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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.

InterviewKwangwoon University accelerates AI-driven transformation to boost global competitiveness

Kwangwoon University is stepping up efforts to transform itself into an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven institution, aiming to strengthen its competitiveness through advanced research and interdisciplinary education. “We have established our vision as ‘Engineering for Humanity’ — a university that shines through cutting-edge research and convergent education,” said Kwangwoon University President Yoon Do-young. “This reflects our goal of building strong research capabilities in advanced fields while fostering interdisciplinary education that can respond to complex social changes and ultimately becoming a university where all members take pride.” AI woven into campus life The university is enhancing the use of AI on campus through technologies developed in-house, improving both accessibility and efficiency across academic and administrative services. For international students, it provides high-accuracy translation tools tailored to coursework, campus communications and daily academic needs, helping reduce language barriers and support smoother integration. As part of the p

May 13, 2026By Jung Da-hyun
Kwangwoon University accelerates AI-driven transformation to boost global competitiveness

Rising living costs, debt fuel mental health crisis among Seoul’s youth

A deepening debt crisis among young Koreans has evolved into a dire mental health emergency, with around 40 percent of those petitioning for court-ordered debt relief reporting suicidal urges over the past year, according to a report released Tuesday. The study, conducted by the Seoul Financial Welfare Counseling Center, surveyed 1,025 people under the age of 30 who are currently navigating the city’s bankruptcy court system. The findings offer a bleak window into the lives of a generation for whom the vicious circle of debt is increasingly driven not by reckless speculation, but by the basic cost of living. While popular narratives in Korea often blame youth debt on luxury spending or volatile crypto investments, the survey suggests a far more systemic collapse. Nearly 68 percent of respondents cited everyday living expenses as the primary spark for their debt. Furthermore, the share of those burdened by supporting family members or falling victim to fraud rose significantly over the last year. The economic floor has fallen out for many. More than half of the debtors attributed their

May 12, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Rising living costs, debt fuel mental health crisis among Seoul’s youth

Blade threat at Korea's Antarctic base puts crew member under police investigation

A member of a Korean Antarctic research team threatened fellow crew members with a blade at Jang Bogo Station, raising concerns about conduct and oversight at the country's remote polar outposts. According to the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), a winter-over station member pulled a blade on station personnel in April. Korean media reports identified the suspect, who fashioned the 30-centimeter blade from a steel sheet in the station's workshop, as a man in his 50s with a prior record of misconduct and friction with colleagues. The incident ended with no one injured after station officials separated the suspect from the group. The suspect departed last week and returned to Korea, Monday, where he is now under police investigation. His transport was secured through international cooperation, with Antarctic winter having largely grounded air operations. Jang Bogo Station, established in 2014 on Terra Nova Bay in Victoria Land in southeastern Antarctica, is Korea's second Antarctic base and its first on the Antarctic mainland, built 26 years after King Sejong Station on King George

May 12, 2026By Park Ung
Blade threat at Korea's Antarctic base puts crew member under police investigation

'Drunk driving should not be treated as normal,' says daughter of Japanese tourist killed in Seoul

“Your mother has passed away.” The words flickered on the smartphone screen handed to Mayumi (pseudonym) by a member of the medical staff. Lying in a hospital bed, Mayumi, 39, stared blankly at the message. Familiar words, yet almost impossible to grasp, continued to appear through a translation app. There, lying in a bed in the emergency room of the National Medical Center in Seoul, sometime after 11:22 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2025, Mayumi was told the cause of her mother’s death: traumatic shock. She knew it was going to be bad. She had heard the ominous sounds of doctors rushing past and medical equipment being moved frantically around her. But somehow, perhaps wistfully, Mayumi still believed her mother would survive. Just an hour earlier, they had been walking casually down the street together, side by side. The news of her death rang hollow and unreal — until the tears came, followed by uncontrollable sobs. When Mayumi saw her mother, she could still feel warmth in Geiko’s (pseudonym) body. A few leaves were still caught in her hair, and her expressionless face looked almost peace

May 12, 2026By Hankookilbo
'Drunk driving should not be treated as normal,' says daughter of Japanese tourist killed in Seoul

Boy found dead after going missing in mountain park

Authorities on Tuesday discovered the body of a boy who had gone missing in a southeastern mountain park earlier this week. The 11-year-old went missing Sunday after hiking alone at Juwangsan National Park, about 280 kilometers southeast of Seoul, after visiting a Buddhist temple at the park with his family. Rescue authorities discovered the boy's body at about 10:25 a.m., about 100 meters from the mountain's peak, after deploying more than 350 personnel on the third day of the search around a hiking trail. The mountain has an elevation of 720.6 meters. Officials suspect the boy may have suffered a fatal accident after losing his footing. They plan to conduct an investigation into the exact circumstances of his death. Authorities were considering deploying a helicopter to transport the body, depending on the conditions at the scene. The boy had set out on a hike to the mountain peak without a mobile phone from a midpoint where his parents waited. The parents reported their child missing at 5:53 p.m. Sunday as he did not return even after a considerable amount of time. While authorities car

May 12, 2026By Yonhap
Boy found dead after going missing in mountain park

Police to scale back riot police at rally, protest sites

Police said Monday they will reduce the presence of riot police at rallies and demonstrations and grant organizers greater autonomy. Under the revised policy, organizers of assemblies and demonstrations will bear greater responsibility for maintaining order, while police will take a "reactive and supplementary role" focused on supporting order maintenance and ensuring safety. Park Jun-hyun, chief of the Korean National Police Agency's Situational Intelligence Division, unveiled the new policy during a forum on improving assembly and demonstration culture at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Seoul. Except for essential needs, mobile police units will be deployed at all times to public safety sectors, such as crime prevention and response, and crowd and disaster management, Park said. "The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has piloted the new policy since Feb. 19. Although the number of rallies held between February and April was similar to previous years, the deployment of riot police decreased by 62 percent from a year earlier," said Park, adding there were no illegal or v

May 11, 2026By Yonhap
Police to scale back riot police at rally, protest sites

7 in 10 int'l students in Korea work in low-skilled service jobs: report

About 7 in 10 international students in Korea who work part time are concentrated in low-skilled service positions such as restaurants and hospitality jobs, with only a marginal share employed in roles related to their field of study. According to a study on the socioeconomic impact of the inflow of international students in Korea released by the Migration Research and Training Center on Monday, 71.1 percent of student workers were employed in the food and accommodation sector. The share climbed to 81.6 percent among undergraduates aged 19 to 24. The results also showed regional disparities. The share of international students working in food and accommodation jobs exceeded 80 percent in areas including Gwangju, Incheon, Busan and South Chungcheong and Gyeonggi provinces. This pattern appears to be driven by the factors that international students prioritize when choosing part-time work. Only 2.4 percent said they consider alignment with their field of study or desired career path as a key factor. Instead, the most important consideration was working hours compatible with their studies,

May 11, 2026By Jung Da-hyun
7 in 10 int'l students in Korea work in low-skilled service jobs: report

Gen Z soldiers' plastic surgeries strain Korea's military readiness

First Lt. Kim, a platoon leader at a front-line South Korean Army unit in the capital region, faced a unique command challenge early this year. He excluded a corporal from critical cold-weather training because the soldier returned from leave with a swollen, unhealed nose from a rhinoplasty procedure. "I was flustered because he underwent a nose job without saying a word right before the training," Kim said. He added that he sidelined the soldier out of fear that the unhealed wound would cause medical complications in the field. Kim's dilemma is not an isolated incident. A growing trend of elective cosmetic surgery among active duty Korean soldiers, fueled by rising military pay and aggressive clinic marketing, is causing operational disruptions, exposing a critical gap in military regulations. The trend is also triggering resentment among peers who must cover the workload while recovering soldiers receive special accommodations. Plastic surgery in the military is not new. Historically, units tolerated the practice when soldiers used long leaves in their final months of service to undergo

May 11, 2026By Hankookilbo
Gen Z soldiers' plastic surgeries strain Korea's military readiness

Korea to roll out 2nd round of cash aid to over 36 mil. people amid Mideast crisis

Korea will roll out a second batch of cash assistance for the bottom 70 percent of income earners, or about 36 million people, next week, officials said Monday, in an effort to ease financial strains caused by rising fuel prices amid the war in the Middle East. Last month, the National Assembly approved a 26.2 trillion-won ($17.8 billion) extra budget bill to address the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict, which includes the introduction of the cash assistance plan. Under the first program launched in April, the government handed out up to 600,000 won to recipients of basic livelihood security and other vulnerable groups. The government will begin accepting applications next Monday for the second round of the assistance program. Eligible individuals living in the broader Seoul area will receive 100,000 won, while those in areas with declining populations may receive up to 250,000 won each. Assistance eligibility will be determined by a household's national health insurance payment in March this year. For single-person households, those who paid 130,000 won or less will be eli

May 11, 2026By Yonhap
Korea to roll out 2nd round of cash aid to over 36 mil. people amid Mideast crisis

Search enters 2nd day for missing boy in mountain park

Authorities were searching for a missing elementary school student for the second day Monday after he disappeared while visiting a mountain park with his family. The 11-year-old visited a Buddhist temple in Juwangsan National Park, about 280 kilometers southeast of Seoul, with his family Sunday afternoon and went missing after hiking alone to the park's main peak, according to police and rescue workers. His parents notified the 119 rescue services and police at 5:53 p.m., as their son, who had set out on the hike without a mobile phone, did not return even after a considerable amount of time had passed. In response, the rescue team and police mobilized personnel and equipment to conduct a search operation but were unable to confirm his whereabouts. They deployed 96 personnel, one helicopter and equipment for the operation Monday. They said that a review of surveillance footage from within the park found no signs that his disappearance was linked to a crime. The boy, who is about 145 centimeters tall and on the thin side, was reportedly wearing a Samsung Lions uniform on the day of his dis

May 11, 2026By Yonhap
Search enters 2nd day for missing boy in mountain park
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