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Kim You-jung reinvents herself in Tving’s year-end bet 'Dear X'
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How Korea’s trails became a cultural destination
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Sex scenes in K-dramas: Why are they so restrained?
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'Dream Life of Mr. Kim' asks: Who are you without your title?
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Whiter skin for sale: South Korea’s glutathione dilemma
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Louis Vuitton opens six-story Seoul venue blending retail, culture and dining
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How Koreans once celebrated snow
Seoul saw its first snowfall of the season on Thursday, as temperatures dipped below zero degrees Celsius. People filed out of their homes, schools and offices to catch a glimpse of the season's first wintry weather. In contemporary Korea, snow carries a tender, almost cinematic meaning. Couples often promise to meet when they see the first snow, and many singles make bold moves, believing that confessing one’s love under the first flakes will guarantee success. The white snow that blankets the
Dec. 4, 2025 -
Park Seo-joon returns to small screen with 18-year love story
Park Seo-joon hasn't done a proper romantic drama in five years. Ever since he sparked a cultural moment as the dogged underdog Park Sae-ro-yi in "Itaewon Class," he's kept busy with bigger-budget fare — a cameo in Marvel Cinematic Universe's "The Marvels," Netflix's period horror "Gyeongseong Creature," and the apocalyptic "Concrete Utopia." But sitting before a room full of reporters at a hotel in Seoul's Guro-gu on Thursday, the 37-year-old seemed ready to scale back down. "I've been working
Dec. 4, 2025 -
National Museum of Korea on track to surpass 6 million annual visitors
The number of visitors to the National Museum of Korea is expected to surpass 6 million this year for the first time since it opened in 1945. The museum said Wednesday that as of Nov. 30, it had recorded 5,814,265 visitors so far this year. At the current pace, total attendance is likely to exceed 6 million as early as next week. It would be the first time the museum has reached that milestone since its founding on Dec. 3, 1945, making it the highest annual attendance in its 80-year history. Cum
Dec. 4, 2025 -
'Price of Confession' promises 12 episodes of unrelenting suspense
Crafting "The Price of Confession" felt less like making a series and more like shooting 12 standalone thrillers, each one packed with its own tension and emotional weight, its director, Lee Jung-hyo, said Wednesday. "It was like producing 12 independent thrillers. I spent a lot of time figuring out how to sustain the tension throughout all 12 episodes," he said at a press conference for Netflix's upcoming mystery thriller. "I focused on keeping viewers wondering, like who the actual killer is,
Dec. 3, 2025 -
National Palace Museum marks 20 years of conservation science with special exhibition
The National Palace Museum of Korea, located in Seoul at the main palace Gyeongbokgung, is celebrating two decades of conservation science with a major special exhibition, “Re:Born, Connecting Time Through Conservation Science,” running from Wednesday to Feb. 1, 2026. The exhibition highlights the often unseen world of conservation labs, tracing 20 years of scientific preservation work conducted since the museum’s 2005 opening. The show positions conservation not as simple restoration, but as a
Dec. 3, 2025 -
Lee Jun-ho finds second life in country's collective memory
Lee Jun-ho has had quite a ride living through 1997 — fumbling with pager messages, sporting old-school leather coats and keeping a small trading firm from falling apart through South Korea's worst financial crisis. Not literally, of course. The 35-year-old actor was 7 during those years when the International Monetary Fund bailout gutted the South Korean economy. For "Typhoon Family," the tvN period drama that wrapped its 16-episode run Sunday with a series-high 10.3 percent viewership, that is
Dec. 3, 2025 -
'KPop Demon Hunters' dominates YouTube Korea's hot songs in 2025
Three of the 10 most popular songs on YouTube Korea in 2025 are from Netflix's hit animated film "KPop Demon Hunters," with "Golden" ranking first, according to a list released Wednesday by YouTube. Other tracks from the film, “Soda Pop” and “Your Idol,” ranked third and 10th, respectively. YouTube's annual list also highlighted emerging new creators, with Choo Sung-hoon, a former mixed martial artist, ranked the most popular creator in Korea. Choo has amassed about 2 million subscribers with hi
Dec. 3, 2025 -
How a Shinsegae heiress became K-pop’s most-watched rookie
When Allday Project debuted in June, it immediately captured the attention of K-pop fans not only because it was the first coed group introduced in nine years, but also because of the distinct and unconventional profiles of its members. One member who especially drew attention was Annie, the group’s rapper, whose transition from chaebol heiress to rookie idol quickly became one of the most discussed narratives in this year’s K-pop rookie scene. Born into the Shinsegae family, which controls one
Dec. 3, 2025 -
Exploring birth and motherhood from folk traditions to contemporary art in Seoul
Giving birth to a child brings changes to a family in many ways, reshaping not only daily life but also the emotional landscape, from joy to sorrow. Birth takes center stage at the National Folk Museum of Korea and the European gallery White Cube in Seoul, embodying these ideas in different thought-provoking ways. At the National Folk Museum of Korea, a baby’s first cry echoes through the entrance to the “Happy Birthday” exhibition, accompanied by a reimagined scene of a Joseon-era (1392-1910) c
Dec. 2, 2025 -
'Dream Life of Mr. Kim' asks: Who are you without your title?
In Korean society, we could say that identity is rarely a solitary thing. From an early age, we are placed into systems: given a class number at school and later assigned to a department in a company, a title affixed to our name. That title matters because it becomes social proof of who we are. So we grow up learning to exist as “someone who belongs somewhere.” That frame defines us. And as long as it holds, our place in society feels stable. The novel recently adapted to the hit eponymous drama
Dec. 2, 2025 -
Young survivors navigate a brutal apocalypse in 'Concrete Market'
"It's its own film," Hong Ki-won said. He'd been fielding variations of the same question since sitting down at Lotte Cinema World Tower on Monday afternoon — what does this have to do with the other works within the franchise, especially 2023's "Concrete Utopia"? The director of "Concrete Market" seemed ready for it. "We share the post-earthquake setting. That's it. New characters, new space, new story." The franchise in question did leave a mark. "Concrete Utopia" dropped viewers into the rubb
Dec. 2, 2025 -
Sex scenes in K-dramas: Why are they so restrained?
K-dramas have long perfected the art of suggestion. Explicit sex scenes are rare, almost nonexistent when top stars are involved. Instead of bare skin, the genre bares emotion, relying on metaphor, lingering close-ups and carefully modulated fades. Whereas Western dramas often place sexual encounters plainly onscreen, Korean series tend to frame intimacy as an emotional crescendo rather than a physical act. Even in the few cases where a spicier scene unfolds, it’s usually distilled into scenes i
Dec. 1, 2025 -
Arete Quartet: Korean ensemble shares Czech soul with the world
When the Arete Quartet, one of Korea’s most closely watched young chamber ensembles, began discussing their first recording, the choice of repertoire came almost instinctively. Rather than starting with the standard Beethoven-Mozart canon that they could have chosen, the group took an unconventional leap: Czech composers Leos Janacek and Josef Suk. Their affinity for Czech music did not develop out of curiosity alone. A defining moment came at the 2021 Prague Spring International Music Competiti
Dec. 1, 2025 -
Fashion items to lift your dull winter wardrobe
When temperatures drop, it’s easy to fall into a uniform of black, grey and brown. Winter wardrobes often lean neutral for comfort, but that doesn’t mean your style has to follow suit. With a few well-chosen accessories, even the most predictable look can shift in mood, texture and color. For those who want warmth without sacrificing silhouette, tights are emerging as one of the season’s most effective styling tools. At a recent airport appearance, Meovv members Gawon and Ella showed how a simpl
Dec. 1, 2025 -
Han Kang’s ‘Human Acts’ tops country's bestseller lists for second year
“Human Acts,” the searing novel by South Korean writer Han Kang, who last year became the first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature, has claimed the top spot on Korea’s major year-end bestseller lists. Leading overall sales in 2025, “Human Acts” topped Kyobo’s annual rankings for the second consecutive year, according to Kyobo Book Center, the country’s largest bookstore chain, and Yes24, its leading online bookseller, on Monday. The consecutive top ranking has been achieved only fi
Dec. 1, 2025