A South Korean court has ordered gaming tycoon Kwon Hyuk-bin to pay his ex-wife 2.55tr won ($1.87bn; £1.38bn) in assets, marking the largest divorce settlement in the country’s history. Kwon, who founded South Korea’s third-largest video game company Smilegate, is one of the country’s richest men. Bloomberg puts his net worth at $3bn. Smilegate was
Russia and North Korea opened the first road bridge across their narrow stretch of border Monday, creating a new physical link between the two countries as they expand cooperation. North Korea only shares a 17-kilometer (10.5-mile) border with Russia, a tiny part of its porous northern border that stretches more than 1,400 kilometers (870 miles)
The first road bridge linking Russia and North Korea has opened, allowing the two countries to more easily move cargo and passengers between their border across the Tumen river. Pyongyang state media said the bridge will be used for “personnel exchanges, tourism and trade”. But Ukrainian OSINT group Truth Hounds said the bridge is intended
A South Korean police officer has admitted to closing missing persons cases without investigating them in order to avoid additional work, according to authorities. The officer, surnamed Bu, was arrested earlier this month after he was accused of prematurely closing cases on the popular holiday island Jeju and lying to missing persons’ families. Amid mounting
The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has unveiled a 13-film Japanese Animation Special program, marking the first Korea visit in 17 years for animation master Rintaro alongside four next-generation directors. Billed as a Special Program in Focus, the lineup puts a spotlight on Japan’s animation history across a full century, mixing formative classics with
“The Odyssey” held onto the top spot at the South Korean box office during the weekend of Aug. 28–30. According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the Christopher Nolan-directed tentpole generated $8.7 million from 1,058,642 admissions over the three-day frame across 2,071 screens, capturing 64.7% of total weekend
