Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea

Promoting the second season of the Disney+ series "A Shop for Killers" (2024–), actor Lee Dong-wook said that tougher action, new weapons and deeper emotions will raise the stakes.

Actor Lee Dong-wook may have won audiences over with his deadpan personality on talk shows, but the attitude that he takes toward his work is anything but nonchalant.

Talking about his latest project — the second season of the Disney+ series "A Shop for Killers" (2024–), which is packed with action-heavy sequences — Lee said that he's willing to keep at it until he's at least 60 years old.

"There was a two-year gap between the first and second season of the drama, and I honestly did not feel that much of a difference in terms of my physical capacity and thought that I was up for more action scenes," the 41-year-old actor said in a recent roundtable interview in southern Seoul.

"If I just cut down on drinking, I think that I can continue to participate in the project if there are more [seasons] in the future. Maybe until I turn 60?"

Although taking on heavy action scenes can be physically burdening sometimes — Lee suffered a shoulder injury while filming the first season — he cannot complain, he said, because that's the process of expanding his range as an actor. Especially when his defining works, such as "My Girl" (2005) and "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" (2016-17), have leaned toward the romance genre.

"I think that handling challenging action sequences has expanded what I'm capable of as an actor and has given me another tool to work with," he said. "Whether I'm actually good at it or not is for others to judge, but at the very least, I think that people can now see me as an actor who knows how to use his body in a way that fits the character."

To look convincing in his role, Lee said that he put on about 8 kilograms (18 pounds).

"A Shop for Killers" is an action-packed drama following Jin-man, played by Lee, and his niece Ji-an, portrayed by Kim Hye-jun, as they take on the powerful mercenary organization Babylon. In the first season, the story centers on Ji-an, then an unassuming university student, as she finds herself battling professional killers after discovering that her uncle was, in fact, a high-profile arms dealer.

The first season unfolds under the assumption that Jin-man died by suicide, only for him to be revealed as alive in the final episode.

The second season shifts its focus to Jin-man, at least in its early episodes, uncovering what he had been doing behind the scenes while faking his death.

Driven by intense action sequences and a fresh premise, the first season became Disney+'s most viewed Korean original series globally. It was also named one of the best TV shows of 2024 by The New York Times.

Although a second season is usually good news, it comes with a persistent challenge of matching — or even topping — a successful first season, which is oftentimes unmet.

Lee, however, is convinced that the new season will rise to the challenge.

"First of all, the action has evolved," he said.

If the first season hinged on a barrage of gunfights and brutal hand-to-hand combat sequences, the second season will include new weapons, new skilled characters and more.

To start, in the first two episodes unveiled on Wednesday, a humanoid robot resembling the Terminator puts up a fierce fight with Jin-man.

"We couldn't just imitate what had been done in the first season. As technology evolves, the weapons evolve with it. I think that the series reflects that progression as well," the actor said, adding that "stylish action" is one of the series's biggest strengths.

Aside from the action sequences, the characters' emotional arcs are more vividly portrayed this season, he said.

"In the first season, Jin-man appears as a cold, emotionless character who maintains his stoic face throughout the episodes, which is reasonable, considering his role to protect Ji-an and other circumstances," Lee said.

"But in the second season, he will express...

The creative mind behind the performance turned limited space into a feast of tradition as the world gathers under one proverbial roof in Busan.

Won Il, the director behind the opening ceremony at the 48th session of Unesco's World Heritage Committee on Sunday, said his vision was to create a stage that resembles "a pure white porcelain dish" that could complement any kind of cuisine — whether Korea's traditional banchan (side dish) or even steak.

"We needed a stage that could go with any types of performances because we didn't have much time to change the stage design or move certain props," said Won in a recent roundtable interview in Busan.

"The hall is not designed for performances but is optimized for conferences, and the duration of the show was also short, so we needed a stage that would look okay with any kind of performance.

The performance, titled "Under the Sacred Roof: Echoes of Continuity and Peace," was performed in front of a delegation of some 1,000 audience members from around the world, with President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hye Kyung in attendance.

"Since the committee's emblem takes its motif from the roof of Jongmyo Shrine, I wanted the overall stage concept to reflect that symbol as well — a roof that embraces humanity in all its conflicts while uniting us under the shared goal of protecting our heritage," he said, referring to the inspiration of the gathering's logo, a royal shrine in downtown Seoul.

The performance had five parts, with the first one re-enacting the eomgo, a ceremonial drum ritual performed at the start of the Gyeongbokgung Palace Royal Guard Changing Ceremony at Gwanghwamun.

"Since this committee was being held in Korea for the first time, I wanted to bring Gwanghwamun on stage to invite them in. Once the door is opened, I wanted to express a Korea that is very welcoming and has leadership. The concept of 'gate' was kind of crucial.

The remaining four parts took on the titles of "The Gate of K," "The Gate of Peace," "The Gate of Reflection" and "The Gate of Harmony.

"The Gate of K" brought forth a single dancer expressing the beauty and respect toward Korea's heritage. In the background, the 17 Unesco-listed Korean heritage entries were visualized through media art.

"That part was the most time-consuming part while preparing the stage because we needed to research historical records of those 17 heritage sites so that they wouldn't appear with wrong details," he said. "We put extra work into it because we are showing it to the global audience.

G-Dragon, a K-pop superstar who was appointed as the ambassador of the committee, took the stage midway to make a speech about protecting heritage.

"I was personally moved by his sincerity and the values behind his foundation, the Juspeace Foundation, which seeks to contribute to the protection of cultural heritage and the promotion of peace," Won said.

"I also heard that G-Dragon said he did not want to perform a song because the event was about heritage, not about him. I think his intention was simply to humbly convey the mission of the Juspeace Foundation and his desire to contribute to society and world peace.

Won, a certified apprentice of piri jeongak (court music performed by traditional Korean double-reed instrument) and daechwita (Korean traditional military music), is known for putting an experimental modern spin on Korean traditional tunes.

His personal work "Dionysus Robot," for example, infuses Korea's traditional tunes with electronic sounds to re-enact gut (Korea's shamanic ritual) on stage.

For the opening ceremony, however, he chose not to.

"I tried to stay true to tradition as much as possible because we are performing for a global audience who don't know much about Korea's tradition," he said. "In that case, it was important to deliver all the symbolism correctly.

Won will also direct the committee's closing ceremony on July 29.

For that occasion, he allowed his imagination to roam a little more freely.

"It will be ...

The exhibition, set up in conjunction with Unesco's World Heritage Committee in Busan, invites visitors to see tradition like never before.

BUSAN — Inside a darkened cube, a panoramic screen immerses visitors in a digital recreation of jerye, the grand royal ancestral rites performed during the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910).

The digital exhibition draws on the uigwe, a collection of detailed royal protocols from the dynasty inscribed on the Unesco Memory of the World Register.

At a neighboring booth, a towering LED monolith re-enacts the volcanic eruption that gave birth to Jeju Island and its lava tubes, one of Korea's two Unesco-listed natural World Heritage sites.

"The technological level at this booth is unlike none other," says John Knightly of Ireland's state-run National Monument Service. "This is my fifth time participating in the World Heritage Committee, and there have been cases of putting technology upfront, but by far, this was the most fascinating, in terms of size and technology level."

The exhibition titled "Heritage: Timeless Time" is part of the K-Heritage House set up at the 48th session of Unesco's World Heritage Committee, which kicked off in Busan on Sunday. Comprising 45 booths and experience zones, the exhibition introduces various aspects of Korea's heritage through technology, demonstration and performances.

"The K-Heritage House is not just about introducing heritage, but also about introducing Korea's technological prowess," said Korea Heritage Service Administrator Huh Min in an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily done last month. "Digital exhibitions on Korea's tangible and intangible heritage will help visitors understand Korean heritage better."

The first booth visitors encounter, an exhibition titled "K-Heritage Pavilion: A Story in Every Step," is a feast for both the senses and the mind. Built around the concept of Korea as a book, it invites visitors to various corners of the country to learn about its history, landscape and culture.

The journey begins with a media art featuring the Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream in Ulsan, including vivid images of whales carved into stratified rock cliffs. The site was inscribed on Unesco's World Heritage list last year.

Visitors are then invited to enjoy Namdo Sori, a traditional vocal music genre originating in Korea's southern provinces. The experience continues with a multimedia portrayal of the changing seasons at Korea's mountain temples, known as sansa, combining media art, soundscapes and a stone Bodhisattva statue, evoking the tranquility of the sacred sites.

A 3-D modeling exhibit about Korea's traditional architecture such as Geunjeongjeon, the main hall of Gyeongbok Palace in downtown Seoul or the Daewoongjeon hall at Bongjeong Temple in Andong allows visitors to trace not only the structure but the historical records of its restoration as well.

"It uses a technology called Heritage Building Information Modeling, or HBIM, which helps us better understand the architecture of our heritage while also managing related data," a staff member at the booth said. "That information can then be used for preservation as well as restoration if a structure is damaged."

Technology is not all there is at the K-Heritage House. Some corners encourage visitors to slow down.

At the "Living Heritage" section, state-certified holders of National Intangible Cultural Heritage demonstrate their craftsmanship in person. Gang Sun-ja, who is a master of gannil, the process of making gat (Korea's traditional hat for men), was assembling gat with horse tail hair, one by one.

It takes at least three months of work to make a single gat, she says.

"It is a very arduous work," she said.

Masters of 11 intangible cultural heritage, including traditional Korean embroidery and needlework, have participated to demonstrate their craft.

Among the most popular attractions were the K-Heritage Store, which sold heritage-themed merchandise, and a booth operated by the Juspe...

Unesco heritage managers praised Ulsan's ancient rock carvings and XR presentation, while spotlighting the unresolved dam-related flooding that endangers the site.

ULSAN — The towering, stratified cliff along the Bangu Stream and the ancient petroglyphs carved into its rock faces fascinated some 100 heritage experts from around the world who gathered at the site on Friday.

"It's a fantastic site because of the landscape; where it's situated is truly fantastic," said Cyril Dworsky, an archaeologist, participating in the forum representing Austria.

XR (extended reality) devices installed across from the cliff allowed visitors to examine even the faintest carvings in detail while comparing the digitally enlarged image with what was visible to the naked eye.

"I really like the presentation made with high technology so that viewers can have the feeling of the site as well as the personal experience," Dworsky said.

The visit was part of Unesco's Site Manager Forum, an official event held ahead of the opening of the World Heritage Committee session in Busan two days later on Sunday. The forum brought together managers and conservation experts responsible for World Heritage sites worldwide and took them to some of Korea's key heritage destinations, including Yangdong Folk Village and Oksan Seowon in Gyeongju.

"When you get close to the cliff, it feels as if you have entered another world," explained Park Mi-hyun, a researcher associated with the Ulsan Metropolitan City.

"Ancient people from some 7,000 years ago used this cliff as if it were one gigantic canvas."

The Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream, the name under which they are registered with Unesco, marked the first anniversary of their inscription as a Unesco World Heritage site this year. The property comprises two clusters of petroglyphs: one in Daegok-ri and the other in nearby Cheonjeon-ri.

The Daegok-ri panel, which the site managers visited on Friday, features more than 300 engravings, including highly detailed depictions of various whale species, as well as a wide variety of marine and terrestrial animals.

For the Korea Heritage Service, the forum host, it wasn't easy to choose the petroglyphs along the Bangu Stream as a forum destinations during the height of the monsoon season.

Flooding repeatedly submerges the petroglyphs, threatening their preservation. A solution has yet to be found.

The source of the problem lies at Sayeon Dam, about four kilometers (2.5 miles) downstream, which keeps the stream's water level relatively high.

Built in 1965 — before the petroglyphs were discovered — the dam supplies more than 40 percent of Ulsan's drinking water and operates under an older natural overflow system without spillway gates. This makes lowering the reservoir's water level impossible until it reaches the overflow threshold of 60 meters.

The petroglyphs, discovered in 1971, begin to be submerged when the water level reaches 53 meters (174 feet) and are completely submerged at 57 meters.

Last year, the heritage site was submerged for 37 days.

Over the past 25 years, various solutions have been proposed, including the construction of a movable dam and the diversion of the waterway. However, none of these proposals have materialized, as the interests of the Korea Heritage Service, Ulsan City, local residents and civic groups clash.

"We could've just not disclosed this site to global site managers, but I have added this destination to the tour's schedule because I believe a forum like this could help in finding a solution," Korea Heritage Service Administrator Huh Min said on Friday.

"There are heritage sites around the world going through a similar problem, like Spain's Cave of Altamira or the Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai. I hope the Bangu Stream's petroglyphs can serve as a model where heritage problems are solved through collaborations."

The Korean government is pushing to build three floodgates at the Sayeon Dam, with a target completion ye...

As part of Kim Jong-un's tightly-controlled narrative, his daughter has inched toward center stage, delivering a new message with each act.

Feb. 28, 2019, is a day North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will never forget. It is the date of the "no deal Hanoi summit," in which U.S. President Donald Trump walked out of negotiations in Vietnam, an insult the North Korean leader had never experienced before. Could Kim himself have ever imagined that, just over six years later, he would stand shoulder to shoulder with the leaders of China and Russia at the viewing gallery of Tiananmen Square in Beijing in September last year?

Kim's elevated strategic status is a reality. He is no longer in a hurry. Even if Trump sends another overture, his new position would be to casually ignore it. How did the young leader of Northeast Asia's poorest nation, once treated merely as a joke, reach his current position? What choices did Kim make to overcome the failure of the Hanoi summit, and how has North Korea changed as a result of those choices? How has this change altered South Korea's security environment? We must now deal with a Kim of a different caliber. That is why we must study him now. - Ed.

At midnight on Jan. 1, as fireworks lit the sky over Pyongyang, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un leaned toward his daughter, Ju-ae, during a New Year's concert at Rungrado May Day Stadium and tapped her chair.

Ju-ae immediately cupped his face in her hands and kissed him on the cheek.

What was stranger, though, was what she did immediately after.

Before she had even settled back into her seat, she turned in the opposite direction and shot a quick glance at her mother, Ri Sol-ju. Her expression looked almost as if she was checking whether she had performed the scripted moment correctly.

Ri simply smiled and kept applauding.

That, in effect, was the full extent of Ju-ae's role that evening.

Media around the world covered the scene, with analysts concluding that her standing as heir apparent had been further cemented. The kiss on the cheek even drew a headline from Daily NK Japan, a Tokyo-based outlet focused on North Korean affairs, calling it "strange behavior" that is "stirring controversy."

There was a reason for the reaction.

The leader's hands on his daughter's waist, the two so close they were nearly embracing — an unusual degree of physical closeness between a father and daughter.

"The KCTV did not explain Ju-ae's identity or role, but what matters is that she is continuously being exposed to the public, raising her profile," assessed Atsuhito Isozaki, a professor at Japan's Keio University and a specialist on North Korea, in an interview with the Nikkei Shimbun in November. "She is being treated as someone special."

What Pyongyang is trying to show through these displays of physical closeness is, in fact, proximity to power. North Korean state media are demonstrating that Ju-ae is the only person permitted to touch the supreme leader freely in public.

No media outlet has transmitted Ju-ae's voice.

Instead, she already signals power through her presence.

Every element is meticulously staged. From her hairstyles to her clothing, everything exposed through North Korean state media is a propaganda instrument designed to solidify the narrative of Ju-ae as heir.

When she first appeared in November 2022, she was defined by a white puffer jacket. The Ju-ae of 2026 sweeps in wearing a long leather coat, firing guns and driving tanks.

The closer she is positioned to her father, the more overt the staging around her becomes. On the day the pair watched a performance with hands clasped together tightly, she wore on her chest not a pin with the face of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung but a vivid red flower.

In North Korea, those exempt from wearing portrait badges of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong-il — or, more recently, Kim Jong-un — have, until now, been essentially limited to the current leader himself and Ri. Yet Ju-ae has not worn a portrait badge of the supreme l...

As Korea looks to attract more foreign students, some say that inadequate English-language information and limited administrative support have delayed graduation and disrupted career plans.

Korea's push to become a global education hub is attracting more international students, but many say universities are falling short where it matters most: administrative support.

Interviews with international students at some of the country's major universities reveal recurring administrative problems, from incomplete English-language information and inconsistent graduation requirements to limited academic guidance and language support. Students say the shortcomings have caused confusion, delayed graduation and, in some cases, disrupted career plans.

"Now I'm planning to attend medical school in Ireland, but I'm on the brink of having my admission canceled because my graduation has been delayed," said Alizeh Bhurgri, a Korea University student from the United States. "I tried to resolve the issue with the university, but nothing changed. I'm now pursuing the matter through the government's online civil petition system and a lawyer."

"Looking back, I think it all started with a lack of information and administrative support," Bhurgri added.

English information is often incomplete

Many students said one of the biggest obstacles was finding accurate information.

As part of the problem, international students pointed to inconsistencies between Korean- and English-language university websites.

"It's really hard to find information we need on the English websites because they either provide different information or leave out details that are available on the Korean websites," said Hailey, who asked to be identified by her nickname.

Hailey completed her undergraduate degree at Korea University and is now pursuing a master's degree at Yonsei University.

"It makes it so much harder for international students to access the same information that Korean students have," she said. "So, we have to rely on translation tools many times, but we are not always sure if they are really correct."

A comparison of the Korean- and English-language websites for Yonsei University's Department of Economics found that the English version contained outdated information and omitted some notices available on the Korean site.

For example, the Korean website included a notice explaining course recognition and substitution requirements that could affect students' academic planning, while the English website instead displayed information about recipients of the department's 2022 economics awards in the same section.

A similar issue was found on Korea University's international website. The university's international office directs students to individual department websites for more detailed academic information.

However, the website for the College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, for example, led to an unavailable page displaying the message, "This site can't be reached."

'There was no one to ask'

When students could not find the information they needed online, many said they turned to university-hosted events for guidance, only to find themselves excluded from those opportunities.

"It was during Covid-19, so I thought there was no orientation, but it turned out there was," said Kiki, a Hanyang University graduate who asked to be identified by her nickname. "As far as I know, most Korean students attended, but international students didn't because many of us didn't even know it was happening."

"Once classes started, I could tell domestic students were much more informed because they had gone to those sessions," Kiki added.

Other students said they also struggled to obtain information through interactions with professors and university offices.

"Back in my home country, it's much easier to approach and discuss things with professors or academic advisers," Anthony, a Yonsei University student who also requested to be identified by his nickname, said. "But here, they...

Ahead of President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to Mongolia, Ambassador Sukhee Sukhbold outlines plans for deeper cooperation on rare earths, health, the environment and regional diplomacy.

Seoul's ambassadors are often gastronomes keen to share a taste of their home cuisine. In this series, the Korea JoongAng Daily asks the diplomatic corps to introduce our readers to their favorite restaurants representing cuisine from their homelands, while chatting about issues of interest to our Korean and global audience. — Ed.

President Lee Jae Myung arrives in Ulaanbaatar on Thursday for the first state visit by a South Korean leader to Mongolia in 15 years — a trip Mongolian Ambassador Sukhee Sukhbold has spent much of his post in Seoul quietly lobbying for.

"[Since the last state visit,] exchanges continued, but most of them came from Mongolia. There had been no return state visit from South Korea, " Sukhbold said during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily three days before the visit at Seoul Nomad, a newly-opened Mongolian restaurant in eastern Seoul. "That was my main focus."

It's a visit that underscores an unusual balancing act.

Mongolia has been one of South Korea's closest partners in the region for over three decades. But its ties with the North run even longer, and remain unbroken.

Mongolia's embassy in Pyongyang, Sukhbold said, "has operated continuously without disruption, even through the pandemic," a legacy stretching back to the 1950-53 Korean War, when Mongolia took in and fed North Korean evacuees as other countries shuttered their missions. Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong-un's grandfather, visited the country twice.

That history has made Mongolia something of a diplomatic bridge — a role it has tried to formalize through the annual Ulaanbaatar Dialogue, multilateral talks on regional security held since 2014, which South Korea's unification minister attended this year. It's also why Mongolia is periodically floated as a possible venue for a potential summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump.

While nothing is set yet, Sukhbold said cautiously that if anything becomes more concrete, his government will stand ready to provide "logistics" or "whatever is needed" to host such talks.

That position hasn't stopped Mongolia from embracing the South just as closely.

Walk down a street in Ulaanbaatar today and the storefronts could almost be Seoul's: CU and GS25 convenience stores on the corners, Lotteria and Mom's Touch burger joints and Emart among the country's biggest retailers. The secret behind this commercial invasion, Sukhbold explained, goes far beyond business metrics — it is rooted in a shared identity and ancestral ties.

"Maybe it's because we are connected by blood, or reconnected through culture," he said. "You will not see so many Chinese restaurants, even in the capital" — this in a country wedged between China and Russia.

Sukhbold, a career diplomat who began as a junior official at the United Nations — and, before that, a child jockey — arrived in Seoul in 2024 as his first bilateral posting.

Below are excerpts from the interview, edited for length and clarity.

A. President Lee's visit will come 15 years after Lee Myung-bak paid a state visit in 2011. Since that time, exchanges have continued, but most of them came from the Mongolian side. We really appreciate that your president's office has accepted our invitation. Not only that — after 15 years, we also marked the 35th anniversary of our diplomatic relations last year.

The "Golden Era of Korea-Mongolia Relations" Joint Declaration is expected to present a shared vision for Mongolia-Korea relations and provide a roadmap for advancing our strategic partnership in the years ahead. Traditionally and historically, in our own expression — even in Korean — when we have something unique, a different historical moment, we always compare it with gold. It's like a new era for cooperation, and it will be intensified.

Our two lead...

A new analysis of state media footage traces North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter from a protected child to a figure increasingly presented as preparing for power.

[A STUDY OF KIM JONG-UN 12]

Rows of North Korean naval generals stood in formation and saluted without hesitation. Then came a strikingly incongruous scene: A smiling 10-year-old girl casually extended her hand to each of them in turn, as if greeting guests at a friendly gathering.

The contrast was jarring, yet to those present it appeared perfectly natural.

The moment unfolded on Aug. 27, 2023, when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the Korean People's Army Naval Force with his daughter, Ju-ae. After saluting Kim and exchanging handshakes, then-Navy Commander Adm. Kim Myong-sik immediately introduced himself and saluted Ju-ae as well.

She unexpectedly reached out her hand first. The four-star admiral appeared momentarily flustered before quickly shaking her hand, bowing even lower than he had to Kim Jong-un himself.

About two weeks later, during a military parade marking the 75th anniversary of North Korea's founding, Pak Jong-chon — then-head of the Workers' Party Central Military Commission and one of the country's most powerful military figures — knelt at Ju-ae's feet and whispered a report to her while covering his mouth.

A marshal of the North Korean People's Army, the highest rank available to a military officer, Pak had only recently returned to the post after a brief dismissal. His exaggerated smile suggested he already understood whose favor mattered most.

Three months later, Korean People's Army Air Force Commander Gen. Kim Kwang-hyok took the display a step further. While shaking Kim Jong-un's hand, his gaze remained fixed on the daughter standing beside him. His tense expression alone reflected Ju-ae's growing stature.

To South Koreans, Ju-ae was merely a fourth-grade student in elementary school, believed to have been born in 2013. But within North Korea's power structure, she was clearly no ordinary child.

According to sources familiar with the matter, Ju-ae often scolded adults around her, saying things such as, "What's this? Do it properly!" She reportedly addressed even senior generals in that manner. Kim is said to have been particularly pleased by his daughter's confidence.

A North Korean defector, speaking anonymously, said Kim admired Ju-ae's competitive spirit and outgoing personality because they reminded him of himself.

Kim's own father, late leader Kim Jong-il, reportedly valued similar traits. A former senior official for the National Intelligence Service, South Korea's top spy agency, said intercepted intelligence indicated that Kim Jong-il's decision to choose Kim Jong-un as his successor was influenced by watching him play basketball as a child — by his boldness and determination to win.

The JoongAng Ilbo analyzed roughly 300 hours of Ju-ae's publicly released photographs and videos together with Jiem and Gitdum, a personal branding research company specializing in nonverbal communication. Although Ju-ae has never spoken publicly, the analysis argues that her actions have spoken louder than words.

According to the researchers, Ju-ae has transformed in just over three years from a protected figure into one increasingly portrayed as the one who will be doing the protecting.

The institute analyzed nearly every publicly available video featuring Ju-ae since her first appearance in November 2022, coding interactions frame by frame to measure physical contact, distance between individuals, positioning and other behavioral indicators.

Researchers divided her evolution into three distinct phases.

When Ju-ae first appeared during the launch of the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2022, she was presented primarily as an innocent child under her father's protection.

In 151 of the 187 minutes of footage analyzed — about 81 percent — Kim Jong-un was holding her hand or embracing her. Ju-ae typically stood h...

Huh Min is a dinosaur expert. He even has a dinosaur named after him, thanks to his contributions to Korea's paleontology.

That made his appointment as chief of the Korea Heritage Service last year quite unexpected. Many wondered what a scholar best known for studying prehistoric life could contribute to the agency overseeing the nation's heritage — especially since 2026 marks a critical milestone in South Korea's cultural diplomacy, with the country to host the 48th session of Unesco's World Heritage Committee in Busan.

His paleontological background, however, is actually proving helpful.

As a pioneer of dinosaur research in South Korea, Huh has spent at least 25 years working closely with Unesco to excavate, promote and preserve sites of dinosaur remains in the country. Notably, he led the inscription of fossilized dinosaur sites along South Korea's southern coast on Unesco's Tentative List of World Heritage sites in 2002.

"People thought of Korea as a country without dinosaurs, but that perception changed after Korean scholars began publishing world-class papers," Huh said in an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the agency's headquarters in Daejeon on June 29.

"The site on South Korea's southern coast was extremely well preserved, and I thought that it deserved greater global recognition, which is why I pushed for the listing."

That same tenacity will be put to work when South Korea hosts the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan from July 19 to 29. This marks the first time that the nation has organized the event since becoming a member of the World Heritage Convention in 1988.

Huh intends to use this year's forum as an opportunity to redefine how people view Unesco and the committee — not simply as a body that designates World Heritage sites, but as a global forum where experts come together to tackle the various challenges facing those sites today.

South Korea, he believes, can lead that conversation.

To put that ambition into action, Huh has a few concrete plans.

Until now, the World Heritage Committee has been known largely for inscribing new World Heritage sites — a role that has at times drawn scrutiny regarding the system's legitimacy and relevance.

"With wars such as the one in Afghanistan years ago and in Ukraine now, and with climate change slowly submerging small islands, cultural heritage is being destroyed — and a single country cannot fix that," he said.

"Unesco can't keep saying 'preserve this [heritage]' or pointing out what's been done wrong. We must solve [the problem] together. That's why I'm proposing [adding] collaboration as a major agenda item at this session."

His proposal will be put into practice first in South Korea when the committee convenes later this month.

A multinational seminar on getbol, or mudflats, near the Yellow Sea will take place on July 25, with North Korea and China invited, Huh said.

"It would be really nice to have North Korea attend, but if things don't work out, it would attend by video, according to the Unesco World Heritage Centre," he said.

Huh envisions a discussion in which the three countries bordering the Yellow Sea's tidal flats consider ways to jointly research migratory birds' flight paths and wetlands to find better preservation methods.

"We will discuss how to hand down World Heritage to future generations."

China had its own tidal flats along the Yellow Sea coast and Bohai Gulf inscribed as a World Heritage site in 2019. North Korea, too, added its wetlands near Mundok County to its Tentative List earlier this year.

"By discussing the getbol that extends from South Korea to North Korea and China […] we will examine not only the ecological excellence of the tidal flats and the science of their conservation but also our migratory birds' flyways — all while considering how we can hand down our World Heritage to future generations," Huh said.

During the committee, South Korea's recently inscribed petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream ...

A new exhibition at the National Museum of Korea explores several millennia of Korean dining, from charred rice grains and royal banquets to ssam, seafood and the everyday habits that shaped modern K-food.

What defines K-food? Is it the ingredients, the cooking method or the way it's presented?

The National Museum of Korea offers its own answer at the recently opened exhibition "The Korean Table: Food, Nature and Life."

From charred rice grains dating back 3,000 years to what are speculated to be pheasant eggs unearthed from a royal tomb, the exhibition looks back at the dining tables of our ancestors — tables that laid the groundwork for today's K-food wave sweeping the global culinary scene.

"Now that K-food is consumed globally and has become a global trend, it felt like the right moment to lay out the roots and context of Korean cuisine through concrete materials," the National Museum of Korea said.

"We designed this exhibition to show, through a diverse range of items spanning different eras and genres, that the roots of K-food lie in our everyday dining tables."

The exhibition is divided into two sections, with the first part zooming in on "how" we have eaten and the latter part on "what" we have eaten.

The first part opens with a simple question: "Have you eaten?"

Following the question is a display of burnt rice grains resembling toasted coffee beans, dating back to the Bronze Age. It highlights that Koreans have had a bowl of rice on their tables for the past three millennia. Paintings like Kim Hong-do's "Rice Threshing" also indicate that rice served an important role for Koreans — not just as food, but as something that helped build community.

Bronze dishware unearthed from the Tomb of King Muryeong of the Baekje era (18 B.C.–A.D. 660) shows that, although the design differed, people back then also used metal spoons and chopsticks.

"A lot can be learned from the spoons and chopsticks of the past in Korea," said You Hong-jun, director of the national museum.

"A lot of spoons were unearthed from the Goryeo dynasty, and that's because during that time, when a person passed away, a spoon and chopsticks were placed in their tomb for them to use in the afterlife. The decorations at their tips are also beautiful, reflecting how Koreans pursued beauty even in the way they ate."

The dining tables of Joseon-era royals are also highlighted. A total of 45 kinds of dishes were prepared for the birthday party of Queen Sunwon (1789-1857), grandmother of King Heonjong (1827-1849). The painting documenting the party displays brassware and blue-and-white porcelain holding cakes, fruits, noodles, soups and steamed food next to elaborate floral decorations.

The second part of the exhibition starts by highlighting Korea's seasonal cuisine.

If the Joseon era had a matjip (good restaurant) map, it would look something like the book "Domundaejak," written by Heo Gyun in 1611.

In "Domundaejak," Heo — best known for writing "The Tale of Hong Gil-dong" — wrote down the best dishes from every corner of Korea, which he could recall from memory after being exiled and allowed to eat only rough rice with hardly any side dishes.

In the book, he mentions bangpung (a type of herb) porridge from Gangneung, jujubes from Boeun, whitebait from the Han River, radishes from Naju and abalone from Jeju Island.

The practice of eating ssam (wraps) is an essential part of Korea's culinary culture, so much so that vegetables are hardly the only ingredients used for wrapping — so are thinly sliced rice cakes, gim (seaweed), onion and more.

The practice of ssam has existed since at least the Joseon era. The "Seonghosaseolyuseon," a book written by 18th-century Joseon literati An Jeong-bok, provides a step-by-step description of how to make ssam.

"You spread your left hand widely … and with the right hand, pick two pieces of thick and big sangchu [lettuce] … pick a spoonful of rice, roll it to make it like a rounded goose egg," the book reads.

The museum ha...