Kakao TV’s ‘No, Thank You’ rank on Wavve top-10 drama list

Kakao TV’s original series “No, Thank You” placed in the top 10 most popular dramas’ list on streaming platform Wavve, the first such feat for a Kakao TV original drama, according to Wavve on Tuesday. The drama list is compiled based on the number of minutes played in total on Wavve in the fourth week of January. “No, Thank You” ranked 10th while SBS megahit drama “The Penthouse: War in Life” took the top spot and SBS’ “Delayed Justic

TelevisionJan. 26, 2021

‘After Every Winter Comes Spring’ exhibition at National Museum of Korea extended until April 4

The National Museum of Korea announced on Tuesday that it is extending the run of its special exhibition “After Every Winter Comes Spring” for nine weeks. The exhibition, which opened Nov. 24 and reopened Jan. 19 after a two-week shutdown, will now run through April 4. Visitors will have an opportunity to see the painting “Sehando,” which reflects the hardships that its creator, scholar and calligrapher Chusa Kim Jeong-hui (1786-1856), experienced while in exile. &ldq

Arts & DesignJan. 26, 2021

COVID-19 deals blow to S. Korea's indie, arthouse film scene

As the protracted novel coronavirus pandemic has affected every cultural sector in South Korea, the independent and arthouse film circle is on the verge of losing ground amid closures of festivals and corporate restructuring. Organizers of the Mise-en-scene Short Film Festival (MSFF) announced that it will no longer hold the annual festival starting this year, saying that it is the time to seek ways to navigate the fast-changing media industry. The 19th edition of MSFF was held online in June

FilmJan. 26, 2021

Cinema closures in S. Korea hit 12-year high in 2020 on coronavirus

The number of cinema closures soared to a 12-year high in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, data showed Tuesday. A total of 81 movie theaters closed shop across the nation last year, nearly double from the 43 shutdowns a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The number was the largest annual tally since 2008, when 88 cinemas in Asia's fourth-largest economy went out of business amid the US-originated global financial crisis. In the Seoul

PerformanceJan. 26, 2021

Games and music sectors see biggest KOCCA budget increase

The Korea Creative Content Agency’s 2021 budget has been set at 484.2 billion won ($440 million), a 54.4 billion won increase from last year. KOCCA uploaded multiple videos on its YouTube channel on Monday, outlining the details of the budget distribution by sector. The broadcast sector will receive 49.6 billion won, games 61.5 billion won, culture technology 81.6 billion won, virtual interactive content 49 billion won, music 41.1 billion won and regional content 49.7 billion won, among

CultureJan. 25, 2021

Do Korean streaming services stand a chance against Netflix?

Over-the-top media giant Netflix stood out as the most popular OTT platform in South Korea last year, with over half of OTT users here subscribing to Netflix, according to data analyst Consumer Insight. In a survey of some 40,000 Koreans by Consumer Insight, 46 percent of respondents said they’d paid for OTT services last year with 24 percent subscribing to Netflix. The second-most-popular OTT service was YouTube Premium, with 15 percent of respondents subscribing. In December, Netfli

CultureJan. 25, 2021

Kakao’s two content arms to merge into Kakao Entertainment

Kakao Page and Kakao M announced Monday that they would merge into a new entity, Kakao Entertainment. The merger, which was agreed during the board of directors meetings of the two firms earlier that day, will be finalized through a general shareholders meeting on Tuesday. The biggest merger between the two subsidiaries of South Korea’s mobile tech conglomerate Kakao, the move aims to create synergy given the two companies’ respective capabilities in the content business and digita

TelevisionJan. 25, 2021

Pixar's animated film 'Soul' brings moviegoers back to theaters

Pixar's latest animated film "Soul" has been jazzing up South Korean movie theaters, which have been nearly empty for months due to the resurgence of the novel coronavirus, data showed Monday. Released last Wednesday, "Soul" attracted 303,000 people over the Friday-Sunday period, raising its total admissions to 400,000, according to box office data by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). Directed by Pete Docter, the fantasy comedy drama is a story about Joe Gardner, a middle sc

FilmJan. 25, 2021

[Feature] Late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s art collection out for appraisal

The late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s treasure box is open. Besides being South Korea’s wealthiest and most powerful businessman, Lee, who died Oct. 25, was also an avid art collector who amassed an important collection of Korean art as well as contemporary Western works. Some of the works in his collection are under appraisal, raising speculation that they may be sold off in the near future. The appraisals are being carried out by the Galleries Association of Korea’s Art

Arts & DesignJan. 25, 2021

Pianist Cho Seong-jin to play 94-second of never-before-heard Mozart

Pianist Cho Seong-jin is set to perform the world premiere of a previously unknown work by Mozart, 248 years after it was composed, in celebration of the great musician’s 265th birthday. Cho will perform Mozart’s Allegro in D major K626b/16 as part of the Digital Mozart Week organized by the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation on Wednesday, in Austria, according to German classical music record label Deutsche Grammophon. The performance will be streamed through the label’s streami

PerformanceJan. 24, 2021

Culture Ministry to address plagiarism plaguing literary awards

Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Yong-gi, a member of the National Assembly‘s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee announced Sunday that the Culture Ministry would conduct an investigation of all literary awards in Korea. The literary community was shocked earlier this month to find out Sohn Chang-hyun had won multiple literary awards with work that plagiarized author Kim Min-jung’s “Ppuri,” or root, the winner of the 2018 Baekma Culture Award. The Baekma Culture Award i

BooksJan. 24, 2021

Mayfield Hotel Seoul offers ‘Wellness Forest’ package

The five-star Mayfield Hotel Seoul, located in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, is offering the Wellness Forest package for those looking to refresh, relax and recover. The package, available until mid-December, offers a one-night stay in a superior room and a variety of programs to help guests heal both body and mind. Breakfast that includes rocket juice, eggs and croissant is offered as room service, as well as a dinner at one of the hotel’s restaurants, Bongraeheon or La Festa. Complimentary tea i

TravelJan. 24, 2021

[Eye Plus] Sea of light

The Mapo Oil Depot, located near the World Cup Park in Mapo, western Seoul, was once a level-one security facility that was off limits to the public for almost 40 years. The facility has recently been refurbished as a cultural space for citizens.  A lantern exhibition, titled “Sea of Light,” is currently running at the once abandoned oil tank, offering a cultural experience for those who are feeling exhausted amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic.  The exhibition hall f

Arts & DesignJan. 23, 2021

Spotlight shone on different aspects of video art pioneer Paik Nam-june

Paik Nam-june is widely known as the founder of the video art who expanded the art medium to television sets in the early 1960s. The internationally acclaimed artist is receiving a renewed interest ahead of a restoration of “The More the Better,” Paik’s magnum opus, at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and a solo exhibition of his works at Leeahn Gallery in Seoul is an opportunity to look at Paik’s various art practices. The exhibition, the gallery&rsqu

Arts & DesignJan. 23, 2021

Reinterpreting French pastries at Revisite

At Revisite, owner-chef Lee Seung-jun incorporates Korean ingredients like black sesame into traditional French desserts like the Paris-Brest. For Lee, who studied pastries at Le Cordon Bleu-Sookmyung and worked at several prominent dessert shops and bakeries, this is the whole purpose of Revisite, the dessert shop he opened in Samseong-dong, Seoul this winter. “Revisite” means to “reinterpret” in French, Lee explains, which he felt was the perfect name for his place,

FoodJan. 23, 2021

tvN’s ‘Mr. Queen’ slapped with ‘administrative guidance’ by KCSC

Popular tvN period comedy drama “Mr. Queen” will receive “administrative guidance” for controversial scenes in the drama, the subcommittee of Korea Communications Standards Commission announced Wednesday. “Mr. Queen,” which revolves around a present day playboy who enters the body of Queen Cheorin of Joseon, has been enjoying steady popularity since the airing of the first episode. It reached a 13.2 percent viewership rating for the most recent episode on S

TelevisionJan. 23, 2021

Jeon Do-yeon, Ryu Jun-yeol to star in JTBC’s ‘Disqualified as a Human’

Actors Jeon Do-yeon and Ryu Jun-yeol will star in the upcoming JTBC drama “Disqualified as a Human,” according to JTBC on Thursday. The two actors have not starred in television dramas in the last five years, focusing instead on films. Jeon’s last outing on the small screen was in tvN’s “The Good Wife” in 2016, while Ryu’s last TV drama role was in MBC’s “Lucky Romance” in 2016. Jeon will play the role of ghostwriter Bu-jung while Ry

TelevisionJan. 23, 2021

Two artists expanding boundary of art

The artworks of lacquer artist Jeong Kwang-bok and sculptor Hong Seung-tae may seem like they have nothing in common. But the two artists’ work styles share a common feature -- expanding the boundary of art without confining themselves to a certain art medium or art category. The exhibition “Modern Postmodern, Postmodern Post” at Gallery Insa Art in Insadong, central Seoul, showcases the two artists’ latest 70 artworks -- sculptures, lacquer paintings and craftworks.

Arts & DesignJan. 22, 2021

Actor Lee Min-ho’s additional Hangeul promotional videos being released

Two additional videos promoting the beauty of Hangeul -- the writing system for the Korean language -- were released on Friday, starring actor Lee Min-ho. The new videos from the King Sejong Institute Foundation show Lee introducing the foundation to his fans who wish to learn Korean after watching his posts about his daily life on social media. “It is such an honor. I am glad to see content about my daily life contributing to promoting the beauty of Hangeul,” Lee said in a press

CultureJan. 22, 2021

Hyun Bin to return as North Korean agent in ‘Confidential Assignment’ sequel

CJ ENM on Friday announced that Hyun Bin will join the sequel of the Korean comedy-action film “Confidential Assignment” and play North Korean agent Lim Cheol-ryeong again. Released in January 2017, the original “Confidential Assignment” was a movie about an inter-Korean secret police mission. The film at the time garnered more than 7.81 million viewers. Hyun Bin’s character Lim in the previous film was dispatched to South Korea to capture his superior Cha Ki-se

FilmJan. 22, 2021