The Korea Times

RESCENE named half-time performers for upcoming Man City vs. AT Madrid match

K-pop girl group RESCENE will take to the stage during an upcoming high-profile football match in the 2026 Coupang Play Series. Coupang Play on Wednesday announced RESCENE’s performance during the half-time show for the 2026 Coupang Series’ Manchester City vs Atlético Madrid match, set to take place at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Aug. 9. RESCENE, consisting of members Woni, Liv, Minami, May and Zena, debuted in 2024 with the release of their first album “Re:Scene" under The Muze Entertainment, a newly formed agency. The group went viral this year on social media with a video showing Woni and Minami’s Japanese “gyaru” style makeup — based on the Japanese subculture and its over-the-top makeup, clothes and hair — during a visit to Woni’s rural hometown of Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province. The video sparked widespread interest in RESCENE, as well as spawning memes. The group’s performance carries particular significance due to RESCENE’s passion for football. Most notably, the group streamed their reactions and commentary on Korea’s performance in the 2026 FIFA World

Jul 15, 2026By Kim Young-moo

RESCENE named half-time performers for upcoming Man City vs. AT Madrid match

Opinion

ZOOMER DIARIES Betting on the apocalypse

My friends and I have begun taking bets on when the apocalypse will happen. The years we picked did not matter so much as the fact that we all agreed that we would see it in our lifetime. In fact, everyone in my generation that I’ve talked to confesses almost shamefully that at the back of their mind, there is a sense that everything is going terribly wrong. The apocalypse, for our generation, can be best understood as — and sometimes at — an all-you-can-eat buffet. Every time I visit a buffet, a wave of nausea and dread washes over me. People rush past each other with dishes stacked with delicacies, from tropical fruits to steaming meat. The floors and tables are sticky with the memory of countless food spills past. Dishes of half-eaten food are whisked away by unseen waiters, presumably to be discarded by the truckload. While I bite down on the leg of a turkey and its juices run down my chin, a mother carefully divides her rationed bread and hands her starving child the bigger piece in Gaza, in Sudan, in Haiti. For environmentalists, the apocalypse is the still-rising GHG emissi

Jul 14, 2026By Kim Young-moo

[ZOOMER DIARIES] Betting on the apocalypse

Sports

The Korean hair tie behind Norway's Viking hero

Amid Norway's unexpected breakout success in the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup, all eyes are on Erling Haaland, who has become the viral poster child of his national team. While Haaland was already famous for his status as one of the best strikers in the world, the World Cup has brought widespread focus on the footballer’s striking features and imposing 1.95-meter frame that make him instantly recognizable on and off the field, even to first-time football fans. Of particular note is Haaland’s long blond hair, which he ties into a slicked-back bun during his games. This iconic hairstyle is helped along by KKNEKKI, a brand that has its roots in Korea. KKNEKKI, meaning yarn in Gyeongsang dialect, was created in Korea in 1987, incorporating Korea’s traditional artisan spirit into its production. It was later bought by the family-owned Norwegian group Bon Dep. The hair ties are made from woven polyester fabric and tied off with a plastic bead. The soft weave provides a comfortable and snag-free tie, especially for fragile and easily-damaged hair. There are over 700 colors to choose from, in

Jul 9, 2026By Kim Young-moo

The Korean hair tie behind Norway's Viking hero

Environment & Animals

Warmer seas bring endangered whale shark to Jeju coast

A fishing boat reported sighting a whale shark in the waters near Jeju Island, Wednesday. A video uploaded to fishing vessel Seungryong's social media account shows the distinct white spots and the broad head shape of a whale shark, estimated to be around 3 meters in length. While whale sharks are typically found in tropical waters, they have been sighted in waters near Korea in recent years, a trend attributed to warmer ocean temperatures as a result of climate change. Korean waters have traditionally been a crossroads for cold and warm ocean currents, but a 2020 study found that the sea surface temperature of Korean waters has been increasing nearly 2.5 times higher than the global average. As a result of climate change, the Kuroshio Current — the main source of heat from equatorial waters to Korea — has shifted northwards by roughly 1.7 degrees of latitude and continues to advance. Meanwhile, the North Korea Cold Current continues to weaken due to warming temperatures in subarctic regions. Consequently, sightings of subtropical oceanic species such as chub mackerel and bluefin tuna

Jul 2, 2026By Kim Young-moo

Warmer seas bring endangered whale shark to Jeju coast

Society

Searching for K-Sappho: LGBTQ+ people in Korean history

“I tell you / Someone will remember us / even in another time.” This three-line fragment of a poem is attributed to Sappho of Lesbos, a poet well-known for her wistful yet romantic musings on love. She is also the etymological origin of the term “sapphic,” and the more widely known “lesbian.” Sappho is a rare case of a historical figure that is widely agreed to have been part of the LGBTQ+ community. Historical figures, unless their sexualities are explicitly voiced, are often viewed through a lens of heteronormativity. Even considering shifting societal attitudes toward sexual orientation and gender expression, history yields proof that people have always been more complex than the comfortable binaries many believe in. Though not widely known or referenced, Korean history too features its own half-forgotten Sapphos, often mentioned only in passing but with enough consistent presence that they cannot be entirely overwritten — and when better than now to remember them? Warrior-poets of Silla Surviving records of Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) showcase a different set of norms

Jun 22, 2026By Kim Young-moo

Searching for K-Sappho: LGBTQ+ people in Korean history

Films

Eerily nostalgic liminal spaces become destinations in Korea's crowdsourced 'Backrooms Map'

Horror movie "Backrooms" opened in Korea May 27, drawing in nearly 400,000 admissions in its opening week and quickly rising to the No. 2 spot in the box office amid heavy competition with highly anticipated blockbusters. "Backrooms" is a horror movie directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons and based on his miniseries on YouTube of the same title, featuring infinitely sprawling and vaguely nostalgic rooms and passageways — in-between spaces beckoning the foolish and the foolhardy to enter. While the iconic mildewed wallpaper and the hum of fluorescent lighting are hard to find, the aesthetic of liminality — of being in between destinations — is one that has resonated with many viewers. Following the movie's release, a crowdsourced "Backrooms Map" launched, allowing for intrepid urban explorers to visit spaces around Korea that seem transient and half-remembered. Liminal horror draws in younger audiences The concept of the Backrooms, originating in a post to an anonymous image board in 2019, is the face of liminal horror, a modern subgenre of horror that focuses around transitionary spa

Jun 4, 2026By Kim Young-moo

Eerily nostalgic liminal spaces become destinations in Korea's crowdsourced 'Backrooms Map'

Others

K-pop, K-film and K-food: Why not K-games?

Role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 by French video game studio Sandfall Interactive and Hollow Knight: Silksong, the sequel to the critically acclaimed Hollow Knight, by Australian indie game studio Team Cherry were both released in 2025, marking a very memorable year for video games. Both titles were heralded as hallmarks in video game development, showcasing bold artistic choices, player-driven narratives and exploration of complex themes. Most importantly, however, the two games would continue to remain culturally relevant, spawning numerous inside jokes, memes and fan creations through most of the year — a remarkable staying power for a video game that few, if any, developed in Korea have yet to achieve. In recent years, Korea has become a cultural powerhouse in fields such as music, film and food, cultivating a loyal global fandom. Yet, the country has continuously struggled in the nascent video game market. It raises the question: Within the K-storm, why are there no K-games? How do games find cultural relevance? Video games have become a highly saturated market, with

Jun 2, 2026By Kim Young-moo

K-pop, K-film and K-food: Why not K-games?

Films

Old gods in a new world: K-folk horror to binge after 'Salmokji'

"Salmokji" recently surpassed 3 million ticket sales, becoming one of the most successful Korean horror films at the box office. In the film, a camera crew goes to Salmokji — a real reservoir in Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province — to retake a set of road view photos, only to find themselves trapped and hunted by water ghosts. With its use of isolated countryside locations, historically documented ghosts and shamanistic imagery, "Salmokji" delivers a masterclass in Korean folk horror — a subgenre that focuses on traditional Korean curses and spirits, sometimes coexisting or in conflict with newer religious beliefs. Here is a list of some K-folk horror media to check out if you’ve watched "Salmokji" and find yourself wanting more. 1. "The Wailing" (2016) In "The Wailing," written and directed by Na Hong-jin, the remote village of Goksung experiences a spree of violent murders by residents who seem to have contacted a mysterious illness. While toxic mushrooms are blamed, rumors whisper of a Japanese hermit being the one responsible. When police officer Jong-goo's daughter, Hyo

May 16, 2026By Kim Young-moo

Old gods in a new world: K-folk horror to binge after 'Salmokji'

Trends

Koreans highlight unfiltered moments in new hourly vlogging trend

Kim, a university graduate in her 20s, records a two-second video of herself studying at a cafe. Her friend, meanwhile, films herself in class, while another is in Amsterdam, still sound asleep. These moments become part of a longer video, consisting of similar snippets recorded hourly and running parallel of each other, showing what each person had been doing on the hour. Kim is among the many young Koreans who are using "Setlog," an application for creating vlogs that explore the beauty and humor that arise from sharing daily snippets of life with friends. "There are four of us, and we are all pursuing different paths in life," Kim said. "Because of this, we rarely get to see what each other's everyday lives actually look like. I'm using Setlog to share daily moments with my high school friends." How Setlog works Setlog is a social networking application that allows users to create a vlog through compiling two-second clips recorded every hour. Each vlog can be created individually or as a collaborative effort among up to twelve participants. Participants of a vlog can talk to each othe

May 8, 2026By Kim Young-moo

Koreans highlight unfiltered moments in new hourly vlogging trend

Books

Longing for human connection in LISA's 'Alter Ego'

In the halogen glow of a sprawling metropolis, people find themselves increasingly isolated despite the technological advancements that are designed to help them connect. From quick one-person panels to faceless crowds, loneliness bleeds through the pages of LISA’s new comic book, “Alter Ego.” “Alter Ego” is told as a loose comic anthology focusing on the stories of five friends — based on the five alter egos of LISA from the K-pop girl group BLAKCKPINK as presented in her album of the same name — living in the cyberpunk future of New Neon City. At the center of the five-woman team is Vixi, a spunky tech wiz on a mission to fix the city. Over the course of the plot, Vixi finds herself inextricably entangled in the lives of her four friends, providing them with the strength and courage needed to make peace with their lives. The first half of the book centers around the quintet’s reunion and the harassment Vixi faces from a trio of generic cyberpunk goons. She disposes of the three goons quickly with the help of her friends, prompting the realization that she does not hav

Apr 15, 2026By Kim Young-moo

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