[PHOTO] Belgium celebrates King's Day, 125th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Korea

The Korea Times - Nov 8, 2026

Belgian Ambassador to Korea Bruno Jans, left, raises a toast with Theodora Gentzis, center, secretary-general of Belgium's foreign affairs ministry, and Lim Sang-woo, Korea's deputy minister for public diplomacy, during a reception marking Belgium's King's Day and the 125th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Belgium and Korea in Seoul, Thursday. Also commemorating the 75th anniversary of the arrival of Belgian troops during the 1950-53 Korean War, Jans highlighted the shared history, friendship and solidarity that continue to unite the two countries. Expressing gratitude for the service and sacrifice of Belgian troops, Lim said the Korean government would work closely with Belgium to translate the outcomes of the June summit into tangible benefits for the people and businesses of both countries. Korea Times photo by Kim Bo-kyoung

Read full article

More News

Korean stars hit by wave of unverified online allegations

Korean stars hit by wave of unverified online allegations

Korean celebrities are increasingly finding themselves at the center of controversy over unverified online allegations, with actors Choi Woo-shik and Cha Ye-ryun among the latest targets of anonymous claims about their past behavior. Choi recently became the subject of an online post written by an internet user claiming to be a flight attendant. The user alleged that the actor had behaved rudely toward his manager during an in-flight meal service. The account has not been independently verified, and some internet users have questioned its credibility. As the post spread online, Choi's agency, Fable Company, issued a warning on Friday against the creation and circulation of false rumors. "Indiscriminately posting false information or maliciously distorting and exaggerating claims to create and spread rumors is clearly an illegal act that seriously infringes upon an actor's reputation and rights," the agency said. "We are continuously monitoring the posts in question and how they are being circulated, while collecting relevant evidence." The agency said it plans to take legal action against

From 'The King: Eternal Monarch' to 'The Remarried Empress': Why fictional royalty keeps captivating K-drama fans

From 'The King: Eternal Monarch' to 'The Remarried Empress': Why fictional royalty keeps captivating K-drama fans

Crowns, palaces, emperors and empresses may seem far removed from modern life, but they remain irresistible subjects in Korean dramas. Ordinary people can become members of the royal family overnight, emperors can rule in modern-day Korea and an empress can even demand the right to remarry after her husband asks for a divorce. Because these royal worlds exist only in fiction, the possibilities are virtually endless. From romantic fantasies to political intrigue and parallel universes, Korean dramas have repeatedly reinvented royalty in imaginative ways. Here are four series that bring fictional royal families to life, each with its own take on life behind palace walls. 'The Remarried Empress’ "The Remarried Empress" follows Navier (Shin Min-a), the empress of the Eastern Empire, whose husband, Emperor Sovieshu (Ju Ji-hoon), demands a divorce after falling for Rashta (Lee Se-young), an escaped slave. Rather than fighting to save her marriage, Navier accepts the divorce on one condition: She wants to remarry Heinrey (Lee Jong-suk), a prince of the Western Kingdom. Set in the fictional Easte

Labor minister urges tougher action on industrial accidents

Labor minister urges tougher action on industrial accidents

Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon on Saturday called on officials to play a more active role in preventing industrial accidents and protecting workers. The minister presided over an emergency teleconference with senior labor officials from across the country. Emphasizing that safety at worksites cannot wait, he said companies should bear heavy responsibility when serious accidents occur. "We must treat with real urgency any business where the same kind of serious accident keeps happening," he said, telling officials to keep such companies under particular scrutiny. He also called for stern action against employers who cut safety spending to protect their profits. "We must make it clear to business owners if they still put cost-cutting ahead of safety even when a worker has died, they will be held heavily responsible," he added. Kim also vowed to work closely with the ministry's regional offices. Under the new Labor Inspector Act, which takes effect Dec. 8, some of the ministry's inspection authorities will be delegated to local governments.

Park Han-byul says changing shampoo helped her hair loss — but does it really work?

Park Han-byul says changing shampoo helped her hair loss — but does it really work?

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Actress Park Han-byul, 42, recently shared her concerns about thinning hair, saying that changing her shampoo made a noticeable difference after other remedies failed to deliver results. But can switching shampoos really prevent or reduce hair loss? In a video posted to her YouTube channel on Wednesday, Park said she had noticed her hair becoming thinner as she got older. "I used to have incredibly thick hair. I really had so much of it, but as I've gotten older, I've felt like I've been losing quite a bit," she said. "I tried eating black beans, which are supposed to be good for hair loss, and using hair masks, but I didn't see much improvement." Park said she believes consistent daily care is the key to managing hair and scalp health. "I'm someone who truly believes that taking care of yourself consistently every day is the answer," she said. "So I thought, why not try changing the shampoo I use every day? I switched shampoos, and for me, that worked better than anything else." Can shampoo really help with hair loss? Whether shampoo can effecti

N. Korean envoy holds 3rd high-level meeting in China

N. Korean envoy holds 3rd high-level meeting in China

A senior North Korean ruling party official has met his counterpart in Beijing, the North's state media said Saturday, the latest in a series of high-level meetings during his visit this week. Kim Song-nam, a Political Bureau member and Central Committee secretary of North Korea's Workers' Party of Korea (WPA), met Liu Haixing, head of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) Central Committee's International Liaison Department, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on Friday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. It was Kim's third meeting with a senior Chinese official since he arrived Tuesday, as the two countries are seeking to deepen ties and expand cooperation after Chinese President Xi Jinping's June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang. Kim briefed Liu on Pyongyang's "successes" in party-building work and said the whole country has been striving to meet the targets of the five-year plan adopted at the party's ninth congress in February. For his part, Liu called the visit significant for strengthening relations, according to the report. The two sides reaffirmed su

Why Lee Chang-dong's award-winning 'Possible Love' struggled to find investors

Why Lee Chang-dong's award-winning 'Possible Love' struggled to find investors

Director Lee Chang-dong's "Possible Love" has earned international acclaim, winning the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival and securing invitations to major film festivals worldwide. Yet behind its remarkable success lies an uncomfortable reality: The film nearly never got made because it could not attract enough investment. The acclaimed project, released on Netflix on Friday, highlights a growing problem in the Korean film industry, where even internationally respected filmmakers and star-studded casts can struggle to secure financing. "Possible Love" follows two married couples whose lives intersect through the making of a documentary. One couple consists of a laid-off worker and his wife, while the other comprises a documentary filmmaker and her husband. As they become involved in the project, their contrasting lives and hidden desires come to the surface. The film marks Lee's return to directing eight years after "Burning" and features an ensemble cast led by Sol Kyung-gu, Jeon Do-yeon, Zo In-sung and Cho Yeo-jeong. Even before its official s

Court issues arrest warrant for woman accused of stabbing doctor at hospital

Court issues arrest warrant for woman accused of stabbing doctor at hospital

A Seoul court on Saturday issued a warrant to formally arrest a woman for allegedly stabbing and injuring a doctor at Severance Hospital in western Seoul. The Seoul Western District Court issued the warrant for the woman in her 50s on charges of attempted murder, citing the risk of flight. The woman was apprehended Wednesday after allegedly stabbing a psychiatry professor with a knife at Severance Hospital. The doctor sustained injuries to his face and hand. Arriving in court for an arrest warrant hearing, the suspect rambled that Severance Hospital's psychiatry department did not provide her with internal medicine treatment in 2018 and caused her diabetes, when asked by reporters about the motive of her attack. According to sources, the woman was not a patient waiting for psychiatry treatment at the hospital. The doctor sustained a wound measuring around 5 centimeters and was taken to an emergency room for treatment. The injury was not life-threatening.

History repeats in Shenzhen? China hosts another lame-duck US president

History repeats in Shenzhen? China hosts another lame-duck US president

A decade after hosting a politically hobbled Barack Obama at a Group of 20 (G20) summit in Hangzhou, China is preparing to welcome another “lame-duck” US president for a multilateral gathering: Donald Trump. Following the Republicans’ loss of both chambers of the US Congress in the midterm elections on Tuesday – a drubbing that reached deep into historically red states – Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in two weeks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation...

Tarmo Peltokoski begins HK Phil tenure with Mahler’s monumental Symphony No 8

Tarmo Peltokoski begins HK Phil tenure with Mahler’s monumental Symphony No 8

Gustav Mahler’s rarely performed Symphony No 8, a work requiring such a large orchestra and choir it is known as “Symphony of a Thousand”, finally received its Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra premiere on Saturday, heralding an ambitious new chapter as the 26-year-old Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski officially took the podium as music director. The 5pm performance at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre involved nearly 600 musicians and singers from six choirs: the Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus; the...

China vows ‘zero tolerance’ for election meddling ahead of 21st party congress

China vows ‘zero tolerance’ for election meddling ahead of 21st party congress

China’s ruling Communist Party has warned of “zero tolerance” for bribery and other attempts at election interference as delegate selection begins for next year’s national congress, which is expected to feature a major leadership reshuffle. The party issued guidelines on selecting the delegates, a process that would be overseen by its Organisation Department, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday. The 21st national party congress, to be held in the second half of next year, will select a...

Canadian plan to clear Hongkonger migration backlog welcomed but questions remain

Canadian plan to clear Hongkonger migration backlog welcomed but questions remain

A Canadian goal of clearing a backlog of more than 30,000 applications from Hongkongers awaiting permanent residency is “encouraging” but questions remain about whether it can be achieved by 2027, advocates and immigration experts have said. Experts and Canadian parliamentarians said on Saturday that Ottawa’s new one-off measure to add more quota spaces to clear the Hong Kong immigration pathways backlog would help address the uncertainty facing tens of thousands from the city still waiting for...

Top China university stops using AI to spot absent-minded students after backlash

Top China university stops using AI to spot absent-minded students after backlash

A top university in China’s eastern Jiangsu province has rolled back a controversial feature of its AI-powered classroom tracking system following fierce public backlash. Students at Nanjing University were recently notified by the university that it would begin using its “smart classroom” system – upgraded over the summer – to record full attendance rates over a one-week period, Chinese media reported on Wednesday. Outrage flared when leaked screenshots purportedly revealed the AI-powered...

Recommended

Asia Viral News

Asia Viral News features the latest and most trending news from Asia. Get ready to immerse yourself in the daily engaging topics with share-worthy news only in Asia Viral News.

ABOUT US
Newsletter

Copyright © 2015 - 2026 Asia Viral News. All Rights Reserved.