Want to drive a high-speed train? Take the controls at CIIE 2026
The new Audi A6 flagship sedan makes its strongest impression through a firm, planted ride that balances sharp handling with long-distance comfort. After a seven-year wait for a full redesign, the German automaker’s flagship combustion-engine sedan returns with a clearer sense of purpose, positioning itself between BMW’s agility and Mercedes-Benz’s emphasis on ride comfort. Driving the A6 45 TFSI quattro S-line across Seoul’s urban streets and surrounding highways over three days, covering about 300 kilometers, the sedan felt more than composed and reassuring at speed without sacrificing everyday usability. The first thing that stood out was how firmly the car held the road. Its suspension absorbed bumps without allowing the body to feel loose or unsettled, while steering inputs translated into predictable movements. The ride was noticeably taut, giving the sedan a sporting character without making it excessively harsh. Rather than chasing the razor-sharp responsiveness associated with BMW or the softer isolation favored by Mercedes-Benz, Audi has found a middle ground that shoul
Helped by the artificial intelligence-led (AI) chip supercycle, Samsung Electronics is poised to become the first Korean company with cash assets of over 200 trillion won ($146.6 billion), industry data showed Sunday. Cash and cash equivalents at the chip giant are estimated to have reached 214.8 trillion won as of the third quarter, up 24.8 trillion won from 190 trillion won recorded three months earlier, according to the data. The amount is also nearly double from the 108.5 trillion won recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2025. Total assets owned by the company reached 791.8 trillion won as of end-September, up 32.4 trillion won from three months earlier. Market watchers estimate Samsung's current cash assets are enough to fully fund the top-line payout in its landmark shareholder return policy announced in August. The chip behemoth said about 90 trillion won to 110 trillion won will be available for shareholder returns in 2026. Investments into chipmaking infrastructure and research and development are expected to reach a historic high of over 100 trillion won this year, too, w
Eight drag queens actively performing in Seoul are gearing up to compete for the inaugural title of Miss Femme Supreme 2026 at the first-ever Korea Drag Pageant. The event was created to celebrate artistic excellence in drag performance, connect Korean performers with the international drag community and contribute to the growth and visibility of drag culture in Korea. "At the heart of it, I want someone who has dreamed of becoming a pageant queen to have a real opportunity to pursue that dream here in Korea," said Leah Taylor, the founder of Korea Drag Pageant, an independent organization dedicated to developing professional drag pageantry in Korea through competitions, educational initiatives and international collaboration. "I want the contestants to feel that their work has been taken seriously and that they have a stage worthy of their preparation and ambition. For audiences, I hope the event offers a fuller understanding of the performance, fashion, craftsmanship and dedication involved in drag." Her ambitions with the pageant are also looking further into the future. "I also hope t
Kim Sung-hong, a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Seoul, delivered a keynote address at the 2026 Korea Architecture Symposium at Harvard University last month. The University of Seoul said KoreaGSD, a Korean student organization at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, hosted the symposium under the theme “+82+82: From Independence to Acceleration” on Oct. 17. The event was organized to examine how Korean society has adopted, tested and transformed architectural and urban institutions and forms over the past eight decades, using speed as a framework for exploration. The symposium brought together theorists, architects and researchers working in Korea and abroad to reassess contemporary Korean architecture and explore its potential for transformation. In his address, titled “Contextualizing Korean Architecture,” Kim examined contemporary Korean architecture in its historical and social context, focusing on how rapid social change has shaped the country’s urban and architectural landscape. The lecture drew on his book, “Seoul Urban Architecture
The number of children entering elementary schools in Korea is expected to fall below 300,000 for the first time next year amid the country's low birth rate, data showed Sunday. The number of first graders, born in 2020, entering elementary school for the 2027 academic year, is expected to fall short of 300,000, just three years after dropping below the 400,000 mark, according to data compiled by the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) and the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI). The decline comes as only 272,337 babies were born in 2020, down 10 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. A total of 301,442 students enrolled as elementary school freshmen this year, barely surpassing the 300,000 mark and marking the lowest level since 1964, when the ministry began compiling related data. The figure is expected to fall further next year to roughly one-fourth of the 1.05 million recorded in 1968. The shrinking school-age population has raised concerns over school closures, particularly in rural areas, and a widening education gap bet
The government is reportedly reviewing plans to expand the label-free mandate for domestically produced drinking water to include bottled water brands imported from overseas, officials said Sunday. The plan was discussed in a recent meeting with importers of foreign-produced bottled water, according to the officials from the environment ministry. The meeting was a routine consultation with industry officials, and the ministry is still undecided on whether to apply the mandate to offshore brands, they added. Korea has required all bottled water produced and sold domestically to be label-free starting early this year, replacing physical labels with QR codes on bottle caps and external packaging. The mandate is expected to reduce the country's annual plastic usage by 2,270 metric tons, according to the ministry of climate, energy and environment. Bottled water produced overseas, however, is excluded from the mandate and is sold with traditional labels. Domestic producers have raised equity concerns, arguing that competing products in the same market should be subject to the same standards. As
Jeonbuk National University’s Department of Environmental Engineering ranked No. 1 among regional flagship national universities in Korea in both the U.S. News and QS global university rankings released this year. The university said Friday that the rankings reflect the department's international research competitiveness. The department ranked 137th globally (tied) and fifth nationally in environmental engineering in the 2026-2027 U.S. News Best Global Universities Rankings, climbing 29 places from the previous year. It also maintained its fifth-place national ranking and No. 1 position among regional flagship national universities for the third consecutive year. In the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject for environmental sciences, the department placed in the 251-300 band globally and tied for eighth nationally, earning the highest ranking among Korea’s regional flagship national universities. U.S. News places emphasis on research indicators, including publication volume, citation impact, the proportion of highly cited papers and international research collaboration. QS, me
A Kookmin University research team has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that predicts the properties of mixtures based on the proportions of their chemical components. The university said Thursday that the team was led by Joung Joon-young, a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the university’s Graduate School. The team included Kim Ji-hwan, a student in the university’s integrated master’s and doctoral program, and Kim Chan-joong, an undergraduate student. The findings were published in the Chemical Engineering Journal under the title “Encoding composition-dependent intermolecular interactions into learned molecular representations.” Most chemical products people encounter in everyday life are mixtures of multiple substances rather than single compounds. Common examples include industrial solvents, electrolytes in batteries, automotive fuels, and cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations. The properties of a mixture depend not only on which substances it contains but also on the proportions in which they are combined. These changes, however, do not necessar
Hong Kong must focus on the “practical work” of building a safe and convenient environment and reassurring the international community amid criticism of its legal system, the justice minister has said, after 10 countries issued a joint statement decrying the latest jail sentence on opposition activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung. “It is inevitable that their criticism will continue… Political realities have to be dealt with, but I do not think we should allow them to distract us from our focus,”...
Hong Kong is forging deeper ties with the mainland across artificial intelligence (AI), aviation and professional services, industry insiders at China’s global import expo have said. Tech executives and accounting veterans discussed how to leverage Hong Kong’s strategic position, such as through the Northern Metropolis megaproject near the mainland Chinese border, while the city’s flag carrier introduced its refrigerated sea logistics link to Dongguan, Guangdong province. These were signs of a...
Africa is home to ancient cities, rock art and striking natural landscapes, yet its sites are sorely under-represented on Unesco’s World Heritage List. According to data released by the UN body, of the 1,273 sites on the list – which are formally protected under the World Heritage Convention treaty – just 115 are in Africa. But as Beijing seeks closer cultural ties with the continent, it is offering help to change this through funding, guidance on how to navigate the nomination process and...
This article was first published on November 9, 2006. Margaret Chan wins WHO race in coup for China, HK by Mary Ann Benitez Hong Kong’s former director of health Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun made history yesterday (November 8, 2006) when she was nominated World Health Organisation director-general in a resounding victory that saw her lead all the way in four rounds of voting. Dr Chan, 59, is expected to be endorsed today by the 193-member World Health Assembly, making her the first Chinese to lead...
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