K-wave AI News

Hello and welcome to your AI guide to the latest cultural updates from Korea.

Here's our top story.

The opening ceremony for the "2025–2026 Korea-China-Japan Year of Cultural Exchange" has taken place in Tokyo, marking the start of an initiative aimed at deepening cultural cooperation between the three neighboring countries.

Korea's First Vice Culture Minister Yong Ho-seong pledged to expand trilateral cultural exchanges and work toward establishing East Asia as a global cultural hub. His Japanese counterpart, Atsushi Nonaka, highlighted that the initiative is important not only for cultural collaboration but also for strengthening broader Korea-China-Japan relations.

Korea will lead several key exchange programs, including joint musical performances, a friendly Go tournament, and a youth artist exchange exhibition.

The Ulsan 'Taehwagang Maduhee Festival,' known as Korea's first major summer festival, has been rescheduled to June 13 to 15. That's to avoid overlapping with early voting for the snap presidential election, set for May 29 and 30.

Held under the tagline "Escape the Ordinary, Dive into Taehwagang," the festival will take place in Ulsan's downtown and along the Taehwagang River. More than 40 programs are planned, including a large-scale tug-of-war, diverse river activities, a marketplace, and a reenactment of a traditional parade. This year's festival will offer expanded river-centered attractions, including hydro-flying water shows and other aerial aquatic performances.

Jeju Island has unveiled its cruise industry promotion plan for this year. The plan aims to boost the island's cruise tourism sector by capitalizing on the increased number of cruise calls and a new semi-homeport operation set to be launched in May. Gangjeong Port in Jeju is set to become Korea's first semi-home port for cruise ships starting next month.

The plan outlines detailed measures to induce longer stays and greater spending by cruise passengers as part of efforts to revamp the domestic economy. A total of 6.8 billion won, or around 4.8 million US dollars, will be invested across five key projects to support the initiative.

Jeju Island's cruise market has shown steady growth, with more than 300 cruise calls and up to 800,000 visitors expected this year.

That's all from me. Keep it tuned to the Kulture Wave.