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Lee Kyung-min

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People & Events

Seoul Design Week turns city into sprawling creative showcase

Seoul will turn itself into a sprawling design showcase this month, linking Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) with 150 design destinations across five districts during Seoul Design Week. The 12-day festival, running from Wednesday through Oct. 25, will center on DDP while extending into Dongdaemun, Seongsu, Yeonhui, Seochon and Apgujeong under this year’s theme, “The Design Recipe.” At DDP, the DDP Design Fair will bring together 79 lifestyle brands in an exhibition organized around consumer tastes rather than product categories. The fair will also feature work by about 100 students from 20 university design teams who collaborated with companies including Hyundai Motor, Oxfam, Goobne, Korean Red Cross and Davich Optical. The projects will show how ideas developed by emerging designers can move beyond classrooms into products, spaces, brands and commercial projects. Meanwhile, the Seoul Design Week Conference will examine how Seoul’s urban landscape and lifestyle have become sources of creative inspiration, with speakers including architect and professor Yoo Hyun-jun and Seoul city br

Oct 1, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul Design Week turns city into sprawling creative showcase
Others

Fall stages set for 1,700 performances nationwide

Korea is turning its fall performance season into a nationwide invitation, with more than 1,700 shows set to be promoted together through Nov. 30 under a campaign designed to bring audiences to stages across the country. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Arts Management Service launched the 2026 Korea Is Performing campaign Thursday, bringing together major festivals, markets and regional performances. The campaign will connect major events including Seoul International Performing Arts Festival, Seoul Performing Arts Market and RE:BOUND Festival with performances promoted by 16 regional cultural foundations. The Seoul International Performing Arts Festival will run from Thursday through Oct. 25 at venues including the National Theater of Korea, Daehangno Theater QUAD and Arko-Daehangno Arts Theater, featuring 20 international and domestic works spanning theater, dance, music and multidisciplinary arts. Seoul Performing Arts Market will run from Oct. 13-16, offering nine performances, presentations and demonstrations of works, exhibitions and one-on-one business meetin

Oct 1, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Fall stages set for 1,700 performances nationwide
Travel & Food

INSPIRE revamps OASIS Gourmet Village with Korean, other Asian cuisines

INSPIRE Entertainment Resort is betting on familiar Korean flavors and casual Asian dining as it reopens its OASIS Gourmet Village with five in-house restaurant brands this week. The Incheon resort began rolling out its revamped food court Thursday, with all five brands scheduled to be operating by Saturday as part of a broader push to create a more relaxed dining destination for domestic and international visitors. Chusu Sotbab, specializing in Korean pot rice, and Italian pizza restaurant Pizza Piazza opened Thursday, offering dishes including Hanwoo Grade 1++ pot rice, scallop pot rice, seafood pizza and steak pizza. Chinese casual restaurant Hongmiru is scheduled to open Friday with dishes including seafood jjampong (noodles in spicy broth), uni jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) and tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork). Jinji, which focuses on Korean soup-based dishes, and Japanese restaurant Tontonya will join the lineup Saturday, completing the five-brand roster. Jinji will offer special Hanwoo beef soup, Hanwoo and abalone seaweed soup and pork kimchi stew, while Tontonya will serve dish

Oct 1, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
INSPIRE revamps OASIS Gourmet Village with Korean, other Asian cuisines
People & Events

Korea launches 'NEXT RUN' festival to turn races into multiday getaways

Runners in Korea will soon have a reason to lace up their shoes and stay awhile, as a new government initiative transforms regional road races into multiday cultural and wellness retreats. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) will launch the first “NEXT RUN Travel Festa” in October, built around running events designed to encourage participants to explore host regions before and after their races. The program will feature “R1 2026 Jeonju,” held Oct. 17-18 in collaboration with YouTube channel “Sean with You,” and “Bomun Night Run with Wally,” scheduled for Oct. 31-Nov. 1 and featuring Universal’s Wally character. For participants, the organizers will offer packages combining race entry and lodging at discounted prices, along with programs focused on recovery and other activities tailored to runners. At “R1 2026 Jeonju,” activities will include a warm-up run with a national team coach, a carb-loading cooking show led by a runner-chef and a recovery tour through central Jeonju. “Bomun Night Run with Wally” will offer

Sep 30, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea launches 'NEXT RUN' festival to turn races into multiday getaways
People & Events

Seoul's autumn garden festival brings 51 new displays to Maeheon Citizens' Forest

Seoul’s international garden festival is moving deeper into the city this fall, bringing 51 new gardens, outdoor performances and wellness programs to Maeheon Citizens' Forest in southern Seoul. The 2026 Seoul International Garden Festival, which began at Seoul Forest in May, will expand to Maeheon Citizens' Forest in Seocho District from Thursday through Oct. 27, while the Seoul Forest exhibition continues. The festival marks the 40th anniversary of Maeheon Citizens' Forest with gardens created by 367 local gardeners, along with competition entries and gardens sponsored by companies and institutions. The 51 gardens include 14 competition gardens — four by professional designers, five by local citizens and five by students — as well as 31 gardens involving local hobby gardeners and six company gardens. An opening ceremony will be held Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Forest Stage, with performances and awards for garden competition participants. Visitors can join docent-led tours three times daily, with gardeners sharing stories behind their designs. The festival will also offer 128 activit

Sep 30, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul's autumn garden festival brings 51 new displays to Maeheon Citizens' Forest
People & Events

Seoul takes Arisu tap water campaign to Han River banks

Arisu, Seoul’s municipal tap water brand, is returning to the banks of the Han River for an autumn pop-up event designed to pair nighttime picnic culture with outdoor games, drinks, and illuminated city vistas. The “Beautiful Arisu” pop-up will begin Friday and run through Oct. 11 at Yeouido Hangang Park’s event plaza, operating from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The second pop-up follows its first edition in June, which drew 7,410 visitors, with 93.4 percent of survey respondents reporting a more positive perception of Arisu, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The new event is organized around an “autumn night picnic” theme and is intended to give office workers, evening walkers and other visitors more ways to spend time along the river after sunset. The pop-up features 10 areas, including game, cafe, healing and photo zones, along with information, video, DIY, promotional and voting areas and a Haechi art balloon. Visitors can play Arisu-themed games, while the cafe will offer coffee, corn silk tea and zero-sugar grapefruit drinks mad

Sep 30, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul takes Arisu tap water campaign to Han River banks
Companies

Hanwha Aerospace starts assembling prototype for reusable rockets

Korea’s premier defense and space contractor Hanwha Aerospace has begun assembling a reusable rocket technology demonstrator, marking a critical step toward developing vertically landing launch vehicles similar to SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Hanwha Aerospace said Wednesday that it started full assembly of the demonstrator as part of a project led by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), with Vitzro Nextech and Hanyang ENG also participating. The project aims to complete technology demonstrations by 2028, including a vertical takeoff and landing flight test designed to verify core technologies needed for reusable launch vehicles. The demonstrator stands 12.2 meters tall and 1.5 meters in diameter and is designed to carry one staged-combustion cycle turbopump engine. During a planned 2028 flight test, the vehicle is expected to rise vertically to an altitude of 500 meters within about 90 seconds before returning for a controlled vertical landing. Hanwha Aerospace said the test will focus on technologies including engine thrust control, attitude control and guidance, all considered essen

Sep 30, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Hanwha Aerospace starts assembling prototype for reusable rockets
Others

Island in Han River emerges as Seoul's newest cultural oasis

Set in the middle of the Han River, Nodeul Island spent years as a quiet, underutilized patch of green, bisected by a major commuter bridge. Now, a sweeping transformation is turning the enclave into one of Seoul's most magnetic cultural destinations. Just 10 days after opening newly upgraded waterfront cultural spaces on Sept. 18, the island drew more than 104,000 visitors. Driven in part by the autumn Chuseok holiday, families, couples and tourists flocked to the riverbank, with over half of all attendees visiting during two peak weekends. The surge in foot traffic marks the first phase of a broader master plan by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to transform Nodeul into a "global art island" by 2030. Rather than delaying access until total completion, municipal officials opted to open finished zones incrementally. Visitors today can enjoy panoramic views of the river from the Ecological Garden, child-friendly climbing structures at the Play Garden and a 1.5-kilometer looping promenade through the Grass Garden. To encourage visitors to stay longer, the city has launched an array of o

Sep 30, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Island in Han River emerges as Seoul's newest cultural oasis
Others

Anti-corruption agency pledges reforms after hearing foreign business' grievances

Korea’s anti-corruption agency met with international business executives Wednesday morning to hear firsthand the hurdles facing global firms operating in the country. The policy roundtable, hosted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul, brought together leaders from 10 foreign chambers of commerce. Representatives from Australia, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Spain and Sweden sat down with Korean officials to detail the operational challenges and policy grievances their member companies navigate daily. The commission organized the session as part of a broader effort to refine administrative policies and foster a more predictable, transparent business landscape. Alongside gathering feedback on local regulations, officials highlighted Korea’s recent anti-corruption milestones and clean-government initiatives, aiming to reassure international investors of the nation’s commitment to fair competition. International firms operating in Korea have long cited complex regulatory frameworks, shifting adminis

Sep 30, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Anti-corruption agency pledges reforms after hearing foreign business' grievances
Shows & Dramas

CJ ENM takes K-content push to London with new partnership

Korean entertainment powerhouse CJ ENM — the media giant behind global hits like "Parasite" and "Crash Landing on You" — has partnered with the Korean Cultural Centre UK and the Korea Creative Content Agency to bring Korean dramas and cultural programming to audiences across London. The three organizations signed a memorandum of understanding to expand opportunities for Korean content in the United Kingdom and deepen exchanges among content and cultural-industry professionals. Their first joint project, Curated Korea 2026, runs from Oct. 1- 21 at venues including the Korean Cultural Centre UK, Foyles Charing Cross Road and the Garden Cinema. The program brings together contemporary Korean culture through drama screenings, literature, food and networking events. The drama lineup opens Oct. 1 with “The Ordinary Jackpot,” about an office worker whose 1.3 billion won ($890,000) lottery win prompts him to reconsider what gives life meaning, followed by a question-and-answer session. “Study Group” will be screened Oct. 8 at Foyles Charing Cross Road, followed by a conversation about

Sep 30, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
CJ ENM takes K-content push to London with new partnership
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