The Korea Times

Chinese tourists present dilemma for casinos in Korea

Korea's casino industry has been thriving in recent years, fueled by a steady rebound in inbound tourism, as the country's 17 foreigner-only casinos benefit from a growing number of visitors from Asia. This has prompted securities firms to issue bullish outlooks on the sector, as they expect more Chinese visitors in particular, given Korea's visa waiver program for Chinese group tourists. Yet, their visits to casinos here are a thorny issue in the industry because it is illegal for Chinese citizens to gamble overseas. While Chinese travelers are believed to account for a significant share of casino revenue, operators are reluctant to publicly identify them as their primary target market, let alone disclose data on their clients. Although they continue marketing activities in China, they do so discreetly. The Chinese government is aware of the situation. In a recent letter sent to The Korea Times, the Chinese Embassy in Seoul criticized the Korean casinos' practices of specifically targeting Chinese. "Chinese law maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward gambling, and it is also illegal for

2d agoBy Lee Hae-rin, Kim Se-jeong and Yulu Ao

Chinese tourists present dilemma for casinos in Korea

Korean Heritage

Daily showcase brings Korea's intangible heritage to World Heritage Committee

Through ongoing daily performances, the 48th World Heritage Committee meeting is proving a valuable forum for showcasing Korea's intangible cultural heritage at Busan's BEXCO. The National Intangible Heritage Center's (NIHC) new production, "Hexagram 22" — inspired by the 22nd hexagram of the I Ching — is the key event, with performances already sold out. Visitors and committee participants at the meeting have the opportunity to experience a wide range of traditional performing arts through the Korea Intangible Cultural Heritage Performing Arts Market Showcase. The showcase runs at 1 p.m. every day except Wednesday at the Korea Stage in Exhibition Center 1. With the last events scheduled next Monday, each day features two to four performances by practitioners and preservation organizations for Korea's intangible cultural heritage. July 23 The showcase opens Thursday with "Yowangmaji," presented by the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut Preservation Association for National Intangible Cultural Heritage. The ritual from Jeju was performed to pray to the sea gods for protection and an abun

Jul 21, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Daily showcase brings Korea's intangible heritage to World Heritage Committee

People & Events

Ex-vice culture minister wins AI jazz music award

Former Vice Culture Minister Yong Ho-seong won an artificial intelligence (AI) jazz music contest held in Montreux, Switzerland, on Friday (local time), according to the organizer. Yong's composition, "Frozen Edge," took the top prize at the AI.LOVE.JAZZ, which was held alongside the Montreux Jazz Festival, one of the world's largest jazz festivals. This year marked the inaugural edition of the AI.LOVE. JAZZ competition. Yong joined the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 1993 and served as first vice minister from 2024 to 2025 before retiring. Beyond his public service career, he is also known as a drummer and music critic. After retiring, the former vice minister enrolled at SM Universe, an educational affiliate of SM Entertainment, to study AI-assisted music composition. Since then, he has devoted himself to creating music inspired by Shakespeare's 154 sonnets. "Frozen Edge," inspired by Sonnet 97, explores the emptiness following a breakup, comparing the emotion to the biting cold of winter. He submitted three works to the competition and plans to release a series of albums. Sp

Jul 12, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Ex-vice culture minister wins AI jazz music award

Books

From France to AI: Seoul book fair returns next week

The 68th edition of the Seoul International Book Fair is less than a week away. Scheduled to take place from June 24 to 28, one of Korea's longest-running literary events has already demonstrated its popularity, with early-bird tickets selling out ahead of the opening. This year's fair is bringing together 538 publishers from Korea and abroad, along with 326 speakers and authors participating in book talks, lectures and workshops. The popular event has recently faced criticism from some small publishers, who argued that its growing scale and commercialization have marginalized independent presses from the book fair. Exploring AI and future of humanity Artificial intelligence (AI) will be a major theme throughout the fair. The event's keynote lecture will feature novelist Eun Hee-kyung and poet Hwang In-chan, who will examine representations of the body in literature and the meaning of human embodiment in an AI-driven era. AI will also be the focus of a separate session featuring actor and writer Kim Shin-rok and neuroscientist Chang Dong-seon. Together, they will explore a question: Can h

Jun 19, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

From France to AI: Seoul book fair returns next week

K-pop

Grammy Awards to add Asian pop category

The Grammy Awards announced Tuesday (U.S. local time) the creation of a new category for Asian pop music, following previous nominations of K-pop stars BTS and BLACKPINK member Rosé in major categories. The Recording Academy, the organizer of the prestigious music awards, said it will add the Best Asian Pop Music Performance award. Other additions include Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, Best Traditional Folk Album and Best Latin Song. Earlier this year, "Golden" from the hit animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" won Best Song Written for Visual Media, becoming the first K-pop song to receive a Grammy Award. BTS, meanwhile, became the first K-pop act to perform at the awards show and earn a Grammy nomination when the group's song "Dynamite" was nominated in the Best Pop/Duo Performance category in 2020. The global stars have since earned multiple nominations in the succeeding years. BLACKPINK's Rosé also made Grammy history for being the first K-pop artist to open the awards ceremony when she performed her global hit "APT." with pop

Jun 17, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Music

EJAE, Andrea Bocelli perform at World Cup opening ceremony

Singer-songwriter EJAE, who performed the hit song “Golden” from the popular animated film “KPop Demon Hunters,” joined renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli in performing FIFA's official World Cup anthem, “DNA,” at the tournament's opening ceremony in Mexico City, Thursday (local time). Wearing a sleeveless blue gown with crossed halter straps, the Korean American singer drew attention from Korean audiences by singing a brief line in Korean: “Although I fall, I stand up again.” FIFA said “DNA” embodies the spirit of solidarity and unity for the historic tournament, which is being co-hosted for the first time by three countries — the United States, Canada and Mexico. The competition will be held across 16 cities and feature 48 teams until July 19.

Jun 12, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

EJAE, Andrea Bocelli perform at World Cup opening ceremony

K-pop

Former BTS music producer to attend music conference next week

K-pop music producer Alex Karlsson, who has made music for boy group BTS, will speak at a music conference slated for Monday in Seoul. According to Leeway Music & Media, Karlsson will be among the panel at a music conference organized to celebrate the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and France this year. The venue for the conference will be THILA Ground in the Hongdae area of western Seoul. Karlsson was behind BTS’ “We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal” (2020). He has also worked on music for other popular K-pop groups, such as SuperM, ENHYPEN, TXT, ATEEZ and Le Sserafim. Other speakers at the conference include jazz artist Amy Gadiaga, Mutant Ninja founder Tarafa Sahloul and Salpot Music Group's Andnew. They will share their thoughts and insights on K-pop, its globalization and the power of music. Monday’s conference will be followed by two other sessions, scheduled for June 15 and 22. The final session is set for the day after the French global music festival, “Fete de la Musique,” which will also take place in Seoul this year.

Jun 6, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Former BTS music producer to attend music conference next week

Korean Heritage

4 additional tidal flats move closer to UNESCO World Heritage status

Four tidal flats in southern Korea have received a recommendation for inscription on UNESCO's World Heritage List from an international advisory body, the Korea Heritage Service (KHS) said Friday, in a positive development for the Korean government ahead of the World Heritage Committee's session in Busan in July. Korea's tidal flats, also known as "getbol," were first inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2021. Since then, the government has sought to expand the site by adding four additional tidal flats — in Yeosu, Goheung and Muan in South Jeolla Province, and Seosan in South Chungcheong Province — to the existing World Heritage tidal flats in Gochang in North Jeolla Province, Seocheon in South Chungcheong Province, and Boseong and Suncheon in South Jeolla Province. According to the KHS, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) concluded that Korean Tidal Flats Phase II satisfies the World Heritage criterion for biodiversity conservation and the protection of threatened species, and recommended the World Heritage Committee approve a major boundary modification

Jun 5, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

4 additional tidal flats move closer to UNESCO World Heritage status

Opinion

When nobody wants a piano anymore

I was in the fourth grade when my parents bought me a piano. I had been taking lessons for two years and wanted one desperately. When it arrived in the room I shared with my brother, I felt as if I had the whole world. Part of the excitement came from the sense of privilege. Few children in my class had a piano at home, and I suddenly became one of them. The instrument my parents bought was not new. It was a secondhand upright piano. Yet that hardly mattered to me. What mattered was that I finally had a piano to practice on — and, to be honest, to show off to friends who visited me at home. That sense of pride stayed with me for years. In fact, the piano remained in my childhood room longer than I did. When I left home for college, it stayed. When I graduated from graduate school and started working, it was still there. In 2008, when I was 28, the piano moved to my aunt's apartment in Seoul, where it served her two children, then ages 7 and 10, who were learning to play. Years later, she passed it on to an acquaintance. Three years ago, another piano entered my life. An acquaintance of

Jun 3, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Others

Gojong's 1905 letter to US president found after 121 years

The original copy of Korean Emperor Gojong’s 1905 letter to U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was found last month at the U.S. Library of Congress, 121 years after it was written, the Hulbert Memorial Society (HMS) said Wednesday. The letter, written in Chinese, was recovered on April 20 by HMS Chairman Kim Dong-jin along with a six-page handwritten English translation by U.S. missionary and educator to Korea Homer Hulbert (1863-1949), whom the emperor had appointed as a special envoy to deliver it to the U.S. president. On Oct. 16, 1905, Gojong wrote the letter amid mounting pressure from Japan to turn Korea into a protectorate, appealing to Washington in a diplomatic effort to keep Japan at bay. “Japan has assumed the position of an enlightened power and she cannot thus break her pledged word and revert to purely oriental methods without losing in the minds of all thoughtful people the moral prestige which her avowed principles would secure for her if strictly adhered to,” the letter read. “For the sake of the Korean people we beg of you to use your powerful influence in this

May 7, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Kim Se-jeong

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