Traditional hair washing A woman from abroad has her hair washed with water boiled with iris leaves during an event at the National Folk Museum in Seoul on June 17, 2026, to celebrate the traditional Korean holiday “Dano,” or the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar that falls on June 19. Washing hair in iris water is one of the main Dano rituals, believed to add shine to the hair. (Yonhap)
Protesters over ballot shortageP rotesters shout slogans as they continue to stage a rally in front of the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium, used as a vote-counting facility, in Seoul’s Songpa Ward on June 17, 2026, over an unprecedented shortage of ballot papers that disrupted voting in the June 3 local elections at 26 polling stations. (Yonhap)
S. Korea-Italy summit talks in Rome South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (L) holds talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on June 12, 2026. (Yonhap)
Xi pays tribute to fallen Chinese soldiers in Pyongyang
Chinese President Xi Jinping places a wreath at the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang on June 9, 2026, in this photo released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. Xi’s visit to the tower, which commemorates Chinese soldiers who died while fighting for the North in the 1950-53 Korean War, came one day after he held summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, agreeing to put the two nations’ friendly relations “on a more solid basis” and expand cooperation in politics, economy, culture and other fields. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
Ahead of World Cup People take a photo in front of a structure symbolizing South Korea in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico, on June 7, 2026. South Korea are scheduled to play two of their three Group A matches in Guadalajara, a city about 1,500 meters above sea level. (Yonhap)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (4th from R) observes the naval destroyer Kang Kon’s sea trials on June 4, 2026, after the vessel begins operational capability evaluation tests, according to footage aired by Korean Central Television (KCTV) on June 6. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
Nvidia CEO Huang arrives in S. Korea U.S. chip giant Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang speaks to reporters upon arrival at Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center in western Seoul on June 5, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
N.K. leader meets women’s football club North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C, in black) meets with players of the country’s Naegohyang Women’s FC, the winner of the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Champions League in May, at the Central Cadres Training School of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang on June 1, 2026, during a friendly match between Naegohyang and the country’s U-17 women’s football team to mark the 80th founding anniversary of the party’s prestigious political school, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (Yonhap)
Public apology for ballot shortage in local elections Heo Cheol-hoon, secretary general of the National Election Commission, issues a public apology after a shortage of ballot papers prompted the temporary suspension of voting in the local elections on June 3, 2026, at some polling stations in southern Seoul. (Yonhap)