Recent Blog Posts
The Tradition and Physiology of 삼복 and Fighting Heat with Heat
삼복 (sambok) is the set of three days in the Korean calendar reckoned as the hottest of the year, and on each of them large numbers of people queue outside restaurants in direct sunlight to eat a pot of chicken soup served still boiling. In 2026 the dates were July 15 and July 25, with the third, 말복 (malbok), falling on August 14.
Location:Kakao’s New Kanana2 AI Is Small Enough to Run on Phones
Kakao has released a new set of compact artificial-intelligence models designed to handle Korean-language tasks while requiring fewer computing resources than very large cloud-based systems. The release puts part of Kakao's Kanana-2 technology into the hands of outside developers and highlights the industry's growing interest in AI that can operate on personal devices.
What Was Decided at the Busan-hosted UNESCO's World Heritage Committee
During the second half of July, decisions about cultural landscapes, ecosystems and historic places around the world were made in Busan. The 48th session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee met at BEXCO from July 19 to 29, placing the city at the center of the system that determines which places enter the World Heritage List and how listed sites should be protected.
Korea Cuts E-9 Visa Quotas
Korea's 2026 quota for E-9 employment permit workers is 80,000, down from 130,000 in 2025 and 165,000 in 2024. It is the first time the ceiling has fallen below 100,000 in four years, and the drop from last year is 38 percent.
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38.8°C - Busan Reaches Highest Temperature Ever Recorded
Busan reached 38.8 degrees Celsius on the afternoon of July 29, the highest temperature recorded at the city's official station since modern observation began there in April 1904. The previous record, 37.3 degrees from August 2016, was beaten by a full 1.5 degrees. In Yangsan, just across the boundary in Gyeongsangnam-do, the reading hit 40.3, the first 40-degree temperature anywhere in Korea this year and the third consecutive year the country has produced one.
Korea Encourages Younger Digital Nomads to Live Outside Seoul
Korea's digital nomad visa stopped being a pilot on June 30. The F-1-D, also called the workation visa, now runs as a permanent program with a maximum stay of three years instead of two, and with an income requirement that changes depending on how old you are and where in the country you plan to live.
Busan's Foreign Visitor Numbers Jumped 40 Percent in 2026
Busan recorded 1,936,572 international visitors between January and May 2026, a 40 percent increase over the same five months of 2025. The national growth rate over that period was 21 percent, so the city grew at roughly double the country's pace, and it did so without counting the crowds that arrived in June for the BTS concert at Busan Asiad Main Stadium.
The city's full-year record, set in 2025, was 3,643,439 visitors. Busan passed half that total in five months.
Uber Returns to Korea's Delivery Market Through Baemin
Uber has agreed to buy Delivery Hero, the German company that controls Baemin, in a deal valued at roughly $14.8 billion. If it closes, the app most people in Korea use to order dinner will sit inside the same corporate group as Uber Taxi. The agreement was signed on July 16 and is not expected to close until the second half of 2027, subject to approval from competition regulators in several countries, so nothing changes for anyone ordering tonight.
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SK Chairman Ordered to Pay Record Divorce Settlement to Ex-wife, Daughter of Former President
SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won has been ordered to pay his former wife Roh Soh-yeong the largest property division ever awarded in a Korean divorce. The Seoul High Court's Family Division 1 set the amount at 944 billion won, roughly $644 million, on July 24, plus 5 percent annual interest running from the day after the judgment becomes final.
Shark Sightings Surge Off Korea's East Coast in 2026
From: @migookhaenyeo
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Coupang Warehouse Fire in Incheon: Damage, Costs, & Concerns
A fire at Coupang's No. 32 logistics center in Seoknam-dong (석남동), Seo-gu, Incheon, burned for 61 hours over the weekend of July 18 before firefighters brought it under control on Monday evening. The blaze spread across two floors of one of the largest fulfillment warehouses serving same-day delivery to the capital region, forced nearby residents to evacuate over fears of a building collapse, and destroyed an unknown quantity of stored inventory.
The 빚투 Reckoning: What Is Driving Korea’s Market Downturn
South Korea's stock market has moved from a record rally into unusually large daily swings. After the KOSPI reached a record close of 9,114.55 on June 22, it fell more than 20 percent by July 8, the commonly used threshold for a bear market. At the time of publication on July 20, the KOSPI was near 6,620, approximately 27.4 percent below its June 22 close.
Happy 제헌절! : How Korea's Constitution Was Drafted, Remade, and Tested
July 17 is Constitution Day, or Jeheonjeol (제헌절), marking the 1948 promulgation of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. The document sets out the structure of government, citizens' rights and duties, and procedures for resolving conflicts between constitutional institutions.