K-wave, riding past China's "Big Ban" China’s internet, fortified by its “Great Firewall,” blocks the platforms through which much of the world consumes culture — YouTube, Netflix, Facebook, Instagram. Yet Korean dramas, music, and entertainment continue to find audiences there, slipping through the cracks via VPNs, unofficial downloads, and fan-run networks. This quiet persistence offers a window into China’s cultural ecosystem, and into the limits of state control. Korean pop culture first surged in China in the early 2000s with dramas like "What Is Love" and "Jewel in the Palace." The last Korean drama to be officially imported was "My Love From the Star" in 2013–14. Since then, political tensions, ideological anxieties, and industrial considerations have sharply narrowed the pipeline. Chinese authorities have long viewed Korean content as a challenge to the nation’s values, wary that its themes — individualism, personal freedom, the primacy of romance — might stir impulses at odds with collectivist and family-centered ideals. Cultural security also looms large: foreign entertainment is seen as a possible catalyst for political awakening among young people. And at its peak, the Korean Wave grew so dominant that it threatened the ambitions of China’s own cultural industry, which seeks to knit its immense domestic market into a unified cultural sphere. These concerns hardened into practice around the time of the THAAD dispute, when an unofficial but far-reaching set of restrictions took hold. He Tianxiang, a professor at City University of Hong Kong, calls this era the “Big Ban.” Beijing never declared a formal prohibition, but Korean dramas and TV formats were suddenly delayed, sidelined, or quietly scrubbed from programming slates. Casting decisions shifted. Public events evaporated. And yet the audience never went away. Instead, it rerouted. British researcher Polly White describes this phenomenon as “shadow circulation” — a parallel distribution system created not by corporations but by fans. What China blocked, its young people reconstructed: subtitling communities, file-sharing rings, encrypted chat groups, and stealth fan clubs. Offline, the appetite was just as visible. Pop-up stores selling Korean idol merchandise drew long lines in major cities. Fan meetings sold out instantly. The more official access contracted, the more sophisticated these informal networks became. In effect, China’s youth built a transnational cultural infrastructure of their own. Of course, unauthorized downloads and piracy can’t be defended. But they cannot be separated from the structural conditions that produced them. When entire channels are sealed off, audiences find unregulated ones. For the Korean industry, the costs have been substantial: losing what was once its largest overseas market reshaped revenue streams and creative strategies. Still, the endurance of this cultural flow matters. Even when diplomacy froze and formal exchanges collapsed, fans maintained contact, translating, sharing, and circulating content that policymakers sought to contain. Culture, stubborn as water, found a way around the barriers. The task now is to bring this circulation out of the shadows. Reopening official distribution routes would reduce economic losses, tamp down illicit markets, and allow both countries to rebuild cultural ties on more stable ground. The informal bridges that young people have maintained — fragile, improvised, often invisible — may yet become the basis for a renewed relationship. Culture has always moved more freely than politics. In China, despite the firewalls and silences, it still does. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-05 09:24:22

Samsung Heavy signs deals in US to boost role for MASGA SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) - Samsung Heavy Industries is deepening its shipbuilding cooperation with the United States, targeting next-generation naval support ships and liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels as part of an expanded push into the U.S. market. At the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans this week, Samsung signed a three-way business cooperation agreement with U.S. shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO and South Korean engineering firm DSEC. The agreement covers collaboration in ship design, equipment supply, and workforce development, and includes plans to jointly bid for the U.S. Navy’s next-generation support ship program. The new support vessels are intended to boost the Navy’s rapid mobility and enhance its ability to deliver fuel, ammunition and supplies at sea. San Diego–based NASSCO, a major U.S. naval and commercial shipbuilder, operates five shipyards across four states. DSEC has worked with NASSCO for two decades, a longstanding partnership that Samsung says will help strengthen synergy among the three companies. Samsung also signed a memorandum of understanding with Conrad Shipyard to jointly construct LNG bunkering vessels. Conrad, which runs five yards in Louisiana and Texas, builds and repairs a wide range of vessels, including barges and tugboats. The tie-up aims to accelerate Samsung’s entry into the U.S. LNG transport and bunkering market. “Our 50 years of shipbuilding expertise will be amplified through Korea-U.S. shipbuilding cooperation, accelerating technology exchange and workforce development to bolster the competitiveness of U.S. shipbuilding,” Samsung Heavy Industries said in a statement. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-05 09:13:59

Seoul Metro increases subway trains as heavy snow disrupts commuters SEOUL, December 5 (AJP) - More subway trains were put into service during the morning rush hour in Seoul on Friday to prevent delays and disruptions caused by heavy snowfall the previous night. Seoul Metro said, "To minimize inconvenience due to snow, we increased the number of trains between 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m." The capital and other metropolitan areas saw their first snow of the winter the previous day, with more than 5 centimeters falling in just a few hours, paralyzing traffic and causing numerous accidents. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-05 09:01:43

South Korea takes steps to safeguard rare earths, critical energy resources SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) - South Korea has launched a national council to stabilize supplies of rare earth elements and expand strategic reserves, amid heightened global supply chain volatility. The council, chaired by Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jeong-gwan, convened for the first time on Friday with vice-ministers from related ministries to review a comprehensive rare earth supply chain strategy. The body will oversee the government's resource security policies, supported by an expert advisory group tasked with providing technical guidance on key commodities such as critical minerals, natural gas, and oil. According to the energy ministry, the council laid out three core initiatives to strengthen resource security: operating an early warning system for potential disruptions, establishing a public–private crisis response mechanism, and ensuring stable procurement of essential resources. “With intensifying U.S.–China competition over rare earths and rising demand for critical minerals driven by electric vehicles and batteries, we will strengthen national resource security in a systematic manner through the newly launched council,” Minister Kim said. Using an integrated information platform, the government will centralize supply chain data to improve early detection capabilities. Major companies will be designated as key institutions required to report any disruptions or unusual price movements. So far, authorities have named 18 core supply institutions and 20 key demand institutions across sectors including critical minerals, energy, and uranium, the ministry said. To mitigate external shocks, Seoul will expand reserves of critical minerals and crude oil and ease import restrictions on recycled materials while supporting investments in recycling technologies. As part of efforts to safeguard advanced industries such as automotive, semiconductors, and batteries, the government will diversify rare earth import sources and boost domestic production. The existing rare earth task force will be expanded to monitor market conditions and coordinate emergency response, trade negotiations, overseas resource development, and R&D. South Korea will also increase crude oil stockpiles and adjust the composition of reserves to reflect changes in domestic demand. Safety and protective systems at reserve facilities will also be upgraded. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-05 08:56:09

When it snows, it downpours in Seoul: first snow causes chaos SEOUL, December 05 (AJP) -Heavy snowfall across Seoul and southern Gyeonggi triggered a wave of accidents and commuter chaos from rush hour in Wednesday evening to late night as icy roads and inadequate snow removal efforts left drivers stranded and public transportation overwhelmed. In Seoul, the first snow has now become something of a pattern: when it snows, it downpours—the second year in a row in which the season’s first flakes arrived as a full-blown snowstorm. Southern Gyeonggi Police Agency said it received 1,902 snow-related calls between 5 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday, including 1,087 reports of traffic disruptions, 732 requests for snow removal, and 83 traffic accidents. At 4 a.m., a truck crash near Pangyo Junction on the Gyeongbu Expressway blocked several lanes. Earlier, at 10:43 p.m., six vehicles collided on an icy slope near the Gwacheon Tunnel exit on the Bongdam–Gwacheon Expressway. No major injuries were reported. While no highways in southern Gyeonggi were fully closed, congestion persisted as temperatures dropped and road surfaces refroze. In Seoul, what began as light flurries quickly intensified—with bursts of thunder—during the evening rush hour. Snow removal operations temporarily closed some streets, forcing passengers to abandon buses and walk. Subway ridership surged as commuters sought alternatives to gridlocked roads. A snow advisory issued at 6 p.m. was lifted two hours later, but disruptions stretched well into the night as snow continued to accumulate. Residents said the turmoil felt all too familiar, recalling last November’s first snowfall that dumped more than 20 centimeters on the capital. “Even though it’s the first snow, similar issues occurred last year,” said a commuter surnamed Cho, speaking to Yonhap News. With forecasters warning of icy morning roads, Seoul officials moved to bolster public transit, adding 20 extra subway trains during Thursday’s morning rush hour and extending concentrated bus deployment by 30 minutes. Additional snow removal was planned for icy stretches, sidewalks, and neighborhood roads. All previously restricted sections, including parts of the Inner Ring Road, were reopened overnight. Many commuters endured long, exhausting journeys home. A 25-year-old office worker, Ahn, said her usual one-hour trip from Sangam-dong to Gangnam stretched to two and a half hours. “I wore Ugg boots because it was slippery, but I still ended up falling,” she said. After two years of punishing first snowfalls, public frustration is rising. “Are the authorities just waiting for the snow to melt?” one resident said. Another commuter, Cho, 28, was more direct: “If the same thing keeps happening, whether it’s the government or the city, it means they weren’t prepared.” * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-05 08:42:43

Revised Commercial Act adds legal uncertainty to Korea's M&A landscape SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - South Korea’s C-suite and boards must now weigh shareholder rights as heavily as employee considerations under the revised Commercial Act, a shift posing as a setback to bold, owner-driven decision-making long associated with chaebols. The implications of the overhaul were a central focus at a capital markets and M&A seminar hosted in Seoul by law firm Shin & Kim on Thursday, where corporate lawyers and market participants examined how the revised law could reshape boardroom choices in major transactions. “There are still no clear legal precedents on how directors should navigate conflicts between different shareholder interests under the revised Act,” said Oh Jong-han, managing partner at Shin & Kim, in opening remarks. “This creates a situation where companies and directors are having to make decisions without established benchmarks on what will ultimately be judged as acceptable.” Merger ratios under closer scrutiny One of the most immediate pressure points is merger ratios. Under the revised Commercial Act, directors involved in mergers deemed to have been executed at unfair ratios now face heightened risks of shareholder damages claims, as well as potential criminal liability for breach of fiduciary duty. “In affiliated-company mergers, directors must examine far more carefully whether the deal — including its timing and exchange ratio — genuinely benefits the company’s shareholders,” said Lee Dong-geon, head of Shin & Kim’s Corporate Governance Strategy Center. “The risk profile has clearly changed. Decisions once viewed as business judgment are increasingly being scrutinized through the lens of shareholder fairness.” Shareholder losses may trigger injunctions Another area of uncertainty is whether shareholder losses could be interpreted as losses to the company itself. If courts adopt such an interpretation, shareholders may gain stronger grounds to seek injunctions halting transactions before completion, invoking their rights to preserve corporate interests. “This opens the door to preventive legal action at much earlier stages of M&A,” Lee said, noting that such remedies were previously difficult to access unless direct damage to the company could be demonstrated. Practitioners warned that this shift could significantly raise the bar for board approvals in restructurings and group transactions. Boards face higher decision-making burden While the revisions are not expected to derail routine deals, experts emphasized that complex transactions — particularly those involving related parties or capital restructuring — will now require greater procedural rigor. Boards will be expected to document their decision-making more extensively, rely on independent valuations and demonstrate clearly that a proposed transaction serves the collective interests of shareholders. “With limited case law to guide interpretation, directors are operating in a legal gray zone,” Oh said. “Until clearer standards emerge, conservative decision-making is likely to prevail.” Experts noted that the revised Commercial Act signals a structural shift in Korea’s capital markets — one that strengthens shareholder protections but also injects new uncertainty into how boards navigate high-stakes transactions. 2025-12-04 17:48:39

Korean replaces Chinese as foreign favorite language amid K-pop rise SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - In another sign of Korean pop culture's global reach, Korean has become the sixth most-studied language on Duolingo, one of the world's largest language-learning platforms, increasingly replacing Chinese as a preferred foreign language. According to the 2025 Language Report released Thursday, Korean trailed only English, Spanish, French, Japanese and German in global popularity. It also ranked as the second-fastest-growing language in Western countries including Argentina, Colombia, France, Germany, Mexico, Spain and Poland. Duolingo now counts 5.5 million Korean learners worldwide, a trend the company attributes to the international success of "Squid Game," K-dramas and K-pop. Official dictionary traffic tells a similar story. The National Institute of the Korean Language, the government body overseeing Korean language policy, said Tuesday that its two major online dictionaries — the Basic Korean Dictionary and the Korean–Foreign Language Learners' Dictionary — surpassed 20 million cumulative visits this year. From January through October, the Basic Korean Dictionary recorded 3.5 million visits, while the learners' dictionary logged 16.64 million, led by its Korean–English edition. High usage was also reported in the Korean–Arabic and Korean–Indonesian versions, particularly in regions where Korean pop culture enjoys strong followings and alternative reference tools are scarce. Users searched not only nouns but also verbs, adverbs and suffixes, suggesting that learners across proficiency levels depend on the dictionaries. The Basic Korean Dictionary, launched in 2012 with about 52,000 headwords, will add roughly 1,300 new entries in March 2026. Motivation data shows why Korean stands apart from other foreign languages. A survey last year by Preply found that most Korean learners cited "hobby or personal interest" as their main reason for studying the language. By contrast, 28 percent of general language learners worldwide study for job-related or career or self-development purposes — highlighting how Korean's appeal is tied directly to entertainment consumption and cultural affinity. Demand is also rising in higher education. A 2024 report by the Modern Language Association found that U.S. university enrollment in Korean courses grew more than 60 percent between 2013 and 2024, while enrollment in Chinese courses fell about 30 percent. Similar patterns have emerged in the United Kingdom, according to data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency. The South China Morning Post noted that China's slowing economy and deteriorating global image have dampened interest in Chinese language study, while Korean continues to gain momentum on the back of K-pop and Korean media. The King Sejong Institute, South Korea's government-run global Korean-language network, has also expanded rapidly. It now operates 256 branches in 88 countries — up from just 13 in 2007 — with roughly 700,000 cumulative learners. The government aims to increase the network to 350 branches by 2027 and is rolling out AI-based learning tools, including the "i-Sejong Institute," alongside localized curricula and dispatched teaching staff. "The Basic Korean Dictionary and the Korean–Foreign Language Learners' Dictionary have become essential tools for both learners and instructors," an official at the National Institute of the Korean Language said. "As global interest in Korean continues to rise, we will work to provide reliable and accessible online dictionary services." 2025-12-04 17:32:19

Nikkei soars, KOSDAQ active with robotics helped by Trump's mention SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - Japanese stocks defied concerns over a potential unwinding of the yen carry trade to push back above the 50,000-point threshold, while activity was subdued across most of Asia. South Korea’s KOSPI closed 0.19 percent lower at 4,028.51 on Thursday. After sliding more than 1 percent in early trading, the index pared losses in the afternoon as foreigners took profits and nearly all U.S. megacap tech stocks—excluding AMD—declined overnight. Foreign investors drove the weakness, net selling 696.5 billion won ($472.5 million). Retail investors net bought 560.8 billion won, and institutions purchased 131.7 billion won, positioning for the next upswing. The KOSDAQ slipped 0.23 percent to 929.83, though its market cap is nearing the 500-trillion-won milestone amid expectations of government support measures for the secondary market. The won continued to weaken, losing 3 won to 1,470 per dollar as of 5:10 p.m., pressured by foreign outflows following heavy stock sales during the session. Bond yields were mixed. The three-year government bond yield fell 1.6 basis points to 3.025 percent but remained above 3 percent. The 10-year yield edged up 0.8 basis points to 3.376 percent. Samsung Electronics rose 0.57 percent to 105,100 won after securing a contract to supply HBM4 memory for Google’s next-generation TPU production starting in 2026. SK hynix fell 1.81 percent to 542,000 won, weighed down by weak earnings at Kioxia, the Japanese NAND maker it has invested in, and softer AI-related demand from its key customer Microsoft. Losses on the main bourse were softened by a sudden rally in robotics stocks, which surged on rumors that U.S. President Donald Trump may sign an executive order promoting the robotics industry. Hyundai AutoEver jumped 27.19 percent to 283,000 won. Hyundai Motor—the parent of AutoEver and Boston Dynamics—climbed 6.38 percent to 283,500 won. Doosan Robotics rose 7.82 percent to 82,700 won. LG Electronics also gained, closing 5.92 percent higher at 94,800 won, supported by optimism around its automotive electronics and software-defined vehicle businesses. The KOSDAQ likewise avoided a steeper decline thanks to robotics-linked names. Rainbow Robotics, in which Samsung Electronics is the largest shareholder, rose 6.3 percent to 472,500 won on the Washington headlines. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 2.33 percent higher at 51,028.42, logging the largest gain among major Asian indices. Export-heavy automakers advanced on expectations of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate cut. Toyota added 3.26 percent to 3,103 yen ($20), while Honda rose 2.93 percent to 1,548 yen. Robot makers also rallied sharply, with Fanuc soaring 12.98 percent to 5,953 yen and Yaskawa Electric jumping 11.37 percent to 4,769 yen. Taiwan’s TAIEX closed at 27,795.71, unchanged from the previous session. Chinese markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite finished flat at 3,875.79 amid lingering recession concerns, while the Shenzhen Component rose 0.4 percent to 13,006.72. Battery giant CATL climbed 1.93 percent to 383.35 yuan ($54.27), leading gains. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended 0.68 percent higher at 25,935.90, with Xiaomi up 4.33 percent at 41.96 Hong Kong dollars ($5.39). 2025-12-04 17:25:27

With too many skeletons out of the closet, Coupang founder Kim may have to come out SEOUL, December 04 (AJP) - Coupang earns roughly 90 percent of its estimated $34 billion in revenue from Korea, yet operates and trades as a U.S.-based company often dubbed "Korea's Amazon." Increasingly, however, it resembles something closer to a Chinese tech firm—with opaque recruiting practices and oversight failures that culminated in the mass-scale data leak exposing virtually all of its online shoppers. For negligence and liability related to the loss of data on 33.7 million users, Coupang could face penalties of up to 3 percent of revenue, or as much as $1 billion, in addition to a raft of civil and criminal lawsuits. Bom Kim, the Korean-born American who owns 76 percent of the New York Stock Exchange-listed Coupang Inc., remains out of sight as domestic CEO Park Dae-jun is hounded by police investigators, lawmakers and furious consumers. The breach has shed light on Coupang's extensive reliance on foreign developers, including a sizable cohort of Chinese engineers. The alleged perpetrator is a former Chinese employee. Coupang has refused to disclose the nationalities of its engineering workforce, saying only that it recruits "talent from diverse backgrounds." Activity on Maimai, China's equivalent to LinkedIn, suggests the company has maintained steady recruitment pipelines there. Verified accounts claiming Coupang affiliation have remained active through the second half of this year, alongside postings from headhunters and industry insiders seeking candidates for the company. One user identifying himself as a senior vice president of a Chinese holding company ranked Coupang eighth among the most attractive foreign IT employers in Shanghai, behind Google, Amazon and Apple. In a June post, he wrote that Coupang's Shanghai office in Changtai Plaza pays competitively with Alibaba and employs numerous former Alibaba engineers across functions, adding that the attraction is "no overtime work." Operationally, Coupang resembles Alibaba and JD.com more than Amazon. Instead of a marketplace model connecting external sellers to buyers, the company directly purchases inventory, stores it in proprietary warehouses and fulfills orders through its own vertical logistics network. Despite investing 89 billion won annually in cybersecurity and employing more than 200 security engineers, the leak did not result from a sophisticated attack but a basic managerial lapse. A former employee kept access through an unrevoked JWT (JSON Web Token) signing key after leaving the company, enabling unrestricted entry for five months without triggering security alerts. Coupang Corp., the Korean operating subsidiary, is wholly owned by Coupang Inc., a Delaware-registered holding company. Kim controls 76 percent of the voting rights, effectively placing the company under his personal authority. While the Korean unit is the legal entity liable for the breach, Coupang Inc. argues that it neither stores nor manages user data directly. "A corporation and its CEO or shareholders are legally separate entities since a joint-stock corporation is based on limited liability. It is generally difficult to hold an individual—such as Chairman Bom Kim—personally accountable unless there are exceptional circumstances," said Um Kyong-chon, attorney at Lawfirm Family. Kim stepped down from Coupang's Korean board shortly after the Serious Accident Punishment Act took effect in 2021, removing himself from the scope of internal criminal liability. Coupang has repeatedly underscored that its "headquarters is in the U.S., and Kim is an American citizen." The company's dominance in online retail has shielded it from labor and regulatory controversies for years. J.P. Morgan projected minimal customer defection after the breach, citing limited competition and historically low public sensitivity to data privacy. Korean consumers accustomed to overnight delivery, the report noted, are unlikely to abandon the platform. Adding to public anger are signs of potential insider trading. Several U.S.-based executives sold substantial shareholdings in the weeks surrounding the breach. According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday, CFO Gaurav Anand sold 75,350 shares for about $2.2 million on Nov. 10. Former Vice President Pranam Kolari, who oversaw search and recommendations, sold 27,388 shares for $772,000 on Nov. 17, just days after resigning. Given the sensitivity of the scandal, Bom Kim may eventually have to respond to public and political pressure. Korean law recognizes the concept of a "de facto" decision-maker—someone who exercises authority regardless of whether he holds a formal board seat. 2025-12-04 17:13:45

NTS to crack down on tax evaders in real estate inheritances SEOUL, December 4 (AJP) - The National Tax Service plans to intensify its probe of real estate transferred from wealthy parents to children to evade inheritance and other taxes, the watchdog said in a meeting at the government complex in Seoul on Thursday. The probe is expected to target some 2,077 apartment owners in Seoul's affluent districts of Gangnam, Gangdong, Seocho and Songpa as well as Mapo and Seongdong districts north of the Han River, where prices have soared in recent years. The NTS will investigate them for any illegal activities or suspicious transactions. "We are committed to eradicating illegal inheritance and gifts to protect those who want to buy their own affordable home," said Kim Yong-su, an NTS official. * This article, published by Economic Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-12-04 16:55:52