SEOUL, May 6 (Korea Bizwire) — When Kim Nam-seok’s 10-year-old son begged him for a dog, Kim hesitated. The responsibilities of caring for a live animal were daunting. But last month, he gave in — not with a trip to the pet store, but by bringing home Luna, an AI-powered robot dog. “I didn’t expect much,” [...]
SEOUL, May 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite persistent inflation and slowing economic growth, a growing segment of affluent older South Koreans is defying conventional spending patterns, embracing digital platforms and youth-driven consumer trends, a new study reveals. According to data released Monday by Shinhan Card’s Big Data Research Center, the top 20 percent of credit card [...]
SEOUL, May 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s home-sharing market, led by platforms like Airbnb, has surged more than twentyfold in just three years, with young adults emerging as the dominant force behind its rapid expansion. According to newly released data submitted by the National Tax Service to Rep. Park Sung-hoon of the National Assembly’s Strategy [...]
SEOUL, May 5 (Korea Bizwire) — In cities across South Korea, brakeless fixed-gear bicycles—commonly known as “fixies”—are rapidly growing in popularity among young people, particularly students. Despite repeated safety concerns from parents, drivers, and law enforcement, regulatory action and institutional safeguards remain absent. On May 2, in Myeongji International New City in Busan’s Gangseo District, students [...]
SEOUL, May 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s leading hotels and department stores are turning to art-driven strategies to attract affluent, experience-seeking customers, elevating their venues from commercial spaces to immersive cultural destinations. With the rise of “art marketing,” retailers are integrating curated exhibitions, docent-led tours, and gallery partnerships into their business models. This trend is [...]
SEOUL, May 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Once bustling with children and parents shopping for notebooks, pens, and toys, the alleyways of Seoul’s famed Changsin-dong stationery and toy market now echo with silence. On what used to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year—Children’s Day—a handful of families wandered through the stalls, their presence [...]
INCHEON, May 2 (Korea Bizwire) — As dusk settled over Songdo’s Moonlight Festival Park, the stage lights snapped on like a thunderclap, and the crowd of 25,000 braced themselves. Then came that riff — snarling, iconic — and a voice roared out into the open night: “You are in the jungle, baby!” With that, Guns N’ [...]
SEOUL, May 2 (Korea Bizwire) —A recent surge in the popularity of Ghibli-style AI-generated images has brought to light generational differences in how South Koreans engage with generative AI tools, according to a new report by the Korea Press Foundation released Thursday. The report, published in the latest edition of Media Survey, analyzed responses from [...]
SEOUL, May 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Korean cultural content fans and global industry leaders will gather in Seoul in June for the inaugural “MyK Festa,” a large-scale government-hosted festival celebrating the Korean Wave, or “hallyu,” organizers said Thursday. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and its affiliate the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange [...]
SEOUL, May 1 (Korea Bizwire) — More than six in ten South Korean teachers say they have experienced conflict with students over smartphone use during class, highlighting growing concerns about discipline and safety in schools. According to a survey released Tuesday by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, 61.3% of 2,605 teachers — including those [...]