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Lee Kyung-min

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr

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Environment & Animals

Seoul museum gives discarded festival banners second life as designer accessories

Discarded festival banners are getting a second act as limited-edition accessories, with the Seoul Museum of History transforming last year’s European Film Festival promotional materials into card wallets and mini bags that combine distinctive designs with a push toward sustainability. The museum will begin selling the upcycled merchandise at its museum shop on Thursday, using recycled materials to reduce waste from exhibitions and cultural events. The products were developed in collaboration with Van a Banner, an upcycling company led by Lee Ban-seok, which helped turn the used polyvinyl chloride banners into practical everyday items. Recycled fabric is used for the products’ linings and mesh components, extending the reuse effort beyond the original banner material. Because different sections of the banners are cut and incorporated into each item, the finished products vary in color and pattern, making each piece unique, the museum said. The card wallet features a mesh pocket for cards and a zippered compartment for small belongings, while the mini bag has a magnetic flap designed f

Oct 13, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul museum gives discarded festival banners second life as designer accessories
Travel & Food

Young chefs turn seasonal greens into modern comfort food at Seoul Forest

As young urbanites in Korea increasingly navigate the pressures of fast-paced city life dominated by convenience store meals and high-sugar takeout, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is offering a fresh alternative: healthy eating as a vibrant, everyday lifestyle rather than a restrictive chore. Seoul Forest Park will transform into an open-air culinary playground Sunday for the Youth and Family Healthy Food Picnic. Running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. around the park's outdoor stage, the autumn festival invites young residents and their families to discover how seasonal, plant-forward cooking can be both accessible and delicious. The main event of the afternoon is a high-energy live cooking competition titled "Youth Healthy Table." Ten finalist chefs, selected through a nationwide recipe contest, will take to the stage to transform October's local bounty — including spinach, Napa cabbage, sweet potatoes and wild mushrooms — into creative, balanced dishes. A panel composed of professional chefs and citizen judges will evaluate the entries based on taste, nutrition and originality to sele

Oct 13, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Young chefs turn seasonal greens into modern comfort food at Seoul Forest
Companies

Seoul AI startup secures prized gateway to US market via New York program

A Seoul-based AI startup has joined a prestigious New York City commercialization program, opening a rare doorway to test its products with American companies and court global investors. NextPayments was the only Korean company among 14 startups selected for NYC AI Nexus, a program organized by the New York City Economic Development Corp., from more than 200 applicants worldwide, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday. Beginning in November, NextPayments plans to conduct pilot projects with local companies, focusing on retail and food service, to test its technology and assess demand in the U.S. market. The company develops AI platforms that integrate data from offline businesses, including orders, payments, products, staffing, logistics and customer behavior, into a unified system. Through the yearlong program, selected startups receive local office space, strategic advice, introductions to potential business partners, help with proof-of-concept projects, expert consultations and assistance in attracting investment. The New York City Economic Development Corp. plans to select as

Oct 13, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul AI startup secures prized gateway to US market via New York program
Korean Heritage

Master percussionist takes center stage in historic heritage showcase

In the disciplined world of "pansori," Korea’s traditional narrative storytelling through song, the barrel drummer — or "gosu" — occupies a place of quiet, essential reverence. For centuries, folklore has maintained that a singer’s success depends first on the drummer, then on the vocalist. Yet despite holding the pulse of the performance, the drummer almost always plays second fiddle, tethered to the singer’s shadow. Master percussionist Yoo In-sang will reverse that age-old hierarchy on Oct. 24 when he steps to the forefront of the stage at the National Intangible Heritage Center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Titled IMPRESSION, the concert serves as the grand finale of the center’s 2026 Isujadyeon series, an annual showcase spotlighting certified successors of Korea’s official intangible cultural heritage. Yoo, a veteran performer who has spent decades directing music and providing rhythmic accompaniment for major national dance and theater productions, will transform the traditional drum from a supportive backdrop into the main event. Divided into four distinct acts,

Oct 13, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Master percussionist takes center stage in historic heritage showcase
Tech & Science

KAIST's HBM pioneer honored with S&T Innovation Award

As artificial intelligence (AI) drives demand for ever-faster computing, Kim Joung-ho, a professor from Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), credited with helping lay the foundations for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), will receive a science and technology innovation award recognizing his contributions to Korea’s semiconductor industry. The Daejeon Development Committee will present the Science and Technology Innovation Award to Kim at 11 a.m. on Thursday at Lotte City Hotel Daejeon, honoring the professor for his research and role in advancing the development and commercialization of HBM. Kim, a professor in KAIST’s School of Electrical Engineering, has spent three decades researching next-generation memory technologies, including HBM, high-bandwidth flash and high-bandwidth SRAM, according to the committee. He proposed core concepts and the basic architecture of HBM and participated in key design and technology validation work during its development in 2009, contributing to SK hynix’s commercialization of the technology in December 2013, which the committee des

Oct 13, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
KAIST's HBM pioneer honored with S&T Innovation Award
Arts & Theater

Broadway phenomenon 'Hamilton' set for Korea premiere in December

Broadway sensation “Hamilton,” which reshaped musical theater with its fusion of hip-hop, jazz and R&B, will make its long-awaited Korea debut in December, launching a new world tour with limited engagements in Busan and Seoul. The musical, produced by S&Co and presented by Clip Service, will run at Dream Theatre in Busan from Dec. 17 this year to Jan. 16, 2027, before moving to the Grand Theater of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul from Jan. 21 to March 20, 2027. Based on Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the United States, the production traces the immigrant’s rise to become a central figure in the early American republic and its financial system. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the book, music and lyrics, weaving 46 songs into a score that combines contemporary musical styles with Broadway traditions to tell a story of ambition, political rivalry and revolution. Since its Broadway premiere at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in August 2015, “Hamilton” has earned 16 Tony Award nominations, winning 11, including the best musical,

Oct 13, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Broadway phenomenon 'Hamilton' set for Korea premiere in December
Arts & Theater

Sejong Center opens nighttime garden to extend Seoul's cultural evenings outdoors

When the curtain falls at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts this autumn, the show will no longer end at the auditorium doors. A newly landscaped courtyard garden in central Seoul is set to extend the evening outdoors, offering theatergoers live jazz, food stalls and a space to linger beneath nighttime illuminations. The center will launch Curtain Call Garden on Thursday, running the outdoor cultural program through Nov. 8 at its Art Garden behind the venue in central Seoul’s Gwanghwamun area. Open daily from 5 to 11 p.m., the garden will welcome visitors free of charge, extending the experience of live performance beyond the theater and encouraging residents and tourists to spend more time in the downtown district. The program is part of Seoul’s initiative to stimulate the nighttime economy by activating cultural spaces after dark and bringing more visitors to nearby businesses. Club Janus, a landmark of Korea’s jazz scene since opening in 1978, has curated 15 live performances scheduled from Wednesdays through Saturdays. The lineup includes Prelude, one of Korea’s leading

Oct 12, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Sejong Center opens nighttime garden to extend Seoul's cultural evenings outdoors
Education

Strengthening educational ties between Korea, Nepal

Sonam Sherpa, left, president of the Society of Nepalese Students in Korea (SONSIK), presents a briefing binder on student welfare to Ram Kaji Khadka, joint secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, during a meeting in Kathmandu, Thursday. The two discussed key issues affecting Nepali students studying in Korea, including student welfare, academic document verification and broader educational cooperation between the two nations. Courtesy of SONSIK

Oct 12, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Strengthening educational ties between Korea, Nepal
People & Events

Seoul exhibition examines art books as sculptural objects of paper, typography, texture

Books are almost universally judged by the text on their pages, but a new exhibition in Seoul invites audiences to look beyond words and consider how paper, typography and binding can elevate a physical volume into a standalone work of art. Presented by Seoul Art Book Bogo — a public cultural facility operated in tandem with the Korean Publishers Association — “Artbookgraphy: A Landscape Where Art and Publishing Intersect” runs through Dec. 6 in Guro District in western Seoul. The exhibition, which opened Wednesday, marks the venue’s first major survey dedicated to the medium since its founding in 2022. Unlike trade publications, art books intentionally fuse tactile form with thematic substance, treating cover materials, graphic layouts and structural binding as core components of artistic expression. “An art book is more than text and images — it is an artwork enjoyed through its cover, paper texture and the very act of turning its pages,” said Oh Ji-eun, director of the Seoul Metropolitan Library. “We hope this exhibition encourages visitors to see books through a fr

Oct 12, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul exhibition examines art books as sculptural objects of paper, typography, texture
Korean Heritage

Korea designates midcentury masterpieces, historic Gwangju theater as cultural heritage sites

Four sites reflecting Korea’s industrial, architectural and wartime history have been proposed for national heritage registration, including a factory designed by one of the country’s most influential modern architects and a cinema that has served audiences for more than nine decades. The Korea Heritage Service said Monday that it will propose national registration for the former Yuyu Pharmaceutical factory in Anyang, Gwangju Theater, the former Daejeon Public Hall and Japanese military aircraft hangars at Altteureu Airfield in Moseulpo, Jeju Island. The former Yuyu Pharmaceutical complex, built between 1958 and 1960, comprises a factory, research building and guardhouse designed by Kim Chung-up, a leading figure in modern Korean architecture. The complex is recognized for its historical role in the pharmaceutical industry and architectural features that reflect Kim’s early work, including distinctive columns, projecting window frames and a cylindrical guardhouse. Gwangju Theater, which opened in 1935 under an organization established with Korean capital during Japanese colonial ru

Oct 12, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea designates midcentury masterpieces, historic Gwangju theater as cultural heritage sites
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