When Seoul becomes the screen: From neon signs to BTS's digital stage SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - On March 21, Gwanghwamun will not need to be transformed into a concert venue. It already is one. Along the 12-lane, 512-meter boulevard leading to the historic gate, walls of massive digital displays are permanently embedded into the cityscape. Office towers, commercial buildings and transit hubs double as screens. When BTS stages its comeback there, livestreamed on Netflix, the infrastructure will simply shift mode — from advertising an February 19, 2026

BTS Comeback D-30: J-Hope, a messenger of hope through lyrics, rap, and giving *Editor’s Note — As BTS prepares to return as a full seven-member act with a new album set for March 20 and an open-stage performance at Gwanghwamun on March 21, following a near four-year hiatus for rotational military service, AJP revisits the group’s 13-year trajectory. This series reexamines BTS’s history, music, performance identity and enduring appeal. The fourth installment traces the roots and growth of J-Hope. SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - By the ti February 19, 2026

Déjà vu on housing as Seoul launches another real estate war SEOUL, Feb 19 (AJP) - Seoul has once again taken a hard-line approach to real estate policy — deploying higher taxes, stricter lending caps and strong-worded warnings from the president. Yet instead of cooling the market, the measures have fueled another surge in housing prices and rents in the capital. Sound familiar? Koreans have witnessed this cycle under almost every progressive government over the past two decades. The pattern is repeated: authorities crack down o February 19, 2026

Lingering chill gives way to spring SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - Morning temperatures still remained low across most parts of the country on Thursday, which marks "Woosoo" on the lunar calendar, a seasonal term that literally means the time when snow melts and turns to rain. Despite the lingering winter chill, the first harbingers of spring have begun to appear on the southern resort island of Jeju, with canola flowers coming into bloom. The sweeping fields of canola in Seogwipo are heralding the arrival of February 19, 2026

KOSPI's star winners show why Seoul market shines in the AI transition SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) — South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI has emerged as the world’s best-performing major equity index so far in 2026, extending a record-breaking rally and decisively shaking off the long-standing “Korea discount.” The index has more than doubled since the end of 2024, rising nearly 34 percent this year alone after a 75.6 percent surge in 2025. No other major global benchmark has matched its year-to-date performance, reflecting a st February 19, 2026

Korean president flags plan to move HMM to Busan "soon" SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) -The proposed relocation of South Korea’s flagship shipping line HMM to Busan has returned to the spotlight after President Lee Jae Myung reiterated his commitment to the plan despite continued employee opposition. Lee wrote on social media platform X on Thursday that HMM would relocate to Busan “soon,” following the establishment of a maritime court and a state-backed investment corporation focused on Southeast Asian shipping routes. The m February 19, 2026

Impeached ex-president sentenced to life behind bars SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - Disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday on charges of insurrection and abuse of power over his botched martial law debacle in 2024. In a nationally televised trial, the Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence over his botched Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, lighter than the death penalty prosecutors had sought at Yoon's final hearing last month. The court found Yoon guilty of resorting to February 19, 2026

Period drama dominates box office over Lunar New Year holiday SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - Director Jang Hang-jun's "The King's Warden" has attracted over 4 million viewers since its release earlier this month. According to the Korean Film Council, the period drama has topped the box office for seven consecutive days since last Friday, when South Korea's biggest Lunar New Year holiday began, drawing a cumulative 4.17 million viewers since its release on Feb. 4. Last Tuesday alone, it drew about 661,449 viewers, the h February 19, 2026

Tens of thousands of liters of jet fuel spill at US bases in Gunsan, Osan SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - More than 40,000 liters of fighter jet fuel spilled at a U.S. Air Force base in the southwestern city of Gunsan last month, while a similar spill occurred at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province earlier this month, U.S. Forces Korea said on Thursday. According to U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), the U.S. Air Force's 8th Fighter Wing detected a leak of about 41,600 liters of jet fuel from a fuel tank in an accident on Jan. 26 at Gunsan. There w February 19, 2026

South Korea mulls restoring no-fly zone along border SEOUL, February 19 (AJP) - South Korea is considering redesignating a no-fly zone along border areas while ensuring it does not affect military readiness, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday. In a regular media briefing, ministry spokesperson Jeong Bit-na said the ministry is consulting with relevant government agencies and the U.S. side to partially restore the inter-Korean military pact, which was signed in September 2018 to ease military tensions between the two Koreas but was February 19, 2026