Security failure or xenophobia? Coupang leak outrage morphs into anti-Chinese hatred

The breach of more than 33 million Coupang user accounts is now quickly evolving from a shocking corporate security lapse to a source of rising anti-Chinese sentiment as suspicion falls on a former employee of Chinese nationality. Experts warn that the turn risks deepening social divides and creating diplomatic strain. The controversy surrounding the breach intensified after the prime suspect was believed to be a former Coupang engineer from China who had worked on authentication systems. Police

Dec. 4, 2025

Seoul Mayor to visit Vietnam, Malaysia to deepen city ties

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon will travel to Vietnam and Malaysia this week for a six-day visit aimed at strengthening partnerships with Southeast Asian capitals and advancing the city’s goal of becoming a “global leading city,” the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday. The local authority said the visit comes as Koren cultural exports, including music, cuisine and television, continues to drive rapid growth in interest in the city. Seoul aims to use this momentum to strengthen its global brandi

Dec. 4, 2025

Seoul activates snow response as season’s first snowfall expected for evening commute

Seoul activated its level 1 snow response Thursday as the season’s first snowfall was forecast to hit the capital during the evening commute. Emergency operations will begin at 2 p.m., with district offices and related agencies placed on standby, the city said. The Korea Meteorological Administration predicted 1 to 5 centimeters of snow between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., marking the first accumulation expected in Seoul this winter. The city classifies its snow response in five stages — normal, reinforce

Dec. 4, 2025

Seoul plans 5-minute Namsan summit ride amid legal challenge

Namsan is seeing renewed global attention, with foreign visitors to Seoul Tower jumping more than 50 percent from last year — a surge partly fueled by the popularity of the Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters," which prominently features the capital city's central mountain. As tourist interest grows, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has announced an extensive redevelopment blueprint aimed at transforming Namsan into a more accessible, globally competitive landmark by 2030. Under the city’s plan, visi

Dec. 3, 2025

Yoon long gone, but Koreans say work isn’t done

On the night of Dec. 3 last year, lawyer Kim Kyoung-ho was sitting at home with his daughters when then-President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared on television and declared emergency martial law. For most, it was an alarming constitutional aberration. But for Kim, who spent 13 years as a military legal officer, including seven years as an instructor teaching the law of martial rule, it was something closer to disbelief. “I had taught this law to commanders for years,” he recalled in an interview with The

Dec. 2, 2025

[팟캐스트] (745) 한국 학교의 급식이 멈춘 이유

작성자: 최정윤, Tannith Kriel What drove Korea's school meal workers out of the kitchen? 기사 요약: 학교 급식실 노동자들이 파업에 나서 학생들이 대체식을 먹는 가운데, 노동자들은 낮은 임금과 강도 높은 업무가 자신들의 건강까지 위협하고 있다고 주장했다. [1] School cooks and other nonregular school staff began a nationwide walkout last week, calling for improved wages, pay during school breaks and better welfare. But the workers say these demands, while important, only skim the surface of what pushed thousands to walk out of Korea’s schools. walkout: 파업 (=strike) A walkout

Dec. 1, 2025

1 in 5 Korean women faces violence in intimate relationships

One out of five Korean women has experienced violence in an intimate relationship, yet South Korea still lacks the statistical and institutional systems needed to understand the scale of the problem or protect victims, according to new findings released Monday by the Korea Women’s Development Institute. Coinciding with the 2025 International Week for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the analysis — based on nationwide surveys conducted in 2021 and 2024 — found that 19.2 percent of women

Dec. 1, 2025

Teen dies after shop spreads images of her shoplifting

The death of a high school student in South Chungcheong Province after images of her taking ice cream from an unmanned store circulated among local teenagers has triggered a new public debate over privacy. According to local reports, the 18-year-old, identified as Lee, was found dead at her home in Hongseong on Sept. 23, just a few days after the store owner sent images of her stealing to a local tutoring room. The photos were then shared with students there and quickly circulated among teenager

Nov. 30, 2025

1 in 3 South Koreans living alone in 'superaged' era

South Korea’s demographic structure is shifting at its fastest pace yet, with the share of single-person households surpassing 36 percent for the first time last year and the senior citizen population crossing the 10 million mark, new government data showed Sunday. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s statistics yearbook on social security, the number of single-person households reached a record high of nearly 8.05 million last year. This marks a sharp rise from 5.2 million househol

Nov. 30, 2025

[팟캐스트] (744) '국민 배우' 이순재 별세

작성자: 최정윤, Tannith Kriel Beloved ‘grandfather’ Lee Soon-jae dies at 91 after lifetime on stage and screen 기사 요약: 현역 최고령 배우로 활동해 온 이순재가 향년 91세로 별세하며, 애도 물결이 이어지고 있다. [1] Actor Lee Soon-jae, a towering figure in Korean entertainment and one of the nation’s longest-working performers, died Tuesday. He was 91. According to his family, Lee died early on Tuesday morning. towering: 대단히 뛰어난 [2] Even in advanced age, Lee had continued to work across television, film and theater, remaining active until lat

Nov. 27, 2025