From ashes to rebirth: Yoon Kyeong-sik wins World Architecture Awards SEOUL, March 18 (AJP) - In March 2026, the announcement came from the United Kingdom: the World Architecture Community Awards, 53rd cycle. It was not simply a prize. It was recognition that something quiet, something deeply human, had spoken across borders. Among works from 53 countries and judged by 243 jurors, the Inwolsa Dharma Center was chosen — not for spectacle, but for the depth of its question. This was not architecture of reconstruction. It was architectu March 18, 2026

PHOTOS: Living heritage and neon dreams - The parallel shopping worlds of Astana ASTANA, March 15 (AJP) -A thirty-minute taxi ride from the hotel leads to the Artyom Market in the older district of Astana. It is a personal routine to visit the traditional markets of any new city to see how people actually live without the filter of tourist attractions. The ground floor of this multi-story building is a dense world of its own, smelling of fresh dough, raw honey, and cold-stored meat. It feels like a space that has aged alongside the city, retaining March 16, 2026

BTS Comeback D-8: Gwanghwamun's oldest residents - a Joseon king and admiral SEOUL, March 12 (AJP) - At the heart of Seoul stands Gwanghwamun Square, often called the symbolic center of South Korea. The broad boulevard stretching from the ancient gates of Gyeongbokgung Palace has witnessed centuries of history — from the royal administration of the Joseon Dynasty to modern civic gatherings. Next Saturday, the historic square will host another moment in that long timeline: a comeback performance by global K-pop group BTS. March 13, 2026

Shopping arcade in Seoul finds new life as elderly hangout SEOUL, March 12 (AJP) - A shopping arcade in central Seoul has found an unlikely second life as a favorite hangout for elderly people with little money. On the first floor of Nakwon Arcade in Jongno, a boisterous crowd of seniors fills the tables daily, some seated, others standing nearby, their laughter and chatter echoing all the way to the entrance. This is where the neighborhood’s best janggi (or Korean chess) players gather to compete. With recreational activities bann March 12, 2026

A film, a fallen monarch, and a nation looking back SEOUL, March 10 (AJP) -Thirty-one days after its release, The King’s Warden crossed the ten-million admissions mark, becoming the 34th South Korean film to reach that milestone — and still counting as the crowds kept on growing. The numbers came quickly. One million in five days. Two million by day twelve. Three million on Lunar New Year. Four million the next day. By March 10, cumulative admissions reached approximately 11.7 million. But March 10, 2026

War in Middle East echoes through Seoul SEOUL, March 05 (AJP) - The war unfolding across the Middle East may be thousands of miles away from Seoul, but its shockwaves are being felt sharply in the capital of South Korea. Rockets are flying across borders in the region with no sign of the conflict abating. On the far eastern edge of the globe, the repercussions are unfolding in diplomatic halls, financial markets and even gas stations across the South Korean capital. A Tale of Two Embassies At 1 March 5, 2026

The first full moon of the year is red GYEONGGI, March 03 (AJP)-On the fifteenth night of the first lunar month, Korea steps outside. The holiday is Jeongwol Daeboreum, the first full moon of the year — a night when neighborhoods, not just families, gather under the open sky. If Lunar New Year belongs to the dining table, Jeongwol Daeboreum belongs to the fields, the hills, the riverbanks. People tilt their heads upward and wait for the moon to rise, round and bright in the brittle winter air. The full moon h March 4, 2026

BTS Comeback D-22: The story behind Gwanghwamun SEOUL, February 27 (AJP) - Today’s Gyeongbokgung is often the first breath Seoul offers to the world. Tourists in flowing hanbok pass beneath Gwanghwamun, their silk sleeves catching early-spring light. Cameras rise in unison at the changing of the royal guards. On the stone terrace of Geunjeongjeon, the old wooden eaves frame a startling horizon — beyond them, the clean axis of modern Seoul. For many visitors who first encountered Korea through K-dra February 27, 2026

Towers of books: Heaven or hell? SEOUL, February 25 (AJP) -Inside Starfield Suwon, a soaring cathedral of books rises through four floors, blurring the boundary between retail space and reading room. Opened as the second Starfield Library after the flagship at COEX Mall, the Suwon branch features bookshelves stretching nearly 22 meters high, spanning from the fourth to the seventh floors. From almost any angle, visitors can look up into towering rows of spines — or gaze down into a layered landscape of ligh February 25, 2026

BTS Comeback D-29: Why Gwanghwamun is the ideal stage SEOUL, February 20 (AJP) -Snow has melted on Mount Bugak, revealing dark rocks and early greenery above the skyline. Below, the statue of King Sejong the Great stands at the mouth of Gwanghwamun Gate, gazing over an avenue quietly preparing for a moment it was never designed to imagine — the return of BTS. The historic corridor, where royal processions once passed and modern protests later gathered, is being transformed into an open-air stage. As spring settles over central February 20, 2026