[K-Pop] aespa to release sixth mini album "Rich Man" next month

SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) - SEOUL, Aug. 4 (AJP) – K-pop girl group aespa will release their sixth mini album titled "Rich Man" on September 5, their agency SM Entertainment announced on Monday. The album will include six tracks, led by the title song "Rich Man." SM said the group is taking a different musical direction from their previous release "Dirty Work" and aims to continue their commercial momentum. Since debuting in 2020, aespa has becom

August 4, 2025

[K-Bio] Korean pharma firms post record earnings despite US trade uncertainty

SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) - South Korea’s leading pharmaceutical companies reported their strongest second-quarter results on record, brushing aside investor concerns over potential U.S. trade restrictions under President Donald Trump. Biosimilar manufacturer Celltrion led the charge, posting revenue of 961.5 billion won, or approximately $692.4 million, for the April-to-June period — a 9.9 percent increase from the same quarter last year. The company’s operating pr

August 4, 2025

Lee takes summer vacation while preparing for upcoming summit with Trump

SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) - President Lee Jae-myung started his weeklong summer vacation on Monday, about two months after taking office in early June. While staying on a tiny islet off Geoje Island South Gyeongsang Province, Lee is reportedly preparing for his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, which is expected to take place in Washington in the coming weeks. According to the presidential office, he is reviewing the agenda for the summit, along with follow-up measures t

August 4, 2025

[K-Pop] Day6 marks 10th anniversary with stadium concert and first full album in six years

SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) - K-pop rock band Day6 is celebrating a decade together with a large-scale concert and the release of a new full-length album, JYP Entertainment said on Monday. The band’s fourth studio album, "The Decade", will be released on September 5 at 6 p.m., nearly six years after their last full album, "The Book of Us: Entropy", which came out in October 2019. To kick off the celebrations, Day6 will hold a solo concert titled "Day6

August 4, 2025

Korea's beauty exports hit record $5.5 billion in first half

SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) - South Korea’s cosmetics exports surged to a record $5.5 billion in the first half of 2025, a 14.8 percent increase from the same period last year. The latest data, released Monday by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, marks the highest first-half export total in the country’s history and reinforces South Korea’s position as the world’s third-largest cosmetics exporter, behind only France and the United States. If current trends

August 4, 2025

[K-Pop] Soundtrack for K-pop anime reclaims No. 2 spot on Billboard 200 albums chart

SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) - The soundtrack for Netflix's hit animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" has climbed to No. 2 again on the Billboard 200 albums chart for this week, the American music chart said Sunday. The album, which was released on June 20, rose one spot from the previous week to return to its earlier peak on the chart after spending about six weeks in the top five since its debut at No. 8. The 12-track album, which includes hit songs like "Golden,"

August 4, 2025

[K-Drama] Streaming platforms reshape Korean drama landscape

SEOUL, August 4 (AJP) - As South Korean culture continues to captivate global audiences with breakout hits like Netflix’s animated "KPop Demon Hunters" and the thriller drama The Glory, a new academic study suggests that the country’s once romance-dominated television landscape is undergoing a profound transformation — one driven by the rise of streaming platforms and expanded cable programming. A study published July 30 in the Korean Journal of Broadcas

August 4, 2025

[K-Beauty] Foreign patients flock to Korea, fueling hospital-based skincare industry

Editor's Note: This is the seventh article in our series exploring the evolving landscape of the Korean beauty industry and the products that captivate international visitors. SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) - South Korea is experiencing an unprecedented wave of medical tourism, driven not by emergency surgeries or rare procedures, but by dermatology clinics and skincare treatments that are drawing patients from around the world — and transforming clinics into international beaut

August 4, 2025

[K-Tech] South Korea to invest $27 million in AI-powered cancer drug research

SEOUL, August 04 (AJP) - South Korea will invest 37.4 billion won, or roughly $27 million, this year to advance the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in developing next-generation pharmaceuticals — with a particular focus on precision cancer therapies. The initiative, unveiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, aims to bolster the country’s competitiveness in the fast-growing field of antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs — a class of targeted c

August 4, 2025

Tax reform plan triggers market rout, political fallout in South Korea

SEOUL, August 03 (AJP) - A sweeping tax reform proposal from President Lee Jae Myung’s administration has sparked political infighting and market turmoil, raising doubts about its ability to reconcile its pro-growth rhetoric with investor sentiment. Unveiled on July 31, the tax overhaul plan includes a controversial provision that would lower the threshold for shareholders subject to capital gains taxes from 5 billion won (about $3.9 million) per stock to 1 billion won ($770

August 3, 2025