South Korea Surveys Public on Raising Palace and Royal Tomb Admission Fees The government is moving to review raising admission fees for royal palaces and tombs, which have been frozen for 20 years. Before deciding whether to raise prices and by how much, it is seeking public input to reduce potential controversy. The Korea Heritage Service said Thursday it is conducting a public survey titled “Public Perception Survey on Realizing Palace and Royal Tomb Admission Fees.” The survey is being run through the Sotong24 website and closes Friday. The survey has six February 19, 2026

Naver Pay Reports Payment Failures, Says Emergency Fix Underway Naver Pay said a service outage disrupted payments and the use of points. In a notice posted on the 19th, the company said errors were affecting some services and it was conducting an emergency check, adding it was working to restore service as quickly as possible. The problems began around noon and included failures to view and apply points on order forms, errors when checking payment and event histories, the inability to use points and money for in-store payments, and failed Pay Mone February 19, 2026

Stray Kids’ ‘S-Class’ music video tops 300 million YouTube views Stray Kids’ music video for “S-Class” has surpassed 300 million views on YouTube. The video for “S-Class,” the title track from the group’s third full-length album “5-STAR,” released June 2, 2023, reached 300 million views on the morning of Feb. 19. The milestone gives Stray Kids six music videos with more than 300 million views, following “God’s Menu,” “Back Door,” “Thunderous,” “MANIAC” and “Rock.” “S-Class,” the title track from “5-STAR” — Stray Kids’ third No. 1 album on Billboard’s February 19, 2026

SK Innovation Picked to Develop $2.3 Billion Vietnam LNG Power Project SK Innovation has been selected to develop a large liquefied natural gas power project in Vietnam with a total cost of about $2.3 billion (about 3.3 trillion won), marking a push to expand its global LNG business. According to industry officials on Thursday, a consortium formed by SK Innovation and SK Innovation E&S with PV Power, a power-generation unit under Vietnam’s state-owned oil and gas group PVN, and Vietnamese company NASU was chosen by the government of Nghe An province as th February 19, 2026

'The Man Who Lives With the King' Tops Lunar New Year Box Office, Passes 4 Million Admissions The period drama “The Man Who Lives With the King” led South Korea’s Lunar New Year holiday box office, setting the year’s top attendance mark so far. According to the Korean Film Council’s integrated ticketing network, the film, directed by Jang Hang-jun, drew 2,675,454 moviegoers from Feb. 13 (Fri) to Feb. 18 (Wed). Its cumulative total reached 4,174,928, holding the No. 1 spot for seven straight days. On Feb. 17, the day after Lunar New Year’s Day, it attracted 661,449 admissions in February 19, 2026

MAN Truck & Bus Korea Holds 2026 Sales and CSM Conference in Cheongju MAN Truck & Bus Korea said it held its “2026 Sales & CSM Conference” on Feb. 11 in Cheongju. The company said the event was designed to mark the start of its 25th year since establishing its Korean unit, review last year’s results and share key tasks for this year. About 160 people attended, including President Peter Andersson, employees, representatives from sales branches and service centers nationwide, and officials from MAN Financial Services. Under the motto “Stronger Toget February 19, 2026

Jeju Air Says Holiday Pet Passengers Rose Up to 26% Jeju Air said the number of passengers flying with pets during major holiday breaks rose by as much as 26% compared with typical periods. The airline said Thursday that about 18,200 passengers flew with pets last year, averaging about 1,500 a month. During holiday periods such as Lunar New Year and Chuseok, and during the August summer vacation season, the figure climbed as much as 26.6% to about 1,900. Jeju Air said pet-travel bookings this month have topped about 2,000. On Feb. 14, the February 19, 2026

Béjart Ballet Lausanne Returns to Seoul After 25 Years; Kim Ki-min Joins ‘Bolero’ Béjart Ballet Lausanne (BBL), a landmark company in contemporary ballet, will return to Seoul after 25 years. Founded by choreographer Maurice Béjart, BBL is known for an innovative, highly expressive style that has helped shape global dance. The company has continued to carry forward Béjart’s artistic legacy since his death in 2007 while maintaining top-level performance standards. The visit will be BBL’s first in South Korea in 15 years since a 2011 per February 19, 2026

Charlotte Theater Marks 20th Anniversary, Unveils 2026 Musical Lineup Including 'Dream of the Peach Blossom Land' and 'Frozen' South Korea’s first theater dedicated exclusively to musicals, Charlotte Theater, on the 19th announced its 2026 season lineup. Marking its 20th anniversary this year, the venue said it will continue to present a wide-ranging slate of productions from Korea and abroad. The long-running musical ‘Kinky Boots’ will continue through March 29 for its grand finale. Beginning in April, the original Korean musical ‘Dream of the Peach Blossom Land’ will take the stage, which the theater described February 19, 2026

Disney+ ‘Fate War 49’ Producers Say Family Approved Use of Fallen Firefighter’s Story Disney+ variety show ‘Fate War 49’ has drawn criticism for using a fallen firefighter’s death as material for a fortune-reading mission, prompting producers to issue a statement. In a statement released on Feb. 18, the production team said the personal stories featured in the program were provided “based on prior consultation and explanation” and with “understanding and consent” from the individuals involved or their families or representatives. The team said it informed them of the show February 19, 2026