Author: Seoul Reporter

Elon Musk’s AI firm xAI is on the heart of an argument over the unfold of deepfake pictures. AFP-YonhapAs Elon Musk’s synthetic intelligence firm xAI faces backlash over deepfake pictures, Korea’s Framework Act on the Improvement of Synthetic Intelligence is about to take impact subsequent week. All eyes are on whether or not this laws — the world’s first complete AI regulation — can successfully fulfill its position.Nevertheless, skepticism is rising concerning the regulation’s effectiveness, with many predicting it is going to face sensible hurdles in blocking xAI’s deepfake companies or limiting entry. Trade officers mentioned Tuesday that xAI’s AI…

Chef Choi Kang-rok in a scene from Netflix’s “Culinary Class Wars” Season 2 / Courtesy of NetflixNetflix’s cooking present “Culinary Class Wars” Season 2 got here to an finish Tuesday, abandoning greater than only a winner and a 300 million received ($203,129) prize.Whereas the competitors was fierce, it additionally felt like a heat message to everybody working laborious in their very own lives.On the heart of this emotion was the competition’s winner Choi Kang-rok.For over a decade, Choi had been identified to the general public as a specialist in braised dishes, a label that introduced him fame but in addition…

LG Innotek CEO and President Moon Hyuk-soo (proper) and Gwangju Metropolitan Metropolis Mayor Kang Ki-jung pose for a commemorative picture after signing an funding settlement (MOU) at Gwangju Metropolitan Metropolis Corridor on Jan. 13. (Photograph courtesy of LG Innotek) LG Innotek will develop its Gwangju plant to reinforce automotive utility processor (AP) module manufacturing line amenities. The corporate plans to develop its presence within the quickly rising automotive AP module market, which is linked to the event of future car applied sciences similar to autonomous driving, and additional contribute to fostering the automotive supplies and elements business within the…

College students paint throughout a minhwa class provided by the Korea Minhwa Affiliation based mostly in Seoul’s Insa-dong, Jan. 6. Korea Occasions photograph by Kim Se-jeong “Dip your most interesting brush in shade. Preserve your brush vertical — this is essential. Decrease it gently onto the paper. Don’t apply stress. You’ll see tiny yellow dots seem,” a instructor instructed college students studying Korean conventional people portray, whereas demonstrating how you can add stamen and pistil to a peony portray throughout a category in Insa-dong, central Seoul, Jan. 6.Referred to as minhwa, Korean people portray thrived throughout the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).…

Han Dong-hoon, middle, former chief of the primary opposition Folks Energy Get together, is surrounded by the press and supporters as he enters the Nationwide Meeting in Seoul, Wednesday, to carry a press convention. Joint Press Corps An inner rift in the primary opposition Folks Energy Get together (PPP) was seen to be intensifying Wednesday after its ethics committee voted to expel former chief Han Dong-hoon over allegations his household posted defamatory feedback about former President Yoon Suk Yeol.The ethics panel introduced the choice in a late-night assembly Tuesday, saying Han shall be expelled for actions deemed “extraordinarily damaging to…

Reporters take images of SK hynix’s reminiscence chip video on the firm’s sales space at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Friday (native time). YonhapPatent claims filed by Non-Working towards Entities (NPEs) in america are rising as a danger for Korean chipmakers, as Washington is more and more leaning in favor of patent holders, forcing corporations to incur higher authorized prices by defending themselves in opposition to so-called “patent trolls.”The U.S. Patent Trial and Attraction Board (PTAB) on Friday (native time) rejected two petitions filed by SK hynix in August 2025 in search of to invalidate patents held by Superior Reminiscence…

Jobseekers examine the recruitment board on the 2025 KB Good Job Daejeon Job Competition held on the Daejeon Conference Heart in Doryong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon on Nov. 19. (Captured from MBC) The annual variety of employed individuals in South Korea final 12 months elevated by 193,000, a determine that was discovered to be in step with the federal government’s employment forecast. Nevertheless, issues are rising over the qualitative deterioration of the job market, as employment for the youth and people of their 40s noticed a simultaneous decline final 12 months. Based on the “December 2025 and Annual…

Even after his hit sequence “Taxi Driver” wrapped up, actor Lee Je-hoon stays Korea’s most talked-about drama star.In response to big-data model rankings launched in January 2026, Lee ranked primary within the drama actor model repute index, beating out Jang Ki-yong in second place and Park Search engine marketing-joon in third. The outcomes measure how a lot consideration, dialogue and on-line engagement every actor generates throughout information retailers, social media and fan communities.The Korea Company Fame Analysis Institute stated it analyzed greater than 80,187,626 knowledge factors associated to 100 actors who appeared in tv dramas between Dec. 14, 2025 and…

President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shake fingers at Horyuji Temple in Nara prefecture, Japan, Wednesday. YonhapNARA, Japan — President Lee Jae Myung visited Horyuji Temple with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi Wednesday, partaking in a pleasant cultural trade aimed toward highlighting the rising goodwill between the 2 international locations.On the second day of Lee’s go to to Japan, the 2 leaders appeared relaxed and cordial all through the go to. Takaichi, who arrived on the temple forward of schedule, greeted Lee upon his arrival. As they shook fingers, Lee remarked with concern that her fingers…

Minhwa artist Kim Kyung-hee stands subsequent to her work “Paljundo,” that includes eight horses throughout an interview with The Korea Instances in her Seoul residence studio, Dec. 26, 2025. Korea Instances photograph by Kim Se-jeongWhen Kim Kyung-hee first picked up a standard Korean paint brush, she wasn’t chasing a lifelong dream. A former stay-at-home mother with a grasp’s in Western portray, she was recovering from sickness and trying to find one thing to anchor her once more. What she discovered, unexpectedly, was minhwa — a once-dismissed type of Korean people portray rooted in on a regular basis hopes and symbols…