Experts urge steps to make hanbok part of everyday life, not just formal wear A forum on ways to make hanbok part of everyday life was held Tuesday at the National Assembly. Experts said the first step is changing the view that hanbok should be limited to formal occasions. Kim So Hyun, a professor in the Department of Hanbok Culture Contents at Baewha Women’s University, said young people have driven the shift. “In the past, older generations wore hanbok for weddings and other formal events, but younger people rent hanbok and take photos, turning it into something February 12, 2026

HYBE posts record 2025 revenue of 2.65 trillion won, eyes boost from BTS return HYBE posted its highest annual revenue since its founding, with sales up about 18% from a year earlier. The company said its “multi-home, multi-genre” strategy aimed at global markets and strong growth in concert revenue drove the expansion. Operating profit fell year over year as HYBE reflected costs tied to upfront investment for mid- to long-term growth and changes to its profit structure. On a consolidated basis, HYBE’s 2025 revenue totaled 2.6499 trillion won, led by performance res February 12, 2026

K Bank Cuts IPO Price 20% for Third Listing Attempt K Bank is betting on a more conservative price in its third initial public offering attempt, lowering the offering price from earlier plans as it seeks to complete a listing. With the IPO priced cautiously and peer KakaoBank’s share price improving, attention is on whether K Bank can succeed this time. K Bank said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it set the final offering price at 8,300 won, the bottom of its indicated range. A total of 2,007 institutions took part in the book-buildi February 12, 2026

South Korea watchdog chief urges banks to overhaul governance, put consumers first Lee Chan-jin, head of South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service, met with the heads of major domestic banks and called for a shift in management practices, including stronger corporate governance. He urged banks to make consumer protection their top priority and to move on governance reforms on their own if needed. Speaking at a meeting with the CEOs of 20 domestic banks at the Korea Federation of Banks building in central Seoul on Feb. 12, Lee said banks should make “gyeonri-saui” — p February 12, 2026

Samsung, CJ, Naver and others ramp up Team Korea marketing for 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee’s official sponsors are rolling out marketing campaigns to back South Korea’s Olympic team, known as Team Korea, for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. According to the committee on Wednesday, Samsung Electronics, an International Olympic Committee partner, used the Galaxy S25 Ultra to shoot official profile photos of Team Korea athletes competing at the Games. The photo and video shoots highlighted each athlete and sport. Beer sponsor OB Be February 12, 2026

Wolves forward Hwang Hee-chan denies report alleging misuse of luxury cars Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan is facing allegations in South Korea over what has been described as a “supercar” dispute with a chauffeur-service company. Hwang’s side immediately denied the claims, but the controversy has continued to spread. Dispatch reported on Wednesday that Hwang’s side received 22 vehicles — including Lamborghinis and Ferraris — from a protocol-service company called Bahana (UCK), and allegedly made unreasonable demands during the arrangement. The r February 12, 2026

Canada’s Piper Gilles, Paul Poirier win Olympic ice dance bronze after cancer battle Canadian ice dancer Piper Gilles, who faced a possible end to her career while being treated for ovarian cancer, reached the Olympic podium with her 15-year partner, Paul Poirier. According to AFP, after winning bronze in figure skating ice dance at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, the pair said, “If you believe in yourself and chase your dreams, anything can happen.” Skating to the Van Gogh tribute song “Vincent” in the free dance at the Milan Ice Skating Arena, Gilles and Po February 12, 2026

BNT Spotlight Global Fan Vote Launches With Times Square Ad Prize BNT News and global fan-voting platform STARDOM officially launched the rising-artist branding and marketing project BNT Spotlight on Feb. 11. Organizers said BNT Spotlight is designed as a marketing project that links emerging artists to a global stage, rather than a simple popularity vote. It combines media, content and fan participation, with voting results feeding real-time rankings, content production and wider international news distribution. The project uses a multi-platform vot February 12, 2026

Pharma and Biotech Briefs: Daewon cold medicine, SK Biopharm U.S. meeting, Samsung Bioepis patent deal, Jaseng events Daewon Pharmaceutical launches three Daewoncol soft-capsule cold medicines Daewon Pharmaceutical said Wednesday it has launched a new cold-medicine line, the Daewoncol Soft Capsule series, with different formulations tailored to symptoms. The series has three products: Daewoncol Cold (multi-symptom), Daewoncol Cough (cough cold) and Daewoncol Nose (nasal cold), allowing consumers to choose based on symptoms. Daewon said the key difference is the dosage form: soft capsules filled with li February 12, 2026

Hwang Hee-chan Denies Report Alleging ‘Supercar’ Abuse of Service Provider Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan has denied allegations that he mistreated a protocol-service company while using luxury cars.  Dispatch reported on Feb. 12 that Hwang’s side received 22 protocol vehicles — including Lamborghinis and Ferraris — from a service provider identified as “Bahana (UCK)” and engaged in unreasonable behavior. The report said Hwang left the scene after abandoning a Ferrari Purosangue worth about 800 million won on Yeongdong Bridge in May las February 12, 2026