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Indian actor Anupam Tripathi returns to stage for 'The Third War' in Gwangju

Indian actor Anupam Tripathi, best known for his featured role in Season 1 of Netflix's "Squid Game," is returning to the stage for “The Third War,” an experimental opera and theatrical production. The production is written and directed by Bonn Park, a German Korean playwright and director known for creating immersive and highly imaginative theatrical worlds. The music is composed by Ben Roessler, who has previously collaborated with the director on several acclaimed productions. In an interview with The Korea Times, Tripathi emphasized themes of joy, coexistence and representation, as immigrants are an essential part of the story. “In the play, I’m from the foreigners’ world, and I play a father character," he said. "Our world talks about happiness and joy. We try to present even the smallest things in a joyful way through music, costumes and operatic performance.” "The Third War" is set in a fictional world where magic exists. It explores conflicts between three different nations through perspectives that examine how truth, fiction, fear and propaganda become distorted duri

May 19, 2026By Bereket Alemayehu
Indian actor Anupam Tripathi returns to stage for 'The Third War' in Gwangju
Law & Crime

Special counsel seeks arrest warrant for ex-KTV head on charges of promoting insurrection

A special counsel team on Monday sought an arrest warrant for a former chief of a state-funded cable TV channel on charges of promoting insurrection related to the 2024 martial law attempt by former President Yoon Suk Yeol. The special counsel team investigating various allegations linked to the failed Dec. 3 martial law imposition filed for a court warrant to arrest Lee Eun-woo, former president of the KTV channel, on insurrection propaganda charges, officials said. Lee is accused of directing the newsroom to heavily cover Yoon's martial law declaration to justify the move, while blocking or deleting reports critical of or opposed to it. Prosecutors suspect that Lee also excluded news about lawmakers or political parties, as well as the National Assembly that opposed the martial law decree. Lee has already been indicted and is standing trial on charges of abuse of authority for allegedly ordering the removal of broadcast captions featuring politicians' remarks stating that the martial law declaration was illegal and unconstitutional. The special counsel team has demanded a five-year pris

May 18, 2026By Yonhap
Special counsel seeks arrest warrant for ex-KTV head on charges of promoting insurrection
Politics

Lee visits Jeju Air crash site, orders thorough reinvestigation after flawed initial probe

President Lee Jae Myung on Monday visited the site of a 2024 plane crash in southwestern South Korea that claimed 179 lives, urging a thorough reinvestigation after the initial probe was found to have failed to fully recover the victims' remains. Lee made the call during his visit to Muan International Airport, about 290 kilometers south of Seoul, where a Jeju Air passenger plane from Bangkok crashed into a concrete mound while attempting an emergency belly landing on Dec. 29, 2024. The accident killed all but two crew members on board. Authorities are reexamining the crash site after additional remains of the victims were found at the scene following the conclusion of the initial probe. Officials determined that a lack of manuals and insufficient oversight contributed to the flawed investigation. While being briefed on the reinvestigation, Lee repeatedly questioned whether officials had properly followed procedures or the standards themselves had been flawed, rebuking authorities for letting the investigation take place twice. "Given the size and condition (of the additional remains), t

May 18, 2026By Yonhap
Lee visits Jeju Air crash site, orders thorough reinvestigation after flawed initial probe
Society

Young Koreans 'resting' while chasing chaebol jobs, but other options may be better: report

Yoon, 34, is not unemployed in the usual sense. He is not sending out resumes, sitting for interviews or preparing for another company exam. Officially, he belongs to a Korean labor market category known as “resting” — people who are neither working nor looking for a job. An engineering major from a university in Seoul, Yoon had once hoped to join a large company in the automotive or semiconductor industry. In Korea, such jobs often mean positions at major corporations, including affiliates of family-controlled conglomerates known as chaebol, and are widely seen as offering higher pay and greater stability. To improve his chances, Yoon retook the college entrance exam after completing his mandatory military service, believing that a stronger educational pedigree would help him compete. But the offers he received came only from small and medium-sized firms. He eventually started working at 30, reluctantly, but each look at his monthly wages left him discouraged. “I decided to quit my job and prepare again for large companies because I thought that was the only realistic way to ea

May 18, 2026By Hankookilbo
Young Koreans 'resting' while chasing chaebol jobs, but other options may be better: report
South Korea

Early summer heat sweeps Korea, breaking mid-May temperature records

Early summer heat gripped many parts of Korea on Monday, with the inland city of Gimcheon logging temperatures higher than the heat wave threshold. As of 2:40 p.m., temperatures in Gimcheon, about 190 kilometers southeast of Seoul, stood at 36 degrees Celsius, higher than the 33 degrees Celsius threshold for a heat wave, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. Temperatures in the southeastern city of Gyeongju reached 35.9 degrees Celsius around the same time, marking a mid-May record since authorities began tracking temperatures in the city in August 2010. Temperatures rose to 34.7 degrees Celsius in the nearby city of Daegu and to 32.4 degrees Celsius in the southwestern city of Gwangju, marking record mid-May highs for both cities. The earlier-than-usual heat comes as Korea has come under the influence of a high-pressure system, leading to clear skies without clouds. As the high-pressure system moves eastward, however, more clouds are expected to form, with rainfall forecast from Wednesday to Thursday.

May 18, 2026By Yonhap
Early summer heat sweeps Korea, breaking mid-May temperature records
Politics

President says 1980 pro-democracy spirit revived in resistance to 2024 martial law declaration

President Lee Jae Myung said that the spirit of the Gwangju pro-democracy movement lives on and was revived in 2024 through peaceful public protests that helped overturn the imposition of martial law. “Just as the citizens of Gwangju rose in defiance against martial law troops in May 1980, so too did the great people of Korea stand unarmed against armed martial law forces in 2024,” Lee said during a ceremony in Gwangju to mark the 46th anniversary of the uprising on Monday. He referred to the Gwangju uprising, which began on May 18, 1980, against the military junta led by then-Gen. Chun Doo-hwan, and the monthslong movement that began on Dec. 3, 2024, opposing the imposition of martial law by ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Lee pointed out that, although Chun’s dictatorial regime brutally suppressed the Gwangju Uprising, the spirit of May “was revived through the conscience of countless citizens who chose to stand on the side of truth and justice.” “The same spirit was reborn as the revolution of light on a bitter winter night in 2024, as citizens protected democracy b

May 18, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
President says 1980 pro-democracy spirit revived in resistance to 2024 martial law declaration
2026 local elections

Chong blames Oh for housing woes, unveils expanded support plan for young renters

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) Seoul mayoral candidate Chong Won-o on Monday unveiled a package of housing measures aimed at easing financial pressure on young people and newly married couples, while accusing rival Oh Se-hoon of mismanaging the city’s housing policy and contributing to the worsening rental market. Speaking at a campaign event in front of Seoul City Hall, Chong announced three housing stability plans for young adults and newlyweds, centered on expanded rent subsidies, additional housing supply and broader support for youth housing. Housing affordability and rising rent burdens have emerged as major issues in the Seoul mayoral race, particularly among younger voters struggling with high deposits and monthly rents. Chong argued that Seoul’s current rental difficulties stem from what he described as policy failures under Oh, the incumbent mayor and People Power Party's mayoral candidate. “The housing difficulties facing young people in Seoul today are clearly the result of housing administration failures under Oh Se-hoon,” Chong said. As part of the plan

May 18, 2026By Bahk Eun-ji
Chong blames Oh for housing woes, unveils expanded support plan for young renters
Society

EXPLAINER How Korea's little-used power to freeze legal strike works

As Samsung Electronics braces for a potentially historic strike later this week, the government’s rarely used “emergency adjustment” power has resurfaced as a viable option. Officials are publicly warning that if a walkout at the chip giant disrupts production and exports, they may enact a measure that can forcibly halt a legal strike and push the dispute into state-led arbitration. This emergency power is outlined in Article 76 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, which allows the labor minister to intervene when a dispute is deemed to pose a significant risk to the national economy or to people’s daily lives. This is regarded as a last resort because it forcibly suspends an otherwise lawful strike and can expose workers and unions to legal risks. Once the minister invokes the measure, unions must immediately halt any ongoing strike and are barred from staging industrial action for up to 30 days. If they defy the order and continue walkouts, the action can be treated as an illegal strike, exposing union leaders and other members to possible criminal penalties

May 18, 2026By Jung Min-ho
[EXPLAINER] How Korea's little-used power to freeze legal strike works
Politics

Official campaigning for June 3 local elections to begin Thursday

Official campaigning for the June 3 local elections and parliamentary by-elections will begin this week, the election watchdog said Monday. The 13-day campaign period will begin Thursday and last until the eve of the elections, with only limited forms of electioneering permitted before the official campaign period begins, according to the National Election Commission. During the official period, candidates and their campaign teams will be allowed to give speeches in public places between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., distribute campaign materials and put up campaign banners. A total of 7,829 candidates have registered for the upcoming elections, including 54 candidates vying for 16 metropolitan mayors and provincial governors, and 585 candidates for 227 heads of lower-level administrative units in the upcoming elections. Also up for grabs are 804 seats in provincial and metropolitan councils, and 2,650 in lower-level local councils. This year's elections are drawing greater attention as 14 National Assembly seats are also at stake in parliamentary by-elections, including the high-profile race in B

May 18, 2026By Yonhap
Official campaigning for June 3 local elections to begin Thursday
South Korea

Asia’s top young physicists converge in Busan for first Korean-hosted Olympiad

In lecture halls and laboratories across Busan, some of Asia’s brightest teenage minds are wrestling with problems that have no easy answers — only equations, experiments and pressure. The 2026 Asian Physics Olympiad opened in Busan Sunday, bringing together student competitors and delegation members from 27 countries for a nine-day contest of theoretical and experimental physics. It is the first time Korea is hosting the prestigious competition, which is held annually to identify emerging scientists and promote academic exchange across Asia. The event runs from Saturday through May 25, beginning with arrivals on Saturday and an opening ceremony on Sunday, and culminating in an awards ceremony on May 24. Organizers said participants will undergo rigorous theoretical and laboratory examinations designed to test advanced problem-solving skills in physics, with scores determining individual rankings among the region’s top young scientists. The Olympiad is hosted by the Korean Physical Society and organized by the 2026 Asian Physics Olympiad Organizing Committee, with support from the M

May 18, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Asia’s top young physicists converge in Busan for first Korean-hosted Olympiad
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