Journalist
Yoo Na-hyun · Kim Yeon-jae
shooting@ajupress.com
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Oil surge causes brutal Black Monday in Seoul SEOUL, March 09 (AJP) - The global energy market plunged into turmoil Monday as fears of a prolonged Middle East conflict sent crude prices soaring. Brent crude had surged 25 percent from the previous session to $116 per barrel, while U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) jumped 27 percent to $115. Dubai crude — the benchmark most relevant for Asian importers — also breached the $100 mark after the March 6 close, marking its sharpest rise in more than two and a half years since the early months of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. The shockwave quickly reached Seoul, where financial markets and daily life began absorbing the impact. The main bourse was repeatedly interrupted as the sell-off gathered pace. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI closed at 5,251.9, down 6 percent, after plunging more than 8 percent during the session and briefly touching 5,096.2. The plunge triggered a Level-1 circuit breaker, halting trading for 20 minutes. Foreign selling of over 3 trillion won ($2 billion) on the main bourse fanned the won's weakening, pushing the Korean currency value against the U.S. dollar to its lowest since the global financial crisis wake in March 2009, hovering close to 1,500 won, a level largely deemed as a government defense line. Drivers grappled with sudden spike in gasoline prices over the weekend. As of Sunday, the average gasoline price reached 1,945.73 won ($1.35) per liter, while diesel climbed to 1,967.19 won. Since Feb. 28, gasoline prices have risen about 11 percent and diesel roughly 18 percent. The surge in marine fuel costs and demand for maritime logistics pushed diesel prices above gasoline — the first such reversal since February 2023, when sanctions on Russian refined oil disrupted global fuel markets. Authorities moved quickly to stabilize markets. The Bank of Korea convened an emergency Middle East Situation Task Force chaired by Senior Deputy Governor Ryoo Sang-dai. Verbal intervention from the central bank helped trim some of the currency’s losses, pulling the won back toward the 1,495 level. Still, the measures struggled to anchor sentiment as market anxiety continued to dominate trading. 2026-03-09 17:29:33 -
Winter Paralympics: Intense Strategy in Wheelchair Curling Mixed Doubles SEOUL, March 06 (AJP) - South Korea’s wheelchair curling mixed doubles team of Lee Yong-seok and Baek Hye-jin defeated Britain and Japan in succession to improve to 2–1 in the preliminary round at the 2026 Milan–Cortina Winter Paralympics. After narrowly losing to host Italy in their opening match, Lee and Baek bounced back with a 14–3 victory over Britain in the morning session before overpowering Japan later in the day. Eight teams are competing in the wheelchair curling mixed doubles event. The preliminary round is played in a round-robin format, with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals. The 2026 Milan–Cortina Winter Paralympics opened on Thursday at the Arena di Verona in Italy and will run through March 15. 2026-03-06 15:00:58 -
Fuel prices spike due to war in Middle East SEOUL, March 05 (AJP) - Gasoline and diesel prices at gas stations across South Korea on Thursday have increased sharply following airstrikes on Iran by the United States and Israel late last month. The nationwide average gasoline price has surpassed 1,800 won ($1.2) per liter for the first time in three years and seven months. It is the first time the national average has exceeded the 1,800-won mark since Aug. 12, 2022, when it reached 1,805.9 won. Diesel prices have also crossed the 1,800-won threshold. The nationwide average diesel price rose to 1,811.03 won per liter, up 82.26 won from the previous day. It marks the first time in about three years and three months that diesel prices have exceeded 1,800 won, since Dec. 12, 2022, when they stood at 1,807.38 won. 2026-03-05 17:10:50 -
Elementary school greets new students through spring entrance ceremony SEOUL, March 03 (AJP) - First-grade students wearing paper crowns attend their entrance ceremony for the 2026 academic year at Wonchon Elementary School in Seocho District, Seoul, on Monday. The new students took commemorative photos with their families at a designated photo zone before touring their classrooms and school grounds where they will spend the coming years. Instead of delivering a traditional welcome speech, the school principal read aloud the children’s book “We Are the Most Popular First Graders,” drawing the students’ focused attention as they listened with bright, curious expressions. A total of 186 students enrolled at Wonchon Elementary School this year. Following the ceremony, students gathered in their respective classrooms for their first greetings with homeroom teachers and classmates. As the new semester begins, elementary schools across the city marked another fresh start amid the early signs of spring. 2026-03-03 17:46:03 -
S. Korea's benchmark KOSPI drops due to war in Middle East SEOUL, March 03 (AJP) - The benchmark KOSPI plunged on Tuesday as geopolitical tensions escalated following the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran. The KOSPI closed at 5,791.91, down 452.22 points, or 7.24 percent, from the previous session. The tech-heavy KOSDAQ also fell 55.08 points, or 4.62 percent, to finish at 1,137.70. An electronic board at the dealing room of Hana Bank in central Seoul displayed the sharp decline in the benchmark index. 2026-03-03 17:08:45 -
How South Koreans celebrate Lunar New Year's first full moon SEOUL, February 27 (AJP) - Markets are bustling with shoppers as the first full moon of the lunar year, known as Daeboreum, approaches. As Daeboreum, a day when people traditionally pray for health and a good harvest falls next Tuesday, Gyeongdong Market, one of the largest farmers' markets in Seoul, was packed with shoppers on Friday. Stores and stalls there were selling a variety of nuts such as walnuts, peanuts, pine nuts, and ginkgo nuts, tempting shoppers. In an age-old tradition, South Koreans eat nuts on this festive day, as cracking and eating hard-shelled nuts is believed to strengthen teeth. People also enjoy "ogokbap," a bowl of five grains with an assortment of seasoned vegetables, to get the healthy nutrition their body needs in winter. They also believe that eating them helps the body endure the hot summer months. 2026-02-27 17:00:48 -
BTS Comeback D-22: The story behind Gwanghwamun SEOUL, February 27 (AJP) - Today’s Gyeongbokgung is often the first breath Seoul offers to the world. Tourists in flowing hanbok pass beneath Gwanghwamun, their silk sleeves catching early-spring light. Cameras rise in unison at the changing of the royal guards. On the stone terrace of Geunjeongjeon, the old wooden eaves frame a startling horizon — beyond them, the clean axis of modern Seoul. For many visitors who first encountered Korea through K-dramas and K-pop, this palace is both backdrop and origin story. Here, timber and tile meet glass and steel. Here, a dynasty’s memory and a nation’s cultural present stand face to face. And at the very center lies a path once reserved for a king. The King’s Road, 600 Years Opened to the World Beyond Gwanghwamun, through Heungnyemun Gate, three stone lanes unfold beneath one’s feet. The middle path rises ever so slightly — subtle, deliberate. This was Eodo, the king’s road. On either side walked civil officials and military officers, each to their rank, each to their place. Even today, the stones whisper hierarchy. Order survives in elevation. In 2026, this path returns to the public imagination. As it aligns with the performance route of BTS, the phrase “the King’s Road” circulates anew — no longer confined to royal ritual, but echoing across global pop culture. When the ceremonial axis of a Joseon court meets a contemporary stage, Gyeongbokgung ceases to be mere scenery. It becomes layered time — history sedimented beneath sound. Geunjeongjeon: Where Power Was Made Visible At the palace heart stands Geunjeongjeon, hall of state ceremonies. Coronations. Investitures of crown princes. Receptions for foreign envoys. Grand assemblies of court. Here, authority was not simply declared — it was staged. Raised upon a double-tiered stone platform, the hall commands height both physical and symbolic. Along its balustrades stand the Four Guardian Deities — Blue Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise — and the twelve zodiac animals. Power here required no speech. It was encoded in elevation, orientation, ornament. If a modern stage rests upon this axis today, the audience does not merely attend a concert. They enter a space dense with ritual memory. Sajeongjeon and Gangnyeongjeon: The Border of State and Self If Geunjeongjeon was the public theater, Sajeongjeon was governance in conversation — the king meeting ministers in daily counsel. Behind the throne stood the Irworobongdo, the folding screen of sun, moon and five peaks — symbol of sovereign authority extending across the Korean Peninsula. The same image appears behind King Sejong on Korea’s 10,000-won note. Its symbolism endures in pocket and palm. Further within lies Gangnyeongjeon, the king’s living quarters. This was private space — historians of the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty were not permitted to reside here. Record paused. Power exhaled. Wooden floors opened to summer air; ondol-heated rooms held winter warmth. The king, too, lived within climate, within season, within the ordinary rhythms of this peninsula. The palace was a stage of sovereignty — and also a dwelling of a single human life. Gyeonghoeru: Banquet, Cosmology, and Reflection If Geunjeongjeon was ritual, Gyeonghoeru was celebration — the politics of hospitality. Foreign envoys were welcomed here; meritorious officials honored. Rebuilt in 1867, the pavilion stands upon forty-eight stone pillars. Twenty-four inner columns are round; twenty-four outer columns square — embodying the philosophy of cheonwon jibang: heaven is round, earth is square. Even the roofline carries guardians — small figurines to ward off evil spirits, ornaments permitted only to the highest-ranking structures. This is no mere pavilion. It is cosmology in timber and stone. Hyangwonji: Rest, and the Weight of Tragedy Deep within the palace grounds rests Hyangwonji, a pond once meant for royal repose. At its center stands Hyangwonjeong Pavilion, where king and queen walked, paused, breathed. Water, forest, reflection — a softer register than the tension of the throne hall. Yet beyond it lies Geoncheonggung Palace, site of the 1895 assassination of Queen Min by Japanese agents — the Eulmi Incident. Soon after, King Gojong sought refuge at the Russian Legation. Gyeongbokgung became, in effect, an emptied palace. Thus serenity and sorrow coexist. Time does not erase; it accumulates. With the Japanese annexation in 1910, Gyeongbokgung endured sweeping destruction. Many halls were dismantled or relocated. The Japanese Government-General Building once stood heavily upon this ground. Since 1990, restoration has advanced steadily. Yet only about 30 percent of the original structures stand today. The goal: 40 percent restoration by 2045. Eodo was once touched only by royal steps. It bore the weight of ritual and rule. Now citizens and visitors traverse it freely — silk skirts brushing stone, smartphones lifted to capture angles once forbidden. In twenty-one days, another moment will arrive. BTS is scheduled to perform. The palace that once anchored a dynasty prepares to connect, through music, to the world. The ceremonial axis becomes a cultural stage. 2026-02-27 16:14:08 -
Trendy living ideas from Seoul SEOUL, February 26 (AJP) -The 2026 Seoul Living Design Fair opened Wednesday at COEX in southern Seoul, transforming the cavernous exhibition halls into a playground of textures, light and ideas. Now in its 31st year, the country’s largest interior and lifestyle showcase returns under the theme “Sustainable Living and Design.” Organizers say around 450 domestic and international brands have joined this year’s edition — the biggest lineup yet. For five days through March 1, COEX becomes a walk-through mood board of modern living. From sculptural sofas and modular shelving to mood lighting, tactile textiles and next-generation home appliances, every aisle offers a snapshot of how Koreans are reimagining their homes. This year, sustainability is not just a buzzword — it’s the backbone. Recycled woods, bio-based fabrics, low-energy lighting and smart energy systems take center stage. Brands are leaning into warmer palettes, natural finishes and compact, multifunctional designs that reflect urban living realities. Visitors move from minimalist studio setups to cozy, plant-filled living rooms and tech-forward kitchens, exploring spaces that feel both practical and aspirational. The fair captures a shift: homes are no longer just places to live, but carefully curated reflections of values — wellness, efficiency and environmental awareness. Since its launch, the annual fair has evolved into a barometer of Korea’s design culture, where industry insiders scout emerging brands and everyday consumers gather inspiration for their next renovation — or simply their next idea. 2026-02-26 14:04:50 -
Drone exhibiition "DSK 2026" kicks off in Busan Busan, February 25 (AJP) - Asia’s leading drone exhibition and conference, DSK 2026 (Drone Show Korea), kicked off Wednesday at BEXCO in Busan, running through Feb. 27. Co-hosted by Busan Metropolitan City, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of National Defense and the Korea AeroSpace Administration, the event marks its largest edition to date. This year’s exhibition features 318 companies from 23 countries across 1,200 booths, covering 26,508 square meters. An international conference will bring together 48 speakers from 13 countries to discuss emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, defense, future mobility and the New Space industry. Organizers said the event aims to serve as a global platform for industry networking and business opportunities, alongside interactive programs for visitors. 2026-02-25 17:18:31 -
Welcome to the Coffee Republic of Korea SEOUL, February 25 (AJP) -South Korea’s passion for coffee was on full display this week as the 2026 Seoul Cafe & Bakery Fair Season 1 opened at SETEC in southern Seoul. The four-day exhibition runs from Feb. 25 to 28. The fair brings together the full spectrum of the cafe and bakery industry — from specialty coffee and artisanal bread to desserts, beverages and franchise services. Visitors can also attend consulting programs on startup planning and store operations. The venue is organized into themed halls, including “Roastery B” for specialty coffee and roasting brands, “Tea Village” for traditional and blended teas, “Zero Planet” for eco-friendly food and beverage products, and “Korea Spirit Festa” for alcoholic beverage brands. Korea’s deepening coffee culture is reflected in trade data. According to Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp., citing figures from the Korea Customs Service, coffee imports reached about 2.65 trillion won in 2025 — a record high and more than 40 percent higher than a year earlier. Import volume totaled roughly 215,000 tons. Adding to the atmosphere, the Korea Latte Art Championship is being held alongside the fair, drawing skilled baristas and enthusiastic crowds. The exhibition continues through Feb. 28 at SETEC in Seoul’s Gangnam District — a fitting stage for a country that has firmly established itself as one of the world’s most devoted coffee cultures. 2026-02-25 16:54:10