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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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Companies

Why foreign shoppers are flocking to this Seoul lifestyle store

A lifestyle store tucked into Seoul’s trendy Seongsu neighborhood has become an unlikely magnet for overseas visitors, with foreign customers now accounting for more than half of its sales. 29CM, the curated commerce platform operated by Musinsa, said Monday that its Iguhome Seongsu No. 1 store has attracted more than 1.2 million visitors since opening a year ago, cementing its status as a leading destination for Korean lifestyle brands. The store, which opened June 20, 2025, on Yeonmujang-gil in Seongsu, was launched as 29CM’s first offline lifestyle retail space. Built around the concept of a “taste general store,” the shop brings the company’s online brand curation and storytelling approach into a physical setting. Its growing appeal among international visitors has turned the store into what the company describes as a testing ground for Korean home and lifestyle brands seeking exposure to global consumers. According to 29CM, international shoppers accounted for an average of 56 percent of total sales at the store from March 1 to May 31. As Seongsu has evolved into one of Seou

Jun 22, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Why foreign shoppers are flocking to this Seoul lifestyle store
People & Events

First K-pop, now K-books: Korea hopes its next big export is literature

Korea has conquered global airwaves with its pop music and dominated television screens with its sleek dramas. Now, Seoul is making its most aggressive push yet to ensure that the next global Korean wave phenomenon begins on the printed page. Publishers and media executives from 31 countries gathered at the Lotte Hotel World in Seoul, Monday, for the opening of the 2026 K-Book Copyright Market. The three-day event, now in its eighth year, has quietly evolved into Korea’s premier business-to-business forum for literary rights. It serves as a vital pipeline for expanding the international footprint of Korean books and intellectual property. Organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism alongside the Korea Publishing Industry Promotion Agency, this year’s market matches 100 domestic firms with 100 overseas buyers for an estimated 1,850 one-on-one consultations. The stakes are increasingly high. Industry titans, including Penguin Random House, HarperCollins and Hachette are in attendance, alongside newcomers from emerging markets like Guatemala, the Czech Republic and Lebanon.

Jun 22, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
First K-pop, now K-books: Korea hopes its next big export is literature
South Korea

Gyeonggi Province launches 1st survey of its 18,000 refugees

Gyeonggi Province, the populous economic engine surrounding Seoul, has launched the first comprehensive provincial investigation into the living conditions of its refugee population. The initiative marks a significant shift in how Korean local governments manage forced migration, moving beyond generalized immigrant support systems to address the distinct legal and socioeconomic vulnerabilities of displaced people. At an inaugural briefing held Thursday at the Gyeonggi Migration and Integration Support Center in Uijeungbu, officials outlined an ambitious monitoring framework designed to map the structural gaps plaguing the state's refugee safety nets. The investigation comes on the heels of the province’s pioneering Ordinance on the Protection of Human Rights and Guarantee of Basic Living for Refugees, enacted last year. As of late March, Gyeonggi Province was home to 18,169 refugees, representing roughly 2.5 percent of the region's long-term foreign residents. While Korea became the first East Asian country to pass a standalone refugee law in 2012, humanitarian groups have long critic

Jun 21, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Gyeonggi Province launches 1st survey of its 18,000 refugees
People & Events

Summer exhibitions in Seoul celebrate worlds of sci-fi, superfans

For readers looking to escape the sweltering heat of a Korean summer, two municipal cultural spaces are offering portals into entirely different realms — one grounded in distant galaxies, and the other in the fervent devotion of subcultural fandoms. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the launch of two distinct exhibitions at its flagship, book-centric cultural complexes. Seoul Book Bogo, located in Songpa District, is hosting a science fiction and cinema showcase titled “Beyond the Scene” through Aug. 30. Meanwhile, Seoul Art Book Bogo, situated within the Gocheok Sky Dome complex in southwestern Seoul, has opened “Love’s Sudden Crash,” a deep dive into the cultural mechanics of superfandom running through Sept. 6. Run by the Korean Publishers Association, both spaces operate as hybrid cultural centers rather than traditional lending libraries. This summer, they are focusing on how deep cultural immersion can fundamentally shift a person's worldview. At Seoul Book Bogo, the science fiction exhibition reframes the genre as a tool for societal critique rather than mer

Jun 19, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Summer exhibitions in Seoul celebrate worlds of sci-fi, superfans
Companies

AI race pushes LG CNS and Doosan into broad technology alliance

As companies scramble to secure an edge in artificial intelligence and automation, LG CNS and Doosan Corp. have agreed to join forces in a wide-ranging partnership that stretches from agentic AI and robotics to data centers and cloud computing. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday at LG Sciencepark in Seoul to strengthen their competitiveness in emerging technology businesses, including AI transformation, robot transformation, data centers and cloud services. The agreement brings together LG CNS’ digital transformation capabilities and Doosan Corp.’s industrial technology expertise at a time when businesses are investing heavily in AI-driven productivity and next-generation infrastructure. Under the deal, the companies said they will establish a joint business cooperation body within one month and develop detailed plans for collaborative projects. One of the central pillars of the partnership is AI transformation. LG CNS said it will leverage its enterprise agentic AI platform, AgenticWorks, to help strengthen Doosan Corp.’s agentic AI capabilities and develop

Jun 19, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
AI race pushes LG CNS and Doosan into broad technology alliance
People & Events

To woo Japanese travelers, Korea taps enduring J-pop icon

For millions of Japanese citizens who have never ventured beyond their nation’s borders, Korea is making a direct, highly personalized pitch to become their first passport stamp — and it has enlisted one of Japan’s most enduring pop culture icons to lead the charge. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, alongside the Korea Tourism Organization, announced the launch of the “My First Trip to Korea” campaign. Running from June through December, the initiative specifically targets the large segment of the Japanese population that holds no prior travel experience abroad, aiming to lower both the economic and psychological barriers that often discourage international novice travelers. To break through decades of insular travel habits, Seoul is relying heavily on Tsuyoshi Kusanagi. To a generation of Japanese television viewers, Kusanagi is the affable, remarkably versatile former member of SMAP, the legendary boy band that dominated J-pop for a quarter-century. Armed with an earnest, self-deprecating charm and remarkably fluent Korean, Kusanagi has long bridged the complicat

Jun 19, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
To woo Japanese travelers, Korea taps enduring J-pop icon
People & Events

Korea’s new tourism strategy: pop-ups, tailored tickets

Seeking to capitalize on the soaring global appetite for Korean culture, the government is transforming mundane transit hubs into immersive cinematic portals designed to bring international travelers deeper into the provinces. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in partnership with the Korea Tourism Organization, launched the "Global K-Festival Pop-up Store" Friday. Running through July 5 at Seoul Station and Noon Square in downtown's Myeong-dong shopping district, the interactive hubs present local festivals not as regional events, but as premier international destinations. The initiative targets a persistent challenge in Korea’s tourism industry: the heavy concentration of foreign visitors in the capital. By deploying multilingual staff and interactive media, the ministry aims to redirect foot traffic toward 10 selected cultural celebrations across the country, including the Incheon Pentaport Music Festival, the Boryeong Mud Festival and the Daegu Chimaek (chicken and beer) Festival. Designed around the theme "Feel the Vibe, Live the Festival," the pop-up spaces mimic class

Jun 19, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Korea’s new tourism strategy: pop-ups, tailored tickets
People & Events

Joseon-era marketplace returns to life in downtown Seoul

The bustle of a 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty-era marketplace is returning to the heart of Seoul this weekend, as artisans, merchants and traditional food vendors transform the grounds of the Seoul Museum of History and nearby Gyeonghui Palace into a sprawling celebration of Korean heritage. The Seoul Museum of History said it will host the traditional craft market festival "Seoyeokbak Marketplace" from Friday through Sunday, bringing together 92 traditional brands for one of the city's largest culture-themed outdoor events. Organized in partnership with the social planning company Project Question, the festival reimagines a traditional Joseon marketplace for modern audiences, offering visitors a chance to experience Korean crafts, traditional attire, food and merchant culture in a single venue. The event will feature two "yukuijeon" (referring to the six items exclusively sold in these royal shops), 27 licensed market stalls, four taverns, three artisan villages, 46 street vendors and 10 itinerant merchant groups modeled after the trading culture of the Joseon era. Visitors will be able to b

Jun 18, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Joseon-era marketplace returns to life in downtown Seoul
People & Events

Seoul rolls out market rewards program

Shoppers browsing neighborhood markets across Seoul next week will have a new incentive to fill their baskets: spend more to get something back. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will launch the 2026 Seoul Household Support Payback Week from June 24 to June 30, offering consumers refunds of up to 30,000 won ($20) in digital Onnuri gift certificates for purchases made at traditional markets and shopping districts across the city. The weeklong campaign will take place at 120 traditional markets and shopping areas in all 25 districts of Seoul. City officials said the program is designed to ease household spending burdens while helping traditional markets and small business districts attract more visitors and boost sales. Under the program, shoppers who make purchases during the event period can receive digital Onnuri gift certificates based on their total spending. Consumers who spend at least 15,000 won will receive a 5,000-won certificate. Those spending 30,000 won or more will receive a 10,000 gift certificate, while purchases of 60,000 won or more qualify for a 20,000-won certific

Jun 18, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul rolls out market rewards program
Companies

Shin Ramyun leaves spicy impression at major Mexico City festival

Thousands of festivalgoers in Mexico City are getting a taste of Korea's signature spicy noodles as Nongshim ramps up its overseas marketing push at one of the country's largest cultural events. Nongshim said it is operating a Shin Ramyun promotional booth Thursday at Campo Marte 26, a major festival being held in Mexico City from June 11 to July 19. The event combines Mexican food and cultural experiences, art exhibitions, concerts and fan activities, drawing large crowds from Mexico and abroad. At the festival grounds, visitors can sample Shin Ramyun by using instant noodle cooking machines installed at the booth. The company is also distributing hand fans featuring SHIN, the brand's mascot, to help attendees cope with the city's summer heat while strengthening familiarity with the brand. Nongshim said it plans to further expand the visibility of Shin Ramyun by continuously airing promotional videos on large screens installed throughout the festival venue. The company has already seen strong interest from visitors. On Wednesday, the first day Nongshim operated a booth at the festival, mor

Jun 18, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Shin Ramyun leaves spicy impression at major Mexico City festival
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