Your power bank could be a subway fire risk

Four smoke incidents involving portable power banks were reported on Seoul subway trains over the past two months, prompting Seoul Metro to urge passengers to take extra care when carrying and charging lithium-ion batteries. According to Seoul Metro, all four incidents involved power banks carried by passengers. No injuries were reported, as emergency measures were taken at nearby stations before the situation escalated into fires. The first incident occurred on April 27 aboard a Line 3 train bo

2026-06-08 17:21:11:00

English-language book club, a chance to learn about Korea through literature

There are many ways to learn about a country. Some people watch films. Others visit museums. Some Seoul residents are turning to literature. This month, the Seorae Book Club is inviting readers to explore “The Girl Who Wrote Loneliness” by acclaimed Korean novelist Shin Kyung-sook, best known internationally for “Please Look After Mom.” The novel follows a teenage factory worker who leaves her rural hometown for Seoul during the country’s rapid industrialization in the 1970s, capturing the hopes

2026-06-08 11:40:31:00

Foreign residents invited to discover Korea’s traditional sounds

Many visitors to Korea first encounter Korean culture through K-pop, K-drama or palace tours. This month, Seoul offers foreign residents a chance to experience a side of Korea rooted in the country’s musical traditions. The Seoul Foreign Resident Center is recruiting 25 foreign residents for a group visit to the National Gugak Center’s “Saturday Masterpiece” performance, a long-running showcase of traditional Korean performing arts. The program features a mix of royal court music, folk music, tr

2026-06-08 11:28:31:00

The next AI battle is not over outputs, but control

Korea Herald correspondent Choi Jeong-yoon SAN FRANCISCO, US — Inside what used to be a warehouse along San Francisco's waterfront, hundreds of technology companies, filmmakers, designers, creators and AI startups gathered this week to discuss what many believe is the next chapter of artificial intelligence. As generative artificial intelligence rapidly expands to individuals and enterprises, Upscale Conference focused on a future in which AI is no longer simply a tool for generating images, vid

2026-06-05 17:59:30:00

AI creators, tech leaders gather in San Francisco for Upscale Conf

Korea Herald correspondent Choi Jeong-yoon SAN FRANCISCO, US — Upscale Conf, a two-day event on artificial intelligence and creative production, opened Wednesday in San Francisco, bringing together creators, filmmakers, technologists and business leaders to discuss how generative AI is changing industries from design and advertising to filmmaking and marketing. Held at The Midway and organized by AI image upscaling company Magnific, the conference features speakers from technology companies, med

2026-06-04 01:08:26:00

How Setlog became Korea’s unexpected new blind date tool

Dating in South Korea once followed a familiar playbook: a friend or colleague arranged a blind date, profiles and photos were exchanged over KakaoTalk, a few polite messages followed and two strangers met over coffee or dinner to decide whether there was chemistry. Now, some young Koreans are trying a different route: watching short clips of each other’s daily lives before deciding whether to meet at all. The trend is known as “Setlog blind dating,” a matchmaking format built around Setlog, a s

2026-06-03 13:22:26:00

When AI becomes doctor, therapist and confidant

A post about a woman seeking repeated reassurance from an artificial intelligence chatbot over health concerns has sparked debate in South Korea over how deeply generative AI is infiltrating people’s emotional lives and decision-making. The post, shared on the workplace community platform Remember, said the writer’s girlfriend, who has health anxiety, spends up to three hours talking to Gemini and often worries that minor physical discomfort could be a sign of serious illness. “She asks Gemini t

2026-06-03 07:00:00:00

Earth is likely to break another heat record

The world has an 86 percent chance of experiencing its hottest year on record between 2026 and 2030, according to a new report released by the World Meteorological Organization. The report, known as the Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update 2026-2035, was led by the UK Met Office and incorporated 250 climate model projections from 13 institutions worldwide, including the Korea Meteorological Administration. The WMO projected that the global average near-surface temperature from 2026 to 2030 wi

2026-06-03 06:00:00:00

Global hotel booking apps under fire over hidden costs

More than half of consumers who used global accommodation booking platforms reported financial losses, according to a Seoul city government survey released Monday. The survey found that 55 percent of 1,000 respondents who had used overseas lodging platforms within the past three years suffered financial losses when booking accommodations through services including Agoda, Airbnb, Expedia, Booking.com, Trip.com and Hotels.com. The findings come as Seoul seeks stronger oversight of overseas booking

2026-06-01 14:39:41:00

Can Korean milk survive the era of tariff-free imports?

As tariff-free milk products from the United States and Europe begin to arrive, South Korea's dairy industry is raising concerns that domestic products may not survive competition due to high pricing and excessive local production compared to demand. Koreans consumed 22.9 kilograms of fresh milk per person last year, down 9.5 percent from the previous year and the lowest level recorded in more than four decades, according to data from the Korea Dairy Committee. This trend is thought to reflect b

2026-05-31 17:51:45:00