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Industry
Seoul rentals ripe for institutional investors: Nuveen real estate CIO

Foreign institutional investors are increasingly eyeing Seoul’s nascent rental housing market, betting that demographic shifts, rising numbers of single-person households and growing foreign demand will accelerate Korea’s transition away from the traditional "jeonse" system, according to Nuveen. “The vast majority of Seoul’s rental housing stock is still owned by private individuals, with only a small share professionally managed,” Louise Kavanagh, chief investment officer and head of Asia Pacif
May 17, 2026 - 13:12:30
K-pop
Raf Sandou looks beyond ‘Show Me the Money’ toward lasting artistry

Since starring in the 12th season of “Show Me the Money,” rapper Raf Sandou has drawn attention for more than just his lyrics and delivery. Rather than using music primarily as a showcase for technical rapping, the 27-year-old has gained recognition for placing greater emphasis on the overall mood, sound and visual identity of his music. Many avid hip-hop listeners say Raf Sandou's willingness to experiment with unfamiliar sounds and aesthetics is what makes him unique. As one of Korea's more ex
May 16, 2026 - 16:00:00
Companies
Korean AI community takes grassroots push global

For most non-profit organizations, overseas volunteer work tends to revolve around language education or cultural exchange. But Datayanolja, Korea’s artificial intelligence community, has set its sight on a broader, more strategic mission: spreading Korea’s AI initiative and technologies across the world. Meaning "let’s play, data" in Korean, Datayanolja, which was founded in 2016 as a grassroots community, has evolved into a public-interest incorporated association that now sees itself as part
May 13, 2026 - 11:28:11
Economy
Korea-backed green fund to create new business opportunities: World Bank

South Korea can unlock more opportunities for its companies through the Korea Green Growth Trust Fund, a single-donor trust fund financed by Seoul and administered by the World Bank Group, a senior official at the multilateral lender said. Established within World Bank in 2011, KGGTF is a trust fund dedicated to sharing Korea's green innovation technologies and policy experience with developing countries. The KGGTF portfolio has supported 260 green growth programs and activities worldwide, amoun
May 10, 2026 - 12:28:02
Industry
Buldak is an experience, not just noodles: Samyang America CEO

Samyang Foods' record revenue of over 2 trillion won ($1.38 billion) last year laid bare just how much the US has come to matter to the Korean food company, with younger consumers turning its spicy Buldak noodles into both a culinary dare and an unlikely pantry staple. Much of that momentum traces back to early 2023, when Shin Yong-sik took the helm at Samyang America, which was a far smaller operation then than it is today. By 2025, the subsidiary had expanded to $419 million in revenue, with B
May 6, 2026 - 17:42:13
Technology
Sam Altman-backed Tools for Humanity eyes Korea as World ID testbed

Tools for Humanity, the San Francisco-based human verification company co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is betting on Korea as an early market for technology that proves whether online activity comes from a real person, as artificial intelligence agents and automated bots become harder to distinguish from human users. In an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Monday, David Park, general manager for Korea at Tools for Humanity, described World ID as the company’s human verification sy
May 6, 2026 - 14:21:06
Industry
FX risks from non-dollar stablecoins overstated: Coinbase exec

Won-backed stablecoins are unlikely to challenge dollar-denominated tokens in cross-border settlement and should first be viewed as domestic payment infrastructure, according to Hassan Ahmed, Singapore country director at Coinbase, a Nasdaq-listed US cryptocurrency exchange. "Rather than competing head-to-head, a won-backed stablecoin is likely to follow a different growth path in the near term, building on areas where it has natural advantages," Ahmed said in a recent written interview with The
May 5, 2026 - 11:43:55
Industry
[H.eco Tech Festa 2026] ReFeed builds jet fuel supply chain from 'liquid gold' waste oil

The future of aviation fuel may turn less on how it is produced than on how its raw materials are collected, according to ReFeed CEO Lee Chung-ho. The company is building a business around used cooking oil -- or what Lee calls "liquid gold" -- an increasingly critical feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF. With SAF mandates expanding in Europe and set to begin in Korea in 2027, demand for such feedstocks is expected to increase. "The success of the SAF industry depends not on producing
May 2, 2026 - 16:00:00
Performance
We are obsessed with 'Speed.' Where will it take us?

Korea has long been associated less with a sense of ease than with a culture of "bbali, bbali" ("hurry, hurry"). Speed often feels less like a preference than a condition of everyday life. The phrase has become familiar shorthand, echoed in everything from same-day delivery services to a digital ecosystem. Faster is better, waiting is discomfort and stillness feels like delay. Yet, ironically, traditional Korean dance is still often trapped in a set of stereotypes as slow, dull, sleepy. So chore
May 1, 2026 - 16:00:00
Market
Canton Network steps on the gas in Asia Pacific

JPMorgan, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Circle, Cumberland, Goldman Sachs and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. These are major institutions with massive public footprints that all have something in common: They’ve worked with Canton Network. Canton is a blockchain protocol linking Daml applications — Daml is an enterprise-grade, open-source smart contract language — defining who is entitled to see, and who is authorized to change any given contract. In practice, this allows transactions on shared infr
May 1, 2026 - 16:00:00
Industry
[H.eco Tech Festa 2026] KARI extracts value from battery wastewater

When much of the world still treats environmental compliance as a cost center, Yang Hee-gyoung, CEO of KARI Corp., a specialist in resource recovery from high-salinity wastewater, is making a more pragmatic case that pollution can pay. Speaking ahead of H.EcoTech Festa 2026, a forum on climate solutions and economic opportunity, Yang said converting environmental value into economic gain is now “a very realistic conversation.” In his view, that shift is most evident in industrial wastewater, lon
May 1, 2026 - 16:00:00
Performance
Jin Seo-yeon on playing this year’s most demanding role

With one hand, Brenda takes a call, unfurling a set of oversized architectural blueprints across her kitchen table with the other. Juggling work, the single mother tries to get her 8-year-old son, Jason, ready for school. He barely listens, clutching a game console and demanding ketchup for his omelet. At first, it reads like an ordinary morning — hurried, distracted, faintly chaotic. But the phone cuts through it, its ring sharp enough to turn heads. Brenda answers. She says nothing. Then she h
April 30, 2026 - 14:14:23
K-pop
Cravity reflect on growth, future as ‘Redefine’ marks new chapter

With its eighth EP “Redefine,” Cravity turns inward, using a six-track release to explore growth, uncertainty and the process of redefining itself. Fronted by the track “Awake,” the album reflects both a creative shift and a transitional moment for the group. The album comes at a meaningful point for Cravity. With the group now six years into their career and contract renewal decisions approaching, Wonjin said the members had discussed the future before preparing the comeback. “We talked about c
April 29, 2026 - 19:00:00
Economy
Is Korea becoming too dependent on chips? Moody’s weighs in

South Korea’s broader industrial base may give it a structural edge over Taiwan, but that advantage is increasingly under strain as the economy becomes more reliant on semiconductors, according to an economist at Moody's Analytics. While Seoul is often compared with Taipei for their similar economic size and heavy dependence on chips, Korea’s more diversified mix — spanning autos, machinery and other traditional industries — has historically provided a buffer against sector-specific shocks. But
April 29, 2026 - 14:58:12
Companies
[H.eco Tech Festa 2026] From firefighter coats to airline safety: 119REO's circular bet

Lee Seung-woo's company started with a missed fundraising goal that turned into something else entirely. In 2016 as a student at Konkuk University in Seoul, Lee joined a one-year campus venture project to raise money for a firefighter dying of a rare cancer. The team collected discarded turnout coats — the heavy aramid-fiber jackets Korean firefighters wear into burning buildings — and stitched them into bags and key rings. After 12 months, they had a small donation ready for the family. The fam
April 29, 2026 - 14:54:10