Korea Now: Seoul Events, K-pop & Local Guide | NowHitz · 2

A line from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Twosome opened its first US store on Oct. 17 (local time) at 404 King Street in Old Town Alexandria. People were queuing before the 7 a.m. opening, and the line continued until the store closed at 8 p.m.

Some customers came from New York and Baltimore, Maryland, just for the cakes.

What sold best on day one

Among desserts, the spoon-eating 'Abak' and 'Seu-cho-saeng' cakes led the way. The black sesame latte and the Dalgona cream top were the top drinks.

Twosome says many customers paired a drink with dessert. Deli items such as the Brioche K-Toast and the Seoul Spicy Chicken Panini also did well.

80-plus items, whole cakes without a pre-order

The store is about 73 pyeong with 78 seats including an outdoor terrace, run as an all-day cafe with some 80 items across desserts, coffee, drinks and deli.

Korean flavors run through the menu: black sesame and injeolmi cakes, even a 'Korean Apple Cinnamon Tea' inspired by sujeonggwa. Whole cakes can be bought in store with no pre-order.

Next stop: the D.C. area

CEO Moon Young-joo said the queue that lasted until closing showed "more interest than expected," and that Twosome will use local feedback to refine the store.

The US stores are run by a local entity, with more planned across the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area.

Try them in Seoul first

Twosome started in Seoul, and its signature cakes are on sale in its Korean stores.

Malay and Hungarian join

Call Assist, Note Assist, Interpreter and Transcript Assist have covered 22 languages so far. Malay and Hungarian now join the list.

That means live call interpretation and speech-to-text work in more languages.

Now Nudge speaks more

Now Nudge, which reads what is on screen and suggests what to do next, grows from 16 to 24 languages. Eight languages arrive at once.

Bixby: 12 languages from today

Bixby, Samsung's device agent, goes from 9 languages to 12, adding Polish, Thai and Vietnamese. Korean is on the supported list.

Samsung says you can ask in everyday words without knowing the exact menu name or setting.

When you can use it

The new Bixby languages are available from Oct. 14. Galaxy AI's new languages roll out in stages from the end of October, and some need a language pack downloaded in Settings.

Samsung's own example: Korean users traveling to Malaysia or Hungary can use interpretation in the local language. Not every accent or dialect is recognized, and performance varies with pronunciation and background noise.

When and where

'K-CRAFT, Ilsangi Doeda' (crafts become everyday) runs Oct. 24 (Sat) to Oct. 29 (Thu) at the Glass Pavilion of Yeonhui Jeongeum, 17-3 Yeonhuimat-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. It is run by the Korea Heritage Service and its agency.

Hours are 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday to Thursday. Admission is free.

About 70 kinds, and you can buy them

Tableware, storage boxes, accessories, tea ware, stools, blankets and lighting: about 70 kinds of heritage crafts. It is not only a display; you can look closely and buy.

Some pieces come from the Korea Heritage Service's design collaboration program, which pairs holders of intangible heritage skills with designers working today.

Fill, adorn, rest

The space is split into three scenes of daily life. 'Chaeum' (fill) has bowls and cups for food and tea, plus boxes for keeping things. 'Kkumim' (adorn) has accessories, textiles and objects.

'Swim' (rest) is about downtime: tea, fans, warm textiles and soft lamps.

A photo freebie

Take a photo with your favorite piece and post a visit review to get a K-CRAFT eco bag and a dancheong-pattern phone grip, first come first served while they last.

Before you go

Opening day, Saturday Oct. 24, starts at 2 p.m. The notice does not list prices or payment methods for the items on sale.

Inquiries: the operations office, 02-736-3618 (weekdays 10 a.m.-5 p.m.).

Geumseong-ro, open since Oct. 18

The Korean character brand MUZIK TIGER opened its first permanent store on Geumseong-ro in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, on Oct. 18. It is run by Studio Muzik, a Daewon Media subsidiary, and is the brand's first offline store.

It opens every day of the year. The exact street address and opening hours were not yet in any official notice we could find.

What you can only buy here

The draw is the Gyeongju-only line: plush keyrings and magnets that pair Ddungrang-i with Gyeongju's heritage sites and landmarks.

Bestsellers such as laptop pouches, towels and stationery are on the shelves too.

Opening perks for two weeks

For two weeks after opening, every buyer gets a square sticker, and purchases of 100,000 won or more come with a large non-woven bag.

Followers of the official Instagram get a photo frame featuring Cheomseongdae and Ddungrang-i; how to claim it is posted there.

If you can't get to Gyeongju

The brand's official links include an International Shipping Store (en.muziktiger.com) for buying from abroad. Whether the Gyeongju-only items appear there has not been confirmed.

One color, all the way

Monochrome means styling in a single color or one color family. True to the name, the special model drops the standard Avante N's brighter color options and finishes most of the interior and exterior in a single tone.

The N brand says it presents the car's motorsport-born performance heritage in a restrained form, so drivers can focus on dynamics and the joy of driving.

Just two colors

You choose between Black and Performance Blue. Front and rear bumpers and the brake calipers are matched to the body color.

The Performance Blue car on black wheels has plenty of presence even in a single press photo.

The parts that changed

New dedicated forged wheels are fitted. Carbon is used on some exterior parts such as the side mirrors, and the steering wheel buttons have been simplified.

Inside, Alcantara covers the steering wheel and other parts.

Where to see it

The Korean launch is Thursday the 29th. Real cars are on display at the Hyundai N Festival at Everland Speedway on Saturday the 31st and Sunday, Nov. 1.

Shinsegae pop-up stores open in Seoul on Nov. 5 and in Daegu on Nov. 13. Sales in other global markets follow later.

Why N says it exists

N Management Division head Park Jun-woo said the car "was born from customers who wanted to feel the high-performance heritage in a more restrained form."

Removing flashiness and adding detail, he said, should let drivers focus on the pure joy of driving.

Ten days, 18 affiliates

This is the seventh edition, themed 'the signature sale of Korea,' with 18 affiliates including Emart and Shinsegae Department Store.

Emart used to push specials only in the opening days. This year Emart, Traders, Emart Everyday and No Brand keep them going to the end.

Half-price Hanwoo and a whisky in royal robes

Emart's 'half-price Hanwoo,' planned with Hanwoo farms six months ahead, takes 50% off regular Hanwoo and up to 50% off branded Hanwoo.

On the liquor side, the headliner is the Emart-exclusive Glenallachie 16 Year Korea Exclusive Limited Edition, dressed in a royal-robe design at 199,800 won. Shinsegae L&B launches Shafer Founder's Pass, the first exclusive line from the US winery, at 99,000 won.

Fashion, beauty and home: up to 70% off

Shinsegae Live Shopping and Shinsegae International cut popular fashion and beauty items by up to 70%. Shinsegae Duty Free takes up to 70% off beauty, fashion and liquor such as Lancôme, and up to 60% off luxury brands such as Tory Burch.

Shinsegae Casamia marks fabric sofas and leather beds down by up to 50%, and Josun Hotel takes 30% off a three-piece diffuser collection. At Shinsegae Department Store the Adidas entry-level running shoe Galaxy Run hits its lowest price.

Aimed at travelers too

Shinsegae has teamed up with Agoda, WeChat Pay and Xiaohongshu. Travelers get SSG Day notices and vouchers while searching for travel info, booking a stay and paying.

It is a way to slot SSG Day into a visitor's shopping plan.

Before it opens

The 'Master Signature 369 vote' runs on the SSG.COM app and website until before Oct. 30; the more days you vote, the bigger the benefit. The Shinsegae Point app gives points just for checking the SSG Day schedule.

The ads go public on Oct. 19 on the group's official YouTube and Instagram, starring Ha Jung-woo and others. A Shinsegae spokesperson said: "We have prepared so that this year's SSG Day, too, lives up to its reputation as the nation's shopping festival."

A ranking built by cameras, not search terms

The raw material is the products and places foreign users check most often with Papago's image translation.

In other words, it is a list picked by people who actually held up a phone in front of a sign or a label.

Products: from beauty to health

It splits into five lanes: TOP 100, Rising, Beauty, Food and Health.

Tap a product and an AI briefing in your own language sums up the essentials. Jump to Naver Blog and Shopping and you get Korean user reviews and details.

Places: Myeongdong to Jeju

Places come as a TOP 100, Rising and regional hot spots, with Myeongdong, Hongdae, Seongsu, Jeju and Busan up first.

Pick one and Naver Place hours, location, menu and user reviews appear in your device language, with directions and reservations a tap away.

How to turn it on

It is for users whose device language is set to a foreign language. Open Papago and tap the 'Trend' button at the top right of the home screen.

Supported languages are English, Japanese, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Other foreign-language settings get English.

A translator turning into a travel assistant

In April Papago attached restaurant and store info and AI-briefing product info to image translation results; in July it added Tabelog restaurant info for Japanese signs and product photos.

Naver AI Search lead Shin Jung-hwi said: "In the AI-agent era, Papago will go beyond translation to guide foreign tourists through the whole trip — shopping, directions and reservations."

The day Hanjeongseon hit the shelves

Hanjeongseon is a chapssaltteok (sticky rice cake) dessert brand that made its name in Seongsu-dong. GS25 turned its signature yogurt-cream version into a frozen product on Sept. 3.

Before the official launch, 200 units each went on sale at a Gangnam store and Incheon Airport on Aug. 28. All 400 vanished early, and foreign shoppers at the airport bought some too.

A first-come race on the app

On GS25's 'Uri-dongne GS' app it keeps selling out, turning into a first-come online scramble. In under a month it was No. 1 in GS25's ice cream category.

Cumulative sales passed 500,000 units as of Sept. 20.

The freezer is on fire

It is not just rice cakes. GS25's sales of rice-cake products rose 312.6% from Jan. 1 to Sept. 20.

Emart24's frozen dessert sales rose 72% in the same stretch, and its 'Ice Sweet Potato Matang' hit No. 1 in frozen food right after launch.

Ice cream shaped like a carrot

CU's 'hyper-realism' ice creams that look like carrots, triangle kimbap and potatoes saw sales jump 107.7% in January to September. 7-Eleven's Japanese dessert 'Ohayo Brulee Milk' sold 350,000 units in 40 days.

7-Eleven's ice dessert sales are up 86% this year.

Why frozen?

An Emart24 official said, "As more customers look for new textures and unusual desserts, convenience-store desserts are expanding from chilled to frozen."

Longer shelf life also means stores throw away less, which helps explain the boom.

'Bukas' means Bu Seung-kwan's Karum Stay

Jeju Province posted the video on its official YouTube channel on the 15th. 'Bukas' is short for 'Bu Seung-kwan's Jeju Karum Stay'.

Karum Stay is Jeju's village-travel brand, pairing the Jeju word 'karum', a small village, with 'stay'.

What he did in Sinchang-ri

Seungkwan stayed in a village lodging, tasted local Jeju food and cooked with green tangerines. There is also a sunset bike ride along the coast.

The province's channel also carries a 25-minute video of his Jeju trip, with English subtitles (ENG SUB) so overseas fans can follow along.

No appearance fee

Seungkwan joined the campaign as a talent donation, with no appearance fee. Governor Wi Seong-gon said, "Seungkwan's sincerity from experiencing Karum Stay in his hometown is captured in the video and the tourism campaign."

The province said it hopes people at home and abroad will feel the charm of a Jeju worth staying in through every season.

If you want to follow him

Sinchang-ri sits in Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju City. The lodging and activities he used can be seen in the video.

The seven-piece lineup

An indoor camera, two outdoor cameras (with and without a floodlight), a video doorbell, a smart door lock, a thermostat and a temperature sensor.

LG and Apple hosted the event together in Manhattan. The colors are Essence Graphite, White and Silver.

What the cameras can tell

The vision AI in the cameras and doorbell separates people, animals, vehicles and deliveries. A parcel left at the door, for instance, triggers a notice.

Indoor cameras also pick up sounds such as a baby crying or glass breaking, and slip into privacy mode when residents come home. The outdoor cameras and doorbell are rated IP65 for dust and water.

A lock that reads your intent, a thermostat that reads the room

The door lock carries several sensors that read movement and entry intent, then open the door without a hand on it. Tampering or forced entry sends an alert.

The thermostat reads the user's location, schedule and the weather to run heating and cooling. It works with iPhone and Apple Watch.

One tap with your iPhone

Hold the device to an iPhone or iPad and it pairs in one go. History is stored in the cloud, and security combines LG Shield with Apple's data encryption.

Reports say the products ship under the LG brand, with LG handling manufacturing, sales and support and Apple joining design and feature development. They work with both LG ThinQ and Apple devices.

Will they come to Korea?

They launch this year, first in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. No Korean launch date or price has been given.

LG's Jung Ki-hyun, head of the HS Platform Business Center, said: "We will combine LG's expertise in appliances and living spaces, Apple's unmatched user experience and both companies' strong security to deliver a safe, intuitive AI home experience."

The ship crashes, then sets off again

KQ Entertainment posted a comeback spoiler on the group's official social accounts at midnight on the 8th. The ATEEZ ship symbol pops up inside a monitor showing frozen space, next to a skull, and in the middle of an ordinary room.

The tagline reads 'CRASH TO BEGIN', which reads as turning a collision into a fresh start.

Before the 'BAD' fever cools

The new release comes about five months after June's mini 14th 'Golden Hour : Part.5'. Part.5 posted the group's best sales ever and became its seventh million-seller.

It also hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the third time in the group's career. Its title track 'BAD' set off a challenge craze in Korea.

KGMA stage five days before the comeback

On Nov. 8 the group performs on Day 2, 'Music Day', of the 3rd Korea Grand Music Awards (KGMA) at Goyang Skydome. That is five days before the album.

ATEEZ took the top prize, Grand Artist's Choice, at the 2024 KGMA and Grand Artist in 2025, two years in a row at the top of this ceremony.

Counting down to Nov. 13

The album arrives on the 13th at 2 p.m. KST. Follow-up content and schedules are announced on KQ Entertainment's official social accounts.

If you skipped 'BAD' from Part.5, now is a good time to catch up.

The No. 1 comeback request

Bokkeum Neoguri launched in 2017 and was discontinued in 2024. Fans did not let it go quietly.

Of all the relaunch requests Nongshim received over the past two years, this noodle drew the biggest share. Online searches rose from about 63,000 in 2024 to about 100,000 in January-August this year, according to AI analytics firm NuenAI.

What changed

The thick, chewy Neoguri noodles stay. The mussel and squid seafood flavor is stronger, and so is the heat.

It comes as bag noodles and cup noodles, and the cup version is designed for microwave cooking.

3,000 pre-order spots

Regular sales start on the 27th, but Nongshim Mall has taken pre-orders since the 14th, limited to 3,000 sets of 16 bags each.

The regular run is also limited in quantity.

Before you buy

If you want to be sure to get some, the Nongshim Mall pre-order is the surest route.

From the 27th, both the bag and cup versions go on sale in limited numbers for about a month through retail channels online and offline across the country. The cup version is cooked in the microwave rather than with poured-in hot water.