South Korea - The Korea Times

BTS' world tour projected to unleash economic boom surpassing Taylor Swift's impact

K-pop supergroup BTS is returning from a nearly four-year hiatus with an 82-show world tour that analysts project will generate massive economic activity, establishing an economic engine expected to surpass the financial impact of Taylor Swift's recent global tour. The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute estimates the upcoming 34-city tour will yield 1.2 trillion won ($840 million) per show. The Guardian reported that economists anticipate the North American leg alone will generate tens of trillions of won, significantly exceeding Taylor Swift's 60-date North American tour, which generated about 7 trillion won. Global media outlets are actively reporting on the comeback. The New York Times covered Korean fans rushing to internet cafes for tickets, while CNN broadcast its crew's attempts to book seats. "BTS is not just a regular K-pop group. They are really the engine of the industry itself," Berklee College of Music professor Ray Seol told CNN. The local economy is already feeling the "BTSnomics" effect ahead of Friday's release of the group's fifth studio album, "Arirang." Five-star ho

Mar 18, 2026By Hankookilbo

BTS' world tour projected to unleash economic boom surpassing Taylor Swift's impact

Korea raises terror alert near BTS Gwanghwamun show venue as 260,000 fans expected

Korea will raise the terror alert level in parts of central Seoul ahead of BTS’ free comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square this Saturday, where more than 260,000 people are expected to gather. The prime minister's office announced Wednesday that the alert level will be elevated from the lowest “attention” to second-tier “caution,” out of a four-tier scale, in Jongno District and Jung District in central Seoul from the beginning of Thursday to midnight on Saturday as part of a preemptive move to prevent potential terror attacks. “Given the uncertainties driven by international affairs, the government concluded that it is hard to rule out the possibility of a potential terror threat to the event like BTS concert where a large crowd would flock and will take a preemptive move to ensure the people’s safety as a priority,” the office said in a press release. This comes amid rising tensions caused by the U.S-Israel war on Iran and the influx of tourists coming to Seoul for the historic concert event. The alert is issued when there is a possibility of a terrorist attack and an

Mar 18, 2026By Park Ji-won

Korea raises terror alert near BTS Gwanghwamun show venue as 260,000 fans expected

BTS returns, merchants near comeback show venue brace for boom — or just another day

When Moon Sang-ki, 50, manager of JH Texas Bar next to Cheonggye Stream in central Seoul, heard that BTS would perform just around the corner from his bar as a full group for the first time in nearly four years, he knew he had to do something. “Both my staff and I are ARMY (BTS’ fandom). When we heard BTS would perform just outside our restaurant, we decided to turn the bar into a gathering spot for fans from around the world,” Moon told The Korea Times in an interview Monday. “We usually close at 1 a.m., but that day we will stay open for 24 hours and play BTS songs.” Decorating his bar with a BTS theme, Moon will run the restaurant with a full staff on March 21, the day of the concert, with 10 staff members providing hall service and four in the kitchen, all wearing purple — the color associated with the group. “We are receiving reservations from ARMY around the world, including China, Indonesia, Japan and the United States,” Moon said. “Foreigners usually make up about one-third of our customers, but since decorating the place like this, the share has risen to about

Mar 18, 2026By Park Ung

BTS returns, merchants near comeback show venue brace for boom — or just another day

Seoul capsule hotel blaze exposes fire safety blind spots ahead of BTS show

A Saturday fire that injured 10 people at a Seoul capsule hotel has exposed a critical weakness in Korea's fire safety laws, revealing how regulatory gaps leave hundreds of foreign tourists in sleeping pods vulnerable to fire — a hidden crisis that has prompted citywide emergency inspections ahead of an upcoming BTS concert. With safety concerns mounting ahead of the K-pop group's comeback performance on Saturday, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced it will conduct emergency safety inspections of 5,481 accommodation facilities by Thursday. The targeted sweep includes 4,904 urban bed-and-breakfasts, 381 traditional hanok guesthouses and 151 lodging facilities in the Jongno and Jung districts. The recent blaze at the Sogong-dong facility underscored the extreme danger of the city's self-registration system. The hotel operated on the third and sixth floors of a seven-story building, registering only seven rooms with the government. However, reservations for the day of the fire reached 124 people — 65 on the third floor and 59 on the sixth floor. Capsule hotels surged in Seoul f

Mar 17, 2026By Hankookilbo

Seoul capsule hotel blaze exposes fire safety blind spots ahead of BTS show

Care workers press gov’t for direct bargaining under new law

Care workers nationwide have launched a coordinated push to bring government ministries they call their “real employers” to the bargaining table, citing a new labor law that expands the legal definition of an employer. They threatened to go on strike if their demands are not met. During a press conference at the office of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a powerful umbrella organization with more than 1 million members, the KCTU and affiliate unions said they have recently demanded that 57 ministries and public agencies hold talks with them as principal employers under the so-called “yellow envelope law” that came into force last week. Union leaders said most care workers — including elder-care aides, child care staff, disability support workers and home-care helpers — are formally hired by outsourced private facilities but effectively governed by state-set fees and guidelines, and that more than 2 million workers nationwide fall under this category, according to KCTU estimates. The government bodies they seek direct bargaining with include the Ministry of Hea

Mar 17, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Care workers press gov’t for direct bargaining under new law

Tourists can now buy Seoul transit passes with overseas credit cards

Seoul will introduce a new payment system allowing foreign tourists to purchase public transportation passes using overseas credit and debit cards, as the city expects an influx of visitors ahead of BTS’ comeback performance on Saturday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Monday that the Climate Companion Card — an unlimited public transportation pass valid within Seoul — and one-off subway tickets can be purchased using overseas credit and debit cards starting Tuesday. Purchases will be available through new ticket machines installed at 273 subway stations across Lines 1 to 8. Kakao Pay and Naver Pay will also be accepted. The policy is part of the city’s efforts to address difficulties faced by foreign tourists, many of whom have been left confused in front of ticket machines that require cash. It is also intended to ease the inconvenience of having to search for currency exchange counters. Previously, overseas credit cards could not be used with Seoul’s public transportation card readers, forcing many foreign visitors to buy one-off tickets using cash. The city said

Mar 17, 2026By Hankookilbo

Tourists can now buy Seoul transit passes with overseas credit cards

Everything Seoul lined up for BTS fans

Seoul is transforming itself into an extended concert venue ahead of BTS' comeback show Saturday, with the city government rolling out a month of landmark light displays, themed festivals and guided tours designed to give the hundreds of thousands of fans — collectively known as ARMY — more than a single night out, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Monday. Starting Friday, the day the highly anticipated album "Arirang" drops, 15 city landmarks, including Sebitseom and Cheonggye Stream, will be lit in red — the color associated with the new album — to mark their return, turning the skyline into a dynamic nighttime stage. City officials say the lighting is designed to make Seoul feel like a giant open-air performance space. To demonstrate the city’s welcome, greeting banners will be hung along Sejong-daero near the Gwanghwamun concert venue and welcome messages will be displayed on 10 media facades across the city. Major tourist spots and traditional marketplaces will also show welcome phrases in English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai and Korean. On S

Mar 17, 2026By Jung Min-ho

S. Korea expands e-gates access to 42 countries

The justice ministry said Monday it has expanded the number of nations eligible for automated immigration gates, known as the Smart Entry Service, to 42 from 18, to make it easier for visitors to enter the country. The 24 newly added nations are 19 European Union member states, including Spain, Sweden, Austria and Poland, as well as Canada and four non-EU members of the Schengen Area, a European zone of free movement with no internal border controls — Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Iceland. With this measure, the ministry aims to streamline the entry process and create a more user-friendly immigration system. It also expects to boost domestic tourism and the local economy by attracting more foreign visitors.

Mar 16, 2026By Yonhap

S. Korea expands e-gates access to 42 countries

What AI overtaking jobs looks like

“Are you actually a human?” The voice of a middle-aged man, thick with anger, roars through the phone. For Lee Eun-young — a pseudonym for a woman in her 40s who works at the customer service desk of a major credit card company — the moment is nothing new. She pauses for a second before replying. “Yes, sir. I’m a human.” This time, the caller does not calm down easily. “Since when did I say I wanted to talk to artificial intelligence (AI)?” he snaps. “You people let machines do all the work while you sit back and collect easy money?” The words sting. But they are not entirely surprising. Roughly one in four calls Lee receives each day now begins with complaints about the company’s AI customer service system. No one at the company has shared the numbers with her. Still, she has a sense of how things are going from the pile of frustrations customers unload the moment they reach a real person. Customer service desk jobs like Lee's are experiencing the future arrive faster than other industries — and it is not a comforting one. For years, the job was widely seen as one o

Mar 16, 2026By Hankookilbo

English kindergarten divide: Over 50% of children in southern Seoul attend, under 15% in north

Three in 10 students in Seoul have attended “English kindergartens,” with participation far higher in the city’s southern neighborhoods than in those north of the Han River, suggesting parents in relatively affluent districts are far more likely to send their children to such programs. According to a survey by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education released Sunday, 29 percent of parents with children in kindergarten, elementary or middle school said their child is currently attending or has attended an English kindergarten. The survey polled 25,487 respondents in Seoul — 11,941 parents, 9,006 students and 4,540 teachers. In Korea, English kindergartens refer to private academies that teach young children — typically from around age 3 until they enter elementary school — primarily in English. They have drawn criticism for intensifying the private education industry. Last year, some lawmakers introduced a bill under which all cram school programs in English would be prohibited for children under 36 months. In Seocho District and Gangnam District, the two most affluent dist

Mar 16, 2026By Park Ung

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