A farmer harvests rice in a field in Gwangju on Oct. 6.YONHAP
It's Tuesday, and I'm back in the pilot's seat for this short week here in Korea. Yesterday was a public holiday, and so is Friday — which is just as well because this week so far has had some great weather!
Without further ado, here are the stories you need to know in Korea!
In today's news, Korean companies are trying out their digital currencies through overseas affiliates as the country's regulatory framework for stablecoins remains unfinished. In other stories, we explore the city of Ansan in Gyeonggi, which is home to around 100,000 foreigners from around the world. Meanwhile, Koreans are urged to prepare for cold mornings as the temperature is set to drop this week. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Today's top story
BUSINESS
Barred at home, Korea Inc. trials overseas stablecoin shortcut for faster cross-border payments
Barred from using stablecoins for corporate payments domestically, Korean companies are testing the digital currency abroad to cut cross-border transfer times from hours to minutes.
Stablecoin payments for goods and services from Korean companies totaled about $620 million from January 2021 through September 2026, according to data from New York-based blockchain data platform Allium, a sign that stablecoins are beginning to function as a new rail for corporate money movement
With Korea's regulatory framework for stablecoins still taking shape, companies are conducting these transactions offshore, using overseas affiliates to convert funds into U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins, make cross-border payments and convert the funds back into dollars.
Cold northwesterly air will keep temperatures near or below seasonal norms through Thursday, with a 15-degree Celsius daily swing across much of Korea.
![김정은, 중국방문 (평양 조선중앙통신=연합뉴스) 김정은 북한 국무위원장이 지난 24일 중국의 6·25전쟁 참전 기념일을 앞두고 랴오닝성 단둥을 방문해 북중 간 혈맹관계를 재확인하고 친선 계승 의지를 밝혔다고 조선중앙통신이 25일 보도했다. 2026.10.25 [국내에서만 사용가능. 재배포 금지. For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution] nkphoto@yna.co.kr/2026-10-25 08:15:26/](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/12936970.jpg?imageId=12936970&panox=0.00&panoy=0.83&panow=100.00&panoh=71.67&heightx=28.03&heighty=0.00&heightw=41.43&heighth=100.00&width=960&height=720&format=webp&format=jpg)
