SK Group chief sues YouTuber for defamation

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won filed a defamation lawsuit against a YouTube channel, saying the channel has spread false information about his private life. According to local media reports Tuesday, Chey filed a criminal complaint with the Yongsan Police Station, accusing the channel of violating slander laws. He claimed that the channel, which mainly covers the private lives of celebrities and high-profile businesspeople, aired false information about his past, relatives and his romantic r

PeopleAug. 31, 2021

‘The Jump’ and ‘Me and the Cult Leader’ win Grand Prix at EIDF 2021

Lithuanian director Giedre Zickyte’s “The Jump” won the Grand Prix in the global category at the 18th EBS International Documentary Festival, the broadcaster announced Tuesday. Twenty-one films vied for prizes in the three competitive categories -- Festival Choice in Global, Festival Choice in Asia and a mobile shorts competition. “The Jump” centers around a Lithuanian sailor, Simas Kudirka, who jumped from a Soviet fishing boat and swam to a US vessel in the Atla

FilmAug. 31, 2021

‘DMZ Theater’ tells stories about life on the border

The Demilitarized Zone established after the Korean War (1950-1953) runs across the Korean Peninsula. Although the 2-kilometer-wide strip has existed for decades, the area has been an imaginary place for many, especially those who have not experienced the war. Left untouched for decades, the DMZ has 13 observatories where civilians can get a glimpse of the border line under strict vigilance. Over the past five years, artist Jung Yeon-doo and theater director Surya visited the observatories mo

Arts & DesignAug. 31, 2021

Winners of Queen Elisabeth Competition to perform in Korea

Two winners of the 2021 Queen Elisabeth Competition are to hold performances across Korea starting next month. French pianist Jonathan Fournel and Japanese pianist Keigo Mukawa who took the first and the third place in this year’s competition, respectively, will kick off their schedule at the 2021 PLZ Festival held in Goseong, Gangwon Province, on Sept. 8. They will also hold recitals in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, on Sept. 10 and in Gwangju on Sept. 12. Fournel will presen

PerformanceAug. 30, 2021

KOCCA to present Korean broadcasting content to global market

Broadcast Worldwide 2021 will be held Sept. 6-10 under the slogan “Content, Traveling to a New World,” the Korea Creative Content Agency said Monday. The annual event is being held online for the second consecutive year. Asia’s largest broadcasting content market, BCWW seeks to present outstanding content and insights to the broadcast industry around the world. According to KOCCA, 367 buyers and officials from 31 countries have registered for the event, including Warner Med

TelevisionAug. 30, 2021

Homegrown action film ‘Escape from Mogadishu’ sells more than 3m tickets

“Escape from Mogadishu” directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, which was released on July 28, has sold more than 3 million tickets, according to film distributor Lotte Entertainment Sunday. The action film overtook Marvel Studios’ superhero movie “Black Widow,” which sold over 2.95 million tickets, to be the most-watched film of 2021. The release of “Escape from Mogadishu” was possible with support from the Korean Theater Association, which includes among its mem

FilmAug. 30, 2021

MMCA launches global projects to promote Korean art

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea has launched a project with art institutes in Asia to promote art globally, such as online virtual reality programs and a Korean art website in English, so audiences can enjoy them from the comfort of their own homes during the pandemic lockdown. A subscription-based online streaming service, “Watch and Chill,” was jointly launched with the M+ West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong, MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum in Tha

CultureAug. 29, 2021

Residents rally to save Bulgwang Bookstore

When news spread that Bulgwang Bookstore, a local bookstore located in Eunpyeong-gu, northwestern Seoul, will be closing next month due to financial struggles, local residents in the neighborhood immediately filed a petition at the local district office to seek help. Bulgwang Bookstore, a modest bookstore which opened in 1996, is only a block away from Bulgwang Station exit no. 8. At the time of its opening, libraries or bookstores did not exist around the area, which naturally turned the book

BooksAug. 29, 2021

BIFF to screen streaming platform originals

Busan International Film Festival will launch the “On Screen” program this year, moving streaming content to the big screen during the festival. The 26th BIFF will be held from Oct. 6 to 15. The new section was added to reflect the expansion of streaming platforms and their content’s influence in the global market. A number of international film festivals, including Venice International Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, have created similar sections to i

FilmAug. 29, 2021

Incheon's annual rock festival to be held virtually in Oct.

The annual Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival will be held virtually for the second consecutive year on Oct. 9 and 10, its organizers said Sunday. The festival's 16th edition will feature '90s top artists such as Lee Seung-hwan and Yoon Sang, and other popular acts including 10cm, Daybreak and Leenalchi, according to the organizing committee. The names of participating artists from other countries will be revealed at a later date. As one of South Korea's biggest music events, the Incheon Pentapo

CultureAug. 29, 2021

[Eye Plus] Cartoon street honors nostalgic comics that inspired K-dramas

 Among central Seoul’s gray concrete buildings, lies a 450-meter road lined with walls plastered with pictures of eccentric comic characters from stories that mesmerized Koreans for decades. 　Painted in vibrant colors, the walls on Zaemiro, meaning fun street, bring life to Korean comic characters that later become inspirations to many K-dramas. 　In the first section, visitors are welcomed by the characters from “The Palace,” a popular teen romance cartoon-turned-drama

TravelAug. 28, 2021

Liquor subscription service challenges preconceptions about Korea's drinking culture

Among the commonly held preconceptions about Korea’s drinking culture and manners, one that tops the list is the practice of “pour-and-drink,” referring to Korean’s heavy and fast-paced style of imbibing alcohol. To challenge the stereotype, OneshotKorea, located near Cheonggyecheon, central Seoul, serves traditional Korean liquor, while also introducing the history of the region each drink hails from and the distinctive brewing processes involved. The belief that &ldqu

FoodAug. 28, 2021

Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival to go online again

The Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival will be held online again this year as the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to be contained. According to the festival organizers Thursday, the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2021 will take place Oct. 9-10 as an online event, free of charge. In 2020, the festival went online for the first time since its launch in 2006, gathering a total of around 780,000 viewers.  The primary lineup released Thursday consists of leading rock acts here suc

PerformanceAug. 28, 2021

[Eye interview] 'The stage is to die for'

What does a pianist who travels the world on concert tours do when the world goes into a lockdown? You go on an emotional roller coaster, refocus and record your first studio album. That is what pianist Sunwoo Yekwon did. “I was going through the same mental stages as other people,” said Sunwoo Yekwon in an interview with The Korea Herald on Aug. 17 at the Universal Music office in Seoul. “In the beginning, I was quite hopeful, hoping that things will get better soon,&rdquo

PerformanceAug. 28, 2021

Eat like Joseon royals and get it to go

Korea House, a cultural complex and restaurant run by the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, on Wednesday launched a new Korean traditional boxed meal, or dosirak. The two different dosirak sets, which are takeout-only, contain Korean royal court cuisine that are prepared by chefs at the 40-year-old Korea House. “Korea House is a public institution that has been promoting and preserving Korean royal court cuisine. We have a menu called ‘Gaon Jeongsik,’ which is a full-cour

FoodAug. 27, 2021

Joseph Nye to lecture in EBS series ‘Great Minds’

Public education broadcaster EBS said Tuesday that it would air a lecture series called “Great Minds,” starring acclaimed academics including American political scientist Joseph S. Nye. “Great Minds” aims to close knowledge gaps exacerbated by the extended COVID-19 and fake news in social networking services. According to the broadcaster, a total of 40 scholars will star in the 200-part lecture series. The production crew visited the scholars to film the lectures in pe

TelevisionAug. 27, 2021

SBS offers new fantasy romance drama ‘Red Sky’

For television director Jang Tae-yoo, seeing the chemistry between the actors in the upcoming Monday-Tuesday SBS drama “Red Sky” was a huge pleasure. “The vibe in our filming site was literally crazy. The relationship between the cast and the staff was really good and all I had to do was to make sure that the cameras worked,” the director said during an online press conference Thursday afternoon. The fantasy romance drama, an adaptation of a novel of the same title by

TelevisionAug. 27, 2021

Cho Seong-jin releases new Chopin album

Concert pianist Cho Seong-jin, the first Korean to win the International Chopin Piano Competition, released his second Frederic Chopin album Friday. The new album, released under the Deutsche Grammophon label, features Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21. On the album, Cho is accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra led by the Italian maestro Gianandrea Noseda. Though Cho has performed the work on multiple occasions, including a performance at the BBC Proms in 2018, it

PerformanceAug. 27, 2021

Pandemic-inspired Interactive installation work wins Red Dot Award

AuxeticBreath, an interactive new media installation that visualizes the change in perception about humans’ breathing during the pandemic, was announced as the winner of the “Red Dot” at the Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2021.　 Interactive designer Youn Hye-jun observed the interaction with collective breaths and visually rendered the rhythmic patterns of human breath using soft robotics and auxetic structures. Emitting different lights, the oval-shaped silicon objects move a

Arts & DesignAug. 27, 2021

Asian Art Museum in US explores Korean culture through portraits

The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco is showcasing the first major exhibition of Korean portraits from past to present, exploring the identity and legacy of Korean history and culture. Titled “Likeness and Legacy in Korean Portraiture,” the exhibition kicks off on Friday and runs through Nov. 29, featuring a variety of Korean portraitists from the Joseon era (1392-1910) to works reflecting today’s selfie culture. “What makes Likeness and Legacy unique is that we mov

Arts & DesignAug. 27, 2021