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Seoul ranked 17th in Monocle magazine's 2026 Quality of Life Survey, making it the top city in Northeast Asia outside Japan, with the publication praising its democratic resilience and global cultural influence while flagging concerns over long working hours and heritage preservation.
Heavy rain battered South Korea's Gangwon Province, Jeju Island, and Busan on Saturday for the second consecutive day, closing mountain trails, raising landslide warnings, and disrupting the historic Gangneung Danoje Festival — though no casualties were reported.
South Korea's food safety, intellectual property, and customs agencies have signed a joint MOU with the cosmetics industry to combat a surge in counterfeit K-beauty products, which OECD data values at nearly 10 billion dollars in 2024.
South Korea's presidential office pushed back on North Korea's claim that denuclearization is an "irreversibly finalized" matter, reaffirming the goal as a consistent position of the international community backed by multiple UN Security Council resolutions.
South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back held back-to-back bilateral talks with his counterparts from the Philippines, Norway, and the Netherlands at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, pushing defense industry cooperation and calling for international support on the North Korea issue.
From a labor union honoring the May 18 Democratization Movement to a heated debate over South Korea's constitution in the face of North Korea's "two-state theory," and a major AI training push in Korea's industrial heartland — here's what's happening across the peninsula this week.
South Korea launched a new tripartite AI labor committee, Korea's top business lobby raised union law concerns with the ILO chief, and Daegu unveiled a bold deep tech startup city plan — all on the same day.
South Korea's budget retail giant Daiso has partnered with Lotte World to offer customers up to 45% off tickets to five major theme parks and attractions nationwide, with just a 10,000 won purchase required to qualify.
Busan has linked 71 global mobile payment platforms from 21 countries to its local Zero Pay merchant network, aiming to make it easier for foreign tourists to spend money in the city's neighborhoods, traditional markets, and small businesses.