How might AI alter filmmaking? Young South Korean filmmaker Kwon Han-sl has shown the impact could be massive. The 31-year-old spent five days last summer working with over six AI tools to create a three-minute horror film. It was a personal experiment in which he handled every aspect himself, from writing the screenplay to using AI tools and producing the entire film. But the result ended up better than he thought. “One More Pumpkin” garnered international acclaim, winning both th

Hashtag Korea Aug. 17, 2024

A common sight in South Korea on sunny days used to be of older women holding frilly parasols. But in the past few years, the deadly summers associated with climate change have made parasols no longer the choice of just a single demographic. In fact, more Koreans of all ages and genders are spotted using regular umbrellas on sunny days this summer, which experts say makes perfect sense, as the current heat wave has already claimed 24 lives here. Not only do people resort to ordinary umbrella

Hashtag Korea Aug. 15, 2024

A Seoul bus driver is under investigation after a passenger was killed when the vehicle sped off before they had fully disembarked, police said Wednesday. The Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station have filed a case against the driver for professional negligence resulting in death for the fatal accident that occurred in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Monday. The victim, in her 80s, fell to the ground while disembarking when the vehicle began to move. She got caught in the rear wheel and was later pronounc

Social Affairs Aug. 14, 2024

Kimchi jjigae or doenjang jjigae? South Korea's media has long pitted the two against each other, though the choice has always been more or less a toss-up for Koreans. But while the two stews remain daily favorites, recent years have seen the scales tip towards one in particular. That is, these two representatives of Korea's jjigae repertoire no longer enjoy equal popularity, which in part mirrors broader shifts in taste and culinary trends in Korean society. Kimchi jjigae as today

Hashtag Korea Aug. 13, 2024

Over 200,000 international students came to South Korea for studies in the first six months of this year, setting a new half-year record, data showed Monday. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, 204,000 foreign students entered South Korea for studies from January through June, a 50.6 percent increase from the same period last year. This is the first time that the half-yearly number of student arrivals has exceeded 200,000, though the total number of students at universities here has

Social Affairs Aug. 12, 2024

Sniffer dogs are typically tasked with detecting narcotics and explosives, but in South Korea, their roles have expanded to include finding bed bugs and submerged human remains. This week, two dogs made their debut in these new tasks: Ceco, who is trained to detect bed bugs, and Alpha, who locates human remains in water. Commissioned as South Korea’s first bed bug detection dog on Wednesday, Ceco is a beagle owned by local pest control company Cesco. Ceco showcased its exceptional olfactor

Social Affairs Aug. 9, 2024

The number of insomnia patients in South Korea continued its upward trend, nearing 800,000 last year, recent health data showed Thursday. According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, 782,381 patients visited hospitals for insomnia treatment last year, a 3.4 percent increase from the previous year’s figure of 756,635. Over the past decade, the number of insomnia patients has surged over 70 percent, rising from 448,000 recorded cases in 2013. The number of sleep-deprived

Social Affairs Aug. 8, 2024

Last year, Kang Heon-koo, 63, undertook an intriguing personal project: reconstructing a map of his family's now-defunct old village using the memories of his 93-year-old mother. The goal of the map-making was twofold: to visually preserve his mother’s memories before they fade and to keep himself engaged in a productive pursuit during retirement. With his old Samsung Galaxy smartphone, he recorded the process of piecing together the lost landscape of a small village in Bucheon, Gye

Film Aug. 7, 2024

Jeju Island, a beloved tourist spot, is home to Jejueo, a language on the brink of extinction despite the island's popularity. To preserve the language and promote its learning among young generations, the Jeju Dialect Institute launched an online dictionary on Tuesday, which contains over 20,000 word definitions. It also features a collection of Jeju dialect content spanning from literature to songs and videos. The digital source, built upon the institute-made dialect dictionary released

Social Affairs Aug. 7, 2024

Screens in the Seoul Metro, primarily used for providing information, will play short films starting at the end of this month. According to Seoul Metro on Tuesday, this year's Seoul Metro International Subway Film Festival, an annual event that transforms the everyday commute into a free public film festival, will showcase 50 short films 210 seconds or less in length to commuters from Aug. 29 through Sept. 25. During this period, the films will be displayed on screens inside subway cars a

Social Affairs Aug. 6, 2024

This year, summer in South Korea is even more sizzling with excitement as its athletes have delivered outstanding performances at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Major milestones in Korea’s history of participation in the Summer Games -- like shooter Ban Hyo-jin’s win of the country's 100th gold medal and the men’s saber fencing team's win of Korea's 300th medal of any type -- have sparked awe. But equally if not more deserving of recognition are the firsts i

More Sports Aug. 5, 2024

Almost six out of 10 Koreans are unwilling to date someone with opposing political views, a survey shows, pointing to a deepening rift between liberals and conservatives in the country. Data from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, which surveyed 3,950 Koreans aged 19 to 75 last year, revealed that 58.2 percent of respondents did not wish to enter a romantic relationship with partners who do not share their political views. In civic and social activities, over 70 percent of resp

Social Affairs Aug. 4, 2024

With full-scale drone delivery services starting this month, residents on remote islands or inland locations can now receive food, daily necessities and first aid supplies with greater ease and convenience. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the K-drone delivery service commenced on the first day of August, covering 32 island districts, 17 regional park areas and one port across 14 municipalities. Although the service initially launched on Jeju Island in July, this

Social Affairs Aug. 3, 2024

A recent fatal attack by a sword-wielding man in Seoul has brought the country's control of lethal weapons into question. On Monday night at an apartment complex in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, the suspect, a 37-year-old resident there, wielded a 120-centimeter Japanese sword against a victim in his 40s, eventually resulting in his death. Police have said they barely knew each other. The suspect, who was arrested at his home about an hour after the killing, told police he had believed the victim

Social Affairs July 31, 2024

Can South Koreans today manage a day without coffee? Data from market research company Euromonitor International suggests it's unlikely, as they consume an average of 405 cups annually as of last year -- well above the global average of 152 cups. Korea's voracious coffee consumers have unleashed a price war among retailers, leading budget coffee shops here to converge on the standard price of 1,500 won ($1.09) per Americano for several years now. At the opposite end of the spectrum,

Hashtag Korea July 30, 2024