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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Seoul bets big on global startup platform as AI reshapes industries

Over the past seven years, Seoul’s startup ecosystem has ballooned in value by more than $100 billion, generating tens of thousands of high-paying jobs and cementing the Korean capital as a premier global hub for innovation. Now, the city is preparing to showcase that explosive growth on the world stage. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday that it will host Try Everything 2026, its flagship global startup festival, from Sept. 9-10 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. The event is designed to connect domestic entrepreneurs with international investors, corporate giants and tech innovators. According to Startup Genome, a global policy advisory and research firm, Seoul has maintained its position as a top-10 startup ecosystem globally. The rapid ascent is driven by a highly educated engineering workforce, world-class digital infrastructure and aggressive government backing, including the creation of the Seoul Vision 2030 Fund and expansive open-innovation initiatives. This year’s festival, operating under the slogan “AI Changes Everything, Now Try Everything,” reflects a strategic

Jun 29, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Seoul bets big on global startup platform as AI reshapes industries

From robot football to AI art, Seoul gamifies tech for kids

As the summer heat settles over the capital, Seoul is transforming one of its tech hubs into a massive, hands-on science playground designed to make cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and drone technologies accessible to everyday citizens. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Friday it will host the fourth annual Seoul Future Lab Festival on Saturday at its dedicated exhibition center and across the Magok Square plaza in western Seoul. Operating under the theme "A Summer Where Future Tech Becomes Play," the single-day event will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering dozens of interactive stations tailored for children and families. The festival marks a broader push by city officials to demystify complex emerging tech, moving away from dry classroom lectures toward physical, gamified learning. The event features a diverse coalition of municipal science museums, libraries and private tech startups — including AI and robotics firms like UVnex and Yusha. To handle the crowds, organizers have divided the outdoor plaza into three distinct interactive zones: a Tech Zone whe

Jun 26, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
From robot football to AI art, Seoul gamifies tech for kids

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOKKorean language morphs from cultural curiosity into lifelong opportunity

Watching the winners of the third Korean Language Speaking Contest on stage at the Korea Cyber University on Wednesday brought a wave of quiet emotion to the hall. The winners delivered their speeches with highly impressive and fluent Korean. However, the real emotion came from their personal stories of growth, which connected different parts of the world to Seoul, thanks to their command of the Korean language. Organized by The Korea Times, this year’s contest drew a record-breaking 3,908 entries from 110 countries, a massive 120 percent jump from the previous year. The diversity of the participants clearly reflected the growing global popularity of the Korean language. While Asia still represented the largest group of applicants at 72.3 percent, a significant number came from Europe, with 12.8 percent, followed closely by a growing presence of applicants from Africa, with 6.8 percent. This wide geographic spread showed the language is becoming a practical tool for youth worldwide. Viewed through the lens of national pride, it is easy to simply celebrate these record numbers. However,

Jun 26, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
Korean language morphs from cultural curiosity into lifelong opportunity

Korean heritage music meets modern swing in Incheon

A century ago, in the smoke-filled cafes of colonial-era Seoul — then known as Gyeongseong — a radical new sound began to turn heads. Detractors sniffed that those who abandoned decorum for the infectious, Western-inflected syncopations of swing and ragtime were part of a shameless "jass" band. Next month, that historical audacity returns to the stage in a contemporary skin. The Incheon Culture and Arts Center said Thursday that its flagship matinee series, the Coffee Concert, will host a collaborative performance titled "Modern Jass" on July 15, pairing traditional gukak vocalist Chun Young-rang with the veteran jazz quartet Prelude. The performance offers a rare cross-generational bridge, reimagining the hybrid pop music of the 1930s and 40s. During that era, "jass" served as a sonic umbrella for "shin-minyo" (new folk songs), comic songs and early Korean swing. By filtering these archival melodies through contemporary jazz arrangements, the artists aim to evoke the romantic, turbulent atmosphere of early 20th-century Korean café culture. The collaborative pairing brings together

Jun 25, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korean heritage music meets modern swing in Incheon

For KOFICE chief, MyK FESTA goes beyond K-pop

For Park Chang-sik, president of the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), a public institution under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism tasked with promoting two-way cultural exchange between Korea and the world, the 2026 MyK FESTA is not just a concert. It's an experiment in turning the K-pop fandom into a sustainable, two-way cultural economy. Now in its second year, MyK FESTA is a four-day K-culture festival combining K-pop concerts, business showcases and exhibitions, running from June 25-28 at KINTEX and SONO Calm GOYANG in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Organized by KOFICE and hosted by the culture ministry, the event brings together top K-pop acts, hundreds of Korean lifestyle and content companies and international buyers under one roof, free of charge. "This is the second year, and the scale has grown considerably compared to last year. The number of buyers, participating artists, B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2B (business-to-business) partners has all expanded significantly," Park said in an interview with The Korea Times at the foundation's he

Jun 24, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min
For KOFICE chief, MyK FESTA goes beyond K-pop

Speaking contest witnesses growing influence of Korean culture

The Korea Times witnessed the growing global influence of Korean culture and language as it awarded winners of the Korean Language Speaking Contest during a ceremony at the Korea Cyber University's Inchon Hall in Seoul, Wednesday. Now in its third year, the event has seen explosive growth, cementing its status as a premier global platform for Korean language learners. This year’s contest drew 3,908 entries from 110 countries. This marks a 120 percent increase in number of applications compared to the previous year, with participants submitting short and long videos across platforms including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Jung Hyang-mi, deputy minister of the culture and arts policy office at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, emphasized the deep cultural connections fostered by learning the language. She noted that the number of students at the King Sejong Institute, a state-run Korean language education center with branches around the world, nearly doubled from 138,000 in 2021 to 239,000 last year. "Learning a language goes beyond mastering a communication tool. It is a proc

Jun 24, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
Speaking contest witnesses growing influence of Korean culture

Seoul botanical exhibition probes balance between technology and nature

Inside the humid, glass-domed sanctuary of the Seoul Botanic Park, the boundary between the organic and the artificial has begun to blur. The municipal institution unveiled its 2026 contemporary exhibition, "A Tender Balance: Reflecting Each Other," Tuesday, a sprawling site-specific project that positions cutting-edge digital technology and anthropogenic ruins directly alongside living flora. The yearlong exhibition features major installations, media art and sculptures by four contemporary artists — Koo Ki-jeong, Um Ah-long, Lee Ji-yeon and Chang Han-na. Dispersed across four distinct zones of the botanic complex in western Seoul, the works serve as an active critique of the modern Anthropocene, challenging visitors to reconsider humanity's place within the natural order. Inside the main greenhouse, artist Chang Han-na has deployed New Rock Inuksuk, a towering installation modeled after ancient Arctic stone landmarks. However, Chang’s stones are not natural. They are "New Rocks" — petrified amalgams of industrial plastic waste and shoreline debris harvested from local ecosystem

Jun 24, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul botanical exhibition probes balance between technology and nature

Busan Food Film Festa marks 10 years of culinary cinema

In the vocabulary of modern gastronomy, few pairings are as symbiotic as sight and taste. For a decade, Korea’s maritime hub has leveraged this relationship, turning the silver screen into an active dining table. On Friday, the Busan Food Film Festa will launch its 10th anniversary edition, transforming the architectural landmark Cinema Center and the banks of the Suyeong River into a three-day celebration of culinary storytelling. The three-day festival, backed by the Busan Metropolitan Government, centers on the thematic motif “Strange yet Familiar.” It is a nod to how foreign cultures and exotic cuisines organically dissolve into global comfort foods through the passage of migration, generational shifts and cinema. The festival’s opening night will feature a performance by the local youth fusion-gugak band Nallari and Jaeng_i, which blends practical pop rhythms with traditional Korean instrumentation — specifically the piercing, high-pitched horn notes of the "taepyeongso" (a traditional Korean double-reed wind instrument) and the deep, bowed bass drone of the "ajaeng" (a

Jun 24, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Busan Food Film Festa marks 10 years of culinary cinema

Seocho District launches riverside K-dessert festival

Against the neon backdrop of the Han River’s illuminated fountains, a new weekend festival is aiming to capture Seoul’s late-night tourist economy. By pairing viral confections with hands-on cultural pop-ups, city officials are launching a coordinated push to keep global travelers lingering longer. Seocho District announced Wednesday the launch of the “Seocho Sweet Night 2026 K-Dessert Festival in Hangang,” a weekend event designed to turn the country’s booming culinary scene into a permanent tourism asset. Opening Saturday, along the Moonlight Square of Banpo Hangang Park, the twilight festival explicitly targets a shift among modern international travelers away from passive sightseeing toward hands-on cultural participation. Set against the backdrop of Seoul's Moonlight Rainbow Fountain, the festival divides the riverside park into four experiential zones. At the culinary core, 15 curated vendors will showcase a spectrum of Korean confections, ranging from traditional rice crackers and honey-glazed cookies to contemporary, viral social media trends like "butter rice cakes"

Jun 24, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seocho District launches riverside K-dessert festival

Korea turns to K-beauty to fuel new wave of tourism

For international fans of Korean pop culture, matching the radiant skin of a K-pop idol or the precise styling of a K-drama lead has long been a digital obsession. Now, Korea’s tourism officials are attempting to transform that fascination into actual footsteps on the ground. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in partnership with the Korea Tourism Organization, officially inaugurated the “2026 Korea Beauty Festival” Wednesday. Running through July 19 at HiKR Ground, a high-tech tourism promotional hub in central Seoul, the event represents a highly strategic push to anchor the nation’s lucrative tourism recovery in the global appeal of K-beauty. Operating under the banner “All about Beauty,” the festival seeks to demystify the country's multibillion-dollar cosmetics, hair, wellness and medical industries for international visitors. Wednesday’s opening ceremony brought out notable cultural star power, including the prominent Korean actress and model Hyeri, alongside international cultural ambassadors from Mexico and Mongolia, signaling the global scale of the cam

Jun 24, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Korea turns to K-beauty to fuel new wave of tourism
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