A Lighthearted Look at Getting Older

You can literally charge your other portable devices with this phone.

The esports industry continues to expand, drawing large audiences across game titles and appealing to an increasingly diverse range of people. The Business Research Company expects the global market to grow at an average annual rate of about 20 percent, from $3.02 billion in 2025 to $7.71 billion in 2030. However, few esports team operators have managed to turn that popularity into profits, as player salaries continue to rise while revenues from competition, such as prize money and league revenue sharing, remain volatile. DRX has remained profitable since 2024, helped by a diversified portfolio across multiple esports titles and a stable revenue base built through its advertising agency subsidiary. During an interview with The Korea Times, CEO Yang “Can” Sun-il said he is seeking to transform DRX into a broader digital entertainment company, expanding beyond esports through intellectual property (IP) and its esports academy, particularly in Southeast Asia. “K-culture has certainly become much more sophisticated and valuable than it was 10 years ago,” Yang said. “If you go to co

With the country’s ban on the dog meat trade slated to take effect on Feb. 7 next year, 87 percent of dog farms have been shut down, a pace faster than the government had anticipated, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Sunday. A total of 1,537 dog meat farms were registered nationwide when the government announced the ban in February 2024 and began accepting closure notices from farm owners. As of Sept. 21, 198 farms remained in operation. The number of farms that had closed was 30 percent higher than the government had expected by that point. The number of dogs kept in cages stood at 468,000 in August 2024, the final month of a six-month period during which the government encouraged farm owners to submit closure notices and plans. As of last month, an estimated 7,600 dogs remained at farms still operating. The ministry is encouraging the remaining farm owners to close their businesses before the ban takes effect next year. In collaboration with local governments, it will conduct a special inspection campaign from November to December to check whether closed farm

Hyundai Motor's cumulative vehicle sales in India are expected to top 10 million this year, nearly three decades after the South Korean automaker began local sales, industry data showed Sunday. The company had sold 9.88 million vehicles in India through the third quarter of this year, having begun local production with the Santro minicar at its Chennai plant in 1998, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). At the current pace, Hyundai's cumulative sales in India are expected to surpass the 10 million mark by the end of this year. Over the past three decades, Hyundai has introduced a range of models in India, including the i10 and i20 hatchbacks, the Verna subcompact, the Creta SUV, the all-electric Creta EV, the Exter SUV and the Alcazar SUV. Hyundai's annual sales in India surpassed 500,000 units in 2016 and reached 605,433 units in 2024, according to SIAM data. Last year, the company sold 398,937 SUVs in India, accounting for about 70 percent of its total sales in the country. At its 2026 CEO Investor Day in August, Hyundai Motor Chief Executive Officer Jose M

As a venture capitalist based in Silicon Valley, I work with frontier technologies and the teams building them around the world. On a recent trip to Korea, I saw a surge in the number of companies and investors looking to engage with the U.S. technology ecosystem. The conversations were distinctly different from the ones I had five years ago. The question was no longer whether to engage, but how. That shift is promising, but Korea needs to move faster. The country has spent decades building world-class capabilities in semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, defense technology and data center infrastructure. It has the technical talent, industrial expertise and resources to become a leader in this technology cycle. What it does not yet have is influence within the U.S. innovation ecosystem that matches those capabilities. That matters more now than ever. Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping nearly every major industry, and no one knows exactly where the technology will create the greatest value. The companies, investors and institutions closest to the people building it will have an

The government has been working to develop a national artificial intelligence (AI) foundation model, while planning to launch a separate effort to develop frontier models. This two-track strategy is raising questions: Why is the government pushing the new project and how will it draw the line between the two programs? The Ministry of Science and ICT confirmed that the ongoing AI foundation model project will proceed with a third-stage evaluation, with two finalists expected to be selected in February. Separately, the government plans to allocate 4.7 trillion won ($3.5 billion) for a frontier AI program set to begin in March 2027. The split reflects the government's growing concern that the rapid advances in global AI have made the foundation model project's original goals harder to achieve, while abandoning the project could undermine the ecosystem and capabilities built up over the past year. Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon has repeatedly rejected speculations that the foundation model project is being scrapped. “The national AI foundation model project has b

Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) said Sunday it will host the 2026 Incheon Airport Sky Festival on Nov. 7 and 8 at Inspire Arena near the airport, featuring K-pop performances and hands-on cultural activities. Marking its 21st edition, the event is billed as the world's only airport-based cultural festival. Under the theme “K-Vibe Starts at Incheon Airport,” it will offer visitors a chance to experience Korean culture through music, fashion, beauty, food and tourism. The Korea Tourism Organization, Incheon Tourism Organization and Korea Heritage Agency will offer hands-on programs showcasing Korean culture and tourism. The two-day concert will feature popular K-pop acts spanning various genres and generations. Epik High, BIBI, TNX, KickFlip and H//PE Princess will perform on Nov. 7, followed by PSY, Zion.T, Kim Na-young, Forestella, xikers, hrtz.wav and OURBIRTHDAY on Nov. 8. A 300-seat viewing area will also be set up near Inspire Arena, allowing visitors to watch live broadcasts of the concerts outside the main venue. Inspire Ballroom will host about 20 booths offering hand

Starbucks Korea reclaimed its lead among coffee chains in September, five months after a marketing controversy sparked consumer backlash. According to data from market tracker IGAWorks on Sunday, the coffee chain recorded 121.08 billion won ($90.1 million) in estimated credit and debit card spending last month, up 4.3 percent from August, overtaking rival Twosome Place to reclaim the top spot. Starbucks trailed its rival for four consecutive months as its estimated card spending dropped by 13.13 billion won to 121.19 billion won from April to May, before bottoming out at 100.39 billion won in June. The coffee chain's estimated card spending then rose for three consecutive months, reaching 110.06 billion won in July, 116.12 billion won in August and climbing back above 120 billion won in September for the first time since the downturn. Twosome's estimated card spending fell 6.4 percent from August to 110.5 billion won in September, about 10.58 billion won below Starbucks. The recovery follows nationwide backlash over a Starbucks promotion that dubbed May 18, the anniversary of the 1980 Gwa

Cyberattacks are becoming a more consequential credit risk for financial firms, as the damage can extend beyond data theft to operational disruptions and higher funding costs. Korea Ratings is considering more objective ways to measure firms’ exposure to cyber threats, industry officials said Sunday. In a recent report, the ratings agency said cyber risk can weaken both a financial institution’s business prospects and its financial health. International rating agencies have already downgraded companies after cyberattacks disrupted operations or exposed weaknesses in internal controls. In 2019, S&P Global Ratings cut Bank of Valletta’s rating to BBB- from BBB following a cyberattack, citing operational risks and governance weaknesses that hurt its creditworthiness. Korea Ratings has also recently incorporated cyber-related concerns into its assessment of a domestic financial firm. In March, it lowered Lotte Card’s score for the “risk management” factor in its regular credit assessment. Lotte Card disclosed a data breach in August last year that exposed information belonging t

A wave of recent data breaches at major Korean banks is putting pressure on both customer confidence and the industry’s defenses, with deposits at these lenders declining by more than 20 trillion won ($15 billion) in just 11 days, according to industry officials, Sunday. They are now stepping up security spending and hiring specialists to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI)-driven attacks. Demand deposits at the country’s five largest lenders — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — totaled 675.5 trillion won on Sept. 30, but dropped to 655.4 trillion won as of Sunday. Fixed-term deposits, which had risen for five consecutive months, also fell by more than 2.7 trillion won to slightly more than 1 quadrillion won. On Oct. 1, Shinhan Bank first reported that about 25,000 customers were affected, with names, phone numbers, annual income and loan limits exposed. The following day, KB Kookmin reported 119 affected customers, while Hana Bank said personal information belonging to 89 customers was exposed. Lenders are responding with bigge

The event will show just how serious Apple is about making a push into the smart home market.

Anthropic’s artificial intelligence model submitted a false homicide tip to the Philadelphia Police Department in July, the company disclosed Friday.  The AI firm said its Claude Haiku 4.5 model filled out a form on a website page soliciting the public's help to gather more information about unsolved homicide on July 18. The model submitted a...