This is going to be pretty awesome once it is built. California could only dream of building something like this:
The government has completed the development of core technologies for a next-generation high-speed train capable of operating at 370 kilometers per hour, making it the world’s second-fastest in terms of commercial operating speed, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday.
The train, named EMU-370, has a technically designed maximum speed of 407 kph. Developed under a national research and development program led by the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) with participation from seven public and private organizations, the project ran from April 2022 to December 2025.
A total of 22.5 billion won ($15.23 million) was invested in the project, including 18 billion won from the government and 4.5 billion won from private firms.
The government plans to begin manufacturing the first EMU-370 vehicles next year and conduct test operations in 2030, with commercialization expected after 2031. Once deployed, the EMU-370 would rank second globally in commercial operating speed, following China’s CR450, which is undergoing tests at 400 kph ahead of its planned commercial launch in 2027. Major high-speed trains in France, Germany and Japan currently operate at around 320 kph.
Compared with Korea’s current fastest train, the EMU-320, known as KTX-Cheongyong, the EMU-370 features a 47.4 percent higher motor output, 12.3 percent lower air resistance, a 33 percent reduction in horizontal vibration acceleration and a 2-decibel decrease in indoor noise. The train will seat 479 passengers and has a motor capacity of 560 kilowatts, equivalent to the combined output of 75 midsize sedans.
You can read more at the link.
President Lee’s approval rating may be trending downward, but it is still very high for a Korean President:
President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating slightly fell to 53.4 percent last week, a survey showed Monday, amid mixed public responses over the livestreaming of his policy briefings from government ministries.
The survey by Realmeter showed the positive assessment of Lee’s overall performance dropped 0.9 percentage point from the previous week to 53.4 percent, while the negative evaluation rose 0.7 percentage point to 42.2 percent.
You can read more at the link.
I can understand why tourism in Jeju is spiking. The K-drama when Life Gives You Tangerines is really good and beautifully filmed on Jeju island:
Foreign tourism to Jeju Island jumped this year, fueled by the global popularity of a Netflix K-drama filmed on the island and a growing appetite for travel beyond South Korea’s major cities.
Jeju Island alone recorded a 17.5 percent year-on-year increase in overseas visitors, driven in part by interest in the series set there. Promotional efforts tied to the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, along with local government tourism initiatives, have also helped boost visits to other regions.
According to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute on Sunday, the share of foreign tourists who visited Jeju among all visitors to Korea rose for three consecutive quarters this year, reaching 8.9 percent in the first quarter, 9.0 percent in the second and 10.5 percent in the third.
The third-quarter figure marked a 0.6 percentage point increase from 9.9 percent during the same period last year.
The Jeju Provincial Government largely attributed the growth to global attention surrounding “When Life Gives You Tangerines.”
You can read more at the link.
In the U.S. the activists would claim this is cruel and the person should be allowed to stay because it was just minor crimes. It is good to see the ROK is upholding their immigration laws:
A Seoul court has upheld an earlier decision by the justice ministry to deny naturalization to a foreign national over his past criminal record.
According to legal sources Sunday, the Seoul Administrative Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the foreigner, who had sought to overturn the ministry’s rejection of his naturalization application.
The applicant, whose nationality was not disclosed, had applied for a South Korean passport after marrying a South Korean citizen. After the couple divorced, the legal basis for his application changed, and the ministry rejected the request, citing his criminal record.
The ministry ruled that the person failed to meet the “good conduct” requirement under the Nationality Act. The foreigner was once referred to juvenile protection proceedings for aggravated theft and was also fined for driving without a license.
You can read more at the link.
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