KAIST expands national science outreach programs SEOUL, November 25 (AJP) - The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said on November 25 that it is expanding its major public science programs, including the KSOP education initiative, the OPEN KAIST festival, and non-degree IT and AI training programs for young adults and military personnel. The institute said these efforts support national policies to broaden science culture, strengthen future talent pipelines, and reinforce South Korea’s scientific competitiveness. KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung said the institute is committed to widening educational access regardless of background. He said KSOP and OPEN KAIST help students from different regions and socioeconomic conditions imagine themselves as future scientists. He added that KAIST will continue focusing on warm science, inclusive education, and a sustainable science culture ecosystem. KSOP, run by the KAIST Center for Gifted Education Research, selects socially disadvantaged students with strong potential in mathematics and science and connects them with KAIST undergraduate and graduate mentors. The program began in 2015 with 250 participants and expanded to 1,000 per year by 2022. About 8,000 students have taken part so far, and more than 70 percent have continued into science and engineering fields. Some graduates return as mentors, forming a cycle of talent sharing. The program also reaches students in areas with fewer opportunities for science education, including Jeju, Mokpo, and Andong. KAIST said these activities have helped ease regional education gaps and have become one of its main science culture initiatives. Parent sessions, family camps, and counseling programs have expanded steadily, with the fifth family camp held in 2025. KSOP graduates and mentors operate KSOP Friends, a network that supports scholarship programs, mentoring, and donations. The effort has grown into a public small-scale recurring donation campaign known as the Kidarri Ajeossi Project. OPEN KAIST, held every two years, recorded more than 8,000 visitors over two days in 2025, the highest number to date and more than four times the turnout in 2023. Laboratory tours were especially popular and drew long waiting lists. KAIST said it plans to expand access in future events after some visitors were unable to join because of stronger-than-expected interest. KAIST also operates non-degree IT and semiconductor training programs for military personnel and young adults. The KAIST IT Academy provides hands-on instruction in AI, computing, and programming and enrolls about 1,000 trainees annually. The university’s SW training program, known as Jungle, graduated 308 participants between 2021 and 2024, with many joining companies such as Naver, Krafton, Team Sparta, Nearthlab, and Woowa Brothers. The program emphasizes project-based learning, practical coding experience, and mentoring by working developers. Based on the success of Jungle, Krafton launched a related program in 2022 called Krafton Jungle as part of the company’s social contribution efforts. KAIST’s IC Design Education Center, IDEC, trains about 240 young semiconductor design specialists each year and supports their transition into industry. KSOP received international recognition in 2024 at the Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness, where it earned the top program prize and top researcher prize. KAIST also launched Junior KAIST in 2025 to expand science, mathematics, and AI exploration opportunities for younger students. KAIST said it will continue strengthening its role as a public research university through national-level science outreach and talent development programs. 2025-11-25 09:39:28

KAIST study finds red OLED light can reduce Alzheimer's protein and improve memory SEOUL, November 24 (AJP) - The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said on November 24 that its researchers have confirmed that a specific color of OLED light can reduce a key Alzheimer’s disease protein and improve memory in animal models, suggesting a possible new direction for non-drug treatment. The work was carried out with the Korea Brain Research Institute. The team tested three OLED colors, blue, green, and red, using a platform that keeps brightness even and avoids the heat and uneven light problems found in regular LEDs. They compared the lights under the same conditions, including brightness, exposure time, and a 40-hertz flicker rate. According to the researchers, the red 40 hertz light showed the clearest improvement in both Alzheimer's-related proteins and memory performance. To put it simply, the team shone the lights on early-stage Alzheimer’s model mice for one hour a day over two days. Even in that short period, red and white lights helped the animals remember better, and the harmful protein amyloid beta, often called plaque, decreased in key brain regions such as the hippocampus. Levels of ADAM17, an enzyme that helps clear plaque, increased as well. The red light also lowered IL-1 beta, a molecule linked to brain inflammation, which the researchers said indicates an anti-inflammatory effect. They added that animals showing a larger drop in plaque tended to show a bigger jump in memory performance, suggesting a direct link between the two. In mid-stage Alzheimer’s models, red light again showed a clearer pattern. After two weeks of exposure using the same frequency and brightness, only the red light produced a significant reduction in plaque, although both red and white improved memory. At the molecular level, the differences were more pronounced. Red light increased ADAM17 and decreased BACE1, an enzyme that helps create plaque. In other words, red light both reduced plaque production and boosted plaque removal. White light, by comparison, only lowered BACE1. To understand what happens in the brain when the light is applied, the team tracked c-Fos, a marker that switches on when neurons are active. They found that the visual cortex, thalamus, and hippocampus were all activated, indicating that the stimulation traveled through the brain’s visual and memory-related circuit. Because the OLED system delivers even brightness regardless of movement, the researchers said it offered consistent results and overcame the technical limits of LEDs. The platform also allows fine control of color, brightness, flicker, and exposure time, which they believe could be useful in future personalized treatment studies. Noh Byung-joo from the KAIST team said the study proves the importance of standardizing color in light-based brain stimulation and shows that red OLED produces key effects across disease stages. Professor Choi Kyung-cheol said the even brightness OLED platform makes it easier to evaluate safety and repeat results, adding that wearable red OLED devices may become a new treatment option in daily life. The findings were published online on October 25 in ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering. 2025-11-24 11:32:29

Star chef 'Fabri' kicks off Italian Cuisine Week in Seoul with cheese-infused kimchi dish SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - Italian chef Fabrizio Ferrari, widely known in South Korea by his affectionate nickname "Fabri," opened this year's Italian Cuisine Week in Seoul on Wednesday with a cooking demonstration that blended Italy's signature cheeses with Korea's most familiar flavors. At High Street Italia in Gangnam, Ferrari prepared a pan of kimchi fried rice and finished it with a cooled, paper-thin cheese crisp set over the dish like a hat. The crisp, made from melted and re-hardened Italian cheese, added a nutty aroma and a crackling texture as he introduced the first program of the week-long event. Ferrari called cheese one of Italy's greatest culinary treasures and said it cannot be separated from the country's food identity. He opened his remarks by drawing a parallel between cheese and jang, the fermented sauces at the foundation of Korean cuisine. "For Italian food, cheese is what jang is for Korean cuisine," he said. "Without jang, there is no real Korean food. It is the same for us. The flavor and umami in Italian dishes come from cheese." In Korean cooking, jang is the element that shapes the taste of soups, stews, and everyday dishes, and many chefs treat it as the essence of Korean food. Ferrari told the audience he sees the same role played by cheese in Italy. He spoke about cheese as a fermented food, noting that its depth comes from the same slow processes that define Korea's jang tradition. Holding up cheeses like provolone and caciocavallo, he pointed out their visual similarities to meju blocks and said the fermentation link explains why Korean diners often find Italian cheeses familiar rather than foreign. Ferrari's demonstration featured well-known cheeses such as Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano, but also lesser-known regional varieties. He reminded the audience that Italy produces dozens of traditional cheeses that differ according to altitude, grass, soil, and climate. "There are regions where animals eat different herbs and plants, so the taste of the milk changes and the cheese changes with it," he said. The chef also introduced the audience to Asiago from northern Italy, as well as provolone, which he described as a firmer, more elastic cousin of mozzarella. Using four types of cheese, he prepared a rich quattro formaggi pasta, then turned to his Korean-Italian fusion dish, placing the cheese crisp on top of the fried rice to bring together heat, salt, and sweetness with the aroma of aged dairy. During the Q&A session, Ferrari told AJP about pairing Italian cheese with Korean traditional drinks. He said fermented alcohols with a slight tang or sweetness worked well. "Makgeolli is a good example," he said. Ferrari is well known in Korea beyond his kitchen. Born into a family of restaurateurs, he earned a Michelin star in 2005 for his seafood restaurant Al Porticciolo 84 in Italy and held it for 15 years. His exposure to Korean cuisine began in 2010 while working with Korean culinary students in Italy. He learned how to make kimchi and other fermented foods and later developed his own Korean-Italian fusion dishes. He moved to South Korea in 2019, taught at Woosong University in Daejeon and became a familiar figure on television. His YouTube channel, Italy Fabri, has drawn a large Korean following. Before Ferrari took the stage, Italian Trade Commissioner Ferdinando Gueli opened the event by presenting this year's promotional focus on authentic Italian cheese. He urged Korean consumers to check origin labels and look for the EU's certification marks. "Korea is one of our most important markets in Asia in terms of per capita exports," he said. "Korean people are among the best lovers of made in Italy in the world." Italian Ambassador Emilia Gatto also greeted guests. Speaking in Korean, she thanked the audience for attending. She said food represents the cultural and artistic ties between South Korea and Italy and praised the popularity of Korean cuisine in Italy. The ambassador said she hoped the week's programs would help deepen the exchange between the two food cultures. 2025-11-19 17:57:08

Indian minister pushes shipbuilding cooperation during visit to South Korea SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, spent two days in South Korea meeting shipbuilding and shipping leaders as part of India's effort to expand maritime cooperation under the country's Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047. The minister toured the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan on November 17, calling the visit productive. The shipyard, described by the Indian Embassy as the world's largest, covers 1,680 acres. He said India's fast-growing energy and shipping sectors, driven by the Make in India initiative and supported by a young population, offer what he called a "golden opportunity" for Korean shipyards to "Make in India for the World." He noted that nearly 20 percent of global vessels are expected to either arrive in or depart from India in the next fifteen years. He also reviewed progress under an existing agreement with Cochin Shipyard Limited, saying plans for a block fabrication facility are expected to be finalised soon. According to the release, India's public-sector companies can procure as many as fifty-nine crude, LNG and ethane vessels. The visit followed his meeting on November 16 with HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun at the company's Global R&D Center in Seongnam. The delegation was briefed on HD Hyundai's ship design capabilities and smart shipyard operation systems. Discussions focused on how these technologies could support India's plans to expand its commercial fleet and strengthen domestic shipbuilding. HD Hyundai noted that India aims to increase its fleet from 1,500 to 2,500 vessels and invest USD 24 billion under the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision, including USD 8 billion recently announced for fleet expansion. Earlier on November 17, the minister met senior executives from major Korean shipping companies: An Byung-gil of Korea Ocean Business Corporation, Kim Sung-ick of SK Shipping, Seo Myung-deuk of H‑Line Shipping, and Sung Je-yong of Pan Ocean. He stressed that energy and shipping are tightly linked to India's economic growth. India's crude and gas imports, valued at more than USD 150 billion, move entirely by sea, yet only about 20 percent of this cargo is carried on Indian-flagged or Indian-owned vessels, the embassy said. The minister also met Kim Hee-cheul, President and CEO of Hanwha Ocean, in Seoul. According to the embassy, he encouraged the company to look at opportunities emerging in India's shipbuilding sector under the Make in India initiative and said Indian public-sector companies are ready to work with Korean partners on manufacturing LNG and crude carriers. 2025-11-17 17:38:08

KAIST develops CT-style method to look inside light-based quantum computers SEOUL, November 17 (AJP) - KAIST said on November 17 that its researchers have developed a way to look inside a light-based quantum computer almost like taking a CT scan. The idea is to make the machine’s hidden operations visible so researchers can understand how the device actually works. Light-based quantum computers use many small light signals that interact and become tangled with one another. This tangling makes the machines powerful, but it also makes them very hard to examine or verify. Until now, scientists struggled to analyze even around five of these signals at once. The KAIST team, led by physics professor Ra Young-sik, created a method that can examine up to sixteen light signals working together. According to the school, this is the first time such a large number has been analyzed experimentally. The basic idea is simple: send different kinds of light into the machine, see how they change on the way out, and then use math to recreate what happened inside. It works much like a medical CT scan, where images are rebuilt from many pieces of data. To make this easier to understand, the researchers separated the changes into two parts. One part shows how the light itself was strengthened or altered. The other part shows how much noise or unwanted disturbance came in from the environment. By splitting these two effects, the method gives a clearer view of both the ideal operation and the real-world imperfections. The new approach also cuts down the amount of data needed to run this kind of analysis. That makes it possible to study much larger quantum operations without overwhelming the system. The research team includes Gwak Geunhee as first author, along with Roh Chan, Yoon Young-do, and Imperial College London professor Kim Myung-sik. The findings were published online on November 11 in Nature Photonics. (Source: KAIST press release) The work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea, the Institute of Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation, and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. 2025-11-17 15:33:19

Belgium marks King's Day in Seoul with focus on deepening ties SEOUL, November 14 (AJP) - The Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium hosted a King's Day reception in Seoul on November 13, 2025, bringing together about 200 diplomats, business figures, academics, and media representatives at the Four Seasons Hotel. The evening combined national-day tradition with a look ahead to the 125th anniversary of Belgium–South Korea diplomatic relations next year. Opening his remarks, Ambassador Bruno Jans greeted the audience by saying, "Good evening, friends of Belgium," before reflecting on the roots of King's Day and the Belgian monarchy. He noted that the occasion pays tribute to Belgium's first king, Leopold I, and added, "This year marks the 12th anniversary of His Majesty King Philippe's accession to the throne." The ambassador emphasized that 2026 will be a significant year for both countries. "2026 will mark 125 years of diplomatic relations between Korea and Belgium, established in 1901," he said, recalling the history that links the two nations. He also pointed to another milestone next year, noting, "It will also mark 75 years since Belgian troops arrived during the Korean War." The embassy held a design competition for the 125th anniversary emblem, which drew 58 submissions from Belgium and South Korea. "Good things come in pairs," the ambassador said as he explained that the anniversary of bilateral relations and the wartime commemoration would frame next year's program of events. Reflecting on recent exchanges, the ambassador said Belgium had seen a year of "high-level visits," and highlighted the growing number of cultural and educational links. He also welcomed progress toward establishing a Belgian chamber of commerce in South Korea to support business cooperation. The reception featured performances by cellist Kang Seung-min, a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, along with the saxophone quartet S.with. Guests continued conversations over the reception that followed, sharing views on the busy year of commemorative events planned for 2026. 2025-11-14 16:34:56

Indian Film Festival opens in Seoul with focus on storytelling and cultural ties SEOUL, November 14 (AJP) - The 13th Indian Film Festival opened this week at the Korean Film Archive in Seoul, bringing a lineup of award-winning and widely acclaimed films to audiences in South Korea. The festival, organized by the Embassy of India together with local partners, began on November 12 with an evening ceremony attended by diplomats, cultural officials and film enthusiasts. Deputy Chief of Mission Nishi Kant Singh welcomed guests by noting how the festival has become a meeting point for shared cinematic appreciation. "Each year, the Indian Film Festival unites us in a powerful celebration of storytelling, deepening our collective cinematic bond and honoring the boundless creativity, diversity, and spirit of Indian cinema," he said. Singh highlighted the broader context of the event, pointing to the cultural dimension of India–South Korea relations. He said the two countries share more than trade and technology ties, adding that films remain one of the clearest ways to strengthen people-to-people understanding. "Films hold a unique power in strengthening people-to-people connections — transcending language and geography to touch hearts and inspire understanding," he said. This year's program includes titles such as 12th Fail, Manjummel Boys, English Vinglish, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Hellaro and Anur (Eyes on the Sunshine). Screenings will continue through November across several cities, including Busan, Incheon, Yangsan, Miryang, Suncheon and Gwangju. The festival is running in partnership with the Korean Film Archives, Busan Cinema Centre, India Centre, Busan University of Foreign Studies, Mirim Theatre and the Asian Culture Centre. Singh also noted how Korean content has gained strong traction globally, including in India. He referenced films and series that have drawn international attention in recent years, describing them as examples of how locally rooted stories can reach audiences far beyond their home market. The Seoul leg of the festival continues at KOFA through November 15, with online reservations available via the Korean Film Archive website and on-site ticketing offered when seats remain available. 2025-11-14 14:53:25

Study finds crypto prediction markets drew global attention to S. Korea's impeachment SEOUL, November 14 (AJP) - A research paper published on November 12, 2025, in the MDPI-published journal Information examines how cryptocurrency users around the world reacted to and financially engaged with South Korea's 2024 impeachment crisis. The article, titled "From E-Democracy to C-Democracy: Analyzing Transnational Political Discourse During South Korea's 2024 Presidential Impeachment on Polymarket," analyzes real-time activity on a blockchain prediction platform during the constitutional showdown. The study was conducted by Park Han-woo, Kim Jae-hun, and Norhayatun Syamilah Osman of YeungNam University's Digital Convergence Business program, Cyber Emotions Research Center and Big Local Big Pulse Lab. Park, who has examined digital political behavior for many years, shared the publication to highlight how online engagement is changing as financial tools and Web3 platforms become more common. The paper focuses on Polymarket, a blockchain-based prediction site where users place bets on political outcomes using cryptocurrency. On December 14, 2024, as the National Assembly passed the impeachment bill, more than 15.8 million dollars had already been wagered on whether the president would leave office before the end of the year. Users overseas adjusted their positions in real time as events unfolded in Seoul. The authors describe this emerging pattern as "cryptocurrency-enabled democracy," or c-democracy. In this model, political conversation and financial speculation take place in the same space. Users debate, share links, or post casual remarks while expressing their expectations through money staked on the result. The study analyzed 582 comments from 83 users shortly after the vote. Although Polymarket does not release demographic information, many commenters identified themselves as posting from the United States, Europe or Asia. The authors argue that this shows how prediction markets can create transnational communities around domestic political events. Distinct user groups appeared in the data. Some posted detailed political analysis and outside sources, while others reacted with short comments or memes. A smaller group placed large wagers while saying very little. One of the study's key observations is that expressive participation and financial participation did not always align. The authors acknowledge the limits of studying a single event and a crypto-literate user base, but they note that the impeachment crisis offered a clear view of how online political participation is evolving as digital communities and financial tools overlap. The study was submitted on September 30, revised on November 6, accepted on November 8 and published on November 12 by MDPI. The publisher operates a large network of open-access journals and is recognized for its rapid publication. 2025-11-14 13:55:58

Survey shows Deepfake crimes seen as growing threat to young people in South Korea SEOUL, November 12 (AJP) - Nine out of ten South Koreans believe deepfake crimes pose a serious threat to society, a recent survey showed, underscoring escalated alarm over the abuse of artificial intelligence to generate sexually explicit or manipulated content. Deepfake refers to synthetic media generated using artificial intelligence to alter or replace a person's likeness in photos or videos. The technology is increasingly being abused to produce non-consensual sexual material, often targeting women and public figures by inserting their faces into pornographic videos or images shared online. A nationwide survey of 1,007 adults conducted by pollster Realmeter on November 4 and 5 found that 90.2 percent of respondents consider deepfake crimes to have a serious impact on society. Among them, 65.2 percent said the threat was "very serious," while 25.0 percent described it as "somewhat serious." Concern was high across all age groups, reaching 95.3 percent among those in their 50s. The poll results coincide with data from the Ministry of Education showing that deepfake exploitation is spreading rapidly in schools. Between January and October 27 last year, 799 students and 31 teachers were identified as victims of deepfake-related crimes. Reports were more frequent at higher grade levels, but even elementary schools recorded 16 cases. Of 504 cases reported to the ministry, 417 were referred to police for investigation, while 218 videos were deleted with government assistance. The ministry said it has established a task force to monitor such cases and work closely with investigators. Deepfake abuse first drew national attention last year, when 45 related school violence cases were reported in Seoul—double the number from the previous year. Since then, incidents have continued to rise as artificial intelligence tools become easier to access and misuse. The Korea Communications Standards Commission held talks with Telegram in September 2024, one of the platforms frequently used to share manipulated content. Telegram agreed to comply immediately with deletion requests from South Korean authorities. 2025-11-12 17:18:01

KAIST develops flexible ultrasound sensor that can diagnose and treat without surgery SEOUL, November 12 (AJP) - KAIST researchers have developed a new flexible ultrasound sensor that can both capture medical images and deliver noninvasive therapy without the need for surgery or external beamforming. The breakthrough could open new possibilities for wearable medical devices and home-based treatment systems. The team led by Professor Hyunjoo Lee of the KAIST School of Electrical Engineering announced on November 12 that it has created a flex-to-rigid (FTR) capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) using a semiconductor-based MEMS process. The device can freely adjust its curvature to match the contours of the human body while maintaining high output performance, making it suitable for both diagnosis and treatment. At the core of the design is a low-melting-point alloy (LMPA) inserted inside the sensor. When an electrical current is applied, the alloy melts, allowing the transducer to reshape; once cooled, it solidifies and retains the desired curvature. This mechanism enables the device to form precise ultrasonic focus points without any electronic beam steering, ensuring stable imaging and stimulation even under repeated bending. Unlike conventional polymer-based CMUTs, which often produce weak acoustic output and lose focus due to low stiffness, KAIST’s FTR structure combines a rigid silicon base with flexible elastomer bridges. The result is a highly durable, adaptable sensor that retains its electrical and acoustic stability even after multiple deformations. In laboratory tests, the output power reached levels equivalent to or higher than low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU), a therapeutic ultrasound used to stimulate nerves and organs without damaging tissue. When applied to animal models, the sensor successfully delivered noninvasive stimulation to the spleen, reducing inflammation and improving movement in arthritic mice. Professor Lee said the technology could play a key role in future wearable and home medical systems, enabling real-time diagnosis and treatment without surgical intervention. “By integrating the flexibility of wearable devices with the precision of high-performance ultrasound, we’re moving closer to truly personalized, hands-free healthcare,” she said. The research, co-led by Dr. Sangmok Lee and Ph.D. candidate Xiaojia Liang as first authors, was published online in npj Flexible Electronics on October 23 under the title “Flexible ultrasound transducer array with statically adjustable curvature for anti-inflammatory treatment.” 2025-11-12 14:52:47