South Korea

“Are you happy?” It’s a simple question, and on the surface, there’s nothing unusual about it. Yet many people hesitate to answer yes. Life may feel generally okay, but admitting happiness often seems to require having a little more. Statistics suggest the same. According to the U.N.’s World Happiness Report 2025, released in March, Korea ranked […]

SEOUL — South Korea will take on Mexico, South Africa, and a European playoff qualifier in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The draw for the 23rd edition of football's premier event took place at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Friday (local time). Co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, the 2026 World Cup, set to run from June […]

Gus Poyet’s assistant says ‘moment of misunderstanding’ led to his being punished by the K LeagueJeonbuk Hyundai Motors had their “La Decima” banners ready on the second weekend of November to celebrate a 10th South Korean title won in style by the head coach, Gus Poyet. Their game with Daejeon Hana, however, turned out to be the most […]

President Lee praised South Koreans for overcoming ‘an unprecedented democratic crisis in world history’ but some fears its society is becoming increasingly polarisedSouth Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung has marked the anniversary of an attempt to impose martial law by declaring that those behind the bid to topple its democracy must face justice, […]

Decision announced at Cop30 climate conference signposts risks for Australia’s reliance on fossil fuel exports, analysts sayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government has been urged to prepare for a shift away from thermal coal exports and accelerate green […]

Chinese leader says ‘check if there is a backdoor’ in reply to Lee Jae Myung’s quip about security of Xiaomi devices It would take someone with nerves of steel to joke about the security of Chinese smartphones in front of Xi Jinping.Step forward the South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, who, after being given a pair of smartphones by the Chinese […]

Koya Kamura’s debut film is about shared identities at the centre of quiet, chilly drama as an enigmatic French writer visits the eponymous townAdapted from a novel by Swiss-Korean writer Elisa Shua Dusapin, this elusive but bracing drama sees guesthouse worker Sooha (Bella Kim) drive French writer Yan (Roschdy Zem) out to the demilitarised zone just […]

After 33 years underground, tattoo artists celebrate a landmark law as prosecutions continueOutside Seoul’s northern district court on Friday, Kim Do-yoon stepped into the cold air after another hearing in his appeal.His crime: tattooing a satisfied client. Continue reading...

With Trump electing to fly back to Washington on the eve of the main summit, what did Apec’s remaining leaders achieve in his absence?The leaders of countries across the Asia-Pacific are wrapping up their summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, after a week dominated by trade talks between the US president, Donald Trump, and the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping.With […]

Uncertainty surrounds the signing of this week’s trade deals amid the failure to secure reciprocity from the US to cut tariffsOn Donald Trump’s whirlwind tour of Asia – which involved stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea – the US president triumphantly collected new trade deals from countries hoping for a reduction in the tariffs he slapped on them […]

This live blog is now closed.Trump news at a glance: Four Senate Republicans join Democrats to reject global tariffsIn the days leading up to the Trump-Xi meeting, American officials signalled that the US president did not intend to make good on a recent threat to impose an additional 100% import tax on Chinese goods.Also that China had shown signs it is […]

Donald Trump hails ‘amazing’ trade talks with Chinese counterpart, with ‘no roadblock at all on rare earth’Five key takeaways from Trump-Xi meetingAnalysis: price of confrontation was too high for both sidesDonald Trump has described crucial trade talks with the Chinese president in South Korea as “amazing”, saying their dispute over the supply […]

Trump’s decision to allow South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine will admit Seoul to a small club of nations possessing such vesselsUS president Donald Trump has given approval for South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine, a move that would admit Seoul to a small club of nations possessing such vessels.Trump met South Korean counterpart […]

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation club has 21 members that represent more than 50% of global GDP and are home to about 2.7 billion peopleThe idea of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group was firstly publicly broached during a speech in Seoul, South Korea, on 31 January 1989 by Bob Hawke, Australia’s prime minister of the time. Ten months later, […]

This live blog is now closed.On X, Adam Schiff, one of California’s Democratic senators, criticized acting US attorney Bill Essayli, after a judge found that he was in the Los Angeles-based position illegally.Schiff wrote:“Unlawfully serving” in his role. Acting illegally. But left in place? While this Administration continues to replace career […]

Seoul says it has reached broad agreement on investment and shipbuilding as attention shifts to US-China meetingJust two weeks after millions of Americans joined No Kings protests against Donald Trump, the US president was presented with a golden crown by South Korea.After arriving on Wednesday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings, […]

Maga-inspired protests regularly take place on streets of Seoul amid chants of ‘Korea for Koreans’ as South prepares to host crucial Apec summitThousands of protesters flooded central Seoul on Saturday, waving Korean and American flags, Maga hats, and banners honouring slain rightwing activist Charlie Kirk.They held placards reading “Korea for […]

Donald Trump will travel to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea for the Apec and Asean summits. Will he meet Xi Jinping, and what tariff deals might be secured?Donald Trump is about to embark on a tour of Asia that many hope will ease trade tensions with countries in the region and repair damaged ties with China. Trump will begin his trip on Sunday at a meeting […]

The Hyunmoo-5 ‘bunker buster’ missile can reportedly carry an eight-tonne warhead and will be ready for deployment at the end of the yearSouth Korea has said it will begin deploying its largest ballistic missile yet at the end of the year – a projectile known as the “monster missile” by local media – marking a significant upgrade of its […]

Soldier’s is first reported defection to South Korea across 248km militarised zone since August 2024A North Korean soldier has defected to South Korea across the rivals’ heavily fortified border, South Korea’s military has said.The military took custody of the soldier who crossed the central portion of the land border on Sunday, South Korea’s joint […]

An additional 60 South Koreans remain detained by Cambodian authorities after a crackdown on scam operationsSouth Korea has issued its most serious travel warning for parts of Cambodia, issuing a “code black” ban that orders citizens to leave areas in which the government has identified surging employment scams and detention cases targeting its […]

South Korean president urges ‘all-out’ efforts to protect citizens after number of kidnappings in Cambodia soars in recent monthsSouth Korean president Lee Jae Myung has called for “all-out” diplomatic efforts to protect citizens in Cambodia after a university student was lured there by a scam ring and allegedly tortured to death.At a cabinet […]