Catch Roy Kim and John Park under Namsan night sky

A summer night at Namsan Park will come with live music this month, as singers Roy Kim and John Park are set to perform at the Namsan Summer Festival. The one-day festival, hosted at Namsan Park on June 27, will feature walking, garden and nighttime performance programs across the park. The Summer Night program, set for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Baekbeom Plaza, will offer an outdoor concert against the backdrop of Namsan’s summer evening scenery. Admission is free, with advance reservations required.

2026-06-11 10:36:51:00

Man sentenced for assaulting 11-year-old son over gaming

A man in his 50s was given a suspended prison term for repeatedly assaulting his 11-year-old son at their home in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, over the child’s gaming and sleeping habits. The Ulsan District Court said Sunday it sentenced the man to one year in prison, suspended for two years, on charges including child abuse under the Child Welfare Act. The judge ordered the man to undergo probation, complete 40 hours each of child abuse prevention and stalking crime prevention programs,

2026-06-07 15:07:23:00

Ulsan language schools face labor fight over foreign teachers’ contracts

A labor dispute at two private language schools in Ulsan has escalated into a legal fight over whether the academies lawfully ended fixed-term contracts or used contract expirations to remove foreign English teachers who had joined a union. The union held a rally Friday near the entrance of Ulsan Grand Park, accusing the schools of dismissing unionized foreign teachers while collective bargaining was underway. The rally was organized by the Busan branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Union

2026-06-07 13:24:26:00

Ballot shortage sparks protest at Seoul polling station

A ballot shortage at multiple polling stations in Seoul's Songpa-gu triggered a tense standoff late Wednesday, turning an election management failure into a dispute over voting rights as counting got underway in Korea's local elections. A crowd gathered at No. 2 polling station in Jamsil 7-dong after voting there was extended because of a shortage of ballots. They demanded that ballots cast at the station be invalidated and that the ballot box not be removed from the site. At around 12:30 a.m.,

2026-06-03 23:05:54:00

Hotter summers may force more trail restrictions at national parks

Extreme heat could replace cold waves as the main weather risk leading to trail restrictions at Korea’s national parks as climate change accelerates, according to a new study. The Korea National Park Service and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council on Wednesday published a study projecting how climate change could affect the number of days when mountain-type national parks meet weather-related criteria for restricting trail access. The study analyzed 18 mountain national parks, including Jiris

2026-06-03 11:31:29:00

Swim, bike, run, chill by the Han River this weekend

Seoul will hold a three-day noncompetitive triathlon event along the Han River this weekend, inviting residents and visitors to swim, cycle and run at their own pace. The third annual My Pace Hangang Triathlon Festival will take place from Friday to Sunday around Ttukseom and Jamsil Han River parks, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday. The city expects a large turnout after last year’s festival drew 650,000 visitors. The festival centers on three activities — swimming, cycling and run

2026-06-02 17:43:06:00

6,000-member porn site busted over sex videos filmed by users

Korean police arrested 15 people linked to an online pornography site with more than 6,000 members, accusing its operators and users of distributing hundreds of sexually explicit photos and videos, police said Friday. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s cyber investigation unit said it booked eight operators of the site, called Honors Club, on charges of distributing obscene materials in violation of the Information and Communications Network Act. Seven site members were also arrested on the

2026-05-29 14:59:26:00

Chemical leak at university lab leaves 17 hospitalized

Seventeen people were hospitalized Thursday after toxic bromine gas leaked from a university laboratory in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, prompting an emergency evacuation and a local disaster alert. The leak occurred at around 7:13 p.m. on the sixth floor of Chungbuk National University's Advanced Bio Research Center, after a 500-milliliter reagent bottle containing bromine was dropped and broken, according to police and fire authorities. Authorities believe the accident happened while s

2026-05-29 14:36:12:00

Women’s restroom queue sparks debate over men’s room use

A group of women who lined up to use a men’s restroom at a highway rest area after the women’s facilities became overcrowded has sparked debate online, with some criticizing the move as an invasion of privacy and others pointing to chronic shortages of women’s restrooms at busy public facilities. The debate began after a post titled “Middle-aged women at Hwado Rest Area” was uploaded to the online community Bobaedream on Saturday. The writer said several women began waiting outside the men’s res

2026-05-28 14:26:35:00

Medical tourists can get telemedicine in Korea from next year

Medical tourists to South Korea will be allowed to receive telemedicine services starting next year, after patient numbers topped 2 million for the first time in 2025. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday that a revised law on supporting Korean medical services’ overseas expansion and attracting medical tourists had been promulgated. The law will take effect in one year. Under the revision, doctors, dentists and Korean medicine doctors affiliated with medical institutions registered f

2026-05-27 07:00:00:00