Author: Seoul Reporter

Is a monster born or made?That was the query Ban Ji-un requested herself whereas adapting her webtoon “Expensive X” right into a Tving drama. By the fourth episode of the thriller-romance, it’s clear: Baek Ah-jin (Kim You-jung) wasn’t born a monster. She turned one.As a toddler, Ah-jin endured brutal abuse — first from her alcoholic mom, then her father and stepmother. By the point she reaches adolescence, the principles of life have been clear: Nobody will shield you, so use them earlier than they use you. Behind her flawless magnificence and sharp intelligence, Ah-jin hides psychopathic tendencies and talent in…

The USS Gerald R. Ford plane service has arrived in waters close to Latin America, becoming a member of a large naval buildup that has fueled hypothesis the Trump administration intends to dramatically escalate its lethal counternarcotics marketing campaign there, probably by direct assaults on Venezuela.

1000’s of employees at Hyundai Motor’s auto elements suppliers in Alabama have allegedly confronted stagnant wages and worsening working circumstances, which the report attributes partially to the systematic use of jail labor, in accordance with a brand new report from Columbia College’s Labor Lab and Jobs to Transfer America (JMA).Jail labor for company revenue is technically authorized within the U.S. as a result of inmates are paid. In follow, nevertheless, they earn far lower than non-incarcerated employees, a disparity that Hyundai Motor’s U.S. suppliers are accused of exploiting to suppress total wages, in accordance with the report.Drawing on responses from…

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Korea Model & Leisure Expo 2025 New York (KBEE) marked one other chapter within the international enlargement of Korean tradition, merchandise and leisure, highlighting how the recognition of Okay-culture is more and more translating into actual financial worth. Hosted by the Commerce Ministry and the state-run Korea Commerce-Funding Promotion Company (KOTRA), the expo, held from Thursday by way of Saturday (native time) at American Dream in New Jersey, underscored the enduring international recognition of Okay-culture, also called “hallyu” or the Korean wave, attracting a whole lot of companies and tens of 1000’s of holiday makers…

(Captured from G-STAR web site) Roblox, an internet platform the place customers can play and create tens of millions of user-generated video games and experiences, has recognized the Korean gaming market because the fastest-growing market on the planet and analyzed that it’s going to develop at a mean annual charge of 10.5% by means of 2030. Roblox shared the Korea Financial Influence 2025 report containing these findings at a press briefing held at Andaz Resort in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on Nov. 11. In keeping with the report analyzed by Roblox and international financial advisory agency Entry Partnership, the…

Export containers are stacked at Pyeongtaek Port in Pyeongtaek Metropolis, Gyeonggi Province. (Captured from Pyeongtaek Port YouTube channel) Korea’s export progress charge subsequent yr is projected to stay at solely 0.9% on account of financial downturns in goal nations and provide oversupply originating from China. Exports within the automotive, metal, and petrochemical sectors are forecasted to expertise unfavourable progress, whereas the semiconductor trade, which serves as a pillar of exports, is anticipated to see export progress charges stay within the late 1% vary. Consultants level out that the federal government ought to give attention to creating…

Tatsuya Nakadai, an actor rivaled solely by Toshiro Mifune because the best-known star of Twentieth-century Japanese cinema, died Nov. 8. He was 92.The trigger was pneumonia, in keeping with an announcement from Mumeijuku, an performing faculty and theater firm he based in Tokyo.

The flags of South Korea and the prosecution service fly outdoors the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Workplace on Nov. 9, 2025. (Yonhap) The Korean prosecution service’s determination to not enchantment a court docket ruling in a high-profile corruption case with connections to Korean President Lee Jae Myung has prompted a revolt inside the service, with administrators of native branches issuing statements and rank-and-file prosecutors on the Supreme Prosecutors’ Workplace (SPO) pushing for the resignation of performing Prosecutor Basic Noh Man-seok.Critics inside the service declare the management’s determination to not enchantment the Daejang neighborhood growth case will ship a “demise blow”…

Joel Wit, a former US official who helped negotiate the 1994 Agreed Framework with North Korea in Geneva, speaks at a seminar on the Stimson Middle in Washington, DC, on Oct. 28, 2025. (Kim Received-chul/Hankyoreh) Joel Wit, one of many working-level architects behind the 1994 Agreed Framework between the US and North Korea, thinks {that a} assembly between US President Donald Trump and North Korean chief Kim Jong-un could be “even riskier in the present day” than it was in 2019. Wit, who’s at the moment a distinguished fellow on the Stimson Middle, additionally argued that the prevailing view is that…

Vehicles parked at Pyeongtaek Port for export (Captured from Pyeongtaek Port YouTube channel) Exports from Nov. 1-10 continued their upward development, displaying robust efficiency pushed by semiconductors. In response to the Korea Customs Service on Nov. 11, export worth from the primary 10 days of this month was $15.8 billion, up 6.4% from the identical interval final yr. Every day common exports, contemplating working days, had been $2.26 billion, a rise of 6.4%. By merchandise, semiconductors (17.7%) and passenger automobiles (16.2%) confirmed double-digit progress charges. The semiconductor export share was 24.4% of…