New Books: “Tips from the Top” Collects Advice From 70 Leading Architects Tips from the Top=By Ken Yang and others, translated by Jeong Ji-hyeon, Dplot. A new book gathers advice from 70 internationally known architects — figures the industry might liken to master chefs — organized into seven themes: getting started, inspiration, values, focus, process, self-development and decision-making. The project began when Raghdah Alhayal, an architect in her 20s in the United Arab Emirates, asked senior architects for guidance on success. What started as personal outrea March 16, 2026

KB Kookmin Bank Rebrands Family Office Service, Targets 2 Trillion Won in Assets KB Kookmin Bank said on the 16th it has rebranded its “KB Wise Family Office” service as “KB The First Family Office” to strengthen comprehensive, long-term wealth management for client families. To support the expanded offering, the bank created a dedicated family office unit, the “Solution Team (F/O Solution Team),” bringing together specialists in investment strategy, tax, law, accounting and real estate. The bank said it will provide on-site, end-to-end services including restructuri March 16, 2026

Samsung Heavy Industries Launches Shipbuilding Industry’s First Robotic Pipe Spool Factory Samsung Heavy Industries said March 16 it has begun full operations of what it called the shipbuilding industry’s first automated factory for producing pipe spools, branded “PIPE ROBOFAB.” The completion ceremony was held at the Chilseo industrial complex in Haman, South Gyeongsang Province, with about 70 attendees including Samsung Heavy Industries Vice Chairman and CEO Choi Seong-an, officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, shipowners such as ENI and MISC, and other ind March 16, 2026

Samsung Bioepis Invests 20 Billion Won in G2GBio to Develop Obesity Drug; Celltrion Leads Japan Shares Samsung Bioepis enters obesity drug development, invests 20 billion won in G2GBio Samsung Bioepis has moved into obesity drug development with a 20 billion won investment in G2GBio. Samsung Bioepis and EpisNex Lab, both subsidiaries of Samsung Epis Holdings, said they signed a joint research and licensing agreement with G2GBio on March 16 to develop obesity treatments. The deal aims to develop long-acting obesity drugs and secure platform technology using G2GBio’s microsphere-based dru March 16, 2026

COFIX for New Loans Rises to 2.82% in February, Lifting Variable-Rate Mortgages The COFIX, a key benchmark for banks’ variable-rate mortgage loans, turned higher again after a one-month decline. The Korea Federation of Banks said Sunday that the new-loan COFIX for February came to 2.82%, up 0.05 percentage points from the previous month. The index had climbed for four straight months, from 2.52% in September last year to 2.89% in December, then fell in January by 0.12 percentage points — its first drop in five months — before rising again. Over the same period, t March 16, 2026

Korea Arts and Culture Education Agency Opens Applications for 2026 Online ArtE Academy The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts and Culture Education Service said on 16 they have begun recruiting participants for the “2026 Online ArtE Academy,” a program designed to train arts and culture education professionals. Courses for arts educators include legally required training for school arts instructors and arts-and-culture education organizations, along with modules on domestic and international trends, case studies and how to plan education programs. March 16, 2026

BTS to Stage Drone Show, Citywide Events in Seoul for 'Arirang' Album Release BTS will turn Seoul into a citywide celebration around the release of its new album, ‘Arirang,’ with media facade displays, a drone light show and hands-on fan programs planned across major sites. The group on Monday posted details on the global fan platform Weverse for ‘BTS THE CITY ARIRANG SEOUL.’ The city project, branded ‘THE CITY SEOUL,’ will run from March 20 to April 19 across central Seoul, aiming to offer experiences available only during the l March 16, 2026

South Korea Launches ‘Dream Studio’ Visual Arts Program, Seeks 20 Regional Hubs The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service said March 16 they will begin full-scale operations of “Dream Studio” as a regular program. To do so, they will accept applications from March 16 to April 15 to select 20 regional hub institutions to run the program nationwide. Dream Studio is a new project under the “Dream Arts Group,” introduced with a focus on visual arts, following the existing Dream Orchestra, dance troupe and theater tro March 16, 2026

NH NongHyup Financial to Open Marine and Aviation Industry Support Center NH NongHyup Financial Group said on the 16th it will establish a “NongHyup Financial Marine and Aviation Industry Comprehensive Support Center” to strengthen support for the marine and aviation industries in the country’s southeastern region. The move is part of the government’s “5 hubs, 3 special zones” balanced-growth policy. The center is scheduled to open in April in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, and is expected to serve as key infrastructure to help boost per-capita gross regi March 16, 2026

BLACKPINK Tops 3.6 Billion Streams on Melon Across Group and Solo Tracks BLACKPINK has logged about 3.6 billion streams on Melon, South Korea’s major music platform, combining group and solo releases. The tally highlights results built over the past decade through both team and individual activities, as the group recently returned as a full lineup after 3 years and 5 months. Kakao Entertainment’s music platform Melon said March 16, citing its Melon Data Lab big-data analysis, that BLACKPINK’s group songs have reached 2,567,050,000 streams, while members’ solo March 16, 2026