China carries out in-depth investigation of Turkey’s largest rare earth deposit

South China Morning Post - Oct 24, 2026

Chinese researchers have mapped the complex geological evolution of Turkey’s Kizilcaoren deposit, offering fresh insights into the country’s most significant known rare earth reserve while dampening expectations over its commercial potential. Although the findings shed light on how rare earth elements accumulate in carbonatite-related formations, the researchers concluded that the site was unlikely to emerge as a major global alternative to existing producers any time soon. Lead scientist...

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Pharmacies emerge as new K-beauty stops for foreign tourists

In Seoul's bustling Namdaemun Market, a group of American tourists stepped out of a pharmacy and opened their shopping bags to show their haul: a box of Bacchus energy drinks and three packages of polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) skin care products. Inside, other foreign shoppers queued at the counters with acne treatments, scar gels and cosmetics in hand. Pharmacists in white coats scanned their purchases at the registers. Scenes like this are becoming increasingly common as Korean pharmacies emerge as a new stop on the K-beauty tourism route. Foreign visitors are seeking both over-the-counter (OTC) dermatological drugs available only at pharmacies and pharmacy-sold cosmetics promoted through social media. “Foreign tourists now account for 40 to 50 percent of our sales,” Park Jun-sun, who runs one of the pharmacies in Namdaemun Market, told The Korea Times. “There weren’t that many when I opened two years ago, but the number suddenly started rising about a year ago.” Even at larger pharmacies that cater mainly to Korean customers, foreign shoppers have become more visible. Staff

Pharmacies emerge as new K-beauty stops for foreign tourists

North Korea's diversifying missile arsenal complicates South's defense

North Korea is displaying an increasingly diverse missile arsenal this year, firing from different platforms — on land, aboard warships and, according to Pyongyang, underwater from a submarine — while testing weapons designed to carry heavier warheads, maneuver to evade interception and inflict damage over wider areas. The frequency of missile tests has also increased, with 16 ballistic missile launches recorded through Oct. 12, which exceeds the six recorded in all of 2025 and 12 in 2024. But what's more threatening than the frequency of ballistic missiles is diversification, with cruise missile tests added on seven occasions through Oct. 14, involving land-based launchers, destroyers and, purportedly, a submarine. The expanding arsenal gives North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s military more options to approach targets from different directions and coordinate strikes, placing greater demands on South Korean and U.S. defenses even as questions remain over Pyongyang's technological claims. Widening range of weapons This year's ballistic launches began near Pyongyang on Jan. 4 with susp

North Korea's diversifying missile arsenal complicates South's defense

Spring comes earlier, autumn foliage later as climate change alters forests

If you are planning a fall foliage trip this year, you may need to set off a little later than expected. The peak autumn foliage season is forecast to arrive later than usual. According to the Korea Forest Service, fall colors will spread gradually from the central to southern regions, starting with Mount Seorak on Oct. 20. Foliage is expected to reach its peak nationwide only in late October, with peak dates forecast for Oct. 28 at Mount Songni, Nov. 4 at Mount Naejang and Nov. 6 at Mount Halla. The average peak date for maples and oaks nationwide is expected to be Oct. 31, about 0.8 days later than the average peak date over the past five years. The delayed foliage season is not an isolated development this year. As temperatures rise, spring is arriving increasingly early while autumn is shifting later, a pattern that researchers have consistently observed in Korea's forests. The seasonal clock that we have long taken for granted is changing. A 2021 study by researchers at the Korea National Arboretum and Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Environmental Studies tracked 25

Spring comes earlier, autumn foliage later as climate change alters forests

Birdwatching takes off among young Koreans

As you stroll among the trees, you hear a rustle and stop to listen. You raise your binoculars and quietly scan the spot where the sound came from. After waiting patiently, you may finally catch a glimpse of something rarely encountered in everyday life: a small, precious bird. Birdwatching, or birding, is emerging as a new hobby among Korea’s millennials and Gen Z. Until recently, it was largely seen as a pastime for middle-aged and older people, requiring expensive equipment and specialized knowledge. But smartphones have made the activity accessible to almost anyone. With celebrities, including actress Kim Tae-ri, author Chung Se-rang and model Lee So-ra, sharing their interest in birdwatching, it has even gained a reputation as a trendy hobby. Taking off during COVID-19, with smartphones lowering the barrier to entry Content about birdwatching has recently proliferated on social media. On Instagram, posts tagged “birdwatching" number approximately 144,000, while those tagged “birdwatching records" and “birdwatching life” number around 17,000 and 14,000, respectively. A gro

Birdwatching takes off among young Koreans

Export push seeks to breathe new life into Korea's hollowed-out mining towns

Deep in the rugged, forested mountains of Gangwon Province, the hollowed-out shafts of abandoned anthracite mines stand as quiet monuments to Korea’s industrial birth. During their mid-20th-century heyday, these bustling towns fueled the nation’s postwar economic miracle, powering domestic hearths and heavy manufacturing alike. But as Korea’s energy needs shifted toward oil and gas in the 1980s, the region entered a long, steep decline. While a handful of major mines remained operational into the 2020s, the last state-run mine officially closed its shafts in mid-2025 — leaving behind steep valleys marked by demographic collapse and crumbling local economies. Now, trade officials and local leaders are trying a new approach to revive these quiet valleys: connecting their remaining small businesses directly to overseas markets. Rather than relying solely on local tourism or government aid, a national trade showcase last week in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, brought small-town entrepreneurs face-to-face with international buyers. At the center of the event was a targeted exhibition flo

Export push seeks to breathe new life into Korea's hollowed-out mining towns

Why Hong Kong should rethink premiums for private recreation clubs

Private recreation leases have a long and contentious history in Hong Kong. Complaints about the inequity of granting land leases to private clubs at a nominal premium for the exclusive enjoyment of a small number of members have been raised many times. This issue is increasingly pressing. Twenty-seven sites are involved and almost all the leases for these sites are set for renewal next year. In response to this perceived inequality, the government reviewed its policy for clubs with private...

Why Hong Kong should rethink premiums for private recreation clubs

Hong Kong private secondary sector expands as local universities’ reputation grows

The number of private secondary schools in Hong Kong has risen by more than half in five years as demand for alternative curricula grows and new operators seek to attract families drawn by the city’s highly ranked universities, education authorities and principals have said. Between 2021-22 and 2025-26, the number of private secondary institutions increased from 16 to 25, a jump of 56.3 per cent, Education Bureau figures show. Leaders at schools offering alternative curriculum pathways said that...

Hong Kong private secondary sector expands as local universities’ reputation grows

US-China strategic competition to keep escalating as world watches on, Rudd says

Kevin Rudd, president of the Asia Society and a former Australian prime minister, described US-China strategic competition as full-on and multidimensional at a Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics event on Friday. “There is a full-blown strategic competition under way in every dimension of national political power and influence, militarily, economically, trade and investment and technology, in foreign policy, in ideology,” said Rudd, a noted China scholar. “It’s across the world,...

US-China strategic competition to keep escalating as world watches on, Rudd says

US, allies and China vie for influence through Pacific security deals

Strategic competition between China and the US and its allies is intensifying across the Pacific islands, with both sides pursuing a growing range of security agreements to expand their influence, according to an interactive mapping tool released this week by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington think tank. The tool details 56 security arrangements among 14 Pacific island countries and the US, Australia, New Zealand, mainland China and Taiwan in a bid to map...

US, allies and China vie for influence through Pacific security deals

What will China’s fifth plenum mean for the root-and-branch corruption drive?

Plenary sessions of the Central Committee, the upper echelon of China’s ruling Communist Party, are major events on the country’s political calendar. In the third part of this series, William Zheng and Alcott Wei examine how the fight against corruption is shaping the party’s future. When China’s political elites gather for a key conclave in Beijing later this month, the increasingly empty auditorium will speak loudly to the event’s theme – the ruling Communist Party’s strict self-discipline and...

What will China’s fifth plenum mean for the root-and-branch corruption drive?

Zelensky hopes Beijing can use ‘influence’ over Moscow to help stop Ukraine war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Beijing has “influence” over Moscow it should use to stop the war in Ukraine, and that a proposed summit meeting of the US, Chinese and Russian leaders must not lead to the division of his war-torn country. Speaking virtually at an event hosted by Washington-based Hudson Institute think tank, Zelensky said he did not know what would be discussed at the potential meeting between US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and...

Zelensky hopes Beijing can use ‘influence’ over Moscow to help stop Ukraine war

Rocket debris hitting US homeland is ‘embarrassing’ for China, says astronomer

A scorched hunk of metal that turned up in a US farmer’s cornfield may have handed China an awkward moment and technically an “international incident”, according to a British astronomer who has tracked rocket launches for more than 30 years. The farmer found the bowl-shaped object, measuring about 3.35 metres (11 feet) across, while harvesting corn in west-central Minnesota on October 14. Online, some residents joked that aliens had landed, while Chinese internet users said it looked like a...

Rocket debris hitting US homeland is ‘embarrassing’ for China, says astronomer

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