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Tag: Seoul

  • South Korean movie star Ahn Sung-ki dies at 74

    Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.The death of Ahn, who had been had blood cancer for years, was announced by his agency, the Artist Company, and the Seoul-based Soonchunhyang University Hospital.”We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members,” the Artist Company said in a statement. Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life. In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.After spending a few years unemployed, Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet. Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.” Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation’s Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed as “The Nation’s Actor.” “I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most. Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.”I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

    SEOUL, South Korea —

    Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

    The death of Ahn, who had been had blood cancer for years, was announced by his agency, the Artist Company, and the Seoul-based Soonchunhyang University Hospital.

    “We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members,” the Artist Company said in a statement.

    Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

    In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

    After spending a few years unemployed, Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

    He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

    Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

    KIN CHEUNG

    FILE – South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006.

    Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

    Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

    Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation’s Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed as “The Nation’s Actor.”

    “I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

    In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

    Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

    “I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

    Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

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  • Asian shares sink, tracking a tech-led sell-off on Wall Street

    BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares tumbled on Tuesday, with benchmarks in Tokyo and Seoul sinking more than 3%, after Nvidia and other artificial-intelligence -related shares pulled U.S. stocks lower.

    U.S. futures dropped, with the contract for the S&P 500 down 0.6% while the future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4%.

    Computer chip giant Nvidia, at the center of the craze over AI, is due to report its earnings on Wednesday. Worries that stock prices of such companies have shot too high have roiled world markets recently, with big swings in places that rely heavily on trade in computer chips such as South Korea and Taiwan.

    Also hanging over the markets is the release due Thursday of U.S. employment data that was delayed by the prolonged government shutdown.

    Regional markets felt a chill after the yield on 30-year Japanese government bonds surged to 3.31%, reflecting rising risks as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi prepares to boost government spending and push back the timetable for bringing down Japan’s huge national debt.

    The yen was trading above 155 to the U.S. dollar, near its highest level since February. On Monday, the yen fell to its lowest level against the euro since 1999, when the unified European currency was launched.

    Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was down 3% at 48,835.20 by midday, with selling of tech shares leading the decline. Chip maker Tokyo Electron shed 5.4%, while equipment maker Advantest dropped 4.6%.

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    In Seoul, the Kospi fell 3.1% to 3,960.82. Samsung Electronics dropped 2.9%, while chip maker SK Hynix shed 5.7%.

    In Taiwan, the Taiex fell 2.3% as TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip manufacturer, declined 2.4%.

    Chinese markets were not immune from heavy selling.

    Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.5% to 25,997.20, while the Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.6% to 3,949.83.

    In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gave up 2.1% to 8,452.50.

    On Monday, the S&P 500 fell 0.9% to 6,672.41, pulling further from its all-time high set late last month. The Dow industrials dropped 1.2% to 46,590.24, while the Nasdaq composite sank 0.8% to 22,708.07.

    Nvidia dropped 1.8%, though it is still up nearly 40% this year. Losses for other AI winners included a 6.4% slide for Super Micro Computer.

    Other areas of the market that had been high-momentum winners also sank. Bitcoin extended its decline, dragging down Coinbase Global by 7.1% and Robinhood Markets by 5.3%. Early Tuesday, it was down 2% at $90,110.

    Critics have been warning that the U.S. stock market could be primed for a drop because of how high prices have shot since April, leaving them looking too expensive.

    However, Alphabet gained 3.1% after Berkshire Hathaway said it has built a $4.34 billion ownership stake in Google’s parent company. Berkshire Hathaway, run by famed investor Warren Buffett, is notorious for trying to buy stocks only when they look like good values while avoiding anything that looks too expensive.

    Another source of potential disappointment for Wall Street is what the Federal Reserve does with interest rates. The expectation had been that the Fed would keep cutting interest rates in hopes of shoring up the slowing job market.

    But the downside of lower interest rates is that they can make inflation worse, and inflation has stubbornly remained above the Fed’s 2% target.

    Fed officials have also pointed to the U.S. government’s shutdown, which delayed the release of updates on the job market and other signals about the economy. With less information and less certainty about how things are going, some Fed officials have suggested it may be better to wait in December to get more clarity.

    A strong jobs report on Thursday would likely stay the Fed’s hand on rate cuts, while figures that are very weak would raise worries about the economy.

    In other dealings early Tuesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 42 cents to $59.49 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 43 cents to $63.77 per barrel.

    The dollar fell to 155.08 Japanese yen from 155.26 yen. The euro rose to $1.1600 from $1.1593.

    ___

    AP Business Writers Stan Choe and Matt Ott contributed.

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  • U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visits DMZ ahead of security talks with South Korean officials

    U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas on Monday as he began a two-day visit to ally South Korea for security talks.Hegseth and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back received a briefing from military officials at Observation Post Ouellette, a site near the military demarcation line that past U.S. presidents, including Donald Trump during his first term in 2019, had visited to peer across the border into North Korea and meet with American soldiers.Hegseth and Ahn also visited the Panmunjom border village, where an armistice was signed to pause the 1950-53 Korean War. Ahn’s ministry said the visit “reaffirmed the firm combined defense posture and close coordination” between the allies.Hegseth did not mention North Korea, which has ignored Washington and Seoul’s calls for dialogue in recent years while accelerating the expansion of its nuclear weapons and missile programs.South Korea’s military also said Monday that the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung and his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Dan Caine, oversaw a combined formation flight aboard South Korean and U.S. F-16 fighter jets above a major U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek.The flight, conducted for the first time, was intended to demonstrate the allies’ “ironclad combined defense posture” and the “unwavering” strength of the alliance, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said.Hegseth and Ahn, who previously met on Saturday at a defense ministers’ meeting in Malaysia, will attend the allies’ annual defense talks in Seoul on Tuesday.The talks are expected to cover key alliance issues, including South Korea’s commitment to increase defense spending and the implementation of a previous agreement to transfer wartime operational control of allied forces to a binational command led by a South Korean general with a U.S. deputy.There are also concerns in Seoul that the Trump administration may demand much higher South Korean payments for the U.S. military presence in the country or possibly downsize America’s military footprint to focus more on China.Hegseth’s visit comes days after Trump traveled to South Korea for meetings with world leaders, including South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju.During his meeting with Trump on Wednesday last week, Lee reaffirmed South Korea’s commitment to increase defense spending to reduce the financial burden on America and also called for U.S. support in South Korean efforts to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.Trump later said on social media that the United States will share closely held technology to allow South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine, and that the vessel will be built in the Philly Shipyard, which was bought last year by South Korea’s Hanwha Group. The leaders also advanced trade talks, addressing details of $350 billion in U.S. investments South Korea committed to in an effort to avoid the Trump administration’s highest tariffs.

    U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas on Monday as he began a two-day visit to ally South Korea for security talks.

    Hegseth and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back received a briefing from military officials at Observation Post Ouellette, a site near the military demarcation line that past U.S. presidents, including Donald Trump during his first term in 2019, had visited to peer across the border into North Korea and meet with American soldiers.

    Hegseth and Ahn also visited the Panmunjom border village, where an armistice was signed to pause the 1950-53 Korean War. Ahn’s ministry said the visit “reaffirmed the firm combined defense posture and close coordination” between the allies.

    Hegseth did not mention North Korea, which has ignored Washington and Seoul’s calls for dialogue in recent years while accelerating the expansion of its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

    South Korea’s military also said Monday that the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung and his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Dan Caine, oversaw a combined formation flight aboard South Korean and U.S. F-16 fighter jets above a major U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek.

    The flight, conducted for the first time, was intended to demonstrate the allies’ “ironclad combined defense posture” and the “unwavering” strength of the alliance, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said.

    Hegseth and Ahn, who previously met on Saturday at a defense ministers’ meeting in Malaysia, will attend the allies’ annual defense talks in Seoul on Tuesday.

    The talks are expected to cover key alliance issues, including South Korea’s commitment to increase defense spending and the implementation of a previous agreement to transfer wartime operational control of allied forces to a binational command led by a South Korean general with a U.S. deputy.

    There are also concerns in Seoul that the Trump administration may demand much higher South Korean payments for the U.S. military presence in the country or possibly downsize America’s military footprint to focus more on China.

    Hegseth’s visit comes days after Trump traveled to South Korea for meetings with world leaders, including South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju.

    During his meeting with Trump on Wednesday last week, Lee reaffirmed South Korea’s commitment to increase defense spending to reduce the financial burden on America and also called for U.S. support in South Korean efforts to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

    Trump later said on social media that the United States will share closely held technology to allow South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine, and that the vessel will be built in the Philly Shipyard, which was bought last year by South Korea’s Hanwha Group. The leaders also advanced trade talks, addressing details of $350 billion in U.S. investments South Korea committed to in an effort to avoid the Trump administration’s highest tariffs.

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  • Izumi Kato’s Hybrid Totemic Forms Trace Possible Paths of Ecological Survival

    Izumi Kato, Untitled, 2025. Oil on canvas, 191.5 x 194.5 cm./75 3/8 x 76 9/16 in. Photo: Ringo Cheung ©2025 Izumi Kato, courtesy of the artist and Perrotin

    Japanese artist Izumi Kato’s humanoid hybrid creatures exist in a fluid space between worlds, hovering somewhere between ancient totems, unborn spirits and extraterrestrial beings. They emerge as sudden, epiphanic visions that reveal unprecedented truths about our evolutionary path while profanely suggesting new possibilities for more symbiotic and sustainable survival on this planet.

    In just a few years, Kato has risen to international and institutional prominence, building a strong market presence through powerhouse gallery Perrotin and steadily climbing auction results. He has established a global reputation with a distinctive symbolic language and a sense of mystery and magic that unites Japan’s ancient folklore and Shinto spirituality with underground manga aesthetics and a contemporary, saturated visual sensibility that feels attuned to the world ahead.

    As the artist further cements his status as one of the region’s most compelling names through his participation in the Aichi Triennale in Nagoya, Japan, alongside the major solo exhibition that opened at Perrotin during Seoul Art Week, Observer caught up with him to explore the meanings and messages behind his fantastical universe and the evolution of his otherworldly creatures.

    An artist with shoulder-length hair and glasses stands beside a carved stone sculpture painted with a colorful, mask-like face.An artist with shoulder-length hair and glasses stands beside a carved stone sculpture painted with a colorful, mask-like face.
    Izumi Kato. Photo: Claire Dorn, courtesy of the artist and Perrotin

    Both in Kato’s soon-to-close show at Perrotin and in his works for Aichi, his biomorphic characters take on watery, fluid forms. Existing somewhere between human and aquatic beings, suspended in a plasmatic or amniotic dimension, they evoke the evolutionary arc from aquatic to amphibious to human life while hinting at a possible reactivation—or even inversion—of this cycle as a path toward ecological survival.

    As Kato acknowledges, his painting practice continues to evolve. “Most recently, I’ve begun incorporating living sea creatures into my work,” he explains, noting that it’s been 30 years since he last painted while directly observing his subject. “Now, I paint these forms as I need them, as a way to express what painting means to me at this moment.”

    His figures feel both ancient and futuristic, alien and human. Kato’s vivid primary palette heightens this tension. “Colors are sensory for me, and I use them intuitively,” he says. “I don’t begin with a fixed color plan; instead, I decide on each color one by one as I paint.” Balancing primal immediacy with an aesthetic partly influenced by the digital landscape is likely what makes his work so resonant for contemporary viewers.

    While his figures do not directly reference evolutionary history, Kato sees the planet itself as a living entity in continuous transformation. “Earth is home to countless life forms, though definitions of life can vary from person to person,” he says. “I see the planet itself as a living entity. It’s something mysterious and deeply fascinating to me, and I find myself thinking about it often.”

    A tall carved humanoid sculpture with a bird on its head stands on a grassy base next to small model horses, with a surreal portrait painting on the wall behind it.A tall carved humanoid sculpture with a bird on its head stands on a grassy base next to small model horses, with a surreal portrait painting on the wall behind it.
    An installation view of Kato’s solo exhibition at Perrotin Seoul. Photo: Hwang Jung Wook, courtesy of the artist and Perrotin

    Throughout his evolving practice, Kato has constructed an expansive symbolic narrative that envisions hybridization between species as an alternative path for humanity. Moving fluidly across mediums and often incorporating natural materials like wood and stone, his oeuvre feels like a continuous, urgent exercise in worldbuilding—a form of mythopoiesis aimed at imagining new destinies for human society. His work draws unconsciously from Japanese folklore and Shinto beliefs, though he clarifies that he does not intentionally reference any specific motif. Those connections surface organically, shaped by his personal and familial background.

    Kato acknowledges that autobiography inevitably seeps into his art. “It’s hard to answer that clearly, but everything I experience in life affects me in some way, and those influences likely appear in my work, often unconsciously,” he explains. Painting, for him, serves as both a pathway and a tool to absorb, process and translate these personal traces.

    “I’m definitely influenced by the local culture and upbringing I experienced in Shimane, where I grew up,” he says, recalling how parents would warn children about an imaginary sea creature—a snake with a woman’s face—that appeared at night to scare them away from the water. Kato’s paintings capture the same tension animating most fairy tales: the balance between innocence and menace. His figures appear childlike yet unsettling, gentle yet otherworldly—existing between birth and death, body and spirit, human and nonhuman. These myths, he reflects, ultimately serve as a form of survival wisdom. “I only realized recently how much the environment I grew up in has influenced my work.”

    A three-panel painting framed together, showing a crouching humanoid figure on orange, a realistic fish in the center, and a long eel-like creature with a small face on the right.A three-panel painting framed together, showing a crouching humanoid figure on orange, a realistic fish in the center, and a long eel-like creature with a small face on the right.
    Izumi Kato, Untitled, 2025. Oil on canvas, 37.5 x 116.5 x 5.6 cm | 14 3/4 x 45 7/8 x 2 3/16 in. ©2025 Izumi Kato, courtesy of the artist and Perrotin

    It is by inhabiting a symbolic third realm of myth and fairy tales—one that bridges the physical and the psychological—that Kato’s images achieve their universality, subtly conveying timeless messages about the nature of human existence. However, he says that he doesn’t view the recurring motifs in his work as characters, since they lack personalities and are not part of any linear narrative or deliberate storytelling. “I use human-like figures to strengthen the composition of the painting and to spark the viewer’s imagination,” he explains. At the same time, he acknowledges that these otherworldly, symbolic visions of alternative forms of life likely belong to another realm and time—whether future or past—where species coexist in harmonious hybridization before emerging in painterly or sculptural form. Kato admits it is difficult to articulate in words, but his paintings inhabit a memorial, imaginative and spiritual realm that precedes and transcends language, defying conventional categories. They speak both to and beyond the human, offering prophecies of alternative possibilities for cosmic life within and beyond this planet and time.

    Kato’s figures often appear suspended in a distinctly plasmatic dimension yet animated by an inner radiance—a kind of energetic aura. “I don’t really know where it comes from, but I believe art itself is energy,” Kato says, responding cryptically when asked what this energy represents. “I’m glad one can sense that energetic aura in my work.”

    In a time defined by destruction and chaos, the mythopoiesis underlying Kato’s epiphanic, profane and totemic works offers contemporary viewers a regenerative narrative reminiscent of ancient myth, reminding us that life, evolution, decay and rebirth are part of a continuous cycle. Mapping the liminal space between collapse and renewal, his hybrid creatures inhabit that threshold, carrying the deep knowledge that decay is never the end but a necessary passage. Suggesting a survival code rooted in eternal truths and expressed through symbolic language, Kato’s works—mythological in essence and, in the spirit of Joseph Campbell’s “metaphors for the mystery of being”—bridge our waking consciousness with the vast, enduring mysteries of the universe.

    A large gallery with a stacked sculpture of carved, painted figures on a metal frame, and colorful surreal paintings on the far wall.A large gallery with a stacked sculpture of carved, painted figures on a metal frame, and colorful surreal paintings on the far wall.
    Izumi Kato works at the 2025 Aichi Triennale. ©︎ Aichi Triennale Organizing Committee, Photo: Ito Tetsuo

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    Izumi Kato’s Hybrid Totemic Forms Trace Possible Paths of Ecological Survival

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  • Opinion | About Trump’s Foreign Investment Funds

    President Trump moves so fast and announces so much that it’s hard to sort the real from the hype. Cases in point are the invest-in-America promises that foreign governments have made as part of Mr. Trump’s trade deals. They’re so large they’re unlikely to happen, and they raise serious questions about American governance and the power of the purse.

    Mr. Trump heads to South Korea later this month for the annual APEC meetings, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the Administration is “about to finish up” negotiations over Seoul’s promise to invest some $350 billion in the U.S. In return Mr. Trump cut his tariff on South Korea to 15% from 25%. Japan has also agreed to cut the U.S. a $550 billion check in return for a tariff reduction.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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  • Exclusive | Why U.S.’s Trade Pact With South Korea Has Gotten Messier

    President Trump’s trade deal with South Korea is on shaky ground, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick taking a tough line in talks as some Seoul officials privately argue to allies that the White House is moving the goal posts.

    Lutnick, in recent conversations with South Korean officials, has discussed with Seoul the idea of slightly increasing the $350 billion they had previously guaranteed to the U.S. in July and suggested the final tally could get a bit closer to the $550 billion pledged by Japan, according to people familiar with the discussions, including an adviser to South Korea’s government.

    Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

    Brian Schwartz

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  • U.S.-South Korea ties strained as 300 Koreans detained by ICE at Georgia Hyundai plant wait to fly home

    More than 300 South Korean nationals detained by federal agents in a massive immigration raid last week on a Hyundai plant in Georgia for alleged visa violations were waiting Wednesday for a charter flight due to carry them back to their country.

    The South Korean workers were among some 475 people detained on Sept. 4 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at a still-under construction joint Hyundai-LG electric vehicle battery facility near Savannah. ICE said they were suspected of living and working in the U.S. illegally.

    South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the departure of the Air Korea charter flight, which had been expected on Wednesday, was delayed due to unspecified circumstances in the U.S., but it would not provide any further information. 

    A spokesperson for Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta told CBS News that the charter operation to transport the detainees had been canceled for Wednesday, subject to change. The spokesperson did not provide any information on the reason for the change in plans.

    Buses are seen behind razor wire at the Folkston ICE Processing Center, Sept. 9, 2025, in Folkston, Georgia. A chartered plane had been expected to depart from Atlanta for Seoul on Sept. 10 to repatriate hundreds of South Korean workers detained in a sweeping immigration raid, but the plan was delayed without explanation.

    ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP/Getty


    The raid and the detention of hundreds of South Koreans in an ICE facility has tested U.S.-South Korea ties that are important politically, militarily and economically. South Korea is the biggest foreign direct investor in the U.S. and the sixth biggest trading partner overall.

    President Lee Jae Myung, visiting the White House in July, pledged $350 billion in new U.S. investment to sweeten a trade-and-tariff deal with President Trump.

    “The sentiment is obviously very, very negative,” James Kim, Chairman and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Seoul, told CBS News. “In my office, I usually have my TV turned on to the news – and this is obviously covered from morning to evening constantly. But everyone who I speak to, they view America as its number-one partner here from South Korea. Yes, we’re going to have some challenging times.” 

    South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, was peppered with demands from angry lawmakers during a parliamentary session in Seoul on Sept. 8, before he departed for meetings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. officials. 

    Lawmaker Kim Joon-hyun demanded that Cho respond to the ICE raid by launching investigations into every U.S. national teaching English in South Korea who could be working illegally on a tourist visa. 

    “Are we giving our money, technology, and investment to the United States only to be treated like this?,” Kim asked.

    Federal authorities conduct an immigration enforcement operation at a Hyundai battery plant in Bryan County, Georgia, Sept. 4, 2025.

    Federal authorities conduct an immigration enforcement operation at a Hyundai battery plant in Bryan County, Georgia, Sept. 4, 2025.

    ATF


    Cho replied by saying he would try to negotiate with Rubio to increase the number of visas issued to highly skilled Korean nationals to work in specialty occupations in the U.S.

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the ICE raid was the biggest single-site enforcement action in the agency’s history. ICE alleges that the South Korean workers either overstayed their visa waiver permits, known as ESTAs, which allow business visits of up to 90 days, or were holding visas that did not permit them to perform manual labor, called B-1 business visas.

    Kim, at the American Chamber in Seoul, called it a “blip” in U.S.-Korea ties and said he was “very, very optimistic about a much brighter future between the two” countries. 

    South Korea’s president, however, took a more critical tone. 

    “As the president who is in charge of national safety, I feel a great responsibility,” Lee said Tuesday. “I hope that the unfair infringement of our people and corporate activities for the joint development of both Korea and the United States will not happen again.”

    A poll conducted in South Korea found that almost 60% of respondents said they were disappointed by the U.S. crackdown and called the measures “excessive,” while about 31% said the ICE action was “inevitable” and that they could understand the reasoning.

    President Trump, in a Sunday post on his Truth Social platform, addressed all foreign companies operating in the U.S., saying “your investments are welcome, and we encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people.” 

    Kim at the chamber of commerce urged companies to heed the advice.

    “My key message is listen to what President Trump said today. He wants to encourage more foreign companies to invest in America. Bring your people, bring your resources into America, but do it legally,” he told CBS News.

    Industry experts caution, however, that it may be difficult to maintain investment levels under those guidelines, as securing visas can take years, while many projects face strict deadlines and delays can drive up costs. There is a shortage of highly skilled workers in the U.S., meanwhile, for battery manufacturing, semiconductor and modern shipbuilding industries — all arenas in which South Korea has been investing heavily for years. 

    Such jobs can require years of experience, not just a few months of on-the-job training.

    A spokesperson for South Korea’s Foreign Ministry told CBS News that since Mr. Trump’s second term began, it had already reached out 52 times on the matter of securing more visas for highly-skilled workers.

    Kim, the U.S. chamber of commerce leader, said the current upset in relations represented “an opportunity to really fix some things that could be in the grey area, make it a lot more clear, so that they can have an even better relationship.”

    He said that, given Seoul’s importance as an investor in the U.S., it may be a good time for Washington to consider adopting a new policy that allows South Koreans to more easily come and work in the U.S.

    “I think that in the past, Korea may not have been a significant investor in the United States, but now they are,” he said. “So I think it’s worthy and deserving of that kind of a new status.”

    Mr. Trump gave a nod in his Truth Social post to the notion that the U.S. does need foreign expertise, saying foreign companies should bring people over to help train American workers — and then hire them to do the work themselves. 

    Rubio, during his meeting Wednesday in Washington with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho, “said the United States welcomes ROK (South Korea) investment into the United States and stated his interest in deepening cooperation on this front,” according to a readout shared by the State Department, which did not mention the ICE raid in Georgia.

    Rubio and Cho discussed advancing U.S.-South Korean ties “through a forward-looking agenda” that “revitalizes American manufacturing through ROK investment in shipbuilding and other strategic sectors, and promotes a fair and reciprocal trade partnership,” the State Department said.

    Skyler Henry

    contributed to this report.

    Ramy Inocencio

    Ramy Inocencio is a CBS News foreign correspondent based in London, covering Europe and the Middle East. He joined the Network in 2019 as CBS News’ Asia correspondent, based in Beijing and reporting across the Asia-Pacific, bringing two decades of experience working and traveling between Asia and the United States.

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  • Frieze and Kiaf SEOUL Scale Back in Spectacle While Still Securing Sales

    Kiaf SEOUL and Frieze Seoul each opened at the COEX Center with a VIP preview on September 3. Courtesy of Kiaf SEOUL

    For those who’ve attended Seoul’s art week since Frieze arrived in 2021, the contrast this year was unmistakable. The chaotic entrance lines at Kiaf SEOUL and the overcrowded aisles of last year’s Frieze are gone. Attendance feels lighter, and the booths more subdued, though major brands like Adidas, BMW, Ruinart and American Express still held prime positions at the entrance—a clear indication that the fair’s popularity is now firmly rooted in Korean society four years after its debut.

    At the opening of Frieze Seoul on Wednesday, September 3, the mood was distinctly more muted and contained—a reflection of the art world adjusting to a new chapter in South Korea’s post-boom market. Slightly more lively in the afternoon was the historical Korean fair Kiaf, where collectors remain loyal to longstanding traditions and their local dealers.

    A view through colorful beams reveals a packed aisle at Frieze Masters, with visitors standing and walking among gallery booths.A view through colorful beams reveals a packed aisle at Frieze Masters, with visitors standing and walking among gallery booths.
    This year marks the 4th edition of Frieze Seoul. Courtesy of Frieze and Wecap Studio

    Blue-chip gallerists like Larry Gagosian and Emmanuel Perrotin skipped the trip this year, leaving their booths staffed solely by regional teams during the preview—a stark contrast to previous editions, when they flew in with much of their global staff. When gallery owners or lead partners from spaces focused on Korean artists, such as Gladstone and Mennour, did attend, it signaled that international galleries have already recognized the need to tailor their offerings to a local audience attuned to the market’s slower collecting pace and shifting attitude.

    While Korean collectors remain engaged with the international art circuit, this has undeniably been a turbulent year for the country. With President Yoon Suk-yeol ousted after attempting to declare martial law and an economy still reeling from the effects of U.S. tariffs, Korean collectors are understandably more cautious in their buying.

    Fairgoers gather around a booth featuring Yayoi Kusama’s signature pumpkin sculpture in black and gold dots, with visitors chatting in the crowded aisle.Fairgoers gather around a booth featuring Yayoi Kusama’s signature pumpkin sculpture in black and gold dots, with visitors chatting in the crowded aisle.
    This year, Frieze Seoul hosted over 120 galleries. Courtesy of Frieze and Wecap Studio.

    Private buyers and institutions remain active, but spending habits have shifted, as Observer gathered from early press preview conversations. The once-rampant appetite for ultra-contemporary works has given way to a more measured approach, focusing on institutional-grade pieces and blue-chip artists. Speaking with resigned pragmatism, dealers noted that this trend extends beyond South Korea, echoing across Asia and the global market.

    So what’s the new mantra for galleries? Cultivate your own relationships in the place you show. Those who have spent years building ties in South Korea can still make it work, as can local players. But for newcomers, entering the market now may feel like they’re arriving just as the music stopped.

    That was not the case for the dynamic Los Angeles gallery Make Room, which marked its first appearance in Frieze Seoul’s main section with a shared booth alongside Apalazzo and a celebrity-filled dinner party steeped in a witchy atmosphere. Between drinks and bites of Korean fried chicken, K-pop and K-drama stars made appearances that set social media alight—including SUHO from EXO, actor Lomon Park, Tony Hong and members of the girl group Lovelyz.

    A dimly lit, crowded restaurant or lounge filled with people dining and socializing. Groups of friends sit at dark wooden tables with food, drinks, and soda cans, while others stand and mingle in the background. The atmosphere is lively and energetic, with warm golden lighting from a patterned wall installation creating a cozy ambiance.A dimly lit, crowded restaurant or lounge filled with people dining and socializing. Groups of friends sit at dark wooden tables with food, drinks, and soda cans, while others stand and mingle in the background. The atmosphere is lively and energetic, with warm golden lighting from a patterned wall installation creating a cozy ambiance.
    Make Room hosted a K-pop and K-drama star-filled dinner on Tuesday night. Courtesy Make Room | Photo: Studio Monday Naked

    Park Seo-Bo, a foundational figure in postwar Korean abstraction and the father of Dansaekhwa, was one of the names resonating most strongly at Kiaf and Frieze this year, following his recent passing. At Frieze, LG OLED honored his legacy in collaboration with the artist’s foundation, dedicating an entire booth to rarely seen later Écriture paintings from the estate, paired with ultra high-resolution video works that captured the textures in striking detail. The sharp contrast between the digital reinterpretations on screen and the tactile surfaces of the paintings underscored how, in his later years, Seo-Bo was already reflecting on the role of painting in a world saturated by screens and shaped by emerging digital realms that influence perception and aesthetics. As he once described it, standing on a “cliff edge” in the early 2000s, Seo-Bo confronted the question of how painting could evolve as the boundaries between different worlds began to blur.

    Dynamic lower tiers and Focus Asia offer opportunities for discovery

    Noteworthy results at both Frieze and Kiaf weren’t limited to the highest price points. Lindseed from Shanghai quickly sold out works by Chinese-born, Paris-based visionary Fu Liang at the Focus Asia sector, with prices ranging from $6,500 to $34,000. Similarly, Hong Kong-based gallery Kiang Malingue, which recently opened a space in New York, nearly sold out its solo booth of work by Taiwanese talent Tseng Chien Ying, priced between $15,000 and $25,000—a current sweet spot for collectors.

    Returning to Seoul from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s leading contemporary gallery, Galerie Quynh, took a bold step with a solo presentation in the main section, showcasing the layered work of Lien Truong, a Vietnamese-born artist based in North Carolina. Her intricate canvases—exploring the intersection of body, identity and environment through the lens of diasporic trauma and societal pressure—drew early interest from collectors.

    Galerie Quynh presents Lien Truong at Frieze Seoul 2025, Booth B21.Galerie Quynh presents Lien Truong at Frieze Seoul 2025, Booth B21.
    Galerie Quynh presenting Lien Truong, Booth B21, Frieze Seoul 2025. Courtesy Galerie Quynh

    Seoul gallery Cylinder made a striking debut in the main section, securing multiple sales, including a work by Jennifer Carvalho ($9,000), three works by Sunwon Chan ($2,500-4,800), two works by Eunsil Lee ($12,000 and $5,000) and two works by Jongwhan Lee ($2,200 and $5,000). Next for the fast-growing gallery is its debut at Frieze London with a solo booth by Rim Park.

    Equally successful, the young and dynamic Seoul gallery G Gallery sold six works by Choi Yoonhee on the first day ($2,400-19,000), a work by Moon Isaac for $12,000 and a piece by Cindy Ji Hye Kim for $10,000.

    Another first-time exhibitor in Focus Asia was Shanghai- and Beijing-based Hive Contemporary, which showcased emerging names including Yuan Fang, Xia Yu, Zhang Mingxuang and Tan Yongqing, drawing a strong response: by evening, the gallery had sold 18 paintings and one sculpture priced between $20,000 and $100,000.

    A contemporary art fair booth featuring two large textile-based works. On the left, a vividly colored fabric piece shows an erupting volcano with flames, factories, and a mountain landscape rendered in blue, red, and yellow tones with ornate borders. On the right, a large painted banner titled Djoeroes Kramat depicts stylized figures in masks and vibrant costumes, referencing Indonesian film poster aesthetics, with bold text in Malay/Indonesian across the top and bottom.A contemporary art fair booth featuring two large textile-based works. On the left, a vividly colored fabric piece shows an erupting volcano with flames, factories, and a mountain landscape rendered in blue, red, and yellow tones with ornate borders. On the right, a large painted banner titled Djoeroes Kramat depicts stylized figures in masks and vibrant costumes, referencing Indonesian film poster aesthetics, with bold text in Malay/Indonesian across the top and bottom.
    Timoteus Anggawan Kusno was presented by the Kohesi Initiative at Frieze Seoul Focus Asia. Photo: Elisa Carollo

    Despite this year’s reduced footprint—and tucked into a narrow corridor wedged between the main booths—the Focus Asia section at Frieze offered some of the most compelling opportunities for regional discoveries inside the COEX.

    Jakarta-based gallery Kohesi Initiatives presented Indonesian filmmaker and multimedia artist Timoteus Anggawan Kusno, whose work revisits censored narratives from 1960s films to explore liminality and historical erasure, examining the blurred lines between fact and fiction. Rooted in post-colonial and post-dictatorship Indonesia, Kusno’s practice reflects the country’s ongoing unrest and protests, shaped by the long-term consequences of the very issues his work confronts.

    A group of visitors engage with a booth installation at an art fair; one man in a suit gestures toward a hanging structure made of lightbulbs and wires, while others examine a screen on the wall.A group of visitors engage with a booth installation at an art fair; one man in a suit gestures toward a hanging structure made of lightbulbs and wires, while others examine a screen on the wall.
    Parcel (F3) at Frieze Seoul, Focus Asia. Courtesy of Frieze Seoul

    Tokyo-based PARCEL is presenting the multilayered practice of Side Core, a Japanese collective that critiques forced urbanization and restless public development through thoughtful multimedia guerrilla interventions. The works on view confront contradictions in public funding for the Tokyo Olympics and the broader paradoxes of Japan’s rapid urban expansion. Among them, the Rode Work series—launched in 2017 in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture—juxtaposes post-disaster reconstruction landscapes with the repetitive motions of skateboarding, highlighting the enduring bond between land and people. In the film, flashing lights and hazard signs guide drivers to a skate park built on a damaged industrial site, where skaters in high-visibility jerseys grind a half-pipe—subtly revealing how grassroots creativity can emerge from destruction and corruption.

    Another standout in the section is PTT Space, presenting the sharp satire of Taiwanese American artist Christine Tien Wang, who explores millennial diaspora anxieties and the recent volatility of the bitcoin bubble through one of the most diffuse yet persistent forms of contemporary ephemera: memes. Her Tiger series addresses diasporic anxiety and societal mobility within Asian communities, while her Bitcoin series critiques the NFT apocalypse and the fleeting nature of digital culture, transforming the disposable aesthetics of memes into what the artist calls “historical paintings,” reflective of our time and its contradictions. Working at the intersection of institutional critique, politics and popular culture, Tien Wang is gaining international recognition, with acquisitions by LACMA and exhibitions at both Night Gallery and Naxos Draxler.

    The image features a vibrant gallery space with a striking green wall, displaying a series of contemporary artworks. The back wall is adorned with large, fiery wall decals and a prominent artwork featuring a group of people with exaggerated facial expressions. On the left side, there are T-shirts with graphics hanging on a rack, and on the right, a TV screen plays a visual titled "Everything's COMPUTER!" showcasing an image of President Trump. The artworks appear to engage with pop culture and humor, incorporating bold, graphic elements.The image features a vibrant gallery space with a striking green wall, displaying a series of contemporary artworks. The back wall is adorned with large, fiery wall decals and a prominent artwork featuring a group of people with exaggerated facial expressions. On the left side, there are T-shirts with graphics hanging on a rack, and on the right, a TV screen plays a visual titled "Everything's COMPUTER!" showcasing an image of President Trump. The artworks appear to engage with pop culture and humor, incorporating bold, graphic elements.
    Christine Tien Wang’s “BDSM (Bitcoin Daddies Seek Memes),” presented by PTT Space in Frieze Seoul’s Focus Asia section. Courtesy of PTT Space

    Korean and international galleries stake a claim on Kiaf’s first-day buzz

    When comparing Kiaf with Frieze, several Korean dealers appeared to place even more emphasis on their presentations, spotlighting the top names in their rosters. On the lower level of the historic Korean fair, Kukje Gallery reported a complete sell-out of Ugo Rondinone’s work (the artist also has a show at Gladstone this week), along with an iconic green Kapoor piece (£550,000-660,000) and a later work by Park Seo-Bo ($250,000-300,000). Known as a leading gallery for Korean art, Johyun Gallery made a strong showing with artists like Lee Bae and Park Seo-Bo, reporting early sales directly from the floor. Blue-chip names also anchored Gana Art’s presentation, which included works by Alex Katz, Chiharu Shiota and Yayoi Kusama.

    Seoul-based EM Gallery drew attention with Moonassi, the Korean artist recognized for his black-and-white existential compositions. The gallery sold out pieces priced between $20,000 and $32,000—Moonassi’s works have remained in high demand since his last presentation, often with waiting lists.

    The oldest work on view at Kiaf this year was a painting by Palma Il Vecchio, dated 1525-1528, presented by Die Galerie alongside drawings and sculptures by Marino Marini and works on paper and lithographs by Picasso. The historic canvas drew attention on the floor with a price tag of €750,000, standing out amid the fair’s modern and contemporary offerings. Long part of the gallery owner’s personal collection, the masterpiece was originally acquired from a nobleman in Hungary, and now everyone’s wondering whether it will find a new home this edition.

    A Renaissance-style oil painting of a woman in a richly patterned red and white gown with voluminous sleeves, standing against a dark background. She has light skin, long wavy brown hair partially covered by a headpiece, and gazes forward with a calm expression. One hand rests on a ledge while the other folds across her waist, adding to her poised and dignified stance. The ornate details of her dress and the subtle play of light emphasize her elegance. The painting is framed in a simple dark wooden frame with gold accents.A Renaissance-style oil painting of a woman in a richly patterned red and white gown with voluminous sleeves, standing against a dark background. She has light skin, long wavy brown hair partially covered by a headpiece, and gazes forward with a calm expression. One hand rests on a ledge while the other folds across her waist, adding to her poised and dignified stance. The ornate details of her dress and the subtle play of light emphasize her elegance. The painting is framed in a simple dark wooden frame with gold accents.
    The oldest work on view at Kiaf this year was a Palma Il Vecchio painting from 1525-1528, presented by Die Galerie. Courtesy of Die Galerie

    In general, however, a pop aesthetic and lower price points seemed to be the winning formula for maintaining Kiaf’s floral energy on the first day. Gallery Delaive reported early sales of several works by Ayako Rokkaku, priced between €50,000 and €200,000.

    Among the standout presentations of new names, Space Willing N Dealing showcased quietly contemplative scenes of human interaction and exchange, all priced between $2,500 and $3,500. Busan-based gallery Nara Cho Busan presented Anomalisa, an exploration of love and entanglement through thread, with works priced at $7,800-12,000. Intimacy and suspended atmospheres—rendered through soft, delicate paint—also defined the work of Japanese painter Shimpei Yoshida, shown by Shibuya-based Hide Gallery. Thanks to very accessible pricing under $1,500, several pieces had sold or were on hold by day’s end.

    KORNFELD, participating in its fifth Kiaf, also reported a strong start. Works by Korean artists Wonhae Hwang and Seong Joon Hong found new collectors on day one, totaling €10,000, while a major piece by Etsu Egami sold within the first hour to a new Korean collector for €22,000. “After participating at Kiaf for more than five years, we are very pleased with the successful start of this edition and the positive response from collectors and institutions,” gallery owner Alfred Kornfeld told Observer.

    Returning to Kiaf with a strong grasp of the rhythm and habits of Korean collectors, the Milan-based Cassina Project had a particularly promising first day—even with just one confirmed sale. “We had good conversations. From our experience in past years, the following days are usually more intense—clients who show interest often return, and the final days are when deals close,” Irene Cassina told Observer.

    A hall at Kiaf Seoul 2025 with a banner overhead reading “Kiaf Seoul 2025.9.3–9.7,” as visitors browse colorful paintings and sculptures in the booths.A hall at Kiaf Seoul 2025 with a banner overhead reading “Kiaf Seoul 2025.9.3–9.7,” as visitors browse colorful paintings and sculptures in the booths.
    Kiaf SEOUL runs through September 7. Courtesy Kiaf SEOUL

    Among the additional sales reported by dealers at Kiaf by the start of the second day, Gallery Palzo sold Byeong Hyeon Jeong’s Ambiguous Inclination 25008 for $5,250 and two works by Lee Daecheon—Berg, Wasser (산, 수) for $3,000 and Gardener for $450—along with two paintings by Haru. K, each sold for $675. Galerie PICI placed two works by Dukhee Kim: Gold Desire-Bag for $4,000 and Keep Going (pump) for $2,000. SAN Gallery sold Jenkun Yeh’s Back and Forth I for $2,085 and Huihsuan Hsu’s Chasing a Lush Cave for $1,875. SH Art reported a complete sell-out of works by Backside—a street artist from Fukuoka, Japan, whose true identity remains anonymous—including VIVA, PINEAPPLE, SMILE, VINYL and QUIET, each priced at $17,250.

    Frieze and Kiaf SEOUL continue through Sunday, September 7, at the COEX Center. 

    More in art fairs, biennials and triennials

    Frieze and Kiaf SEOUL Scale Back in Spectacle While Still Securing Sales

    Elisa Carollo

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  • 14 Exhibitions Not to Miss During Seoul Art Week 2025

    • P21 Gallery, Seoul
    • Through September 19, 2025

    This group show could not find a better place or moment, given how South Korea’s cosmetics industry has peaked—driven by the global export success of Korean brands—and how cosmetic interventions have become so normalized they border on obsession within the country’s society. Featuring a lineup of established and emerging names including So Young Park, Pamela Rosenkranz, Diane Severin Nguyen, Haena Yoo, Haneyl Choi, Sylvie Fleury, Simon Fujiwara, Sanja Ivekovic, Anna Munk and Ju Young Kim, the exhibition at P21 Gallery examines how artists engage with the material world of cosmetics consumer culture. Exploring the intersections of beauty and capitalism, the show highlights the emotional intensity of cosmetics and makeup, revealing how the body, skin and psyche are metaphorically reconstructed amid the expansion of the consumer goods market—a market fueled by spontaneous, conscious responses to users’ trauma. Rather than offering a simple expression of beauty, the exhibition proposes a psychological, sensory and materialist aesthetic composed of powders, lotions, sprays and plastic packaging, raising urgent questions about our relationship with our own bodies.

    Elisa Carollo

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  • South Korea president charmed Trump. Is it too early to declare a win?

    SEOUL  — The first summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and President Trump was a picture of easy chumminess.

    On Monday, the two leaders bonded over the fact that they both have survived assassination attempts, and they talked golf. When Trump admired the handcrafted wooden fountain pen Lee used to sign the White House guest book, saying “it’s a nice pen, you want to take it with you?” Lee offered it as an impromptu gift. At a Q&A in front of reporters, Lee thanked Trump for bringing peace to the Korean peninsula through his previous summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and urged him to meet with Kim again.

    “If you become the peacemaker, then I will assist you by being a pacemaker,” Lee told Trump, drawing a chuckle.

    These scenes, along with the two-hour closed door meeting between the two leaders that followed, seemed to put to rest fears that Lee — a former governor and legislator with little prior experience on the international stage — might be subject to a “Zelensky moment”: cornered and berated by a counterpart who has long complained that Seoul takes Washington for granted.

    Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary, holds a trade letter sent by the White House to South Korea during a news conference. On July 30, the U.S. struck a trade deal with South Korea, but details have been scant.

    (Bloomberg / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

    It was an outcome for which South Korea painstakingly prepared.

    As a presidential candidate earlier this year, Lee had vowed he would bring home a diplomatic win at all costs, even if it meant he had to “crawl between Trump’s legs.” To smooth along trade negotiations with the U.S. in late July, South Korean officials brought with them red caps emblazoned with the slogan: “MAKE AMERICA SHIPBUILDING GREAT AGAIN.” And ahead of Monday’s summit, Lee compared notes with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, whom he met last week, and brushed up on his assignment by reading “Trump: The Art of the Deal.”

    Those early efforts so far have seemingly paid off. Key South Korean proposals, such as a $150-billion plan to help revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding industry, have been received favorably, helping secure the trade deal with Washington last month, according to South Korean officials.

    “We’re going to be buying ships from South Korea,” Trump said on Monday. “But we’re also going to have them make ships here with our people.”

    But despite what is widely viewed as a positive first step for Lee — establishing face-to-face chemistry with a figure known for both unpredictable swings and a deeply personal style of diplomacy — analysts say it is too early to call it a win. Several unresolved issues still loom large, and these may yet be snarled in the details as working-level negotiations play out.

    “I actually thought they could get along surprisingly well because both Lee and Trump aren’t ideologically motivated in their thinking and practice of foreign policy,” said James Park, an East Asia expert at the Quincy Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

    “But it remains to be seen how their relationship unfolds. Should strong tensions emerge on trade and security issues that both sides find it difficult to compromise on in the future, the relationship between Lee and Trump will be tested. There’s a case in point — how the friendship between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fractured in recent months over tariffs and India’s purchases of Russian weapons.“

    Although Trump promised on Monday to honor last month’s trade agreement — which lowered the tariff rate on Seoul to 15% from 25% — details have been scant and the deal has yet to be formalized in writing. But both sides have touted it as a win, leaving room to reignite long-running disagreements over issues like U.S. rice and beef, which have been subject to import restrictions in South Korea.

    As part of that deal, South Korea also pledged to invest $350 billion into key U.S. industries. But behind the scenes, officials from both countries reportedly continue to disagree how this fund will be structured or used, with U.S. officials seeking far more discretionary power than the South Korean side is willing to give.

    U.S. Army soldiers attend a ceremony in South Korea.

    U.S. Army soldiers attend a transfer of authority ceremony in South Korea. In the past, President Trump has said that South Korea should pay $10 billion a year to help keep the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in the country.

    (SOPA Images / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

    The summit hasn’t fully quelled South Korean concerns over defense and military cooperation either.

    In the past, Trump has said that South Korea should pay $10 billion a year to help keep the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in the country. That is around nine times what Seoul currently pays under an existing agreement between the two countries.

    While South Korean officials said that the defense cost-sharing issue was not discussed during Monday’s summit, Park says that the issue may resurface down the line.

    “The alliance cost-sharing issue has been a consistent interest of Trump’s over the years,” he said.

    Trump’s grievances over the cost of stationing the U.S. military in South Korea has fueled concerns that the U.S. will pull out troops from its bases here to counter China, making the country more vulnerable to North Korea’s military threats.

    The scenario has gained plausibility in recent months, following reports earlier this year that U.S. defense officials were reviewing a plan to relocate thousands of U.S. military personnel stationed in South Korea to other locations in the Indo-Pacific, such as Guam.

    While any reduction of troop size has long been a political anathema in South Korea, Lee Ho-ryung, a senior research fellow at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), says that this may be less of a sticking point for President Lee than history might suggest, citing a speech the South Korean leader delivered shortly after the summit in which he pledged to increase Seoul’s own defense spending.

    “The content of that speech and Q&A suggest that the two sides have somewhat aligned on these issues,” she said. “But it will still need to be further discussed at the working level.”

    When asked by a reporter on Monday whether he was considering reducing the number of U.S. troops in South Korea, Trump deflected by saying “I don’t want to say that now because we’ve been friends.”

    But then he pivoted to another suggestion that raised eyebrows in South Korea.

    “Maybe one of the things I’d like to do is ask them to give us ownership of the land where we have the big fort,” he said. “I would like to see if we could get rid of the lease.”

    Under an existing arrangement known as the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), South Korea currently grants the U.S. military rent-free use of the land where its bases are located. Speaking to legislators on Tuesday, South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back summarily dismissed the suggestion, hinting that it may have been a negotiating tactic.

    “It is impossible in the real world,” he said. “But from the perspective of President Trump, I think it may have been a comment intended to allow him to make a different strategic demand.”

    In the meantime, a second round of negotiations with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un would be a win for both leaders.

    But many experts believe that the window for getting North Korea to denuclearize under the previously discussed terms — partial sanctions relief — has closed since the failed summits between Trump and Kim in 2018 and 2019. North Korea recently dismissed any attempts to convince it to give up its nuclear weapons as a “mockery of the other party.”

    Personal chemistry between President Lee and Trump can go only so far this time, says Lee of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.

    “North Korea is effectively evading any economic sanctions through Russia and China,” she said. “Sanctions relief is no longer the enticing carrot that it once was.”

    Max Kim

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  • 70 new food items each week? South Korea is the convenience store capital of the world

    SEOUL  — In many parts of the world, convenience stores are the shops of last resort: cigarettes, sodas and laundry detergent. But in South Korea, you might find single malt whiskies, $800 French wines, 24K gold bars, shampoo and conditioner refill stations, televisions or a dine-in instant noodle bar with more than 200 varieties of ramyon.

    A customer might be able to pick up a package, wash and dry their clothes, or sign up for a new debit card.

    The stores are best known for their numerous feats of “instant-izing” food, a process in which nearly every conceivable dish is turned into a packaged meal: spaghetti, Japanese udon, fried rice that you squeeze out of a tube. These have turned convenience stores into a $25-billion industry in South Korea and those food products are churned out at a staggering pace: up to 70 new food items hit the shelves each week, effectively offering a live feed of South Korean tastes.

    “In South Korea’s food retail market, you go extinct if you’re not quick to change,” says Chae Da-in, who says her obsession with convenience stores is decades old. “It’s all about being diverse and fast.”

    Known in the national media and on social media as a “convenience store critic,” Chae is the author of three books on the world of convenience store foods, which has led to TV appearances and newspaper interviews.

    Every Friday, she tours a handful of convenience stores near her home to keep up with what’s new. Over the last two decades, she estimates she has consumed at least 800 varieties of convenience store samgak gimbap — rice wrapped in dried seaweed and a grab-and-go staple.

    A detail of a person cooling down noodles in a DIY cone made from the ramyon bowl cover.

    Lee Hee Chul, 21, from Incheon, South Korea, cools down his ramyon in a DIY cone made from the ramyon bowl cover at a CU convenience store in a popular tourist area in Myeongdong.

    People shop and eat in the dining area at a CU convenience store in Seoul.

    Shoppers prepare their dinner at one of the self-serve machines in the dining area at a CU ramyon convenience store.
    Ye Yan and her girlfriend, Quan Chuxi, eat ramyon, kimchi and sausage at a CU convenience store.

    Shoppers prepare their dinner at one of the self-serve machines in the dining area at a CU ramyon convenience store.

    In recent years, Chae has watched her obsession go global. Much like South Korean movies, TV shows and music, South Korean convenience stores have become a cultural sensation.

    Specific locations, such as the store that appeared in Netflix’s hit series “Squid Game,” have made the news. On TikTok and YouTube, mukbang — videos of people eating — of South Korean convenience store foods have gathered millions of views.

    “Giant cheese sausage,” announces one reviewer in a TikTok video series titled “ONLY Eating Food from a Korean Convenience Store.” The meal also includes blue lemonade that comes in a plastic pouch, a “3XL” spicy tuna mayo samgak gimbap and a carbonara-flavored Buldak (“fire chicken”) noodle cup.

    South Korean convenience stores are now expanding into nearby countries such as Mongolia or Malaysia. CU, one of the country’s leading operators with more than 600 stores in Asia, is set to open its first U.S. location in Hawaii later this year.

    “The percentage of the Asian population in Hawaii is six times that of the mainland U.S., making it a place where there is a high level of familiarity and positive attitudes toward Korean culture,” said Lim Hyung-geun, the head of overseas operations at BGF Retail, CU’s parent company.

    “On top of that, we’re seeing the sustained popularity of Korean culture, such as a Korean food boom among American teenagers and young people in their 20s and 30s, which we believe will be a big boost for CU’s future expansion.”

    Lim calls CU’s overseas locations “‘miniature South Koreas’ where people can experience the products that have become popular with the K-wave.

    “But as is the case here, K-convenience stores aren’t just a place to experience South Korean culture,” he said. “They are also restaurants, cafes and a general amenity.”

    In other words, everything stores that are everywhere and open all the time.

    ***

    The GS25 convenience store is collaborating with FC Seoul, a South Korean football club, in the Hongdae neighborhood.

    The GS25 convenience store is collaborating with FC Seoul, a South Korean football club, in the Hongdae neighborhood.

    Mirrors reflect people shopping and eating at a GS25 convenience store.
    A teenage boy drinks a beverage in the dining area at a GS25 convenience store.

    Like many things South Korea has embraced and spun off into something novel, convenience stores are an import to the country. The first such store was American — the Southland Ice Co., which was founded in Texas in 1927 and changed its name to 7-Eleven in 1946. The first of the 7-Elevens opened for business in Seoul in the 1980s.

    Today, South Korea is the convenience store capital of the world. Like the bodegas of New York, they have become part of the fabric of contemporary urban life, multifunctional spaces that can be restaurants or coffee shops or bars with microwaves and outdoor seating. Chae calls them the “oasis of the streets.”

    “People hang out in convenience stores,” she said. “They’ve become a social place.”

    Part of what makes them such a force in the country is their sheer numbers.

    There are around 55,000 convenience stores in South Korea — a country the size of Indiana — amounting to one convenience store for every 940 people. In Seoul, where their numbers have quadrupled in the last 15 years, it sometimes feels like there’s one on every corner.

    Much of this has to do with the fact that roughly one in every four workers in South Korea is self-employed, a high number relative to other developed countries. For those in this mom-and-pop economy, which includes older workers pushed into early retirement or others who have been boxed out of the traditional labor market, convenience stores offer the most accessible form of entrepreneurship.

    “Compared to the hundreds of thousands it would cost to open another business, the main draw of convenience stores is that you can open one with starting capital as little as 20 million won [$14,000],” said Oh Sang-bong, the head of social policy research at the Korean Labor Institute. “Of course it’s not easy. There are a lot of cautionary tales. But there are success stories, too.”

    ***

    Images of a boy band decorate the windows of a convenience store.

    Images of the boy band Tomorrow X Together decorate the windows of the Nice to CU music library convenience store in the Hongdae neighborhood of Seoul.

    This profusion has made the convenience store business one of the most fast-paced and competitive in the country — one that moves in lockstep with boom-and-bust social media attention spans.

    Hit products generate the kind of buzz you might see only for a limited-edition sneaker or the latest iPhone, necessitating preorders or, when inventories inevitably dry up, leading to scalping.

    But the lows are abrupt. When it was first released last year, CU’s “Dubai-style chocolate” — an in-house take on the global TikTok food trend — commanded lines outside of stores and sold out in a day. Four months later, sales had dropped to a sixth of what they were.

    “The lifespan of products is now incredibly short because social media fads come and go so quickly,” said Kim, a merchandiser for a leading convenience store franchise who asked to be identified only by his surname because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

    “In the past when the market wasn’t so saturated, revenue would naturally rise as everyone opened more stores. But now there are so many stores, and then you’re competing not just with other convenience stores but with e-commerce platforms, coffee shops, restaurants — everybody who’s following the same trend.”

    Most of Kim’s job involves scrolling through social media platforms such as TikTok, looking for the next hot-ticket item, such as a distant food trend that shows signs of making landfall.

    “It’s brutal. It’s like trying to find the eye of a needle over and over again,“ he said. “If you miss something big and a competitor releases it first? Then you’re getting chewed out by your boss.”

    Kwon Sung-jun is a chef who specializes in Italian cuisine and the winner of “Culinary Class Wars,” a hit reality cooking competition released by Netflix last year. He has a ritual of stopping by a convenience store every night after work — even if he doesn’t have anything to buy.

    “It’s very useful for staying abreast of any trends in the culinary world,” he said, and his routine proved to be pivotal in winning the $223,000 prize for “Culinary Class Wars.”

    In one stage of the competition, contestants were tasked with cooking a dish using ingredients sourced from a true-to-life replica of a convenience store on set. Kwon, 30, handily won with a chestnut tiramisu whipped together from chestnuts, milk, coffee and a package of biscuits.

    “I came up with the idea in 30 seconds,” he said. “Because I had a mental list of what convenience stores have, I also planned substitute options for each of the key ingredients like chestnut, cream and so on.”

    Since winning the competition, he has avoided convenience stores; just two weeks after that episode aired, CU released a mass-produced version of his tiramisu, with Kwon’s face on the packaging.

    “It’s a little embarrassing to see those photos of myself,” he said.

    ***

    A woman walks by a building with a sign that reads GS25 x FC Seoul at night.

    “Most of the tourists come looking for products related to Korean movies or TV shows like dalgona [a traditional Korean candy] because they saw it on ‘Squid Game,’” says Kim Hye-ryeon, the owner of a GS25 in the Hongdae district of Seoul.

    All of this makes running a convenience store no easy feat, says Kim Hye-ryeon, the 52-year-old owner of a GS25 in Seoul’s Hongdae district.

    Because franchisees are responsible for picking out their own inventory from the company catalog, which is updated three times a week, running a successful convenience store is less about the labor of stocking shelves and cashing out customers than keeping up with the frenetic cycle of food trends.

    “Whenever there’s a popular item, the owners who are a step ahead buy up all the stock so sometimes I can’t get any for my store,” she said. “You have to know what’s popular with young people at all times.”

    In recent years, as South Korea’s cultural footprint has expanded, the assignment has gotten even more complicated. Streets that were once quiet are now popular thoroughfares for tourists staying in the guesthouses and Airbnbs that have opened in the area. Global tastes must be accounted for, too.

    A customer heads for the exit at a GS25 convenience store.

    A customer heads for the exit at a GS25 convenience store.

    “There’s been a noticeable increase since the pandemic,” she said. “Before, it was mostly Chinese or Japanese tourists, but now it’s from all over, especially Americans and Europeans.”

    From behind the counter, she has been keeping mental notes of what this international consumer base is buying, noting, for example, how her Muslim customers carefully study the labels to check whether the item is halal.

    “Most of the tourists come looking for products related to Korean movies or TV shows like dalgona [a traditional Korean candy] because they saw it on ‘Squid Game,’” she said. “They also really like ice creams, especially bingsu [Korean shaved ice].”

    Max Kim

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  • South Korea dismantles its propaganda loudspeakers on the border with North Korea

    SEOUL — South Korea has begun dismantling loudspeakers that blare anti-North Korean propaganda across the border, as President Lee Jae Myung’s liberal administration seeks to mend fractured relations with Pyongyang.

    In a statement, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry said the removal was “a practical measure to ease inter-Korean tensions without impacting the military’s readiness posture.”

    The move follows the suspension of propaganda broadcasts in June on orders from Lee, an advocate of reconciliation who has framed warmer relations with North Korea as a matter of economic benefit — a way to minimize a geopolitical liability long blamed for South Korea’s stock market being undervalued.

    “Strengthening peace in the border regions will help ease tensions across all of South Korea, and increasing dialogue and exchange will improve the economic situation,” Lee said at a news conference last month.

    Elementary school students watch the North Korean side from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea.

    (Ahn Young-joon / Associated Press)

    First used by North Korea in 1962, with South Korea following suit a year later, propaganda loudspeakers have long been a defining feature of the hot-and-cold relationship between Seoul and Pyongyang, switched on and off with the waxing and waning of goodwill.

    The last major stoppage was during a period of detente in 2004 and lasted until 2015, when two South Korean soldiers stationed by the border were maimed by landmines that military officials said had been covertly installed by North Korean soldiers weeks earlier.

    Played by loudspeakers set up in the DMZ, or demilitarized zone, a 2.5-mile-wide stretch of land between the two countries, South Korea’s broadcasts once featured live singing and propagandizing by soldiers stationed along the border. In recent years, however, the speakers have played pre-planned programming that ranges from outright opprobrium to more subtle messaging intended to imbue listeners with pro-South Korea sympathies.

    The programming has included K-pop songs with lyrics that double as invitations to defect to South Korea, such as one 2010 love song that goes: “Come on, come on, don’t turn me down and come on and approach me,” or weather reports whose power lies in their accuracy — and have occasionally been accompanied by messages such as, “It’s going to rain this afternoon so make sure you take your laundry in.”

    With a maximum range of around 19 miles that makes them unlikely to reach major population centers in North Korea, such broadcasts have come under question by some experts in terms of their effectiveness.

    Still, several North Korean defectors have cited the broadcasts as part of the reason they decided to flee to South Korea. One former artillery officer who defected in 2013 recalled being won over, in part, by the weather reports.

    “Whenever the South Korean broadcast said it would rain from this time to that time, it would always actually rain,” he told South Korean media last year.

    South Korean army K-9 self-propelled howitzers take positions in Paju, near the border with North Korea
    South Korean army K-9 self-propelled howitzers take positions in Paju, near the border with North Korea.

    (Ahn Young-joon / Associated Press)

    North Korea, however, sees the broadcasts as a provocation and has frequently threatened to retaliate with military action. In 2015, Pyongyang made good on this threat by firing a rocket at a South Korean loudspeaker, leading to an exchange of artillery fire between the two militaries.

    Such sensitivities have made the loudspeakers controversial in South Korea, too, with residents of the border villages complaining about the noise, as well as the dangers of military skirmishes breaking out near their homes.

    “At night, [North Korea] plays frightening noises like the sound of animals, babies or women crying,” one such resident told Lee when the president visited her village in June, shortly after both sides halted the broadcasts. “It made me ill. Even sleeping pills didn’t work.”

    But it is doubtful that the dismantling alone will be enough for a diplomatic breakthrough.

    Relations between Seoul and Pyongyang have been in a deep chill after the failure of the denuclearization summits between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2018, as well as a separate dialogue between Kim and then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

    Tensions rose further during the subsequent conservative administration of Yoon Suk Yeol, who was president of South Korea from 2022 until his removal from office this year. Yoon is being investigated by a special counsel on allegations that he ordered South Korean military drones to fly over Pyongyang in October.

    Ruling party lawmakers have alleged that the move was intended to provoke a war with North Korea, and in doing so, secure the legal justification for Yoon’s declaration of martial law in December.

    During Yoon’s term, Kim formally foreswore any reconciliation with Seoul while expanding his nuclear weapons program.

    That stance remains unchanged even under the more pro-reconciliation Lee, according to a statement by Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s younger sister, published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency last month.

    “No matter how desperately the Lee Jae Myung government may try to imitate the fellow countrymen and pretend they do all sorts of righteous things to attract our attention, they cannot turn back the hands of the clock of the history which has radically changed the character of the DPRK-ROK relations,” she said.

    Max Kim

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  • Americans may aspire to single-family homes, but in South Korea, apartments are king

    SEOUL — For many Americans, the apartment where 29-year-old IT specialist Lee Chang-hee lives might be the stuff of nightmares.

    Located just outside the capital of Seoul, the building isn’t very tall — just 16 stories — by South Korean standards, but the complex consists of 36 separate structures, which are nearly identical except for the building number displayed on their sides.

    The 2,000-plus units come in the same standardized dimensions found everywhere in the country (Lee lives in a “84C,” which has 84 square meters, or about 900 square feet, of floor space) and offer, in some ways, a ready-made life. The amenities scattered throughout the campus include a rock garden with a fake waterfall, a playground, a gym, an administration office, a senior center and a “moms cafe.”

    But this, for the most part, is South Korea’s middle-class dream of homeownership — its version of a house with the white picket fence.

    “The bigger the apartment complex, the better the surrounding infrastructure, like public transportation, schools, hospitals, grocery stories, parks and so on,” Lee said. “I like how easy it is to communicate with the neighbors in the complex because there’s a well-run online community.”

    Apartment blocks are the predominant housing format in Seoul.

    (Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

    Most in the country would agree: Today, 64% of South Korean households live in such multifamily housing, the majority of them in apartments with five or more stories.

    Such a reality seems unimaginable in cities like Los Angeles, which has limited or prohibited the construction of dense housing in single-family zones.

    “Los Angeles is often seen as an endless tableau of individual houses, each with their own yard and garden,” Max Podemski, an L.A.-based urban planner, wrote in The Times last year. “Apartment buildings are anathema to the city’s ethos.”

    In recent years, the price of that ethos has become increasingly apparent in the form of a severe housing shortage. In the city of Los Angeles, where nearly 75% of all residential land is zoned for stand-alone single-family homes, rents have been in a seemingly endless ascent, contributing to one of the worst homelessness crises in the country. As a remedy, the state of California has ordered the construction of more than 450,000 new housing units by 2029.

    The plan will almost certainly require the building of some form of apartment-style housing, but construction has lagged amid fierce resistance.

    Sixty years ago, South Korea stood at a similar crossroads. But the series of urban housing policies it implemented led to the primacy of the apartment, and in doing so, transformed South Korean notions of housing over the course of a single generation.

    The results of that program have been mixed. But in one important respect, at least, it has been successful: Seoul, which is half the size of the city of L.A., is home to a population of 9.6 million — compared with the estimated 3.3 million people who live here.

    For Lee, the trade-off is a worthwhile one.

    In an ideal world, she would have a garage for the sort of garage sales she’s admired in American movies. “But South Korea is a small country,” she said. “It is necessary to use space as efficiently as possible.”

    Apartments, in her view, have spared her from the miseries of suburban housing. Restaurants and stores are close by. Easy access to public transportation means she doesn’t need a car to get everywhere.

    “Maybe it’s because of my Korean need to have everything done quickly, but I think it’d be uncomfortable to live somewhere that doesn’t have these things within reach at all times,” she said. “I like to go out at night; I think it would be boring to have all the lights go off at 9 p.m.”

    A general view shows steam rising from office and apartment buildings that define the Seoul skyline.

    A general view shows steam rising from office and apartment buildings that define the Seoul skyline. (Ed Jones / AFP via Getty Images)

    Apartment buildings light up in the evening as people return home from work in Seoul

    Apartment buildings light up in the evening as people return home from work in Seoul on March 25, 2021. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

    ::

    Apartments first began appearing in South Korea in the 1960s and 1970s, as part of a government response to a housing crisis in the nation’s capital — a byproduct of the era’s rapid industrialization and subsequent urban population boom.

    In the 1960s, single-family detached dwellings made up around 95% of homes in the country. But over the following decade, as rural migrants flooded Seoul in search of factory work, doubling the population from 2.4 to 5.5 million, many in this new urban working class found themselves without homes. As a result, many of them settled in shantytowns on the city’s outskirts, living in makeshift sheet-metal homes.

    The authoritarian government at the time, led by a former army general named Park Chung-hee, declared apartments to be the solution and embarked on a building spree that would continue under subsequent administrations. Eased height restrictions and incentives for construction companies helped add between 20,000 to 100,000 new apartment units every year.

    They were pushed by political leaders in South Korea as a high-tech modernist paradise, soon making them the most desirable form of housing for the middle and upper classes. Known as apateu, which specifically refers to a high-rise apartment building built as part of a larger complex — as distinct from lower stand-alone buildings — they symbolized Western cachet and upward social mobility.

    “Around the late 1990s and early 2000s, almost every big-name celebrity at the time appeared in apartment commercials,” recalled Jung Heon-mok, an anthropologist at the Academy of Korean Studies who has studied the history of South Korean apartments. “But the biggest reason that apartments proliferated as they did was because they were done at scale, in complexes of five buildings or more.”

    Essential to the modern apateu are the amenities — such as on-site kindergartens or convenience stores — that allow them to function like miniature towns. This has also turned them into branded commodities and class signifiers, built by construction conglomerates like Samsung, and taking on names like “castle” or “palace.” (One of the first such branded apartment complexes was Trump Tower, a luxury development built in Seoul in the late 1990s by a construction firm that licensed the name of Donald Trump.)

    All of this has made the detached single-family home, for the most part, obsolete. In Seoul, such homes now make up just 10% of the housing stock. Among many younger South Koreans like Lee, they are associated with retirement in the countryside, or, as she puts it: for “grilling in the garden for your grandkids.”

    ::

    This model has not been without problems.

    There are the usual issues that come with dense housing. In buildings with poor soundproofing, “inter-floor noise” between units is such a universal scourge that the government runs a noise-related dispute resolution center while discouraging people from angrily confronting their neighbors, a situation that occasionally escalates into headline-making violence.

    Some apartment buildings have proved to be too much even for a country accustomed to unsentimentally efficient forms of housing. One 19-story, 4,635-unit complex built by a big-name apartment brand in one of the wealthiest areas of Seoul looks so oppressive that it has become a curiosity, mocked by some as a prison or chicken coop.

    Apartment complexes in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024

    Apartment complexes in Seoul on Oct. 5, 2024. Apartments first began appearing in South Korea in 1960s and 1970s, as part of a government response to a housing crisis in the nation’s capital.

    (Tina Hsu / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

    The sheer number of apartments has prompted criticism of Seoul’s skyline as sterile and ugly. South Koreans have described its uniform, rectangular columns as “matchboxes.” And despite the aspirations attached to them, there is also a wariness about a culture where homes are built in such disposable, assembly line-like fashion.

    Many people here are increasingly questioning how this form of housing, with its nearly identical layouts, has shaped the disposition of contemporary South Korean society, often criticized by its own members as overly homogenized and lockstep.

    “I’m concerned that apartments have made South Koreans’ lifestyles too similar,” said Maing Pil-soo, an architect and urban planning professor at Seoul National University. “And with similar lifestyles, you end up with a similar way of thinking. Much like the cityscape itself, everything becomes flattened and uniform.”

    Jung, the anthropologist, believes South Korea’s apartment complexes, with their promise of an atomized, frictionless life, have eroded the more expansive social bonds that defined traditional society — like those that extended across entire villages — making its inhabitants more individualistic and insular.

    “At the end of the day, apartments here are undoubtedly extremely convenient — that’s why they became so popular,” he said. “But part of that convenience is because they insulate you from the concerns of the wider world. Once you’re inside your complex and in your home, you don’t have to pay attention to your neighbors or their issues.”

    Still, Jung says this uniformity isn’t all bad. It is what made them such easily scalable solutions to the housing crisis of decades past. It is also, in some ways, an equalizing force.

    “I think apartments are partly why certain types of social inequalities you see in the U.S. are comparatively less severe in South Korea,” he said.

    Though many branded apartment complexes now resemble gated communities with exclusionary homeowner associations, Jung points out that on the whole, the dominance of multifamily housing has inadvertently encouraged more social mixing between classes, a physical closeness that creates the sense that everyone is inhabiting the same broader space.

    Even Seoul’s wealthiest neighborhoods feel, to an extent that is hard to see in many American cities, porous and accessible. Wealthier often means having a nicer apartment, but an apartment all the same, existing in the same environs as those in a different price range.

    “And even though we occasionally use disparaging terms like ‘chicken coop’ to describe them, once you actually step inside one of those apartments, they don’t feel like that at all,” Jung said. “They really are quite comfortable and nice.”

    ::

    People pose for photos among a field of cosmos flowers in front of high-rise apartment buildings in Goyang, west of Seoul.
    In South Korea, the detached single-family home is, for the most part, obsolete. In Seoul, such homes now make up just 10% of the housing stock.

    People pose for photos among a field of cosmos flowers in front of high-rise apartment buildings in Goyang, west of Seoul. (Ed Jones / AFP via Getty Images)

    None of this, however, has been able to stave off Seoul’s own present-day housing affordability crisis.

    The capital has one of the most expensive apartment prices in the world on a price-per-square-meter basis, ranking fourth after Hong Kong, Zurich and Singapore, and ahead of major U.S. cities like New York or San Francisco, according to a report published last month by Deutsche Bank. One especially brutal stretch recently saw apartment prices in Seoul double in four years.

    Part of the reason for this is that apartments, with their standardized dimensions, have effectively become interchangeable financial commodities: An apartment in Seoul is seen as a much more surefire bet than any stock, leading to intense real estate investment and speculation that has driven up home prices.

    “Buying an apartment here isn’t just buying an apartment. The equivalent in the U.S. would be like buying an ideal single-family home with a garage in the U.S., except that it comes with a bunch of NVIDIA shares,” said Chae Sang-wook, an independent real estate analyst. “In South Korea, people invest in apateu for capital gains, not cash flow from rent.”

    Some experts predict that, as the country enters another era of demographic upheaval, the dominance of apartments will someday be no more.

    If births continue to fall as dramatically as they have done in recent years, South Koreans may no longer need such dense housing. The ongoing rise of single-person households, too, may chip away at a form of housing built to hold four-person nuclear families.

    But Chae is skeptical that this will happen anytime soon. He points out that South Koreans don’t even like to assemble their own furniture, let alone fix their own cars — all downstream effects of ubiquitous apartment living.

    “For now, there is no alternative other than this,” he said. “As a South Korean, you don’t have the luxury of choosing.”

    Max Kim

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  • In their 80s, these South Korean women learned reading and rap

    In their 80s, these South Korean women learned reading and rap

    CHILGOK, South Korea (AP) —

    Wearing an oversized bucket hat, silver chains and a black Miu Miu shirt, 82-year-old Park Jeom-sun gesticulates, her voice rising and falling with staccato lines about growing chili peppers, cucumbers and eggplants.

    Park, nicknamed Suni, was flanked by seven longtime friends who repeated her moves and her lines. Together, they’re Suni and the Seven Princesses, South Korea ‘s latest octogenarian sensation. With an average age of 85, they’re probably the oldest rap group in the country.

    Born at a time when women were often marginalized in education, Park and her friends were among a group of older adults learning how to read and write the Korean alphabet, hangeul, at a community center in their farming village in South Korea’s rural southeast.

    Kang Hye-eun makes corrections to some Korean words written by her grandmother Park Jeom-sun, 82, leader of Sunni and the Seven Princesses, at a senior community center in Chilgok, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

    They were having so much fun that they started dabbling with poetry. They began writing and performing rap in summer last year.

    Suni and the Seven Princesses enjoy nationwide fame, appearing in commercials and going viral on social media. South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo sent them a congratulatory message last month on their first anniversary, praising their passion for learning.

    At a road near their community center in Chilgok on Thursday, Park and her friends were rehearsing for a performance Friday evening in the capital, Seoul, where they were invited to open an event celebrating hangeul heritage.

    “Picking chili peppers at the pepper field, picking cucumbers at the cucumber field, picking eggplants at the eggplant field, picking zucchini at the zucchini field!” the group rapped along with Park. “We’re back home now and it feels so good!”

    Image

    Members of Suni and the Seven Princesses pose for a photo in Chilgok, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    Leader Park Jeom-sun, 82-year-old, center, and other members of Suni and the Seven Princesses eat lunch before their training at senior community center in Chilgok, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    Members of Suni and the Seven Princesses rest after their lunch at senior community center in Chilgok, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    Members of Suni and the Seven Princesses exercise at senior community center in Chilgok, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

    Park said the group usually practices two or three times a week, more if they’re preparing for a show.

    On Friday, hundreds of people applauded and cheered, and then the group lined up for a photo with South Korean Culture Minister Yu In Chon.

    Park talked about the joy of learning to read, saying she can now “go to the bank, ride the bus and go anywhere” she wants without someone helping her.

    “During and after the Korean War, I couldn’t study because of the social atmosphere, but I started learning hangeul in 2016,” Park said, referring to the devastating war between North and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. “Being introduced to rap while learning hangeul has made me feel better, and I thought it would help me stay healthy and avoid dementia.”

    Kang Hye-eun, Park’s 29-year-old granddaughter and a local healthcare worker who helps older adults, said she was proud to see her grandmother on television and in viral videos.

    “It’s amazing that she got to know hangeul like this and has started to rap,” she said.

    Image

    Members of Suni and the Seven Princesses rap inside a senior community center in Chilgok, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    82-year-old Park Jeom-sun walks with her granddaughter Kang Hye-eun outside their old house in Chilgok, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    Park Jeom-sun, 82, leader of Suni and the Seven Princesses, prepares for the opening of an event celebrating the heritage of the Korean alphabet, called “Hangeul,” at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    Members of Suni and the Seven Princesses rehearse for the opening event celebrating the heritage of the Korean alphabet, called “Hangeul,” at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    A member of the audience uses a smartphone to film members of Suni and the Seven Princesses performing during the opening ceremony of the Korean alphabet, “Hangeul Week” at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    Members of Suni and the Seven Princesses perform during the opening ceremony of the Korean alphabet, “Hangeul Week” at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    Members of Suni and the Seven Princesses stand for a photograph with South Korea’s Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In Chon, after performing at the “Hangeul Week” at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    Young rappers bow in respect to members of Suni and the Seven Princesses after their performance during the opening ceremony of the Korean alphabet, “Hangeul Week” at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    Members of Suni and the Seven Princesses acknowledge applause by the crowd during the opening event celebrating the heritage of the Korean alphabet, called “Hangeul,” in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    Members of Suni and the Seven Princesses, stand after their performance during the opening ceremony of the Korean alphabet, “Hangeul Week” at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    Park Jeom-sun, 82, leader of Suni and the Seven Princesses, adjusts her hat in a mirror during the opening ceremony of the Korean alphabet, “Hangeul Week” at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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    Members of Suni and the Seven Princesses pose for a photo at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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  • At Frieze, Do Ho Suh and Brother Eul Ho Suh Explore Intergenerational Legacies in Korean Art

    At Frieze, Do Ho Suh and Brother Eul Ho Suh Explore Intergenerational Legacies in Korean Art

    The project pays homage to the work of Suh Se Ok, a pioneering Korean ink painter who expanded artistic horizons with innovative works from the 1950s to 2020. Courtesy of the artist and LG

    South Korean artist Do Ho Suh is internationally known for his ghostly, diaphanous architecture and fabric-made objects, which create imaginary spaces that are physically present yet impossible to inhabit. His large-scale, immersive, but impermanent installations serve as “acts of memorialization,” exploring themes of identity, home, and the tension between personal and public space. These ideas are confronted within the framework of displacement and cultural transition, reflecting the global mobility of contemporary life.

    For this edition of Frieze Seoul, Suh has been invited to collaborate with the fair’s main sponsor, LG, on a project exploring the intergenerational legacies of Korean art while spotlighting the country’s drive for technological innovation. He has been working with his brother, renowned architect Eul Ho Suh, on the digital canvas of LG OLED T, paying homage to their father, Suh Se Ok—a vital figure in Korean ink abstraction, a radical genre that opened artistic possibilities for an entire generation.

    Observer spoke with the brothers during the unveiling of “Suh Se Ok X LG OLED: Reimagined by Suh Do Ho” at Frieze Seoul, discussing how the project traces a line between generations of Korean art and its potential future development. The project is, first and foremost, an homage to their father, who pioneered a distinctively Korean approach to visual art. This intergenerational conversation reveals how Korean art and aesthetics have evolved over the decades. As Do Hoh Suh told Observer: “This intensely personal project aims to honor our father’s legacy while also considering the evolution of Korean art. We hope this project will allow for a deeper understanding of our father’s work, highlighting the tradition he represents and the vital philosophical principles he explored throughout his life.”

    Image of two Korean man sitting sorrounded by minimalist works.Image of two Korean man sitting sorrounded by minimalist works.
    Do Ho Suh and his brother Eul Ho Suh pay homage to their late father’s master paintings at Frieze Seoul 2024 with LG OLED. © The Korea Economic Daily. Photo by Moon Dukgwan

    Se Ok’s work embodies a defining moment in Korean art, linking calligraphy and a specific philosophical approach related to the mark-making moment and gesture to the interconnection between body and mind. “Movement is an integral element in our father’s painting, where bodily gestures create ink strokes on the rice paper,” said the artist, “These marks act as a trace of his action, a record of performance. The idea that these marks on the paper carry the artist’s energy is essential in creating his work, which we felt necessary to share with a broader audience.”

    The presentation at Frieze intentionally juxtaposes rarely-seen footage of Suh Se Ok in action alongside his paintings and Do Ho Suh’s animations on the innovatively transparent screens of the LG OLED T, positioned in the space according to how Eul Ho Suh has envisioned and conceived the relation between the marks, the viewers, this new technology and the experience of being in the space. “We hope to invite audiences to engage in a dialogue about art, tradition, and innovation,” Do Ho Suh added.

    Image of a korean young man walking in front of a large screen with an abstract composition.Image of a korean young man walking in front of a large screen with an abstract composition.
    For the installation, Do Ho Suh used the LG OLED T digital canvas to bring memories to life and pay homage to the legacy of his father, Suh Se Ok. Courtesy of the artista and LG

    One highlight of the installation is Suh Se Ok’s People series: minimal black marks and signs absorbed by the paper that evoke human figures while remaining external and abstract, as a synthesis of the vital movements that animate our physical existence. Eul Ho Suh explained that before their father’s influence, Korean art was deeply shaped by traditional Chinese landscapes: “He wanted to go lighter, creating abstract paintings with no colors, just black and white.” When Suh Se Ok started to explore this radical new language in the ’60s, he was teaching at Seoul National University, and many students began to follow the new movement. It wasn’t just about the quality of the application of ink, however. He wanted to bring his energy to the works, with marks that could transfer thought and gesture, with porous paper as a transmitter.

    However, what is most interesting about this project is how tradition interacts with technology. In Do Ho Suh’s installation, there’s a similar tension—the work is highly tactile and physical, yet the translucent appearance makes them look more like ghosts or digital renderings. “Although my practice is in many ways indebted to the long history of traditional Korean craftsmanship, it is also profoundly contingent upon new technology,” said the artist, who uses laser scanning, 3D printing, CAD and robotics in his work.

    The transparency of the screen in the Frieze installation perfectly aligns with Suh Se Ok’s interest in the infinite and space, some of which the brothers have absorbed and adopted in their native practices. Layering allows for an interplay of opacity and transparency, revealing and concealing images and image planes. “The footage of our father making the paintings is presented here, combined with his writing and the animations, which further reenact the process of the paintings. This is a means to explore these critical principles of his work and reveal this intensely private process to inspire a greater understanding of his ideas.”

    Image of a large screen with a circular sign.Image of a large screen with a circular sign.
    “Suh Se Ok X LG OLED: Reimagined by Suh Do Ho” is on view at Frieze Seoul 2024. Courtesy of the artist and LG

    Layering also serves to underscore the complexity of the work, according to the artist. The layering of the images on the screens recalls the melding of ink and paper. “This leads to the question: is the painting on or in the paper?” said Do Ho Suh. “The properties of the rice paper allow for these layers to be separated to create near copies—something that straddles the idea of uniqueness and edition—an interrogation of the surface hierarchy.”

    “You have all the powerful energy within the movement in an interplay between bidimensional and tridimensional space,” added Eul Ho Suh.

    There are the technical elements—the layering techniques employed and the interplay of light and shadow—and those more philosophical. As the brothers noted, the display clarifies the principles underlying much of Eastern painting, enhanced by new technology. It also delves into the concept of transparency (a critical component in Do Ho Suh’s work) as a form of absence or emptiness, a theme central to Suh Se Ok’s work and uniquely interpreted by the two brothers. This idea echoes Buddhist teachings, where emptiness (śūnyatā in Sanskrit) reveals the true nature of things: they lack intrinsic existence, are impermanent, and constantly changing, reliant on various causes and conditions. The spaces between, though typically unseen, gain significance through exploration.

    SEE ALSO: Highlights and Early Sales from the Armory Show 2024

    When asked how the approach and sensibility of Korean artists have transformed over time and how this relates to the rapid societal changes in South Korea, Do Ho Suh said those transformations are a reflection of societal change. “From my father’s time to mine, Korean artists have progressively embraced a more global perspective while maintaining a profound connection to our cultural roots,” he explained. “My time in the U.S. to study in the ’90s proved an essential shift in my appreciation of the differences between Eastern and Western perspectives and exploring the de-mystification of painting—this personal history and my Korean background have been essential themes in my work.”

    Abstract composition with black lines. Abstract composition with black lines.
    Suh Se Ok, Dancing People, 1987; 54.6 x 62.1 cm / Ink on paper. Courtesy of the artist.

    Ultimately, the project is a powerful statement on the evolution of artistic approaches and languages in South Korea, from the radical innovation explored by Suh Se Ok to the opportunities offered by the digital space and new technologies. In this sense, the installation’s screens both memorialize the past and serve as a portal to Korea’s future.

    Memory is, in fact, at the heart of this project, as Do Ho Suh suggests. While art can document, help visualize and help imagine, this particular installation explores how art can also become a tool for oral and cultural memory. The artist calls the interplay of collective and personal memory in his work essential, but there are caveats to that assertion. “Exploring memory, both its fallibility and pervasiveness remains intriguing to me, but not in a nostalgic sense,” he said. “Memory not only helps document our past but also helps visualize our thoughts for the future. Our father’s paintings also act as memories of his actions, snapshots of his movement through time.”

    To Do Ho Suh, art is a vessel for memories. “Our unique and privileged insight into our father’s work and the process of its making has led us to this project—it could be seen as an attempt to create a tangible manifestation of our intangible memories, an opportunity to revisit them and share them.”

    “Suh Se Ok X LG OLED: Reimagined by Suh Do Ho” is on view at Frieze Seoul from September 4 to September 7.

    At Frieze, Do Ho Suh and Brother Eul Ho Suh Explore Intergenerational Legacies in Korean Art

    Elisa Carollo

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  • Korean Air says turbulence is knocking instant noodles off its economy menu

    Korean Air says turbulence is knocking instant noodles off its economy menu

    NEW YORK (AP) — Turbulence is knocking a beloved instant-noodle offering off Korean Air’s economy menu.

    Cups of Shin Ramyun instant noodles, a favorite among Korean Air travelers over the years, will no longer be available for economy-class passengers starting Aug. 15, a spokesperson for the Seoul-based airline said.

    “This decision is part of proactive safety measures in response to increased turbulence, aimed at preventing burn accidents,” Korean Air said.

    The instant noodles are currently part of Korean Air’s in-flight snack service, which is a self-serve bar beyond meals available for economy passengers on long-haul trips. In this week’s announcement, the carrier added that it had “renewed” economy’s snack options to instead include offerings like sandwiches, corn dogs and hot pockets.

    But business- and first-class passengers will still get their noodles. Korean Air told the BBC that the noodles are brought individually to business- and first-class travelers, reducing spill risks.

    Concern about the dangers of serving hot food and liquids on airplanes isn’t new. Over the years, several carriers have faced lawsuits from customers who say they suffered serious burns after having hot coffee, for example, spilled on them during a flight. And, while legal precedent may vary around the world, the European Union’s highest court ruled in 2019 that an airline can be held liable if a passenger is injured in this way, even if turbulence or other flight-related factors didn’t cause the spill.

    But turbulence, of course, still adds to risk. Flying through unstable air can make balancing something like soup or a hot beverage in-flight all the more precarious.

    Numerous turbulence-related injuries have been reported over the years, but most incidents are minor — and airlines have made steady improvements in reducing accident rates. Those include suspending cabin service when needed or taking extra caution when distributing certain refreshments.

    Still, rough air might be getting harder and harder to avoid. Some meteorologists and aviation analysts note reports of turbulence encounters are on the rise, pointing to the potential impacts climate change may have on flying conditions.

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  • Tough break, indeed. Jake Cronenworth’s busted mitt keys Dodgers’ win over the Padres

    Tough break, indeed. Jake Cronenworth’s busted mitt keys Dodgers’ win over the Padres

    Was it AI? A magic trick? No, just literally the toughest break imaginable for the San Diego Padres.

    A groundball by the Dodgers’ Gavin Lux disappeared into Jake Cronenworth’s first baseman’s mitt … and came out the other side, trickling into right field while Teoscar Hernández scored the go-ahead run.

    A potential inning-ending double play instead became an error, the pivotal at-bat in a four-run eighth inning that keyed the Dodgers’ 5-2 victory in the regular-season opener at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.

    Cronenworth’s mitt broke, the webbing unfathomably untied. He stared at it, he blinked, he shook his head, trying to grasp the betrayal. Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani followed with RBI singles and that was that.

    “It sucks,” Cronenworth said. “I don’t know what else to say.”

    Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated the obvious: “That was a fortunate break for us. You’ve got to take them when you get them.”

    Players figuratively have a hole in their glove quite often during spring training, and this game more closely resembled the Cactus League than the National League.

    The Padres used eight pitchers, and they issued nine walks while committing four pitch-clock violations.

    The Dodgers also were sloppy. They went 0 for 14 with runners on base until the RBI singles in the eighth inning. Starter Tyler Glasnow spiked numerous curveballs and botched a defensive play on a bunt. Ohtani failed to retouch second base while returning to first on a deep flyout by Freddie Freeman.

    Plate umpire Lance Barksdale wasn’t exactly in midseason form either. His strike zone was erratic and in the first inning was guilty of umpire interference when Padres catcher Luis Campusano elbowed him in the mask while trying to throw out Betts stealing second.

    “It’s opening day, obviously just getting back into the flow of things,” said Dodgers closer Evan Phillips, who retired the Padres in order in the ninth for a save.

    The teams will play again Thursday at 3 a.m. PT before returning to exhibition action at home. Opening day for the other 28 MLB teams is March 28.

    Steve Henson

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  • North Korea scraps agencies managing relations with South as Kim Jong Un cites hostility with rival

    North Korea scraps agencies managing relations with South as Kim Jong Un cites hostility with rival

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits Korean People’s Army Air Force headquarters on the occasion of Aviation Day in North Korea, in this picture released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on December 1, 2023.

    KCNA | Reuters

    North Korea has abolished key government organizations tasked with managing relations with South Korea, state media said Tuesday, as authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un said he would no longer pursue reconciliation with his rival.

    North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the decision to abolish the agencies handling dialogue and cooperation with the South was made during a meeting of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament on Monday.

    During a speech at the assembly, Kim blamed South Korea and the United States for raising tensions in the region. He said it has become impossible for the North to pursue reconciliation and a peaceful reunification with the South.

    He called for the assembly to rewrite the North’s Constitution in its next meeting to define South Korea as the North’s “No. 1 hostile country.”

    Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years after Kim in recent months ramped up his weapons demonstrations. The United States and its allies Seoul and Tokyo responded by strengthening their combined military exercises and sharpening their nuclear deterrence strategies.

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  • 2024 is the ‘year of globetrotting,’ travel expert says. Here are some of the hot spots

    2024 is the ‘year of globetrotting,’ travel expert says. Here are some of the hot spots

    Tokyo, Japan.

    Matteo Colombo | DigitalVision | Getty Images

    When it comes to travel abroad, popular destinations like London, Paris and Rome always seem to top the wish list for Americans.

    But many travelers are looking beyond those mainstay cities for trips in 2024. Interest in major Asian hubs, off-the-beaten-path locales in Europe and other areas has surged, experts said.

    “It’s clear that 2024 is shaping up to be the year of globetrotting,” Airbnb wrote last month.

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    Broadly, overseas travel is hot: Searches for international flights are up 13% year-over-year, even though prices are about 10% higher, according to Steve Hafner, CEO of Kayak, a travel website.

    “Americans are looking to go abroad,” Hafner said. “They’ve done the domestic stuff the last couple years.”

    Here are the trending destinations for Americans in 2024.  

    1. Asia takes the crown again

    Hong Kong

    Kanchisa Thitisukthanapong | Moment | Getty Images

    Americans flocked to the Asia-Pacific region in 2023 — and that love affair is poised to continue in the new year.

    Tokyo and Seoul, South Korea, respectively rank as the No. 1 and 2 trending international hot spots next year among U.S.-based travelers, according to travel app Hopper.

    Kayak data shows a similar trend. Its top five hot spots are in Asia: Hong Kong; Shanghai; Taipei City, the capital of Taiwan; Tokyo; and Osaka, Japan, respectively.

    For example, searches for Hong Kong and Shanghai are up 355% and 216%, respectively, year-over-year, according to Kayak. (The travel site analyzed search traffic among Americans from March 16 to Sept. 15 this year, for travel planned in 2024, and compared it to the same period last year.)

    Kyoto, Japan

    Sw Photography | Stone | Getty Images

    Japan also ranks highly among non-U.S. travelers: Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo are among the top 24 worldwide destinations next year, according to Airbnb data.

    Asian nations were among the slowest to ease border closures related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that they’re open again, tourists are unleashing a pent-up wanderlust, experts said.

    “People couldn’t travel there, and now they are making it up,” said Sofia Markovich, a travel advisor and founder of Sofia’s Travel.

    China reopened its borders in January 2023, “one of the last places” to do so, Hafner said.

    Japan reopened to tourists starting in June 2022. There are other factors driving increased interest to that nation, like a historically strong U.S. dollar relative to the Japanese yen (and other currencies), which gives Americans additional buying power, and more flights from budget airlines, Hafner said.

    Search traffic for Japan has more than tripled for trips during the first nine months of 2024 relative to the same period in 2023 — a larger increase than any other nation, Airbnb said.

    Americans are looking to go abroad. They’ve done the domestic stuff the last couple years.

    Historically, Tokyo has “hands down” been the most popular city for Americans to visit in Asia, said Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper. Now, demand is “even greater” than usual, she said.

    Tourists may also pay a hefty premium to fly to Asia next year: “Good deal” prices for airfare to the continent is $1,204 for 2024, on average — 45% more than 2019, a much larger increase relative to other continents, according to Hopper.

    2. Going off the beaten path in Europe

    Stockholm, Sweden.

    Leonardo Patrizi | E+ | Getty Images

    Overcrowding in the traditional European hubs is driving an influx of tourists to generally less-frequented areas, experts said.  

    For example, Stockholm, Sweden; Budapest, Hungary; Helsinki, Finland; and Prague, Czech Republic, respectively rank seventh to 10th on Kayak’s list of trending destinations abroad.

    Copenhagen, Denmark, is No. 4 on Hopper’s 2024 hot spot ranking. Prague and Edinburgh, Scotland, are No. 7 and No. 8, respectively.

    “People are really discovering the off-the-beaten path places,” Markovich said. “Because your Paris and your Rome and London and Barcelona are just too crowded. And experienced travelers want to get away from that.”

    She recommends “a lot” of Scandinavian travel since it’s “so unspoiled by overtourism.”

    The Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Scotland.

    Andrew Merry | Moment | Getty Images

    Additionally, Finland became a member of the NATO military alliance in 2023, driving more awareness of the nation among Americans, Kayak’s Hafner said.

    Cities like Budapest and Prague have always been popular but not to the extent of some European tourist magnets, Markovich said.

    One of those typical magnets — Paris — is poised for an additional burst this year: The City of Light is hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics.

    The business behind budget airlines like Ryanair and Spirit

    Demand for flights to Paris — and for nearby cities — during the Olympics has more than doubled versus this time last year, according to Hopper data.

    Lower relative prices for some lesser-known spots in Europe are also likely attracting people, Berg said, especially since average flights to Europe overall are 5% more expensive in 2024 versus 2023, at $717, Hopper data shows.

    3. The Atlantic tropics over the Caribbean

    Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands.

    Faba-photograhpy | Moment | Getty Images

    Although places like Cancun, Mexico, remain popular as warm-weather beach destinations, Americans are increasingly turning to Atlantic tropical vacations over the Caribbean, said Hopper’s Berg.

    “This is something new this year that we started seeing emerge” and the trend “will definitely continue” in 2024, she said.

    For example, Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, and Funchal, the capital of Portugal’s Madeira archipelago, ranked No. 9 and 10, respectively, on Hopper’s international trend list. Both are located off the West African coast.

    People are really discovering the off-the-beaten path places.

    Sofia Markovich

    travel advisor

    Though not on the Atlantic, Málaga, a Mediterranean port city on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain, ranked sixth on Kayak’s list. The Andalusian city gets about 300 days of sunshine a year, on average, and, according to one recent report, is the No. 1 city in the world for expats.

    Search interest there is up 60% year-over-year, Kayak data shows. And that’s following a year in which Málaga was already “overrun,” Hafner said.

    “I think that word has gotten out,” he said.

    4. Canada’s ski mountains are having a ‘renaissance’

    A ski slope at Grouse Mountain in Vancouver, Canada.

    Daisuke Kishi | Moment Open | Getty Images

    Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal in Canada ranked third, fifth and sixth, respectively, on Hopper’s international trend list for 2024.

    Winter tourism likely plays a big role, Berg said.

    “We’ve seen a real renaissance of Canadian ski destinations,” she said. “They’re rivaling a lot of European ski destinations.”

    Plus, air travel to Canada is generally about a third of the price of a trip to Europe, Berg added.

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  • “Parasite” actor Lee Sun-kyun found dead in South Korea, officials say

    “Parasite” actor Lee Sun-kyun found dead in South Korea, officials say

    Lee Sun-kyun, a popular South Korean actor best known for his role in the Oscar-winning movie “Parasite,” was found dead in a car in Seoul on Wednesday, authorities said, after weeks of an intense police investigation into his alleged drug use. The car was in a park, the Reuters news agency reported.

    Police and emergency officers initially found Lee in what they believed was an unconscious state in the car. Emergency officers later confirmed he was dead, according to Seoul’s Seongbuk police station.

    Police had been searching for Lee, 48, after receiving a report that he was missing, Seongbuk police said.

    They refused to provide further details including whether they had determined Lee killed himself. But South Korean media outlets including the Yonhap news agency said Lee’s family earlier Wednesday reported to police that he left home after writing a message similar to a suicide note.

    The talent agency that represented Lee, HODU&U Entertainment, didn’t respond to calls from Reuters but Reuters says domestic media were pointing to an HODU&U statement expressing sadness over his death and urging restraint regarding false information, speculation, or malicious reports.

    Lee’s body was later transported to a nearby Seoul hospital, according to Seongbuk police.

    Actor Lee Sun Kyun attends the red carpet of the “Killing Romance” Midwest Premiere at AMC New City 14 on October 07, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.

    Barry Brecheisenn / Getty Images


    Lee had undergone police probes into allegations that he used illegal drugs at the residence of a bar hostess. The investigation prompted extensive tabloid coverage. Lee insisted he was tricked into taking the drugs and that he did not know what he was taking, according to Yonhap.

    Reuters says he was questioned by police three times about the drug accusations, with one session running 19 hours over the weekend.

    The scandal led to the loss of a number of acting projects, Agence France-Presse reported. According to Reuters, a first-time conviction on drug use charges in South Korea can lead to six months in jail and up to 14 years for repeat offenders. South Korea’s laws are so stringent that Koreans who take drugs legally while abroad can still face prosecution upon returning home, according to AFP.

    Lee appeared in “Parasite,” which won Oscars for best picture and three other categories in 2020. The class satire was the first non-English-language film to win best picture in the then-92-year history of the Academy Awards, and was the first South Korean movie ever to win an Oscar. In the film, Lee played the head of a wealthy family.

    In 2021, he won a Screen Actors Guild award for “cast in a motion picture” for his role in the same film. He was nominated for best actor at the International Emmy Awards for his performance in the sci-fi thriller “Dr. Brain” last year, as well.

    Even before “Parasite,” Lee had been a popular actor in South Korea for a long time. He rose to stardom for his role in a hit TV drama series, “Coffee Prince (2007),” and gained mainstream popularity with the medical drama “Behind The White Tower (2007),” “Pasta (2010)” and “My Mister (2018).”

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