Seoul will hold an autumn music festival Saturday at the Changnyeong Wigung Jaesa complex in Dream Forest in Gangbuk-gu, northern Seoul, featuring live performances and craft activities. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. around the traditional hanok complex, a nationally registered cultural heritage site. Changnyeong Wigung Jaesa was built for Kim Byung-joo, a son-in-law of King Sunjo, the 23rd monarch of the Joseon era. The site is also associated with Kim Seok-jin, Kim’s grandson, who

Seoul will waive parking fees at 61 public parking facilities near major tourist destinations and commercial districts during the Chuseok holiday and implement measures for cemeteries' visitors, according to the Seoul Facilities Corp. on Friday. Those areas include Jongmyo Shrine, Euljiro, Yeouido, Cheonho Station and Sadang Station will be open free of charge around the clock from Sept.24 to 27. The corporation will also implement special measures at 16 city-run cemeteries and cremation facilit

Seoul's taekwondo performance series will return Saturday after a summer break, following a sharp increase in attendance during the first half of the year. Weekend performances will be held at Namsangol Hanok Village in central Seoul through Oct. 18, with shows beginning at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The program combines traditional taekwondo demonstrations, including board breaking, forms and self-defense techniques, with elements of performing arts. Parti

Korean law firm Yoon & Yang said Friday it has opened a second Seoul office in the capital’s central business district to be closer to regulators, financial institutions and multinational companies. The new office at Seoul Finance Center near Gwanghwamun is Yoon & Yang’s first additional domestic location after more than two decades at ASEM Tower in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu. The move gives the firm a foothold near government ministries, major financial institutions and corporate headquarters cl

Twenty-five plastic surgery and dermatology clinics in Seoul violated medical-waste rules, including two cases in which human fat and blood from cosmetic procedures were dumped into sinks and toilets, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday. The city’s special judicial police investigated 120 sites — 112 medical clinics and eight waste collection and transport companies — from January 2025 through July this year. Investigators uncovered 36 violations at 25 clinics. In the two cases of il

Seoul is staying open later this fall, extending nighttime access to City Hall observatories, museums and Han River parks as part of a broader push to encourage residents and tourists to explore the city after dark. In August, the city set a goal of increasing nighttime spending by 5 trillion won ($3.65 billion) and attracting 30 million foreign tourists over the next five years. The initiative comes as the number of foreign visitors to Seoul rose 21 percent on-year in the first half of 2026. He

Period: Joseon era Dimensions: 145.0 × 58.0 cm (Each panel, folding screen) Peonies, admired for their large blossoms and brilliant colors, have long been known as the "king of flowers" and the "flower of wealth," symbolizing royalty, prosperity and nobility. A popular motif throughout the Joseon era, peonies became increasingly prominent in late Joseon paintings, often appearing without accompanying birds or plants and with fuller, more luxuriant blossoms. At the royal court, peony folding scre

The body of a young boy found last month in waters near the inter-Korean border likely drifted from North Korea, the Incheon Coast Guard said Monday. Authorities cited signs of a parasitic infection now rare in South Korea and the absence of a match in the country’s missing-person records. Forensic testing found traces of ascariasis in the child’s small intestine. The infection is caused by intestinal roundworms and, while common in many parts of the world, is rarely detected in South Korea. The

Seoul wants to help middle-aged residents bridge a potentially lean stretch between their last paycheck and their first state pension payment by paying into long-term savings accounts. Under a blueprint unveiled during Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s campaign, participants would contribute 80,000 won ($58) a month for 10 years, while the city would add 20,000 won. Seoul estimated that the account could grow to as much as 16.4 million won, including investment returns, though the figures are campaign targets

Lawyers rank highest among all workers in South Korea for exposure to artificial intelligence, reflecting the technology’s growing reach into text-heavy and analytical work, according to a government labor research institute. The study found that 2.92 million workers covered by the country’s employment insurance system, or 19.1 percent of those analyzed, were employed in occupations classified as having high AI exposure. The Korea Employment Information Service based its rankings on an analysis

One hundred young Koreans will gather in Seoul on Sunday to discuss gender-based expectations and propose new standards not defined by biological sex, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Friday. The first edition of the four-hour forum, open to people aged 19 to 39, will be held at Hanyang University under the theme "Between Teto Women and Egen Men: Today’s Ideas of Masculinity and Femininity." The trending terms "teto woman" and "egen man" are derived from testosterone and estrogen,

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will hold a series of job fairs across the city in September, bringing together more than 160 companies seeking to fill around 3,000 positions with middle-aged job seekers. The fairs are open mainly to people aged 40 to 64 and will offer employment information, one-on-one consultations and on-site interviews, according to the city government on Friday. The first of the September events will take place at the Seoul 50 Plus Western Campus in Eunpyeong-gu on Tuesda

Seoul's fertility rate rose for a second consecutive year in 2025, while the capital recorded the highest growth in both births and marriages among all major cities and provinces in the first half of this year. A total of 45,516 babies were born in Seoul last year, up 9.4 percent from 41,605 in 2024, according to the 2025 birth statistics, latest data released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The increase was the largest among the country's 16 major administrative regions. The city's tota

Seoul welcomed a record 1.61 million foreign tourists in July, while their spending rose sharply to 1.07 trillion won, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday. Monthly spending by foreign visitors has now exceeded 1 trillion won for four consecutive months. The number of foreign tourists in July was up 20.8 percent from a year earlier and 5.2 percent from the previous month. Chinese tourists accounted for the largest share at 37.1 percent, followed by visitors from Japan at 15

South Korea's interior minister on Wednesday ordered police to investigate the alleged false closure of missing person cases on Jeju Island and review how such cases are handled nationwide. Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung issued the order during an emergency meeting with senior police officials in Seoul, saying the case exposed both individual misconduct and possible flaws in the police system for handling missing people. “The truth of the Jeju case must be thoroughly established,” Yun said, calli