Korea News Today: Trends, Tech, Money & Daily Life | NowHitz · 3

9 p.m., then "next year"

Apple Korea took pre-orders from 9 p.m. on Friday the 16th on its website and in the Apple Store app. According to Herald Business, initial stock ran out on day one and the Korean order page showed a delivery date of Jan. 22. The US page said Jan. 25.

The official release date is the 23rd, so pre-order buyers wait about three months longer. Both colors, Star White and Night Sky, and every storage size are affected.

The price tag first

On Apple Korea's buy page, 256GB is ₩3.29 million, 512GB ₩3.59 million, 1TB ₩4.19 million and 2TB ₩5.09 million. ₩3.29 million is just the entry ticket; add storage and you are quickly in the ₩5 million range. The US starting price is $1,999.

Why so scarce? Herald Business, citing Nikkei Asia, reported that early output is only a few hundred units a day because of strict quality control.

Pocket when closed, tablet when open

By Apple's description, the inner display is 50% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max's. Closed, the 13.6 cm outer screen holds 90% of the iPhone 18 Pro's screen area and still slips into a pocket. The chip is the A20 Pro, with a dual-battery design.

It uses Touch ID instead of Face ID and, at 254 g, is the heaviest iPhone yet. Korea is among the roughly 70 countries in the first launch wave.

Before you order

If your current phone is an iPhone 13 or later, Apple Trade In gives instant credit worth ₩280,000 to ₩1.67 million, depending on condition, year and configuration. In-store pickup can be reserved too.

Accessories launched alongside: the Folio with a built-in kickstand (navy blue, taupe) and a slim two-piece Case (sand, navy blue). Go by the delivery date shown on your order screen.

The numbers first

Big Hit Music said on the 16th that BTS has passed 10 billion Spotify streams so far this year, up 122% from 4.5 billion last year.

The three solo stars above got there first. BTS is the first group.

Half of it is 'ARIRANG'

The fifth studio album, released in March, has passed 5 billion streams on its own, the most for any album released this year on Spotify.

Daily plays jumped from about 23 million before release to about 130 million on release day. All 14 tracks took the top 14 spots on the Daily Top Songs Global chart, and the title track 'SWIM' drew about 14 million plays on day one, the best first day of any song released this year.

The wait: 3 years and 9 months

'ARIRANG' is the group's first full-group album in about 3 years and 9 months, after military service and solo projects. Ajunews reports it held No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for three straight weeks in April, a first for a K-pop album.

More news this week

On the 14th BTS was named Artist of the Year at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, with the ceremony set for the 29th at Tokyo Dome.

The group is currently playing three shows in Santiago, Chile, followed by three each in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Catching it in a cinema

- The Buenos Aires show airs live in cinemas worldwide on Oct. 24, and the Sao Paulo show on Oct. 30. - The 10 billion figure is the one Big Hit Music announced.

KRW 1 trillion, half a trillion from Myeongdong

Lotte said on Oct. 12 that foreign sales passed KRW 1 trillion this year. Economist Korea called it an industry first.

Lotte Town Myeongdong (Main Store, Avenuel and Young Plaza) alone made about KRW 520 billion.

A December launch, 250,000 cards later

The Lotte Tourist Membership launched at the Main Store last December. A passport is all you need, and the card brings discounts plus a transit-card function. Cumulative issuance is past 250,000, with more than 1,000 handed out a day at the Main Store.

People actually use it: over 90% of cardholders used it at Lotte affiliates or as a transit card.

The new card teams up with Check-in Seoul

A new card now pairs with Check-in Seoul, Lotte Card's prepaid card for foreign visitors. You get 5% off at Lotte Department Store, a 10% reward from Check-in Seoul on purchases of KRW 100,000 or more, 10% off at Lotte Duty Free and 7% at Lotte Mart. About 70 beauty, food and culture partners add perks, including a hanbok rental shop and D Museum.

Kiosks on the Main Store's ground floor

Issuance, top-ups and refunds happen at six unmanned kiosks in the Main Store, on B1, 1F and 9F. More may be added depending on use.

Main Store head Kang Woo-jin said the card is growing into a total service covering payment, transport and travel convenience.

Before you go

- Bring your passport; it is used for issuing the card. - The reports do not mention an issuance fee, so ask at the Main Store. - A Foreign Customer Concierge Lounge opens on the Main Store's 1F at the end of November, with tourist information and shopping services. - Korean Air discount vouchers for foreign customers on Europe and Southeast Asia routes run through year-end.

Colour moves downhill and south

According to the service, autumn colour usually begins on mountain summits in mid-October, peaks from late October to early November, then moves to the south. Even within one national park, timing differs with altitude and terrain.

It advises checking foliage status and trail information before setting out.

Pick the trail to fit your legs

National park trails are graded in five levels of difficulty. Check distance, slope, travel time and surface condition, then choose a course to match your fitness.

Hiking boots, spare clothes, water and snacks are basics. Temperatures swing widely between day and night, so dress in layers and loosen your legs, waist and shoulders first.

Up, down and steep: three different strides

On the flat, use 'rhythm walking,' placing heel, middle of the sole, then forefoot. Uphill, use 'rest-step walking,' briefly straightening the rear leg so your weight rests on your skeleton and eases the load on your legs.

Downhill calls for 'knee-cushion walking,' bending the knees softly to absorb the impact. On steep slopes, descend in a diagonal zigzag.

Leaves hide slippery ground

On fallen leaves, wet rock and wooden stairs, shorten your stride. When taking photos, stay on the trail and inside safety facilities. In crowds, keep a gap from the person ahead.

People with high blood pressure or heart disease should use rest areas and avoid overexertion.

Before you go

Leave enough time to be down before sunset. A few more photos is the most common reason the light runs out.

The guidance comes from the National Park Service and its Mountain Safety Training Center, which takes inquiries at 02-956-3336.

What got them caught

The businesses are wedding halls and wedding-planning agencies across the country. Some left optional-item prices off their websites or contract covers.

Some lumped together information that must be shown separately for each partner business.

Sign up to see prices? That counts too

The FTC says requiring membership sign-up or personal information before showing prices can itself be a violation.

Prices of basic and optional services, cancellation penalties and refund criteria must be posted on the company's own site or the Korea Consumer Agency's 'Chamgagyeok' (price.go.kr), and printed on the contract cover.

The grace period is over

The grace period for the disclosure rule ended in May. Violations continued, so from August the FTC ran focused inspections of major halls and planners.

The firms have received advance notice and have at least 10 days to respond. Final fines are due by the end of October.

A checklist for couples

Before the consultation, check that the company site or Chamgagyeok lists every optional item with a price.

Look for penalties and refund terms on the contract cover, and for separate prices for each partner studio, dress and makeup shop. A site that shows prices only after you sign up deserves a raised eyebrow.

Every AI-assisted crime is a target

Deepfake sexual crime, defamation, investment fraud and voice phishing are all covered. The goal is to spot fakes quickly and analyse the whole chain from creation to distribution.

The plan has eight detailed tasks spanning technology, systems, personnel and organisation.

Checking lips against sound

Police have used a deepfake detection system since 2024 and are training it on Korean-specific data. They are also researching "multimodal" detection that checks whether lip movements match speech and whether audio matches subtitles.

Once the 9.1 billion won, 2025–2027 authenticity-checking system is built, every investigative agency will share it.

Tracing back to how it was made

Police are developing techniques that analyse program execution records, command logs and altered files to identify the program that made a fake. Manuals for major generative AI services are being distributed.

A 10 billion won, 2026–2029 project will build forensics for locally run AI models, meaning evidence extraction even when the fake came from an AI running on someone's own computer.

The numbers so far

Police said 419 suspects were arrested for deepfake crimes in January–July this year, 17 of them detained. The detection software has been used in 1,636 investigations since it was developed (M Economy News, 13 August).

The new plan adds AI expert analysts and a public-private-academic expert group, and sharply expands training for field investigators and analysts.

What the police said

Acting Police Commissioner Kim Jong-chul said, "As criminal methods using AI change fast, the police response must change too."

The plan also covers standard procedures and an expert group to share the latest cases and analysis results.

It blew up at the essay exams first

On Oct. 3 an examinee wearing smart glasses was caught at the University of Seoul's natural-sciences essay test, after a proctor grew suspicious of the unusually thick frames and asked headquarters to check.

On Oct. 10 at Yonsei's math essay exam, an examinee passed the pre-exam check in ordinary glasses and then swapped to smart glasses mid-test. Yonsei is weighing follow-up steps, including a criminal complaint.

What happens at the CSAT

On Oct. 15 the Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE) published the 2027 CSAT guidelines. Wearing smart glasses or a smartwatch during the exam without handing it in before Period 1 voids that year's exam and suspends eligibility for one year. Even carrying them in a bag counts as possessing a banned item, which also voids the exam.

KICE's banned list names phones, smartwatches, smart glasses, tablets and earphones side by side. "I wasn't going to use them" won't help.

If a proctor asks you to take them off

If a proctor requests a check, examinees must remove their glasses, put them on the desk and cooperate. Refusing can be treated like serious misconduct.

Education Minister Choi Kyo-jin told the National Assembly audit on Oct. 7 that offenders would lose eligibility for the year and face restrictions the next. Radio-frequency detectors, he said, are hard to deploy this year because every exam site differs.

Checklist for test-takers and parents

The CSAT is on Nov. 19. If you own smart glasses, safest is to leave them at home. If you must bring them, hand them in before Period 1 as instructed.

Prescription glasses are fine, but comply right away with any check. KICE has also posted a video of the guidelines on its CSAT site.

Three teams, one starting line

"Modu-ui AI" (AI for Everyone) is a Ministry of Science and ICT project to build a service on domestic AI models that any citizen can use. In August the ministry evaluated six bidders and picked consortia led by SK Telecom, Kakao and KT.

This year the government is lending the three teams 512 NVIDIA B200 GPUs. On Oct. 16 each team demos its main features to the ministry, and the closed beta begins.

How the three differ

Kakao uses KakaoTalk as the front door. Its chatbot and AI agent reach into bookings, applications and payments, with LG U+ and LG AI Research on board.

SK Telecom pitches an AI that acts when told: booking restaurants or hospitals, even making calls. It can be reached by app, phone or text, with older and less digital users in mind.

KT ties public services, education, finance and shopping into a single chat window, with links planned to Daum, Musinsa, Zigbang and Genie TV.

"Easy and safe for anyone"

SK Telecom said it is important to build an environment where anyone can use AI easily and safely so that the AI usage gap does not become a new social gap.

The government is on the same page: from next year it plans to cover the cost of serving all citizens from the state budget.

Can you try it yet?

Not yet. Kakao's beta starts with consortium companies and public-agency staff, and it is considering opening to general users later.

The public launch is in December, after the teams fix what the demo turns up and firm up stability.

Andong gets the opening night

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups picked Andong as this year's opening city. On Oct. 29 the old downtown hosts an opening ceremony, K-pop performances and an exhibition-sale of standout small-business products.

The festival runs through Nov. 15, 18 days in all, with ten ministries and about 40,000 manufacturers, retailers and small businesses on board.

"Following the Korea-Japan summit, being chosen as the opening city of Korea's flagship consumption festival means a great deal to Andong," Mayor Kwon Ki-chang said.

A 20,000-won ticket that pays you back

The opening celebration concert is on Saturday, Oct. 31, on a special stage behind Andong Station. It runs about 150 minutes. Every zone costs 20,000 won, and the on-site ticket booth hands back 20,000 won in Andong Sarang gift certificates.

Those vouchers are spendable at local shops, so the ticket money stays in town.

How to book

Tickets are on NOL (Yanolja). Sales opened Oct. 8 at 9 a.m. and run until sold out, two tickets per ID.

On the day, collect a wristband at the ticket booth (14:00–17:20) and bring your booking record and a physical ID. Doors open at 16:00.

Deals across the country

70,000 lodging coupons for areas outside the Seoul region are being issued, and Andong adds cashback on its mobile Andong Sarang voucher. Reports also say free admission to national heritage sites is part of the festival.

The 'Sangsaeng' consumption lottery (Oct. 15–Nov. 15) rewards Digital Onnuri payments of 30,000 won or more, with double entries for spending outside the Seoul area.

Before you go

There is no parking at the venue and nearby lots are expected to fill early, so take public transport.

The booking page is Korean only and no performers have been announced. It does not say whether a foreign phone number works, so check before you buy.

Why Busan

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism picked Busan as the pilot region because it is the most-wanted destination outside Seoul for foreign visitors.

The idea is to bundle transport and attraction discounts into one pass so travelling beyond the capital feels easier.

Two passes, one price

Pass 1 is a one-day zone pass. Pass 2 is a period pass linked to the benefits of the KORAIL Pass 2-5 day tickets. Both cost 15,000 won.

Buy the zone pass and one-way regional rail and bus fares to Busan drop by up to 40%. Airport Railroad express fares are discounted too.

One attraction free

Pick one of 35 partner attractions and get in once for free. Another 50 partners, including experience facilities and cafes, offer discounts.

The physical card pays for public transport and, once loaded with won, works like a debit card.

Where to buy and collect

Buy online through the Klook or Hop&Hop apps and websites. Physical cards can be collected at Incheon, Gimpo and Gimhae airports and at Seoul and Busan stations, among other places.

Reports don't give the pilot's end date, the airport rail discount rate or the full partner list, so check the product page before you buy.

Unmanned scouts opened the path

The demo began with scout drones and an unmanned reconnaissance vehicle entering the area first. Attack drones gave covering fire and others laid smoke over the enemy obstacles.

Into the minefield went the K-CEV combat engineer vehicle, scout drones and a four-legged robot. Troops followed behind the unmanned systems, covered by rifle-firing drones.

A laser that swats drones

The anti-air laser weapon Cheongwang shot down enemy drones, while the Biho hybrid air-defence gun and a vehicle-mounted anti-drone system handled simulated ones. Money Today reports the enemy drone was hit despite evasive manoeuvres.

K2 tanks and K21 fighting vehicles stayed in the picture. The unmanned systems run ahead of the old kit rather than replacing it.

"People command, unmanned systems lead"

Army policy chief Lee Kyung-jin said the force is people-centred now but will shift to unmanned systems at the core, with people commanding and controlling them. Nam Seung-hyun, deputy for military innovation, said robots could take over DMZ searches and GP/GOP guard posts.

Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Kyu-ha said the transformation needs the conviction and participation of the Army's members and the understanding and support of the public.

Why robots, why now

The backdrop is a shrinking population and a shrinking pool of conscripts, and the Army is pursuing mixed manned-unmanned units in response.

The Army plans to expand its Army TIGER+ pilot units to 14 types and to use the newly opened Pangyo AX hub to recreate the Yangpyeong and Mugeolli training grounds as digital twins for training AI.

Good to know

The demonstration was an Army event and no public viewing schedule has been announced. The 7-minute-31-second KFN report above, from the Defense Media Agency, shows the scene.

Express to local: 1:1 becomes 2:1

The change covers 5:40 to 7:00 a.m. on the track heading from Gaehwa to Jungang Bohun Hospital. The express-to-local ratio moves from 1:1 to 2:1, so two expresses run and a local follows.

Morning service gains 8 trips.

Rush-hour service starts 50 minutes earlier

Concentrated morning service begins at 5:40 a.m. instead of 6:30. The evening window shifts from 4:30-7:00 p.m. to 4:00-6:30 p.m.

At Dongjak, headways between 7:00 and 8:30 a.m. get shorter: from 6 minutes 20 seconds to 6 minutes in one direction, and from 8 minutes 40 seconds to 13 minutes down to 6 minutes 20 seconds to 8 minutes in the other.

The crowding numbers

Seoul's figures for the 7-9 a.m. 30-minute average: down direction 192.5% falls to 172.1%, up direction 182.3% to 174.2%. In the evening (5:30-7:30 p.m.) down goes from 180.5% to 160.3% and up from 149.8% to 147.2%.

Seoul says it is like adding four train sets (24 cars), saving about 66 billion won in vehicle costs.

Buses get an express lane too

Four pilot routes: Express 150 (Dobong depot to City Hall Station), 370 (Gangdong depot to Chungjeongno Station), 470 (Sangam depot to City Hall Station) and 605 (Gangseo depot to Yeongdeungpo Station). Each runs three morning trips: a first run around 4:00-4:30 a.m., then 7:00 and 7:30.

They stop only at major downtown stops such as Jongno and City Hall, cutting stops by 45.8% against regular routes and travel time by about 10%. After the morning peak they go back to regular routes.

Before you ride

The start date is Nov. 16; October is prep time. Route details will be posted at stops, announced on board, and available through Seoul's TOPIS traffic system and navigation apps.

The video above is KBS News's Oct. 14 report.