Lifestyles of the rich and the famous: why do we care

Just after midnight on Tuesday, YouTuber Song Ji-ah -- better known for her channel name FreeZia -- posted a public apology for the recent controversy surrounding her wearing fake designer label clothes and accessories in her videos and on TV. It was after nearly a fortnight of criticism, which on the surface seems like a disproportionate amount of fuss over something far from being important. She wore some fake items, so what? That’s not a state crime. What lies behind the anger, howeve

CultureJan. 27, 2022

[Herald Interview] Korea’s first professor for influencers: Find your own attractiveness and they will follow you

Self-assessment of one‘s attractive qualities is a critical step to becoming a successful influencer, according to Ryo Chu-hyeop, a 36-year old YouTuber and South Korea’s first professor of “influencer affairs.” In order to make other people follow you online, aspiring influencers need to ruminate on their own ideas and thoughts and what kind of attributes they have to attract others. “Attractiveness does not necessarily mean (physical) beauty. It can be somet

PeopleJan. 26, 2022

Supporting artists on top of the agenda at Seoul arts foundation

The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture unveiled plans to build a stronger support system for artists impacted by the lingering pandemic. Under this year’s slogan, “Together with art, standing beside citizens,” the SFAC announced its three top items on the agenda and 10 action plans of the year at a press conference at the SFAC Daehangno Center, Wednesday. The three items call for diversifying support policies for artists, vitalizing cultural programs for Seoul residents a

CultureJan. 26, 2022

Bringing KBS Symphony Orchestra to world stage: Pietari Inkinen shares his vision

Pietari Inkinen, the 9th music director of the KBS Symphony Orchestra, said Wednesday that he hopes to take the helm of the orchestra’s development into a leading Asian orchestra. The 42-year-old conductor who officially kicked off his three-year term in January 2022 and has many plans in mind, ranging from more frequent concerts to a music academy for children. “During the upcoming seasons, I‘d like to increase the number of concerts held across the country, to go and meet

PerformanceJan. 26, 2022

[Feature] What do you know about Korean zombies?

From their bloody makeup to bone-breaking motions, the zombies in Korean films and drama series have been satisfying viewers’ lust for the zombie apocalypse. But zombies were never the favored choice for films and drama series at first, as local horror fans were much more drawn to evil-possessed characters or ghosts. However, the spine-tingling zombies in horror-thriller “Train to Busan” (2016) and Netflix’s “Kingdom” (2019) have changed all that, with the

FilmJan. 26, 2022

Korean Theater Association urges government aid amid COVID-19

The Korean Theater Association on Tuesday released a statement to urge the government to give assistance to local theaters that have been suffering since COVID-19 broke out two years ago. The Korean Theater Association’s members include the top three local multiplex operators -- CGV, Lotte Cinema and Megabox. “We have been complaining about the financial difficulties caused by the pandemic and asked for support for the survival of our film industry, but we have not received any c

FilmJan. 25, 2022

MMCA to remain open over Lunar New Year holiday, with free exhibitions

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea will operate all four of its locations over the Lunar New Year holiday from Monday through Wednesday, offering exhibitions free of charge. The Seoul branch will be closed on Tuesday, or Lunar New Year’s day. The exhibitions on view are “Ai Weiwei: Defend the Future” at its Seoul branch; “To the World Through Art, Highlights of MMCA Global Art Collection from the 1980s-1990s” at the Cheongju branch; “

Arts & DesignJan. 25, 2022

Women’s sport shows to take Korean TV spotlight

Korean TV broadcasters are set to launch female-led sports shows in the coming weeks, hoping to attract viewers that have grown tired of stories and formats featuring male athletes and TV personalities who have long dominated entertainment programs in the genre. Terrestrial broadcaster MBC is scheduled to premiere the pilot program “Curling Queens” during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, or also known as Seollal. The show will present celebrities from four different fields --

TelevisionJan. 25, 2022

ASEAN youths pick S. Korea as most trustworthy country: survey

Young adults of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states picked South Korea as the most trustworthy country among all of the countries around the globe, a survey showed Tuesday. The ASEAN-Korea Centre conducted the survey of 1,800 young people in nine ASEAN nations, excluding Myanmar, 500 young people from 10 ASEAN countries living in South Korea and 100 Korean young people between August and September of last year. The participants were between the ages of 19 and 34.

CultureJan. 25, 2022

Scandal-ridden Song Ji-ah from Netflix’s ‘Single’s Inferno’ halts activities

Song Ji-ah, a contestant on Netflix’s latest hit reality dating show “Single’s Inferno,” has decided to halt all public activities amid continued controversy over wearing counterfeit luxury fashion items. Song, who is also known as YouTuber FreeZia, uploaded an apology video on YouTube, Tuesday, admitting her misbehaviors. At the same time, she took down all the other videos on her YouTube channel and made her Instagram account private, saying she is taking the time to

TelevisionJan. 25, 2022

[Herald Interview] Bringing Korean content to the world

In the six months since Kwak Hyo-hwan took the helm of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea , there have been swift changes at the 26-year-old institution, according to staff. Over the last half-year, Kwak has established a new vision for the organization‘s future, believing that the LTI Korea has a bigger role to play, not only for Korean literature but also in making other Korean content popular internationally. His goals for the organization include transforming it into a comp

CultureJan. 25, 2022

'Squid Game,' BTS music video nominated for US ADG Awards

Global TV sensation "Squid Game" and the music video for "My Universe," a collaborative single between BTS and British rock band Coldplay, have been nominated for the 26th annual US Art Directors Guild (ADG) Awards. The ADG on Monday (US time) announced nominations for this year's awards show, which will return to a live ceremony on March 5 in Los Angeles. The ADG Awards honor excellence in production design in theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, music vide

TelevisionJan. 25, 2022

SeMA to open Art Archives Seoul Museum of Art, host sculptor Chung Seo-young show during Frieze Seoul period

Seoul Museum of Art –- an art museum operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government –- will focus on integration in operating its eight art entities scattered across Seoul, as it looks forward to expand to 10 by 2024 with the opening of three additional art entities. They are: Art Archives Seoul Museum of Art, Seo-Seoul Museum of Art and Seoul Museum of Photography. Art Archives Seoul Museum of Art will open in August in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. It will hold and manage the museum

Arts & DesignJan. 25, 2022

K-content industry sets another export record in 2020 at $11.92 billion

South Korean contents enjoyed robust demand overseas in 2020, defying the overall decline in exports and tepid growth in the domestic market, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism data showed on Monday. A 2021 research study on the cultural content industry which encompasses 11 sub-areas showed that the exports in 2020 jumped 16.3 percent to $11.92 billion from the previous year. “Exports of cultural contents have been setting a new record each year, but this time it is worth n

CultureJan. 24, 2022

[Herald Interview] Veteran actor, journalist join hands to create political documentary

Veteran actor Kim Eui-sung and journalist Choo Chin-woo’s political documentary about the monthslong candlelight protests in Korea that led to former President Park Geun-hye’s ouster, titled “Candlelight Revolution,” is finally set for release, a month ahead of presidential election. “I proposed this project to Choo,” Kim said during an interview with a group of reporters on Monday. “When I was traveling back in 2018, I was listening to the radio and h

FilmJan. 24, 2022

Timeless writing system from 1446

Hunminjeongeum, th Korean writing system created in 1443 and promulgated in a book format in 1446 by King Sejong, was made with the intention of developing “the proper sound for instructing the people.” On Friday, the National Hangeul Museum launched “Hunminjeongeum, The Design of a Writing System Beyond Millennia,” its first permanent exhibition since it opened in 2014. Designated as a national treasure of Korea in 1962 and inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the Wo

CultureJan. 24, 2022

KOCCA to present immersive music show featuring rappers from ‘Show Me the Money 10’

The Korea Creative Content Agency said Monday that it will stage an immersive music performance featuring 18 rappers from Mnet’s rap competition program “Show Me the Money 10.” As part of its performance series “On the K,” KOCCA will present “On the K x Show Me the Money 10 Festival” on its YouTube channel and Twitter at 10 p.m. on Thursday. The lineup will include the hit competition show’s winner Jo Gwang-il, and other contestants Since, Be&rs

PerformanceJan. 24, 2022

S. Korean romance TV series gain popularity on Netflix

South Korea's romantic TV series have recently made their global presence strong through Netflix, prompting global streaming services to expand their 2022 slate with romances. The romantic comedy "Our Beloved Summer," starring Choi Woo-shik of "Parasite" and Kim Da-mi, has been on the top 10 of Netflix's official weekly viewership chart for non-English TV series for four weeks in a row. The 16-episode series, which premiered on Dec. 6 on SBS and Netflix, debuted at No. 9 on

TelevisionJan. 24, 2022

Paik Nam-june’s ‘The More, The Better’ operates for six-month test run

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea has started a test run for “The More, The Better,” the largest installation work by video art pioneer Paik Nam-june after it initiated a restoration project in 2019. The national museum has finished the overall restoration work and began the test run on Jan. 17, which will continue for six months. Comprising 1,003 picture tube monitors, the video tower was installed in 1988 at MMCA Gwacheon, becoming the world’s larg

Arts & DesignJan. 24, 2022

Joseon queens lived 51 years on average: study

Queens of the Joseon era (1392-1910) had an average life span of 51 years and were outlived by royal concubines by an average six years, a new study has found. According to Lee Mi-seon, a researcher at the Academy of Korean Studies, queens lived longer than kings, whose average life span has been estimated to be 47 by other scholars. Compared to women from the noble class of that era, who lived to 45 on average, the queens also had a considerably longer life. But they were outlived by the

CultureJan. 23, 2022