Dollar-Won Exchange Rate Fluctuates Amid U.S.-Iran Negotiation Uncertainty The won-dollar exchange rate is fluctuating in the low 1500s amid uncertainty surrounding negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. As of 9:35 a.m. on the 28th in the Seoul foreign exchange market, the exchange rate is trading at 1504.7 won per dollar. The rate opened at 1504.0 won, up 2.8 won from the previous trading day, and is fluctuating within a narrow range. Negotiations have shown signs of strain as the U.S. and Iran differ on issues such as the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the easing of sanctions. On the 27th, U.S. President Donald Trump stated regarding the peace negotiations with Iran, "So far, they have not reached a level that satisfies us." The dollar is showing renewed strength. Market participants are paying attention to the potential for increased dollar buying sentiment ahead of the release of the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index for April, scheduled for later that evening. The Bank of Korea's monetary policy committee meeting taking place today is also a key variable. While the market leans toward the possibility of keeping the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.50%, there is heightened interest in the comments from Governor Lee Ju-yeol during the press conference. Considering recent inflationary pressures and signs of economic recovery, any hawkish messages suggesting future interest rate hikes could strengthen the won. Min Kyung-won, an economist at Woori Bank, noted, "With the exchange rate rising back to the 1500 won level, there will be sufficient incentive for profit-taking on high prices. In a situation where risk appetite remains intact, a shift to net foreign buying in the domestic stock market could lead to increased dollar supply through custody sales."* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-28 09:46:36

Nota Shares Surge Following Invitation to NVIDIA Event Nota's shares soared to the daily limit after the company was invited to an event hosted by NVIDIA. As expectations grow for NVIDIA's expansion in the physical AI ecosystem, investor sentiment has sharply increased due to the highlighted partnership. According to the Korea Exchange, at 9:40 a.m. on May 28, Nota's stock was trading at 34,600 won, up 7,950 won (29.83%) from the previous trading day. The stock hit the upper limit shortly after the market opened. Before the regular market opened, Nota also reached the upper limit in the NXT pre-market, indicating strong buying interest. Market analysts believe that the official invitation to the NVIDIA event, announced the previous day, has driven up the stock price. Nota has been officially invited to NVIDIA's 'Jetson Partners Day' taking place on May 30 in Taipei, Taiwan. This event is part of NVIDIA's annual developer conference, 'GTC Taipei 2026,' and is expected to feature key partners in the 'Jetson' platform ecosystem, which is utilized in physical AI applications such as robotics, drones, and autonomous vehicles. Nota's executives, including Chief Technology Officer Kim Tae-ho and Chief Strategy Officer Steven Kim, are set to attend the event. Nota provides a lightweight AI model platform called 'Netspresso' that is compatible with NVIDIA's Jetson platform. The company has also expanded the application of NVIDIA GPU-based AI solutions through its real-time video analysis solution, 'NVA,' which is based on video language models (VLM). As expectations for the growth of the physical AI market increase, analysts note that the partnership with NVIDIA is gaining renewed attention. Physical AI refers to technology where AI is integrated into actual devices such as robots, cars, and drones to operate in real-world environments. In December of last year, Nota was also included in NVIDIA's global partner program, 'Connect.' Connect partners receive priority access to NVIDIA's latest AI frameworks, technical consulting, and joint marketing support. Recent trends in the domestic stock market indicate a growing investment sentiment towards NVIDIA partners and AI infrastructure-related stocks. There is increasing optimism that the physical AI market, centered on robotics and autonomous driving, will emerge as the next growth driver beyond AI data centers.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-28 09:45:47

Starbucks Boycott Sparks Debate Over Senior Employment Program A boycott of Starbucks Korea, triggered by controversy over the May 18 Democratic Uprising, has extended to government-supported initiatives. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has decided to temporarily suspend a senior employment program in collaboration with Starbucks, leading to ongoing debates online about the decision. According to a report by Segye Ilbo on June 26, the Ministry has paused the 'Senior Barista Professional Skills Enhancement Training' program, which was conducted in partnership with Starbucks Korea and the Korea Senior Club Association. This initiative, which began in 2019, has been operating at the 'Starbucks Cooperative Training Center' within the Gunpo Senior Club. Current Starbucks baristas have volunteered their time to provide training in barista skills. The program has continued for seven years, with approximately 2,500 seniors completing the training. Participants who finished the program have found employment in cafes at dementia care centers or senior welfare facilities. However, the Ministry has decided to proceed with the second cohort of trainees as scheduled but will put the third and fourth cohorts on hold after recruitment has already been completed. A Ministry official told Segye Ilbo, "We judged that there could be negative perceptions due to the recent controversy, leading to the temporary suspension of the training. We will monitor the situation and consider whether to resume it in the future." This decision is seen as closely related to the recent online boycott movement against Starbucks. The controversy surrounding the company's comments about the May 18 Democratic Uprising has led some consumers to advocate for a boycott, which has been compounded by discussions regarding discounts for military personnel, sparking debates in both political circles and online communities. Following the news, reactions online have been mixed. Some users criticized the decision, asking, "Why should the responsibility for the controversy fall on senior employment and frontline staff?" and argued that halting social contribution programs is an excessive response. Others suggested that if a company has made mistakes, it should be encouraged to enhance its social contributions rather than withdraw them. Conversely, some users defended the Ministry's decision, stating, "It is natural for public institutions to distance themselves from controversial companies," and suggested that the Ministry could collaborate with other businesses instead. They emphasized the importance of sending a clear social message during this opportunity. This situation highlights how political and social controversies are beginning to impact public-private welfare collaborations. There is growing concern that senior employment initiatives and social contribution programs may be suspended in response to shifts in public opinion, raising the possibility of similar cases in the future.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-05-28 09:42:59

Samsung Electronics poised to join US$2 trillion club on memory upcycle, KB Securities forecasts SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - Samsung Electronics is poised to reach a US$2 trillion market capitalization, KB Securities said Thursday, citing an intensifying memory upcycle, the chipmaker's leverage to Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin platform, and an emerging humanoid robotics strategy anchored by ties to Hyundai Motor Group. The brokerage raised its target price on Samsung to 530,000 won from 450,000 won, its second upgrade in two weeks following a 15 May revision. With the stock closing at 313,500 won on Wednesday, the new target implies roughly 69 percent upside — a move that would carry Samsung's market value into a tier currently inhabited only by the largest US technology names and place it among the small group of non-American companies ever to reach the threshold. The analytical core is Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform, slated for launch in the second half of this year. Kim Dong-won, head of research at KB Securities, wrote that memory will account for around 25 percent of total Vera Rubin platform cost — more than five times its share in the current Blackwell generation. That shift, Kim argued, makes Samsung a direct beneficiary as it expands supply of next-generation memory categories including SOCAMM, a new low-power memory module standard for AI servers, and sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory, known as HBM4. Samsung has lagged rival SK Hynix in supplying high-bandwidth memory to Nvidia through the current cycle, and KB's call is, in effect, a bet that the HBM4 transition resets the competitive board. Kim's broader argument rests on a tightening supply picture. "The memory market next year will be better than this year," he wrote, pointing to deeper shortages and stronger pricing momentum. The structural driver is Samsung's Pyeongtaek P4 fab, where new capacity is being concentrated on specific HBM lines. That dedication means additional commodity DRAM output can come only through process conversion of existing lines — squeezing supply across the broader memory market and lifting prices for general-purpose chips alongside the AI-specific ones. A second leg of the bull case is humanoid robotics. Kim expects Samsung to begin deploying intelligent humanoid robots on its semiconductor production lines in the second half of this year, and described the company's strategy as a two-track approach combining strategic equity investments in global humanoid players with internal development. He singled out cooperation with Boston Dynamics — the robotics affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, with which Samsung maintains close ties — as the most realistic option, given Nvidia's and Google's appetite for the behavioral data that humanoid deployments generate. For now, the load-bearing assumption is HBM4. Samsung's failure to qualify earlier HBM generations into Nvidia's flagship platforms on schedule cost it ground that SK Hynix has yet to surrender, and the entire Vera Rubin thesis depends on Samsung closing that gap before the platform ramps. That means the $2 trillion framing — roughly 3,000 trillion won, and treated by KB as a starting line rather than a ceiling — is best read as a directional argument about where the cycle and the product mix are pointing, conditional on Samsung executing where it has previously stumbled. The tape has not yet validated it. 2026-05-28 09:42:42

North Korea snubs Quad's call for denuclearization SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - North Korea said Thursday it will "never give up its nuclear weapons," denouncing a joint statement by the foreign ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. earlier this week that called for the North's complete denuclearization. In a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, a spokesperson for the country's Foreign Ministry said the denuclearization of North Korea will "never happen." North Korea's defiant stance on its nuclear arsenal came after the four countries, members of the U.S.-led multilateral security grouping collectively known as the Quad, reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea after a meeting in New Delhi earlier this week. The spokesperson also condemned the Quad for what it called its "hostile policy" toward North Korea and other countries in the region, urging it to stop pursuing confrontations that undermine regional peace and stability. 2026-05-28 09:31:17

Retail money floods leveraged chip ETFs as Korea's chip rally finds new outlet SEOUL, May 28 (AJP) - South Korea's red-hot semiconductor rally spilled into the exchange-traded fund market Wednesday, as the country's first single-stock leveraged ETFs tied to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix drew explosive trading on their debut, giving retail investors a leveraged route into an already crowded chip trade. Sixteen leveraged and inverse ETFs linked to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix were listed simultaneously, generating a combined trading value of about 10.4 trillion won on their first trading day, according to Yonhap Infomax data. Their combined market capitalization reached nearly 5 trillion won. The strongest demand centered on products linked to SK hynix, the memory-chip maker that has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of global artificial intelligence investment. Samsung Asset Management's KODEX SK hynix Single Stock Leverage ETF posted the largest trading value among all domestic ETFs at 4.39 trillion won, rising 18.44 percent. Mirae Asset Global Investments' TIGER SK hynix Single Stock Leverage ETF followed with 2.07 trillion won in trading and a gain of 18.56 percent. Leveraged ETFs tied to Samsung Electronics also attracted heavy demand. Samsung Asset Management's KODEX Samsung Electronics Single Stock Leverage ETF logged 1.95 trillion won in trading, while Mirae Asset's competing TIGER product recorded 1.02 trillion won. The debut highlights a broader shift in Korea's equity market. Semiconductor heavyweights have already driven the benchmark KOSPI to record highs, leaving many investors wary of entering the trade directly after sharp gains and widening intraday swings. The new ETFs effectively opened another channel for investors seeking amplified exposure to the same stocks, allowing them to ride the chip rally through listed products rather than direct share purchases alone. The launch came as the KOSPI extended its record-breaking rally. The benchmark closed up 2.25 percent at 8,228.70 on Wednesday after briefly touching an intraday record of 8,450.26. Market participants said demand for the new leveraged products appeared to intensify the already heavy concentration of retail money in leading semiconductor shares. "Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the underlying assets for the single-stock leveraged products, have recently shown daily price swings of around plus or minus 5 to 6 percent," Han Ji-young, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, was quoted as saying. "As they are both market leaders and stocks with concentrated retail flows, the launch could amplify short-term money concentration." The new products drew immediate demand from retail investors who had watched from the sidelines as chip stocks surged, with some market participants pointing to fear-of-missing-out demand as one factor behind the rush into leveraged ETFs. The surge also pushed Korea's ETF industry past a major milestone. The combined market capitalization of locally listed ETFs exceeded 500 trillion won for the first time since ETFs were introduced in Korea in 2002, reaching 506.1 trillion won as of late Wednesday morning, according to the Korea Exchange. But the boom has also raised questions about whether speculative money is building too quickly around a narrow group of semiconductor-linked assets. On the same day, allegations surfaced that some liquidity providers may have engaged in wash trading to boost trading volume in the newly listed products. Securities firms and the broader financial investment industry denied the claims, while the Korea Exchange said trading volume alone was insufficient to determine whether wash trading had occurred. An exchange official said the credibility of the allegations was low based solely on execution volume, adding that account-level trading data from liquidity providers is recorded in the exchange database and monitored by its market surveillance division. SK Securities said wash trading was structurally impossible under its system because such orders are automatically blocked. Yuanta Securities also said it had merely carried out normal liquidity provision duties by narrowing bid-ask spreads and supporting investor protection during the listing process. The Korea Financial Investment Association said liquidity providers typically hedge opposite positions to manage losses that can arise while supplying liquidity. It also said incentives for liquidity providers were not large enough to create a strong motive for artificial trading. The intense ETF demand comes as investors are simultaneously parking record amounts of money in money market funds, suggesting that optimism over further stock gains is being matched by caution over extreme volatility. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, MMF assets stood at 258.65 trillion won as of May 21, after hitting a record 262.01 trillion won on May 19. Corporate money accounted for more than 90 percent of the total. MMFs, which invest in short-term instruments such as Treasury bills, commercial paper and certificates of deposit, are widely used as cash parking vehicles because they allow flexible withdrawals and generate interest even over short holding periods. In a highly volatile market, they often function as waiting rooms for capital that has not yet committed to risk assets. That pattern is now visible in ETF form as well. Over the past month, money market ETFs collectively drew more than 430 billion won in net inflows, led by ACE Money Market Active and KODEX Money Market Active. The broader appetite for retail investment products was also visible in a separate government-backed fund. The National Growth Fund, which offers tax benefits and carries a government backstop covering up to 20 percent of sub-fund losses, had sold roughly 99.5 percent of its 600 billion won offering by Wednesday afternoon, according to the Financial Services Commission. Together, the flows show the unusual psychology of Korea's market. Investors are chasing upside through leveraged semiconductor ETFs, parking record amounts of money in cash-like funds and rushing into state-supported investment products at the same time. The pattern suggests that expectations for further gains, including fear-of-missing-out demand, are coexisting with deep caution over extreme volatility. Volatility remains elevated. The KOSPI recently saw an intraday swing of 675 points on May 15 and surged by 606 points in a single day on May 21. The VKOSPI, Korea's equivalent of the VIX and a widely watched measure of expected market volatility, remained at historically high levels, falling below 70 only after eight consecutive sessions above that threshold. A reading above 50 is generally regarded by market participants as a panic-level signal. Still, several brokerages have raised their KOSPI targets, with some projecting the index could reach 10,000 or higher this year. Nomura recently lifted its target range to 10,000–11,000, citing improving earnings and return on equity. Hyundai Motor Securities, KB Securities and Hana Securities have also presented bullish scenarios above the 10,000 level. Wednesday's debut made one thing clear: Korea's chip trade is no longer confined to the stock market. The same rally that has driven the KOSPI to record highs is now reshaping the country's ETF industry, cash management flows and retail investment behavior — drawing in investors who had stayed on the sidelines, even as large pools of short-term money remain on standby amid extreme volatility. 2026-05-28 09:30:05

AJP Focus: Seoul's nuclear submarine push raises broader regional security questions SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - South Korea's new "Jangbogo N" nuclear-powered submarine program is raising questions over whether the project is designed primarily to deter North Korea or whether it could eventually become part of a broader U.S.-led effort to counter China. Officials have described the submarine as a symbol of Seoul's determination to take greater responsibility for its own security. But the move comes after the commander of U.S. Forces Korea recently described South Korea as a "dagger" from China's strategic perspective. Under the current timetable, the first vessel is expected to become operational in the mid-2030s. Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back unveiled the plan during the first meeting of the Future Defense Strategy Committee at the Navy Submarine Command in Jinhae on Tuesday. "The nuclear-powered submarine, to be built on the foundation of a strong South Korea-U.S. alliance, will be a symbol of our will to take responsibility for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula ourselves," he said. Ahn added that the project would also contribute to strengthening South Korea's defense industry and play a key role in countering North Korea's submarine-based nuclear and missile threats. According to the Defense Ministry, the submarine South Korea plans to build will carry conventional weapons and is unrelated to strategic nuclear submarines armed with nuclear weapons. Its reactor will use low-enriched uranium at around 20 percent, rather than highly enriched uranium that can be used to produce nuclear weapons. The U.S. currently uses highly enriched uranium of more than 90 percent for its nuclear submarines, while France and China are known to operate nuclear-powered submarines based on low-enriched uranium. Under the South Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement signed in 2015, Seoul requires Washington's consent to enrich uranium below 20 percent and reprocess spent nuclear fuel. South Korea has so far been effectively unable to enrich uranium and imports all nuclear fuel used in its power plants. If Seoul seeks to receive nuclear fuel for its submarines from Washington, the two countries will need further discussions, including a separate agreement under the U.S. Atomic Energy Act. Any transfer of nuclear fuel would also require approval from the U.S. Congress. The plan comes as the second Trump administration, under its "Make America Great Again" agenda, presses allies to invest more in their own defense and assume a greater share of collective security responsibilities. South Korea is also facing growing pressure as the U.S. war with Iran drags on. Washington has called on Seoul, where about 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed, to contribute more to U.S.-led security efforts, while President Lee Jae Myung has emphasized the need for greater defense self-reliance. According to the U.S. Army War College website on Tuesday, Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said during a podcast hosted by the school on May 22 that, from China's perspective, "what they see is Korea, a dagger in the heart of Asia, and Japan, which is kind of the shield or the blocking wall as they have ambitions to get beyond the South China Sea." Experts say the Jangbogo N program is not merely a matter of strengthening military capabilities, but a strategic decision about how South Korea will acquire and operate nuclear-powered submarines. They note that the issue has become more complex amid the AUKUS pact and intensifying U.S.-China maritime competition. Seoul must pursue domestic shipbuilding capabilities while complying with the global nonproliferation regime, even as its new submarines are likely to be viewed by Beijing as part of a wider effort to check China's growing naval reach. Because nuclear-powered submarines can operate for more than 40 years, heavy dependence on foreign technology or components in the first vessel could lock Seoul into long-term reliance on outside support for maintenance and upgrades. Jeong Kyung-woon of the Korea Association of Military Studies said in a report that the SSN project is "not a one-time purchase, but a structural choice that will define South Korea’s future submarine force," adding that the level of domestic shipbuilding and defense industry involvement from the initial stage will determine the country's technological autonomy and long-term cost curve. Still, the government appears to be leaving room for further consultations with Washington over where the submarines will be built. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social the day after the Oct. 30 summit that South Korea would build its nuclear-powered submarines "right here in the good ol' U.S.A. shipyards of Philadelphia.” The South Korean government, however, has since made clear that it intends to build them domestically. Analysts also warn that while SSNs could eventually be drawn into long-range missions aimed at countering China, Seoul should clearly define their primary role as deterring North Korea. "South Korea already has enough strategic requirements within its exclusive economic zone and surrounding waters," Jeong added. "If Seoul openly expands the mission of its nuclear-powered submarines to counter China, it could invite responses from the Chinese and Russian navies and fuel a regional arms race." Experts said that the more deeply South Korean SSNs are integrated into U.S.-Japan combined operational networks, the more likely China is to view them as forward-deployed U.S. offensive assets — much as it viewed the THAAD missile defense system, elements of which have reportedly been redeployed from Korea to the Middle East amid the prolonged war with Iran. 2026-05-27 17:53:52

Love affair with Chanel goes both ways for South Korea SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - South Koreans love Chanel, and the fashion house loses Korean right back. For a few hours on Tuesday, the streets of Yeouido in western Seoul felt less like a business district and more like the center of the global fashion world. Long before the show began, the venue for Chanel’s 2026 Métiers d’Art Collection in Seoul was already overflowing with cameras, flashing lights and tightly packed photographers lining the photo wall. Every new arrival triggered a fresh wave of shutter clicks as celebrities stepped briefly into the spotlight before disappearing inside. The event unfolded in two sessions, but the rhythm remained the same throughout the evening — black cars pulling in one after another, security teams moving quickly, photographers shouting names in unison and celebrities pausing for only seconds beneath the barrage of flashes. Among those drawing the loudest reactions were Kim Go-eun, Park Seo-joon, Ko Youn-jung and Lee Jung-jae, alongside Kazuha of LE SSERAFIM. International guests added to the global scale of the evening. Japanese artist CHANMINA, Taiwanese actress Gwei Lun-mei, longtime Chanel ambassador Tilda Swinton and French actress Marion Cotillard each took their turn before the cameras, dressed in sharply tailored Chanel looks that blended classic silhouettes with theatrical detail. The photo calls themselves lasted only moments. Celebrities posed briefly for full-body shots and close-ups before staff quickly guided them inside. Photographers continued firing nonstop, racing to capture expressions, gestures and head-to-toe looks within a narrow time window before the next arrival appeared. The Métiers d’Art Collection occupies a special place within Chanel’s calendar. First launched in 2002, the project highlights the craftsmanship of the house’s artisan ateliers — the embroidery studios, feather makers, jewelers and textile specialists that preserve traditional couture techniques behind the scenes. Each year, the collection travels to a different global city, merging Chanel’s heritage with local cultural inspiration. This year’s Seoul presentation carried additional attention as it marked the Asian unveiling of the first Métiers d’Art collection by creative director Matthieu Blazy, first shown in New York last December. The choice of Seoul reflected a broader shift already visible across the luxury industry. As K-pop, Korean dramas and Korean celebrity culture continue expanding their global reach, Seoul has increasingly become a major stop for luxury houses staging large-scale runway shows, exhibitions and ambassador events. International celebrities now regularly fly into the city for campaigns and fashion presentations that spread instantly across social media platforms worldwide. By the time the final guests disappeared inside, the pace outside never fully slowed. Photographers remained in position, cameras raised, waiting for one more arrival beneath the flood of lights. For one night, Seoul moved to the sound of camera shutters — another global fashion spectacle added to the city’s rapidly growing luxury stage. 2026-05-27 17:51:01

K-zombies are fast, vivid — and in "Colony," finally thinking SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - Summer heat in Korea brings horror season, and this year's bar-raiser is "Colony," Yeon Sang-ho's latest zombie thriller, which drew more than 2.1 million admissions in its first six days. The film claimed 39.9 percent of advance reservations across 1,858 screens nationwide, prompting inevitable comparisons to Yeon's 2016 breakout "Train to Busan," which sold 11.5 million tickets and pushed Korean zombie cinema onto the global stage. Yeon, however, frames "Colony" as a rupture rather than a sequel in spirit. At a press conference at CGV Yongsan IPark Mall, the director said the film breaks from "Train to Busan," "Seoul Station" and "Peninsula" by training its lens on the zombies themselves. "In 'Seoul Station,' 'Train to Busan' and 'Peninsula,' the stories came from putting classic zombies into new spaces," he said. "'Colony' is about the zombies. In a sense, it's the first film I've made where they are the protagonists." The shift is more than perspectival. In "Colony," the infected mutate quickly, moving and communicating as a coordinated collective. "It's a confrontation between zombies with collective intelligence and humans," Yeon said. "The zombies begin in a primitive state and evolve rapidly, while humans devolve from civilization into savagery. What remains after that devolution — that, I thought, might be the core of humanity. That was the image I wanted to draw." If "Train to Busan" made Korean zombies famous for their speed, "Colony" makes them frightening for their coordination. The zombie is no longer simply an infected body. It is a network. For decades, Korean horror lived in the register of ghosts — resentment, unresolved grief, the vengeful woman in white, haunted school corridors, broken family homes. Gang Beom-gu's "A Monstrous Corpse," often cited as Korea's first zombie film, surfaced in the early 1980s, but the genre remained marginal for years. Its later ascent tracked the country's anxieties: the 1997 Asian financial crisis brought mass unemployment and a deep distrust of institutions, and popular culture began imagining collapse in collective rather than spectral terms. The pivot has only sharpened in recent years, with Korean horror trading supernatural vengeance for infection, social breakdown and mass panic. Set inside a sealed building during a mysterious outbreak, "Colony" follows survivors as they face infected beings whose behavior evolves unpredictably. The title nods to biology — a colony being a group of organisms functioning as a single unit. The film's quiet provocation is that the infected are not mindless. Aaron Kim, a 20-year-old university student from Edinburgh visiting Seoul, said he hadn't planned to see a Korean zombie film on his trip, but a Korean friend persuaded him. "In most zombie films I've seen, zombies have no mind. They just kill indiscriminately," Kim said. "In 'Colony,' they have intelligence. I realized how unsettling that could be." He found the film fresher than the genre fare he was used to abroad. "Zombie films overseas tend to follow a similar pattern," he said. "Korean zombies feel new. They run fast, and they're not simple." Kim gave the film an eight out of 10 and likened its central conceit to artificial intelligence. "The more people use AI, the more data feeds into one system, and the more powerful it gets," he said. "The zombies in 'Colony' felt like that. Each one seemed to be part of a larger circuit that kept learning." Jiyoon Lee, a 20-year-old student based in New York, said the film parts ways with predecessors like "Train to Busan" and "Kingdom." "In those, people turn into zombies because of a virus, and they attack aggressively but without thought," Lee said. "In 'Colony,' the zombies seem to have a clear purpose — to spread the virus. They build a kind of collective intelligence through their own communication network and move together. That was chilling." Both reactions point to one of the defining traits of Korean zombie cinema: speed. Since "Train to Busan," K-zombies have been fast, violent and physically overwhelming. But speed alone doesn't account for their pull. Korean zombie stories tend to plant contagion in dense, socially loaded spaces — trains, schools, apartment complexes, sealed buildings — amplifying the dread that there is nowhere to run because there is nowhere outside. That separates K-zombies from much of the Western tradition shaped by George A. Romero, which often asks what remains after civilization falls. Korean zombie stories ask the inverse: how quickly can a society unravel while everyone is still trapped inside it. Film critic Lee Ji-hye said K-zombie narratives draw much of their force from the emotional ties they implicate. "Korean zombie stories often hinge on the idea that a beloved family member or friend has become a monster," Lee said. "Existing bonds are woven into the narrative, which makes the story far more immersive." Grief and guilt, she said, are routinely fused to infection. "There's a tendency to attach collective guilt or sorrow to the fact that someone has become a zombie," Lee said. "The story makes room for mourning." That emotional undertow runs through the canon: "Train to Busan" wove family sacrifice into class friction; "Kingdom" set infection against royal politics, famine and state failure; "All of Us Are Dead" turned a high school into a theater of bullying and survival; "Happiness" used a quarantined apartment complex to dissect fear and hierarchy. Institutional collapse, Lee added, is rarely background scenery. "Korean zombie works tend to weigh the breakdown of social systems, the incompetence of government in a crisis, bureaucracy and human selfishness — not just zombies chasing people," she said. Unlike the jiangshi — the hopping corpse of 1980s Hong Kong cinema, rooted in Taoist folklore — Korean zombies are modern disaster figures, shaped by infection, institutions and the pressures of crowded urban life. With "Colony," the genre takes another step. The fear is no longer just the speed of the dead. It is an enemy that learns, coordinates and, in doing so, holds up a mirror to the society it consumes. 2026-05-27 17:50:29

ASIA INSIGHT: What Xi's possible visit to Pyongyang would mean for Korean Peninsula SEOUL, May 27 (AJP) - Speculation emerged last week that Chinese President Xi Jinping has been preparing to visit Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, possibly before the end of this month or early next month. It comes after Xi hosted U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing earlier this month, where the two leaders reaffirmed their shared goal of North Korea's denuclearization. Then, barely a week later, Russian President Vladimir Putin also arrived in Beijing. Now Xi is reportedly poised to visit Pyongyang, fueling speculation about his recent diplomatic moves. According to South Korean intelligence sources, Xi's security personnel and protocol staff had already visited Pyongyang in advance, in an apparent sign of an imminent trip and that Xi could seek to mediate relations between Pyongyang and Washington. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, when asked, offered little, with its spokesman saying only that the two countries are "good friends and close neighbors." The question is not simply whether Xi will go, but what he is really after. North Korea is no longer as isolated as it once was. When Kim sat alongside Putin and Xi at a military parade in Beijing in September 2025, the gathering of the three traditional allies appeared to signal a shift. Kim was no longer a desperate outlier seeking relief, but an emboldened leader with something to offer, amid North Korea's growing military ties with Russia. North Korea is believed to have sent around 15,000 troops to assist Russia's war in Ukraine and supplied large quantities of ammunition, in return for hard currency and military technology. Kim’s possible visit to Russia later this year is also expected to further strengthen their ties, while Beijing is closely watching these developments. That would be the main reason behind Xi's urgency. China has long seen North Korea as a close ally and a strategic buffer, sitting between from its border and U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. For decades, Beijing kept Pyongyang closely in check, using trade and aid as tools of pressure. But North Korea has since found a powerful new friend in Moscow, weakening Beijing's leverage. As Trump has expressed willingness to meet Kim again, if Xi positions himself as a mediator who makes that happen, China would secure a seat at the table, a say in any deal that emerges, and a chance to bolster its image as a key global player. For South Korea, however, all of this is deeply unsettling. Talks and negotiations shaping the future of the Korean Peninsula are taking place in Beijing and, possibly soon, Pyongyang, without Seoul at the table, among powers whose interests do not always fully align with South Korea's. For Kim, it would be a no-brainer. A visit by Xi would likely bring some economic relief and allow him to balance Beijing and Moscow against each other, getting as much as possible from both without fully committing to either. 2026-05-27 17:44:23