Bird’s-eye view of Baekdusan's strata

North Korea’s official tourism website has uploaded drone footage of the strata of Baekdusan, the 2,744-meter-high mountain. The tallest mountain on the Korean Peninsula has historically been regarded as sacred by Koreans. The video shows layers of rock surrounding Heaven Lake, the volcanic crater lake at the mountain’s peak, as well as towering rocky cliffs rising above the landscape along the border between North Korea and China. The North Korean website, operated by the country’s tourism auth

2026-05-11 13:57:45:00

Kospi rally sparks rush for investing books

As South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index extends its record-breaking rally, investor enthusiasm is spilling into bookstores. According to Yes24, South Korea’s largest online bookseller, sales of books related to domestic stocks jumped 305 percent in the Jan. 1-May 6 period from a year earlier. The Kospi closed Friday’s trading session at 7,498, up about 74 percent from the first trading day of the year. The surge has been driven largely by optimism surrounding soaring global demand for artificial

2026-05-10 15:26:10:00

Funeral held for Gwangju stabbing victim

A funeral was held Thursday in Gwangju for a 17-year-old high school student who was fatally stabbed by a man Tuesday while returning home late at night after studying. Police said the 24-year-old suspect, who had been driving around with two knives in his car, encountered the victim twice that night before deciding to target her. During questioning, the suspect, who is currently in custody, reportedly told investigators that he had been planning to take his own life because “life was not enjoya

2026-05-07 10:55:25:00

HMM vessel damaged in Hormuz explosion to arrive in Dubai for probe

A South Korean-operated bulk carrier damaged by an explosion and fire in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week is expected to arrive at Dubai Port as early as late Thursday (Korean time), where investigators will examine the cause of the incident. The Namu, a Panama-flagged vessel operated by the South Korean shipping company HMM, has remained stranded near the Strait of Hormuz since May 4, when an engine-room explosion disabled the ship and triggered a fire, company officials said. HMM said to

2026-05-07 09:03:22:00

Gwangju stabbing suspect nabbed after 11-hour manhunt

Police in Gwangju on Tuesday apprehended a 24-year-old man suspected of fatally stabbing a high school girl and injuring another student who tried to help her, authorities said. The suspect was taken into custody at about 11:20 a.m. on a street near his home in Gwangsan-gu, roughly 11 hours after the attack, according to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency. Police identified him through surveillance footage and tracked his movements. The attack occurred at around 12:10 a.m. on a pedestrian pa

2026-05-05 14:39:07:00

Second Korean oil tanker clears Red Sea amid Hormuz closure

A second South Korean-flagged vessel carrying crude oil has safely passed through the Red Sea and is now en route to the country, authorities said Sunday, marking another successful detour following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said the vessel had cleared the Red Sea as of 10 a.m. (Korean time) and is transporting crude to South Korea. It follows a similar case in mid-April, when a South Korean tanker departed Yanbu Port in Saudi Arabia on April 17 an

2026-05-03 11:25:58:00

Truckers’ union, logistics firm reach tentative deal after strike

A truckers’ union and a logistics firm behind CU convenience stores reached a tentative deal early Wednesday, the union said. The Cargo Truckers Solidarity, under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said it reached a provisional agreement with BGF Logistics at around 5 a.m. during a fifth round of talks in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. Details of the agreement were not disclosed. The union released a photo of the meeting attended by Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon. Union members are voti

2026-04-29 09:10:27:00

Where do Korea’s top CEOs live?

Where in Seoul do CEOs live? An analysis of the registered home addresses of 640 chief executives by local corporate data tracker CEO Score, released Wednesday, shows that many of the country’s top business leaders cluster in a handful of high-end apartment complexes in Seoul, especially in the affluent districts of Gangnam and Yongsan. The most common address, shared by 11 CEOs, as of April was The H Firstier I-Park in Gaepo-dong, southern Seoul. Among its most notable residents is Roh Tae-moon

2026-04-29 08:47:33:00

Migrant groups file complaint over relief payments excluding foreign residents

Migrant rights groups in South Korea have filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, arguing that most foreign residents have been excluded from government relief payments intended to offset high fuel costs. The groups, including the Gyeonggi Migrants’ Equality Coalition, said that of roughly 2.167 million foreign residents who have stayed in South Korea for more than three months as of March, about 1.785 million — excluding marriage migrants, permanent residents and r

2026-04-28 17:03:16:00

USTR criticizes Korea’s network usage fee policy in X post

The US government has renewed its criticism of South Korea’s network usage fee policy, underscoring a persistent friction point in bilateral trade relations. The Office of the United States Trade Representative said Monday (local time) in a post on X that “no country in the world imposes network usage fees on the transmission of internet traffic by its internet Service providers. Except Korea.” Washington has long regarded this particular Korean policy as a representative non-tariff barrier. The

2026-04-28 08:53:10:00