Korea Now: Seoul Events, K-pop & Local Guide | NowHitz · 6

Watch the show, then make something with the cast

The campaign began Oct. 16. With the culture ministry and the Korea Performance Tourism Association, it runs performance-tour promotions on online travel agencies in China, Japan, Taiwan, the US, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The first-time experience add-ons stand out. After Painters, visitors make marbling art with a cast member; Nanta offers a souvenir made from stage props; Jump adds taekwondo; Youngjae Haneumhoe offers a Korean traditional instrument.

Dialogue-heavy shows, with caption glasses

Wordless shows are the usual safe pick for visitors. This campaign also puts dialogue-based works within reach with AI smart caption glasses that follow the lines for audiences who find Korean hard.

You can try them at the musical Inside Me or at the pop-up booths.

A taste in central Seoul

Showcases run on Oct. 17-18 and 24-25 in the outdoor yard of Hiker Ground, with highlights from Anarchist and Finding Kim Jong-wook.

Pop-up booths with show information and caption-glasses demos stay open through Oct. 29 at Hiker Ground and around Daehak-ro.

What KTO says

Baek Man-seong, head of KTO's Korean Wave Content Team, said the goal is for watching a performance itself to become a new reason, and purpose, for visiting Korea.

Before you go

Hiker Ground is at 40 Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jung-gu, a two-minute walk from Jonggak Station Exit 5, and closed on Mondays.

Showcase times and experience-product prices are not published. Check the travel-agency promotions or the show's ticketing page for booking.

Cabbage at 6,256 won, radish at +33%

As of Oct. 6, a head of cabbage retailed at 6,256 won, down 6.5% from a year earlier. Good weather is expected to lift fall cabbage output by more than 19%.

Radish went the other way: 2,778 won each, up nearly 33%. Maeil Shinmun and YTN reported the same figures.

The seasoning aisle is the real test

Salted shrimp (saeujeot) rose over 23% to 18,973 won per kg, and peeled garlic climbed almost 25% to 11,789 won per kg. Cheaper cabbage does not offset a pricier filling.

The government discount is 20%, capped at 10,000 won per person per week; traditional markets get 30%.

More people buy their kimjang ready-salted

The share of households making kimchi at home fell 2.2 points to 62.3%. Among cabbage buyers, 58.9% pick pre-salted cabbage.

Lotte Mart's first pre-order round priced 20kg at 29,900 won for Haenam (event card), 35,900 won for Goesan and 59,900 won for Pyeongchang highland. E-Mart's contract-grown salted cabbage is 27,800 won with a card discount. Lotte Mart's first batch sold out early.

A UNESCO-listed day of making it together

Kimjang was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013. The listing recognises families and neighbours making large batches in late autumn to last through winter, and sharing them.

Which is why rising prices rarely empty the kimchi tubs.

Dates to mark before you buy

The second salted-cabbage pre-order round opens Oct. 23 at the three big marts. The government's kimchi-vegetable supply plan is due Oct. 25, and pickup of pre-orders starts Nov. 5.

Peak kimjang in the capital area and Chungcheong is mid-to-late November, when cabbage and radish discounts begin.

Even the name is a perfect fit

Anseongmatchum Market carries the idiom 'anseongmatchum' (a perfect fit) right in its name. The organisers say the phrase comes from Joseon-era Anseong brassware, made to match what the customer ordered.

The old book Anseong Giryak records that Anseong brassware was famous and well made, and that the word 'Anseongmachim' spread across the country (Kyeonggi Ilbo, 2021).

Six evenings, Fridays and Saturdays, from 5 p.m.

'Ohssak Night Market in Anseongmatchum Market' runs Oct. 23-24, 30-31 and Nov. 6-7, Fridays and Saturdays, 5-9 p.m. Halloween itself, Saturday Oct. 31, is included.

Project director Park Jin-seok says the aim is to add a Halloween twist to a market that used to go quiet after dark.

Eat, make, collect candy

There are five zones. The food zone serves signature dishes, the experience zone offers face painting and a Halloween photo zone, and in the handmade zone you make your own spooky bag to take home.

Kids have one mission: trick-or-treat. Photograph two photo spots in the market, shout the phrase and you get candy and jelly. Market association head Ko Se-young says the barbecue zone plans to sell Anseong hanbon pork at a very low price.

Costumed visitors take the stage

The night stage opens with a performance, moves on to busking and ends with the costume contest, where visitors in Halloween outfits go on stage themselves.

Ahead of the event, Anseong Fire Station and merchants held a joint fire drill, and an MOU with CESCO brought sanitation and pest control to every zone of the market.

Before you go

It runs only Fridays and Saturdays, 5-9 p.m. Event inquiries: 070-8015-6350.

If you're curious about the brassware behind the idiom, the city-run Anseongmatchum Museum (Daeduk-myeon, opened 2002) covers it. Museum by day, market by night works.

Three pioneers

Moncler unveiled the Re/Icons campaign on Oct. 16. The collection reworks iconic designs from the brand's archive through a new generation's eyes.

The faces are Cher, JENNIE and Grace Jones, picked as cultural pioneers who each cut their own path. The campaign draws on archive photographs of Lionel Terray, an alpine pioneer and early Moncler collaborator.

Three people, one crowd

Gabriel Moses shot and directed it. Each artist is placed at the centre of a huge crowd in a cinematic portrait.

In the campaign film, Cher tugs a yellow scarf to recreate a famous moment from The Cher Show, and the pull sets the dancers around her moving.

What JENNIE wears

JENNIE wears the black Karakorum jacket with a caramel Tibb vest, standing among people from around the world. In the ceaseless crowd, she is the one who stays sharp.

Cher wears the white Himalaya jacket and a black Verone jacket; Grace Jones wears the deep purple Karakorum, surrounded by figures in her dramatic makeup, a nod to her work with Jean-Paul Goude.

In their words

"My most special dream is to keep discovering a new version of myself I haven't met yet," JENNIE said. "To create freely, build new experiences and dream bigger."

Cher called the pioneer spirit "keeping on with a strong heart"; Grace Jones said it means taking on a challenge.

Where to try it

The Re/Icons collection is available at selected Moncler stores and on moncler.com. The jacket names are as listed above.

Stock differs by store, so ask ahead if there is one jacket you want.

Even the cake has a face

There are two sweets. One is a petit choco-berry cake: black chocolate sponge layered with strawberry and topped with a Ganadi marshmallow. The other is a soft cheesecake bread.

Every collab product comes with one sticker seal, picked at random from 60 designs. You will not know which until you open it.

The goods lineup

The squishy comes in four designs with Ganadi's expressions, four-leaf clovers and the chocolate strawberry cake, plus a clear case and keyring.

Press the button on the action ballpoint pen and Ganadi pops out of the cake or shakes pom-poms. There is also a plush cushion with a blanket inside, a figure mug with Ganadi eating the cake, and a tumbler with a Ganadi-face cover.

Why 'luck'?

Twosome says it tied the line to 'lucky-maxing', the Gen Z habit of hunting for and collecting luck, and to cheering on students heading into the college entrance exam.

Ganadi found its fans among teens and twenty-somethings through memes and emoticons, and Twosome says it has ranked No. 1 in KakaoTalk emoticons.

Pre-order closes the 19th

You can get it before the official launch. Pre-orders run through KakaoTalk Gift from 10 a.m. on Oct. 12 to Monday, Oct. 19.

Buy a mobile voucher, then register it on the pre-order page of the Twosome Heart app. Pick up at designated stores from Oct. 22 to 28.

Before you go

- Pre-orders close Monday, Oct. 19, two days from now. - Buying the voucher is not enough. Register it in the app to finish the reservation. - After the Oct. 30 launch, availability still varies by store, so check the branch you plan to visit.

The 1990s menu on stage

'Fine Dining: Father's Table' folds a course-style kyeongyangsik meal into the performance. It is the cutlet of the parents' generation, and a curiosity for younger viewers.

Finedining Theater plans and produces the show, and the meal is provided by the venue, BANJUL.

Whose story is it?

The play follows a father who cooked kyeongyangsik for 30 years, told by his daughter, through his fierce and warm life. The audience follows his road and is served a meal along the way.

Kim Mi-ran wrote and directed. Kim Gwang-ho, Ahn Kyung-hee, Lee Seung-hyun, Baek Eun-kyung and Lee Hyung-dong star, with chef Kim Young-hak in a special appearance.

When, where, how much

It runs Wednesday, Oct. 21 to Tuesday, Oct. 27: weekdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 1 and 6 p.m., Sundays at 5 p.m. Runtime is 100 minutes and the age limit is 7 and up.

The venue is BANJUL at 23 Samil-daero 17-gil, Jongno-gu. Tickets are KRW 69,000 for all seats, or KRW 55,200 with a parent.

Before you go

- Book through NOL Ticket or Naver Reservation. - The meal contains milk, cheese, wheat flour, butter, chicken stock, garlic, tomato, egg, pork and beef. If you have allergies or avoid meat, ask in advance. - The parent discount needs proof at ticket pickup; without it you pay the difference.

Start with the numbers

At CU, hot-pack sales for Oct. 1-7 rose 400.3% from the previous week. Hot bread was up 133.2% and roasted sweet potato up 56.1%.

Seven-Eleven saw hot packs rise 1,700%, fish cake 168% and roasted sweet potato 86%.

Who started how early

Seven-Eleven has sold roasted sweet potato and six fish-cake items since Sept. 14 and added hoppang on Oct. 7. CU brought in steamers on Oct. 6 for red bean, sweet potato, vegetable and pizza hoppang.

GS25 moved its instant fish cake up about two weeks from last year, with six items made with Busan's Goraesa Eomuk. Emart24 began roasted sweet potato in September and widened hoppang in October.

Not just fish cake: clothes too

CU is rolling out 19 winter apparel items in October, from thermal socks to fleece jackets and lightweight padded jackets. Emart24 has stretched its winter apparel and accessories to 20 items and added lightweight padding for the first time.

The industry points to shorter springs and autumns. The nearby convenience store now covers seasonal clothing, not just daily goods.

To keep warm

- Start dates and menus differ by store. Check the machines first. - CU's hoppang splits into meal types (vegetable, pizza) and snack types (red bean, sweet potato). - Cold-weather gear sells out first in an early cold snap. Buy early if you need it.

Where and until when

It runs from Sept. 15 to Nov. 30, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, until 9 pm.

Participating venues include the Museum of Seoul History, Seoul Craft Museum, Hanseong Baekje Museum, Unhyeongung, the Sejong and Admiral Yi stories exhibit under Gwanghwamun Square, and the Seoul Library. The Museum of Seoul History closes at 6 pm on Thursdays, and last entry on night-opening days is 8:30 pm.

Programmes that only happen at night

At the Museum of Seoul History, curators share the stories behind the exhibits in 'Jeonsi Yahwa' talks at 7 pm. The Seoul Craft Museum runs yoga, meditation and running sessions in its outdoor spaces.

Exhibition talks and the night education programmes and performances are free.

Making something on the way home

A workshop for young adults on Oct. 23 and 30 turns Gyeonghuigung Palace's dancheong patterns into ornaments. One for office workers on Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 uses bojagi wrapping-cloth colors and knots to make magnets. Both run from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

Sign-ups for the office-worker workshop open on Oct. 19 at 11 am.

Before you go

- Workshops and family programmes are first-come through the Seoul Public Service Reservation system. - Closing days and operations differ by venue, so check each venue's website first. - The Museum of Seoul History closes early on Thursdays. Plan your Thursday night elsewhere.

The catch on the free pretzels

From Oct. 16 to 22, nut brand HBAF has a pop-up on the bridge linking the EAST and WEST zones of the outlet, with 15 almond and popcorn products.

Foreign visitors who show a dedicated coupon get a free 40 g bag of cheddar cheese almond pretzel. Anyone, of any nationality, who spends KRW 10,000 or more gets a 25 g bag of anchovy almonds.

From twice a week to every day

The outlet's foreigner-only one-day tour shuttle started last April at two trips a week. Ridership grew, the schedule was raised step by step, and from this month it runs seven days a week.

Fitting an outlet day into a Seoul itinerary just got easier.

A tourist desk from the 23rd

On Oct. 23, a Tourist Information desk opens at the EAST zone guide center, with foreign-language maps plus tax-refund and shopping information in one place.

An unmanned currency-exchange kiosk is due later this month.

The pop-up moves on to Siheung

The same pop-up relocates to Siheung Premium Outlet from Oct. 23 to Nov. 2. Miss Yeoju and you get a second shot in the capital region.

Before you go

The free pretzels need the foreigner coupon, and the Yeoju pop-up ends on the 22nd.

The desk opens on the 23rd, so visit after that if you want tax-refund guidance. A Shinsegae Simon official said it has "strengthened convenience services and content together" as foreign visitors keep rising.

Oct. 26, 6 p.m.: album and MV together

The fifth mini album 'BREAK EVEN' and the title-track music video arrive on the 26th at 6 p.m. The theme is the 'break-even point' of a relationship, with neither loss nor profit.

The title track is about drawing the line yourself with someone whose habitual kindness gave the wrong impression. 'Super in Love', 'Pop' and 'More' are also named as tracks.

Angry, tidy, then ice cold

The concepts came in three waves. The 'BURNING' concept film, posted on HYBE LABELS on Sept. 28, is the angry one.

On the 6th came 'GLLIT' photos built around an 'admin night' of friends clearing a backlog of chores, and on the 12th the 'QUIET' version: white outfits and blank faces, the calm after realizing a crush was one-sided.

A whistle challenge and a homemade game

The challenge teaser released on the 5th features a finger-gun pose and a whistle motion. On the 8th a self-made mobile rhythm game, 'Break Whistle', opened.

Agency Belift Lab says more than 40,000 people worldwide played within four days.

Buzz before the comeback

The album ranked third on Spotify's pre-save Top 10, and one report put pre-saves above 270,000 in about two weeks (Sports Kyunghyang, Oct. 7).

Before the comeback, ILLIT plays an encore concert at Inspire Arena in Incheon on the 17th and 18th.

Before the drop

Album and MV land together on the 26th at 6 p.m. Until then, the BURNING concept film on HYBE LABELS sets the mood.

The whistle challenge is already live, and the moves look easy enough from the teaser.

How to summon Ryan

Summoning him is simple: two fingers across the KakaoTalk screen. No separate app needed.

For now you can ask for sending messages, managing your schedule, web searches and changing KakaoTalk settings, by voice or text. You can also just chat. Kakao says characters from other IPs will follow.

"Order me some water" and done

The next step Kakao is drawing up is ordering, gifting, booking and money transfers. Its own example: mid-chat you say "order water" and the assistant picks the water you bought before and applies any usable coupon.

Kakao says agents act only inside the scope you allow, and it is building checks around how they plan and carry out tasks. No price has been announced.

Kanvas on PC, inside KakaoTalk next year

Shown alongside it, Kanvas lets you build and run your own agents on a PC. You describe the agent you need and it wires up the tools and skills. A small closed test could start as early as this year.

In the first half of next year Kakao plans a new space inside KakaoTalk where agents gather, including ones built on other frameworks.

How to try it

Pre-registration has been open since Oct. 13 on the Kanana Space website. The December closed beta (CBT) takes a selection of applicants.

Behind it sits Kakao's Kanana model family: simple requests run on an on-device model on your phone, harder jobs go to a larger one.

Three awards, real money

The CGV Award carries KRW 10 million in release support. The K-Movie Award brings a KRW 20 million prize and a first-look option. The Songwon Vision Audience Award is decided by audience vote.

The film competed in the Vision-Korea section of the festival, which closed on the 15th.

A 16-year-old goes for center

The heroine is a 16-year-old who dreams of being the center of her school dance team. After an accident on a festival stage she drifts from her friends and worries that her disabled parents will be exposed.

Jung Ji-hye directs. Full Moon is her second feature.

The debut was no slouch either

Her 2024 debut Jeong-sun won the Grand Prize in the Korean Competition at the 23rd Jeonju International Film Festival. At the 17th Rome International Film Festival it took the Jury Prize and Best Actress for Kim Geum-soon, and it was invited to the New Directors section of the 70th San Sebastián festival.

The second film keeps that streak going.

Made in Busan

Full Moon is a 2025 feature backed by the Busan Film Commission's production program for Busan-based companies, which put in KRW 300 million.

Commission chairman Kang Seong-gyu said he was glad of the result and promised continued support so locally based works can shine at home and abroad.