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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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People & Events

Moonlit mystery invites visitors to hunt for missing royal seal at Unhyeon Palace

Visitors to Unhyeon Palace in central Seoul can step into the shoes of 19th-century royal investigators this month, searching for secret clues across moonlit courtyards to solve a fictional mystery involving a stolen royal seal. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will host "Moonlit Secret Mission: Find the Missing Royal Seal" on select evenings from Wednesday to Nov. 29. The interactive program transforms the historic royal residence located in Seoul's central Jongno District into an immersive stage for storytelling, puzzle-solving and traditional Korean arts. The experience is set during the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910). A sacred royal seal entrusted to the father of King Gojong mysteriously disappears overnight. Participants play secret agents recruited by the father, navigating the palace grounds at dusk to question historical characters, solve riddles and gather evidence. The two-hour program guides small groups through three key areas of the palace complex. The investigation begins at the outer walls, where visitors interview a servant and play a traditional hoop-rolling game to unl

1d agoBy Lee Kyung-min
Moonlit mystery invites visitors to hunt for missing royal seal at Unhyeon Palace
People & Events

Experience ancient Korean commerce at Seoul's annual Yukuijeon Festival

Jongno, the historic heart of downtown Seoul, will recreate a 600-year-old marketplace along Cheonggye Stream this Saturday during its annual Yukuijeon Festival — a celebration named after the "Six Licensed Stores" that held exclusive royal monopolies during the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910). The 2026 festival will run from 1 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 7 around Jangtonggyo Bridge, bringing together local merchants, food vendors, traditional games and live performances under the theme "Unjong-ga, Street Where People Gather Like Clouds." Unjong-ga was one of Joseon-era Seoul's principal commercial streets, centered around what is now Jongno intersection, where government-authorized merchants and independent traders gathered to sell their goods. The festival takes its name from Yukuijeon, the six major categories of government-authorized shops that once dominated the district's commerce: silk, cotton fabric, hemp fabric, paper, miscellaneous textiles and seafood. Organized by the Jongno-Cheonggye Tourist Special Zone Council, this year's event will feature sales booths operated by merchants from th

1d agoBy Lee Kyung-min
Experience ancient Korean commerce at Seoul's annual Yukuijeon Festival
People & Events

Deoksu Palace brings imperial feasts back to life with AI exhibition

Visitors to Deoksu Palace will have a chance to become royal chefs, using artificial intelligence (AI) to create elaborate banquet dishes inspired by the dining traditions of the Korean Empire. The Korea Heritage Service's Deoksu Palace Management Office, in collaboration with Davero Art, will open “Imperial Banquet of the Korean Empire, Prepared With AI” on Tuesday at Dondeokjeon Hall in central Seoul, with the exhibition running through March 28, 2027. The interactive exhibition combines historical research into royal Western-style banquets with generative AI, allowing visitors to select ingredients and design their own imperial menus. More than 60 artifacts and exhibition items related to royal banquets will also be displayed, including chandeliers decorated with the imperial plum blossom emblem, iron cooking utensils and matching tableware. At the center of the experience are 30 ingredient models, including lamb, pheasant, salmon, truffles and caviar. Visitors select ingredients and place them on a banquet table, where sensors identify their choices and generative AI produces imag

1d agoBy Lee Kyung-min
Deoksu Palace brings imperial feasts back to life with AI exhibition
Law & Crime

Korea, Japan seek closer customs cooperation on drugs, counterfeits

Korea and Japan are seeking to tighten customs cooperation on drug smuggling, counterfeit products and cross-border online shopping, as officials look to protect businesses and strengthen border security. Korea Customs Service Commissioner Lee Jong-wook met with Mitsuhiro Teraoka, director-general of Japan's Customs and Tariff Bureau, in Tokyo last week to discuss three areas of cooperation, the customs agency said Monday. The meeting followed the 34th Korea-Japan Customs Chiefs' Meeting in Seoul in April and was arranged separately to address pressing bilateral issues following Lee's appointment. One priority is protecting Korean and Japanese brands, including K-beauty products, from counterfeit goods. Korea proposed closer enforcement cooperation between the two countries' customs authorities and asked Japan to help Korean companies use its system for requesting customs authorities to block imports and exports of goods suspected of infringing intellectual property rights. The officials also discussed establishing a system to exchange intelligence on drug seizures and smuggling attempts,

1d agoBy Lee Kyung-min
Korea, Japan seek closer customs cooperation on drugs, counterfeits
Companies

Krafton unveils Ludi 0.2, AI designed to help robots work with humans

Krafton, the Korean video game publisher behind the global hit PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, is taking its artificial intelligence (AI) research beyond virtual worlds, unveiling a new robotics system designed to help machines understand human intentions, respond to social cues and work alongside people. Ludo Robotics, Krafton's robotics research subsidiary, introduced Ludi 0.2 on Friday at the 2026 Bay Area Robotics Symposium, held at the University of California, Berkeley. The presentation was led by Lee Kang-wook, Krafton's chief AI officer and chief technology officer of Ludo Robotics. The new system builds on Ludi 0.1, introduced in August, with improvements aimed at making robots more responsive to changing situations and more capable of interacting naturally with humans. Ludo Robotics focuses on what it calls social intelligence: the ability of robots to understand people's intentions, adapt to changing environments and cooperate naturally. Ludi 0.2 enhances several capabilities, including recognizing human gestures and feedback, maintaining context during changing tasks, connecting movement

1d agoBy Lee Kyung-min
Krafton unveils Ludi 0.2, AI designed to help robots work with humans
Companies

KT, Samsung test AI-powered network technology at baseball games

KT and Samsung Electronics are using baseball crowds as a testing ground for artificial intelligence (AI) technology designed to keep mobile networks running smoothly when thousands of fans simultaneously connect to their phones. Korea's second-largest mobile carrier said Monday that the companies had verified their AI-powered autonomous wireless network operation technology at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, using a digital twin platform called AI Cell Twin. The platform creates a virtual replica of a wireless network, allowing engineers to simulate changes in mobile usage patterns and data traffic and test different network management strategies before applying them to actual infrastructure. The companies jointly developed autonomous network technology that uses AI to identify optimal operating strategies, verify them in the simulated environment and then apply them to real-world networks. Unlike conventional automation systems that rely on preset rules or individual performance indicators, the new technology analyzes multiple factors, including user distribution, usage patter

1d agoBy Lee Kyung-min
KT, Samsung test AI-powered network technology at baseball games
Companies

Lotte Shopping sets overseas record as Hanoi megamall crosses $720 mil. milestone

Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi has reached 1 trillion won ($720 million) in cumulative sales, setting a milestone for an overseas shopping complex operated by the Korean retail giant just three years after its launch. The achievement underscores the success of parent company, Lotte Shopping, which has aggressively expanded its overseas footprint by tailoring tenant mixes and entertainment offerings to local consumers. The Hanoi complex reached 100 billion won in sales just 122 days after opening in January 2024, passed 600 billion won last year and continued growing at an average quarterly rate of 20 percent before crossing the 1 trillion won threshold last month. Cumulative visitor numbers have exceeded 41 million, with more than 50,000 daily average visitors, making the complex one of Hanoi's major shopping and leisure destinations. Located in Tay Ho District, one of Hanoi's affluent neighborhoods, the complex combines shopping, culture and entertainment across a sprawling retail and leisure development. At its opening, 52 of its roughly 230 stores were brands making their Hanoi debuts, whi

1d agoBy Lee Kyung-min
Lotte Shopping sets overseas record as Hanoi megamall crosses $720 mil. milestone
Companies

Hanwha develops Korea's 1st machine-guided smart drilling system

Hanwha Corp., the parent company of Korea’s energy and defense conglomerate Hanwha Group, has developed the nation’s first machine-guided smart drilling system. The technology enhances construction precision without requiring contractors to replace their existing drilling rigs. Its industrial explosives and mining affiliate, Hanwha Corp. Global Division, hosted a live demonstration of the system Thursday at a Samho Development construction site in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, alongside researchers from the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology and Korea National University of Transportation. The event marked the completion of six months of field testing under a research project led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the civil engineering institute to establish construction cost standards for smart construction equipment. About 40 officials from public institutions and the construction industry attended, including representatives of the ministry, the Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Authority, the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated New A

1d agoBy Lee Kyung-min
Hanwha develops Korea's 1st machine-guided smart drilling system
K-pop

TREASURE unleashes hip-hop power with new single 'SHOCK'

K-pop boy band TREASURE is returning Monday with “SHOCK,” a new digital single that puts its signature energy and hip-hop sound at the center of its latest musical chapter. Set for release at 6 p.m., the track follows the group's fourth mini-album, “PLEASURE,” released in June, and marks another step in its effort to expand its hip-hop repertoire while strengthening its distinctive musical identity. “SHOCK” is an electronic hip-hop track built around trendy synthesizer sounds, pounding beats and rapid-fire arrangements, according to the group's agency, YG Entertainment. The song combines the weight of traditional YG-style hip-hop with TREASURE's characteristically powerful delivery and dynamic energy, creating a sound designed to make an immediate impression. Members' rap performances drive the track, while lyrics drawing on 1TYM's hit song “Hot 뜨거” and catchy phrases in the bridge add to its addictive appeal. The accompanying music video amplifies the song's intensity with dark architectural structures, lightning and fiery visual effects, alongside the members' stylis

1d agoBy Lee Kyung-min
TREASURE unleashes hip-hop power with new single 'SHOCK'
Tech & Science

From 'Lake of Death' to Clavius, Korea searches moon for 2032 landing sites

Korea is shopping for real estate on the moon, and its newly established space agency has its eye on some of the lunar surface’s most forbidding neighborhoods. At a recent academic symposium, the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) revealed a shortlist of prospective landing sites for two robotic missions scheduled for 2032. The agency is weighing 20 candidate zones for its flagship lunar lander and nine for a precursor soft-landing demonstration craft, signaling a decisive shift toward boots-on-the-surface ambitions for a nation long playing catch-up in deep-space exploration. Rather than sticking strictly to the lunar south pole — a crowded target for NASA’s Artemis program and rival missions seeking water ice — Korean scientists are eyeing a broader, strategically varied grid. The candidate list spans ancient impact basins, jagged basaltic plains, and deep pit craters that could house underground lava tubes. Among the standout targets for the early 2032 verification probe is Lacus Mortis, or the "Lake of Death," a pitted plain that scientists suspect holds collapsed lava tub

2d agoBy Lee Kyung-min
From 'Lake of Death' to Clavius, Korea searches moon for 2032 landing sites
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