A new chapter is unfolding in the futuristic "Blade Runner" universe.
Oct 12, 2026
When YouTuber Inevitable Yunhwa walked into North Korean restaurants in China, she spoke nothing but English, convinced she was passing as a foreigner, only to realize while editing the footage at home that she looked unmistakably South Korean and that the staff had most likely let her slide. Born in 1999, Yunhwa is a religious studies graduate who once planned to go to law school. Now, she runs one of the more unusual channels on the Korean side of YouTube. Since posting her first video in February 2024, she has drawn 570,000 subscribers as of Monday, not with "mukbangs" (eating broadcasts) or daily vlogs but with long, meticulously edited videos that take her into one-star motels and bars, villages run by religious groups with criminal histories and North Korean state-run restaurants. She insists she is not a journalist, yet her audience increasingly holds her to the standards of one, a tension that shapes nearly every decision she makes as she sets her sights on viewers beyond Korea. 6-month experiment The channel was never meant to last. Yunhwa had quit her office job to prepare for l
The U.S. Army has received its first South Korean-made mobile howitzer system as part of efforts to replace its aging artillery systems, a U.S. defense news outlet reported Monday. The Mobile Tactical Cannon (MTC), manufactured by Hanwha Defense USA, a U.S. subsidiary of South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace Co., was displayed at a U.S. Army event held in Washington earlier this month, Defense News reported, citing U.S. Army officials. "We're excited to have that and get ready to test it," Brig. Gen. Robert Mikesh Jr., the Army's portfolio management executive for offensive fires, was quoted as saying. "And get that soldier feedback, that we think is so important." In August, Hanwha Defense USA was selected to provide prototypes based on a wheeled variant of the bestselling K9 Thunder self-propelled artillery for the MTC program, which aims to develop a highly mobile 155 mm artillery system to replace the Army's aging M777 towed howitzers. The contract calls for the delivery of six MTC prototypes, with an option for an additional 12 systems, and has a cumulative value of up to $262.9 million, a
This year, the combined operating profits of Korea’s semiconductor companies are expected to soar well beyond 500 trillion won ($373 billion), reaching unprecedented levels. Some have likened this extraordinary performance to winning a lottery. But I see it differently. What we are witnessing today, I believe, is not a stroke of good fortune. Rather, it is the culmination of decades of perseverance, sacrifice and dedication. As Koreans know well, countless companies, engineers and technicians have worked since the 1970s to build the foundations of the nation’s semiconductor industry. After nearly half a century of accumulated effort, the seeds they planted are finally coming to fruition. A similar story of long-term commitment can be found in the rapid growth of international students choosing to study in Korea. In 2023, the Ministry of Education launched the Study Korea 300K Project, setting a goal of attracting 300,000 international students by 2027. That target has already been achieved ahead of schedule, with the number of international students in Korea surpassing 300,000 this
A group of Chinese officials are in the middle of a highly sensitive meeting involving critical decisions yet to be made behind closed doors, with documents stamped “classified” spread across the table. Suddenly, an invisible laser beams into the room, sweeping across a glass window and allowing the contents of the meeting to be transmitted elsewhere. China’s Ministry of State Security laid out this seemingly futuristic scenario six months ago, warning government departments and other entities...
MANILA, Philippines — No ticket holder won the ₱265.5-million Grand Lotto 6/55 jackpot or the ₱105.81-million Mega Lotto 6/45 jackpot in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) draws on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. The Grand Lotto 6/55 draw produced the winning combination 05-41-23-28-20-51, with a jackpot prize of ₱265.5 million. No bettor matched all six
MANILA, Philippines — Manila Water Company, Inc. (Manila Water) and Manila Water Philippine Ventures Cebu (MWPVC) have once again brought Philippine water utilities to the international energy stage, earning podium finishes at the ASEAN Energy Awards (AEA) 2026. Manila Water’s 2.5 MWp Solar Project, recognized as the largest consolidated solar installation in the Philippine water
Last month, Japan’s internal affairs ministry released its yearly data ahead of Respect for the Aged Day. People aged 65 and over now make up a record 29.6 per cent of the population. But the figure I keep coming back to was this: 9.43 million Japanese workers were 65 or older last year, about 13.8 per cent of everyone with a job. Members of Japan’s older population are not simply retired. A large part are still at work and some of those people are the ones businesses depend on. The Asia-Pacific...
MANILA, Philippines —Lawyer Alexander Cabrera, a forensic financial analyst, stood by his report on Monday identifying unreported financial transactions involving companies linked to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, as a case of “nonreporting” — not “supposed fraud,” as defense lawyer Kristine Ferrer described them. The transactions in question include a
LEGAZPI CITY — Local broadcaster Adrian “Golden Boy” Loterte died in a hospital shortly after 5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, after he was shot in Barangay San Roque, Daraga, Albay, prompting the town mayor and local media group to condemn the attack and demand a swift investigation. Loterte, an anchor for RBN News Television’s
MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division on Monday ordered the 90-day preventive suspension of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada over a plunder case involving alleged irregularities in P573 million worth of infrastructure projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for 2025. The five-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses, chair of the
MANILA, Philippines — Bangsamoro civic group AMANA BARMM has urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to meet Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim before the Bangsamoro Parliament opens on Oct. 30, saying the talks could help advance the decades-long peace process. In a statement on Monday, the group said a meeting between
KORONADAL CITY — Police are trying to identify those behind at least two tons of sodium cyanide, a highly poisonous chemical, worth P1.92 million, found in an abandoned truck in the coastal town of Maasim, Sarangani province. Maj. Herman Luna, chief of the Maasim Municipal Police Station, said the chemicals were packed in 32 sacks