Asian shares finish broadly lower as AI-bubble anxiety persist

SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - Asian stocks edged lower for a second straight session on Wednesday, with investors remaining cautious ahead of Nvidia’s earnings and the growing “AI bubble” narrative that has weighed on sentiment across the region. South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI slipped 0.61 percent to 3,929.51, recovering part of its earlier plunge after falling as low as 3,854.95 in morning trade. Foreign investors sold a net 1.04 trillion won ($709 million)

November 19, 2025

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,

November 19, 2025

HOT STOCK: Hyundai Autoever and Samsung Electro survive AI overvaluation scare

SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - Hyundai AutoEver and Samsung Electro-Mechanics were among a selective KOSPI stocks that managed to survive this week’s sharp rout triggered by fears of an AI-driven bubble ahead of Nvidia’s earnings release scheduled for Thursday. Hyundai AutoEver — the Hyundai Motor Group affiliate responsible for software development and next-generation mobility strategy — gained 2.92 percent to close Wednesday at 186,500 won ($127.1). Its rally

November 19, 2025

Aju-sponsored Korea-Japan forum calls for bilateral FTA as a stepping stone toward economic bloc

SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - South Korea and Japan — two of the largest economies in East Asia — are increasingly viewed as a single investment destination by foreign capital as their tech-driven manufacturing capabilities grow more interconnected. But the absence of a meaningful bilateral trade framework or policy coordination still constrains the growth potential that could be unlocked if the two nations were to combine their industrial strengths, lawmakers, scholars

November 19, 2025

AI cover controversy in New Zealand poses wake-up call for Korean publishers

SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - It took less than a minute for ChatGPT to deliver a fully rendered image of Seoul's landmark Gwanghwamun draped in autumn leaves in the warm, painterly style of Studio Ghibli, the iconic Japanese animation studio. Image-making has become easy and ubiquitous ever since OpenAI added its image-generation feature, allowing users to transform their portraits into Ghibli-style illustrations within seconds. The feature quickly went viral across social me

November 19, 2025

PHOTOS: Cold snap delivers early winter in South Korea

SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - South Korea experienced an abrupt onset of winter conditions this week, as temperatures across the nation plunged sharply, bringing unseasonably early snowfall to major mountain ranges. Jeju Island's Mt. Halla and the mainland's Mt. Jiri were blanketed in white, creating picturesque, albeit premature, winter landscapes. Despite only being mid-November, the intense cold snap evoked scenes typical of deep winter. Citizens on city streets were ob

November 19, 2025

Samsung takes laid-back stance in HBM catchup with SK hynix on DRAM strengthening

SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - South Korea’s two dominant memory names Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are showing signs of divergence and avoiding a head-on clash in the red-hot high bandwidth memory (HBM) market, with strengthening DRAM prices reducing the pressure to take risks. Samsung Electronics, a long-time frontrunner in DRAM until the rise of HBM powering AI chips, appears to be in no hurry to ramp up its lagging HBM capacity, holding output at 150,000 wafers per month

November 19, 2025

Alcoholic beverages to carry bigger warning labels

SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - Warning labels on alcohol bottles are getting bigger, bolder, and harder to ignore, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said on Wednesday. The measure, set to take effect as early as September next year, is part of efforts to raise awareness of health risks and dangers associated with drinking. The ministry believes bigger cautionary labels will help consumers take the warnings more seriously when purchasing alcoholic beverages. The background color of t

November 19, 2025

South Korea's HD Hyundai celebrates 5,000th ship delivery

SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - South Korea’s HD Hyundai has become the world's first shipbuilder in the world to deliver 5,000 vessels. The company commemorated the achievement with a ceremony at its flagship shipyard in Ulsan. HD Hyundai delivered its first vessel — the Atlantic Baron, a 260,000-ton very large crude carrier — in 1974. In the five decades since, it has supplied ships to more than 700 customers across 68 countries. The 5,000th vessel, the

November 19, 2025

South Korea's first submarine sets sail on final voyage

SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - South Korea's first submarine Jang Bogo embarked on its final voyage on Wednesday, ahead of its retirement later this year. The 1,200-ton vessel, named after a legendary captain and maritime trader from the ancient kingdom of Silla, will retire at the end of this year, concluding its 34-year mission to protect the country's maritime sovereignty. The submarine set off from a naval base in Jinhae for the two-hour farewell cruise with its first c

November 19, 2025