South Korea - The Korea Times

PHOTO Seoul Station swells with travelers as Lunar New Year ends

Seoul Station teems with travelers, Wednesday, the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday. The Korea Transport Institute estimates 27.8 million people traveled to their hometowns between Feb. 13 and 18. Newsis

Feb 18, 2026By Park Ung

[PHOTO] Seoul Station swells with travelers as Lunar New Year ends

AI expected to streamline dockets, reduce backlogs in Korean courts

As the legal sector expands its use of artificial intelligence (AI), many expect that AI-driven systems could help ease crowded dockets and allow judges to turn their attention to cases that demand greater human discernment. However, while the technology is embraced as a way to ease the judiciary’s burden, experts caution that firm boundaries and clear guidelines will be essential to guard against ethical risks. Legal experts say the Supreme Court’s administrative arm has quietly rolled out its own AI platform, a move intended to streamline legal research and trial management as the nation’s judiciary moves toward a digital future. The system, developed by the National Court Administration, is now undergoing an evaluation of a pilot program. The system draws on a deep reservoir of court records, including every ruling issued since 2013, to provide judges with more efficient access to case law. Eschewing public AI services, the National Court Administration opted for a proprietary framework to ensure that trial-related work remains contained within the judiciary’s own secure netw

Feb 18, 2026By Jung Da-hyun

AI expected to streamline dockets, reduce backlogs in Korean courts

Korean teens make bomb threats: 'Virtual countries' on Discord are behind them

It was 6:05 p.m. on a winter evening when a bomb threat quietly appeared on a customer service board run by one of South Korea’s largest telecommunications companies. “The bomb will detonate at KT headquarters at 9 p.m.,” the message read. Written in a dry, almost matter-of-fact tone, the threat carried a chilling menace. “Unless 10 billion won (about $7.5 million) is transferred to a designated online bank account, a knife attack will follow.” Police rushed to respond. The KT headquarters building was searched floor by floor for explosives. Patrol cars swept surrounding streets while two riot police units sealed off the area, pushing the neighborhood into confusion. Somewhere else, someone watched the unfolding fear with quiet satisfaction. Inside a private online community, the suspect — identified by police as X — boasted about officers scrambling at the scene. With evident satisfaction, he wrote, “I’ve gone through multiple countries using VPNs, so tracing my IP address is impossible.” Followers responded instantly. Some praised his ability to evade detection, while

Feb 18, 2026By Hankookilbo

Korean teens make bomb threats: 'Virtual countries' on Discord are behind them

Korea’s shrinking population closes schools, reshapes electoral maps

With the world’s lowest birthrate, Korea is confronting the widening consequences of population decline, from a steady wave of school closures to demographic shifts that could reshape upcoming local elections. Over the past five years alone, 153 schools have shuttered nationwide, adding to more than 4,000 that have closed since 1980. According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Education, released Tuesday by Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party, elementary schools account for the vast majority of closures. A total of 120 were permanently shut down, compared with 24 middle schools and nine high schools. As the student population continues to shrink, total enrollment has fallen from 5.32 million in 2021 to 5.01 million in 2025. The decline has been most pronounced in non-metropolitan regions, with South Jeolla and Gangwon provinces reporting the highest number of closures with 26 each. “Given the declining school-age population, some degree of school mergers and closures may be unavoidable. But once a school is shut down, it is difficult to restore the

Feb 17, 2026By Park Han-sol

Korea’s shrinking population closes schools, reshapes electoral maps

Highways congested nationwide on Lunar New Year

Traffic was heavy on highways nationwide on Tuesday afternoon as streams of vehicles headed back home on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year holiday. The nation marks the major holiday, known as Seol, on Tuesday, with the holiday period beginning over the weekend and running through Wednesday. As of 5 p.m., travel times were estimated at seven hours to Seoul from the southeastern city of Busan, six hours from the southeastern city of Daegu and four hours from the eastern city of Gangneung, according to the Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC). The KEC forecast that congestion in the outbound direction — from the capital region to provincial areas — would ease around 8 to 9 p.m., while return traffic toward Seoul is expected to clear around 3 to 4 a.m. the following morning. Nationwide traffic volume for the day was projected at around 6.15 million vehicles, larger than the previous day's 5.05 million, which include 440,000 cars leaving the greater Seoul area and 470,000 heading toward Seoul from other regions.

Feb 17, 2026By Yonhap

Highways congested nationwide on Lunar New Year

Nearly 720,000 Koreans expected to travel abroad during Lunar New Year break

Nearly 720,000 people are expected to travel overseas through Incheon International Airport during Korea’s six-day Lunar New Year holiday, with Japan emerging as the most popular destination amid a relatively short break, airport officials said Friday. According to Incheon International Airport Corp., a total of 718,880 passengers, including transfer travelers, are projected to depart the country between Feb. 13 and 18. The Lunar New Year holiday, one of Korea’s most significant travel periods, runs for six days this year. Japan accounted for the largest share of outbound travelers, with an estimated 185,432 passengers expected to visit the neighboring country. China followed with 123,486 travelers. Southeast Asian destinations collectively attracted about 204,084 travelers, while European countries accounted for 35,740 passengers. Passenger traffic is expected to peak on the second day of the holiday, Saturday, when about 130,675 travelers are forecast to depart. The lightest traffic is projected for the final day of the holiday on Feb. 18, with 104,721 passengers expected to leave

Feb 14, 2026By Kim Hyun-bin

Nearly 720,000 Koreans expected to travel abroad during Lunar New Year break

Highway traffic eases slightly on 1st day of Lunar New Year holiday

Traffic on major highways eased slightly across Korea on Saturday afternoon, the first day of the five-day Lunar New Year holiday. The nation will mark the major holiday, known as Seol, on Tuesday. Celebrated by family reunions and ancestral rites, the holiday period began over the weekend and runs through Wednesday. As of 5 p.m., a drive from Seoul to the southeastern port city of Busan, 330 kilometers away, was expected to take approximately four hours and 30 minutes, down slightly from nearly seven hours in the morning, according to the state-run Korea Expressway Corp. A trip to the southwestern city of Gwangju, some 260 kilometers south of the capital, was expected to take three hours and 20 minutes. Travel times heading toward Seoul were similar, with the drive from Busan expected to take four hours and 30 minutes, and the trip from Gwangju estimated at three hours and 20 minutes. The agency estimated that 4.85 million vehicles would travel nationwide Saturday, including 460,000 cars leaving the greater Seoul area and 370,000 heading toward it.

Feb 14, 2026By Yonhap

Highway traffic eases slightly on 1st day of Lunar New Year holiday

Playing Sherlock Holmes: Rise of escape rooms in South Korea

“Please place your hands on the shoulders of the person in front of you and close your eyes. Follow me carefully inside. Once I leave, the game will begin. If there’s an emergency, contact us immediately. Good luck escaping.” When the door shuts and I open my eyes, I find myself standing in what looks like a neighborhood alley. For the next 60 minutes, I am a detective tasked with identifying the culprit in a murder case. My first challenge is unlocking a cabinet that contains files on potential suspects. Scenes like this are common inside so-called “escape room cafes.” Despite the name, these venues do not sell beverages. Instead, they offer themed puzzle experiences in which participants solve clues to escape a locked space within a set time limit. Themes range from horror and fantasy to action, mystery and comedy. Participation typically costs about 20,000 won ($15) per hour. The games can be played alone or in groups, and their role-playing element — allowing participants to feel like protagonists in a drama — has fueled their popularity. That helps explain why reservat

Feb 14, 2026By Hankookilbo

Playing Sherlock Holmes: Rise of escape rooms in South Korea

Civil servant-turned-YouTube icon ‘Chungjuman’ steps down from city post

Kim Sun-tae, a star civil servant with the Chungju city government who rose to nationwide fame as the face of the city’s YouTube channel “Chung TV,” has submitted his resignation, city officials said on Friday. According to the city, Kim turned in his resignation to the human resources department and began extended leave immediately afterward. “The resignation has not yet been formally processed,” a city official said. “However, since he has expressed his intention to step down, the matter will be handled in due course.” Kim, widely known by his nickname "Chungjuman," gained popularity through his role in producing and appearing in the city’s promotional YouTube content. With his unique sense of humor and refreshing production style, he spearheaded a shift in how local governments communicate with the public, moving away from traditional press releases toward engaging, social media-driven storytelling. Residents and viewers began to associate the city with experimental digital content, rather than thinking of it simply a provincial town with a population just over 200,000

Feb 13, 2026By Lee Hae-rin

Civil servant-turned-YouTube icon ‘Chungjuman’ steps down from city post

Korea’s infamously difficult CSAT English section to get AI makeover

The notoriously difficult English section of Korea’s College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) is now heading for an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven overhaul, with officials saying that the reform begins with a simple diagnosis: The English used on the university entrance test is not the kind of English people actually use. The Ministry of Education announced earlier this week that it will build an AI-based system to generate English passages, with the goal of using them in mock exams for the 2028 academic year. Officials will also work to apply the technology to review CSAT questions. A senior ministry official who oversees the project acknowledged that recent CSATs included English passages using language that is “not actually used in real life.” “The reason is that we have been relying on overseas source texts, and those sources tend to be academic papers or convoluted scholarly books, which have drawn criticism (for being impractical),” the official told The Korea Times. He said the problem of CSAT English being impractical and unnatural is part of what the ministry is try

Feb 13, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Korea’s infamously difficult CSAT English section to get AI makeover

Think your English is good? Try solving Korea’s 'insane' college entrance test!

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