Korea Now: Seoul Events, K-pop & Local Guide | NowHitz · 19

The festival

Seoul Petlympic, hosted by Seoul Metropolitan Government on 24–25 October 2026 at World Cup Park’s Peace Plaza, brings dogs and handlers together in contests built on cues and teamwork. The second edition combines public-participation contests, specialist dog sports and on-site activities.

The official FAQ says people who do not own dogs may visit, and non-competitors can watch and join selected activities.

Four public events

The public competition has four disciplines: Stay Classic, Recall Sprint, a slalom through cones and a 15-metre Team Sprint. Stay Classic tests a dog’s focus in holding position; Recall Sprint its response to the handler’s call. The slalom zigzags between cones, and in Team Sprint dog and handler run the course together.

Entrants are divided by height. The official form separates dogs under 40cm from those 40cm or taller; there is no weight category.

Specialist dog sports

The spectator programme includes agility, disc-dog events, dog dancing and flyball. Agility dogs negotiate obstacles on the handler’s directions; disc events combine a chase and a catch; dog dancing sets movement to music; and flyball dogs clear hurdles and return with a ball.

The overall schedule lists an invited Korean national-team agility event from 2–3pm on 24 October, disc and freestyle contests on 25 October and flyball from 3–4pm that afternoon. Some discipline pages give different times, so the schedule is worth rechecking shortly before a visit. Saturday’s stage programme also includes a quiz and awards from 5–6pm.

On-site activities

The lounge-zone “Pettiquette 5 Challenge” is open to anyone visiting with a dog. Participants try five cues — come, stay, walk, house and fetch — and earn a badge for each one completed.

Booths offer face painting and water-transfer tattoos, commemorative crafts and sports-themed profile photography, along with dog-health consultations, rehabilitation and canine CPR and first-aid education. Seoul’s press release says the booths are free. Some activities may involve queues or close early.

Dog Trail

Dog Trail runs from 10am to noon on Sunday 25 October along an approximately four-kilometre circuit in the park. Check-in begins at 9am, followed by a course briefing and safety instruction at the stage zone before groups set off in turn.

The fee is KRW 40,000 for one person with one dog. Companions need their own entry; the form notes an exception for preschool children accompanying a guardian. Registration for 400 teams is online, first come, first served; whether places remain has not been confirmed.

Competition entry

Petlympic’s fee is KRW 40,000 for two disciplines on the same day, with advance online registration for 100 teams per discipline, 400 teams in total. Competitors must attend safety instruction. The official FAQ rules out on-site registration for Petlympic and the dog-sport competitions.

The forms linked from the official site, checked on 12 October, gave 2 October as the closing date for both Petlympic and Dog Trail. A registration button still on the website does not mean places remain. The operator, Korea Kennel Agility, can be reached at 0502-1949-0514 about further registration and conditions.

Getting there and rules on site

The venue is Peace Plaza in World Cup Park, Mapo-gu, listed as the World Cup-ro 251 area. It is a 10–15-minute walk towards Peace Park from Exit 1 of World Cup Stadium Station on Line 6; the nearest bus stop is Mapo Agricultural and Marine Products Market–World Cup Park. Peace Park Parking Lot charges KRW 300 per ten minutes for cars, but the organiser recommends public transport because of limited spaces and congestion.

Leashes and prompt waste collection are required, and visitors must ask another handler before approaching their dog. Water and a portable bowl are advisable, and the lounge is available if a dog becomes tired. Accessibility needs, including step-free routes, should be raised with the operator in advance. Rain or strong winds may change or cancel parts of the programme. All times are Korea Standard Time.

Before 1979

The Walkman did not invent portable audio. According to the Philips Museum, the battery-powered EL3300 and the Compact Cassette were presented at the Berlin radio exhibition in 1963. The medium, two reels in a small plastic shell, came first, and allowing other manufacturers to adopt the format built compatibility between tapes and machines.

Sony’s first Walkman, the TPS-L2, went on sale in Japan on 1 July 1979. It removed the recording function and speaker from a cassette recorder and added stereo circuitry and headphones. What was new was packaging a way of life — taking favourite recordings on the move through lightweight headphones — as a product.

mymy and AH-HA

Samsung launched mymy in 1981. LG U+’s company history dates production of GoldStar’s AH-HA to 1987, and an account by the campaign’s creator, Shin Yong-soon, places its advertising launch in the same year. Walkman was Sony’s brand; mymy and AH-HA were separate Korean product families.

Shin recalls moving the AH-HA campaign from an initially lyrical direction to bright colours and a large logo. A youthful image was sold alongside the specifications.

Under the play button

Magnetic tape unwinds from one reel, passes the playback head and winds onto the other. A metal shaft, the capstan, works with a rubber-covered pinch roller to move the tape at a steady speed while the head reads the recording.

Finding a song meant alternating fast-forward, stop and play, and reaching a later track required the tape in between to wind through. Sides A and B divided a tape played in opposite directions; on players without auto-reverse, the cassette had to be taken out and turned over at the end of a side.

Different models, different features

According to the National Science Museum, the MY-A90 was a mid-to-late-1980s model with Dolby circuitry, auto-reverse and an adapter that allowed use while charging. Its suggested retail price in 1988 was 89,900 won, including the adapter and earphones.

The museum’s entry for the MY-A35N records a built-in speaker and recording capability, whereas the first Walkman focused on playback. Whether a portable cassette player could record radio or play the other side automatically depended on the model.

Radio recording and home-made tapes

Listening to a prerecorded album meant following its sequence; recording onto blank tape meant deciding what to include. Recording from the radio took as long as the broadcast, and playback-only portables could not record at all.

MBC’s 2014 cassette feature revisited recording music from the radio, unwrapping new tapes and turning a reel with a pen. On tape, changing the running order meant recording again, and the length of a side limited the selection.

Listening together

Headphones create a private listening space. Yet the portable cassette was not always sold as a solitary device: a mymy advertisement preserved by Samsung promoted two headphone sockets with separate volume controls so two people could listen together.

Wired listening required people to sit close. Today a song is shared by sending a link; then, sockets, cable length and a tape chosen together shaped how music was shared.

Language learning on cassette

Industrial Design no. 148, published on 31 August 1996, described earphone listening on subways and buses as an everyday scene and noted students and office workers using cassettes for language study in transit. Its featured product, LG’s AHA-C680 caption player, went on sale in December 1995 with an LCD text display, passage repeat and a remote control.

The need to replay a sentence and see its words shaped the controls and added a screen. The portable cassette served commuting study as well as leisure.

After the cassette

Analog listening also meant maintenance. Sony’s cassette support guidance advises stopping playback when the sound is distorted, removing the tape and taking up slack with a pencil. That does not restore stretched or damaged tape.

Sony’s personal-audio history lists a portable CD player in 1984 and a MiniDisc model in 1992, and Samsung announced its yepp MP3 player in April 1999. New media steadily widened the choices.

Today listeners jump straight to a track and edit lists with ease. In the cassette era, choosing the music was itself part of the experience. The media have changed, but deciding what to listen to on the way somewhere has not.

The festival

The 2026 Namsan Night Festival links different parts of the mountain through a camp-style picnic, autumn walks and a silent DJ party. Visitors can spend an evening watching performances and films at Baekbeom Square or walk from Yejang Park through the woods to another neighbourhood.

Programmes take place only on designated dates between 23 October and 14 November, each with its own meeting point and booking schedule. All times are Korea Standard Time.

Namsan Campnic

Namsan Campnic runs from 17:00 to 22:00 on 23, 24, 30 and 31 October and 6 and 7 November at Baekbeom Square. Visitors use a tent zone or a picnic-mat zone, with Namsan Sunset FM sharing stories and song requests, Moonlight Live music and Starlight Cinema films. Planned capacity is 100 teams a day of up to four people each, 600 teams in total.

The official website, checked on 12 October, carries a notice that advance reservations have closed early. The general guidelines mention on-site registration, but only if space remains.

Outside food and deliveries are allowed. Delivery riders cannot enter the event area, so participants collect orders at a designated pickup zone. Personal open flames and cooking equipment are restricted.

Autumn Foliage Walk

The walk starts at Namsan Yejang Park. On 23 and 24 October, the 3.8km first route follows the northern circuit and Haneul Forest Trail to the entrance of Namsan Library; the official estimate is about 90 minutes. On 6 and 7 November, the 4.2km second route passes through Namsan’s northern forest trail to Namsangol Hanok Village.

Capacity is 700 people a day, 2,800 in total, with programme hours of 16:00–21:00. Participants must register for their booked departure group. Under the official guidelines, arrivals after 18:00 are treated as no-shows, with no participation or refund. Availability by date has not been verified.

The first route has steps as well as a barrier-free deck section, and the second has a long run of descending steps. Children and participants who need help walking must be accompanied. The routes finish away from the start, and there is no baggage storage.

Palgak Club

On 14 November, Palgak Club takes place in front of Palgakjeong Pavilion near N Seoul Tower: a silent DJ programme set against Seoul’s night skyline. There are two sessions, 17:30–19:00 and 19:30–21:00, each for 300 people.

Reservations open at 10:00 on 2 November. Programme details, including DJs, will be posted on the official website later.

Deposits and refunds

The deposit is KRW 10,000 per team for Campnic and KRW 5,000 per person for the walk and Palgak Club, refunded in full once attendance is confirmed. On 12 October the organisers reported a payment-system error: people who booked that day had to have their deposit confirmed by 11:00 on 13 October for the reservation to stand, or it would be cancelled. Payment instructions are in the 12 October deposit notice on the official website.

Refunds are scheduled for 26–31 October for attendance on 23–24 October; 2–6 November for 30–31 October; 9–13 November for 6–7 November; and 16–20 November for 14 November.

Under the cancellation terms on Naver Booking, cancelling on the day of booking or at least seven days before use brings a full refund; 10% is deducted six to three days before and 30% two to one days before.

Bookings for foreign visitors

The festival website has English guidance and an English deposit notice. The foreign-participant reservation route is for foreign participants only; an official popup warns that Korean participants who use it may have their bookings cancelled.

The public guidance does not confirm support for overseas phone numbers, bookings without membership or foreign-issued cards. The organising office can be reached at 070-5226-0759 or namsannightfestival@gmail.com from 10:00 to 18:00, with a lunch break from 12:30 to 13:30.

Locations and what to bring

The official addresses are 100-115, Hoehyeon-dong 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, for Campnic; 5-22, Juja-dong, Jung-gu, for the walk’s meeting point; and 8-1, Yejang-dong, Jung-gu, for Palgak Club. The representative address on Naver Booking is not the meeting point for every programme. The organisers recommend public transport and do not provide parking passes or cover parking.

The walks call for footwear with good grip and warm outerwear. Rain, snow, strong winds or severe cold may change hours or routes or cancel events; the official website posts updates.

Milmyeon and wartime refugees

Busan’s Future Heritage programme traces the development of milmyeon, the city’s wheat-noodle dish, to wartime refugees in Uam-dong, flour distributed by Donghang Catholic Church and a shop that turned that flour into noodles. Familiar cooking methods were adapted to the ingredients available in a new city.

The project runs from 14 to 22 October 2026 at F1963 and locations in Suyeong-gu and the old town, with an exhibition, conversations, film screenings and food-culture walks. Timed for the 150th anniversary of the opening of Busan Port in 1876, it looks at how people’s journeys remain in food names and everyday speech.

The history of eomuk

The city’s Future Heritage account of Bupyeong Kkangtong Market says fishcake-making techniques arrived with Japanese settlers, passed to Korean producers after liberation and became everyday food during the Korean War and the years of displacement. Fishcake shops stayed in the market after the factories moved out.

These histories also involve colonial rule and war. The Busan Modern and Contemporary History Museum’s account of Yeongdo links the growth of modern fisheries and fishcake production to Japanese fishing settlements and industrial facilities.

The published information does not say how milmyeon or eomuk will feature in the exhibition or what participants will eat on the walks.

Exhibition: ‘A Table Set by the Port’

Kiswire says it converted its Suyeong factory, built in 1963, into the F1963 cultural space in 2016. The site now houses exhibition and performance spaces, a bookstore, cafés and gardens.

The exhibition ‘항구가 차린 식탁’, roughly ‘A Table Set by the Port’, runs in the F1963 Glasshouse from 14 to 22 October, daily from 10:00 to 19:00. According to Newsis, it is organised around shortages of ingredients, cultural mixing, everyday life and the use of tools, with artworks, ingredients, tableware and video tracing movement and exchange in Busan’s food.

Busan–Taiwan food talk

On 17 October, from 15:00 to 17:30, the YES24 Busan Suyeong bookstore at F1963 hosts a discussion. Topics include how Busan dishes change as they travel, memories of migration in Taiwanese food, the transmission and reinvention of fishcake-making, and building relationships through food.

YES24 lists Pusan National University professor Choi Jin-a (최진아), Catherine Lee (캐서린 리) of the Taipei Culture Foundation, Jung Sung-woo (정성우) of Samjin Amook and independent curator Cho Hye-su (조혜수) as speakers, with Jang Hyeon-jeong (장현정), head of Homilbat Publishing, moderating.

Food-culture walks

The walks run from 11:00 to 15:00 in Suyeong-gu on 17 October, focusing on longstanding foods and changing tastes, and in the old town on 18 October, focusing on memories of the port and its food. Newsis reports that poet and food-culture columnist Choi Won-jun will accompany them.

The restaurants and meeting points have not been published. The Saturday walk ends at 15:00, when the bookstore talk begins, so joining both may not be practical.

Film screenings

Films will be shown at F1963 Square on 16 and 17 October, from 18:30 to 20:30. Newsis names ‘Little Forest’ and ‘Kamome Diner’ among the titles. The published material does not say which film screens on which date or how admission works.

Visitor information

The talk has a free lottery for 25 participants. YES24 lists 14 October as the entry deadline, with results at 11:00 on 15 October; conditions are on the official application page.

F1963 is at 20, Gurak-ro 123beon-gil, Suyeong-gu, Busan (부산 수영구 구락로123번길 20). The event poster directs visitors to the Kiswire stop (고려제강) on city bus 54 or Sanjeong Apartment (산정아파트) on Suyeong-gu village bus 2, and recommends public transport because of weekend traffic. All times are Korea Standard Time.

The public material does not fully cover fees and booking conditions for the exhibition, films and walks, interpretation and subtitle languages, or accessibility. Enquiries go to the Busan Cultural Foundation’s Global Culture Team on 051-745-7273, or +82-51-745-7273 from abroad.

An 18.51 km run to lunch

In an October 12 report, Maeil Business Newspaper journalist Song Min-seop described an October 9 run from Gwangju Citizens’ Forest, along the Yeongsangang River, to Damyang Noodle Street. His recorded distance was 18.51 km. The outing combines exercise, travel and a meal in one day.

Origins of the street

The Korea Tourism Organization traces the street’s food culture to filling meals for traders at the nearby bamboo-goods market. A street that once fed market visitors is now also a destination for runners.

What to eat

Noodle Street lies beside Damyangcheon Stream, around Gaeksa 3-gil. Its signature dishes are noodles in anchovy broth and spicy mixed noodles. Side dishes such as eggs or pajeon, a savory pancake, vary by restaurant.

Visitors up 71%

Citing county data, the report says visits to the street rose about 71% from 2024 to 2025. The figure covers all visitors; it does not count runners or show that running drove the increase.

Route and return

The 18.51 km figure is the reporter’s own distance, not an official course. Less experienced runners can travel to Damyang first and pair a shorter walk or run with lunch. Restaurant hours, prices and menus and the trip home are worth checking in advance. Weather and riverside restrictions may call for a shorter distance; water and a phone are essentials.

Before you go

Damyang Noodle Street · Gaeksa 3-gil area, Damyang-eup, Damyang-gun

Gwangju Citizens’ Forest → Yeongsangang riverside → Damyang Noodle Street is the route outline from the report. No turn-by-turn directions or GPX route are provided.

Prices, hours, menus and reservations vary by restaurant. No common entry fee or currently bookable organized run has been verified.

Archive photographs taken by the Korea Tourism Organization in 2020. They do not show the 2026 run or current menus.

Visitors kept coming to Busan North Port Waterfront Park to see Bukangi over the Hangul Day holiday. On October 11, Yonhap cited Busan Infrastructure Corporation’s count of 205,000 park visits from October 9 through 6 p.m. on October 11, bringing the total since the shark was first spotted on September 18 to 1,348,800. The figures count park visits.

Curiosity about a wild animal has changed how people spend weekends in the city. The crowds have also raised the question of how to watch without disturbing the shark.

Identified as a dusky shark

On October 6, the National Institute of Fisheries Science identified Bukangi as a dusky shark, Carcharhinus obscurus, ruling out an earlier tentative identification as a similar species. Close-up footage showed the ridge between its two dorsal fins. Comparing it with nearby structures, the institute estimated its length at about three metres and identified it as female. The red arrows in the official image point to that ridge.

The institute describes dusky sharks as slow to grow and reproduce and said it would keep monitoring Bukangi’s movements and health.

Viewing rules

Busan’s October 6 safety notice asks visitors not to shine strong lights at the shark continuously or follow it with a beam. It also asks people not to feed it or throw objects, to keep a safe distance from the railings and to show consideration in crowds.

Our suggestion is simple: don’t try to change an animal’s behaviour for a photograph, and don’t use light or food to lure it back into view. Follow on-site restrictions first; a visit without a sighting is still a waterfront walk.

Checked details: attendance figures are reported as of 6 p.m. on October 11. The photograph was released by the fisheries institute on October 6 and is not a live image. Check on-site notices and restrictions when visiting.

The Guinness record: 293,905 m²

Guinness lists Shinsegae Centumcity Department Store under “Largest department store,” with a record date of June 26, 2009 and an area of 293,905 m². The public record page still showed those details when checked on October 12, 2026.

The figure is the department store’s area; it is neither Spa Land’s area nor a largest-shopping-mall record.

Natural hot-spring water

Spa Land’s entrance is on the department store’s first floor. Busan Metro Line 2’s Centum City Station connects directly to the store, so shopping and the spa are easy to combine without a car.

Shinsegae says Spa Land uses two types of natural hot-spring water drawn from 1,000 metres underground. The operator lists 18 hot-spring baths and 13 sauna and jjimjilbang themes.

Themed sauna rooms

Jjimjilbang are Korean-style sauna and relaxation spaces. According to Visit Busan, visitors put their shoes in a locker and then receive two towels and a top-and-bottom outfit at the counter.

The Finnish sauna, Roman-inspired sauna and salt room each have different materials and atmosphere. In the Wave Dream Room, moving water casts rippling light onto the ceiling.

Shinsegae’s official guide marks the women-only open-air bath as not operating, so it is worth checking which facilities are open before visiting.

Rest areas and food

After the sauna rooms, visitors can rest in reclining chairs in the Relax Room. Food and drink options include a restaurant, a cafe and beverage bar, and Ottogi Ramyeon Land, which serves a selection of Ottogi noodles. The official guide also lists a game room, and Visit Busan’s feature shows a photo booth. The massage chairs pictured in the archive are separate from the Relax Room’s recliners.

Food, drink and additional services are charged separately from admission.

Prices and hours

According to official information checked on October 12, 2026, standard admission is KRW 26,000 for adults and KRW 21,000 for students, with the same rates on weekdays, weekends and public holidays. Admission covers four hours; extra time costs KRW 5,000 per hour. Spending at least KRW 10,000 inside Spa Land, excluding admission, extends the allowance to six hours.

Opening hours are 09:00–22:00, with last admission at 21:00. Spa Land’s hours differ from the department store’s.

Children, luggage and parking

Admission is for elementary school students and older, and elementary school children must be accompanied by a same-sex guardian. The student rate applies to visitors born in 2008–2019 under the 2026 guidance.

Large suitcases are not allowed in the internal locker room and must go in the lockers in front of the ticket desk, which cost KRW 3,000 for five hours and KRW 1,000 for each additional hour. Parking is free for four hours, or six hours with at least KRW 10,000 of internal spending, excluding admission.

Address: 35 Centumnam-daero, Haeundae-gu, Busan. Enquiries: 1668-2850. Closure dates and ticket conditions are posted in official notices.

The laureate

Anne Carson is a Canadian poet and classicist. The Swedish Academy recognised her creation of new literary forms through dialogue with the classical tradition. Her work places emotions ranging from love in myth to grief within a family in unconventional book forms.

Aladin’s chart

At 10:50 a.m. KST on October 12, Aladin’s Korean-books “Yesterday’s Best” list placed Autobiography of Red first and Nox eighth, a sign at one bookseller of interest in the Korean editions after the Nobel award.

Autobiography of Red

Published in 1998, Autobiography of Red turns Geryon, the red monster of Greek myth, into the protagonist of a modern coming-of-age story. The verse novel follows a character’s story of love.

The Korean edition checked was translated by 민승남 (Min Seung-nam) and published by 한겨레출판 (Hankyoreh Publishing) as a 256-page revised edition on November 25, 2024.

Nox

Nox, published in 2010, remembers Carson’s late brother. Photographs, letters and text unfold in an accordion format, making the act of opening the book part of reading it.

The Korean edition, translated by 윤경희 (Yoon Kyung-hee), was published by 봄날의책 on August 31, 2022. Aladin describes its 192 pages as one continuous accordion book.

Editions and dispatch dates

At 10:53–10:54 a.m. KST on October 12, Aladin listed both Korean editions for reservation purchase, with dispatch dates of October 13 for Autobiography of Red and December 7 for Nox.

Those dates applied to the site’s default destination in Jung-gu, Seoul, were dispatch rather than arrival dates and may change. Other booksellers may differ. The YES24 links below are separate listings for the same editions, with their own dispatch dates.

Le Monde and France Culture

In an October 2 report from Seokguram, Le Monde’s Fabienne Darge noted the principal Buddha’s combination of strength and delicacy. France Culture followed on October 8 with a 4-minute, 21-second report. According to Edaily, the Le Monde reporter’s September visit to Gyeongju was part of a press tour arranged by the Korean Cultural Center in France. The coverage reflects journalists’ assessments, not visitor-popularity statistics.

The grotto

Built in the eighth century under Unified Silla, Seokguram is an artificial grotto made from finely fitted granite components. A rectangular antechamber and passage lead into a circular main chamber, where sculpture surrounding the principal Buddha and a hemispherical ceiling form a single space. Seokguram and Bulguksa Temple were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List together in 1995.

Han Seokhong’s 2000 photograph

Han Seokhong’s 2000 view from the antechamber shows the carved side walls and the principal Buddha beyond the passage in one frame. The wall figures draw the eye to the centre, and the rounded stone structure above contrasts with the straight lines of the floor. The difference in scale between the foreground carvings and the distant Buddha conveys the depth of the space. The photograph records Seokguram itself, not the Paris exhibition.

The Paris exhibition

The Korean Cultural Center in Paris presents Han’s photographs, tactile and braille materials, and contemporary works. Lee Seung-chul’s hanji-paper Buddhas reinterpret Silla sculpture in a modern material. French outlet Timodelle praised the restrained, contemplative setting around the paper figures and a pagoda. Le Monde also reported separately from Lee’s studio.

Exhibition dates

The main exhibition runs October 2, 2026–March 13, 2027. A separate immersive exhibition, Seokguram, un monde infini, with projections on four screens, opens on November 23. Until then, the display centres on photographs, sculpture and contemporary reinterpretations.

Who is eligible

The ministry has given the NTS its list of AI companies supported through 20 programs this year, covering research and development, commercialization of AI products, AI and AI-transformation credit guarantees, smart factories, deep-tech startups and overseas expansion. The NTS uses the list to confirm recipients.

Using AI alone does not qualify a company; eligibility depends on selection for a ministry program.

Audit relief

Eligible AI startups within five years of founding are excluded from selection for regular tax audits. Other eligible AI SMEs can apply to defer a regular audit for two years from its scheduled start date, or three years for companies in regional locations.

Firms with no clear suspicion of tax evasion are also excluded from post-filing verification. Exclusion from audit selection and application-based deferral are separate measures, and neither removes tax obligations or all tax scrutiny.

R&D and cash-flow support

Advance reviews of R&D and personnel-development tax credits and consultations on corporate-tax credits and exemptions will be prioritized. The package also includes payment-deadline extensions, tax-collateral exemptions, deferral of seizure or sale, priority handling of amendment claims and expedited corporate-tax and VAT refunds.

The announcement does not set credit or refund amounts for individual companies. Consultation desks explain the conditions for each measure.

Program period and consultation

The tax-support period runs from October 1, 2026 through February 28, 2028. That is the program period, not a common application deadline. Audit deferrals are counted separately from the scheduled audit start date.

The NTS will offer dedicated consultation for AI SMEs through Hometax and at corporate-tax desks in tax offices nationwide. The NTS release below lists all 20 programs and the detailed measures.

Korean and Japanese release dates

The group’s official Japanese site lists the Korean release and the Japanese delivery start separately. The No. 1 is an October 9 daily result tied to the Japanese distribution date, not a weekly ranking or the group’s position as of October 11. No new Japanese-language song debuted that day.

Prices and in-store draw in Japan

Official tax-inclusive prices are ¥4,290 for CHEMICAL NIGHT, ¥2,750 for COMPACT and ¥5,060 for Glow Clicker Keychain. Selected Tower Records and HMV stores run a photocard draw from the October 9 product arrival through October 15, with one draw per eligible item, ending early if the cards run out. Only same-day in-store purchases during the period qualify; draws cannot be held and must be opened with staff on the spot.

The October 8 official notice below and individual stores list opening hours, eligible editions and stock. Current availability has not been verified, and eligible purchases cannot be refunded or returned.

What 95% means

Researchers evaluated 38 videos found through five search terms in May 2026, and almost 95% contained at least one potentially misleading claim. The finding comes from a small, selected sample presented at a conference; it does not mean 95% of Korean cosmetics are unsafe or that all beauty videos are wrong.

Evidence and conditions of use

The issue is what evidence and conditions of use accompany videos promoting layered routines. An attractive result and a reliable explanation are separate matters. This report draws on the late-September presentation, not a new study released on October 11.