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Lee Hae-rin

Korea Times K-Culture Reporter

Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.

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Travel & Food

Korea takes spotlight as Trip.com rolls out data-driven travel picks

INCHEON — Trip.com, a leading online travel platform, underscored Korea’s growing role in global tourism on Tuesday as it introduced its data-driven curation service, Trip.Best, at a media event at Incheon’s Paradise City resort. Korea was selected as the inaugural host for the Trip.Best 2025 gathering, marking a strategic move that underscores the nation’s growing influence in global tourism. Trip.Best is Trip.com’s annually updated, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered service that curates and ranks hotels, restaurants and travel destinations in more than 15,000 cities across 200 countries by analyzing booking data and user reviews to provide themed recommendations in 14 categories, helping travelers make confident choices in an information-heavy market. Since its launch in Korea in 2018, visits to Trip.com’s website and app have risen 144 percent in the first half of 2025, with a surge in repeat bookings underscoring strong customer loyalty. “Korea is becoming a strategic hub in the global travel market. Expanding the base of loyal customers and analyzing diverse trend d

Sep 17, 2025By Lee Hae-rin
Korea takes spotlight as Trip.com rolls out data-driven travel picks
Travel & Food

Korea launches major fall tourism campaign to boost local economies

Korea has launched a major autumn tourism campaign, offering discounted travel packages, regional festivals and expanded public-private partnerships in a bid to revive local economies, the government said Tuesday. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism launched the campaign together with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Six major business associations, including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also joined the effort, signaling strong collaboration between government and industry. At a declaration ceremony at the Korea Tourism Organization’s (KTO) Seoul center, participating groups pledged to promote travel to lesser-known regions while supporting small businesses and local service providers. Jointly organized by the culture ministry and the KTO, the campaign runs until November and is designed to mobilize both public resources and private networks. K-pop singer Chuu has been appointed as an honorary ambassador to draw younger travelers. The initiative features a suite

Sep 16, 2025By Lee Hae-rin
Korea launches major fall tourism campaign to boost local economies
Travel & Food

PHOTO Heartthrob Park Bo-gum named Incheon airport ambassador

Actor Park Bo-gum and Incheon International Airport Corp. President Lee Hag-jae pose for a photo during a ceremony for this year's honorary ambassador at the airport, Monday. Following in the footsteps of figure skating icons Kim Yuna and Cha Jun-hwan, K-pop girl group aespa and climber Um Hong-gil, Park will promote Korea's busiest air travel hub for three years. Courtesy of Incheon International Airport Corp.

Sep 16, 2025By Lee Hae-rinphoto
[PHOTO] Heartthrob Park Bo-gum named Incheon airport ambassador
Environment & Animals

Warming climate extends Korea’s mosquito season beyond summer

For generations, Koreans took comfort in an old saying: “After Cheoseo, mosquitoes lose their bite.” The seasonal marker, which fell on Aug. 23 this year, traditionally signaled the shift to cooler autumn weather. But that wisdom no longer holds. Recent studies show that in Korea, mosquito activity now reaches its peak not in midsummer but well into autumn, as climate change reshapes the insect’s life cycle in unexpected ways. Data from the Seoul Research Institute of Health and Environment showed that more mosquitoes were observed in the fall than in the summer last year. Between April and November, 16,997 mosquitoes were collected in light traps across the capital. More than half — 54.3 percent, or 9,234 — were observed in the fall months of September through November. October alone accounted for 5,087, more than twice July’s total of 2,511. The shift has been consistent in recent years. Between 2015 and 2019, mosquito activity typically peaked in July or August. Since 2020, however, the peak has moved to September, October or even November, with 2022 seeing the latest surge

Sep 16, 2025By Lee Hae-rin
Warming climate extends Korea’s mosquito season beyond summer
Environment & Animals

Court rules to halt Saemangeum airport project over environmental threats, bird strike risks

Korea’s administrative court delivered a landmark ruling to halt the Saemangeum Airport project Thursday, citing severe environmental damage and a heightened risk of bird strikes, in a decision widely hailed by activists but criticized by local officials. The Seoul Administrative Court canceled the basic plan for Saemangeum International Airport development, concluding that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had failed to adequately assess environmental threats. Presiding Judge Lee Joo-young said the project poised “a higher risk of bird strikes than any other operating airport in the nation” and lacked a sound plan for minimizing ecological damage. According to data, the airport site in North Jeolla Province was projected to face up to 45 bird collisions annually within a 13-kilometer radius, compared with three at Incheon International Airport and less than one at other regional airports. The figure was 610 times higher than Muan Airport’s rate of 0.07. The ruling drew particular weight from the fact that Muan, despite its relatively low risk level, was the sit

Sep 12, 2025By Lee Hae-rin
Court rules to halt Saemangeum airport project over environmental threats, bird strike risks
Law & Crime

PHOTO Gold export fraud unveiled at airport customs

Gold products disguised as Korean exports are displayed at Incheon Airport Regional Customs, Friday, after seven domestic companies were caught falsifying certificates of origin to evade U.S. tariffs, with the rerouted gold totaling 283.9 billion won ($204 million). Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Sep 12, 2025By Lee Hae-rinphoto
[PHOTO] Gold export fraud unveiled at airport customs
Travel & Food

Dance festival celebrating 'KPop Demon Hunters' to be held at Seoul Plaza

Seoul Plaza will transform into a dance stage for global fans of Netflix’s animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” this Sunday, as the city hosts the 2025 Seoul Hunters Festival featuring dance, music and interactive K-pop programs. Organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Tourism Organization, the event will be held at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall on Sunday at 6 p.m., featuring cover performances inspired by the film’s soundtracks and choreography. Singer-rapper DinDin and television personality Cho Hyun-young will host the event, which will showcase 10 teams from across Asia, the Americas and Europe. While some teams will travel to Seoul to perform in person, others will join the competition through an online stream. Organizers said one of the highlights will be the appearance by Choding Huntrix, a young cover team composed of elementary school students whose performance clips recently surpassed 9 million views on YouTube. The competition will be divided into dance and vocal categories and structured in rounds, using five iconic songs featured in key scenes of t

Sep 12, 2025By Lee Hae-rin
Dance festival celebrating 'KPop Demon Hunters' to be held at Seoul Plaza
Travel & Food

Korea looks to escape rooms to drive next wave of tourism

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) has launched a new initiative to promote escape room venues, known locally as “bangtalchul cafes,” as the next wave of Hallyu tourism, aiming to make the experience more accessible to international visitors. Escape rooms are immersive spaces where participants solve themed puzzles to escape an indoor entertainment facility within a set time limit. The craze gained momentum in Korea in the mid-2010s, evolving from simple lock-and-key setups to elaborate scenarios featuring intricate storylines and technology. Today, these indoor entertainment experiences, celebrated for their blend of challenge, teamwork and storytelling, take inspiration from Korean myths, pop culture and historical events and are often located in vibrant entertainment districts. KTO’s K-Quest Tour program is designed to showcase the appeal of local escape rooms to international tourists, as indoor entertainment experiences currently enjoy explosive popularity among young Koreans. This trend, officials note, is part of a broader “dailycation” movement that sees travelers se

Sep 12, 2025By Lee Hae-rin
Korea looks to escape rooms to drive next wave of tourism
People & Events

World Taekwondo leader charts digital, humanitarian future for sport

World Taekwondo President Choue Chung-won, architect of the Korean martial art’s transformation over the past two decades, is poised to make history as he vies for a final term in an upcoming October election. In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Choue reflected on guiding taekwondo through multiple reforms and introducing technological upgrades and humanitarian initiatives since taking office in 2004 — efforts he says have secured the Korean martial art’s place not only on the world stage but also as a symbol of global harmony. “Since launching the Reform Committee in 2004, we’ve driven innovations like video replay, the Protector and Scoring System, differentiated scoring, enhanced referee training and uniform upgrades,” Choue said, explaining that securing taekwondo’s place in eight consecutive Olympic Games through 2028 is a testament to these efforts. Among the milestones Choue treasures most are taekwondo’s Paralympics debut at Tokyo 2020, the historic launch in 2016 of the Taekwondo Cares program and Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation (THF). “WT’s vision

Sep 11, 2025By Lee Hae-rin
World Taekwondo leader charts digital, humanitarian future for sport
Society

Seoul police to restrict anti-China protests in Myeong-dong

Seoul police announced plans Wednesday to impose stricter restrictions on anti-China protests near the Chinese Embassy in Myeong-dong, aiming to prevent clashes and safeguard both diplomatic staff and tourists as demonstrations escalate. According to the Namdaemun Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the area, authorities are reviewing formal notices of limitations on assembly for groups such as Free University, which have organized recurring protests in the embassy’s vicinity. Police said the measures will specifically prohibit actions likely to trigger friction, including verbal abuse and physical altercations targeting foreign diplomats and passersby. “Violations of these restrictions could result in dispersal orders, future bans on assemblies and even criminal prosecution for repeated infractions,” a police official said. “Police are prepared to make immediate arrests on site for acts that fall under criminal defamation or assault.” Most protest organizers come from five right-wing, youth-led groups that support former President Yoon Suk Yeol. They have regularly sta

Sep 10, 2025By Lee Hae-rin
Seoul police to restrict anti-China protests in Myeong-dong
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