Let details do the talking this summer

Summer wardrobes leave little room to hide. With fewer layers to work with, a single accessory or unexpected pair of shoes carries more weight than in any other season. The following is what is showing up on the street now and on the runway this year. Toes on display The strangest silhouette of the season has turned out to be the most fashionable: shoes that separate the toes, from barefoot styles that split all five to Tabi styles that isolate only the big toe. Vibram FiveFingers led the shift.

2026-07-21 13:55:26:00

Hotel kimchi brands expand their reach abroad

Korean hotel kitchens are pushing their kimchi further overseas, one bound for California and the other to the duty-free aisles of Seoul's airports. Walkerhill Hotels & Resorts said it has exported its premium kimchi brand, Supex Kimchi, to the US for the first time. The shipment comprises about 1 metric ton of product across three varieties sold in 1-kilogram packages: baechu kimchi made with cabbage, pa kimchi made with scallions and gat kimchi made with mustard leaves. The kimchi arrives at t

2026-07-20 14:12:48:00

BTS brings Red Devils styling to World Cup halftime stage

BTS took the stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final sporting the colors of Korea's Red Devils supporters, turning the tournament's first-ever halftime show into a tribute to the national team's fans. The K-pop sensation performed Sunday at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, co-headlining the 11-minute set with Madonna, Shakira and Justin Bieber. The group was styled in black, red and white with Red Devils scarves worn as belts and silver drop necklaces with whistle penda

2026-07-20 11:00:17:00

Inside Sonny's condo in Seoul: Eterno Cheongdam

Residents are designed not to cross paths. Service staff slips through hidden back corridors, guests are received in a separate lounge, and a fingerprint is all that opens the door. That is how Eterno Cheongdam looks after the 29 households in its single Cheongdam-dong tower, among them national soccer team captain Son Heung-min, who owns the most expensive home in the country. High-end residences trade on exclusivity. Few do so as hard as the building that has topped Korea's property valuations

2026-07-20 10:19:55:00

From thrift to taste, resale reshapes how consumers shop

Despite weekly drops from fast-fashion brands and fast-moving trend cycles, a growing number of consumers are shopping differently. For Generation Z, shopping is less about browsing department stores or following platform rankings and more about "digging," scouring secondhand platforms and shops to unearth pieces that match their taste. That shift, driven by rising living costs and value-driven spending, has pushed secondhand consumption out of the margins and into the mainstream. The numbers ba

2026-07-19 16:45:41:00

Chill out this summer with immersive horror experiences

Koreans have long held that a good fright is the cheapest air conditioner. This summer, theme parks and film sets across the country are testing that theory with immersive horror programs that put visitors inside the story. Korean Folk Village in Yongin The folk village in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, runs two horror attractions. "A Haunted Den" lasts roughly five minutes. Visitors enter in groups of four through what looks like an abandoned hanok, so dark that staff hand out a flashlight at the e

2026-07-19 14:41:56:00

Busan eyes World Heritage status for Korean War legacy

For 1,023 days during the Korean War (1950-53), Busan was the capital of South Korea. The city housed the presidential office, the government complex and some 1 million refugees, on top of its existing population of about 400,000. That chapter of history, remnant in brick buildings, hillside settlements and a working pier, is now on track for UNESCO World Heritage status. The city plans to submit the Sites of the Wartime Capital for UNESCO's preliminary assessment in September, aiming for inscri

2026-07-19 09:00:00:00

Why Korea's tidal flats expansion matters beyond the map

South Korea's "getbol," or tidal flats, are poised to be added to UNESCO's World Heritage List as the World Heritage Committee convenes in the country's southeastern port city, Busan. The International Union for Conservation of Nature recommended the inscription of "Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats Phase II" in June, and the committee is expected to take it up on July 25. The expansion adds tidal flats in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, and Goheung, Muan and Yeosu in South Jeolla Province. If appr

2026-07-19 09:00:00:00

[Photo News] Fendi celebrates Chiuri's debut collection in Seoul

Fendi ambassador Bang Chan of Stray Kids, along with actors Ko Hyun-jung, Kim Min-ha, Jung Chae-yeon and Kim Jae-won, showed off items from the Italian luxury house's 2026 fall-winter collection — the debut collection of creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri — at a launch event held at Fendi Palazzo Seoul in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, on Wednesday. The collection, presented under the motto "Less I, More Us," reinterprets the house's heritage through Chiuri's vision. A display on the main wall of the

2026-07-17 16:01:19:00

Decaf demand surges in coffee-crazed Korea

In a country where the average person drinks 416 cups of coffee a year, the fastest-growing order at the counter is the one without the caffeine kick. Decaffeinated coffee, long dismissed as a fallback for pregnant women and the caffeine-sensitive, has emerged as one of the hottest growth categories in Korea's cafe industry, powered by consumers who want a cup of coffee in the evening without a sleepless night. The numbers show demand rising fast. Korea imported 5,387 tons of decaffeinated coffe

2026-07-17 15:00:36:00