K-pop boy band BoyNextDoor's new album hits 1mln sales in five days

SEOUL, May 18 (AJP) - K-pop boy band BoyNextDoor’s latest mini album "No Genre" has surpassed one million in sales just five days after its release, setting a new record for the group. According to Hanteo Chart on May 18, the album, which dropped on May 13, recorded a total of 1,074,316 copies sold as of the previous day. The figure marks a sharp rise from their previous release "19.99," which sold 759,156 copies in its first week and became a million-sel

May 18, 2025

BTS' Jin thanks fans, debuts new solo track at album showcase

SEOUL, May 18 (AJP) - BTS member Jin expressed heartfelt thanks to fans and premiered songs from his new solo album during an offline event held Saturday in Seoul, his agency Big Hit Music said Sunday. The 32-year-old hosted the event in Seongsu, a trendy neighborhood in eastern Seoul, to celebrate the release of his second solo mini album “Echo.” He performed three tracks, including the title song "Don’t Say You Love Me." "The support from fans

May 18, 2025

State institute KAIST partners with Naver to develop app for autistic children

SEOUL, May 18 (AJP) - South Korea's leading science and technology institute, KAIST, has joined hands with Naver Cloud AI Lab to develop a smartphone application designed to help children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) communicate more effectively with their parents. KAIST announced on Sunday that the newly developed app, called “AAcess Talk,” was created through a collaboration between its research team and the artificial intelligence lab under Naver, the cou

May 18, 2025

Lee Jae-myung builds commanding lead as Kim Moon-soo trails, Lee Jun-seok stays in single digits

SEOUL, May 18 (AJP) - One week into South Korea’s snap presidential election, Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung is beginning to break away from the pack, a survey showed Saturday. Lee’s campaign, steady and cautious, is gaining traction even in regions once considered hostile ground. People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo remains stalled in second place, while Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok stays in the single digits, aiming to position hims

May 18, 2025

Firefighters bring major blaze at Gwangju Kumho Tire plant under control

SEOUL, May 18 (AJP) - A large fire at Kumho Tire’s Gwangju plant is nearing containment, prompting fire authorities to consider scaling back the emergency response level as of Sunday. The National Fire Agency said that as of the morning of May 18, the blaze was about 80 percent contained. A total of 462 firefighters and 168 pieces of equipment have been deployed in an ongoing effort to fully extinguish the flames. The fire broke out around 7:11 a.m. Saturday in the mixing

May 18, 2025

Tajik State Pedagogical University deepens partnership with Jeonbuk National University

SEOUL, May 17 (AJP) - A meeting to strengthen educational cooperation between a Tajik university and a university in southwestern South Korea took place last week. The event was attended by representatives from both institutions, including Rector of the Tajik State Pedagogical University named after Sadriddin Ayni and President of Jeonbuk National University Yang O-Bong. The representatives expressed their commitment to expanding academic exchanges, including student and fac

May 17, 2025

Tajikistan and S.Korea expand partnership in geoscience cooperation

SEOUL, May 17 (AJP) - An agreement to strengthen geological cooperation between Tajikistan and South Korea was signed in Seoul during the International Forum on Important Minerals (INFOCM 2025) last week. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by Tajikistan’s Main Department of Geology and the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources. The two countries agreed to collaborate on geological mapping, exploration of strategic minerals, and assessment of geolog

May 17, 2025

Massive blaze at tire factory in Gwangju might last one week

SEOUL, May 17 (AJP) - A fire broke out at a tire manufacturing factory in a southwestern city on Saturday morning and could take a week to fully extinguish. The blaze began at a facility mixing raw rubber and chemicals at the Kumho Tire plant in Gwangju. Early investigations suggest an unknown spark ignited nearby flammable materials, quickly spreading the fire to adjacent buildings. About 400 employees immediately evacuated, but a worker in his 20s sustained a leg fracture a

May 17, 2025

Former S. Korean President Yoon exits ruling party PPP

SEOUL, May 17 (AJP) - Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his resignation from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Saturday, a decision that comes just weeks before the upcoming snap presidential election. Yoon joined the PPP in July 2021, becoming its presidential nominee and securing the presidency under the party's banner. Despite his impeachment over his botched martial law debacle last year, he remained with the party until Saturday’s decision.

May 17, 2025

Pyongyang criticizes US counterterrorism non-cooperation listing

SEOUL, May 17 (AJP) -North Korea criticized the United States on Saturday for a "political provocation" after being re-designated as an "uncooperative state in combating terrorism," warning this would escalate "irreconcilable hostility" between the two countries. North Korea's state-run news media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported that North Korea's Foreign Ministry described the annual designation as a "unilateral and ma

May 17, 2025