Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea

Ahead of President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to Mongolia, Ambassador Sukhee Sukhbold outlines plans for deeper cooperation on rare earths, health, the environment and regional diplomacy. Seoul's ambassadors are often gastronomes keen to share a taste of their home cuisine. In this series, the Korea JoongAng Daily asks the diplomatic corps to introduce our readers to their favorite restaurants re...

A new analysis of state media footage traces North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter from a protected child to a figure increasingly presented as preparing for power. [A STUDY OF KIM JONG-UN 12] Rows of North Korean naval generals stood in formation and saluted without hesitation. Then came a strikingly incongruous scene: A smiling 10-year-old girl casually extended her hand to each of them in...

Huh Min is a dinosaur expert. He even has a dinosaur named after him, thanks to his contributions to Korea's paleontology. That made his appointment as chief of the Korea Heritage Service last year quite unexpected. Many wondered what a scholar best known for studying prehistoric life could contribute to the agency overseeing the nation's heritage — especially since 2026 marks a critical milestone...

A new exhibition at the National Museum of Korea explores several millennia of Korean dining, from charred rice grains and royal banquets to ssam, seafood and the everyday habits that shaped modern K-food. What defines K-food? Is it the ingredients, the cooking method or the way it's presented? The National Museum of Korea offers its own answer at the recently opened exhibition "The Korean Table:...

If you suffer from a condition that traps you in the past, forgetting is no longer an option. *The series is based on the real-life experience of Kim Nam-young, a JoongAng Ilbo reporter currently living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The following articles are written from Kim's first-person perspective. Itaewon is a well-known nightlife district in Yongsan District, central Seoul, an...

As fall approaches, the specter of a tragedy and its possible reoccurrence lingers while the need for remorse, accountability, and social healing remains crucial. *The series is based on the real-life experience of Kim Nam-young, a JoongAng Ilbo reporter currently living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The following articles are written from Kim's first-person perspective. Itaewon is a...

The National Museum of Korea opens its first large-scale Thai art exhibition on June 23, featuring rare masterpieces from 21 Thai national museums and free admission through June 30. Standing atop a lotus pedestal, the Buddha places his left foot forward while slightly lifting his right heel. His thin monastic robe appears to flutter like a feather, drawing viewers into a serene, contemplative sta...

A close reading of Kim Jong-un's body language and rhetoric shows how North Korea's leader rebounded from the 2019 Hanoi summit collapse to gain new leverage with China and Russia, reshaping South Korea's security environment. [A STUDY OF KIM JONG-UN 10] Feb. 28, 2019, is a day North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will never forget. It is the date of the "no deal Hanoi summit," in which U.S. President...

The boy band launched its first Asia tour with two concerts, showcasing its signature youthful energy alongside new unit performances that revealed the group's growing musical range. Youth was prevalent in every form possible at K-pop boy band TWS's kickoff concert for its Asia tour at the KSPO Dome in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Sunday. There was the bubbly kind, the grungy kind, the roma...

A decade-long analysis of North Korean state media suggests Pyongyang 's break with Seoul started after the collapse of the 2019 Hanoi summit, when liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in was in office. [A STUDY OF KIM JONG-UN 9] On the night of Sept. 19, 2018, at the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium on Rungra Island in Pyongyang, then-President Moon Jae-in stood before 150,000 cheering North Korean...

What was once career kryptonite, at least for a year and a half or so, is now little more than an inconvenience for fans as celebrities go into enlistment with stockpiles of content. For most K-pop stars, mandatory military service brings careers to a screeching halt, at least temporarily. Park Ji-hoon, however, isn't dreading the pause in the slightest, even as he begins to reach new heights. The...

Hidden triggers, from abandoned shoes to the Jeju Air crash, continued to reopen my trauma. But treatment helped me endure. *The series is based on the real-life experience of Kim Nam-young, a JoongAng Ilbo reporter currently living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The following articles are written from Kim's first-person perspective. I have PTSD. Itaewon is a well-known nightlife dist...

*The series is based on the real-life experience of Kim Nam-young, a JoongAng Ilbo reporter currently living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The following articles are written from Kim's first-person perspective. I have PTSD. Itaewon is a well-known nightlife district in Yongsan District, central Seoul, and a popular spot for Halloween celebrations because of its diverse international...

Seoul's Gold Pig Restaurant has become Korea's most coveted barbecue spot through premium pork, exacting grill technique and a celebrity following from BTS to Donald Trump Jr. BTS, G-Dragon, Blackpink and IU. These A-list K-pop stars have all been spotted dining at this place. The list doesn't end there. Hollywood actors Chris Hemsworth and James Franco, American rapper Kanye West and British foot...

In an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily, Norway Ambassador to Korea Anne Kari Hansen Ovind discussed Koreans' appetite for Norwegian seafood, the two countries' growing bilateral ties in defense and Arctic research, and how to build democratic trust. Seoul's ambassadors are often gastronomes keen to share a taste of their home cuisine. In this series, the Korea JoongAng Daily asks the diplom...

[A STUDY OF KIM JONG-UN 6] North Korea's approach to quarantine during the Covid-19 pandemic was brutally straightforward. Anyone displaying symptoms, arriving from overseas or coming into contact with either group was designated a "medical surveillance subject" and placed under isolation. "Quarantine is a polite way of putting it," one North Korean defector recalled in testimony obtained by Amnes...

PTSD can take years to rear its head, and when it does, society plays a considerable role in healing. Sometimes, however, support is lacking, and sometimes, that's deliberate. *The series is based on the real-life experience of Kim Nam-young, a JoongAng Ilbo reporter currently living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The following articles are written from Kim's first-person perspective....

After the illness entered my life, it was my psychiatrist who held me together inside the consultation room. Outside the clinic, it was the handful of people who knew about my illness — my partner and close friends — who kept me going. *The series is based on the real-life experience of Kim Nam-young, a JoongAng Ilbo reporter currently living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The followi...

For a long time, I wondered why I reacted so strongly to things that seemed minor. It was only through treatment and time that I realized it was not a matter of willpower; it was a consequence of physical changes in the brain. *The series is based on the real-life experience of Kim Nam-young, a JoongAng Ilbo reporter currently living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The following articl...

For many K-pop listeners, ONF's name is tied first and foremost to its music — polished, melody-driven songs that have earned the boy band a reputation for bright, lyrical pop with an unmistakably K-pop sound. With its latest album, "ONF: My Self," the sextet stays true to that identity with its lead single "Open The Door," a surging effort that captures the rush of emotion felt at the moment of o...

Jinjujip has built a loyal following with its rich oxtail soup, preserving a three-generation legacy in Seoul's fish-focused Namdaemun Market. Inside a narrow galchijorim (spicy braised cutlassfish) alley just west of Namdaemun Market in central Seoul, one diner is waging a solitary battle, serving oxtail soup in a neighborhood dominated by fish dishes. Yet its presence is quite significant. The d...

Generative AI is helping smaller law firms compete with larger rivals. But for independent lawyers, it's an entirely different story. The shift has been especially painful for newly licensed lawyers. Tasks once assigned to junior associates — such as carrying out legal research, writing case summaries and drafting documents — are increasingly being handled by AI tools. The shift has reduced hiring...

Queer international students describe their university experiences as shaped less by open rejection than by limited awareness and institutional support For most international students, arriving in Korea means navigating a familiar set of challenges: keeping up with classes, making friends and adjusting to a new culture. For LGBTQ+ students, however, another question often lingers beneath those con...

Analysis of the North Korean leader's body language demonstrates a regression to the insecure behavior that characterized his early reign. [A STUDY OF KIM JONG-UN 5] As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un strolled through the gardens of the Metropole Hanoi in Vietnam on Feb. 28, 2019, after a one-on-one meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, smiles crossed his face — seemingly at the sound of chirp...

Analysts warn Kim Jong-un may apply Ukraine war lessons to the Korean Peninsula, using drone swarms, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to overwhelm the South. Russia's battlefield tactics and technology transfers could reshape North Korea's modern war strategy. [A STUDY OF KIM JONG-UN 4] Russia's massive drone and missile strikes against Ukraine in December last year exposed a new reality of...