Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea

This article is by Choi Min-ji and read by an artificial voice.

One question has always been on Koreans' minds as the country hails the success of BTS, Blackpink and "Golden" (2025): If one K-pop song takes over the global market, does it actually help the K-content industry as a whole? It turns out, the answer is yes.

According to the latest industry data, Korean indie music and broadcasting content are gaining global traction as interest in K-pop has spilled over — and concrete numbers prove it.

Songs categorized under the K-indie genre on Spotify were streamed 161 million times between January and November last year, a 68 percent jump compared to the same period in 2024, according to statistics from Spotify Wrapped 2025, which was provided to the JoongAng Ilbo on Sunday.

The proportional rise in the K-indie genre was found to be steeper than that of the K-pop category, which had a 16 percent jump from 52 billion streams to 60.4 billion.

Excluding Korea, the K-indie genre was the most listened to in the United States with 14.84 million streams, Taiwan with 6.43 million streams and Indonesia with 4.97 million streams. Canada followed at 2.81 million streams, with the Philippines close behind at 2.79 million streams.

Korean project band The Black Skirts became the most-streamed artist in the K-indie category with their stream counts tallied at 21.98 million from January to November last year. Redoor and Adoy, indie bands whose songs failed to make it onto Korea's domestic streaming charts, secured fourth and seventh place in the category, respectively.

By songs, Car, the Garden's "Closely Far Away" (2021) was the most streamed song with 6.12 million streams. Redoor's "Forever Has Always Been" (2021) followed with 4.36 million streams. The second runner-up song was The Black Skirts's "1:05" (2017).

"Interest in K-pop has expanded into indie music through algorithms that reflect listeners' streaming patterns and preferred genres," a representative for Spotify said.

Music shows featuring K-pop artists are also gaining global popularity alongside K-pop itself.

The total views of content on the global K-pop content platform Mnet Plus reached over a million from January last year to March this year. The service offers streaming services of exclusive K-pop content and interactive activities with K-pop artists. The service is available in 250 regions worldwide.

During this period, the most watched programs on Mnet Plus were the audition program "Boys II Planet" (2025), the "2025 MAMA Awards" (2025) and the weekly music show "M Countdown" (2004-). In particular, programs such as "Boys II Planet" and "M Countdown" were found to be watched the most in Japan, not Korea.

"Currently, global users account for about 80 percent of Mnet Plus users, and we expect their share to increase further this year," an Mnet Plus spokesperson said. "Korea is perceived to be a hub of music in Asia, and participants across the globe are throwing their hats into audition programs held in Korea. This phenomenon creates synergy with [fans'] desires to directly partake in selecting talents," the spokesperson added.

"Users in China, Japan and Indonesia actively participate in voting and fan-interactive activities, while users in the Americas tend to explore and consume a wide range of content and be less focused on specific artists."

Foreign films and dramas based on or reinterpreting K-pop are also consistently being released.

An Indian film, titled "Made in Korea," which was released on Netflix last month, recorded 6.7 million views between March 16 and 22. It topped the viewers' chart in the non-English movie category.

The film's leading character, Shenba, an Indian woman from a small village in Tamil Nadu, has her room filled with K-pop posters and merchandise. In the movie, she heads to the buildings of K-pop agencies and music video filming locations in Seoul upon her arrival in Korea's capital city.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that neighborhoo...

This article is by Lee So-jin and read by an artificial voice.

A carpet of greenery stretches almost endlessly in a greenhouse in Gujwa-eup, Jeju City in Jeju Island.

A total of 64 beds equipped for cultivation, each 18 meters (59 feet) long, filled with green centella asiatica — commonly known as cica — lined the smart farm facility, which resembles a laboratory.

The greenhouse maintains the optimal environment tailored to the plant: a steady temperature of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius (68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit), with climate and humidity optimized for growth and nutrient supply.

The giant centella asiatica, which is now ready for harvest, was nearly large enough to cover a palm after 45 days. Once the stem is cut, a slightly bitter aroma is faintly detectable from saponin. The compound, known to soothe skin and provide antiinflammatory and antioxidant effects, is a key ingredient in cosmetics.

The site produces 11 tons of giant centella asiatica annually and is operated by the beauty company Riman Korea. Built last year, Riman Farm spans 14,800 square meters (159,305 square feet) and includes research facilities, cultivation areas and a visitor zone. Construction and preparation cost about 10 billion won ($6.7 million).

Riman Korea developed the plant as a new variety in 2019, and it now serves as a core ingredient in products from its skincare brands ICD, formerly known as Incellderm, as well as Botalab and the health supplement brand Lifening.

Why would a cosmetics company get into the farming business? In the K-beauty industry, the real competition no longer starts at packaging and branding — it starts at the soil.

Ingredients are the message in K-beauty. Unlike in the past, when texture, marketing and promotion once drove purchases, ingredients and technology now define product identity.

The shelves at Olive Young, Korea's famous beauty retailer, show that many of its best-selling skincare products advertise themselves through ingredient-focused branding, spotlighting names like heartleaf, carrot, mung bean and PDRN, which is polydeoxyribonucleotides extracted from salmon.

Specific ingredients are included in the product name, while delivery technologies, such as a shot or liposomes, stress their efficacy.

The cosmetics brand Beauty of Joseon's sunscreen, Relief Sun: Rice + Probiotics, is a hit on Amazon. It owes much of its appeal to its emphasis on rice and fermented grain ingredients.

This shift is closely tied to the structure of the K-beauty industry.

For years, the domestic market has grown around original design manufacturer and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) companies, such as Cosmax and Kolmar Korea.

While their advanced manufacturing capabilities allowed numerous brands to enter the market, they also led to rapid standardization in product quality. As a result, differentiation factors between brands have become increasingly blurred.

As manufacturing prowess has largely leveled across the industry, the question is no longer what a product is — what matters is what goes into it.

Securing a stable supply of the ingredients has become a core competency.

Centella asiatica is a key component in so-called cica cosmetics, yet about 90 percent has historically been imported. Typically sourced as a dried product from countries such as Madagascar and Vietnam, these imports have suffered from inconsistent quality and unstable supply.

This has driven efforts to develop a fully homegrown "K-centella."

Korea's leading cosmetic conglomerate Amorepacific partnered with a biotech company to develop a new variety called Hoin, and Riman Korea, addressed both supply and quality issues with its giant centella asiatica, which contains higher levels of active compounds than conventional varieties.

"Imported dried ingredients often contain weeds or insects, lowering quality, and in some cases have even shown traces of heavy metals," said Kim Jung-hwan, a researcher at Riman's research and development facility, Ask Labs. "N...

This article is by Lee Jae-lim and read by an artificial voice.

[NEWS ANALYSIS]

A shift toward longer-term semiconductor supply agreements is unprecedented. Until now, no contracts have extended beyond a year, but prospective memory deals with Microsoft and Google may usher in a transition that commits Samsung Electronics and SK hynix to long-term supply contracts of up to five years, bringing much-needed stability to the highly cyclical chip industry.

Both companies confirmed the shift toward longer-term contracts at their respective annual general meetings last month.

"In light of supply-demand uncertainties driven by expanding AI investments, we are pursuing multiyear contracts spanning three to five years with our customers, moving away from traditional short-term agreements," Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman and co-CEO Jun Young-hyun said. SK hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung similarly commented that requests for long-term agreements (LTAs) from their clients are increasing.

Multiple media outlets indicate that Google and Microsoft are each seeking such deals with Korean chipmakers. The range of memory products under discussion spans from high bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI applications to conventional dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips that are particularly price volatile, according to an exclusive report by the Korea Economic Daily.

The deals are said to include an upfront payment of around 10 to 30 percent of the total contract value, which chipmakers can use to fund capital expenditure.

The trend extends beyond Korea. Micron Technology confirmed in a March earnings call that it signed its first five-year agreement to supply chips for a major customer.

The shift marks a radical departure from the industry's traditional practice of quarterly, or at most, annual supply contracts.

"Even during the previous chip upcycle led by cloud service providers, the longest contracts typically lasted only up to a year," said an industry source who requested anonymity. "Moving toward long-term supply agreements benefits both sides: Customers can secure a stable supply during shortages, while suppliers are less exposed to sharp cyclical swings."

However, market views remain divided. Supporters highlight improved stability, while skeptics warn that suppliers could be locked into lower-than-expected prices during upcycles.

Supply constraints are already evident.

"We are currently using low-power double data rate [DDR] memory for our chips, but we may consider adopting HBM for our next product, as conventional DRAM prices are now costlier than HBM," said a source at an AI chip startup.

For example, the contract price of DDR4 surged from $1.35 per unit in March of last year to $13 by the end of March this year, according to DRAMeXchange.

"For DRAM, average selling prices [ASP] in 2025 were largely driven by HBM," said Ryu Hyung-keun, an analyst at Daishin Securities. "In 2026, however, the DRAM ASP is rising sharply, led by conventional DRAM."

Ryu added that HBM is expected to regain a dominant share of ASP growth in 2027, driven by HBM4 and HBM4E products.

"It's also important to note that the transition to LTAs does not necessarily cap the DRAM ASP upside," he said. "While the domestic industry may not achieve the same linear growth track as TSMC, its three-year average profitability could evolve toward a similarly stable structure."

Han Dong-hee, an analyst at SK Securities, said that such deals could become the industry's breakaway from its historical boom-and-bust cycles.

"Price discovery will remain centered in the spot market, and those prices will effectively set the upper and lower bounds for long-term contract pricing," Han said. "The degree of cycle exposure [how much a memory company is influenced by cyclical swings] will vary depending on contract structures, but suppliers are in a strong position to design these agreements."

Han said memory supply remains a critical bottleneck in AI infrastructure, describing the curr...

Lee Woo Young

The author is an emeritus professor of mathematical sciences at Seoul National University.

Consider a person who, at every step, randomly chooses one of four directions — north, south, east or west — and moves one step accordingly. Will this person eventually return to their starting point? This question, known as the "drunkard's walk," is a classic problem in probability theory. Given four possible directions at each step, intuition suggests that the person is more likely to wander away indefinitely than to return, but this judgment turns out to be incorrect.

The human brain did not evolve to handle probabilistic thinking with precision. As a result, probability theory contains many problems that seem to counter everyday intuition. One of the most widely known is the "Monty Hall problem," named after the host of a U.S. television game show. In this scenario, a contestant is presented with three doors. Behind one is a car, while the other two conceal goats. After the contestant selects a door, the host — who knows what lies behind each door — opens one of the remaining doors to reveal a goat and then offers the contestant a chance to change their choice.

At this point, many people assume the odds are now evenly split. Intuition suggests there is no advantage in switching. However, this reasoning is flawed. If the contestant switches, the probability of winning the car is two-thirds. If the contestant stays, it remains one-third. From a probabilistic perspective, switching is clearly the better option.

This does not mean intuition is always unreliable. Many significant discoveries have begun with intuitive insights. However, intuition is especially vulnerable in situations involving randomness. In the case of the drunkard's walk, the individual will, in fact, eventually return to the starting point. The intuitive mistake lies in equating increasing distance with the impossibility of return. Probability clarifies that even as the path grows longer, the chance of returning persists.

In this way, probability serves as a corrective tool, helping to reduce errors in human intuition and enabling more accurate judgment under uncertainty.

"Man is a thinking reed," wrote Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) in his posthumous work "Pensées" (1670). The phrase captures the fragile yet reasoning nature of human beings living in uncertainty. It is notable that Pascal, who reflected deeply on the limits of human reason, was also one of the founders of probability theory.

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.

Choi Yoon-hee

The author is the president of the Sea Power League of the Republic of Korea and a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The collapse of cease-fire negotiations between the United States and Iran late last week has further complicated the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting growing risks to global maritime routes and Korea's economic lifelines.

Iran blocked the strait shortly after hostilities began. Following the breakdown of talks, the United States responded with a counterblockade targeting vessels trading with Iran to curb its oil exports. As a result, 26 Korean-flagged ships have been stranded, incurring daily losses of about $1.43 million. Whether operations can resume remains uncertain.

The impact is spreading. Oil prices, exchange rates and stock markets have been affected, while fishing vessels have halted operations. What began as a regional conflict is now demonstrating global economic consequences.

In the United States, rising fuel prices have fueled criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump, but policy options appear limited. Iran is not a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, complicating legal enforcement. Ensuring freedom of navigation in Hormuz has therefore become a central U.S. objective.

The crisis reflects a broader shift in maritime security. Since Houthi missile attacks on civilian vessels in March 2024, threats have evolved from piracy to blockades and missile strikes. The United States attempted to neutralize these threats through strikes on launch sites with limited success. It later helped form the Combined Maritime Forces, a coalition of about 40 countries, though its reach remains constrained by the vastness of the oceans.

Korea has maintained a naval presence in the Gulf of Aden since 2009 through the Cheonghae Unit, deploying a single destroyer to protect merchant ships. Given Korea's status as a major economy, this level of commitment appears insufficient.

Although the duration and outcome of the Hormuz blockade remain uncertain, the lesson is clear: Korea must invest more in securing and protecting its sea lanes. Annual debates over extending the Cheonghae Unit's deployment underscore the limitations of the current approach.

Even if navigation resumes, choke points will remain vulnerable to disruption. North Korea, pursuing nuclear-powered submarines, could attempt to disrupt sea routes around the Korean Peninsula.

The United States has also signaled that securing maritime routes such as the Hormuz is increasingly the responsibility of individual countries. Korea now faces the dual task of protecting its merchant fleet abroad and ensuring maritime security at home.

Korean vessels operate along more than 10 major international routes. Critical choke points include the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Strait of Malacca and the Taiwan Strait. These routes are essential despite geopolitical risks.

Korea's reliance on maritime transport is nearly absolute. About 99.7 percent of its trade moves by sea, and all energy imports depend on these routes. They are effectively the nation's lifeline. Yet aside from the United States, no country can manage these choke points globally, raising questions about reliance on U.S.-led maritime order.

Korea also lacks a dedicated fleet and system to transport troops and strategic materials in a crisis. Even under Korea-U.S. combined operational plans, wartime transport responsibilities largely fall to the United States.

Risks are particularly acute in the Taiwan Strait, through which roughly 40 percent of Korea's trade passes. A conflict there could escalate quickly. In Northeast Asia, escalation could also threaten Japan-based United Nations Command rear bases, further complicating the security environment.

North Korea's military developments add to the concern. It is expanding naval capabilities, including a 5,000-ton destroyer equipped with long-range cr...

The author is a columnist of the JoongAng Ilbo, a chair professor and director of Doheon Academy, Hallym University.

Markets are not easy opponents for any government. They are volatile and unpredictable, often described as having "two faces" — one of an angel and one of a devil. Mishandling them can trigger destructive consequences, eroding wealth and jobs. Few administrations decisively win in their contest with the market, though a general pattern holds: Progressives tend to tighten control while conservatives loosen it.

Having a president who understands the nature of markets can shape a nation's fortunes. Even then, knowledge does not guarantee success. Lee Myung-bak, despite his business background, underestimated market forces and paid a heavy price early in his presidency during the U.S. beef import controversy. Moon Jae-in, meanwhile, wielded what he saw as the "sword of justice," but failed to recognize how policies on minimum wages, nonregular workers and working hours provoked market backlash that weakened the economy during his term.

President Lee Jae Myung appears to take a different approach. He avoids directly confronting market forces and instead focuses on smaller, everyday economic issues that affect consumers. His governing style centers on what might be called "wallet economics" or "kitchen-table economics," addressing practical concerns rather than pursuing grand theories of growth or structural reform.

This approach has produced unusual moments. Topics such as hair loss treatment and sanitary pad prices have appeared in presidential meetings, even at year-end meetings to address major national issues. When oil prices surged, Lee proposed limiting free subway rides for older people — an idea that was not implemented but signaled his focus on consumer concerns. His 26-trillion-won supplementary budget followed a similar pattern. As global tensions disrupted energy supplies and stranded Korean tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, the government responded with fuel subsidies and price caps. Consumers found some relief, though businesses faced mounting losses.

Lee's approach may seem small in scale, but it is precise. Rather than sweeping overhauls, he favors targeted adjustments — akin to repairing defects or replacing parts rather than rebuilding systems. During the Moon administration, former Land Minister Kim Hyun-mee introduced repeated measures to stabilize the housing market, only to see prices surge. This time, Lee personally intervened, focusing on three measures: requiring homeowners to live in their properties, regulating multi-home landlords and strengthening property taxes. Housing prices fell significantly, even as rental instability persisted.

This governing method has been described as " jumma style." In Korean usage, ajumma refers to middle-aged women, often associated with practical, frugal and detail-oriented approaches to daily life. The term is used here metaphorically to describe a governing style that emphasizes careful calculation, thrift and attention to everyday concerns. Journalist Kim Yoon-deok of the Chosun Ilbo described it as a kind of "jumma strategy." After years of grand political rhetoric, many voters have responded to this approach, which addresses practical concerns in a direct and unpretentious manner.

The appeal also reflects fatigue with political practices in which governments claimed credit for achievements while ordinary people bore the costs. Policies intended to protect nonregular workers, for example, have sometimes been criticized for entrenching precarious employment among younger workers. Compared to past presidents, often perceived as detached and overly rhetorical, Lee's approach has resonated with voters seeking tangible results.

Despite broader economic difficulties outside key sectors such as semiconductors, shipbuilding and defense, Lee's approval rating has reached 67 percent, the highest on record. Ahead of local elections, the ruling Democratic Par...

The United States has imposed a blockade on vessels entering and leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas, escalating tensions in response to Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The move, described as a counterblockade, aims to pressure Iran by cutting off its oil exports and restricting imports of food and essential goods after cease-fire talks collapsed.

As both sides engage in direct confrontation around the strait, concerns are growing over a prolonged conflict and the resulting uncertainty for Korea's economy.

Global oil prices have already surged past $100 per barrel as Washington and Tehran harden their positions. High energy prices could become the new norm. Iran's parliamentary speaker warned that Americans would soon "miss" gasoline prices of $4 to $5 per gallon, signaling the possible use of oil as a strategic weapon. U.S. President Donald Trump also said oil prices could rise further into the fall. For Korea, a major energy importer, such a scenario would have immediate consequences.

The risks extend beyond energy costs. Disruptions in the supply of key industrial materials are raising concerns across multiple sectors. Naphtha, often referred to as the "rice of industry" because it serves as a basic feedstock for products such as plastics and vinyl, is essential for manufacturing. Shortages could halt production lines and affect the output of consumer goods.

Supply instability for intermediate materials such as helium, bromine and ammonia also poses a direct threat to Korea's core industries, including semiconductors. Signs of disruption are already emerging. Samsung Electronics has begun operating helium recycling systems on some production lines, while SK hynix is reviewing similar measures. These steps follow supply constraints linked to halted production in Qatar, which accounted for 64.7 percent of Korea's helium imports last year, after facilities were affected by Iranian attacks.

The pharmaceutical sector is also experiencing strain. Companies have introduced order limits amid concerns over raw material shortages and depleted packaging supplies, reflecting broader disruptions across supply chains.

The situation in the Hormuz represents an unprecedented challenge. If oil shipments are not restored in a timely manner, the impact will extend beyond fuel shortages to broader manufacturing disruptions. Production across industries could falter in a cascading effect, potentially paralyzing supply chains.

Recent developments suggest that such risks are not confined to energy markets. China's decision to suspend sulfuric acid exports next month highlights a growing trend of countries restricting access to key industrial materials during periods of uncertainty.

In response, the government must prepare for worst-case scenarios. Emergency supply measures for critical materials should be established, and efforts to diversify supply sources must be accelerated. Strengthening supply chain resilience will be essential to mitigating the economic impact of prolonged disruptions.

The current crisis has placed the government's ability to manage external shocks under scrutiny. Its response will be critical in determining whether Korea can withstand mounting pressure on its industrial base.

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 Lee Jae-lim, Sarah Chea and read by an artificial voice.

Korea's semiconductor and pharmaceutical sectors could face serious supply disruptions as Donald Trump's push to blockade the Strait of Hormuz deepens uncertainty around a key chokepoint, with consequences for the Korean economy that could be even more debilitating than the spike in energy prices.

"Middle East geopolitical risks are expanding to supply disruptions in industrial materials, which could pose a greater threat than surging energy prices," the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said in a recent report. "In addition to crude oil and naphtha, supply instability in materials such as helium, bromine and ammonia could directly affect Korea's critical sectors, including semiconductors, electronics, petrochemicals and automobiles."

Any supply shortfall at Samsung Electronics or SK hynix could quickly escalate into a high-stakes issue for a broad base of clients — including U.S. Big Tech — as well as investors at home and abroad, given the two firms account for nearly 41 percent of the Kospi's market capitalization as of Monday.

The production of helium and bromine, key components in chip processing, is heavily concentrated in the Middle East.

Korea relies on Qatar for 64.7 percent of its helium imports and on Israel for 97.5 percent of its bromine, based on last year's data.

Qatar accounts for more than 30 percent of the global helium supply, and the disruption has already pushed up global spot prices by 50 percent compared to before the war, according to KITA.

However, both corporations and the government said the impact of the chokepoint would be minimal. The government also dismissed concerns over helium supply disruptions, saying there won't be immediate risks.

"We have already secured U.S. substitutes [for helium capacity] by the end of June, so we have ensured semiconductor plants will not have to shut down through June," Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said on the KBS talk show Sunday Diagnosis on Sunday.

Helium is recovered as a by-product of liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing and is used as a coolant in wafer fabrication. Bromine, while not directly incorporated into chipmaking, is used in bromine-based chemicals essential for etching processes. Both materials are considered difficult to replace in semiconductor production.

Chipmakers can also recycle helium, although industry sources say existing inventories and diversified supply chains remain sufficient for now, meaning such measures are not yet considered necessary.

"Helium itself is not consumed in large volumes during chip manufacturing," an industry source who requested anonymity said. "We have secured enough supplies that helium recycling may not even be necessary at this stage."

Still, companies are keeping a close watch on how the war unfolds.

Liquid bromine is produced in China, the United States and Japan, but Japan also relies heavily on Israel for imports, with Israeli shipments accounting for 72.5 percent of its liquid bromine imports.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources has recently formed a dedicated task force of around 40 officials to monitor inventory and supply-and-demand conditions daily.

The government has also allocated 869.1 billion won ($584.6 million) in a supplementary budget to stabilize supply chains.

Kim visited four companies in the Banwol-Sihwa industrial complex in Ansan, Gyeonggi — ADChemTech, Lotte Packaging Solutions, SP Samhwa and Daeduck Electronics — on Monday to assess petrochemical supply conditions.

At ADChemTech, a manufacturer of medical syringe packaging, he emphasized his commitment to ensuring the stability of health-critical supplies essential to human life.

Then he visited SP Samhwa, a paint manufacturer supplying the shipbuilding, automotive and residential construction sectors and said that import registration procedures had been streamlined since Friday to enable faster raw material imports in the midst of ...

This article is by Yoon Seung-jin and read by an artificial voice.

[Hired in Korea]

As more internationals look to build careers in Korea, many find themselves facing practical hurdles — from limited guidance to a lack of firsthand experience. To bridge that gap, the Korea JoongAng Daily talks with professionals who have carved out their paths in diverse fields, offering readers real-world insights on how to start their careers in the country in this series "Hired in Korea."

Zeynep Erkal from Turkey first visited Korea on a trip with her father in 2010, where she immediately fell in love with the country and its people, saying they gave off "good vibes." However, what truly sparked her interest was Korean cosmetics, which eventually led her to work at one of the country's largest cosmetics companies, Amorepacific.

Although Erkal initially planned to take only a few semesters of language courses here, she went on to complete her degree, majoring in business administration at Kyung Hee University to pursue a career in the country's beauty industry. During her time at university and after graduation, she constantly tried her best to gain experience through several internships at cosmetics companies, driven by her longstanding interest in the field.

"Since I had a clear interest in the beauty industry, I actively took part in extracurricular activities and internships, which mainly involved creating visual content for social media," Erkal said in an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily. "I was able to effectively incorporate those experiences into my resume and during interviews."

"I would say that if there is a specific role or field you are interested in, you should do your best to learn as much as possible about it so that employers can clearly see your passion for the work," she added.

The Korea JoongAng Daily sat down with Erkal to hear more about her journey, the challenges of working in Korea as an expat and her advice for those hoping to build a career here.

Q. What's your role at your current company, and where did you work previously?

A. For now, I'm working on the overseas sales team at the beauty and cosmetics brand Amorepacific. Before this role, I gained experience in global marketing through internships and contract positions.

Right before joining Amorepacific, I worked at Espoir, a subsidiary of the company, where I did global marketing. Additionally, I participated in extracurricular activities with CJ which has its own beauty retailer Olive Young and did an internship at another beauty brand, Neopharm.

Do you think your college major affects your career path? And have you studied anything beyond your major?

Yes, I do think college majors play a role in choosing and pursuing a career to some extent.

For example, business administration majors often go into fields like marketing or sales. At the same time, areas such as accounting and finance are also important parts of the major, so for people who want to pursue those paths, their major can matter more directly.

In my case, I was particularly interested in marketing and sales, so I took related courses and was able to figure out what suits me best. Based on my language skills and what I learned in college, I became confident that these fields would be a good fit for me.

Aside from my college coursework, I also studied for the Test of Proficiency in Korean, widely known as the Topik exam, and achieved Level 6.

Any tips for the job-hunting process and writing CVs?

I strongly recommend using websites, where you can find resumes and CVs, as well as interview questions and answers shared by candidates who have interviewed at specific companies. By reviewing their responses, you can get a better sense of what to write or say in your own applications and interviews.

As for the general application process, I believe it is often more effective to apply for positions specifically targeted at foreign applicants. Based on my experience applying to roles open to both ...

This article is by Kim Kyoung-mi and read by an artificial voice.

With record-level heat forecast for this summer and the earlier-than-usual arrival of warm weather, demand for air conditioners has risen sharply.

Appliance makers are already preparing for the seasonal market by running factories at full capacity and launching discount campaigns.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said on Sunday that there is a 60 percent chance that average temperatures in April and May will be higher than normal this year.

The KMA also forecasts a 50 percent chance that the number of unusually hot days in April will exceed the seasonal norm of 1.9 to 4 days.

In Seoul, an unusually hot day in April is defined as one with a daytime high above 23.4 degrees Celsius (74.1 degrees Fahrenheit). Rising sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic and reduced snow cover in Europe had strengthened anticyclonic circulation near the Korean Peninsula, pushing temperatures higher, according to the agency.

After several years of long, hot summers, consumers are already moving to buy summer appliances. CJ Onstlye said interim results from a discount event running from April 3 through Sunday showed that air conditioner order value rose about 250 percent from the same event last year.

To prepare for the jump in demand, appliance makers are accelerating production and sales of summer appliances. Samsung Electronics, which launched two Bespoke AI WindFree Combo air conditioner models in February, is now running its air conditioner production line at its Gwangju plant at full capacity on the back of strong demand for the new products.

"We are speeding up production to respond quickly to surging demand," a Samsung Electronics official said. "Last month, we also began our preseason air conditioner inspection service early as we prepare for what is expected to be record heat."

LG Electronics is also holding an All New Sale promotion through Friday at its official online store, offering discounts of up to 38 percent on air conditioners.

"Air conditioner sales during the first 10 days of April rose 56 percent from the previous month," an LG Electronics spokesperson said. "Sales are moving faster than they did a year earlier. To prepare for the sharp rise in demand, we are operating the air conditioner production line at our Changwon plant at close to full capacity."

Dyson plans to launch its first portable electric fan, the HushJet Mini Cool Fan, in Korea next month. The product went on sale in the United States on Thursday for $99.99 (148,255 won).

Weighing 210 grams (7.4 ounces), it can be carried around or placed on a desk. It is equipped with a brushless motor that spins more than 10 times faster than those used in ordinary portable fans, generating wind speeds of up to 25 meters per second (55.9 miles per hour).

"As installation can be delayed when customers buy air conditioners during peak season, more people are choosing to buy early," an appliance industry representative said. "With record heat expected again this summer, demand for cooling appliances is likely to rise sharply."

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.