Palace museum to host international meeting on heritage restoration

An international conference on the restoration of damaged cultural heritage will take place next week at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul. The conference entitled “Damaged Cultural Heritage of the World: Its Restoration and Future,” hosted by the state-run museum, will bring together government officials and experts on heritage from Korea, Japan and France. The Wednesday gathering will draw on the three countries’ shared experience in restoring and using cultural he

July 4, 2024

[Herald Interview] As pianist and now actor, Yoo Sun Hee bridges cultures

Acclaimed Italian director Nanni Moretti’s latest film, “A Brighter Tomorrow,” which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, features a Korean-Italian interpreter. The character is not just an interpreter of languages, but also a link across cultures, introducing for instance how to drink soju. Though it’s a small role, for pianist Yoo Sun Hee, who is expanding her artistic horizons by venturing into acting with this role, it signifies what she

July 3, 2024

Award-winning radio drama by Korean writer streaming on BBC World Service

Award-winning radio drama "Steady Eyes" by South Korean writer Kwon Hyuk-in, who also goes by her English name, Michaela Kwon, is available for streaming on the BBC World Service. The winning piece of the 28th International Radio Playwriting Competition, hosted biennially by BBC World Service and the British Council, premiered on June 16. The competition was held last October in two categories: English as a First Language and English as a Second Language. This is the first time a Korea

July 2, 2024

[Better Together] Lace up your running shoes and run Seoul together

GWACHEON, Gyeonggi Province -- An increasingly common evening sight at Seoul's Han River parks is groups of runners wearing glowing wrist bands. While some people choose to exercise alone, many Korean runners run together by joining “donghohoe,” a Korean term similar to club, whose members share similar interests and goals. Most of these running crews are area-based, gathering runners from nearby districts and running a fixed course. However, Seoul Ddimbak, a running crew formed

July 1, 2024

Talk Talk Korea contest invites global creators

The Ministry of Culture is launching its 11th annual Talk Talk Korea contest, inviting creators worldwide to share their unique vision of Korean culture. Running from June 28 to Aug. 31, this year's competition offers prizes ranging from cutting-edge tech gadgets to an immersive Korean adventure. Under the theme "Experience the essence of Korea," participants can showcase their creativity across five categories: promo videos, arts and crafts, motion graphics, photobooks, and the f

June 28, 2024

National Academy of Arts names 2024 award winners, new members

The National Academy of Arts, South Korea's premier artists society affiliated with the Culture Ministry, announced Thursday its annual roster of honorees, celebrating both venerated masters and emerging talents across the arts spectrum. The Academy's prestigious annual award, instituted in 1955 to honor lifelong artistic contributions, recognized four individuals who have left indelible marks on Korea’s cultural landscape. Each recipient receives a grant of 50 million won ($38,0

June 28, 2024

Folk museum to host international meeting on UN goals

An international conference will be held in Seoul next week to discuss advancing UN sustainable development goals to deliver by 2030, ranging from reducing inequality to promoting climate action. The Museums and the Sustainable Development Goals Towards 2030 gathering -- cohosted by the National Folk Museum of Korea and the International Council of Museums -- will bring together museum experts from 17 countries to look at the SDGs from five angles: partnership. people, planet, prosperity and pea

June 28, 2024

[Around the hotels] Promotions and packages

Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul unveils summer delicacies Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul, an urban oasis nestled on the slope of Seoul’s Namsan in central Seoul, presents the “Granum Cherry House” promotion with a menu overflowing with cherries to celebrate summer at Granum. The food promotion includes cherries with corn, cherries and burrata cheese, lamb ribs and cherry salsa, cherries with chicken tortillas and much more. Guests can enjoy a main dish – bone-in stripl

June 28, 2024

[Well-curated] Treat yourself to tequila, multisensory art and rich desserts

Jose Cuervo pop-up store If you are with friends and family at Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, southwest Seoul, this weekend, stop by the shopping complex’s latest pop-up store, featuring tequila brand Jose Cuervo. Located on the first floor of Lotte World Tower, the Jose Cuervo pop-up store offers a gastronomic experience for visitors to take a sneak peek into Mexican culture and its famous tequila. The pop-up store invites visitors on a tour of the world’s oldest tequila distiller

June 28, 2024

[Herald Interview] Brand expert Kim Cheon-soo on elevating Korean culture in NY

NEW YORK -- The official opening of the Korean Center in New York on Thursday marks a significant milestone, years after the land for a larger center was purchased in 2009. It also coincides with Korean culture enjoying the global spotlight. The center houses the Korean Cultural Center, the Korea Tourism Organization, the Korea Creative Content Agency and the King Sejong Institute. After Los Angeles, Shanghai, Tokyo, Beijing and Paris, it is the sixth such place where institutions promoting Ko

June 27, 2024

Shifts in energy, technology, philosophy discussed at Global Business Forum

How diverse resources – energy, the humanities and artificial intelligence – enrich our lives and how people and the world could evolve and develop in a positive way were topics discussed at the Global Business Forum held in Seoul on Wednesday. The forum was organized by the Herald Media Group. Jeff Robinson, ambassador of Australia to the Republic of Korea, who arrived in Seoul in January, stressed that Australia’s clean energy resources are a perfect match for Korea’s c

June 27, 2024

Outdoor concert returns to Olympic Park with top-notch lineup

The Credia Park Concert, the first full-scale outdoor classical music concert launched in Korea in 2010, returns in September after five years, running from Sept. 6 to 8 at the Olympic Park 88 Garden in southeastern Seoul. The concert on Sept. 6, titled "Forest of Music," features pianist Yuhki Kuramoto, violinist Danny Koo and Fortena, a group of four tenors along with Korea Coop Orchestra led by Kim Sung-zin. On the second day of the Park Concert, "Disney in Concert” will

June 27, 2024

New type of Silla tomb discovered in Gyeongju

Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery in the ancient capital of the Silla Kingdom (57 BC-AD 935) that challenges long-held assumptions about early Korean burial practices. The Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage announced Wednesday that two newly excavated tombs in the Jjoksaem district of Gyeongju represent a previously unknown burial type for the era. Gyeongju is known for its numerous ancient royal tombs and exquisite artifacts. Jjoksaem, where Silla’

June 26, 2024

42 years in the making, monumental Buddhist encyclopedia completed

In May 1982, Ven. Jikwan, then 50 years old, knelt in prayer at Gyeongguksa, a Buddhist temple nestled in the foothills of Seoul's Bukhan Mountain. The monk, dean of Buddhist studies at Korea’s largest Buddhist university and highly respected for his scholarly demeanor, had a grand ambition: make Buddhism’s extensive history accessible to ordinary people, in plain Korean. "After all these years, I begin to write an encyclopedia," he prayed. "May the eight guardian

June 26, 2024

Black's unchallenged reign in Korean wardrobes confirmed in poll

In South Korean wardrobes, one color dominates: black. The timeless hue continues its reign as the most popular clothing color among Koreans, maintaining its top spot for 20 years now, according to a recent poll by Gallup Korea. In the poll of 1,777 Korean nationals aged 13 or older, 34 percent of male and 17 percent of female respondents named it their top choice. The preference for black was most solid among men in their teens to 30s, with nearly 40 percent choosing it as their favorite colo

June 26, 2024

Police investigate knife attack threats against NewJeans

A recent online post threatening knife attacks against popular K-pop girl group NewJeans is being investigated by police, Ador, the group's agency, confirmed Wednesday. "We are preparing to enhance security measures (for NewJeans) in cooperation with the Japanese concert planning company. Police are investigating the matter domestically, and we are actively cooperating with them," Ador said. The threat was made on a local online community site Monday. "I bought this to use at

June 26, 2024

Winners of CICI's New Korea Ideas competition revealed

A proposal inspired by the aesthetic beauty of Hangeul won the top prize in a competition of new ideas to represent Korea, organized by the Corea Image Communication Institute as part of its 15th Culture Communication Forum, held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, Monday. Also at the event, an AI-generated image of a Korean person wearing a blend of traditional and modern clothing won the grand prize in the Korea Image Created by AI Contest. The winners were selected through online voting by the forum pa

June 25, 2024

Amid high demand for Korean learning, 18 new King Sejong Institutes designated

Eighteen new King Sejong Institutes will officially open in 15 countries next year, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and King Sejong Institute Foundation announced Monday. With the new additions, Korean language and culture classes will now be offered at 256 locations in 88 countries worldwide. This year, 97 institutions from 40 countries applied to be selected to host King Sejong Institutes, demonstrating enthusiasm for learning Korean and marking the highest competition ratio of 5.4

June 24, 2024

French musical 'Holidays' featuring Madonna's hits kicks off Daegu musical fest

DAGEU - The Daegu International Musical Festival opened its 18th edition Friday, with the Korean premiere of “Holidays,” a French jukebox musical based on Madonna's hit songs, at Daegu Opera House. “We invited ‘Holidays’ as the opening performance because Madonna is truly a legendary pop star and the musical based on her music would resonate deeply with Korean audience,” Bae Sung-hyuck, executive director of the DIMF, told reporters during a press confere

June 23, 2024

Digital platform for Korean heritage launched

An online platform for access to digitized works of art at institutions including museums and libraries has been officially launched, the National Library of Korea said Friday. The “Korean Memory” website, host to some 260,000 works -- from books to photographs to music clips -- from 122 institutions, marks the latest push by the government to make “nationally important” data available to the public. “With the advent of artificial intelligence, we need more high-qua

June 23, 2024