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Lee Kyung-min

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Korea mobilizes diplomatic outposts for youth employment

Facing a shifting global economy, the Korean government is leaning heavily on its diplomatic network to pave new career paths for its young professionals abroad. The Ministry of Employment and Labor, in tandem with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced Thursday the launch of a two-day convention involving overseas employment officers from 17 diplomatic missions across 11 nations, including the United States and Japan. The initiative signals an institutional push to transition state-sponsored youth employment programs from simple local job matching to strategic international career placement. According to state data, approximately 7,700 young Koreans participated in government-backed global employment initiatives last year. While past efforts primarily focused on predeparture language training and initial job scouting, the new framework heavily prioritizes long-term safety, legal security and sustainable career advancement once workers are on the ground. By utilizing embassies and consulates as active career hubs, authorities intend to help young expatriates navigate complex local

May 21, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea mobilizes diplomatic outposts for youth employment
South Korea

Korea’s most-populous province launches multilingual blitz to get foreign residents to vote

As Korea prepares for its upcoming local elections on June 3, Gyeonggi Province is launching an ambitious campaign to ensure its growing foreign population isn't left out of the democratic process. In a bid to overcome language barriers and systemic information gaps, the provincial government announced the deployment of voter turnout posters translated into 13 different languages. Under Korea’s Public Official Election Act, certain foreign residents hold the right to vote in local elections. Eligible voters must be at least 18 years old, have held permanent residency for at least three years and be officially registered on their local municipality's foreigner registry. Despite these legal rights, many eligible non-Korean residents sit out of elections due to a lack of accessible information in their native languages. To bridge this gap, Gyeonggi Province’s Department of Immigration and Social Policy designed a highly visual, multilingual informational campaign. In addition to Korean, the promotional materials include languages such as English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Uzbek and Nepali.

May 21, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea’s most-populous province launches multilingual blitz to get foreign residents to vote
Defense

Korea, India deepen defense ties with new military agreements

Korea and India are deepening their military ties and defense manufacturing cooperation, signing a series of new agreements on Wednesday as both nations seek to fortify their special strategic partnership amid shifting geopolitical alliances across Asia. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back met Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh at Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, where the two sides discussed expanding defense cooperation across military, cybersecurity and peacekeeping operations. The visit marked the first trip to Korea by an Indian defense minister since 2019. The meeting followed agreements reached during last year’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus, where Ahn invited Singh to Seoul. The two ministers said they will build on the joint strategic vision announced during a Korea-India summit in April by broadening cooperation in defense and arms production. Both sides also agreed on the need to strengthen regular bilateral consultation channels to create a more systematic framework for military cooperation. Officials said the ministers highly e

May 20, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea, India deepen defense ties with new military agreements
South Korea

Seoul deploys ‘mystery shoppers’ to guard against price gouging at Gwangjang Market

Gwangjang Market, a 120-year-old landmark celebrated as the epicenter of Seoul’s bustling street food culture, is facing an institutional crackdown. Following a string of highly publicized scandals involving price-gouging and unsanitary food preparation, municipal authorities announced Wednesday a sweeping regulatory campaign designed to restore public confidence in the historic site. The Seoul Metropolitan Government, in tandem with Jongno District Office, will deploy a team of undercover "mystery shoppers" — including foreign nationals — to spot-check the market’s dense grid of food stalls through June. These covert inspectors will monitor vendors for predatory practices, including pressuring customers to order more food, inflating prices for international tourists and basic health code violations. The regulatory squeeze comes amid fierce online backlash over hidden costs and vendor controversies, such as the widely criticized practice of reusing ice. In response, the city’s food policy inspectors are targeting 159 licensed restaurants and 109 independent food carts to scrut

May 20, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul deploys ‘mystery shoppers’ to guard against price gouging at Gwangjang Market
South Korea

Seoul transforms former landfill into sprawling riverside escape

World Cup Park, a sprawling green space built atop a former municipal landfill, is undergoing a major redesign to reinforce its position as a primary retreat for the capital city’s northwestern districts. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that the sweeping project will add new forested paths, linear gardens and enhanced observation points to better connect the park's distinct ecological zones. The site, known historically as Nanjido, served as the city's primary waste dump from 1978 to 1993 before undergoing a massive environmental stabilization and restoration effort. Today, it is split into specialized sectors, including Noeul Park, celebrated for its sunset views over the Han River, and Haneul Park, famous for its elevated meadows of silver grass. A central component of the new initiative is a 1-kilometer extension of the park's redwood paths. Opening Friday, the new section completes a 2.3-kilometer continuous promenade known as the World Cup Park Metasequoia Road. City planners have installed wooden deck entryways and rest areas along the trail to accommodate walke

May 20, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul transforms former landfill into sprawling riverside escape
South Korea

As crows dive-bomb pedestrians, gov't warns against eye contact

Environmental authorities in Korea issued a public safety advisory Wednesday, warning urban residents of an increase in aggressive behaviors by large-billed crows as the birds enter their peak breeding season. The Ministry of Environment and the National Institute of Biological Resources said they are distributing ecological guidelines to local governments to help mitigate conflicts between humans and the highly adaptable birds. While crows are a common fixture in metropolitan areas, officials noted that encounters turn hazardous between May and July, when fledgling crows leave their nests but remain clumsy fliers close to the ground. During this fledgling period, parent crows become acutely protective. Perceiving passing pedestrians as imminent threats to their offspring, the adult birds frequently launch defensive dive-bombs, targeting the heads and necks of unsuspecting humans. To minimize confrontations, wildlife officials urged the public to carry umbrellas, wear hats or use bags to shield their heads when walking through wooded urban parks. Pedestrians are also advised to avoid di

May 20, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
As crows dive-bomb pedestrians, gov't warns against eye contact
South Korea

Korea launches yearlong cultural diplomacy campaign in Southeast Asia

Korea is expanding its cultural footprint in Southeast Asia with the launch of the “2026 Korea Season,” a yearlong campaign of performances, exhibitions and festivals designed to deepen ties with Thailand and Vietnam. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Wednesday that the initiative will leverage major institutional milestones, including the relocation and reopening of the Korean Cultural Center in Thailand and the 20th anniversary of the cultural center in Vietnam. While regional interest in K-pop and K-dramas remains high, officials are looking to diversify the country's cultural exports by blending traditional heritage with contemporary Western art forms. The program begins this month with a tour by the Yoon Byul Ballet Company, presenting "Gat," a production that reinterprets traditional Korean headwear through Western classical dance. The performance is scheduled for May 23 in Bangkok before moving to Hanoi on May 27. By autumn, the initiative will shift toward modern programming with the "K-Live Festival" in October, which organizers said will feature collaborativ

May 20, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea launches yearlong cultural diplomacy campaign in Southeast Asia
K-pop

Everland turns into g.o.d. fan festival for group's 10,000-day milestone

Everland, Korea’s largest theme park, is transforming its expansive grounds into a sprawling festival arena to honor the veteran boy band g.o.d., marking the group’s 10,000th day since its debut. The corporate collaboration underscores a growing trend in the entertainment industry of merging physical infrastructure with pop music franchises to capture fan loyalty. Samsung C&T Resort Group, the amusement park's operator, said Wednesday that it will host a four-day celebration, called “Sky Blue Balloon Week,” running from Wednesday through Saturday. The project effectively reengineers the theme park into a massive, site-specific retrospective built around one of Korea’s most enduring musical acts. Since entering the music scene in 1999, g.o.d. has remained a prominent fixture in the country’s cultural landscape. The five-member group is widely recognized for the emotional ballads and accessible harmonies that helped define the foundational era of contemporary Korean pop music, long before K-pop became a global economic export. The four-day event will feature multimedia exhibiti

May 20, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Everland turns into g.o.d. fan festival for group's 10,000-day milestone
Companies

POSCO Future M signals push into next-generation EV battery market

POSCO Future M said Wednesday it has secured mass production technology for silicon anode materials, a next-generation battery component seen as critical to extending electric vehicle driving range and cutting charging times. The company said the breakthrough positions it to move aggressively into the premium EV market, where automakers are increasingly demanding higher energy density and faster charging performance. Silicon anode materials can store more than four times the energy of conventional graphite-based anodes, making them one of the industry’s most closely watched battery technologies. POSCO Future M said its newly developed material maintained more than 80 percent of its original capacity after 1,000 charge-discharge cycles, even when silicon content exceeded 20 percent in testing. That marks a significant improvement over existing batteries, where silicon mixing ratios have largely remained in the single digits because of stability concerns. For years, silicon anodes have faced a major obstacle to commercialization because the material expands during charging and discharging

May 20, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
POSCO Future M signals push into next-generation EV battery market
Companies

LG breeds millions of native honeybees to save threatened ecosystem

In the dense, protected woodlands of Mount Jeonggwang, just outside Seoul, a massive biological resurrection is quietly underway. LG, the Korean conglomerate better known for consumer electronics, said Wednesday that its ecological preservation initiative has successfully quadrupled the local population of the endangered Korean native wild honeybee from 1 million to 4 million within a single year. The initiative, launched last year by the conglomerate’s environmental arm, the LG Sangrok Foundation, established a specialized sanctuary near the Hwadam Forest arboretum. Working in close collaboration with Kim Dae-rip, designated as the nation's foremost master of traditional beekeeping, the project stabilized the initial colony at 2 million last year before achieving its current milestone of 4 million. The ultimate target is to double the population annually through 2027. Unlike imported Western honeybees, Korea’s native wild bees play an irreplaceable role in the local ecosystem, specifically pollinating indigenous flora that other species cannot. However, their numbers plummeted by r

May 20, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
LG breeds millions of native honeybees to save threatened ecosystem
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