Friday, Jul 24, 2026
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Borderline Koreans: too able to qualify, too slow to fit SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - It is 2 p.m., and the lunch rush has cleared at Youth Mungan, a kimchi stew shop in Seoul's southwestern neighborhood of Nakseongdae. A young man moves from table to table, spraying sanitizer and wiping every corner with meticulous care. "Customers sit here," Kim Ji-woo, 27, said sheepishly. "Wiping it perfectly clean puts my mind at ease." He clears plates, relays orders to the kitchen and folds used aprons neatly onto a rack. Closing the dining
Borderline Koreans: too able to qualify,  too slow to fit
Can a bigger World Cup keep its luster? Can a bigger World Cup keep its luster? SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - The World Cup has never been just about football. It has been a global stage where countries show off their sporting power, shape their national image and increasingly compete for influence and economic gain. That is why FIFA's consideration of expanding the quadrennial tournament to 64 teams in 2030 has sparked a debate that goes far beyond simply adding more matches or making the event bigger. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has argued that a larger World Cup would

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Korea's battery trio turns corner on ESS boom SEOUL, July 23 (AJP) - South Korea's three largest battery makers are seen to have bottomed out in the second quarter as AI boom-led energy storage demand and renewed appetite for EVs from Gulf conflict-induced oil price turbulence pulled them out of a near two-year slump. The reversal of fortune has most benefited Samsung SDI, the underdog among the trio, with analysts expecting it to return to an operating profit for the first time in seven quarters. That would end a losing streak dating
Koreas battery trio turns corner on ESS boom
K-pops second act: Why groups no longer really disappear K-pop's second act: Why groups no longer really disappear SEOUL, July 22 (AJP) - When NewJeans released a surprise anniversary film at midnight on July 22, it did more than celebrate four years since the group's debut. The video reunited Minji, Hanni, Haerin and Hyein in official group content for the first time in one year and four months after a prolonged contract dispute that had brought the group's activities to a halt. A court sided with their agency, ADOR, in both an injunction and the main lawsuit over the validity of their exclusive c

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