China to expand hydrogen use through pilots in five city clusters
A fierce battle over artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, which are increasingly being seen as unwanted facilities, is erupting around the world among governments, companies and local residents. Korea, which is also moving quickly to expand AI data centers as one of the government's three megaprojects, is no exception. Where can we find clues to resolving these conflicts? To find answers, a Hankook Ilbo reporting team traveled to Australia Aug. 7-14 for a field investigation into how the country is preparing for the future with AI data centers. Australia is seeking to make AI data centers its next major growth industry after minerals and wool. Residents are banding together to make their voices heard and searching for rules that will allow people and AI data centers to coexist. In August, winter fog in the Southern Hemisphere swallowed the morning sunlight, leaving a farm in darkness as cattle awoke to the familiar voices of an elderly couple. "Did you have any trouble during the night?" "Did you sleep well?" Every morning at 7 a.m., Paul Brackenreg, 61, and Rosalind "Rose" Murphy, 7
About 20 people gather every morning in front of Geumcheon District Office in southwestern Seoul, holding signs and staging protests. Most are in their 50s and 60s and live in a large apartment complex identified only as "L," home to more than 1,700 households. Their protest, which they say is the first demonstration they have ever taken part in, marked its 203rd consecutive day on Sept. 21. They might be expected to be tired by now, but it is anger rather than fatigue that shows on their faces. The protesters are vehemently opposed to a data center. About 100 meters from the entrance to their apartment complex, construction of an eight-story data center has been underway for 11 months. Ko Young-chan, 33, a two-term member of the Geumcheon District Council who lives in L Apartment, said, "It seems data center developers came here thinking, 'Land prices in a place like Geumcheon District make the project worth trying.'" He also claimed that the data center itself would not generate tax revenue for the district. The situation is not unique to Geumcheon District. Data center projects are
Is there a right way to enjoy a movie? How a movie makes us feel is personal, and everyone should be free to speak their mind — yet two major Korean movies released this year show how starkly different those reactions can be. As of Wednesday, Na Hong-jin's "Hope" has been seen by 4.59 million viewers, while Hur Jin-ho's "The Assassin(s)" has drawn 3.08 million. Together, the films demonstrate a gap between critics' verdicts and ordinary audience reactions. "Hope" is a classic case of mixed expectations. Made with a massive budget, it arrived in July as Na's first feature since "The Wailing" in 2016. Many viewers walked in expecting a tense thriller and walked out confused or angry. Common complaints were that the story felt thin, the ending felt at odds with the rest of the film and the computer graphics felt awkward. Some felt the movie was not a complete story and just a setup for a sequel. Critics saw something else, lauding Na's films for demanding people engage in interpretation without offering easy clues — something that leaves some viewers frustrated. Renowned critic Lee Dong
A whistle is about the simplest instrument there is. It takes one breath to blow, and once it sounds, it's hard to ignore. The Seoul Whistler Film Festival (SWFF) is built around the people who take that breath. For its third year, it's making considerably more noise. The festival will run Oct. 23-25 at Arthouse Momo, the independent cinema located inside Ewha Womans University's ECC complex in western Seoul. It will screen 47 films from 18 countries: 10 features and 37 shorts, animations and experimental works. The "whistler" in the name is the whistleblower. SWFF's mission is to tell the stories of people who resist and speak out for justice, human rights, peace, life, the environment and democracy. It also tells the stories of people who expose the pain, conflict and absurdity they carry inside. "Both threads run through the lineup, often in the same film," said Yoon Sol-ji, the festival's executive programmer. "We don't split these into sections — one person's story can carry both at once, which feels closer to how injustice actually works on people." The opening film exemplifies wh
President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating rose slightly to 39 percent after weeks of decline, a weekly poll showed Friday. The survey, conducted by Gallup Korea from Tuesday through Thursday on 1,003 people aged 18 and older, showed that positive assessments of Lee's performance increased 2 percentage points from the previous week. The figure marks a slight recovery from his record low of 37 percent recorded in the previous two Gallup polls, following a downward trend since late August. Those who disapproved of Lee's handling of state affairs rose by 1 percentage point on-week to 52 percent. Among those who positively assessed Lee's performance, 20 percent cited diplomacy, followed by economic and livelihood issues at 11 percent. Real estate policies, along with economic and livelihood concerns, were among the main reasons cited by those who disapproved of Lee's performance. Support for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea rose 1 percentage point to 36 percent after marking the lowest figure since the launch of Lee's administration last week. Support for the main opposition People Power Par
The Seoul city government on Friday blamed policies pursued under late former Mayor Park Won-soon for weakening the foundation for long-term housing supply in the capital. The municipality made the assessment in a report analyzing the city's housing policies over the past 20 years, as recent shortages in the capital have contributed to sharply rising home prices. The report said that between 2012 and 2020, while the late Park served as mayor, 389 of the 683 areas designated for city improvement projects were canceled, eliminating the opportunity to supply roughly 430,000 homes. Park, who was a member of the now ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), prioritized "urban regeneration" projects that focused on preservation over large-scale redevelopment or reconstruction. The report comes as current Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party has faced criticism from DPK lawmakers over his private-led housing supply policy. The city government under Oh plans to break ground on about 310,000 housing units by 2031 through redevelopment and reconstruction projects to respond to t
Korea is considering expanding the operating area of its Cheonghae anti-piracy unit from the Gulf of Aden to the Gulf of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz, as it prepares to seek parliamentary approval to extend its deployment. The government is also reviewing a proposal to add a maritime patrol aircraft to the unit, according to local media reports. No decision has been made on either proposal. Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul told lawmakers Thursday the ministry was reviewing various options concerning the unit’s mission and deployment extension. The current parliamentary authorization expires Dec. 31. The Cheonghae Unit, deployed off Somalia since 2009, escorts commercial vessels and helps protect shipping routes. Its current deployment consists of a 4,400-ton destroyer, a helicopter, up to three rigid-hull inflatable boats and no more than 320 personnel. One option under consideration is deploying a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft to expand surveillance coverage. The review comes after Washington requested military contributions from allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz am
North Korea on Friday reported the opening of a new cross-border bridge linking its border city of Sinuiju with China's Dandong, highlighting its potential to strengthen economic ties between the two countries. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the North Korea-China Amnok River Bridge was held the previous day, with senior officials from both countries attending, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "The bridge is the creation reflecting the invincible vitality and development of the DPRK-China friendship, which has preserved its nature despite the trials of history," the KCNA said, adding that the bridge would "enable the two countries to boost bilateral economic relations." DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, China's Xinhua News Agency earlier reported the official opening of the bridge across the Amnok River, known as the Yalu River in China. North Korean Premier Pak Thae-song and Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered congratulatory speeches via video link, while Ri Ryong-nam, North Korea's ambassador to China, and W
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Friday criticized the government over what it called apparent differences between South Korea and the United States on the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), calling it a "serious diplomatic blunder." The criticism came after U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson said earlier this week that "conditions have changed" and that calls for new standards in the OPCON transfer, citing North Korea's recent missile launches. During a parliamentary audit of military courts on Thursday, Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said that the requirements for the OPCON transfer remained unchanged and that Seoul has conveyed its concerns to Washington. "Instead of reviewing the warning, the Lee Jae Myung administration and the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) made a series of intimidating remarks directed at the USFK commander," Rep. Kim Tae-kyu, the PPP's chief floor spokesperson, said in a commentary. Rep. Kim also criticized the defense ministry's spokesperson for saying at an official press briefing that the transfer would never
Former opposition lawmaker Yoo Seong-min and three university officials have been referred to the prosecution for possible indictment over allegations of preferential treatment in the hiring of Yoo's daughter as a professor by Incheon National University (INU), police said Friday. The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency said Yoo, INU President Lee In-jae and two INU professors were sent to the prosecution without detention on charges of obstruction of business. Lee and the two professors were also charged with violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act. The four are suspected of obstructing the university's recruitment process when Yoo's daughter, Yoo Dam, 32, was hired as a faculty member in its trade department in the second semester of last year. Lee and the two professors are also suspected of receiving improper solicitations concerning the hiring of Yoo's daughter, although investigators found no evidence that they had accepted money or valuables, the police said. The police announcement came after an investigation that began in November last year. They also questioned Yoo's d
More than half of the new tracks uploaded to French streaming service Deezer each day are now made by artificial intelligence (AI). The company said such uploads peaked in June at about 90,000 a day, up from roughly 10,000 in January 2025. The record industry's response is shifting from the courtroom to the negotiating table. Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, which sued AI music generators Suno and Udio in 2024 alongside Sony Music, have since settled with Udio. Warner has also settled with Suno. What the industry still lacks is a way to pay the people whose music feeds these systems. Streaming runs on a simple formula, in which a song is played, counted and paid for, but nothing comparable exists for AI-generated songs that draw on existing ones. For now, platforms are simply keeping fully AI-generated tracks out of royalty payments. These are not distant problems for Korea. K-pop reaches much of its global audience through the same streaming services, and at home, AI-assisted tracks have recently climbed the charts on Melon and YouTube, even though major streaming platforms
An Uzbek man who spent more than 16 years behind bars serving a life sentence for robbery-murder and other charges was released Thursday after a court granted him a retrial, citing serious problems with the police investigation that led to his conviction. Bozorov Akmal, 37, walked out of Changwon Prison Thursday evening, after the Changwon District Court suspended the enforcement of his sentence pending a final ruling in the retrial. He tearfully reunited with his father, who was waiting outside the prison. “I have suffered greatly, feeling that I was wrongfully imprisoned. But at the same time, I am truly sorry for the great pain this could cause the victim’s family,” said Akmal. “I will speak truthfully throughout the remaining court proceedings.” The case dates back to March 24, 2009, when a taxi driver in his 50s was found murdered inside a taxi parked in an alley in Myeongseo-dong, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. On July 6 that year, police arrested three people, including Akmal, then 19, in connection with a separate taxi robbery. Police subsequently identified Akma
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