Culture Ministry vows action on pirated K-pop songs

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Friday that it would take action against Chinese music labels that infringed copyrights by uploading translated versions of K-pop songs on YouTube. There has been active discussion online about the practice of registering translated K-pop songs as original works by Chinese artists, without approval from the rightful copyright holders. IU’s “Tear Drops in the Morning,” Brown Eyes’ “Already One Year” and

PerformanceMay 21, 2021

Sobaeksan’s floral beauty in full bloom

The fragrant beauty of royal azaleas blooms around April each year. The azaleas, “cheoljjuk” in Korean, are ready to fill the gardens with a potpourri of pink and purple. The Sobaek Mountain National Park Northern Office said Thursday that royal azaleas near the Yeonhwa peak have begun to bloom. The azalea flowers are expected to be at their peak on May 29 and 30.  The Sobaek Mountain Royal Azalea Festival hosted by Danyang, North Chungcheong Province, has been canceled f

TravelMay 21, 2021

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Fairmont Ambassador Seoul launches package for family gatherings Fairmont Ambassador Seoul offers a special promotion for family gatherings. For a special get-together, especially ahead of a wedding, guests can enjoy a small or medium-scale Korean or Western-style course meal at Gallery 7. The traditional Korean meal is paired with traditional liquors, while the Western meal is served with wine. The family package is designed for eight guests and costs 1,385,000 won for the Korean meal and 1

FoodMay 21, 2021

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Moonlight Tour at Changdeokgung Built in 1405 as a royal residence of the Joseon era, Changdeokgung, a UNESCO World Heritage site, welcomes the summer season with nighttime visitors. The nighttime tour offers a unique opportunity to witness and experience the beauty of the palace under Seoul’s moonlight. Each tour lasts approximately 100 minutes. The tour runs through June 20, and online reservations are required. Tickets are limited to two per reservation. Information on reservatio

TravelMay 21, 2021

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Fast & Furious 9 (US) Opened May 19 Action Directed by Justin Lin Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) finds out that his younger brother Jakob (John Cena), a deadly assassin, is working with Cipher (Charlize Theron) to put the world in danger. To prevent this, Dominic gathers his family once again to create an amazing plan for a counter-attack. 　 The Courier (US) Opened April 28 Thriller Directed by Dominic Cooke In 1960, Soviet agent Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) has a letter containing imp

FilmMay 21, 2021

New high-speed train service connects Seoul to Andong in two hours

Nearly five months into its operation, the KTX-Eum -- a high-speed train service launched by Korail in January -- is gaining popularity among travelers and commuters alike. Departing from Seoul’s Cheongnyangni Station for Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, before making its way down to Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, the train, also known as the KTX EMU-260, is the eco-friendliest in the KTX lineup.  The KTX-Eum (pronounced “ee-eum”) is equipped with LTE-R technolo

TravelMay 20, 2021

9th Diaspora Film Festival movies get spotlight on Korean platform Purplay

The Korean streaming platform dedicated to presenting women’s cinema, Purplay, will screen movies from the 9th Diaspora Film Festival for three days starting from Friday without charge. Eighteen movies will be streamed on Purplay, which accounts for 30 percent of the total of 58 movies that were selected for the festival this year. The streaming platform has two separate sections for this year’s Diaspora Film Festival -– Diaspora in Focus and Diaspora Shorts. This year&r

FilmMay 20, 2021

[Herald Interview] There is fantasy in mime

There is more to mime than just being trapped in an imaginary box, pretending to walk down the stairs, or pulling a rope, says mime artist Yu Jin-gyu. Yu, 69, is a first-generation mime artist in Korea. Quitting veterinary science studies at Konkuk University, he joined the drama company Ejotto in 1970. He made his debut in 1972, presenting the country’s first mime show. “Mime refers to the art form of delivering one’s thoughts without words, with just movements and express

PerformanceMay 20, 2021

[Herald interview] ‘Every passing moment is a source of music’

Twenty years since starting out as a session guitarist, and 12 years since debuting with a single, guitarist Park Ju-won believes he still has a long way to go. Just like Dorothy who meets the scarecrow, the tin man, the cowardly lion, and all the friends with different spiritual strengths, the guitarist believes that the support from fans who await his music is what cheers him along the musical road. Known as the “Paco de Lucia of Korea,” among guitar lovers, Park, in his early 4

PerformanceMay 19, 2021

Renovated Haeoreum Theater set for new era

After a four-year renovation, the Haeoreum Grand Theater at the National Theater of Korea is ready to welcome audiences back to its seats. The first complete overhaul of the theater since its opening in 1973 cost 65.8 billion won ($58.3 million). The theater‘s 2004 renovation was limited to the lobby and theater seats. “The theater was outdated and the stage needed to be modernized,“ NToK CEO Kim Cheol-ho said during a press tour of the theater on Tuesday. “There wer

PerformanceMay 19, 2021

Hyundai Card Storage turns into magazine museum

The golden age of the world’s five most influential magazines has unfolded at the Hyundai Card Storage in Seoul. Walking through the exhibition hall, you may find some interesting facts about the magazines Life, Playboy, Domus, Rolling Stone and the National Geographic. The exhibition “The Issue: Hyundai Card Library Magazine Collection through the Ages” focuses on the five leading magazines, showcasing the inaugural editions along with some 300 notable issues of each publica

Arts & DesignMay 19, 2021

[Herald Interview] Gong Seung-yeon hopes viewers can understand socially isolated Jin-ah in ‘Aloners’

For actor Gong Seung-yeon, an extrovert who enjoys hanging out with different people, her character Jin-ah in “Aloners,” who tries to avoid any personal interaction with others, was not easy to understand. “I did not understand why she had to be so extreme,” Gong told local reporters during a joint media interview at the Korean Film Council’s office in Mapo, Seoul. “As the story developed I could understand her gradually. I hope audiences also experience thi

FilmMay 18, 2021

Frieze art fair to launch in Seoul next fall

Frieze art fair, one of the world‘s largest global art fairs, will head to Seoul in September 2022 for the first time, to coincide with Korea’s annual art fair, KIAF Art Seoul. The two art fairs will be held concurrently on Sept. 2, 2022, taking up four exhibition halls at COEX in southern Seoul. Although the fairs will take place at the same time, they will be operated independently, according to the Galleries Association of Korea. Seoul will be the first Asian city to host the 2

Arts & DesignMay 18, 2021

Traditional gugak orchestra to reinterpret BTS music

The National Orchestra of Korea will use traditional instruments to perform one of BTS’ hit albums and a mobile game soundtrack, targeting young audiences who may be unfamiliar with “gugak,” traditional Korean music. The orchestra, under the National Theater of Korea, will hold a recital June 11 at the theater in central Seoul, introducing the gugak version of K-pop act BTS’ 2019 track “Mikrokosmos” and the soundtrack from hit mobile game “Cookie Run:

PerformanceMay 18, 2021

The bookstore that talks politics

Occupying a 63-square-meter space on the second floor of a building in Hongdae’s bustling district is Powerplant, a bookstore that welcomes those who wish to read and talk politics. “How can you not be romantic about politics?” reads a lit pink neon sign at the entrance to the bookstore, a reference to a line from the 2011 film “Moneyball” -- “How can you not be romantic about baseball?” Resembling a rusty attic, Powerplant is a bookstore that focuses

CultureMay 18, 2021

[Herald Interview] Barakat Contemporary’s director pushes Seoul as art hub of Asia

Every day at 8:21 p.m., David Hockney’s animated sunrise video -- “Remember you cannot look at the sun or death for very long” -- starts playing on the country’s largest digital billboard, located at Coex K-Pop Square. The art dispay is part of Circa’s project to showcase artworks around the world in the pandemic times. Circa’s project, which is taking place in London, New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Seoul, will show the same work throughout this month, ev

Arts & DesignMay 18, 2021

Two Koreans among winners of the Met Opera competition

Soprano Kim Hyo-young and tenor Duke Kim are among the five winners of the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, formerly known as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Award. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 67th edition of the prestigious annual competition was held virtually for the first time in its history, garnering a total of 1,200 applicants from around the world. The competition, originally founded in 1954, changed its name this year, in recognition of

PerformanceMay 18, 2021

[Herald Interview] Evidence needs to be preserved: photographer who documented Gwangju Democratization Movement

On the morning of May 27, 1980, Norman Knute Thorpe, a correspondent for the Asian Wall Street Journal, walked into the South Jeolla Provincial Office in South Korea. The dead bodies of young men lay on the floor, blood splattered here and there. Before the Korean military could clean up, Thorpe photographed the tragic scene. The bodies belonged to victims of military killings, following the Gwangju Democratic Uprising on May 18. Thorpe’s work is now accessible to the public through a

CultureMay 17, 2021

Buddhism-inspired photographs, installations offer tranquility

Water gently swirls on a round-shaped sculpture topped with a magnetic stirrer. Staring at the swirling water, one may find himself falling into contemplation. The exhibition “Reflection” offers viewers a time to reflect on themselves and find tranquility in the pandemic times. The exhibition “Reflection,” focusing on the philosophy of Buddhism in commemoration of Buddha’s birthday on Wednesday, is being held at K.O.N.G. Gallery in central Seoul. It is the last a

Arts & DesignMay 17, 2021

14-year-old refugee sings for Myanmar spring

  Wanyiwah Phondphaothanandon, one of Myanmar’s Karen ethnic minority, paid tribute to democracy and peace in Myanmar through a song, “The Spring of Myanmar.” The 14-year-old is a refugee in Korea with her mother and two younger brothers. Phondphaothanandon, who uses Wanyiwah as her stage name, attends a boarding school in Yongin, focusing on her studies and exams just like any teenager, but apart from the daily routine, she shares the pain and sorrow of the current situa

PerformanceMay 17, 2021