, aimed at giving both domestic and international visitors an accessible introduction to Korea's national martial art. The main fall performances run weekends at 2 and 4 p.m. from Sept. 5 through Oct. 18 at Cheonu Pavilion in Namsangol Hanok Village, a recreated traditional village in Jung District. Performing groups include Kukkiwon, Korea's offi

Sep 4, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul's taekwondo performance series returns for fall season after summer break
Travel & Food

Busan on pace to hit 3 mil. foreign visitors 2 months earlier than last year

Busan drew 2.93 million foreign tourists from January through July, reaching 73.2 percent of its annual target of 4 million visitors, the city said. The figure marks a 46.1 percent increase from the same period last year, far outpacing Korea's overall 21.3 percent growth rate in foreign arrivals. July alone brought 507,045 foreign visitors to the southeastern port city, breaking June's record of 484,057 and marking a second consecutive monthly high. Busan accounted for 24.2 percent of all foreign arrivals to Korea that month, meaning roughly one in four visitors to the country came to Busan. The city expects to surpass 3 million foreign visitors for the year sometime in August, about two months earlier than last year, when it first crossed that threshold in October. Taiwan and China were Busan's top visitor markets in July, with about 128,000 and 125,000 visitors respectively, together accounting for nearly half of the month's arrivals. Cumulative visitors from the United States reached 259,675 through July, up 78.4 percent from a year earlier — more than six times the national growth

Sep 4, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Busan on pace to hit 3 mil. foreign visitors 2 months earlier than last year
Korean Heritage

Korea Heritage Service sets up temporary shelter to restore Egypt's Ramesseum temple gate

The Korea Heritage Service (KHS) and its affiliate, the Korea National University of Heritage (KNUH), held a completion ceremony Wednesday for a temporary protective shelter built over the Ramesseum temple's pylon gate in Luxor, Egypt, marking a milestone in a Korean-led restoration project. The Ramesseum is the mortuary temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II, who ruled Egypt's 19th dynasty from roughly 1279 B.C. to 1213 B.C., and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage site "Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis." Years of weathering, sharp temperature swings and earthquake risk have long threatened the structure's stability. KHS and KNUH have worked with Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), led by Secretary-General Hisham El-Leithy, since 2023 on a five-year project to dismantle and restore the temple's pylon, or monumental gateway. During excavation and survey work, researchers identified a cartouche — an oval hieroglyphic frame enclosing a pharaoh's name — bearing Ramesses II's name, along with a previously unrecorded place name that could help confirm the extent of his kingdom's

Sep 4, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea Heritage Service sets up temporary shelter to restore Egypt's Ramesseum temple gate
Travel & Food

Korea reimagines overseas cultural centers as gateways to Korean lifestyle

Korea’s cultural footprint has long been defined by chart-topping pop bands and Oscar-winning cinema. Now, the government is leveraging that soft power to fuel a commercial transformation. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism revealed plans, Friday, to turn six overseas Korean Cultural Centers into permanent promotional hubs for everyday consumer goods. Under the newly minted Global K-Zone initiative, diplomacy will merge with commercial retail as hubs in Tokyo, New York, Paris, Los Angeles, Beijing and Shanghai showcase Korean beauty, cuisine and fashion. The initiative marks a pivot from passive artistic diplomacy to active economic export. By housing these zones within existing Korean Cultural Centers — hubs that consolidate state tourism, content and language agencies — officials aim to convert global fascination with screen culture into sales for tangible consumer products. The rollout begins Saturday in Tokyo, where the local cultural center will showcase 194 beauty products across 52 brands, including industry titans like Amorepacific, Sulwhasoo and Laneige. Visitors

Sep 4, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea reimagines overseas cultural centers as gateways to Korean lifestyle
Companies

AliExpress doubles Chuseok promotion lineup with more brands

AliExpress, the global e-commerce platform, is running its largest Chuseok promotion to date this month, roughly doubling the number of discounted products from a year earlier ahead of one of Korea's two biggest traditional holidays, the company said. Chuseok, a mid-autumn festival often compared to Thanksgiving, falls on Sept. 25 this year and is typically marked by family gatherings and gift-giving. The campaign, which began with early promotions Aug. 30, runs through Sept. 23 in a series of themed phases tied to holiday shopping and the start of fall. It opened with holiday essentials at discounted prices through Sept. 7, followed by category-focused deals from Sept. 8-11. From Sept. 14-20, the platform will highlight outdoor gear, electronics and holiday gift sets under themes built around fall outings and holiday preparation, before closing Sept. 21-23 with discounts from major brands. AliExpress said this year's event roughly doubles last year's product lineup and, alongside its traditional strength in direct overseas purchases, it has expanded its roster to include about 3,000 gl

Sep 4, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
AliExpress doubles Chuseok promotion lineup with more brands
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