South Korea aims to replicate success at Winter Asian Games in Harbin SEOUL, February 6 (AJP) - The Winter Asian Games are set to kick off with an opening ceremony in Harbin, China on Friday. About 150 South Korean athletes along with 70 sports officials and staff already left the country on Tuesday. They will compete in six disciplines: biathlon, curling, ice hockey, ice skating (figure skating, short track and speed skating), skiing (alpine, cross-country, freestyle and snowboarding), and ski mountaineering. Originally slated for 2021, the Games were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and difficulties in selecting a host city, now returning about eight years after the 2017 Sapporo Games. Harbin, famous for its charm as an "ice city" with illuminating lights and snow sculptures every winter, was the sole bidder and was selected as the host city for the quadrennial sporting event for Asian athletes. Approximately 1,300 athletes from 34 Asian countries are set to compete in 11 disciplines for 64 gold medals at this year's Games, which will run for eight days until Feb. 14. The event's opening ceremony, scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday at the Harbin International Convention, Exhibition, and Sports Center, will feature South Korean ice hockey player Lee Chong-min and Kim Eun-ji, the skip and captain of the women's curling team, as flag bearers. The country aims to secure second place overall, as it did at the Sapporo Games, where it won 16 gold, 18 silver, and 16 bronze medals. Meanwhile, North Korean athletes also departed for Harbin earlier this week, according to Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency on Thursday. Three North Korean athletes are set to compete: figure skating duo Ryom Tae-ok and Han Kum-chol, and skater Ro Yong-myong in the men's singles event. Ryom is a bronze medalist from the Sapporo Games, where she and her partner Kim Ju-sik earned the medal in the figure skating pairs event. 2025-02-06 14:59:31

Member of '90s Mexican alternative rock band joins HYBE's new Latin American label SEOUL, February 5 (AJP) - Emmanuel del Real, a Mexican singer and guitarist known as "Meme," has joined a new label under HYBE, the agency behind BTS, targeting Latin American fans. The agency said Wednesday that it has established its Mexico-based label called Docemil Music and signed Meme as its first artist. Meme is a member of Mexico's leading alternative rock band Café Tacvba, which gained fame with live concerts at garages and pubs, enjoying their heyday in the early 1990s and winning multiple Latin Grammy Awards and other honors throughout their long-standing music career spanning over 30 years. Just a week before finalizing his latest deal with HYBE, the veteran artist released his new single "Princesa" late last month, which will also be included in his upcoming solo debut album due out later this year. "With Meme del Real on board, we will be able to reach more fans in Spanish-speaking countries and nurture creative talent beyond nationality. We are very excited about the future we will build with them," said Kah Jong-Hyun, CEO of HYBE's Latin American branch. HYBE established the branch in 2023 to expand its reach in the region. 2025-02-05 16:52:01

Lawmakers in another attempt to question Yoon at remand prison SEOUL, February 5 (AJP) - A special parliamentary committee investigating allegations related to President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law debacle last year is trying to question Yoon and his alleged accomplices on Thursday. Yoon, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others are currently being separately held in remand prisons in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. With lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotting it, the committee, mostly consisting of lawmakers from the main Democratic Party (DP), reportedly arranged their visit schedule with a remand prison in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, where Yoon has been detained since his arrest on Dec. 19. Their inquiry is expected to be focused on details outlined in the indictments of those involved in the abrupt Dec. 3 declaration of martial law on charges of insurrection and abuse of power, as well as relevant testimony from witnesses. However, it remains to be seen whether Yoon is willing to meet them for questioning, as he refused to see them during their previous attempts last week. Earlier in the day, a handful of lawmakers from the committee visited a remand prison in southern Seoul where Kim has been detained since last December but had to leave without seeing him as he refused to meet them. Meanwhile, key witnesses in Yoon's ongoing impeachment trial appeared for a hearing at the Constitutional Court of Korea the previous day and refused to answer most of questions, citing their legal rights to remain silent. Unlike them, another witness Hong Jang-won, a former deputy director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), testified again that Yoon instructed him in a phone call to "round them (lawmakers) all up." Yoon then refuted his testimony, saying that his instructions to Hong were to assist in arresting "spies," which had nothing to do with martial law. He questioned why he would have given such instructions to the NIS' first deputy director instead of its chief if that had been his intention. 2025-02-05 14:31:41

South Korean medical drama becomes most-watched non-English series on Netflix SEOUL, February 5 (AJP) - Netflix's South Korean medical drama "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" has become the most-watched non-English TV show worldwide, surpassing the second season of the much-hyped series "Squid Game." The eight-episode series, released on Jan. 24, garnered 11.9 million views and a total watch time of 82.7 million hours for the week ending Feb. 2, the U.S. video-streaming site said on Wednesday. The second season of "Squid Game," which had held the top position for five consecutive weeks since its release on Dec. 26 last year, fell to second place with 5.2 million views. Adapted from a web novel of the same name, "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" follows a former war medic-turned-surgeon who steps in to revive an emergency trauma center at a university hospital. Inspired by real-life events, the series reflects the life of Lee Cook-jong, a renowned head of the Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital. Lee has treated numerous critical trauma cases and gained national recognition for his work. He played a key role in saving Seok Hae-kyun, the captain of a South Korean freighter hijacked by Somali pirates in 2011, and performed surgery on a North Korean soldier who sustained life-threatening injuries while defecting through Panmunjom in 2017. Meanwhile, South Korean shows and programs continue to dominate Netflix's global rankings, with four Korean series making it into the top 10 for non-English TV shows. The first season of "Squid Game" placed fifth, while the fourth season of dating reality show "Single's Inferno" ranked sixth. In the overall rankings that include both English and non-English shows, "The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" ranked third, following U.S. action comedy "Back in Action" (18.4 million views) and American action thriller "The Night Agent 2" (15.2 million views). 2025-02-05 10:18:37

Key witnesses refuse to testify at hearing for Yoon's impeachment trial SEOUL, February 4 (AJP) - A key witness who appeared at a hearing for President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial over his botched martial law debacle in December last year refused to testify before the Constitutional Court of Korea in Seoul on Tuesday. Lee Jin-woo, former chief of the Capital Defense Command, was summoned as a witness but repeatedly declined to answer most questions, citing his legal right to remain silent. "I'm fully aware of the gravity of the matter," Lee said during the hearing. "But given that I am facing criminal charges, my answers must remain restricted." Lee is among several former senior military officials accused of orchestrating a plan to detain opposition lawmakers and prevent them from entering the National Assembly to end martial law. Investigators reportedly found that on Dec. 3, the day martial law was declared, Yoon called Lee directly and ordered him to arrest four lawmakers "by force if necessary." According to the probe, Yoon told him to "break down the doors and drag them out." Also testifying Tuesday are Yeo In-hyung, former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, and Hong Jang-won, former deputy director of the National Intelligence Service. Both have been accused of conspiring in the plot under Yoon's orders. Yeo is alleged to have received instructions from then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to detain key political figures, including Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), and Han Dong-hoon, the former leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP). During the hearing, Yeo refused to comment on the order to arrest politicians. However, he confirm that he had followed Kim's orders regarding the deployment of military forces. Hong has previously testified that he had been told by Yeo to oversee the arrests after receiving a phone call from Yoon ordering him to "round them all up and put an end to this." On the same day, Yoon, who has denied any involvement in the alleged plot, filed a request to cancel his detention with the Seoul Central District Court. The court is required to decide whether to accept the request within seven days of receiving it. Relevant laws stipulate that if there is no reason for detention or if the grounds for detention are no longer valid, the court must cancel the detention. This applies in cases where it is confirmed that the detention was made without proper cause or if the reasons for detention have been eliminated, such as when concerns about flight risk or evidence tampering have been resolved. Meanwhile, over 200 diehard supporters of Yoon gathered in front of the court to express their support, braving the biting cold, while about 3,000 police officers were mobilized to manage the crowd. Yoon's next hearing is scheduled for Thursday. 2025-02-04 16:24:53

Russia to 'build bridge connecting North Korea across Tumen River by late next year' SEOUL, February 4 (AJP) - Russia is moving ahead with plans to build a road bridge linking its border with North Korea, aiming for completion by late next year, according to a Russian media report. Interfax reported on Monday that Sochi-based construction firm TonnelYuzhStroi has been "designated as the sole contractor" of the project connecting Russia and North Korea in the estuary the Tumen River, also known as the Duman River here. The bridge, slated for completion by December 2026, will span 800 meters in length and 10 meters in width, with a two-lane motorway, according to the Russian news agency. It will be located 415 meters downstream from the existing railway bridge. With some construction work assigned to subcontractors, TonnelYuzhStroy will be responsible for "at least 60 percent" of the project. The project was part of a military pact, called the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed in June last year when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Pyongyang. The bridge is expected to greatly boost trade between the two countries, facilitating transport and exchanges of goods and passengers, possibly helping relieve North Korea's economic strain. Meanwhile, Pyongyang and Moscow have been rapidly expanding cooperation across various sectors including the deployment of troops to assist Russia's war in Ukraine, since signing the pact. A North Korean delegation, led by Rim Kwang-ung, head of Pyongyang's National Aviation Administration, flew to Russia to attend an aviation-related exhibition earlier this week. Scholars and technicians from North Korea's two prestigious universities, Kim Il Sung University and Kim Chaek University of Technology, also recently visited Russia to foster academic and research cooperation. 2025-02-04 14:32:31

Vietnamese rapper becomes social media sensation in South Korea SEOUL, February 3 (AJP) - Vietnamese rapper 7dnight is emerging as a new talent in the hip-hop scene as his song "Không Sao Cả" gains popularity on social media, crossing borders from his homeland to his second home, South Korea. The 23-year-old rapper has worked as a migrant laborer in South Korea for seven years, transporting steel at construction sites during the day while developing his rap skills at night. Despite a congenital condition that left him with only two fingers on his left hand, a result of both his paternal and maternal grandfathers' exposure to defoliants during the Vietnam War (1954–75), 7dnight did not let physical limitations hinder his ambitions. His breakthrough came in November last year when he competed on "Rap Viet," the Southeast Asian country's audition show. Though he didn't win, his performance of "Không Sao Cả" on the show impressed many viewers. The track's melancholic yet uplifting melody, featuring Korean lyrics, quickly gained traction on social media. Không Sao Cả, which means "It's okay" in English, captures his struggles as a migrant worker in Korea. On Jan. 14, the song topped Spotify's "Viral 50" chart for South Korea, which ranks the most viral and streamed songs. Its catchy hook and cross-cultural appeal caught the attention of several K-pop stars with members of NCT, Zerobaseone, and aespa's Karina uploading cover dances to it. On TikTok, more than 200,000 videos related to the song have been posted. 7dnight's lyrics in Không Sao Cả also reflect his resilience. "Having a disability definitely made work harder," he recalled. "But I always tried to stay positive. I had to work twice as hard to earn trust and recognition." A devoted admirer of South Korean rapper Changmo, 7dnight credits him as his inspiration, expressing hopes of collaborating with him one day. "I think I have something in common with Changmo in terms of rap and style overall. Especially the energy that flows when we rap, it's very alike." 2025-02-03 16:53:29