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"Dreams belong not to those who merely wish for them, but to those who do not give up until the very end."

- Those who set their minds to something eventually change the world. - If one does not set their mind to something, nothing in the world can be accomplished.)

UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | Today, we live in an era where artificial intelligence (AI) replaces human jobs and technology changes day by day. While the world is becoming increasingly fast-paced, people's minds are swayed even more easily. An increasing number of people are becoming discouraged even by the slightest failure, comparing themselves to others, and losing their way. At times like these, there is a saying we must recall once again: '有志者事竟成' (Yujijasa Gyeongseong). It means that those who have a will will eventually achieve it. The essence of this six-character idiom lies not in success, but in 'will' (志). Making a lot of money is not the will, nor is rising to a high position. The person who truly sets his/her mind is the one who knows why their life exists and what they are living for. In Buddhism, this is called 'Balshim' (發心). Once one awakens a righteous mind, that mind becomes practice, practice becomes a habit, and a habit eventually becomes the power to change one's life. Even a high mountain cannot be climbed without the first step, and the deep ocean is formed by the gathering of small water droplets. Great success is not a miracle that arrives suddenly one day, but the fruit of countless ordinary days achieved through perseverance. The great figures, artisans, artists, and entrepreneurs whom we respect were not special from the start. They challenged themselves once more when others gave up, rose again every time they fell, and silently endured the unseen passage of time. The world remembers only the results, but their true strength lay in their unwavering determination. The same is true for how South Korea has blossomed K-Culture in the global arena. Countless artists and artisans have silently walked their own paths to bring K-Folk Painting, K-Graphy, K-Hanbok (traditional Korean costume), K-Music, and K-Food to the love of people around the world. It is because they had the will to preserve their roots rather than chasing trends that today's culture resonates with people worldwide. What our society truly needs is not someone with dazzling talent, but someone who upholds their principles. When there are more people who keep their promises, fulfill their responsibilities, prioritize the community, and do not turn a blind eye to neighbors in need, the society becomes warmer and the nation stronger. Those with a purpose do not fear failure. This is because they accept failure not as an end, but as a learning experience. Just as a tree that endures a storm takes deeper roots, those who overcome trials become greater individuals. Damhwa Chongsa always wishes to say the following: "Purpose is not given by heaven, but established by oneself." Some spend their time blaming their circumstances, while others create new paths from the same spot. History has always remembered the latter ones. Today, I want to convey this one message to those who are silently walking toward their dreams: "It is okay to go slowly. Just do not stop." To those who do not cease their steps, time becomes the most reliable friend, sincerity becomes the strongest weapon, and patience brings forth the most beautiful flowers. Where there is a will, there is a way. Those who set their minds to it will eventually achieve it. Accumulating small things leads to great things. The tip of the brush begins with a single stroke, and culture begins with the will of one person. I pray that your single step today will become the history of tomorrow. Photo Caption: Lee Jon-young, Publisher and Chairman of this Magazine (Diplomacny)
Samsung Electronics Stock Slides 6% Despite Record Q2 Earnings, Analysts Cite Classic "Sell-on-News" Pattern

Samsung posted a 1,810% year-on-year surge in operating profit for Q2 2026, but shares fell sharply as institutional investors locked in gains — analysts say fundamentals remain intact heading into the second half.

UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | Samsung Electronics posted record-breaking second-quarter earnings on Monday that far exceeded market expectations, yet the announcement triggered an immediate sell-off that sent the company's stock down more than 6 percent — a divergence analysts are attributing to profit-taking rather than any deterioration in the company's underlying business. The South Korean technology giant disclosed preliminary consolidated results for the April–June 2026 quarter showing revenue of 171 trillion won and an operating profit of 89.4 trillion won. While revenue came in marginally below the market consensus of approximately 172.2 trillion won, the operating profit figure represented a record quarterly high and a staggering 1,810 percent increase from the same period a year earlier — roughly a nineteen-fold rise year-on-year. Quarter-on-quarter, revenue climbed 27.74 percent and operating profit grew 56.21 percent compared to the first quarter of 2026. Analysts attributed the earnings surge primarily to the convergence of two forces: a global wave of investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure that has driven sustained demand for advanced memory chips, and a broader recovery in the semiconductor market following a prolonged period of suppressed demand. A Textbook "Sell-on-News" Reaction The sharp stock price decline that followed the announcement caught some retail investors off guard, but financial industry professionals were less surprised. Experts characterized the move as a classic "sell-on-news" pattern, in which institutional and foreign investors who had accumulated positions in anticipation of strong results opted to exit once the figures were officially confirmed. Smart money had been pricing in a strong quarter well ahead of the disclosure, driving the stock up considerably through the first half of the year. Once the anticipated numbers were in the market, large-scale profit-taking by institutional players — who determined that short-term momentum had run its course — produced the correction seen at Monday's open. "This is not a damage to corporate value," one financial investment industry analyst noted, "but a typical sell-on-news market. Excessive concern should be avoided." Second-Half Outlook: AI Supercycle Seen Sustaining Demand Looking beyond the short-term price movement, analysts broadly expect Samsung Electronics' earnings trajectory in the second half of 2026 to remain robust, underpinned by continued structural demand from the AI industry. The Device Solutions division — Samsung's semiconductor arm and the primary engine of its recent earnings recovery — is expected to benefit from sustained data center investment globally. Of particular significance is the High Bandwidth Memory market, where Samsung is competing for expanded share in a segment that commands premium pricing and where AI-driven demand continues to grow. Analysts anticipate simultaneous gains in both the high-value-added HBM segment and general-purpose memory, pointing to qualitative as well as quantitative growth in the division's performance. Eyes on the Earnings Call Samsung Electronics' preliminary figures, released in accordance with Korean International Financial Reporting Standards, are set to be followed by a full earnings conference call at which company management will address investor questions submitted in advance. Market participants will be watching closely for second-half earnings guidance and clarity on strategic priorities — particularly around HBM capacity and AI memory positioning. Analysts suggest that transparent and substantive responses at the conference call could serve as a catalyst for a recovery in investor sentiment. The broader consensus among industry observers is that once the current wave of profit-taking is absorbed, the stock is likely to re-establish upward momentum grounded in the company's demonstrated profit-generating capability — a quarterly operating profit of 89.4 trillion won that, by any measure, represents a formidable financial result.
Artist Kim Jae-Seon wins the Grand Award of the Minister of Culture, Sports & Tourism

At the 29th World Peace Art Exhibition on July 29

UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | Artist Kim Jae-Seon won the much-coveted Grand Award offered by the Minister of Culture, Sports & Tourism on July 29 this year. There were over 1,200 entries from 30 countries abroad; masterpieces born amidst unprecedented competition. Award Winner Kim's "Eight-Panel Folding Screen of the Banquet at the Waterfall" was selected for the Grand Prize which also offers an awarded 3 million won in prize money. There also were Artists Bae Jeong-hee, Yang Bo-kyung and Oh Yoon-kyung who were selected for the Seoul Mayor's Award (Grand Prize by Category) which awards 1 million won to each winner. The prize-awarding ceremony was held at the Korea Art Museum in Insa-dong on July 29 where the winning works are exhibited until August 3. The Steering Committee Member Kim Yong-mo received the National Assembly Speaker's Award in recognition of contributions made to the development of culture and arts. The Organizing Committee of the World Peace Art Exhibition completed the judging for the 29th World Peace Art Exhibition and announced the results via its official website. This year's competition received over 1,200 entries from cultural and artistic figures in 30 different countries of the world, recording the highest level of competition in its history. The judging process was conducted fairly and rigorously, with authoritative professional judges in each field comprehensively evaluating the quality of the work, creativity, artistry and completeness. The prestigious Grand Prize (Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award) was awarded to Artist Kim Jae-seon for his eight-panel folding screen depicting the 'Yojiyeondo' (Painting of the Banquet at the Jade Pond). The work was selected for the top award in recognition of its outstanding artistry, which reinterpreted the beauty of traditional folk painting with a modern sensibility, as well as the splendid composition and delicate brushwork of 'Yojiyeondo,' a painting symbolizing the ideal world of the East. Grand Prize Winners by Category (Mayor of Seoul Award): Outstanding works representing each field were selected for the Grand Prizes in each category. They included: Western Painting Category: 'Autumn Reminiscence' by Bae Jeong-hee, K-Folk Painting Category: 'Wedding Cushion Painting of Princess Buk-on' by Oh Yun-kyung' and K-Graphy Category: 'Hebrews 11:6' by Yang Bo-kyung These three works received the highest honor in their respective categories, recognized for their original expressiveness, high level of completeness, and artistic merit. In addition, Steering Committee Member Kim Yong-bo was honored with the National Assembly Speaker’s Award in recognition of his contributions to the development of the World Peace Art Exhibition and the promotion of culture and arts. This World Peace Art Exhibition is regarded as an international cultural and artistic festival that showcases the present and future of the Korean art, bringing together works of various genres such as K-Minhwa (folk art painting), K-Graphy, Western painting, Korean painting, literati painting, photography, and AI art. An official from the Organizing Committee stated, "All 1,200 entries demonstrated a high standard, making the judging process more challenging than ever," and added: "We deeply appreciate the passion and effort of all the artists who submitted their works, regardless of whether they won an award." The winning works will be exhibited at the Korea Art Museum in Insa-dong, Seoul, from July 29 to August 3, and the awarding ceremony will be held on Wednesday, July 29, at 2:00 PM on the second floor of the Korea Art Museum. Schedule of the 29th World Peace Art Exhibition: Announcement of the judging results of the 29th World Peace Art Exhibition: Artwork delivery: From 11:00 AM on July 28, 2026 (Tue) 2nd Floor, Korea Art Museum, Insa-dong Awarding ceremony: From 2:00 PM on July 29, 2026 (Wed) At the 2nd Floor, Korea Art Museum, Insa-dong, Seoul Exhibition period: From July 29, 2026 (Wed) ~ August 3, 2026 (Mon) Artwork retrieval: From 3:00 PM on August 3, 2026 (Mon) 2nd Floor, Korea Art Museum, Insa-dong Special Note: Artwork delivery, the awards ceremony, the exhibition, and artwork removal will all take place on the 2nd Floor of the Korea Art Museum, Insa-dong.

Uzbekistan and Belarus Strengthen Tourism Partnership Amid Record Visitor Growth

Sustained institutional cooperation, joint promotional efforts, and a broadening tourism offer are driving steady growth in travel between the two countries.

UNJournal Jon Lee | Uzbekistan and Belarus are deepening their tourism partnership at a time when Uzbekistan is recording some of the fastest international visitor growth in the world, with both countries moving beyond simple tourist exchanges toward a more structured, institutionally grounded relationship. According to the UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer, Uzbekistan ranked among the top five countries globally for international tourism growth in the first quarter of 2026, with inbound visitor numbers rising 37 percent year-on-year against a global average of just 2 percent. The country welcomed a record 11.7 million foreign tourists in 2025, and more than 5.3 million had already visited in the first five months of 2026 alone. Officials attribute the momentum to an expanding visa-free regime, infrastructure investment, modernized tourism services, and more active international promotion. Against this backdrop, cooperation with Belarus has taken on increasing structure and consistency. A Framework Built Over Several Years The foundation for the current relationship was laid during official talks between President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan and Belarusian leadership in February 2024, which produced a set of programmatic agreements on tourism cooperation. Those accords have since been followed by concrete institutional activity. A significant early milestone was the First Tourism Forum "Belarus and Uzbekistan," held in 2024, which brought together government officials, tourism industry representatives, and educational institutions from both countries to identify new areas for joint development. The forum established a platform for professional dialogue that has continued through subsequent events. In 2025, both countries maintained active presence at each other's trade exhibitions. Uzbekistan participated in the "OTDYKH-2025" tourism fair in Minsk and the Third Women Entrepreneurs Business Forum in Vitebsk, while Belarus was represented at the 30th Tashkent International Tourism Fair "Tourism on the Silk Road." Media, Digital Promotion, and Business Contacts Beyond formal intergovernmental channels, cooperation has expanded into media and digital promotion. Reciprocal press tours have brought Belarusian and Uzbek journalists and television crews to both countries in recent years, generating sustained coverage of each nation's tourism potential in domestic media. Promotional video content about Uzbekistan has also been screened on LED displays at the Galleria Minsk shopping center, broadening the country's visibility among Belarusian audiences. Contacts between tourism companies, hospitality businesses, and educational institutions have also intensified over the same period. Visitor Numbers on the Rise The results are increasingly visible in the statistics. More than 32,000 Belarusian citizens visited Uzbekistan in 2025. The upward trend has continued into 2026, with 14,251 Belarusian tourists arriving in the first five months of the year, compared to 12,988 during the same period in 2025. Part of the growing interest from Belarusian travelers reflects a broader transformation in what Uzbekistan offers as a destination. The country, once associated primarily with the historic cities of the ancient Silk Road, has diversified its tourism portfolio considerably. Cultural and heritage routes are now complemented by gastronomic, ecological, pilgrimage, event, and mountain tourism — a range that enables Uzbekistan to attract new categories of visitors and encourage repeat travel. Partnership as a Long-Term Model Officials and industry observers on both sides describe the Uzbekistan–Belarus tourism relationship as an example of how state-level commitment, business engagement, and genuine public interest can combine to produce durable bilateral cooperation. As both countries continue to develop their tourism offerings, that partnership is expected to deepen further, contributing to economic growth and strengthening ties between the two nations' people.

Cheongmok Kim Hwang-gyeong, holder of the title of the Seoul Metropolitan City Intangible Cultural Heritage Lacquerware

- Exhibition at the 1st Floor of the Seoul Intangible Cultural Heritage Education Exhibition Center from June 24 to July 18 - Reviving Royal Court Masterpieces from Changdeokgung Palace's Heojeongdang Hall with Lacquer - A new milestone for Korean traditional lacquer painting

UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | A special exhibition by Cheongmok Kim Hwang-gyeong, the holder of Seoul Metropolitan City Intangible Cultural Heritage Lacquerware (Lacquer Painting), will be held from June 24 to July 18 on the 1st floor of the Seoul Intangible Cultural Heritage Education Exhibition Center. This special exhibition showcases various lacquer paintings, including a large-scale 400-size work that recreates "Geumgang-san Manmul Choseunggyeong Do," a representative royal court painting from Changdeokgung Palace's Heojeongdang Hall, using traditional lacquer techniques. In particular, the reproduction of the "Geumgang-san Manmul Choseunggyeong Do" is receiving significant attention from the Korean traditional art world, being evaluated as a masterpiece that combines the majestic dignity of court painting with the deep colors and delicate expressiveness of traditional lacquer. This exhibition is expected to be a meaningful opportunity to directly experience the craftsmanship of Cheongmok Kim Hwang-gyeong, a holder of the Seoul Metropolitan City Intangible Cultural Heritage of Lacquerware (Lacquer Painting), and the artistic value of Korean lacquer culture. This work is a reinterpretation of the "Geumgang-san Manmul Choseunggyeong Do," which majestically adorns the Heojeongdang Hall in the Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul, using modern traditional lacquer painting techniques. It is being praised as a masterpiece that simultaneously demonstrates the value of our cultural heritage and the beauty of lacquer art. The "Geumgang-san Manmul Choseunggyeong Do" is a representative work of court landscape painting that realistically depicts the breathtaking scenery of Manmulsang in Mt. Geumgang. The strangely shaped rocks and valleys filling the screen, along with the leisurely flowing clouds and mist, gorges, and waterfalls, capture the majestic spirit of Mt. Geumgang. This is a symbolic work created to allow the appreciation of the nation's famous mountain even within the palace walls. Master Cheongmok Kim Hwang-gyeong has dedicated decades to researching traditional lacquerware and lacquer painting, establishing himself as a leading artisan representing Korean lacquer art. This reproduction also utilizes traditional raw lacquer and natural pigments to bring out the deep luster and colors characteristic of lacquerware, while expressing Mt. Geumgang's grand mountain range and the flow of clouds with delicate brushstrokes. In particular, the colossal scale, reaching 400-ho (a traditional Korean unit of measurement), boasts an overwhelming scale rarely seen in ordinary paintings. The entire canvas is composed of a single, massive Mt. Geumgang, designed to create a sense of spatial depth that makes viewers feel as if they are gazing at the actual Manmulsaeng. Lacquerware is not merely a coloring technique. As a representative traditional technique of the Korean people passed down for thousands of years, it is a living art material that acquires deeper colors and a subtle luster as time passes. Re-painting Mount Geumgang on this lacquer is not merely a reproduction, but can be described as a cultural practice that carries the vitality of Korean traditional culture into the present era. The cultural community regards this work as a prime example of the convergence of court painting and National Intangible Heritage techniques. It is seen as presenting a new model for the modern inheritance of our cultural heritage by combining the historicity of Heojeongdang Hall in Changdeokgung Palace with the traditional techniques of Chiljang (lacquer painting), a Seoul Metropolitan City Intangible Heritage. Master Cheongmok Kim Hwang-gyeong stated, "Tradition is not merely to be preserved; it must be revived through today's technology and spirit," and added, "I hope that our lacquer culture and court painting will establish themselves as important assets of K-culture in the world." Experts anticipate that this work, a representative piece demonstrating the potential for the fusion of Korean traditional painting and lacquer art, will become valuable cultural content that promotes the excellence of Korean culture and art through future exhibitions both domestically and internationally. The "Geumgang-san Manmul Choseunggyeong Do" is regarded as a new milestone in Korean traditional art, going beyond a mere restoration of a masterpiece to harmonize the spirit of court painting, traditional lacquer painting, and modern artisans into one.

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Samsung Electronics Stock Slides 6% Despite Record Q2 Earnings, Analysts Cite Classic "Sell-on-News" Pattern

UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | Samsung Electronics posted record-breaking second-quarter earnings on Monday that far exceeded market expectations, yet the announcement triggered an immediate sell-off that sent the company's stock down more than 6 percent — a divergence analysts are attributing to profit-taking rather than any deterioration in the company's underlying business. The South Korean technology giant disclosed preliminary consolidated results for the April–June 2026 quarter showing revenue of 171 trillion won and an operating profit of 89.4 trillion won. While revenue came in marginally be

ArtsㅡCulture

"Dreams belong not to those who merely wish for them, but to those who do not give up until the very end."

UNJournal Lee Sung Jun | Today, we live in an era where artificial intelligence (AI) replaces human jobs and technology changes day by day. While the world is becoming increasingly fast-paced, people's minds are swayed even more easily. An increasing number of people are becoming discouraged even by the slightest failure, comparing themselves to others, and losing their way. At times like these, there is a saying we must recall once again: '有志者事竟成' (Yujijasa Gyeongseong). It means that those who have a will will eventually achieve it. The essence of this six-character idiom lies not in success

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Address: Doosan We've Pavilion 1203, Sambong-ro 81, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Date of first registration: Founded in 1996 as UN News, discontinued in 2009
Registration No.: Jongno Ra00610
Registration Date: Reissued on Sept. 18, 2023
Publisher: Damwha Media Group Chairman Lee Jon-young
Editor in Chief: Lee Jon-young/ Vice Chairman: Chung Bo-won/Standing Advisor Lee Keon-chan | Senior Editorial Writer Ko Jae-hwe/ Cultural Editor Lee Joon-seok/ Political Editor: Kayla Lee
Phone number: 02-3417-1010 | 02-396-5757
E-Mail: djournal3417@gmail.com

UPDATE: 2026년 07월 12일 20시 31분