South Korea - The Korea Times

Busan releases 2026 dining guide to showcase city's culinary scene

Busan released this year's "Taste of Busan" guidebook, promoting the southeastern port city's food culture to an international audience. The Busan Metropolitan Government said Tuesday the guidebook covers 146 restaurants citywide in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese, pairing each entry with regional stories and culinary context. Published annually, it serves as the city's flagship food culture guide, curating restaurants through its own selection process alongside broader coverage of local ingredients and dining trends. This year's edition moves beyond a restaurant directory, the city said, tracing the local food chain from farm to table through chef interviews, producer profiles and coverage of traditional cuisine and regional ingredients. The guidebook also aims to ease navigation for international visitors, including QR codes linking to foreign language menus at 50 restaurants in seven languages — English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Russian and Arabic. A digital version of the annual publication is available for download at visitbusan.net. Pri

Apr 7, 2026By Park Ung

Busan releases 2026 dining guide to showcase city's culinary scene

Seoul expands free health screenings for marriage migrants

Seoul is broadening its health support program for marriage migrants, reaching more foreign residents with expanded services including post-screening interpretation services and wider access to prenatal and childbirth classes. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday it will provide free comprehensive health screenings to 80 low-income marriage migrants in cooperation with Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital. Eligibility covers households earning at or below the median income level, set at about 5.36 million won per month for a family of three. Screenings will run from April through November, covering more than 23 medical screening items including gastroscopy, mammography and cervical cancer tests. Applications are accepted through referrals from local institutions including family support centers in the applicant's district of residence. Those requiring follow-up care or specialist consultations after screenings will be connected with medical interpreters if needed. To provide practical assistance and emotional support, immigrant women volunteers will provide interpre

Apr 7, 2026By Park Ung

Seoul expands free health screenings for marriage migrants

Why Seoul isn't banning teenagers from social media

Kaley, an American in her 20s, first encountered YouTube at age 6 and began using Instagram when she was 9. She used social media every day, at times spending up to 16 hours just on Instagram. As she entered adolescence, she struggled to maintain hobbies or friendships, ultimately developing severe depression and an obsession with her appearance. Last year, she filed a lawsuit against Meta, Google, TikTok and Snap, which operates Snapchat, blaming the tech giants for her addiction. On Feb. 25, a California jury returned a landmark verdict ordering Meta and Google to pay Kaley $5.98 million in damages. Snap and TikTok settled out of court. It marked the first time a U.S. court recognized that platform companies could be held financially liable for harming the mental health of minors through features actively designed to increase screen time, such as infinite scrolling, algorithmic recommendations and push notifications. In the U.S., the verdict was hailed as a monumental decision paving the way for additional lawsuits. The ruling validates a rapidly escalating global movement to keep teen

Apr 7, 2026By Hankookilbo

Why Seoul isn't banning teenagers from social media

PHOTO Billboards go dark in energy-saving push

Electronic billboards are dark near Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, Monday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that the operating hours of about 30 large electronic billboards in the Gwanghwamun and Myeong-dong areas would be reduced to 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., from the previous 6 a.m. to midnight, for five days starting Monday as part of energy-saving efforts amid prolonged price pressures driven by the Middle East crisis. Yonhap

Apr 6, 2026By Park Ji-won

[PHOTO] Billboards go dark in energy-saving push

AI could widen inequality unless governments act now, experts warn

Experts said Monday that artificial intelligence (AI) could deepen inequality and leave many workers behind unless governments move quickly to govern the technology properly and to protect vulnerable workers. Speaking at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Forum on Jobs for the Future held in Seoul, they warned that while AI is already boosting productivity in many firms, without strong governance, skills policies and safety nets, its benefits may only be enjoyed by a small number of people or countries, as others see their jobs and incomes come under greater pressure. Lim Young-mi, the ministry’s employment policy chief, said the impact of AI on workplaces “depends not on the technology itself but on how we prepare and respond,” adding that the age of AI should be “an opportunity for all,” not just for a few. She said the Korean government is pursuing “AI for all” not only at home but also abroad, noting that it is seeking to host a global AI hub that would bring together the AI functions of international organizations and help other APEC economies develop their

Apr 6, 2026By Jung Min-ho

AI could widen inequality unless governments act now, experts warn

Understaffed immigration area at Incheon airport causes inconveniences for some travelers

The surge in foreign visitors to Korea has put growing strain on arrival procedures at Incheon International Airport, prompting calls for more immigration officers on the ground. According to a briefing released Sunday by the Ministry of Justice and Incheon International Airport, processing times for foreign nationals entering Korea stretched to as long as one hour and 54 minutes during the Lunar New Year holiday from Feb. 16 to 18. That was nearly double the roughly one-hour wait recorded during last year’s Chuseok holiday in October. The International Civil Aviation Organization, meanwhile, recommends that arrival procedures take no longer than 45 minutes. As delays lengthen, frustration has been spilling onto the airport’s online boards and social media, where travelers have complained about long lines at arrivals. One French traveler who arrived early last month said it took two hours to collect his luggage after landing at Incheon. “I even missed the bus I had booked. The customer service desk only told me it was because of heavy weekend crowds,” he wrote. Another traveler sa

Apr 6, 2026By Hankookilbo

Understaffed immigration area at Incheon airport causes inconveniences for some travelers

Labor Day officially designated as national holiday

The Cabinet on Monday approved revised legislation designating Labor Day as an official public holiday, allowing all workers to take the day off this year. Until now, only private-sector workers had been guaranteed a paid day off on May 1, while public servants, teachers and others in special employment arrangements, such as delivery workers, had to show up for work. The Cabinet approval comes after the National Assembly last month passed a revision to the Act on Public Holidays to make May 1 a national holiday. South Korea had initially observed Labor Day on May 1 before it was renamed "Workers' Day" in 1963 when a relevant law was enacted. Workers' Day become a paid holiday for most workers in 1994. Last October, the National Assembly passed a bill to restore the name to Labor Day as part of broader efforts to ensure the holiday for all workers.

Apr 6, 2026By Yonhap

Labor Day officially designated as national holiday

EXPLAINER Who counts as employer in Korea under new law?

Korea has drawn a new line on who qualifies as an employer. In the first decision under the pro-labor “yellow envelope law” last week, a regional labor commission ruled that state-run institutions that oversee safety management and staffing for subcontracted workers can be treated as employers and be required to come to the bargaining table. The government says the decision appears to reflect a finding of “substantive and concrete control” based on the specific facts of the case, while businesses worry that this could mark the start of a flood of bargaining demands from subcontractor unions. The South Chungcheong office of the National Labor Relations Commission, which serves as the primary forum for determining “employer” status in practice, ordered four organizations, including the Korea Asset Management Corporation, to respond to a request from a union that represents subcontracted cleaners, security guards and facility workers. The office said it found that work contracts and testimonies of the workers verified that the public institutions exerted substantial influence o

Apr 6, 2026By Jung Min-ho

[EXPLAINER] Who counts as employer in Korea under new law?

Korea, France launch language assistant exchange to deepen education ties

Korea and France will begin exchanging youth language assistants as early as the second half of this year, placing Korean instructors in French secondary schools and French instructors in Korean classrooms under a new bilateral education program. The agreement was signed during French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Seoul, Thursday, commemorating the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The Ministry of Education said the two sides signed a letter of intent — a preliminary agreement expressing willingness to cooperate. Under the program, aimed at strengthening educational ties between the two nations, Korea will send young Korean language assistants to France while France dispatches French language assistants to Korea. The assistants will support regular teachers in foreign language classes but will not lead classes independently or assess students. In its first year, the program will begin with one assistant exchanged in each direction with plans to gradually expand the number of participants. Korean language assistants dispatched to France will be

Apr 5, 2026By Jung Da-hyun

Korea, France launch language assistant exchange to deepen education ties

PHOTO Cherry blossoms peak in Seoul

People walk on a road lined with cherry blossom trees in full bloom during the Yeouido Spring Flower Festival in southern Seoul's Yeongdeungpo District, Sunday. The iconic spring blossoms were at their peak across the city this past weekend. Yonhap