ICHEON, Gyeonggi Province — From ancient crafts to radical contemporary practice, ceramics take center stage across Gyeonggi Province this fall. The 2026 Gyeonggi Ceramics Biennale brings artists and ideas together across the cities of Icheon, Gwangju and Yeoju through Nov. 1. Organized by Gyeonggi Province and the Korea Ceramic Foundation, the biennale is Korea's only international ceramics art festival. Now in its 13th edition, it explores clay and earth not simply as raw materials, but as act

Apple’s first foldable iPhone was absent from the display tables at its Myeong-dong store Friday, but the device was already on some shoppers’ minds. As customers arrived to collect the newly released iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, conversations also turned to the iPhone Duo, due next month. For some, this year’s upgrade decision involved more than choosing a color or screen size: Buy now, or wait for Apple’s entry into foldables? A man in his 30s who bought the iPhone 18 Pro said he had considered

“Five, four, three, two, one!” Cheers erupted as Apple Myeongdong opened its doors at 8 a.m. Friday. Employees stood at the entrance, applauding customers as they stepped inside to pick up their newly released iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Some had been waiting since the previous evening. One customer arrived at 7 p.m. the night before and spent about 13 hours outside the flagship store before becoming one of the first visitors to enter. “I usually switch to a new iPhone almost eve

Beneath Hangang Bridge, a new 1.5-kilometer trail traces the water’s edge around Nodeul Island, passing ecological gardens, play areas and stretches of grass overlooking the Han River. Seoul unveiled the renovated waterfront Thursday, a day before it opens to the public. The area, long one of the less-developed parts of the island, had been closed since November for construction. “We have heard that runners in Seoul have been eagerly awaiting the opening,” a city official told The Korea Herald d

JEJU CITY — After 15 minutes of sailing through rolling waves, the boat approached a lone box-shaped platform standing in the sea off Jeju Island’s west coast. Measuring 32 meters long and 23 meters wide, the concrete structure is anchored in water about 15 meters deep. It is the core of a wave energy test site operated by the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering. Researchers here are testing whether electricity generated at sea can be converted into hydrogen, providing a way

For generations, Korean families have gathered during Chuseok to make songpyeon, the half-moon-shaped rice cakes associated with the holiday. On Monday, that tradition was shared by a different kind of family gathering in western Seoul — older local residents and international students. Hosted by the Seodaemun-gu Family Center, the event brought together about 40 international students and 40 older residents to make songpyeon and share stories about Korean culture and holiday traditions. Seodaem

Musinsa built its name by spotting fashion trends early. Its latest beauty bet takes it somewhere more clinical — and into more direct competition with Korea’s dominant beauty retailer, CJ Olive Young. The fashion platform opened its first standalone beauty flagship Friday in Hongdae, western Seoul, a youth shopping district with heavy international foot traffic. While CJ Olive Young has forged its leadership around convenience, broad selection and an extensive store network, Musinsa asserts its

At lunchtime in southern Seoul's Gangnam, the line for a burrito bowl stretched down the block. Nearly a week after Chipotle opened its first Asian location in Seoul on Sept. 2, customers were still being told to expect waits of up to two or three hours. On Sunday, some 150 people were counted in line by 11 a.m., stretching more than 50 meters. For some of those waiting, however, the food was only part of the point. "We've got to keep up with what's trending," said university student Kim Min-ju,

DONALDSONVILLE, Louisiana — Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun stood beside US President Donald Trump at the White House 17 months ago to unveil one of the Korean auto giant’s biggest bets on American manufacturing. At the heart of the $21 billion US investment package unveiled in March 2025 — later increased to $26 billion — was a $5.8 billion steel mill in Louisiana, the group's first steel production base in the US and a move to make one of the most essential materials for vehic

GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province -- “I might not play it well, but I wanted to play something today anyway,” Chung Myung-whun told the audience on Sept. 3 before taking the stage — this time not as a conductor, but as a pianist, in the unlikely setting of a hospital hall. Chung has played piano in a hospital setting several times before, in Japan for children with cancer. But the performance at Myongji Hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, was his first in a Korean hospital, for an audience of patient