Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea

This article is by Shin Ha-nee and read by an artificial voice.

Few would dispute that Enhypen now stands among the biggest names in K-pop, proven by how the boy band won the grand prize at the 2025 MAMA Awards. But for casual listeners who are not necessarily part of Enhypen's core fandom, the vampiric mythology woven into the group's entire discography may feel like a world that is difficult to enter.

With its seventh EP, "The Sin: Vanish," Enhypen takes a bold and witty step toward widening that door. The release marks the group's latest musical and visual experiment and doubles down on what it does best: immersive, addictive storytelling.

"We've been aiming to present new, different aspects of ourselves with every single release," said leader Jungwon during a roundtable interview in southern Seoul on Wednesday, ahead of the EP's release on Friday. "But this one is special in the sense that we tried to use storytelling to make our vampire concept easier to approach."

"Of course, we ourselves have sometimes struggled with the concept, and the public may find it difficult to understand at first," said member Sunghoon. "But at the same time, the narrative is what has brought us this far, and once you start to get it, it has this strong, addictive pull that draws you in."

Arriving about seven months after the group's previous EP, "The Sin: Vanish" stands out for its ambitious and creative tracklist.

The EP comprises six songs that are interwoven with four narrations and a skit to form a single storyline in which seven vampires, played by the members, and their human lover, who represents the fandom, escape a society in which humans and vampires coexist under strict rules and restrictions.

The lead song, "Knife," is joined by "No Way Back," featuring singer So!YoON! of indie rock band Se So Neon; "Stealer"; "Big Girls Don't Cry"; "Lost Island"; and "Sleep Tight," written by member Jake.

The four narrations — "The Beginning," "The Fugitives," "The Voice" and "The Beyond" — add a dramatic, almost cinematic touch to the story of the vampires' elopement. The narrations are delivered in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese and feature actor Park Jeong-min, Japanese actor Kenjiro Tsuda and Chinese singer Lars Huang.

The skit, titled "Witnesses," depicts witnesses' reactions to the fugitives' escape, bringing listeners deeper into the fictional world.

Even the album's promotions are playing a role in the storytelling. Enhypen launched the mock online news portal "Vampire Now," which reports on events within the fictional world, with sensational headlines such as "National Blood Supply 'Red Alert'...Both Human and Vampire Societies on Edge" or "Garlic & Silver Allergy Resistance Achievable Through Immunotherapy — Clinical Success Announced."

Currently dominating the site, of course, is the ongoing coverage of the seven vampires' escape — the central premise of "The Sin: Vanish."

According to the members, the EP helped them achieve a new creative high.

"For me, this is the most satisfying album that we've made since our debut," said member Ni-ki. "Every single song in the album is so good that I even found myself wondering whether we could make another album like this again."

This EP also signals what Enhypen describes as the beginning of its second chapter.

The group debuted in 2020, but 2025 marked a turning point as it won three major awards — including Fan's Choice of the Year, one of the four grand prizes given at the 2025 MAMA Awards — which had been its "goal for what [it] considers the end of chapter one," according to member Jay.

"Now, at the start of chapter two, we prepared this album to prove that we can go even further with something new and refreshing and to show our growth," Jay continued.

Looking ahead, the group's ambitions extend beyond its already impressive milestones.

"We hope to top the Billboard 200 albums chart and also enter the Hot 100 songs chart," said Jungwon. "And personally, because my favorite tra...

This article is by Nam Soo-hyoun and read by an artificial voice.

Korean workers lose cognitive skills faster with age than their counterparts in most other advanced economies, a trend that could weigh on productivity as the population shrinks, said a state-backed think tank on Wednesday.

The Korea Development Institute (KDI) said its findings were based on data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), a survey conducted every 10 years by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

In the 2011–2012 round of the survey, Korean workers aged 25 to 29 ranked near the top among 17 OECD countries, placing sixth in numeracy (working with numbers) and fourth in literacy. By the 2022–2023 survey, Korea had fallen to eighth place in both categories, slipping to around the OECD average.

Age-related declines in cognitive skills were far sharper in Korea than in other countries. In the latest survey, scores for numeracy among workers aged 40 to 44 were 14 points lower than those of workers in their mid- to late 20s, while literacy scores were 19 points lower. The average declines across the OECD were 4 points in numeracy and 7 points in literacy.

The gap widened further among older workers. Koreans aged 60 to 65 scored 40 points lower in numeracy and 46 points lower in literacy than younger workers, compared to OECD averages of 25 points and 28 points.

"This is deeply concerning given the need to expand economic participation among older workers and raise labor productivity as Korea's population declines," the KDI's report said.

The institute pointed to Korea's wage structure as a key factor behind the trend, arguing that it provides weak incentives for workers to invest in skills development.

According to the KDI's analysis, a one-standard-deviation increase in numeracy or literacy skills translated into a wage gain of only 2 to 3 percent in Korea, well below the gains seen in the United States at about 8 percent and Japan at 5 to 6 percent.

By contrast, wages in Korea rose by around 2 percent for each additional year of tenure, nearly three times the OECD average of 0.7 percent.

"When compensation for cognitive skills is low and wages continue to rise simply with tenure, workers have little incentive to invest in self-development," Kim Min-sub, a research fellow at KDI's fiscal and social policy division, said at a briefing.

"Korea needs to introduce wage systems such as job-based pay and performance-based pay that reward improvements in skills and performance," he said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

This article is by Michael Lee and read by an artificial voice.

[KEY PLAYER]

For more than three years, the growing visibility of the adolescent daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been the subject of debate among experts, particularly over whether the regime may be quietly preparing its first female ruler.

That debate has intensified recently after the surfacing earlier this month of an article in a magazine distributed internally to members of the regime's ruling Workers' Party.

The article in the March 2025 edition of Kunroja argued that preserving the North's political system required resolving "the issue of designating a successor to inherit the status and role of the political head and establishing leadership."

A "core task" of the regime, it said, was "to put forward a successor who inherits the status and role of the political supreme leader and to establish his leadership system" while the current leader remains alive.

The article's explicit language is unusual in North Korea, where the question of leadership succession has traditionally entered official discourse only when an heir was being formally presented to the public.

Its wording, coupled with the high official publicity surrounding Kim Jong-un's daughter's appearances, has fueled speculation that the regime may already be laying the groundwork for her to succeed him as the country's leader.

Among experts, however, there is no agreement on what this visibility actually signifies.

Some argue that Kim Jong-un's daughter is being groomed as North Korea's next leader. Others say her prominence reflects management of the Kim dynasty's image rather than succession planning.

A female heir?

For Lee Sung-yoon, the principal fellow at the Sejong Institute's Center for Korean Peninsula Strategy, there is "little doubt" that Kim Jong-un is grooming his daughter to succeed him.

Lee points not only to how frequently Kim Jong-un's daughter appears, but also to where — and how — she appears.

Since her first appearance alongside the North Korean leader at an intercontinental ballistic missile launch in November 2022, she has accompanied him to weapons tests, military anniversaries, and diplomatic ceremonies. Most recently, she went with her father on a New Year's Day visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the embalmed bodies of his father, Kim Jong-il, and his grandfather and regime founder, Kim Il Sung, are kept.

Lee noted that the mausoleum "is the most sacred place in North Korea," adding that Kim Jong-un "doesn't bring just anyone there."

He also emphasized how his daughter's public presentation has evolved. When she first appeared in state media photos wearing a white puffer jacket, she had an unmistakably childlike image. Today, he said, "she looks much more mature, self-confident, and poised," donning a knee-length black winter coat that matches her father's attire and even walking ahead of him at a recent inspection.

One of the clearest indicators for Lee that Kim Jong-un is grooming his daughter to succeed him came during a March 2024 inspection of the Kangdong Greenhouse Agricultural Complex, when state media referred to Kim Jong-un and his daughter together as "great persons of guidance."

"That honorific has historically been reserved only for the supreme leader and the designated successor," he said. "This is a powerful signal."

Beyond symbolism, Lee argues, highlighting Kim Jong-un's daughter serves strategic purposes both internationally and domestically.

"Kim Jong-un is effectively saying to Seoul and Washington that their presidents come and go every four or five years, but that his nuclear weapons — and his dynasty — are here to stay."

He also believes her appearances help soften Kim Jong-un's image. "The message is that father loves daughter and daughter loves father," he said. "Observers, especially in the United States, may subconsciously conclude that Kim Jong-un, while brutal, is not irrational enough to start a nuclear war because...

This article is by Woo Ji-won and read by an artificial voice.

It was Leslie Mizumoto's birthday week. To celebrate, she and two college friends — Kumi Sweely and Marlee Kealoha — booked a trip far from their homes in Hawaii to Korea.

Once the flights were set, it was time for the real fun of the trip: making the itinerary. A visit to Olive Young was a given. A cooking class sounded fun. But what else?

Well, Mizumoto already had something in mind. After watching countless videos on social media — including one by YouTuber Aylen Park — she added one more item to the checklist: a Korean head spa.

On their second day in Seoul, the trio headed to a salon known for its elaborate, foreigner-friendly head spa services. The experience they had knocked them out — literally.

"I fell asleep back there multiple times," Kealoha said, laughing, after the treatment.

"It was amazing," added Kealoha, who had long known about Korean head spas and had always wanted to try one.

In recent years, head spas have quickly climbed the ranks as one of the must-do experiences for foreign visitors to Korea.

According to tourism platform Creatrip, transactions related to Korean scalp care jumped 219 percent from November 2024 to November last year. Travelers from English-speaking countries, including the United States and Canada, accounted for 58 percent of reservations, followed by visitors from Europe at 19 percent. Traffic to Klook's head spa-related products also surged 230 percent year-on-year in 2025.

Videos of travelers reclining in salon chairs as water cascades over their hair — often introduced as something you "have" to book when visiting Korea — are easy to spot online.

And it is not just head spas. More intensive scalp treatments offered by specialty clinics are seeing a surge in foreign customers, reflecting a growing interest not just in relaxation, but in scalp health itself.

Not Korean, but Korea does it best

Head spas did not originate from Korea. The concept is most commonly traced back to Japan, where it first emerged in hair salons in the early 2000s. So why are tourists flying to Korea to have their hair follicles examined and their scalps soaked under running water?

According to the salon's head specialist Tae-yeon, much of Korea's edge comes from the equipment used. A wide range of devices — including galvanic sealing brushes to relax fascia, red and blue LED lights with micro-vibration and neck vacuum suction tools — are incorporated into the process.

"They are all made in Korea," she said. "With the microscope, for example, you can see the hair follicles very clearly." She added that overseas clinics have contacted the salon about importing the equipment.

Hospitality also plays a major role. The premium hair salon keeps translators on standby, and many employees speak basic English. Staff undergo extensive head spa training, including monthly tests on one another, to ensure service quality remains consistent.

When asked about the service, Sweely did not hesitate. "Amazing. Very, very nice. Very friendly," she said.

At peak periods, she said, up to 90 percent of bookings are made by tourists, many of whom discover the service through Instagram and TikTok.

She also credited K-pop and K-beauty with fueling the trend, noting that many customers bring photos of Korean celebrities as references.

Beyond relaxation

Korea is serious about hair loss, so much so that President Lee Jae Myung identified it as a "matter of survival" rather than just an aesthetic concern.

According to the Ministry of Intellectual Property, 42.9 percent of global patents filed between 2002 and 2023 related to hair loss cosmetics originated in Korea — the highest share by country.

Now, foreign visitors are eager to experience firsthand the solutions Koreans have developed to combat hair loss.

At first, she said, foreign customers were drawn by the novelty of scalp exfoliation — something they rarely encountered back home. Now, concerns about thinning hair...

The author is an economic columnist and the CEO of Geuljaengi Inc.

Samsung Electronics overtook Intel in semiconductor revenue in 2017 to become the world's largest chipmaker. A year later, in 2018, an unusually optimistic assessment gained traction, arguing that Samsung's "super-gap" strategy in technology development had begun to deliver results so decisive that no global rival could hope to close the distance. That year also marked the peak of the memory semiconductor cycle.

The industry then entered a prolonged downturn, punctuated by volatility, before hitting bottom in 2023. Samsung's Device Solutions division, which produces semiconductors, recorded operating losses approaching 15 trillion won ($10.1 billion) that year. SK hynix managed to keep its operating loss below 8 trillion won. As performance deteriorated, calls emerged from political circles for the Korean government to subsidize semiconductor investment, mirroring moves by the United States, the European Union and Japan, all of which had pledged large sums to bolster domestic chip industries. Without comparable support, critics warned, Korea risked falling behind in the global investment race.

In May 2024, the government announced a 26 trillion won support package for the semiconductor industry, centered on low-interest loans and infrastructure development. Some argued the plan fell short because it excluded direct subsidies. Contrary to those concerns, capital investment led by the semiconductor sector rose by more than 4 percent from a year earlier.

Korea's semiconductor industry was, in fact, climbing through the pessimism. SK hynix, driven by high bandwidth memory products, posted operating profits exceeding 23 trillion won in 2024. Samsung's Device Solutions division also returned to the black. Earnings surged last year, with SK hynix's operating profit estimated at 44 trillion wonand Samsung's semiconductor unit believed to have generated about 16 trillion won in operating profit in the fourth quarter alone.

Perceptions of Korea's semiconductor industry tend to swing more violently than the underlying reality and often lag behind it. For investors, a simple maxim may be worth keeping in mind: this too shall pass.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

The author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.

Imagine a school where an important exam has just been administered. A report comes in that a student boosted his academic ranking through cheating. The allegation is not vague suspicion but is backed by concrete evidence. To complicate matters, the student happens to be a candidate for the student council. What should the school do? It would first need to conduct a thorough investigation to establish the facts. If cheating were confirmed, the exam score would be annulled and strict disciplinary action imposed. Disqualification as a student council candidate would be unavoidable. Sweeping the matter aside would be unacceptable to other students.

A similar controversy has surfaced during the vetting of a Cabinet nominee. The issue centers on allegations of an illicit apartment subscription involving Lee Hye-hoon, the nominee for minister of planning and budget. The core claim is that she unfairly inflated her subscription score by exaggerating the number of dependents, enabling her household to win a bid for a large apartment in Seoul's Seocho District. As a result, the couple is alleged to have secured market gains worth tens of billions of won (tens of millions of dollars). If true, this would not be a minor clerical error but a serious violation of the law. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has long warned that inflating dependent counts constitutes a disruption of housing supply order and is subject to criminal punishment. A guilty verdict could lead to up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won under the Housing Act.

Let us examine the facts step by step, based on materials disclosed by Cheon Ha-ram of the Reform Party. In July 2024, the Raemian One Pentas complex in Banpo-dong, Seocho District, officially announced its subscription process. The complex is a reconstruction of the former Shinbanpo 15th complex. The nominee's spouse applied for and won a unit classified as type 137A, with an exclusive residential area of 137 square meters (1,475 square feet). In Korea, apartment sizes are often discussed by supply area, which includes the exclusive living space plus a proportional share of common areas, rather than by exclusive area alone.

The cutoff score for winning this unit was 74 points. Even with full marks for the subscription account holding period, worth 17 points, and the length of time without owning a home, worth 32 points, an applicant would still need four dependents to reach the threshold, which yields an additional 25 points.

The nominee and her spouse have three sons. That means all three sons would have had to be counted as dependents at the time of application for the household to qualify. However, one of the sons held his wedding ceremony in December 2023, seven months before the subscription announcement. The rules governing housing supply are explicit: When calculating dependents, children must be unmarried. Under the regulations, a married child is excluded from the dependent count.

As controversy grew, the nominee responded that parents cannot intervene in an adult child's marriage registration. This explanation misses the point. The decisive issue is whether the son was married or unmarried at the time of the subscription. The housing supply rules contain no provision stating that a child who has not filed a marriage registration can still be treated as unmarried. If a married child was included as a dependent at the time of application, regardless of registration status, that would constitute grounds for canceling the subscription as an illicit bid.

The number of dependents is not automatically calculated by the system. It is entered directly by the applicant. In other words, if false information was submitted, it would suggest an active intention to win the apartment through misrepresentation. The official sale price of the unit acquired by the nominee's household was 3.6784 billion won (about $2.5 mill...

Cho Min-geun

The author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.

The Korean won is sliding again. This time, however, it is not alone. The Japanese yen has fallen sharply since the start of the year and is now threatening to reach 160 yen per dollar. Japan's finance minister on Wednesday went as far as to warn of "unprecedented and bold measures," signaling the government's verbal intervention in the currency market. It is a familiar scene.

The yen's latest drop accelerated after talk emerged that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was considering an early general election. Markets read this as a sign that if Takaichi, widely seen as aligned with the so-called Abenomics, were to secure a firm parliamentary majority, Japan could move more quickly toward fiscal expansion.

In Korea's foreign exchange market, many analysts say the recent weakness of the won has been influenced by the yen's movements. This is often described as a "coupling" effect. The direction of the dollar remains the single most important factor in exchange rates, but it is not the only one. The movements of nearby, powerful currencies also matter, especially when economies are closely linked and face similar external conditions. Market participants say the won and the yen have increasingly moved in tandem since the second half of last year, around the time both countries pledged massive investments in the United States under pressure from U.S. tariff policies.

What is striking is that as the won has begun to track the yen more closely, it has also shown signs of "decoupling" from China's yuan. The yuan has strengthened since the latter half of last year and recently broke past 7 yuan ($0.14) per dollar, its strongest point in more than two years. This is unusual, given that the won was long seen as a proxy currency for the yuan, moving almost in lock step with it.

The currencies of Korea, China and Japan all derive their names from the same Chinese character meaning "round." But their paths have diverged as sharply as the complex relationships among the three countries themselves. The emergence of a new alignment suggests that the economic landscape of Northeast Asia is shifting.

The coupling of the won and the yen reflects a shared predicament. Both countries are caught between the United States and China as the two powers compete for global dominance. The United States, once a champion of free trade, now openly embraces a rough form of economic nationalism, pressing allies to be what some describe as cash machines. China, for its part, pushes back against U.S.-led supply chain restructuring while pouring subsidies into its own firms, undercutting competitors abroad.

The situation facing Korea and Japan recalls the "prisoner's dilemma" in game theory. In such circumstances, cooperation often yields far greater benefits than competition. The notably warm tone of the recent Korea-Japan summit likely reflected this calculation. In Japan, voices have also grown calling for a Korea-Japan "middle power" alliance and urging restraint on sensitive issues such as Dokdo. That, too, marks a shift.

By contrast, the decoupling of the won and the yuan signals a gradual loosening of what was once a tight economic bond. There was a time when China's economy effectively dictated Korea's fortunes. Much has changed since then. The U.S.-led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) antimissile system dispute, China's informal restrictions on Korean cultural content and the global supply chain realignment have all taken a toll. Korea's exports to China accounted for 26.8 percent of the total in 2018 but fell to 18.4 percent last year. The trade balance with China has remained in deficit for three consecutive years since 2023. These trends help explain calls to expand the scope of the Korea-China FTA beyond goods to services and investment.

At a recent Korea-China summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Lee Jae Myung to "stand on the right side of histo...

The author is a special appointment professor at the Graduate School of Economics at Yonsei University.

Korea is a country in which the role of government and the functions of the state tend to be relatively strong. This is rooted in its history, traditions and culture. Whether citizens openly support it or not, many still expect the state to step in and resolve matters both large and small. In truth, there are many problems that cannot be addressed without state intervention. One major reason is the lack of trust. Trust in state institutions and government is weak, but trust among citizens themselves is even weaker. Korea's stock of social capital remains closer to that of a developing country than an advanced one.

This can be seen in relations between large corporations and small firms, in how small business cooperatives actually operate and in the way self-employed merchants run their associations. Rather than relying on self-regulation or mutual cooperation, these groups focus on securing tax benefits and budget support from government agencies, often recruiting former officials to act as lobbyists. Even in the Dongdaemun commercial district, cases of neighboring shops copying new designs are common, yet merchant associations fail to establish and enforce their own rules. Though these places are called markets, they differ fundamentally from Western market cultures shaped by long guild traditions of self-regulation and cooperation. Labor unions show similar patterns. Unlike in Europe, cooperation across industries has been limited, while large-company unions have pursued exclusive interests. The result is one of the widest wage gaps between regular and nonregular workers and between large firms and small businesses among advanced economies.

This reality must be confronted honestly and used as the basis for designing and operating state institutions and policies. The problem is that the state's capacity and effectiveness have been steadily weakening. Korea's loss of economic momentum and drift toward prolonged stagnation are not unrelated. Under the current political system and power structure, national leadership struggles to pursue policies with a long-term horizon. Short-term visibility and political differentiation take precedence over lasting impact.

The flow of talent reflects this imbalance. Many of the country's brightest young people seek stability by entering medical or law schools. Experienced elites gravitate toward major law firms, which have become repositories of top talent focused on litigation for large corporate clients and lobbying government agencies. Meanwhile, government and the public sector find it increasingly difficult to attract and retain capable people. Working hard in these areas no longer guarantees security or a stable future for oneself or one's family. This is a path toward national decline.

Globally, the trend has shifted back toward an era of industrial policy. Alarmed by China's rapid advance, the United States and Europe are actively pursuing industrial strategies of their own, while China continues its rise through long-term, state-led planning. In a world where alliances, values and ideals increasingly give way to raw national interest, competition among states has become a contest between systems of governance and the capacity of governments themselves.

Around this time last year, Korea was gripped by extreme turmoil. In the depths of winter, streets were filled with opposing protest groups, and there was real concern that the country could slide toward catastrophe. Many worried about Korea's present and future, and calls poured in for changes to politics and state institutions. A year later, a new administration has taken office. It has moved quickly on tariff negotiations with the United States, pursued a pragmatic diplomatic line and rolled out measures to stimulate the economy. Political stability has largely returned. At the same time, broader discussions about political i...

The Bank of Korea's (BOK) rate-cutting cycle has effectively been put on hold. At its monetary policy meeting on Thursday, the central bank's Monetary Policy Board left the benchmark rate unchanged at 2.50 percent, marking a fifth consecutive freeze. More telling than the decision itself was what disappeared from the policy statement: any reference to the "possibility of a rate cut." At a time of growing concern over low growth, the omission signaled that the easing cycle may be over for now, opening the door to a shift in policy stance.

While a slowdown in domestic demand continues and the United States is moving toward rate cuts, the BOK has pulled back from further easing. Rising housing prices in and around Seoul are part of the explanation. More decisive, however, is the weak won. Cutting rates would risk adding further downward pressure on the currency. Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said after the meeting that the exchange rate was "the single most important factor" in the rate decision.

Foreign exchange markets remain fragile. Despite a coordinated push late last year by the government and currency authorities, which included drawing on foreign reserves and cooperation with the National Pension Service, the won-dollar rate has climbed back to 1,477 after briefly stabilizing in the low 1,420s. An extraordinary moment came when U.S. Treasury secretary intervened verbally this week. Scott Bessent wrote on social media on Monday that the recent depreciation of the won "does not reflect Korea's economic fundamentals," lending support to the currency. The won strengthened by more than 12 won in a day but soon weakened again, rising to 1,469.7 won against the dollar and underscoring how short-lived such effects can be.

Officials argue that Korea's fundamentals remain solid. Exports topped $700 billion last year, an all-time high, and the current account surplus is expected to reach a record. That assessment is not without merit. Still, diagnosing the recent surge in the exchange rate primarily as a matter of supply and demand, such as retail investors' overseas stock purchases, risks encouraging ad hoc interventions that merely harden market expectations and offer bargain-buying opportunities for dollar investors.

The deeper issue is that the exchange rate is reflecting growing unease about Korea's economic structure. Outside semiconductors, competitiveness is weakening in key industries including petrochemicals, steel and secondary batteries. Investment and hiring are constrained by layers of regulation and legislation that weigh on companies. Rapidly rising public debt driven by expansionary fiscal policy is adding to concerns.

Short-term measures to stabilize foreign exchange flows are necessary. But if policymakers truly believe the exchange rate has diverged from fundamentals, the answer lies elsewhere. Structural reform to strengthen the economy, paired with market-friendly policies that encourage corporate investment and job creation, is essential. Gov. Rhee noted that dollars are plentiful but are being held back because of expectations of further currency depreciation. Only policies that restore confidence in Korea's economic future will bring those dollars back into circulation and allow the exchange rate to settle at a level consistent with the country's fundamentals.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

This article is by Jin Eun-soo and read by an artificial voice.

The Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) awarded The Black Label, gat (the Korean traditional hat worn by men) and Buldak Ramen for playing a significant role in expanding Korea's global appeal in 2025.

The ceremony for the 22nd Korea Image Awards, hosted by the CICI, took place at The Westin Seoul Parnas in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Thursday.

The Korea Image Stepping Stone Award was handed to The Black Label, a Korean music label that participated in producing the original soundtrack for Netflix's hit animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" (2025). The institute recognized the label for acting as a "stepping stone" in establishing K-pop as a global mass culture.

"We were lucky to have participated in a great project like 'KPop Demon Hunters' to be able to receive an amazing award like this," said Jeong Kyung-in, the CEO of The Black Label, at the award ceremony.

"When we first participated in this project, we didn't expect this big of a response. We feel honored to have participated in an animated movie that reflects Korean culture and caused a global stir. We will continue to do our main job, which is to make good music and manage actors and to contribute to the growth of Korea's culture industry."

The Korea Image Firestone Award was given to the gat, which has shown potential to bring Korea's heritage to a global audience through its modern reinterpretation.

The heritage of the gat gained attention last year after it was shown fashionably worn by the fictional K-pop boy band Saja Boys from "KPop Demon Hunters."

Actor-author Cha In-pyo, who received the award on behalf of the gat, said, "The gat may look light and comfortable, but when I wore one while filming the period drama 'Myeongga' [2010], I realized that it becomes tilted or falls off whenever a person moves their head. I felt that the gat wasn't an accessory but a tool that makes people reflect on their attitude and mindset."

Samyang Food's Buldak Ramen, well-known for its extreme spiciness and wide range of flavors, was granted the Harmony Pebble Award.

"Samyang Foods only focused on ramyeon [instant noodles] since its foundation in 1961," said Kim Jung-soo, the vice chair of the company.

"Since then, we've experienced many [...] struggles, but Buldak Ramen helped us leap forward and overcome difficulties. It was launched in 2012 and became a new growth engine for the company. The award is called 'Pebble,' but it resonates greatly with me."

The Korea Image Awards are given to figures, items or groups that have contributed significantly to promoting Korean culture globally. The award ceremony is attended by diplomatic delegations and opinion leaders from a wide range of fields, including economics, culture and entertainment, to highlight the importance of enhancing and spreading Korea's image worldwide.