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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.

National Museum tops 5 mil. annual visitors, a first in 80 years

The National Museum of Korea said Friday that its annual attendance surpassed 5 million for the first time in its 80-year history. The museum recorded 5,016,382 visitors from Jan. 1 through Wednesday, up 69.7 percent from about 2.96 million during the same period last year, according to the museum. Of the total, 4.83 million were Koreans and 185,705 were foreign nationals. It marks the first time since the museum's founding in 1945 that its annual attendance exceeded 5 million. The surge comes amid rising global interest in Korean culture, boosted in part by the success of the Netflix animated film "KPop Demon Hunters." Last year, only four museums worldwide attracted more than 5 million visitors, according to The Art Newspaper, a British art publication. The Louvre in Paris led the list with 8.74 million visitors, followed by the Vatican Museums (6.83 million), the British Museum (6.48 million) and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (5.73 million). London's Tate Modern ranked fifth with 4.6 million visitors.

Oct 17, 2025By Yonhap
National Museum tops 5 mil. annual visitors, a first in 80 years

Scholarship program faces scrutiny after losing track of 80% of graduates

A government scholarship program that spends hundreds of billions of won to attract foreign students to Korea is facing over its efficiency after officials did not receive responses from eight out of 10 graduates, prompting questions about the program’s oversight and accountability once students obtain their degrees. Launched in 1967, the Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) program provides tuition, airfare and a monthly allowance to selected international students to promote academic exchanges and cultural understanding in Korea. According to a 2024 survey by the National Institute for International Education submitted this month to Rep. Kim Jun-hyuk of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, 84 percent of the 10,269 GKS program graduates could not be reached by email, with only 15.8 percent responding. The response rate is down from 2023, when a parliamentary audit found that 70 percent of the program's 14,111 graduates were unaccounted for. Over the past four years, the government has spent more than 419.1 billion won ($295.5 million) on the program, with its annual budget increasing from

Oct 17, 2025By Park Ung
Scholarship program faces scrutiny after losing track of 80% of graduates

InterviewKookmin University prioritizes cross-cultural competency over student headcount

As global competition in higher education intensifies, Kookmin University is forging a distinct approach to internationalization. Rather than focusing on the sheer number of international students, the university is emphasizing the cultivation of skills, cross-cultural experiences and confidence students need to navigate an increasingly interconnected world. “Global competitiveness today is not about drawing lines between domestic and overseas,” said Kookmin University President Jeong Seung-ryul during an interview with The Korea Times. “At Kookmin University, that vision takes shape in what I call a ‘boundaryless education ecosystem,’ designed to break down walls between countries, classrooms and even workplaces.” He stressed that building global competence is inseparable from preparing future-ready talent, pointing to the importance of giving students hands-on international experiences. The government’s Study Korea 300K project aims to draw 300,000 foreign students by 2027, reflecting policymakers’ focus on boosting inbound enrollment. While Jeong acknowledges the fina

Oct 17, 2025By Jung Da-hyun
Kookmin University prioritizes cross-cultural competency over student headcount

Mysterious deaths of Korean livestreamer Ah-young and TV host Seo Se-won in Cambodia reexamined amid safety warnings

As Cambodia faces a surge in crimes involving South Koreans including kidnapping and illegal confinement, the mysterious 2023 deaths of Korean livestreamer Ah-young and TV host Seo Se-won are being reexamined by the public. Ah-young, a 33-year-old content creator, traveled to Cambodia with an acquaintance in 2023 and was found dead four days later near a construction site in Kandal Province, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Local police arrested a Chinese couple in their 30s who owned a hospital where Ah-young had been treated. The couple reportedly told authorities that she suffered seizures after receiving an antibody injection and died unexpectedly, prompting them to panic and dispose of her body. However, reports later revealed bruising and signs of physical assault on her body. Police also said her underwear had been found worn inside out, raising suspicions of sexual assault, which the suspects denied. Investigators examined whether the clinic had government authorization and whether malpractice or negligence contributed to her death. Korean investigative programs such as SBS’s

Oct 16, 2025By Xportsnews
Mysterious deaths of Korean livestreamer Ah-young and TV host Seo Se-won in Cambodia reexamined amid safety warnings

Rescued Koreans reveal horrors of Cambodian scam rings: ‘Metal pipes and electric torture’

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia — When police in Cambodia’s Sihanoukville Province rescued two Korean men from an illegal compound earlier this month, the victims could barely speak without trembling. “I still flinch whenever I hear the sound of a key turning,” one of them said, recalling months of beatings and electric torture. The two men — identified only as A, 28, and B, 35 — shared their ordeal during an interview with the Hankook Ilbo at the immigration office of the Sihanoukville provincial police headquarters Wednesday. Both had been lured by false online job offers promising high salaries and comfortable living conditions, only to find themselves trapped in one of the region’s notorious criminal enclaves known as "wenqi" — a Chinese term for scam compounds used by voice phishing syndicates across Southeast Asia. Lured by fake job offers The 28-year-old man had been working at a Korean company when he saw a Telegram post in February recruiting people “familiar with computer programs.” The ad promised “a single hotel room, Korean meals and a monthly salary of 8 to 15 m

Oct 16, 2025By Hankookilbo
Rescued Koreans reveal horrors of Cambodian scam rings: ‘Metal pipes and electric torture’

'Cambodia is peaceful…' Korean women appear in Cambodian gov't videos to ease fears

Amid growing concern over a series of kidnapping and confinement cases involving Koreans in Cambodia, the country’s Ministry of Interior has released a social media video featuring a Korean woman praising Cambodia as a “peaceful and warm country.” The Oct. 14 post, which includes a message stating that a Korean resident “wished to share her 13 years of life in Cambodia with Koreans and the world,” is seen as an attempt to ease rising fears among foreign residents following reports of crimes targeting Koreans. In the video, the woman — who says she runs a cafe in Phnom Penh — speaks in Korean: “I’ve lived here for 13 years. Though recent news often highlights worrying stories about Cambodia, my daily life here is very different from that.” She emphasizes that life in Cambodia is peaceful despite recent media portrayals. “Of course, challenges exist in any country, but for us Cambodia remains peaceful, and people’s hearts are warm. Living here makes me happy,” she says. She adds, “The scenes in news reports aren’t the full picture. We live peacefully and with

Oct 16, 2025By Hankookilbo
'Cambodia is peaceful…' Korean women appear in Cambodian gov't videos to ease fears

Nearly 30% of bullying victims stay silent out of fear

Nearly 3 out of every 10 employees who experienced or witnessed workplace harassment took no action, such as filing a complaint, mainly due to fear of repercussions at work, a recent survey shows. According to a 2024 Labor Ministry survey submitted this month to Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the main opposition People Power Party, 28.8 percent of 1,000 respondents said they had experienced or witnessed workplace harassment over the past year. Workers in their 30s reported the highest rate of workplace harassment, at 16.9 percent for men and 24.1 percent for women. Among job positions, assistant managers topped the list at 21.1 percent, followed by staff-level employees and managers or deputy managers. When it came to witnessing harassment, assistant managers again ranked first at 36.1 percent, followed by managers or deputy managers and staff-level employees. Overall, 54.5 percent of respondents identified their immediate supervisors, excluding executives, as the main perpetrators, followed by colleagues at 38.2 percent. The most common response to workplace harassment was consulting with colleagues

Oct 15, 2025By Park Ung
Nearly 30% of bullying victims stay silent out of fear

‘Earn $8,900 a month’: Overseas job scams lure young Koreans into phishing crimes

A growing number of online job posts promising “high-paying overseas part-time work” are turning out to be traps to lure young Koreans into organized voice phishing crimes abroad. Despite repeated warnings following the death of a Korean college student in Cambodia in August, social media remains flooded with ads offering “luxury housing,” “free airfare” and salaries reaching “$8,900 a month.” When this reporter contacted one such Telegram recruiter posing as a hiring manager, a reply came within five minutes. The recruiter said the position involved impersonating prosecutors in voice phishing operations and claimed workers could earn up to 10 million won ($7,200) per week. He openly acknowledged the work was illegal, saying, “Maybe you already guessed — this isn’t legal work,” while insisting that “security and safety are top priorities” and that “working overseas is necessary for protection.” Luring job seekers with ‘safe work environment’ The supposed “employers” often promise a comfortable lifestyle in Southeast Asia to lure desperate job seeker

Oct 15, 2025By Hankookilbo
‘Earn $8,900 a month’: Overseas job scams lure young Koreans into phishing crimes

Seoul to build bunker designed for nuclear, chemical defense

Seoul will build a shelter for civilians in the southern part of the city, capable of withstanding nuclear, biological and chemical attacks — the first such facility to be constructed by a local government. The city government said Monday it plans to create the shelter on the third basement level of a public housing complex in Songpa District, as a pilot project to expand civil defense shelters in response to evolving security threats. The 2,147-square-meter shelter will hold up to 1,020 people and include systems to support life for 14 days in the event of a nuclear, biological or chemical attack. The facility will include a decontamination area for entry and exit and a mechanical room housing air control and water storage systems. In peacetime, it will serve as a space where residents can exercise. With an estimated budget of around 3.4 billion won ($2.37 million), the city plans to complete construction of the shelter by 2028. It also aims to expand similar civil defense shelters to other districts, adding protection features against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks. In addition,

Oct 15, 2025By Park Ung
Seoul to build bunker designed for nuclear, chemical defense

Father of missing Korean man in Cambodia says embassy told him ‘your son must report it himself’

As Korean authorities continue investigating the recent death of a 22-year-old student in Cambodia, another case has emerged, this time involving a man in his 30s from Daegu who disappeared shortly after arriving in the Southeast Asian country. According to Daegu’s Dalseo Police Station on Monday, the family of a 34-year-old man surnamed Yang filed a missing person report after losing contact with him two days earlier. Yang had left Korea on Oct. 9, telling his family he would spend “two to three weeks in Cambodia to pay off borrowed money.” Before boarding his flight to Phnom Penh, he sent a photo of his ticket and remained in touch during his first two days abroad. “He messaged us that he’d arrived at his accommodation and was heading to the office the next morning,” Yang’s father said. But contact abruptly stopped around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 11, when Yang wrote, “Things are going slowly. I’m working with some Chinese people — I’ll contact you again later.” He has not been heard from since. Yang’s father tried calling repeatedly through KakaoTalk but never got a r

Oct 14, 2025By Hankookilbo
Father of missing Korean man in Cambodia says embassy told him ‘your son must report it himself’
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