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South Korea
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on South Korea, covering politics, economy, society, K-pop and Seoul’s relationships with North Korea, Japan, China and the United States.
Capital
Seoul
Head of State
Lee Jae-myung
Lee Jae Myung
Head of Government
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok
A Blackpink fan takes a selfie at a pop-up store in Kai Tak Mall 2. Photo: Karma Lo
Hong Kong entertainment

Hong Kong hitting high notes as fans roll in for Blackpink concerts

K-pop fans are gearing up for shows, with Hong Kong the final stop of the band’s global tour.

Animals

South Korea banned dog meat. Now what happens to 500,000 animals?

Yoon Suk-yeol

South Korean court’s harsh jail term for Han sets stage for Yoon’s verdict

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Yoon Suk-yeol

Video | Former South Korean PM Han jailed for 23 years

A ‌judge said Han Duck-soo ‘disregarded his duty and responsibility as prime minister until the very end’.

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Korean drama reviews

Undercover Miss Hong: Park Shin-hye tackles corruption in workplace K-drama

Park plays a financial investigator infiltrating a corrupt firm in Undercover Miss Hong, a ’90s-set drama that also tackles gender equality.

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Aviation

Why South Korea’s flight attendants are forced to brave bitter cold in uniforms

Flight attendants commute in uniform due to lack of changing rooms at Incheon Airport as labour groups fight for better conditions.

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South Korea martial law 2024

South Korea’s ex-PM Han gets 23 years in prison for insurrection

A ‌judge said Han Duck-soo ‘disregarded his duty and responsibility as prime minister until the very end’.

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Former South Korean prime minister Han Duck-soo (centre) arrives at the Seoul Central District Court for his sentencing trial in the insurrection case on Wednesday. Photo: AP
North Korea

Seoul warns North Korea’s nuclear weapons will soon go ‘abroad’

Pyongyang is producing nuclear material for up to 20 weapons annually, President Lee Jae Myung says.

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North Korea

‘Goat yoked to an ox cart’: Kim Jong-un fires minister amid factory delay

By firing vice-minister Yang Sung-ho on the spot, Kim appears to be asserting his authority ahead of a crucial party congress, experts say.

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Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong stocks trade rangebound on Japan bond rout, Greenland unease

Signs emerge that the flare-up of geopolitical tensions could spill over to the financial markets.

A man talks on the phone in front of an electronic board displaying data on Japan’s 10-year government bonds outside a brokerage in Tokyo on January 21, 2026. Photo: Reuters
Taiwan

Critics in Taiwan question true cost of US deal hailed for tariff cut

Debate centres on Taiwan’s financial commitment to the US – whether US$250 billion or US$500 billion – and if it will harm the economy.

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Taiwanese opposition parties have warned that what officials portray as a tariff win could carry heavy long-term costs for the island’s economy and industrial base. Photo: AFP
United States

How Project 2025 is reshaping immigration for Korean-Americans

Activist Kim Dong-seok warns lack of White House restraint has blurred immigration lines, leaving Korean-American residents in constant fear.

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Aviation

Seoul airport ‘suicide flight’ threat sparks police manhunt in South Korea

A self-proclaimed pilot has threatened a crash and stabbing at Gimpo Airport in protest against the merger of Korean Air and Asiana.

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North Korea

Crossing a line: did military spies help a student fly drones into North Korea?

What began as a student’s claim of hunting radioactive waste has spiralled into a scandal linking military spies to dangerous border flights.

The remains of a drone North Korea claims breached its airspace on January 4. Photo: KCNA/KNS/AFP
Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong stocks cap longest slide in 2 months on China slowdown

Investors hold off on bets after reports show fourth-quarter growth decelerated and property prices continued to slide.

A view of Exchange Square in Central on December 30, 2025. Photo: Sun Yeung
Brazil

Brazil beef exports seen as stable in 2026 as industry pivots beyond China

Beef lobby Abiec said volumes not sold to China could be redirected other markets.

Semiconductors

Explainer | Will Trump’s new industrial policy make the global memory chip shortage worse?

The US government warns major memory chipmakers to either pay 100 per cent duties or build their products in America.

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US-Venezuela conflict

Opinion | Why the US really wants Venezuela’s oil

To win the geopolitical contest, a country needs ample resources, a self-sustaining production system – and the backing of a wider economic bloc.

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An activist, wearing a cutout mask depicting US President Donald Trump and tied with a rope, kneels next to a container with the words, “My Oil”, in an rally to condemn the US military action in Venezuela, in Seoul, South Korea, on January 5. Photo: Reuters
Pop culture in Asia

Language Matters | Senpai, bingsu, ramyeon: new Korean and Japanese words in the OED

The latest additions to the Oxford English Dictionary include many words and phrases from popular Korean and Japanese culture.

North Korea

Seoul takes aim at North Korea’s leadership bunkers with ‘monster missile’

The missile, capable of carrying a warhead of up to eight tonnes, has been deployed to frontline military units.

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China exports

Can China’s cosmetics brands rival K-beauty and refashion global markets?

Once the top export market for South Korean cosmetics, Chinese firms lead at home and have made headway overseas – but gaps remain.

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Illustration: Brian Wang
K-drama news

Profile | Who is Go Youn-jung, rising star of Netflix’s Can This Love Be Translated?

After starting out as a model, Go rose to K-drama stardom in series such as Alchemy of Souls and Moving. Now she leads her first romcom.

Go Youn-jung in a still from Can This Love Be Translated?. Photo: No Ju-han/Netflix.
From our archives

On This Day | Drama in Hong Kong’s first international marathon in 1969 – SCMP archive

Ahead of Sunday’s Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon, we look back at Hong Kong’s first international marathon, more than 55 years ago.

K-pop, Mandopop, other Asian pop

BTS’ comeback concert sparks Dynamite price hikes in South Korea’s Busan

The K-pop group’s show in Busan is months away but already room prices have soared beyond the 1 million mark.

Hong Kong society

Hong Kong passport ranks 15th globally, rising 3 places in visa-free access index

Hongkongers improve in travel mobility, with visa-free access to 171 destinations, but still trail leader Singapore, as well as Japan and South Korea.

Hongkongers hold the world’s 15th most powerful passport, according to this year’s Henley Passport Index, which measures visa-free access. Photo: Fung Chang
China society

Outside In | We are speeding towards a demography of loneliness

The swarming sociability of family life is fading as one-person households and lonely deaths rise. Coping with loneliness is now a life skill.

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Around the world, more people are growing up as only children; marrying late, if at all; having children late, if at all; and living alone in old age. Photo: Shutterstock
Australia

South Korean church deploys ‘special force’ to recruit Australian youths

The Shincheonji church compiles profiles of potential members to draw up personalised recruitment plans, according to a former member.

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Yoon Suk-yeol

South Korea’s Yoon sentenced to 5 years in prison over martial law charges

The ruling comes days after prosecutors in a separate case demanded Yoon Suk-yeol be sentenced to death for masterminding insurrection.

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