[Exclusive] Gumi City faces backlash over video featuring blackface

A promotional video posted to the official YouTube channel of the city of Gumi in North Gyeongsang Province is facing public backlash for featuring what appears to be a character in blackface. The Gumi City Government uploaded the video on Oct. 30 to promote its ramyeon festival, held from Friday to Sunday. In the clip, actors dressed as characters from “Dooly the Little Dinosaur,” a beloved Korean cartoon that first aired in 1983, sing a song celebrating ramyeon. Among the characters is Michael

Nov. 9, 2025

No bomb found after online threat prompts moviegoers' evacuation in Seoul

About 100 people were evacuated from a Seoul department store after a fake bomb threat was posted online, but no explosives were found, authorities said Sunday. The threat appeared late Saturday on the online community DC Inside, warning readers to "bolt out of the Lotte Department Store in Seoul right now" and claiming that five explosives had been planted on the second floor, according to police and fire officials. An anti-terrorism response team and other officers were dispatched to 10 Lotte

Nov. 9, 2025

Seoul chief prosecutor offers to resign following decision not to appeal development scandal case

Jung Jin-woo, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, offered to resign Saturday, the office said, a day after prosecutors decided not to appeal a ruling in a high-profile development scandal case. His offer came just four months after taking office, in what is seen as a protest against the prosecution's decision not to file an appeal, reportedly in line with the justice ministry's opinion that the case did not warrant one. Last Friday, the Seoul Central District Court sentenc

Nov. 8, 2025

Search continues for 2 missing from structure collapse at power plant

Search efforts continued Saturday to locate two workers missing from a collapsed boiler tower at a thermal power plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan, with preparations under way to dismantle nearby units to facilitate the operation, authorities said. The boiler tower at the Ulsan branch of Korea East-West Power Co., a state-run utility, collapsed Thursday, leaving three workers dead and two others presumed dead. The exact location of the remaining two workers remains unknown. Firefighters ha

Nov. 8, 2025

Red Cross chief tenders resignation as president orders audit over alleged racism

Kim Chul-soo, president of the Korean National Red Cross, reportedly tendered his resignation following controversy over reports that he made racist remarks against foreign national ambassadors in 2023. Kim told Red Cross officials that he will step down from the post, reported local media outlet News 1, citing the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee. He issued an apology to the state-affiliated organization's officials, saying his comments cannot be justified for any reason. The ne

Nov. 7, 2025

Rain to blanket South Korea over weekend

Most parts of South Korea are expected to see cloudy skies and intermittent rain over the weekend, with mild daytime temperatures, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Friday. According to the KMA, light rain will begin late Friday along the coast of Gangwon Province. On Saturday, the showers will move south, reaching Jeju Island in the late afternoon and extending to the southern coast of South Jeolla Province. By evening, rain is forecast to fall across South Chungcheong Province, the

Nov. 7, 2025

Ulsan police launch task force to investigate fatal powerplant accident

The Ulsan Metropolitan Police have formed a special investigation team to probe the deadly collapse of a boiler tower at Korea East-West Power Co.'s Ulsan thermal power plant on Thursday. The task force, led by the chief of the agency’s criminal investigation unit, includes more than 70 officers from the scientific investigation and digital forensics divisions. Investigators are expected to focus on possible charges of occupational negligence resulting in death. Authorities will examine the rela

Nov. 7, 2025

Chinese military-like events under fire amid growing anti-China sentiment

A series of local events reminiscent of the Chinese military is fanning ire online, amid rising anti-China sentiment following South Korea’s recent visa-free entry program for Chinese tourist groups. Videos and photos of a group of Chinese nationals marching in formation at Yeouido Hangang Park, Seoul, while wearing military-style uniforms spread across online communities and social media Friday, prompting a wave of criticism from Korean users. In one video shared on X, dozens of Chinese nationa

Nov. 7, 2025

Counterfeit K-beauty floods the market, most shoppers can't tell the difference

A wave of counterfeit Korean beauty products is sweeping across global markets, with knockoffs so convincing that many consumers don’t know they’ve been duped until it’s too late. This year alone, losses tied to intellectual property theft targeting South Korean beauty brands have skyrocketed to 22 billion won ($15.1 million), according to data from the Korea Customs Service released by lawmaker Cha Gyu-geun's office. That marks a staggering 24-fold increase from last year. The vast majority of

Nov. 7, 2025

Man arrested for sexual exploitation, luring victims with promise of doctored images

South Korean police said Friday they have arrested one of the main culprits of a group that sexually exploited 342 people, luring them with offers to make embarrassing fake photos of their acquaintances and then using the deal to threaten them. Officials of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's cybercrime unit said the 21-year-old suspect was arrested on Oct. 19, and his case has been forwarded to the prosecution with physical detention. He is accused of organizing a criminal group, threat and

Nov. 7, 2025

Early flu season leads to surge in influenza cases: data

South Korea saw a rapid rise in influenza cases in the last week of October, data showed Friday, as 2025-26 flu season started some two months earlier than last year The number of patients showing influenza symptoms in the 44th week of this year (Oct. 26-Nov. 1) was 22.8 per 1,000 patients, up 67.6 percent from 13.6 the previous week, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The state-run disease control body defines influenza cases of 9.1 per 1,000 as the threshold for nati

Nov. 7, 2025

Korean shoppers pull back from overseas apps over safety concerns, Seoul survey finds

Nearly half of Korean consumers who buy from overseas e-commerce platforms say they are scaling back due to concerns about product safety, according to a new survey released Friday by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The city’s Electronic Commerce Center found that 45.3 percent of respondents with cross-border shopping experience had reduced purchases from overseas platforms due to safety issues. Only 5.4 percent said they had increased their overseas shopping. The rest said they had either be

Nov. 7, 2025

Passersby lift car to rescue child pinned underneath

A group of passersby helped rescue a young boy, lifting the vehicle he was trapped under. Accroding to reports, the elementary school boy was hit by a car at around 9 p.m. on Thursday in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, while crossing the road on a bicycle. The vehicle came to a stop, but the child was trapped under the front bumper of the car. Nearby witnesses quickly gathered, and 10 people worked together to lift the car while others pulled him from under the vehicle. The boy is curren

Nov. 7, 2025

Death toll rises to 3 in Ulsan power plant collapse

Two more workers have been confirmed dead as of early Friday afternoon from the boiler tower collapse at a thermal power plant in Ulsan, as rescue efforts continued. The collapse occurred Thursday at the Ulsan branch of Korea East-West Power Co., a state-run utility, trapping seven workers under debris. One victim was pronounced dead at 4:53 a.m. Friday. Another worker rescued at 9:06 a.m. was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital, while the third victim, rescued at 11:15 a.m., was pro

Nov. 7, 2025

Heritage chief warns Seoul's project may endanger Jongmyo Shrine's UNESCO status

South Korea's heritage chief has warned that the Seoul metropolitan government's decision to allow a high-rise building to be built directly across from Jongmyo Shrine could lead to the sacred site being stripped of its UNESCO World Heritage status. Huh Min, the head of the Korea Heritage Service, expressed "deep regret" at the National Assembly on Wednesday over the local government's recent approval to significantly raise the height limit for a city-led redevelopment project in the Sewun 4 Dis

Nov. 7, 2025