Lifestyle - The Korea Times

BTS partners with British Museum to illuminate Korean heritage

Global K-pop juggernaut BTS is expanding its cultural footprint from stadium stages to the venerable halls of antiquity, launching an unprecedented collaboration with the British Museum. The partnership, titled the “Korea Gallery Trail,” forms the centerpiece of the group’s broader “BTS THE CITY ARIRANG-LONDON” project, which aims to transform the British capital into an immersive space celebrating Korean heritage through the lens of modern pop music. Running through July 23, the curated trail bridges the gap between contemporary fandom and centuries-old history. Curators and organizers have selected permanent artifacts within the museum’s Korea Gallery that mirror the thematic emotional core of BTS’s latest chart-topping fifth studio album, "ARIRANG" — specifically its overarching narratives of hope, resilience and belonging. Visitors navigating the gallery will encounter ancient treasures intentionally paired with the group’s creative concepts. Featured artifacts include a traditional "sarangbang" or scholars' quarters, symbolizing new beginnings; a pristine Joseon D

Jul 8, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan

BTS partners with British Museum to illuminate Korean heritage

Economic Essay Contest Beyond automation: Architecting the AI-driven financial ecosystem

Imagine logging into your bank account, not to check a static balance, but to converse with a personalized financial architect that anticipates your next life milestone based on your behavioral patterns. This is no longer science fiction. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in finance has transcended basic algorithmic automation, evolving into a comprehensive ecosystem that fundamentally redefines consumer interactions. However, as institutions transition to these machine learning-driven architectures, a critical question emerges: How can we balance hyperpersonalization with absolute security? To catalyze true financial innovation and ensure consumer protection, financial institutions must strategically deploy large language models (LLMs) to revolutionize customer relationship management, leverage predictive analytics for dynamic wealth management and establish transparent security frameworks that guarantee algorithmic trust. The first frontier of this financial evolution is customer service, an area desperately needing a shift from reactive troubleshooting to proactive en

Jul 8, 2026By Lee Hyo-jeong

[Economic Essay Contest] Beyond automation: Architecting the AI-driven financial ecosystem

Economic Essay Contest Finance in the age of AI: Why trust matters more than efficiency

Have you ever felt frustrated after spending hours interacting with a banking chatbot, only to receive the same repetitive response: “Sorry, I do not understand your request”? This highlights a core tension in the digital era: While technology operates with remarkable speed, it often fails to truly understand human needs. Currently, major financial centers are investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI). Despite this investment, a gap remains between technological capability and user experience, as efficiency is often mistaken for service quality. To remain sustainable, financial institutions must evaluate both the benefits and risks of AI to ensure long-term growth. Accelerating services or sacrificing empathy? It is undeniable that AI has driven significant advancements in financial services. One clear illustration is MoMo in Vietnam, which utilizes AI to automatically categorize consumer spending and enable facial-recognition payments in only three seconds. Similarly, Bank of America's virtual assistant Erica has processed more than 1.5 billion interactions while proactivel

Jul 8, 2026By Tran Minh Ngoc

[Economic Essay Contest] Finance in the age of AI: Why trust matters more than efficiency

Economic Essay Contest The future of AI in finance: Building trust before fraud happens

A few months ago, I received a call from an unknown number, and the caller identified himself as a government agency in Korea. As an international student, I often deal with unfamiliar bureaucracy and calls, so everything seemed quite convincing. The person on the phone spoke confidently, mentioned my personal information and insisted that I take immediate actions. For a second, I almost believed him. But suddenly I received a warning from my banking app about voice-phishing scams. This warning was handled by an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant manager, not a bank staff member. The warning landed me to immediately end the call. Later, I learned that similar scams are common across the country. What stayed with me was not the scam itself, but the realization that I trusted a warning generated by a financial system more than the voice of the person speaking on the phone. That experience changed the way I think about AI in finance. After this call, I thought about the future of banking. I believe that banking should be a system that people can really trust, especially when things are

Jul 8, 2026By Sultanova Khadizha

[Economic Essay Contest] The future of AI in finance: Building trust before fraud happens

Economic Essay Contest Asymmetric realities, divergent solutions: Comparing AI governance in Korean and Mexican financial inclusion

The financial sector is facing a structural overhaul driven by artificial intelligence (AI). Pioneering institutions like Woori Bank have placed AI Transformation (AX) at the center of their immediate corporate strategies, overhauling customer interactions, risk modeling and systemic defense. Yet, viewed through the lens of economic policy, this shift presents an immediate conflict. The very infrastructure capable of compressing information asymmetries and erasing transaction costs can easily automate social exclusion if built without tight governance. Machine learning models feed on historical data. If those records carry legacy biases, algorithms end up institutionalizing past inequalities at a speed no human bureaucracy could match. Progress in banking cannot be measured simply by margin expansion; it requires looking at how these models adapt to clashing socioeconomic realities — specifically contrasting hyperdigitalized societies like Korea with credit-starved emerging economies like Mexico. In Korea’s hyperdigitalized environment, inclusion is no longer about opening an accoun

Jul 8, 2026By Said Jonathan Luviano Lessie

[Economic Essay Contest] Asymmetric realities, divergent solutions: Comparing AI governance in Korean and Mexican financial inclusion

Economic Essay Contest AI in financial services: Efficiency is not enough

The financial industry has embraced artificial intelligence (AI) with remarkable speed. Algorithms approve loans in seconds, chatbots resolve complaints around the clock and fraud detection systems process billions of transactions daily. By almost every operational metric, AI is delivering. Yet there is a growing risk that the industry is measuring the wrong things. The dominant narrative — centered on cost reduction and automation — is dangerously incomplete. AI in financial services must be reframed, from an efficiency tool to a trust infrastructure. That reframing has implications across customer service, product development, and security. Customer service: The efficiency trap The most common measure of AI success in customer service is cost. McKinsey estimates that AI-driven automation could reduce customer service costs in banking by up to 30 percent. This is a legitimate gain — but institutions that optimize purely for cost reduction risk hollowing out the relationship that banking fundamentally depends on. The contrast between two approaches is instructive. When Wells Fargo

Jul 8, 2026By Ko Kyung-hwan

[Economic Essay Contest] AI in financial services: Efficiency is not enough

Economic Essay Contest Financial innovation and consumer protection: Lessons from El Salvador for Korea's digital asset ecosystem

Roughly one in five Koreans invest in cryptocurrency, making the country one of the world’s most active digital asset markets. As banks, exchanges and financial institutions continue expanding into the sector, digital assets are becoming an increasingly important part of everyday finance. While this growth creates opportunities for innovation, the experience of El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, shows that consumer protection should remain the priority. Without strong safeguards, rapid adoption can expose users to fraud, cybersecurity risks and financial losses. As someone from El Salvador who has lived in Korea since 2023, I have noticed a striking difference between the two countries. Although El Salvador became internationally famous for adopting Bitcoin, cryptocurrency remained a relatively niche interest among ordinary people. After moving to Korea, however, I was surprised by how frequently students and young adults discussed crypto investments. Whenever I mentioned I was from El Salvador, people almost immediately brought up Bitcoin. This

Jul 8, 2026By Alexandra Maria Escobar Garay

[Economic Essay Contest] Financial innovation and consumer protection: Lessons from El Salvador for Korea's digital asset ecosystem

Economic Essay Contest AI data sovereignty: The case for a local server interceptor in Korean finance

The Screenshot Nobody Thinks About An elderly woman in Seoul takes a photo of her bank statement. She is confusing about a transaction. Her grandson told her to “just ask ChatGPT.” She uploads the image. Within seconds, the AI explains the charge. Problem solved. Except it is not solved. That bank statement with her account number, transaction history, and personal details just traveled to a server in California. She has no idea. Her bank has no idea. And until something goes wrong, nobody will care. This is happening right now, thousands of times a day, across Korea’s financial system. We have no infrastructure to stop it. The Invisible Data Leak Financial institutions are racing to adopt AI tools. Chatbots answer customer questions. AI assistants help employees draft reports. These tools are useful. Banning them would be impossible. But there is a silent risk: When users interact with AI systems, data flows outward. A customer uploads a document. An employee pastes a client email into a writing assistant. A researcher screenshots proprietary data. Each action sends information to f

Jul 8, 2026By Narzullaeva Maftuna Shukhrat Kizi

[Economic Essay Contest] AI data sovereignty: The case for a local server interceptor in Korean finance

Busan turns UNESCO heritage meeting into citywide cultural festival

The 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee session will extend far beyond meeting rooms this month, with Korea transforming the global gathering into a citywide cultural festival featuring immersive exhibitions, royal performances and heritage tours across Busan. The Korea Heritage Service said Tuesday it will operate the Korea Pavilion, or K-Heritage House, at BEXCO throughout the committee session from July 19-29, while organizing a wide range of exhibitions, performances and public programs across the city. The Korea Pavilion will feature 45 exhibition and interactive booths operated by 35 organizations, introducing visitors to Korea's UNESCO World Heritage sites and cultural traditions. The exhibition will highlight the country's 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Hwaseong Fortress, Namhansanseong and Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in Korea, along with properties on UNESCO's tentative list. A media art exhibition titled "Heritage: Timeless Time" will feature a 9-meter-tall media installation designed to present Korea's cultural heritage through immersive digital displays. V

Jul 7, 2026By Lee Kyung-min

Busan turns UNESCO heritage meeting into citywide cultural festival

Seoul garden show blooms after dark with films, books and nature walks

The Seoul International Garden Show is shifting into nighttime mode for the summer, inviting visitors to swap the midday heat for outdoor movies, late-night reading and guided walks as the event continues to draw record crowds. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday it will expand evening cultural and experiential programs at Seoul Forest during July and August after the 2026 Seoul International Garden Show surpassed 6 million visitors as of Thursday. The summer program is designed to encourage visitors to enjoy the gardens after sunset through a mix of films, reading, guided tours and interactive activities. One of the signature events, the Garden Cinema, will offer free outdoor screenings every Saturday evening through Aug. 29, with an additional screening scheduled for July 17. The film lineup includes "La La Land," "The Wild Robot," "Mamma Mia!," "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time," "Little Forest," "Sing," "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Malmoe," "My Neighbor Totoro" and "The Secret Life of Pets 2." Visitors will also be able to enjoy the Garden Library, an outdoor reading space featurin