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Lee Kyung-min

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

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South Korea

N. Korean defectors revisit heavily-fortified border for fleeting look at home

For the nearly 100 North Korean defectors who boarded a special train heading north from Seoul on Friday, the journey was a painful exercise in geographical proximity. Traveling to the edge of the Demilitarized Zone, the heavily mined buffer strip separating the two Koreas, they reached an elevated vantage point that offered the closest physical view of their native towns since they risked their lives to cross one of the world's most heavily fortified borders. The daylong pilgrimage, organized by the Ministry of Unification, served as a poignant prelude to the upcoming third annual North Korean Defectors’ Day on July 14. The national holiday was established to recognize the civic integration of the more than 34,000 defectors now living in the South, a community increasingly referred to by officials as "bukhyangmin" — defectors who honor their North Korean heritage while adapting to the complexities of life in the democratic South. The group — comprising community organizers, vulnerable families and young university students — arrived via the DMZ Peace Connection Train at Dorasa

Jun 26, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
N. Korean defectors revisit heavily-fortified border for fleeting look at home
Travel & Food

Busan uses K-pop to woo int'l students to stay after graduation

Looking to convert international students into permanent residents, Korea’s second-largest city is launching a major cultural festival, pairing its pitch for regional settlement with the gravitational pull of K-pop. Busan will host the 2026 Foreign Student Festival, Saturday, at Busan Asiad Auxiliary Stadium, the Busan Metropolitan City said Friday. Operating under the banner "Stay in Busan, Connecting the World," the festival is strategically synchronized with the Busan One Asia Festival, a massive K-pop concert drawing thousands of international fans to the main stadium. By placing the student event directly in the concert's holding area, city officials hope to spark natural networking between local residents, international tourists and the city’s foreign students. The initiative comes as provincial Korean cities grapple with steep demographic declines, prompting local governments to aggressively pursue efforts to recruit and retain international students to stabilize regional labor markets. Rather than relying purely on administrative job fairs, Busan’s festival utilizes a gamif

Jun 26, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Busan uses K-pop to woo int'l students to stay after graduation
Health

Gyeonggi Province moves to close health care gap for uninsured foreign residents

In an ambitious effort to close a gap in its health care system, Korea’s most populous province passed a landmark ordinance to provide medical services to undocumented and uninsured foreign residents, framing the measure as a critical defense for wider public safety. The Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly approved the bill this week, establishing a formal legal framework to connect marginalized foreign workers with regional public health resources. Officials announced the bill's passage Friday, emphasizing that the initiative is designed to prevent preventable medical emergencies and contain potential infectious disease outbreaks before they compromise the broader community. Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds the capital city of Seoul, serves as Korea's industrial and agricultural heartland, relying heavily on a vast network of foreign laborers. Yet, those without valid visas or traditional employment are locked out of the country's National Health Insurance system. For these residents, a routine hospital visit can result in astronomical fees under international billing rates. Combined wit

Jun 26, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Gyeonggi Province moves to close health care gap for uninsured foreign residents
Films

Korean film programmer named knight of French arts and letters

Nam Jong-suk, a programmer for the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), has been awarded France’s Chevalier rank in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, marking the first time a film festival programmer in Korea has received the distinction. The festival, which opens its 30th edition on Thursday, said Nam received the honor in recognition of his contributions to film programming and international cultural exchange. The French Ministry of Culture’s Order of Arts and Letters is one of the country’s highest cultural honors and is divided into three ranks: Commandeur, Officier and Chevalier. Nam’s recognition is significant because it is the first awarded to a programmer, rather than a director or performer. The French government said it decided to confer the honor in October 2025 in recognition of Nam’s work promoting Korea-France film exchange, including through the 2025 NAFF Project Market program Focus: France. Philippe Bertoux, the French ambassador to Korea, said Nam’s career has helped open new horizons and offer innovative perspectives in cinema. “The awar

Jun 26, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korean film programmer named knight of French arts and letters
Companies

Gaon Cable lands 1st global EV supply chain deal with AI data center project

Gaon Cable has secured its first project tied to the global electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, winning an order to supply busduct systems worth about $38 million (60 billion won) for an artificial intelligence (AI) data center operated by a global EV company. The company said Friday that its U.S. subsidiary, LSCUS, will provide the busduct systems for the facility, marking another step in expanding its presence in the fast-growing AI power infrastructure market. The latest order broadens LSCUS' customer base beyond global big tech companies to include a major electric vehicle manufacturer, the company said. Busducts are power distribution systems that deliver electricity from a data center's main power source to servers and racks. Often described as the "arteries" of AI data centers, they have become increasingly important as computing workloads require higher power density and more reliable electrical infrastructure. Gaon Cable said the AI data center power infrastructure market has high barriers to entry because suppliers must pass rigorous quality verification before winning contracts

Jun 26, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Gaon Cable lands 1st global EV supply chain deal with AI data center project
Companies

Upbit steps onto fairway with KPGA Tour sponsorship

Dunamu, the operator of Korea’s largest digital asset exchange, Upbit, is stepping onto the fairway. The fintech heavyweight said Friday that it will serve as an official naming sponsor for the 2026 Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Tour, anchoring its presence with the newly minted "Upbit Long Drive Award." The corporate sponsorship reflects a broader push by cryptocurrency platforms globally to weave themselves into mainstream sports culture, trading volatile digital charts for the affluent, stable demographics of professional golf. The season-long award will honor the player who records the highest average driving distance across the entire 2026 tour. By rewarding sheer power combined with sustained accuracy over months of competition, Dunamu is betting that the award will capture the public's imagination while humanizing a brand built on complex blockchain financial architecture. "The Upbit Long Drive Award celebrates athletes who push boundaries to reach the furthest horizon," a Dunamu representative said Friday. "This closely mirrors Upbit’s own corporate ethos of

Jun 26, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Upbit steps onto fairway with KPGA Tour sponsorship
Global Community

Korea mobilizes young diaspora across 8 cities in global networking drive

Seeking to transform a historically scattered diaspora into a tightly woven global network, Korea’s Overseas Koreans Agency announced Friday a sweeping expansion of its initiative aimed at empowering the next generation of ethnic Korean leaders living abroad. The program, known as the Future Leader’s Conference (FLC) Reunion, will stage successive networking conventions across eight major global hubs this year. Designed for young professionals aged 25 to 45, the initiative marks a concerted effort by Seoul to deepen ethnic identity, amplify geopolitical influence and build robust networks among the millions of ethnic Koreans worldwide. The global tour kicked off in New York this March and will head to Osaka, Japan, this Saturday, before moving to Munich, Germany, on July 4. Subsequent forums are scheduled throughout autumn in Tashkent, Moscow, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Paris. Unlike traditional top-down government programs, these reunions are conceived, structured and executed directly by local diaspora participants, allowing them to collaboratively tackle localized challenges. The up

Jun 26, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea mobilizes young diaspora across 8 cities in global networking drive
Travel & Food

Hidden treasure trove opens its doors as Seoul unveils first integrated heritage vault

A vast repository of art, history and cultural treasures usually kept out of public view is preparing to welcome visitors for the first time. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday that the Seoul Cultural Heritage Center Hoengseong, the city’s first integrated storage facility for museum and gallery collections, will conduct a pilot operation through July 22, ahead of its official opening in September. Located in Hoengseong County in Gangwon Province, the center was built to consolidate, preserve, research and share cultural assets held by Seoul’s museums and art institutions. During the monthlong trial period, visitors will be able to freely explore key public spaces, including an open storage area, outdoor exhibition grounds and a reference room. Admission is free, and the facility will operate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except Mondays. The center currently stores about 70,000 artifacts and artworks and has the capacity to hold as many as 720,000 items. Among its most distinctive features is an open storage facility displaying about 2,600 objects from major institutions, inc

Jun 22, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Hidden treasure trove opens its doors as Seoul unveils first integrated heritage vault
South Korea

Seoul schools roll out AI-powered college guidance for migrant-background students

As the number of students from migrant backgrounds continues to grow in Korea’s classrooms, Seoul education officials are expanding efforts to help them navigate a college admissions system that can be difficult even for native-born students to understand. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Monday that it will broaden customized career and college admissions support for students with migrant backgrounds through a series of information sessions, consulting programs and career fair services. The initiative is designed to provide practical admissions information while strengthening the college and career planning capabilities of students, parents and teachers. A major admissions briefing will be held Tuesday at the education office’s main auditorium. The session will introduce special admissions pathways, including social integration admissions, opportunities for students from multicultural families and admissions programs for foreign nationals. Officials will also present successful admission cases tailored to different student groups, including late-arrival immigrant stude

Jun 22, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul schools roll out AI-powered college guidance for migrant-background students
Companies

Net-zero push unites Korea's tire, auto parts giants

As global carbon regulations tighten and pressure mounts across supply chains, Hankook & Company Group is bringing its key affiliates together in a coordinated push toward its 2050 carbon neutrality goal. The group said Sunday that it recently held an energy exchange meeting at Hankook Engineering Lab in Daejeon, gathering energy management officials from Korea & Company, Hankook Tire & Technology and Hanon Systems to strengthen cooperation on carbon reduction and energy efficiency initiatives. About 20 employees from the three companies participated in the meeting, which took place Tuesday. The participants reviewed major energy sources and consumption patterns, discussed greenhouse gas management strategies and shared implementation plans for 2026. They also exchanged views on emissions trading systems, growing customer demands for carbon reduction and anticipated changes to electricity market structures. A key focus of the meeting was identifying practical ways to expand energy-saving measures and renewable energy adoption across the group. Officials introduced successful carbon reducti

Jun 22, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Net-zero push unites Korea's tire, auto parts giants
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