Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea

Audio recordings of the Korea JoongAng Daily's in-depth, on-the-scene news articles and features informing readers around the world of the issues of the day in Korea.Under the slogan "Your window to Korea", the Korea JoongAng Daily is an English-language news organization focused on Korea that strives to publish factual, timely and unbiased articles.

Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea is a news podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 60 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea, a news show with 60 episodes published.

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  Episode #60

  King Sejong Institutes look beyond language to build bridges between Korea and the world From Korean Wave to deeper ties New direction, broader vision

  Aug 20, 20268 min

  Once driven largely by interest in K-pop and Korean dramas, the network is expanding its role as a platform for academic, career and business exchanges. HANGZHOU, China — In a modest but newly opened classroom in Hangzhou, China, rows of desks and whiteboards sit alongside displays of Korean culture, including colorful hanbok (traditional Korean dress) and musical instruments like janggu (double-headed drum). At the center of the room, a student listens intently as a passionate instructor introduces him to the Korean language and culture. The classroom may be small, but the curiosity behind it reflects a much broader phenomenon: As interest in Korea spreads through popular culture, more people are seeking ways to pursue academic and career-related opportunities and build connections between Korea and their own countries. Sheng Tianjia, a student in the pilot program at the Hangzhou King Sejong Institute ahead of its official opening, is learning Korean not only because of his interest in K-pop and dramas, but also because he sees the language as a gateway to deeper exchanges between Korea and China and to new academic and career opportunities. "I had only had this cool image of Korea that I had seen in the media. But as I learned the Korean language and culture, I came to see broader things," Sheng told the Korea JoongAng Daily, recalling his first trial class at the institute. "Now, I'm seeking opportunities to pursue academic opportunities in Korea through exchanges with Korean universities and to explore other possibilities for my future as I learn more deeply about Korea." Sheng's experience offers a glimpse into a broader evolution in the way people engage with Korea. For many learners, Korean pop culture remains the gateway. But what starts as curiosity is increasingly developing into a desire to learn Korean culture more deeply and build sustainable connections with Korea. The early expansion reflected a relatively straightforward need: As more people encountered Korean dramas, pop music and other cultural content, they needed accessible places to learn the language and gain a deeper understanding of Korea, according to the King Sejong Institute Foundation. Riding on this momentum was the Shanghai branch, which was launched during the second expansion of King Sejong Institutes in the early 2010s. Officially designated as a King Sejong Institute at the Shanghai Korean Cultural Center in January 2011, the Shanghai branch has spent more than a decade combining Korean language education with cultural programs. "The Hallyu influence from K-pop and dramas has been among the main reasons many people initially decided to learn Korean and came to our institute," Ren Wendi, the Shanghai King Sejong Institute's lead director, told the Korea JoongAng Daily. But over time, institutes such as Shanghai have also sought to broaden learners' understanding of Korea beyond contemporary popular culture. "On top of mainstream trends, we have also been incorporating traditional culture, such as traditional music and hanbok, as well as contemporary art and other diverse Korean cultural content into our programs for local learners," Ren said. "Today, while cultural interest remains a major gateway, more and more students from various age groups, from teenagers to people in their 60s, come to our classes with many different motivations." That evolution mirrors the broader growth of the King Sejong Institute network. The network had grown from the original 13 locations in 2007 to 248 sites in 85 countries by 2023, while more than 216,000 students studied at the institutes that year. The foundation has also noted that more than half of its offline learners in 2022 were studying Korean for purposes including studying in Korea, pursuing academic opportunities or finding Korea-related employment — a sign that learners were increasingly moving beyond simply consuming Korean culture. If the first phase of the King Sejong Institute network was l...

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  Episode #60

  As dog meat ban nears in Korea, canines still require rescue Related Article Dog meat soup alley quiet during final boknal season before government ban takes effect Let them eat goat: Gov't to boost local production with dog meat ban Villagers seek apology over false dog slaughter claims The lucky 3 percent The law, and its ticking clock What the closure numbers hide The farmers' catch-22 Bridging gaps From panic selling to $1,000 per dog Blind spots in enforcement Shift to black goat

  Aug 17, 202616 min

  Government closure data show that while most dog farms have shut down, an estimated 97 percent of their dogs were sold or distributed rather than rescued. GANGJIN COUNTY, South Jeolla —Inside a cramped, rust-stained farm in rural Gangjin County in South Jeolla, the air was thick with the mid-August heat and filled with the odor of dog feces and urine. It is one of the few dog farms still operating in Korea as the country counts down to a February 2027 ban on breeding, slaughtering and selling dogs for meat. Dozens of dogs were kept in cages lined up like prison cells at the farm. Each cage was barely large enough for one dog to move around. And what space they did have was devoid of comfort, composed of ruddy metal bars, soiled wooden flooring and the occasional plastic crate. Some dogs stayed quiet as people approached, while others barked constantly, wary of human presence. On Thursday, a Korea JoongAng Daily reporter joined a team from Humane World for Animals Korea — a nonprofit animal protection organization that works to end animal cruelty and improve animal welfare — as they moved through the farm, checking on the dogs' condition a day before they were scheduled to receive vaccinations. The vaccinations are the mandatory first step before the animals can clear Korea's 30-day quarantine and, by mid-September, be flown to the United States for adoption. That makes them lucky. Fewer than 3 percent of dogs from farms that have already shut down are rescued for adoption, while dogs left behind remain a major challenge. Friday was malbok, the last of this year's boknal — the traditional calendar's three days that marked the beginning, apex and end of the summer's peak heat season. Many diners used to mark those days with a hot bowl of bosintang (dog meat soup), and Friday was likely the last malbok before the practice becomes fully illegal. Interviews with animal welfare workers, farmers and officials, along with a review of government data, show that the law meant to end dog meat has not settled the question it was written to answer: What happens to the dogs? The dogs' cages at the farm in Gangjin County were in poor condition, with rust covering much of the metal. Even the dogs' water bowls were covered in rust. Some dogs stayed together in one tiny cage, leaving them barely any space to move around. Having spent months in such unsanitary surroundings, many of the dogs also appeared to suffer from skin conditions. One white dog had visible red sores on his legs. "You can see how his skin has become like this, right? All of this is from skin disease," Lee Hae-won, a leader from the media and communications department from Humane World for Animals said. The white dog was among dozens living in poor conditions, waiting for a chance at adoption following the government's move to end the dog meat trade. Many dogs from these kinds of farms are underweight — not simply because of neglect, but because buyers often reject animals with visible fat. "[Dogs] have to be sent out as lean as possible for the slaughterhouses to accept them," said Lee Sang-kyung, the group's campaign team lead, as buyers view fat as detrimental to meat quality. Many rescued dogs also show signs of chronic stress, skin disease and, in some cases, injuries from fighting in overcrowded cages. Rescued dogs are vaccinated, complete Korea's mandatory 30-day quarantine period and are typically flown to a U.S. rehabilitation center before being placed with partner shelters for adoption. Lee said 90 to 95 percent of dogs find permanent homes overseas, while the rest stay in foster care rather than being euthanized. Domestic adoption remains rare — fewer than a dozen cases total, mostly puppies too young to fly — which Lee attributed largely to Korean law that classifies large mixed-breed dogs as "dangerous," restricting their adoption, along with lingering stigma toward farm-raised dogs. Korea's Special Act on the Prohibition of Dog Meat took effect Aug. 7, 20...

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  Episode #60

  Son Heung-min scores in shootout to keep LAFC's knockout hope alive at Leagues Cup Related Article

  Aug 13, 20263 min

  The win rounded out the club's league stage play, leaving its hopes of advancing dependent on Thursday's results. Los Angeles FC (LAFC) have earned a second shootout victory in a continental tournament, with Korean superstar Son Heung-min converting his spot kick. Son was the second of five successive LAFC players to score their penalties in a 5-3 shootout victory over Club Queretaro of Mexico's Liga MX at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday. This was LAFC's third and final match of the opening phase of the Leagues Cup, a tournament featuring 36 teams from MLS and Liga MX. During the league phase, teams play three matches against opponents from the other league. The top four teams from each league will then advance to the knockout stage. In the first phase, a win is worth three points, a shootout victory is worth two points and a shootout loss is still good for one point. LAFC, who had a 5-4 shootout win over Chivas de Guadalajara and then defeated Toluca FC 1-0, finished the first round with seven points. The Los Angeles side are currently third on the MLS side, with the Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake having already qualified. Austin FC and the Chicago Fire each have six points with one match remaining, and results in their final league phase matches on Thursday will determine LAFC's fate. Queretaro scored the match's first goal in the 12th minute on Ali Avila's header and held LAFC to just one shot on target in the first half. LAFC drew even a dozen minutes after the restart, courtesy of Denis Bouanga. Then they kept pressing for a go-ahead goal, with Son setting up Bouanga for a shot in the 59th minute and Son himself being denied by goalkeeper Guillermo Allison on a counterattack in the 72nd minute. Five minutes later, Son then released a left-footed shot from the left side of the box that missed the target to the right. Leagues Cup matches go directly to penalties without extra time. All five LAFC players scored, but Queretaro's fourth kicker, Daniel Parra, struck the crossbar. Son has gone goalless in all three Leagues Cup matches so far. He found the back of the net in four consecutive MLS regular season games coming back from the FIFA World Cup 2026 break last month. The Leagues Cup will continue through early September. The top three teams will qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup, the top regional competition. Yonhap

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  Episode #59

  Beyond the court: Korean university basketball finds new connections with continental league Korean teams on the Asian stage Building a continental stage for college sports Exchange beyond the court Looking ahead: Starting with Korea

  Aug 13, 20267 min

  The AUBL's Hangzhou tournament brought together teams and students from across Asia as the league moves toward a regular-season format. HANGZHOU — When Yonsei University and Korea University took the court at the Binxing Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China, the familiar chants and rhythmic cheers felt like a home game transported across the West Sea. The cheering scale may be smaller than the roaring crowds surrounding the historic Seoul rivalry, but the heart and passion remained unmistakably the same. Yet once the opening tip-off arced upward, it became clear this was more than just a relocated basketball game. Beneath the familiar colors and fight songs, a larger experiment in Asian university sports was quietly taking shape. Yonsei and Korea University, along with teams from China, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and Australia, convened in Hangzhou for the Asian University Basketball League (AUBL), a competition designed to establish a continental platform for men's collegiate hoops. At the second edition of the tournament, which ran from Aug. 2 through Tuesday, Yonsei, champion of the league's 2024 pilot season in Hong Kong, and Korea University, winner of five consecutive domestic University League championships from 2021 to 2025, brought their familiar intensity to the international hardwood before a pan-Asian audience. This year's tournament proved more challenging for the Korean contingents. Both teams advanced from the group stage but were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Defending champion National Chengchi University (NCCU) edged Yonsei 72-67, while Korea University lost 78-71 to Waseda University of Japan, which eventually finished in third place. A consolation matchup that would have seen the two Korean rivals face each other in a seventh-place game was ultimately called off as Typhoon Dolphin approached Hangzhou on Aug. 9. Both teams packed up and left early, anticipating flight cancellations and worsening weather conditions. Though many might assume that Asia's university-level basketball lacks opportunities to compete on the international stage, it's not entirely new to it. The Asian University Sports Federation has been running the Asian University Basketball Championship since the first edition was launched in 1998 in Manila. The competition has been staged periodically in various Asian cities over the years, including Manila, Cebu and Bangkok. The AUBL, however, seeks to build on that existing framework with a different model: Rather than bringing teams together for an international tournament once every few years, it aims to make cross-border competition a regular part of the university basketball calendar. Its planned home-and-away format is designed to give teams repeated opportunities to play one another throughout the season, with a centralized postseason to follow. Backed by sports figures including Joseph Tsai, David Blitzer, Marc Lasry and Chinese basketball icon Yao Ming, the league aims to develop a sustainable continental platform for university basketball. "We want to build a competition platform among Asian universities that doesn't just belong to a single market," Jay Li, CEO of the AUBL, said in an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily. "For a long time, university teams in Asia developed within their own domestic systems, which only allowed limited opportunities to compete internationally without a home-and-away format." "What we are trying to do here is to break down the walls and create a very inclusive global sports ecosystem," Li added. The league's geographic reach is expected to continue expanding as it moves toward a regular-season format, with the goals of including more universities from more countries and visiting more Asian cities for future tournaments, according to the AUBL CEO. For players, students studying abroad and spectators alike, the international experience is not limited to competition. The tournament offered them an opportunity to experience cultures beyond their ow...

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  Episode #60

  'American dream' becomes nightmare as U.S. visa uncertainties unsettle Korean students Related Article A growing chilling effect across campus Rethinking where to go, and who can still afford to A harder calculus for male students What's confirmed, and what's still just talk

  Aug 10, 20269 min

  New U.S. rules and proposals are prompting Korean students and families to rethink study and work plans in America. When Park first moved to New York for college from Korea, she loved the sense of open-ended possibility her education offered. She graduated from a competitive international school in Korea where about 95 percent of her class went on to study in the United States, and she pictured a future built around career freedom and doing things on her own terms. Three years later, the soon-to-be-junior, who is studying communications and asked to be identified only by her surname, is living in a different reality — one shaped by quiet self-censorship and mounting anxiety under the Trump administration's shifting policies toward international students. "People have gotten really quiet," Park told the Korea JoongAng Daily. "There's a hush-hush feeling among students when it comes to talking about politics or immigration. Everyone's warning each other to be careful on social media — even telling friends not to post things that could be risky." As Washington rolls out new policies that could affect international students' prospects of studying — and finding jobs after graduating — the caution now comes with real financial and legal stakes attached. F-1 visas cover most international students enrolled full-time at U.S. colleges and universities, including many completing internships during their studies through a separate work authorization called Curricular Practical Training (CPT). Under a federal rule taking effect Sept. 15, F-1 status will no longer grant an open-ended "duration of status" (D/S). Instead, visa admissions will carry a fixed maximum period of four years. For students moving on to Optional Practical Training (OPT) or extended-STEM OPT after graduation, this shift means they will often need to file a separate Extension of Stay application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. OPT work can't legally start until that application is approved, creating a real chance of a gap between finishing school and being cleared to work, adding friction to a hiring process many employers already found slow and unpredictable. "My parents have told me to look into options abroad more broadly — not to just assume it has to be the United States — and to check out places like Canada or Australia," Park said. Park's experience is not an unfamiliar one across the U.S. higher education pipeline. As the U.S. back-to-school season approaches, Korean international students are grappling with a series of policy moves from Washington — with more potentially still to come. In addition to the finalized rule scrapping duration of status in favor of a four-year visa cap, reports revealed that the Donald Trump administration is weighing a $100,000 fee on OPT, the postgraduation work permit that allows international graduates to work in the United States for one to three years. Neither policy singles out Korean students, but the timing has landed hard in a country that sends more students to U.S. universities than almost anywhere else — Korea was the third-largest source of international students in the United States in the 2024/25 academic year, behind only India and China, according to the Institute of International Education. On "Mijunmo," a Naver online community used by Koreans to trade advice on living in the United States, posts titled "Worried about OPT" have piled up by the day. "A huge cost burden makes companies reluctant to hire us, and that makes it harder to hold onto our legal status here," said Hong, who is entering his third year at an American university and asked to be identified only by his surname. "Massive fees turn into corporate hiring avoidance. It makes you ask: Is it really worth insisting on staying in the United States at that kind of cost and uncertainty?" The hesitation reaches students before they even set foot on a U.S. campus. One student accepted into a UCLA graduate program starting this fall — ...

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