BTS gets Grammy nod in another landmark feat

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korea's K-pop megastar BTS was nominated for the Grammy Award in best pop duo/group performance, becoming the first South Korean pop artist to be nominated for the US music award. The South Korean boy group was nominated for its latest hit single "Dynamite" in a virtual ceremony streamed live on Tuesday morning (US time). BTS was one of five nominated in the category, which included "Intentions" by Justin Bieber, featuring Quavo, "Rain On Me&q

PerformanceNov. 25, 2020

‘Fake Men’ is back

After a monthlong break, reality show “Fake Men” returned to local streaming platform Kakao TV on Tuesday at noon with its fifth episode, titled “3000 PT gymnastics ... start of a new training process.” The second season of “Fake Men” went on hiatus after some of the instructors came under scrutiny over their past. The program was also criticized for excessive violence and near torture of the participants. The return of the show on local platforms Kakao T

TelevisionNov. 24, 2020

Inje Icefish Festival canceled due to pandemic

  The Inje Icefish Festival -- one of the most popular winter festivals in South Korea -- will not be held next year as the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic has hit the country. The annual winter festival held in Inje, a mountainous county in Gangwon Province some 165 kilometers northeast of Seoul, is centered around a pond with small ice holes, measuring 20 centimeters wide, made for visitors to try to catch the fish that live in water below. The nine-day festival was scheduled to kick o

Arts & DesignNov. 24, 2020

English book on modern art pioneer Yoo Young-kuk to be released December

The first comprehensive book in English on South Korea’s modern artist Yoo Young-kuk, a pioneer of Korea‘s abstract art, will be published in December by Rizzoli New York, introducing the artist’s philosophy and Korean art history of the time. Known as a “magician of colors,” Yoo devoted himself to pioneering a unique compositional approach to his art. Born in 1916 in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, he lived through the Japanese colonial era and the Korean War

Arts & DesignNov. 24, 2020

Sunwoo Yekwon shares his ‘Mozart soul’ through new album

Though more often associated with the names of Romantic composers -- Chopin, Schumann and Schubert, for example -- pianist Sunwoo Yekwon hopes to share the Mozart side of himself through a new album. Concert pianist Sunwoo Yekwon, 31, who rose to global stardom three years ago winning the gold medal at the 15th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, has released his first studio album under the Decca label. The 19-track album was recorded this summer in Neumarkt, Germany. Simply titl

PerformanceNov. 24, 2020

‘Minari’ wins Audience Award at Denver Film Festival 2020

Director Lee Isaac Chung’s “Minari” won the Audience Award at Denver Film Festival 2020. With films such as “Green Book,” directed by Peter Farrelly, and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” directed by Martin McDonagh, having gone on to Oscar nominations after winning awards at the Denver Film Festival, hopes for “Minari” within the local film industry got a boost with the latest win. The 2021 Academy Awards are scheduled for April

FilmNov. 24, 2020

Rock star Yoon Do-hyun clarifies COVID-19 rumors about Daegu concert

Rock musician Yoon Do-hyun issued a statement Monday to clarify a rumor that some 500 attendees at his concert were required to be tested for COVID-19, following the virus infection of a concertgoer. A person who attended Yoon’s concert on Nov. 15 -- the last of his three concerts in Daegu -- tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. While a number of media outlets reported that some 500 concertgoers would have to be tested for COVID-19, Yoon’s agency Dee Company said the city&rsq

PerformanceNov. 23, 2020

‘Space Sweepers’ takes the safe route and heads to Netflix

The first Korean sci-fi blockbuster set in space, “Space Sweeper,” will be released exclusively on Netflix. The film was scheduled to open in theaters on Sept. 23, but the release was postponed due to COVID-19, and there are now no immediate plans to show the film in theaters. Set in 2092, “Space Sweepers” by director Jo Sung-hee is about a space cleanup crew trying to sell a weapon of mass destruction: the humanoid Dorothy. With a star-studded cast including Song Joon-

FilmNov. 23, 2020

Chamber music gets a push

While South Korea has decided to raise the social distancing level for the Greater Seoul area, the Lotte Concert Hall hopes to bring chamber music to its stage through its newly launched In House Artist Series. The Lotte Concert Hall in eastern Seoul, a major classical music concert venue, will kick off the program with recitals by the Korea Chamber Orchestra on Thursday and the Esme Quartet on Saturday. As the concert hall’s in-house artists for the 2020-2021 season, the two groups wil

PerformanceNov. 23, 2020

[Herald Interview] Korean entrepreneur wins business rights for cable car project in Sri Lanka

A Korean entrepreneur has won the business rights to a cable car project in Sri Lanka’s Kandy -- home of the Temple of the Tooth Relic, which is one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in the world. The entrepreneur is 71-year-old Sky Asia Chairman Yoo Sun-ha. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction will begin next year and the cable car is expected to open by the end of 2022. It will connect 2.2 kilometers from downtown Kandy and Hanthana Mountain. A total of $35 million will b

PeopleNov. 23, 2020

[Herald Interview] Yangachi’s odd but beautiful works peek into hyperconnected world

After stepping into a completely purple exhibition hall, visitors to this gallery may find themselves a bit confused. On display are metal sculptures with multiple eyes, a line of hands with a string of magnetic beads, the Virgin Mary with minerals attached to her pupils -- each looking quite odd, but also beautiful. Visitors will each have their own interpretations of the objects and find themselves curious about Yangachi, the creator, and what he intended to achieve through these beautifull

Arts & DesignNov. 23, 2020

All ready, but nowhere to show

Director Park Hong-min decided to take a different route with his third independent feature, “Beyond You”: He will distribute the film himself instead of joining hands with a distributor. His past two experiences working with local independent film distributors had left him keenly aware of the limitations of such partnerships. “Independent movie distributors seem to have a hard time finding theaters. Also, there were financial issues. … Very little was left for the d

FilmNov. 23, 2020

Cho Seung-jin recital goes pay-per-view

Concert pianist Cho Seung-jin’s recital in Seoul on Saturday will be streamed live to audiences at home for 10,000 won ($8.95). According to Credia, the organizers of the Cho’s month-long nationwide tour across Korea, Saturday’s recital at the Seoul Arts Center will be streamed live via its Naver TV channel. For the access to the streaming, users can donate 10,000 won through the “sponsorship feature” on Naver TV, a streaming platform operated by the local port

PerformanceNov. 22, 2020

Floating museum dedicated to Modern art master Kim Whan-ki to be built in his hometown

A floating museum in commemoration of Korea’s modern art master Kim Whan-ki will be established in the artist’s hometown in Shinan County, South Jeolla Province, late in the next year. “The floating museum is the first-ever floating museum in Korea,” an official from the county office told The Korea Herald on Sunday. “The floating museum is part of our project to build a kind of a theme park dedicated to Kim Whan-ki in his home town.” The floating museum w

Arts & DesignNov. 22, 2020

[Eye Plus] Sharing warmth with trees this winter

As the cold winter approaches, a community organization in Incheon has embarked on a project to share some warmth with the trees.  In the city’s Mansu district, trees lining the streets are clad in colorful patterned blankets knitted by members of the Dream Village Community.  Some feature hearts and flowers, while others draw on winter themes and depict characters such as Olaf, the snowman from “Frozen.” The Dream Village Community reportedly began knitting not on

CultureNov. 21, 2020

Taean-meets-glam on social media

Korea is bracing for another surge in the coronavirus pandemic, with rising numbers of cluster infections nationwide. As the global health threat continues to disrupt our lives, traveling may not be the wisest activity for a while. However, if one must travel, Taean, a coastal county in South Chungcheong Province, is an option.  A two-hour drive south of Seoul, Taean can be easily reached by car from many regions in Korea. The locale is also encompassed in wild nature, dispersing visitor

TravelNov. 21, 2020

[Diana’s Table] Shrimp wrap with spicy mustard dressing

This is my interpretation of a traditional Korean dish called chilled shrimp salad with seasonal vegetables. Usually, shrimp is mixed with cut bamboo shoots, Asian pears, cucumbers and jellyfish. Depending on the availability of seasonal vegetables, we add carrots, bell peppers or mushrooms. As shrimp is considered an expensive delicacy, it is a popular dish for special occasions such as birthdays and holidays. As a chilled dish, it is usually served in the summer. But, I like to make this di

FoodNov. 21, 2020

MMCA screens indie films by masters

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, will screen films starting Friday that shed light on the ordinariness of everyday life that has gone missing due to the pandemic. “Intermission 2020” will run through Dec. 6 at the MMCA’s Seoul venue, presenting seven indie films by French director Philippe Garrel, Lithuanian American filmmaker Jonas Mekas and American director Anne Charlotte Robertson. “Intermission,” launched in 2014, takes place betwe

Arts & DesignNov. 21, 2020

Gaon, La Yeon keep Michelin stars

Michelin Guide Seoul’s fifth edition was released on Thursday as star revelation ceremony took place online with all the honored chefs joining a conference call. Michelin said it wanted to host an extravagant event for the fifth anniversary, but the pandemic situation made it necessary for the chefs to receive the awards separately by a Michelin official at each restaurant. The event started out with a video showing the efforts of chefs around the world supporting medical staff and commun

FoodNov. 21, 2020

A refugee’s story, told in pictures

Picture book “The Paper Boat: A Refugee Story,” released in September, recounts the story of author Thao Lam, who escaped Vietnam after the Vietnam War in a small fishing boat with her parents, becoming a refugee at age 2. Known for previous works including “Skunk on a String” and “My Cat Looks Like My Dad,” Lam walks through the pain of her refugee experience as well as the help she received in a foreign country that gave her a normal life once again. The

BooksNov. 21, 2020