NMK aims to finish classifying, examining Lee Kun-hee donations by 2025

The National Museum of Korea announced Thursday that it will complete classifying and examining the artworks bequeathed by the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee by 2025. The announcement came after the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Tuesday that nearly all of the works of art bequeathed Lee would be housed together at the “Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall,” which is to open in Songhyeon-dong, Seoul, in 2027. The museum added that it will transfer all the donated

CultureNov. 11, 2021

Sitting side-by-side, two Pensive Bodhisattvas offer calm

For those looking for a moment of peace, the National Museum of Korea has prepared a therapeutic experience through a new permanent exhibition titled “A Room of Quiet Contemplation,” presenting two Pensive Bodhisattvas, which are designated as National Treasures No. 78 and No. 83. “I created this exhibition with the intention of making Pensive Bodhisattvas the iconic item of Korea,” National Museum of Korea Director General Min Byoung-chan said during a press confere

CultureNov. 11, 2021

Golf, soccer rise in ranks on Korean TV

Sports entertainment programs have emerged as a major trend on television, with famed sports legends and celebrities presenting the sports on the small screen. Golf has become a recognizable force, dominating airtime for several months with big-name golf stars and television celebrities taking to the links. Cable channel TV Chosun’s “Golf King” sparked public interest in golf-related variety shows in May. The program caught viewers’ attention with former LPGA champion

TelevisionNov. 11, 2021

Coldplay to meet Korean fans in online concert next month

British rock band Coldplay will meet Korean fans in a virtual concert on Dec. 4 via video streaming service Coupang Play. Coldplay’s online concert will be hosted exclusively and broadcast live by Coupang Play, according to the local streamer. “As Coldplay is widely recognized for its explosive singing, spectacular playing of instruments and amazing stage manners in interacting with fans, we look forward to seeing what will happen at this year’s concert,” Coupang Play

PerformanceNov. 11, 2021

'Squid Game' becomes Netflix's top ranking show for longest 47 days

The South Korean sensation "Squid Game" has reclaimed the No. 1 position on Netflix's most popular TV show rankings to become the streamer's top-ranking original series for the most days ever. According to streaming analytics firm FlixPatrol on Wednesday (US time), the Korean-language survival drama regained the No. 1 spot on the list of the world's most watched TV shows on Netflix, replacing the previous leader "Arcane," an animated series based on the online battle game &q

TelevisionNov. 11, 2021

DMZ Peace Trail to reopen to public

Seven of the themed routes of the DMZ Peace Trail, a trail created near the Demilitarized Zone that is accessible to the public, will reopen starting Nov. 20, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Thursday. The routes include those in Ganghwa, Gimpo, Goyang, Paju, Hwacheon, Yanggu, and Goseong area. The DMZ Peace Trail had initially been created as 10 separate routes. Since April 2019, three of the routes-- Paju, Cheorwon, Goseong -- have opened on a trial basis, attracting so

CultureNov. 11, 2021

YouTube content of 'Squid Game' outnumbers 'Game of Thrones'

The South Korean phenomenon "Squid Game" has outnumbered the longtime TV powerhouse "Game of Thrones" in terms of combined YouTube views of its derivative video content, a US media outlet has reported. A total of 129,000 videos of the survival drama, including official trailers, fan-made reaction clips and video games, have earned a total of 17 billion views on the platform since the show's release on Sept. 17, Variety said Wednesday (US time), citing a report by content ana

TelevisionNov. 11, 2021

‘Yumi’s Cells’: Versatile multimedia content that keeps on taking new forms

The Naver webtoon series “Yumi’s Cells” may be the perfect example of versatile multimedia content, with plans for it to be adapted as an animation and a musical. The animation version of the webtoon for cinematic release will be co-produced by a Naver subsidiary, Studio N, and by local animation production company Locus, which created the 2019 hit “Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs. The company is aiming to release the animation in cinemas in the first half of 2023, acco

TelevisionNov. 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] ‘Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall’ in Songhyeon-dong to house all bequeathed works

Nearly all of the artworks bequeathed by the late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee will be housed together at the “Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall,” which is to open in Songhyeon-dong, Seoul, in 2027. The announcement was made during a ceremony Wednesday to seal the agreement between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Seoul Metropolitan Government on building the new institution in Songhyeong-dong after considering two candidate sites in Seoul. Confusion about the i

Arts & DesignNov. 10, 2021

‘Squid Game’ to return with more games and adventures in season 2

Netflix hit series “Squid Game” will return with a second season. “Discussion about a second season is indeed in progress, but nothing has been confirmed yet,” a Netflix official told The Korea Herald on Wednesday morning. Earlier, Hwang Dong-hyuk, the director and writer “Squid Game,” had said that there would be a second season of the dystopian drama during a special screening and Q&A with reporters in Los Angeles on Tuesday. The creator told the rep

FilmNov. 10, 2021

Clara Jumi Kang to hold encore recital of Bach’s sonatas and partitas

Violinist Clara Jumi Kang will return to the stage for an encore recital of Bach’s violin works to round out a successful year. Kang, 34, is set to perform the entire cycle of the famed composer’s sonatas and partitas for solo violin at Lotte Concert Hall in eastern Seoul on Dec. 13. In May and June, the Korean-German virtuoso went on a nationwide tour with stops in Seoul, Daegu and Daejeon and more, performing Bach’s sonatas and partitas for solo violin (BWV 1001-1006),

PerformanceNov. 10, 2021

'Squid Game' director confirms plan for season 2

Netflix's runaway hit "Squid Game" will be back for a second season, its writer-director Hwang Dong-hyuk has said in a media interview. "There's been so much pressure, so much demand and so much love for a second season, so I almost feel like you leave us no choice, but I will say there will indeed be a second season," Hwang said in an interview with the Associated Press at an event in Los Angeles on Tuesday (US time). The South Korean director had previously hinted at the

FilmNov. 10, 2021

New establishment to be built in Songhyeon-dong for Lee Kun-hee collection

A new establishment will be built in Songhyeon-dong, central Seoul, to house the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s art collection. According to an announcement from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday, the two institutions will sign a memorandum of understanding on the project Wednesday. The entrepreneur died in October 2020, and in April this year his family donated some 24,000 artworks and artifacts to the National Museum of

CultureNov. 9, 2021

[Exclusive] Kansong Art Museum may open temporarily next year

Kansong Art Museum is mulling opening the museum temporarily next year before the renovation of Bohwagak, the museum building, gets underway. The museum has been closed for seven years. The country’s first private museum, Bohwagak, as it was initially named, was founded in 1938 by Jeon Hyung-pil, a wealthy collector of Korean cultural artifacts during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule to prevent the national treasures from being removed from the country. The name of the museum was c

Arts & DesignNov. 9, 2021

Song Hye-kyo returns with heartwarming drama ‘Now We Are Breaking Up’

For global star Song Hye-kyo, the decision to come back with another melodrama after just two years brought with it a bag of mixed emotions. “After tvN’s ‘Encounter’ (2019), many fans have been waiting for my return to the small screen with another beautiful romance story, but I am certain that there are some viewers who already feel tired of watching another melodrama by Song Hye-kyo,” said Song in an online press conference recorded in mid-August that was releas

TelevisionNov. 9, 2021

Metaverse to be brought to stage through ‘Ultraworld’

With many betting on the “metaverse” becoming a huge part of our lives, the National Theater of Korea has invited a German project team to stage “Ultraworld” this month, a production that delves into the ambiguities of the real and virtual worlds. “Ultraworld,” directed by Susanne Kennedy, had its premiere in January 2020 at the Volksbuhne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz theater in Berlin, Germany. According to NToK, the Volksbuhne theater has been presenting some o

PerformanceNov. 9, 2021

Korean animation ‘Catch! Teenieping’ gaining global popularity

Joining the ranks of Korean dramas and K-pop in gaining popularity worldwide is Korean animation series “Catch! Teenieping,” which has caught on with kids around the globe. “Catch! Teenieping” topped Netflix Korea’s trending kids category four days after the launch of its first season. YouTube channel Teenieping TV, meanwhile, has over 208,000 followers. The series has been widely watched in Australia and North America, where it has ranked No. 5 and No. 9, respect

TelevisionNov. 9, 2021

‘The War of Chefs’ hopes to mesmerize viewers with amazing Korean dishes

Television director Hyun Don hopes to bring back the heyday of cooking shows with “The War of Chefs.” “After producing multiple seasons of ‘Hansik Battle,’ I worked on other food programs. But it is when I am presenting outstanding Korean dishes that I feel most comfortable,” Hyun said in an online press conference Monday. Unlike “Hansik Battle,” which took on a tournament format, the director’s latest show has adopted a team competition fo

TelevisionNov. 9, 2021

In a first, singer Young Tak’s agency admits to chart manipulation

When a song by an unfamiliar artist tops music charts, beating out top bands with megasized fandoms, rather than herald a new star people now often wonder if “sajaegi,” or manipulation of music charts and streaming counts, is at work. Such suspicion seems justified in light of recent developments. On Thursday, Trot singer Young Tak’s agency Milagro said in an official press statement that the company was involved in sajaegi, becoming the first agency to admit to the long-ru

PerformanceNov. 8, 2021

Ho-Am Art Museum returns with traditional metal works, fall foliage

The Ho-Am Art Museum in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, has returned with the new exhibition “Metallurgy: Great Wisdom” and its formal garden, Hee Won, in its full autumnal glory. The museum run by the Samsung Foundation of Culture was founded in 1982 to house traditional Korean art collected by Lee Byung-chull, founder of Samsung Group. Named for Lee’s pseudonym, Hoam, the museum boasts a garden by Korea’s first-generation landscape architect Jung Young-sun inspired by tr

Arts & DesignNov. 8, 2021