Kwak Su-ryang, a professor in Kookmin University’s Department of Integrative Biotechnology, has been named to the 2026 World’s Top 2% Scientists list jointly released by Stanford University and Elsevier. The list recognizes the top 2 percent of researchers in their respective fields based on a comprehensive assessment of research performance, including citation metrics and publication output, using data from Elsevier’s Scopus database. Kwak’s research focuses on designing functional microorganisms and biomaterials using synthetic and computational biology, and evaluating their potential applications in precision medicine through multi-omics approaches. His notable achievements include a study published in Microbiome in 2020 that identified the effects of fecal microbiota transplantation on the gut microbiome and resistome, or the collection of antibiotic resistance genes in the human digestive system. Another study, published in Biomaterials in 2022, used metabolic engineering to identify and enhance the prebiotic properties of oligosaccharides in yeast cell walls. “I am gratefu

The University of Seoul held an admissions information session at the University of Languages and International Studies of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Oct. 30, as part of its efforts to attract talented students from overseas. The University of Seoul said the event drew approximately 360 participants, including students enrolled in Korean language departments at local Vietnamese universities. The information session was organized to introduce local students firsthand to the university’s academic strengths and admission procedures, while expanding its efforts to attract talented international students. Faculty members from six colleges and the university’s Korean Language and Culture Program engaged with local students and provided one-on-one consultations for students interested in studying in Korea. The six colleges were the College of Government and Economics, the College of Business Administration, the College of Humanities, the College of Natural Sciences, the College of Artificial Intelligence and the College of Engineering. By having its faculty members directly introduc

President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating fell to 35.9 percent last week likely due to an intense political standoff over legislation and stock market volatility, a pollster said Monday. Positive assessments of Lee's job performance dropped by 1 percentage point from the previous week in the poll conducted on 2,528 adults from last Monday to Friday, according to Realmeter. Negative assessments rose by 0.5 percentage point to 60.6 percent, while 3.4 percent of respondents said they were not sure. Realmeter attributed the lower approval rating to last week's standoff between the ruling and main opposition parties over a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into alleged fabricated indictments targeting the president and others. The bill passed the National Assembly on Friday, led by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). The pollster also attributed the decline to last week's sharp fall in the KOSPI stock market index to below 5,000 points and other volatility in the financial sector. Meanwhile, support for the two largest parties came to 36.5 percent for the DPK and 39.7 per

Samsung Bioepis said Monday that its proposed biosimilar SB27 demonstrated comparable efficacy and safety to Keytruda, a blockbuster cancer immunotherapy drug that was the world's best-selling pharmaceutical product last year, in a global Phase 3 clinical trial. According to the company, it announced the Phase 3 clinical study results at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Annual Meeting 2026 held in Phoenix, Arizona, from Nov. 4 to 8. Keytruda, developed by U.S. pharmaceutical company MSD, is a cancer immunotherapy drug that binds to programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), an immune checkpoint receptor, helping the immune system attack cancer cells. It was the world's best-selling drug last year, generating approximately 46 trillion won ($31.7 billion) in global sales. The Phase 3 study, which began in 2024, involved 555 patients with metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer across 14 countries, comparing SB27 with the original drug in combination with standard chemotherapy. In the study, SB27 met its primary endpoint by demonstrating an equivalent objective response rate t

Samyang Roundsquare, the parent company behind the Buldak spicy instant noodle maker Samyang Foods, said Monday its YouTube channel samyangman has surpassed 2 million cumulative views about three months after its launch in August. The channel airs “Fire or Fired,” an original series from BURNT, the company’s spicy food content brand. The show follows Tony, a Samyang employee who struggles with spicy food, as he tries fiery local dishes in New York, Texas, Los Angeles and other parts of the United States. Tony is what Koreans jokingly call a “maepjjiri,” slang for someone with a low tolerance for spicy food. Instead of hiring celebrities or influencers, the company cast its own employee, who interacts with locals on camera. The seven episodes released so far have drawn more than 2.18 million views as of Sunday. The most-watched episode, featuring a visit to Samyang America, the company’s U.S. subsidiary, logged 770,000 views, followed by episodes filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, and New Mexico. Viewers in the United States accounted for about 45 percent of total views, while th

CJ Olive Young, Korea’s largest health and beauty store chain, will open five more stores in California by the first half of 2027, bringing its U.S. total to seven, the company said Monday. The retailer opened its first U.S. store in Pasadena in May and a second at Westfield Century City in Los Angeles in June. Four of the new stores will be in the greater Los Angeles area: Spectrum Center, a lifestyle shopping center in Irvine; Del Amo Fashion Center in the South Bay area; Bloom on 3rd, a shopping complex near the Farmers Market in central Los Angeles; and Brea Mall in Orange County. The fifth will open at Fashion Valley in San Diego, its first outside the Los Angeles area. Opening dates for each store have not been set. Three of the sites — Del Amo Fashion Center, Brea Mall and Fashion Valley — are operated by Simon Property Group, a major U.S. mall owner. The company said the expansion will help small and independent Korean cosmetics brands, collectively known as K-beauty, reach American consumers without their own distribution networks. Olive Young said its stores also introduce

Hanwha Aerospace said Monday its U.S. subsidiary plans to conduct two test-firings of missiles from its Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher system in the United States as part of its effort to adapt the land-based system for naval use. The missiles will be launched from a vessel off the southern U.S. coast later this month to assess the system's suitability for shipboard deployment. The tests follow an April agreement between Hanwha Defense USA (HDUSA) and Florida-based Magnet Defense to develop a containerized Chunmoo launcher for the H38 medium unmanned surface vessel (MUSV). HDUSA has been expanding its presence in the U.S. maritime defense market. It is in talks to acquire Austal USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Australian shipbuilder Austal, with negotiations under way over key terms of the deal. Last month, HDUSA secured a $269 million contract from shipbuilding management company TOTE Services to build a medium landing ship for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The deal came two years after Hanwha acquired Philly Shipyard in 2024, marking another step in its U.S. shipbuilding expansion.

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday its hydrogen business brand HTWO will partner with French industrial gas company Air Liquide to expand hydrogen-powered mobility in China. HTWO Guangzhou, the Korean automotive group's first overseas hydrogen fuel-cell system manufacturing base, signed a cooperation agreement with Air Liquide China on the sidelines of the China International Import Expo 2026, which opened in Shanghai last week. Under the agreement, the two companies will combine HTWO Guangzhou's hydrogen fuel-cell system technology with Air Liquide's expertise in hydrogen production, storage, transportation and infrastructure development. The partnership is aimed at accelerating the adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles in China by integrating fuel cell technology with the hydrogen supply and refueling infrastructure.

Debt-ridden Korean broadcaster JTBC plans to select a preferred bidder in January, the company said Monday, putting up its official notice for the envisioned sale. The sale will be conducted through an open competitive bidding process through the injection of external capital, EY Hanyoung, the accounting firm advising the sale, said in the notice. Potential bidders can submit their letter of intent over the next four weeks. JTBC said it will conduct the sale in a "transparent and fair" manner in accordance with relevant laws and rehabilitation court procedures. "Through the merger and acquisition, we hope to establish a sustainable base for growth and strengthen content and channel competitiveness," the broadcaster said. The sale notice came some two months after the Seoul Bankruptcy Court approved JTBC's request to begin rehabilitation proceedings in late August, allowing the company to restructure its debts under court supervision.

President Lee Jae Myung on Monday vowed to hire more firefighters and increase investment in strengthening their capabilities to ensure public safety amid diverse disaster risks. Lee made the pledge during a ceremony marking the 64th Day of Firefighting in the central city of Sejong, attended by government officials, firefighters, those who died while on duty and their bereaved families. The president stressed the ongoing climate crisis is increasing the diversity and scale of disasters, likely making them more complicated and difficult for firefighters to combat. "Preparing for and responding to changes a step ahead of time would be the way to protect the people's lives and ensure their safety," Lee said. He pledged to hire more firefighters, strengthen their command system and expand investment to enable them to respond more promptly and systematically to disasters and ensure public safety. Through the investment, the government plans to harness artificial intelligence (AI) and drones to identify risk factors, and undertake dangerous rescue operations while deploying cutting-edge defense

Leaders of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) gathered outside Cheong Wa Dae on Monday to protest the recent passage of a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into alleged fabricated indictments targeting President Lee Jae Myung and others. The PPP leadership held a Supreme Council meeting outside the presidential office, after the ruling Democratic Party of Korea railroaded the bill through a plenary session of the National Assembly on Friday. The legislation calls for appointing an independent counsel to investigate suspicions the prosecution under former President Yoon Suk Yeol fabricated evidence or induced false testimonies to build cases against then opposition leader Lee and others. The PPP has denounced the effort as a pretext to cancel all of Lee's indictments, as his trials have been suspended under an article of the Constitution that exempts a sitting president from criminal prosecution except in cases of insurrection or treason. Lee faces charges of involvement in corrupt development schemes, illegal remittances to North Korea, and the misuse of a govern

Justice Minister nominee Lee Yong-cheol on Monday expressed reservations about nullifying indictments against President Lee Jae Myung following last week's passage of a special counsel bill to investigate allegations of fabricated indictments, including those that currently involve the president. The nominee, who currently serves as head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), said the special counsel should focus exclusively on uncovering the truth. He was tapped Friday to become the justice minister, a post that has remained vacant for more than two months since Lee's first justice minister, Jung Sung-ho, resigned in late August. The National Assembly passed the special counsel bill on the same day amid protests from the main opposition People Power Party, which suspects the legislation is aimed at canceling all indictments against the president. "I believe it is appropriate for the special counsel to focus solely on uncovering the truth from now on, while all other matters should be handled in accordance with the law and established principles," the justice minister

Kim Jin-a, second vice minister of foreign affairs, delivered a lecture on the changing international order and the challenges facing Korean diplomacy at the Seoul campus of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) on Nov. 4. The university said the lecture was part of the 2026 HUFS Special Lecture program, which provides students, alumni and young people in the local community with opportunities to gain insights into the humanities and develop skills for their future careers. The program combines the university’s traditional strengths in diplomacy, international trade and the humanities with emerging issues such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data. In her lecture, titled “Changes in the International Order and Korea’s Diplomatic Choices,” Kim discussed the role and importance of diplomacy in the evolving international environment. She also introduced various programs and initiatives pursued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and shared information to help students broaden their interest in international affairs and explore career opportunities in diplomacy. Kim earned

Woowa Brothers and Coupang have been slapped with a combined 631.9 billion won ($465 million) in fines for abusing their dominant positions in Korea’s food delivery market by forcing affiliated restaurants to offer consumers prices and promotional terms at least as favorable as those available through competing channels. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Monday it has decided to order the companies to rectify the unfair practices and impose provisional fines of 331.1 billion won on Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baemin, and 300.8 billion won on Coupang, which operates Coupang Eats. The two platforms account for more than 90 percent of the nation’s food delivery market share. According to the regulator's investigation, both companies abused their market power to impose so-called most-favored-nation (MFN) requirements on restaurants, restricting their ability to offer different prices, discounts and other terms through competing delivery platforms. The FTC said the practices made it difficult for restaurants to establish more favorable conditions on rival platforms and weakened co

KT is opening its latest gold-number lottery to mobile phone users across Korea, giving customers of rival carriers and budget phone services a chance to secure sought-after numbers such as 1111, 1234 and 1004. KT said Monday it would hold a drawing for mobile phone numbers considered particularly desirable because they are easy to remember or carry special meanings. The company is offering 155 categories of preferred numbers, including AAAA patterns, in which all four digits are identical, such as 1111 and 2222, and ABCD patterns featuring consecutive digits, such as 1234 and 5678. Numbers with particular meanings, including 1004 and 2580, are also included in the selection. Each applicant can enter the drawing for up to three numbers, KT said. Applications can be submitted at KT stores nationwide, through KT's website or via its My KT mobile application. Participation is not limited to KT subscribers, with customers using other mobile carriers and mobile virtual network operators, commonly known as MVNOs, also eligible to enter. The expanded eligibility gives mobile phone users across dif

KT&G, Korea’s leading tobacco maker, is expanding its next-generation product footprint in Central Asia by launching its FLEX heated tobacco device and FAIIM sticks in Kazakhstan. The Korean tobacco company said it introduced the products in October, marking its direct entry into Kazakhstan's heated tobacco market. FLEX and FAIIM are locally branded versions of KT&G's lil AIBLE device and AIIM tobacco sticks, which are already sold in Korea, adapted for the local market. The products are initially available only in Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, with KT&G planning to expand distribution channels gradually. The company is also operating a FLEX flagship store at Forum Mall, a major shopping center in Almaty, to strengthen its connection with local consumers. The store will offer brand information, customer consultations and other services designed to help consumers better understand the products and experience the brand. The launch forms part of KT&G's broader strategy to expand its next-generation products (NGP) business internationally after establishing an independent commercializat

Cho Young-soo, chair emeritus of the Hansae Yes24 Foundation, has received a commendation from the Seoul mayor for her charitable donations and humanitarian work, the foundation said on Monday. The Korean Red Cross recommended Cho for the honor, citing her sustained support for humanitarian causes, including a donation of 100 million won ($73,000) in July, according to the foundation. The donation also brought her into the Red Cross Honors Club, a group of major donors to the organization. Beyond her work through the foundation, Cho has used personal funds to support organizations including the Community Chest of Korea, Seoul National University and the Korean Red Cross, the foundation said. Her contributions also include support for students and younger generations as a senior figure in education. The foundation said those activities, alongside her donations, formed part of the basis for the commendation. Cho served as chairwoman of the foundation for five years beginning in 2018. During her tenure, she led programs supporting academic research, scholarships for international students,

German adhesives and materials maker Henkel will set up a research center in Seoul to develop packaging materials for artificial intelligence (AI) chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday. The city signed a memorandum of understanding with the company at Seoul City Hall on Monday. Under the agreement, Henkel will make 12.1 billion won ($8.9 million) in foreign direct investment in Seoul by 2031 and hire 15 new researchers, including holders of master’s and doctoral degrees. The center, called Henkel Technology Center Korea, will be located in the Gasan Digital Complex, a tech business district in Seoul’s Geumcheon District. It will cover about 5,112 square meters, of which 1,205 square meters will be dedicated to chip packaging materials. The center will bring together Henkel’s existing research operations in Korea and add new research and development on materials for AI chips and HBM, a type of stacked memory chip used in AI servers. Chip packaging is the process of protecting semiconductor chips and connecting them to other components.

A special counsel law passed by the National Assembly on Friday is drawing questions over conflicts of interest and whether its investigative powers are consistent with the government’s prosecution reforms. The legislation calls for an investigation into allegations that prosecutors and other state agencies fabricated evidence or brought politically motivated charges under former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Its 12 areas of investigation include cases involving President Lee Jae Myung, including alleged election law violations, involvement in development scandals and illicit money transfers to North Korea. An earlier version of the bill, introduced by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) in April, would have allowed the special counsel to take over pending prosecutions and decide whether to maintain them, prompting opposition accusations that it was designed to clear Lee of criminal charges. The DPK came up with a revised version after Lee asked lawmakers in September to remove the provision. But the appointment process remains contentious. Three parties — the DPK, the main oppositi

Navigating central Seoul on foot is getting easier as the city rolls out street-level crosswalks at major intersections, phasing out the labyrinth of underground passages and lengthy detours long forced upon pedestrians. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday that it has completed new crosswalk installations at Cheonggye 6-ga and Mugyo-dong intersection, while another is being built near Seoul Station, with opening targeted for the end of November. At Cheonggye 6-ga, the installation ends a nearly 20-year wait for a street-level crossing. Requests for the crosswalk date to 2006 but faced delays over concerns about the impact on underground shopping areas and nearby cultural heritage sites. The city reached an agreement in December 2023 following mediation by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, involving the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Seoul Facilities Corp. and three merchants' associations. Construction was completed in October, allowing pedestrians to cross the eight- to 10-lane Jangchungdan-ro without relying exclusively on under

Kim Jong-chul, nominee for commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), said Monday that the police chief's attendance at Cabinet meetings is necessary and would not compromise the independence of police investigations and their political neutrality. The KNPA chief, who is not a member of the State Council, had not traditionally attended Cabinet meetings, but Kim has attended the meetings in his capacity as acting KNPA chief under President Lee Jae Myung's administration. Kim Ji-yong, the inaugural chief of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, and acting Prosecutor General Lee Jeong-hyun have also attended Cabinet meetings, presided over by Lee, despite opposition criticism that their presence could undermine the political neutrality and independence of their respective agencies. "While I have attended Cabinet meetings on several occasions, not once has any specific case been discussed," the police chief nominee said in written responses to reporters' questions. He said attending Cabinet meetings is necessary to share the direction of state affairs and to facilita

Busan will become the meeting point for port cities around the world next year, taking over from the French city of Dunkirk as host of a major international conference focused on the future of urban waterfronts and maritime industries. Busan Metropolitan City announced Monday that it had officially secured the hosting role for the 22nd World Conference Cities & Ports during the closing ceremony of the 21st conference in Dunkirk on Friday (local time). The 2027 gathering will take place Nov. 2-5 at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO), bringing together about 1,000 participants from 50 countries, including local government officials, port authorities, industry representatives and experts. At the closing ceremony, Busan Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs Oh Seok-geun introduced the city's development and the growth of Busan Port, which marks its 150th anniversary this year and ranks as the world's second-largest transshipment port. He also outlined major projects, including the redevelopment of North Port and efforts to establish infrastructure for supplying environmentally frie

Korea has launched a comprehensive three-week inspection campaign targeting coastal fishing households that employ foreign seasonal workers, seeking to root out labor abuses and improve living standards in the country’s aging maritime sector. The joint crackdown, led by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, began Monday and will cover roughly 160 fishing households across the nation through Nov. 27. The initiative arrives amid growing scrutiny over the treatment of foreign laborers brought in to relieve severe workforce shortages in rural coastal communities. Officials said joint inspection teams — comprising government personnel, local authorities and civil rights groups — will directly visit five municipal regions with large seasonal worker allocations or lingering allegations of human rights violations. Local governments will independently audit an additional 22 municipalities. Inspectors are focusing on compliance with standard labor contracts, the provision of adequate heating and housing ahead of the winter season, mandatory insurance coverage, an

Seoul Station Plaza has been designated as a no-drinking zone starting Monday, officials said, amid concerns and complaints over homeless people drinking and causing discomfort to passersby. Seoul's Jung and Yongsan ward offices, which jointly oversee the area, announced that a total outdoor space of about 20,000 square meters around Seoul Station has been designated as an alcohol-free zone. Violators will be fined 50,000 won ($37) after a grace period ends on Feb. 28, officials said. The plaza has long been considered one of Seoul's main areas where homeless people gather and free meals are offered. Passersby have frequently complained about rowdy behavior by drinkers even during the daytime. During the grace period, local authorities plan to install directional signs and banners around the plaza while conducting on-site promotional campaigns to encourage voluntary public participation. Later Monday, officials from the ward offices, police and the national train operator Korea Railroad Corp. will jointly host a campaign and distribute leaflets to inform citizens of the new policy.

People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers on the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Monday announced a boycott of all committee proceedings, including budget reviews, in protest of the recent passage of a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into allegations of fabricated indictments against President Lee Jae Myung and others. Park Hyeung-soo, the committee's vice chair, and other PPP lawmakers made the announcement at a news conference, saying that, as conscientious members of the National Assembly, they could not sit down and conduct budget reviews alongside Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmakers who had undermined the rule of law by pushing through the special counsel bill. "The DPK pushed through the special counsel bill aimed at dropping charges against the president in just three days after forcibly ending the opposition party's filibuster through a vote. It would violate the constitutional principle of equality before the law if a special counsel were to manufacture grounds for nullifying indictments against the president, enabling him to evade lega

Preorders for new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered glasses developed in partnership between Samsung Electronics and Google will begin later this week, industry officials said Monday. The Intelligent Eyewear, developed in collaboration with Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster and U.S. brand Warby Parker, will be available for preorder starting Thursday, with an official launch expected in December, they said. Built on Google's Android XR platform, the glasses combine Samsung's hardware technology with Google's Gemini generative AI system to provide hands-free assistance through voice commands and visual recognition. Equipped with a built-in camera, the glasses can recognize objects and surroundings in the user's field of view and provide relevant information. They also support real-time translation, navigation and information searches, allowing users to access the features without taking out their smartphones. The collaboration is expected to help Samsung and Google expand their presence in the emerging AI-powered eyewear market that is dominated by Meta Platforms. Meta currently accoun

S-Oil said Monday it donated 100 million won ($73,000) to the Mapo Scholarship Foundation and the Mapo Welfare Foundation to support students from low-income families and promote community welfare. The donation ceremony was held at the Mapo District Office in Seoul, attended by S-Oil President Ryu Yeol, Mapo Scholarship Foundation Chair Kwon Oh-beom and Mapo Welfare Foundation Chair Kim Eun-young. The funds will be used to provide scholarships to students from low-income families in Mapo District and finance social welfare programs run by local institutions. “We hope our scholarships and donations will provide meaningful help to students facing difficulties and the local community,” Ryu said. “We will continue to grow alongside the community and uphold our commitment to environmental, social and governance management.” S-Oil has provided annual scholarships and welfare donations to low-income families in Mapo District, where its headquarters is located, since 2012 as part of its efforts to support the local community. Other community outreach programs include sharing rice cake sou

LG AI Research, the artificial intelligence (AI) research arm of LG Group, opened the application programming interface (API) for its upgraded EXAONE 2.5 foundation model free of charge, reporting a performance boost of over 70 percent in just eight weeks. The company announced the move at NVIDIA AI Day Seoul 2026, held at Coex in southern Seoul on Monday. Starting the same day, developers, startups, companies and research institutes can use the model in their services and research at no cost by obtaining an API key through the company’s platform, docs.exaone.ai. K-EXAONE 2.5 is a technology verification model built by applying additional training to K-EXAONE 2.0, the second model LG AI Research developed under the government’s sovereign AI foundation model project, which aims to build homegrown AI models that reduce Korea’s reliance on foreign systems. According to the company’s own tests on open datasets, K-EXAONE 2.5 performed on par with leading Chinese open-weight models DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and GLM 5.3 (max) in agentic AI, in which AI plans tasks and uses tools on its own t

Nvidia, SK Telecom and domestic artificial intelligence (AI) chip startup Rebellions agreed Monday to combine their respective strengths to establish a heterogeneous computing system. Under the trilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU), the companies will cooperate in the establishment of a heterogeneous AI computing system connecting Nvidia's graphic processing units (GPUs) with neural processing units (NPUs) designed by Rebellions that will be used in the building of SK Telecom AI data centers. The tie-up will be based on the U.S. chipmaker's NVLink Fusion program, the ministry added. The NVLink Fusion program allows hyperscalers and custom chip designers to integrate their own AI processors directly into Nvidia's rack-scale infrastructure. The MOU was signed on the margins of AI Day Seoul, a tech event hosted by Nvidia that kicked off its two-day run in southern Seoul. "Korea is a technology leader, and with AI being one of the fastest growing technologies that has ever happened ... this collaboration we are working on together, we believe, can help accelerate innovation in Korea,"

Shinsegae Department Store will run pop-up stores in Taiwan and Malaysia for the first time under its Shinsegae Hyper Ground platform, expanding its overseas push after events in New York and Tokyo this year. Hyper Ground is a platform through which the Korean department store chain selects promising Korean fashion and beauty brands and introduces them in major cities abroad. Earlier this year, it held pop-ups at Hudson Yards in New York and in Tokyo’s Shibuya district. In Taipei, the pop-up will open in the ground-floor luxury section of Breeze Center, a shopping mall that opened in 2001 in the city’s East District, a busy area known for trendy shops and cafes. Through February, it will feature six women’s contemporary fashion brands on rotation over about four months, starting with Recto, followed by Marie Claire and Insilence. The brand lineup and store design will change with each round. In Kuala Lumpur, the pop-up has opened on the ground floor of the Seibu department store at The Exchange TRX, a mall that opened in 2023 in the Tun Razak Exchange financial district. The area