"You have to go to your families and say, 'I am a student now, I have to study, so let's share the housework.'" Kim Sang-hyun, vice principal of Ilsung Women's Middle and High School, offered advice and encouragement to the students gathered in front of the platform on March 3 at Sinchon Methodist Church in western Seoul, at the school's entrance ceremony for the 2026 academic year. The women about to become middle and high school students did not dress or look like other students. They wore hanbok, traditional Korean clothing, instead of uniforms, and not one of them looked like typical teenagers worn down by a nagging parent. Among them was 77-year-old Lee Bok-gae, who was entering middle school that morning — an adult learner, one of the women who lost their chance at school due to financial difficulties and gender inequality in education. Born the eldest of seven children, studying became an elusive dream, as she had to work while caring for her younger siblings. That same day, her granddaughter became a middle school student, too. On her way to a different school, the girl waved

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Comedian Shin Bong-sun, who has drawn attention for her slimmer figure, turned down even a tempting snack to stay on track with her diet. Shin recently posted a photo of a black plastic bag on social media, writing, “Hotteok my older sister bought me from Namdaemun. I won't eat it.” She also shared a full-body photo taken at a gym, saying she was playing tennis and attending a personal training session. Shin previously revealed that she had lost 11 kilograms in just 100 days. She has since continued to exercise regularly and manage her diet. Hotteok: A calorie bomb with sugar and oil Hotteok is a snack made by filling wheat flour dough with a sweet filling and cooking it in oil. The carbohydrates in the dough, combined with sugar and oil, make the snack high in calories. Its calorie content varies depending on its size, filling ingredients and the amount of oil used during cooking. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's food nutrition database, hotteok containing nuts has 314 kilocalories per 100 grams. Eating a 150-gram hotteok

The late actor Choi Bul-am asked for a documentary to be made about his life while he was battling illness, it has belatedly been revealed. MBC aired a special encore broadcast of its documentary, "Paha, This Is Choi Bul-am," on Friday. Originally broadcast in May this year, the program revisits Choi's life and acting career through music in the format of a radio documentary. It was rebroadcast in tribute to the actor, who passed away on Thursday. During the program, viewers learned that Choi had personally approached the production team to request the documentary. According to an on-screen caption, "In 2025, while already undergoing treatment, actor Choi Bul-am called the production team himself and asked them to make a program that would look back on his life." The caption continued, "In response to his request, this documentary was broadcast in May this year, while he was still alive." Choi died at around 10 p.m. on Thursday at a hospital in Gangseo District, Seoul, where he had been receiving inpatient treatment. He was 87. Following surgery for a herniated disc last year, Choi report

Pianist Lim Dong-hyek will perform one of the most beloved works in the piano repertoire when he performs Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 under the baton of creative conductor Adriel Kim this November. Having scaled back his recent concert appearances, Lim will perform the concerto for the first time in four years, making the occasion a particularly meaningful encounter with audiences. The concert marks the first collaboration between Lim and Orchestra The Original. Audiences will be watching to see how Lim’s delicate touch and Kim’s meticulous conducting combine to create a distinctive musical dialogue. At the heart of the program is Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Written after the composer overcame a period of profound despair and regained his creative confidence, the work has remained a favorite among audiences for its lyrical melodies and sweeping emotions. Lim’s return to the concerto after four years adds another layer of anticipation, with listeners eager to hear how his interpretation has evolved over time. The concert’s title, “Reboot,” further undersc

The number of foreign nationals entering Korea through regional airports rose by more than 37 percent in the first nine months of this year, with arrivals from Taiwan surging by 60.4 percent, according to data released by the Korea Airports Corporation (KAC). An analysis of airport-by-airport arrival figures for January through September, released by KAC on Thursday, showed that 3.24 million foreign nationals entered the country through Gimhae, Jeju, Cheongju and Daegu airports, up 37.4 percent from the same period last year. By airport, arrivals increased 59.5 percent at Cheongju International Airport, 47.9 percent at Gimhae International Airport, 27.9 percent at Jeju International Airport and 0.8 percent at Daegu International Airport. By comparison, the number of foreign arrivals through Incheon and Gimpo international airports in the Seoul metropolitan area rose by just 17.2 percent over the same period. The Korea Airports Corporation attributed the trend to a growing number of foreign tourists entering Korea directly through regional airports, bypassing the capital region. Among fore

Popera tenor Lim Hyung-joo will pay his final respects to veteran actor Choi Bool-am by performing “Ave Maria” at the late actor’s funeral Mass. According to a representative for Choi’s family on Saturday, Lim will sing during the funeral Mass scheduled for 10 a.m. on Monday at Yeouido Catholic Church in Seoul. The Mass will be presided over by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung. “Ave Maria” is one of Lim’s signature pieces. Lim is said to have shared a particularly close relationship with Choi, whom he affectionately referred to as his "uncle by marriage." Following news of Choi’s death on Friday, Lim paid tribute to the late actor in a social media post. “I never imagined that my visit to see him in the hospital a few months ago would turn out to be our final goodbye,” Lim wrote. “I am deeply grateful that he always cherished my singing, attended my solo concerts with Aunt Kim Min-ja and offered me words of encouragement and wisdom. I love you, Uncle.” Lim also shared a photograph of himself with Choi, and recalled a conversation they had shared. “I still remember him

"Whenever you talk to an employee in their 20s, it's probably best to assume the entire conversation is being recorded." It is a warning increasingly shared among Korean managers in their 40s and 50s as they try to make sense of a generation of young employees whose workplace habits can seem baffling — and sometimes unsettling — to their bosses. Some older managers see low loyalty to the company and a lack of respect for senior colleagues. Gen Z workers, however, see something very different: a desire for clear communication, boundaries between work and private life and relationships based less on hierarchy. From recording conversations with bosses and avoiding unnecessary apologies to skipping team lunches and continuing to use honorific speech even with close colleagues, young Koreans are quietly rewriting some of the unwritten rules that have long governed the country's offices. Why record a conversation with your boss? For some middle managers, discovering that a young employee is recording a conversation without saying anything can be uncomfortable. Some even wonder whether the em

"I think the fall is getting to me." That's what a friend told me on the phone recently. "You're middle-aged now, and suddenly you're getting the autumn blues?" I said jokingly. He laughed awkwardly, then began telling me about his life lately. Seeing the darkening sky on his way home from work drains his energy. Once home, he lies on the couch and does nothing. Even after sleeping in on weekends, he doesn't feel refreshed. And after dinner, he finds himself reaching for bread and snacks. As I listened, I began to wonder whether it was really something that could simply be blamed on the season. In Korea, the expression "gaeul tada," literally "to be affected by autumn," carries a certain romanticism. It describes that wistful feeling that arrives with falling leaves, when even a familiar song can unexpectedly stir the emotions. But persistent sadness and lethargy, along with losing interest in hobbies once enjoyed, are a long way from romantic autumn melancholy. According to the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a "type of depression characterize

"Is it really true that meat tastes better if you flip it exactly twice? That might work for very thinly sliced pork belly. But with meat of ordinary thickness, juices move in the direction the heat is applied. If you want to keep the juices toward the center and make the meat moist, it's better to flip it frequently." Cha Ho-myung, a former chef with 26 years of experience who now leads the Meat&Food Food Solution Team at Sunjin Technology Research Institute, challenged a widely held belief about grilling meat as he taught the science behind cooking pork at Yaksan Dwaeji, a restaurant in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, on Oct. 14. The lesson was part of the practical training for "Grilling Meister," a private certification program introduced in 2021 by Sunjin, the agricultural and food company behind Sunjin Pork, Korea's first branded pork product. Candidates first take an online written test covering pork production, processing and nutrition. Then comes the centerpiece of the certification process: a practical exam for participants to demonstrate their skill in grilling "samgyeopsal", o

Lim, 40, a marketer at a large corporation, recently spent her Saturday and Sunday attending a class on Claude Code taught by a well-known instructor in Seoul’s Seocho District. Claude Code is an artificial intelligence (AI) coding agent developed by U.S.-based Anthropic. She learned how to set up a Claude Code environment, connect it to email, calendars and collaboration and document management tools, and automate repetitive tasks. The class had around a dozen office workers, and the atmosphere was “reminiscent of a high school senior classroom,” Lim said. During the two-day course, which ran for nine hours each day, participants reportedly stayed in their seats even during breaks. Lim paid 1 million won ($700) for the class. Despite the hefty price tag, she said the money was well spent. As she watched her colleagues become more proficient at using AI, she felt a fear of missing out or that she was falling behind. Lim is now applying what she learned at work. She uses AI not only to research marketing cases, compare materials and draft reports, but also to retrieve records of pa

After a series of women in Korea were killed after experiencing stalking, assault and threats from former partners or husbands, some potential victims are turning to private bodyguards to protect themselves. They are paying substantial sums out of pocket amid concerns that public protection measures, including emergency smartwatches and restraining orders, may not be enough to keep an attacker away. The government also provides private security services to some crime victims, but funding has failed to keep pace with rapidly growing demand. A 29-year-old woman living in North Jeolla Province, identified only as A, hired a bodyguard for four days in mid-October because her former boyfriend, identified as B, was about to be released from prison. B had served six months in prison for fraud-related offenses, including taking out loans in A's name. Her fears soon became reality. On the second day of the security assignment, B showed up at A's apartment complex. The bodyguard stopped him, warned him not to return and sent him away. "When my ex-boyfriend showed up, I was so scared that I cried," A

Ten of K-pop group NCT personally shut down dating rumors during a concert in the U.S., declaring himself "super duper single" after speculation about his relationship status spread online. Ten addressed recent rumors linking him to a woman who is not a celebrity during a stop on his "TEN US SHOWCASE TOUR" in Seattle on Thursday. "I know these days there have been so many crazy things going on on the internet," Ten said. "I want to clarify in front of you guys. I'm super duper single. I’m not dating anyone." Ten said he learned from his staff that the dating rumors had been circulating online. "If I were dating, I'd have to be Superman," he said. "With this busy schedule, right?" His comments suggested that his packed schedule leaves little room for a romantic relationship. Ten debuted in 2016 and has been active as a member of NCT as well as WayV, the group's China-based unit. He ended his exclusive contract with SM Entertainment in April. "We plan to continue coordinating so that Ten can participate in group activities," SM said at the time. In July, Ten co-founded creative company ILLIM

Ock Joo-hyun, a member of K-pop girl group Fin.K.L and a prominent musical theater actress, has addressed a court decision to begin a foreclosure auction of her luxury home in Seoul's Hannam-dong, which she purchased for 19 billion won ($13.3 million). Gemstone E&M, which represents Ock, said Thursday that the auction proceedings are part of a broader process involving business restructuring and debt settlement. "Ock Joo-hyun had developed concrete business plans and begun preparations centered around an existing corporate building in Sinsa-dong as she sought to launch new ventures in various fields, including performances, performance production and education," the company said. "During that process, she secured a large-scale investment from a business investment company." The company said Ock purchased the Hannam-dong property in April as the businesses and investment arrangements moved forward. "Following the recent completion of a merger and acquisition deal between Ock Joo-hyun's company and the investment firm, procedures are underway to settle existing matters, including debt rela

ENA’s Monday-Tuesday drama “Between Steps,” which portrays the awkward romance and growth of young people, is quietly gaining critical acclaim. It has ranked No. 1 in Korea and No. 5 globally in the Disney+ TV show category, according to FlixPatrol. The series is the final work of director Ahn Pan-seok, who died in August this year. His signature approach to romance of moving viewers through everyday words and glances, without rich corporate heirs or fantasy elements remained unmistakably his to the very end. Min-jae (Choo Young-woo), a doctoral student in robotics, is a guarded man who has never been in a relationship. Having lost a leg to bone cancer more than a decade ago and been forced to give up his dream of becoming a swimmer, he pretends to be unaffected but is full of thoughts and deeply afraid of being hurt. Yu-jin (Kim So-hyun), a junior researcher in his lab, boldly pursues him. Min-jae initially pushes her away, saying, “You’re too hot, like the sun,” but eventually decides to approach her. “Once I swallow something, I never spit it back out. I have to see it

“I waited five hours from 8 a.m. just to get inside. They said the wait had gotten shorter, so I didn’t have to stay up all night…” At a Pokémon card shop in Seoul’s Yongsan District on the afternoon of Oct. 23, college student Park, 19, smiled awkwardly as he showed off a newly purchased box of cards. On the screen of a waiting-list registration machine beside him, a notice read, “151 groups waiting, estimated wait time: 181 minutes.” Some customers appeared startled by the long wait and turned away. The popularity of Pokémon cards, featuring characters from the Japanese manga and animation franchise “Pokémon,” shows little sign of waning. At the Yongsan store in I’Park Mall, the outdoor garden on the seventh floor, where customers wait to enter, is packed every morning with people hoping to buy cards. Although there are no exact figures, more than 100 buyers routinely lay out mats and cover themselves with blankets as they wait for the store to open. A security guard said some people even arrive at 9 p.m. the previous night to secure a spot. Most endure the cold

A Korean man who was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for pouring boiling water on his sleeping Thai wife and causing severe burns has had his sentence reduced by six months on appeal. According to legal sources on Wednesday, the Uijeongbu District Court's Criminal Division 1, presided over by Judge Jeong Do-young, overturned the lower court's ruling and sentenced the man in his 40s to three years in prison at an appeal hearing on Oct. 22. The man had been indicted and detained on charges of aggravated injury. "The defendant reached a settlement with the victim under conditions including paying her 15 million won ($11,000), and the victim wishes the court to show leniency toward him," the appellate court said. "Considering all the sentencing factors presented during the proceedings, we find that the original sentence was too harsh and therefore unjust." The man was indicted on charges of pouring water boiled in an electric kettle over the face and neck of his Thai wife, identified as B, while she was sleeping at their home in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, on Dec. 3, 202

On Oct. 7, Wooriga Green Farm, a cherry tomato smart farm in Seobuk District in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, was filled with rows of tomato vines stretching nearly to the greenhouse ceiling. Ripe red tomatoes hung in clusters along both sides of the aisles. They were the last fruits of the summer growing season. The farm’s owner, Woo Min-jae, 32, is considered one of the region’s leading young farmers. He worked for a subcontractor of a major company in the Seoul metropolitan area from 2017 until late 2019, but lost his job when the factory relocated to China. Six years after leaving his job, Woo has transformed himself into a full-fledged farmer, operating a greenhouse operation covering 1,900 square meters. His farm generated 150 million won ($110,000) in revenue last year. Young people like Woo are becoming increasingly scarce in rural areas. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the rural farming population plunged from a little over 3 million in 2010 to just over 2 million in 2024. Over the same period, the proportion of farmers aged 65 and older surged fro

An elderly woman cleans a piano she cannot play and a car she cannot drive every day. The woman, Chun-hee (played by Kim Hye-ok), moves into a small apartment on her own after her husband dies. Cleaning her late husband’s piano and car seems to be Chun-hee’s way of mourning, as well as a kind of ritual that reminds her she is still alive. What appears to be a pointless daily chore leads to unexpected connections. When she meets Min-jun (Justin H. Min), a conductor who has come to Germany in search of his birth mother, and Seong-chan (Park Dae-ho), a teenage boy who dreams of becoming a pianist, a gentle new rhythm enters Chun-hee’s quiet life. The film “A Flowing Journey,” which was released Wednesday, follows people with seemingly nothing in common as they meet by chance and gradually find their way into one another’s lives. It portrays their individual stories and struggles without exaggeration, focusing instead on ordinary moments spent sharing meals and asking after one another. The lyrical piano melodies that run throughout the film create subtle ripples, adding depth

Former BIGBANG member Seungri, who is reportedly expecting his first child, has already legally married his pregnant girlfriend, according to a report. Ilgan Sports reported Tuesday that Seungri and his wife, who is pregnant, have registered their marriage and are legally married. The report came a day after Gray News reported that Seungri's girlfriend, who is in her 20s, is expecting a baby boy in January next year. The news that Seungri is set to become a father drew public attention, with the revelation that the couple had already registered their marriage emerging later. As news of the expected birth broke before any announcement of marriage, speculation arose that the couple had conceived before marriage. Seungri denied the speculation, saying he was not considering holding a wedding ceremony at this time. The couple is reportedly preparing for the birth. The news of Seungri's marriage and impending fatherhood has drawn additional attention as he recently faced a complaint over alleged special assault. In August, Seungri was accused of threatening a man with a soju bottle and assaulti

“Bite him!” “Fight!” “You know I’m a really dangerous guy, right?” On Friday, voice actors Park Sang-hoon and Choi Woo-sung were locked in a heated verbal exchange as they watched a screen at Pixelogic Korea’s studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. They were dubbing a one-on-one game between former martial arts fighters for the reality show “Physical: 100 Mexico.” As the actors delivered their lines in sync with the contestants’ movements and emotions, dubbing producer Kim Jeong-ryeong offered a steady stream of feedback: “Let me check the pronunciation,” “Make sure the microphone isn’t peaking” and “Your voice sounds a little hoarse.” “Physical: 100,” which pits 100 contestants with exceptional physical abilities against one another in extreme challenges, began as a Korean original reality show and has since spawned local adaptations in countries including Mexico and Italy. The scene observed that day was part of the Korean-language dubbing process. Dubbing involves translation, adaptation, voice casting, editing and mixing, and takes rough