'The Sound of Magic' lands at No. 4 on global Netflix chart

Netflix’s new Korean fantasy series, “The Sound of Magic,” made a successful debut on the platform, soaring to No. 4 on the service’s global top 10 chart. The musical drama ranked seventh on Netflix’s global chart as of Saturday, a day after its release, before climbing up to land at the fourth slot on Sunday, according to data released by streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol. “The Sound of Magic,” helmed by director Kim Seong-yoon who was behind hit w

TelevisionMay 9, 2022

[Newsmaker] Kim Ji-ha, poet, beacon of democracy and controversy

Famed poet Kim Ji-ha, who died on Sunday at the age of 81, left behind a legacy of decades-long battles against the military dictatorship, followed by disputes later in life. Kim died at 4 p.m. at his home in Wonju, Gangwon Province, after suffering from an unspecified illness for the past year, the Toji Cultural Foundation said on behalf of the bereaved family. He passed away “peacefully, after holding each of their hands and smiling,” it added. The foundation, which supports K

PeopleMay 9, 2022

Star-studded lineup marks return of Beautiful Mint Life

Beautiful Mint Life 2022, an annual outdoor indie music festival, will take place from Friday through Sunday at the Olympic Park’s 88 Jandi Madang in southeastern Seoul. This year’s Beautiful Mint Life was originally planned as a two-day event, but additional performances have been scheduled for Friday on huge demand for stage performances amid the eased quarantine measures. The tickets for Saturday and Sunday sold out in just five minutes, according to the festival organizer Mint

PerformanceMay 9, 2022

'Doctor Strange 2' tops 3m admissions in first week

Hollywood blockbuster "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" has topped a cumulative 3 million admissions at the fastest pace in the pandemic era, box-office data showed Monday. The latest Marvel Studios' flick attracted 1.7 million people from Friday to Sunday, bringing its combined total to 3.5 million, according to the data by the Korea Film Council. It surpassed the 3 million threshold Saturday, the fourth day of its theatrical release, becoming the sixth film to achieve the

FilmMay 9, 2022

Art Busan to feature exhibitions, conversations with art professionals

Art Busan, one of South Korea’s major art fairs, will kick off on Thursday with its VVIP opening featuring conversations with leading art professionals and exhibitions of works from world-renowned artists. The art fair will run through Sunday at the Bexco Exhibition Center in Busan. The four-day event will include works of 133 galleries in 21 countries including Gray -- a gallery based in Chicago and New York that represents David Hockney, Alex Katz and Jaume Plensa -- and is among the

Arts & DesignMay 9, 2022

Kim Ji-ha, poet and democracy activist, dies at 81

Renowned poet Kim Ji-ha, a dissident figure who spoke out against the military dictatorship of the 1960s and ‘70s, died Sunday at the age of 81. Kim had been suffering from an unspecified illness for the past year before he passed away at his home in Wonju, Gangwon Province, according to the Toji Cultural Foundation. The foundation, which supports Korean writers and scholars, was named after the novel “Toji” written by the late Park Kyong-ni, who was also Kim’s mother-i

PeopleMay 8, 2022

NFT 101: Gangdong Arts Center seeks to educate public on NFT art

“Digital Era NFT Art 101,“ an exhibition that aims to bring emerging nonfungible token projects to the public, is being held through May 29 at Gangdong Arts Center in Seoul. Some 70 artists are participating in the exhibition, alongside conferences and educational programs on NFT art that are being held. The NFT art exhibition is co-organized by Gangdong Arts Center, which is run by the Gangdong Cultural Foundation, and ArtToken, a Seoul-based digital art platform. The show spans

Arts & DesignMay 8, 2022

[Newsmaker] Iconic Korean movie star Kang Soo-youn dies at 55

Kang Soo-youn, the iconic Korean movie star who brought home the nation’s first acting award from the Venice film festival, died on Saturday at the age of 55. The tragic news came two days after she was taken to hospital on Thursday for a cardiac arrest. Kang died of a cerebral hemorrhage at 3 p.m. at a hospital in southern Seoul, her family said. Kang’s funeral committee is led by Kim Dong-ho, founder of the Busan International Film Festival and the current Gangneung Internatio

FilmMay 8, 2022

[Photo News] Carnations for Parent’s Day

On the afternoon of Friday, just two days before Parent’s Day, a flower shop at Namdaemun Market in Jung-gu, Seoul, is crowded with people buying carnation flowers as a gift for their parents. Parents’ Day in South Korea was established in 1973, replacing the Mother‘s Day previously marked on May 8, and includes diverse public and private celebrations. In South Korea, Koreans seek to honor their parents by gifting them carnations. It is a practice in Korea for students to pr

CultureMay 7, 2022

[Herald Interview] Studying traditional Korean food: An art of patience and endless questions

The fame of “K-food” was not built in a day. Korean cuisine, an important component of the country’s soft power along with K-pop and K-dramas that have a relatively short history, dates back centuries, with written records of it going back to the Three Kingdoms period (57 BC–AD 668). In metropolitan cities, fine dining restaurants that serve ornate contemporary Korean cuisines and small eateries with bite-sized Korean snacks are easy to find. However, places that serv

FoodMay 7, 2022

[Photo News] Celebrating the Birth of Buddha

On the morning of Friday, two days before the anniversary of Buddha’s birth, Buddhists perfume the image of Buddha as part of a ceremony to commemorate the baby Buddha’s arrival at Jogyesa Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Buddhists chant prayers under colorful lanterns. Buddhists chant prayers under colorful lanterns. Officials of Jogyesa Temple put name tags under colorful lanterns as Buddhists and their families watch. Buddhists pray as they walk around the tower. Buddhists perform

CultureMay 7, 2022

[Visual History of Korea] Reaching enlightenment, perfection of wisdom through Chamseon

Koreans celebrate the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, better known in Korea as Shakyamuni Buddha, on Chopail, a public holiday on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, which falls on May 8 this year. Some of life’s questions for humanity have always been “Who am I?” and “Where am I going?” In Korean Buddhism, Chamseon, which means participating in Seon meditation, the goal is to reach enlightenment. “You must know who you are first, before you know where y

CultureMay 7, 2022

[Holly’s Korean Kitchen] Bibimbap, Korean rice bowl with beef and vegetables

Classic bibimbap, made with an array of vegetables, beef, and the savory bibimbap sauce, represents the best of Korean food. The colorful display of vegetables makes this world-famous Korean mixed rice dish a wholesome and healthy meal. This bibimbap recipe can become vegetarian or vegan if you omit the beef and egg. Once you have had a bibimbap experience, you’ll be hooked. And you can totally make a scrumptious Korean bibimbap at home with this easy bibimbap recipe. The recipe serves

FoodMay 7, 2022

'Squid Game,' director Ryoo of ‘Mogadishu’ win grand prizes at Baeksang Arts Awards

The Netflix sensation “Squid Game” and director Ryoo Seung-wan of the period action thriller “Mogadishu” have won grand prizes at this year‘s Baeksang Arts Awards. The Netflix’s South Korean original series and Ryoo were honored respectively in the TV and film categories during the 58th awards ceremony at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, on Friday night. The advances made by the streaming service‘s original

TelevisionMay 7, 2022

Wanju beckons with beautiful nature, traditions

WANJU, North Jeolla Province -- With the lifting of the outdoor mask mandate, festivals and cultural events around the country are starting to liven up again. Wanju, some three hours’ drive south of Seoul, is a small county in North Jeolla Province almost entirely surrounded by the famous hanok city Jeonju. It is a quiet serene county which recently became popular as a “BTS’ healing spot” and “BTS pilgrimage” site. In late April, the air in Wanju was warm a

TravelMay 7, 2022

Baeksang Arts Awards to return with streaming contents

The 58th Baeksang Arts Awards is set to kick off on Friday at the Kintex exhibition hall in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. Honoring outstanding domestic entertainment productions in television, film and theater between April 12 last year and March 31 this year, the awards ceremony returns to fans and spectators face-to-face at the country’s largest convention center. The Friday event is considered the biggest awards ceremony since the government’s lifting of most pandemic-related regul

TelevisionMay 6, 2022

Two Korean female directors in 20s win top prizes at Jeonju IFF

Canadian nature documentary “Geographies of Solitude” has won the Grand Prize in the international competition section at this year’s Jeonju International Film Festival. The feature debut by Jacquelyn Mills was among the 20 winners announced by the 23rd Jeonju IFF organizing committee Thursday. The festival comes to an end Saturday after a 10-day run. “Geographies of Solitude” is about Zoe Lucas, an environmentalist who has been cataloging the flora and fauna of

FilmMay 6, 2022

[Scholars and their Spaces] Sowing the seeds of Korean Neo-Confucianism, Yi Saek and Munheonsewon

“Sitting in a well, looking at the sky and saying it is a small sky.” This great saying comes from the impressive story of how Yi Saek overpowered the Chinese who ignored him because he came from a small Korean kingdom called Goryeo and because of his poor Chinese skills. This writing shows Yi’s profound learning of Chinese literature and masterful writing as well as Korea’s neo-Confucian identity. In fact, he was such a great writer that he was tasked with reviewing

CultureMay 6, 2022

[Newsmaker] Fans and film industry send prayers to actor Kang Soo-youn

Korean movie stars, directors and fans are praying for Kang Soo-youn’s recovery after the veteran actor was taken to a hospital with cardiac arrest on Thursday. According to a Gangnam Severance Hospital official, the actor remains unconscious while detailed information is yet to be announced. Director Yeon Sang-ho, who is scheduled to make his Netflix return with Kang in an upcoming sci-fi film “Jung_E,” was shocked to hear about the actor. “I was really surprised when

FilmMay 6, 2022

'Doctor Strange 2' dominates S. Korean box office on Children's Day

Hollywood blockbuster "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" garnered a 2 1/2-year high of over 1 million moviegoers on Children's Day, data showed Friday. Marvel Studios' latest superhero movie drew 1.06 million viewers on Thursday alone, accounting for 82.5 percent of the day's total ticket sales at local theaters, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. It is the first time that a flick has topped the 1 million mark in attendance on one day since Nov. 30, 2019, wh

FilmMay 6, 2022