Ballet Festival Korea returns despite lack of funding

The 12th edition of Ballet Festival Korea will be held with 26 performances in June, the organizing committee said Tuesday, with Seoul Arts Center as the co-organizer. Under the theme of “Open Up the New Ordinary Days,” the festival will showcase old and new ballet productions by both established and emerging dancers from June 9-29. Some of the highlights include the opening performance, “Ahn Jung-geun, a Dance in the Heaven,” a 2015 production by M Ballet Company,

PerformanceMay 24, 2022

Mnet to launch dance programs to promote globalization of ‘K-dance’

South Korean cable music channel Mnet will launch a series of dance programs throughout the year to pave the way for globalizing “K-dance” with the producers of last year’s hit dance competition show “Street Woman Fighter.” Starting with “Be Mbitious,” which is slated to air at 10:20 p.m. on Tuesdays, the cable channel is planning on broadcasting “Anybody Can Dance” and “Street Man Fighter,” the programs’ producers said in

TelevisionMay 24, 2022

‘The Roundup’ director on overcoming hardships while filming in Vietnam amid COVID-19

For “The Roundup” director Lee Sang-yong, filming a movie amid the COVID-19 pandemic was an experience he will not until the day he dies. “We visited Vietnam for the first time in September 2019. We searched for locations to shoot the film and also finished casting Vietnamese actors. We planned to start shooting there at the end of February 2020. So a week before that, part of our team went to Vietnam. Actor So Suk-ku was also there, but we soon heard from the consulate that

FilmMay 24, 2022

Sample Joseon royal cuisine at Gyeongbokgung

The Cultural Heritage Administration and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation are jointly hosting “Invitation to Gyeongbokgung’s Kitchen” at the Sojubang complex of Gyeongbokgung from June 8-20. Visitors can choose between the Saenggwabang and Sikdorak programs. The Saenggwabang program includes a live performance of gugak, Korean traditional music, playing in the background during the meal. The Sikdorak program offers detailed explanations of royal cuisine and drinks giv

CultureMay 24, 2022

What next for Cheong Wa Dae?

Cheong Wa Dae is unlikely to be designated a state-registered historic site, but it could be listed as a cultural heritage site, according to a Cultural Heritage Administration official. “We are conjecturing that steps can be taken to list it as a cultural heritage site,” the official told The Korea Herald on May 10, the day of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s inauguration and the opening of the former presidential office to the public. Yoon relocated the presidential office from C

CultureMay 24, 2022

Park Chan-wook returns to Cannes with romance 'Decision to Leave'

CANNES -- South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook has said that his latest Cannes-competing feature "Decision to Leave" is a precocious romance that is not as intense as his previous revenge-themed works, like "Oldboy" (2003), but is one that he really wanted to make. "Decision to Leave," which premiered at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on Monday (French time) as one of the in-competition films of the festival, is about a police detective who falls in love with a woman s

FilmMay 24, 2022

Gurzenich Orchester Koln returns to Korea with Clara-Jumi Kang

Gurzenich Orchester Koln will be performing in South Korea for the first time in five years, this time with violinist Clara-Jumi Kang as the soloist, according to production company Vincero. Led by conductor Francois-Xavier Roth who has helmed the orchestra since 2015, the 195-year-old orchestra will perform at Seoul Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on July 8. Outside of Seoul, the team will bring the same program to Andong Culture and Arts Center in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province on July 7. Th

PerformanceMay 24, 2022

[Herald Interview] Composer Paul Chihara on new viola concerto inspired by Arirang and Richard Yongjae O‘Neill

On Thursday and Friday, beloved violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill performed with his usual gusto for Korean audiences. Under the baton of music director and conductor Osmo Vanska, O’Neill and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra performed Sibelius’ Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63. What made these concerts particularly significant was his rendition of Paul Chihara’s “Concerto for Viola and Orchestra: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Hero.” The piece was uniq

PerformanceMay 24, 2022

Paramount+ to launch Korean service on Tving platform next month

Paramount +, a US streaming service owned by Paramount Global, will begin its service in South Korea through local streamer Tving on June 16, Tving said Tuesday. It said the new American service will become available on its platform to all its subscribers without extra charge. South Korea will be the first Asian country where Paramount+ is serviced. The streaming service is currently available in the United States, Canada, Latin America, northern European countries and Australia, and is expected

TelevisionMay 24, 2022

Exotic desserts attract sweet tooths in Seoul

A craving for sweet foods and hunger for exploring new flavors are diversifying Seoul’s dessert cafe scene. From British Cornish pasties to Turkey’s traditional milk cream “kaymak,” here are three dessert cafes that reporters of The Korea Herald visited to help you expand your taste palate. Meet Turkish version of clotted cream It was around 1 p.m. on Thursday afternoon and a group of people -- mostly young women -- were lining up in front of a Turkish ba

CultureMay 23, 2022

[Land of Squid Game] Kkakdugi culture

When children get together to play, it is inevitable that there is one child who is the least skilled or younger than the rest -- especially if a younger sibling has followed their brother or sister out to play. Typically, these children are picked last to play on a team, or they could be left out altogether if there are an odd number of players for a game that calls for equal numbers. Korean children have developed a way to include those who could be left out when picks have been made. The

CultureMay 23, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘Millennials’ preference for experiences fuels luxury fashion market’

South Korea is rising in the ranks of the luxury market’s agenda, propelled by consumers’ pent-up desire to purchase high-end fashion goods as pandemic lockdowns are lifted and the country takes steps to return to normalcy. While many choose to buy high-end fashion items both offline and online, some prefer to rent them at much cheaper prices. To meet this demand, an increasing number of local companies have enrolled in rental services. “We have built an ecosystem of luxury to

Arts & DesignMay 23, 2022

Blue House state reception hall, media center open for public viewing

Two buildings of Cheong Wa Dae -- Yeongbingwan, the state reception hall, and Chunchugwan, the media center -- are now open for public viewing. The two buildings at the former presidential office opened to the public starting Monday, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration. The CHA has set up a Cheong Wa Dae Public Open Service Team to operate tours, manage and maintain the Cheong Wa Dae grounds and buildings. Stepping into Yeongbingwan, visitors can learn about the history of the

CultureMay 23, 2022

’The Roundup’ sells more than 3.55m tickets within a week

“The Roundup,” the sequel to the hit crime film “The Outlaws” (2017), sold more than 3.55 million tickets in the first week of its release, according to the Korean Film Council. It surpassed Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (2022), which sold 3,497,393 tickets during the first seven days of the film’s release. The sequel to the 2017 hit Korean comedy topped the local box office over the weekend -- from Friday to Sunday --

FilmMay 23, 2022

Colombia to participate in Seoul book fair as guest of honor

Colombia will participate in the 2022 Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF) next month as the guest of honor to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and the South American country, the event's organizers said Monday. This year's SIBF, the country's biggest annual book fair, will kick off on June 1 for a five-day run at the Convention and Exhibition Center in southern Seoul under the theme of "One Small Step." The Korean Publishers Associ

CultureMay 23, 2022

Quirks of Korean dating explained (6) Negative views of unmarried cohabitation

They say love is universal, but when it comes to dating culture, Korea has a different love language, according to five international couples that The Korea Herald interviewed. From love ‘confessions’ to matching outfits, here are some dating norms that set Korea apart. –- Ed. In some Western countries, moving in together is considered an important step for a couple trying to take their relationship to the next level. But in Korea, an unmarried couple living together is tab

CultureMay 23, 2022

[Subway Stories] Royal tombs along subway lines

The following is part of Seoul Subway Stories, a Korea Herald series exploring the city’s subway stations and surrounding areas. -- Ed. On a subway map of Seoul, some stations have names that end in the same Korean letter, romanized as “reung,” or “neung.”  Signifying the burial mounds of kings and queens, the stations are where the royal mausoleums from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) lie, a reminder of Seoul’s long history as the capital city. 

TravelMay 23, 2022

[Feature] Broadcast, content creators present school violence as inexcusable

School violence has become one of the hottest topics in the Korean entertainment industry in recent years. Accusations of past school bullying by K-pop artists and actors have made headlines and led to some celebrities exiting the industry and affecting the TV shows in which they were involved. Now, an increasing number of TV dramas, films and talk shows are depicting physical altercations in schools in a more serious, grave tone in an attempt to raise alarm about the gravity and preponderanc

TelevisionMay 22, 2022

Director Cha Bong-joo creates ‘Good Morning’ after watching documentary about hospice center

Director Cha Bong-joo said he created his debut feature “Good Morning” after he watched a documentary about patients at a hospice center. “As I was working on the script, I watched a documentary about a hospice center and there was one person who grabbed my attention,” Cha said at a press conference at CGV Yongsan on Thursday. “I found out that he did not have much time left, but he looked so bright and it made me shed tears. I wanted my character Soo-mi to feel

FilmMay 22, 2022

[Visual History of Korea] Silla nachimban, a true north-pointing compass for navigating the seas

In Korea’s long history of seafaring, ancient seafarers mastered navigating the open seas when they finally deciphered the secrets of the direction of the magnetic north. Conquering the seas has defined great empires in history as seen in the Baekje Empire (18 BC-AD 660)’s prominent presence surrounding the West Sea (officially known as the Yellow Sea) and its sailors’ reach into lands where elephants and monkeys roam. “One of the reasons why Baekje dominated the open s

CultureMay 21, 2022