(Photo=BTS X) BTS, the South Korean group that helped push K-pop into the U.S. mainstream, said it will release its fifth studio album on March 20, framing its first full-length project in nearly four years around origin, memory and emotional continuity rather than scale or reinvention. The album, titled Arirang, follows the group’s 2022 anthology Proof and will feature 14

(Photo=Suez Canal Special Economic Zone Authority) South Korea is weighing Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone as a potential manufacturing base for exporters seeking to preserve access to the U.S. market, as shifting trade rules and supply-chain realignments prompt companies to rethink where goods are made. Yeo Han-koo, Seoul’s chief trade negotiator, recently met with Gamal El-Din, chairman of the Suez

(Photo=Shinsegae) E-Mart’s long-running bet on the U.S. grocery market is beginning to show tangible returns, as New Seasons Market—the Oregon-based chain it acquired in 2019—was named the state’s top grocery store by food publication Lovefood, underscoring growing local validation of the South Korean retailer’s overseas strategy. Lovefood, a U.K.-based outlet, selected New Seasons Market as Oregon’s representative in its nationwide

Photo=Bighit Music South Korean entertainment stocks climbed after HYBE disclosed plans for a large-scale global tour by K-pop group BTS, with brokerages raising price targets and forecasting a rebound in the company’s earnings. HYBE shares closed up about 2% on Jan. 15, local time, according to exchange data released Jan. 16, while other major entertainment companies—including YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment

Photo=Naver South Korea has moved to tighten the definition of “sovereign” artificial intelligence as it accelerates a state-backed effort to build a fully homegrown large language model—an ambitious bid to narrow its gap with the U.S. and China in the global AI race. On Jan. 15, the Ministry of Science and ICT said it had selected LG AI Research, SK