East Asia

KonohaFest, scheduled for 3 and 4 October in a suburb of the city, was targeted. Stalls, games, food and anime character costumes were shut down early. A fundamentalist group vandalised stalls and attacked participants, including families. The government has remained silent.

Starting today, every Monday, AsiaNews will feature voices, stories, and in-depth reports to explore, step by step, the South Korea that will welcome young people for World Youth Day (WYD) next August. The perspective will be one of “memory and hope” focused on the mission, an approach suggested today by Pope Leo XIV to South Korean priests and religious sisters living in Rome.

On 7 October in Milan, an evening event with Father Franco Mella will explore the parable of a metropolis deprived of its freedom in the name of “national security”. Meanwhile, following his conviction for organising vigils in memory of Tiananmen, trade unionist Lee Cheuk-yan has been transferred to the isolated Hei Ling Chau prison, with restrictions on visits.

President Lee Jae-myung wants to provide all of South Korea's 51 million people with free, unlimited access to an AI assistant powered by domestic models. The initiative aligns with the state-business collaboration model that has underpinned the country’s development, but it has to contend with the massive costs of the necessary infrastructure.

Government forces have launched heavy raids on rebel positions in Sana’a, Saada, and Taiz. Yesterday, Riyadh accused the Houthis of attacking Madinah, which they deny. The Wall Street Journal reports Beijing is helping the Houthis with dual-use (civilian and military) goods. Yemen’s healthcare system is at the point of collapse.

A survey promoted by the Fondazione Intercultura found that 45 per cent of teenagers are interested in a period of study in China. It also gathered the impressions of those who have already done so, suggesting a positive view of relationships and culture, and excellent professional benefits. Yet, there is also a greater awareness of the country as it really is, beyond the myth of its technological prowess.

The school, which has been seeking a permanent home for twenty years, is facing protests from residents of Gangseo. Arrivals from the North are at their lowest level in recent years, but due to tensions following the mine explosions and the transfer of two North Korean soldiers from Ukraine, Seoul is struggling to reopen dialogue with Pyongyang.

The leader of the Early Rain Covenant Church is reportedly suffering from liver cancer. His family, who have long been denied prison visits, have received no official news. Despite summits between Trump and Xi, China is intensifying its crackdown on believers and prominent figures within Protestant communities.

The forum held in Seoul offered the five countries in the region not only access to high-tech products, but also opportunities to overcome the limitations of their economies. For its part, South Korea is looking not only at reserves of critical minerals but also at the Trans-Caspian corridor. The volume of investment has already risen to 20 billion dollars.

The row between South Korea and Ukraine over the transfer of two North Korean soldiers captured in January 2025 is intensifying. For Seoul confidentiality was breached, which Kyiv strongly denies. In the background, Seoul is trying to resume dialogue with Pyongyang.

Grappling with collapsing real estate revenues, local governments are delaying payments to businesses, which is reverberating along the supply chain to small suppliers. Beijing is trying to contain the problem but, without new resources, there is a risk of simply shifting losses from one entity to another.

For this year's World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo XIV focused on the situation of migrant children. A South Korean Catholic weekly heeded the call, focusing on the issue of children unregistered at birth because they are foreign, consequently deprived of essential rights like healthcare and education.