[Herald Design Forum 2020] Israeli designer Ron Arad says design begins with ‘What if’

Israeli designer Ron Arad said that his ideas and inspiration come from questions that begin with “what if?” “The whole thing starts with curiosity,” Ron Arad said during Herald Design Forum 2020, held virtually in Incheon on Thursday. “Everything starts with what if you do that and what if you don’t. What and ifs. I don’t like manifestos. When I was teaching at the Royal College of Art, we never used the word ‘should.’ (We never said) you s

Arts & DesignOct. 22, 2020

[Video] A glimpse into cafes with unique visual design

Coffee districts in Seoul are moving beyond the old aesthetics and have turned into highly Instagrammable spots. Quirky yet trendy cafes in old settings have infused fresh energy and unbelievable ambiance into these areas. These districts have since placed themselves as the latest “it” spots among the younger generation. A case in point is Yeonnam-dong. The majority of the cafes, restaurants and old vintage shops are nestled in narrow alleyways, allowing visitors to easily stumble

CultureOct. 22, 2020

K-Friends to promote Korea overseas

  The Korea Tourism Organization is receiving applications to join K-Friends, its online team of online supporters. With in-person marketing almost impossible these days due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the KTO hopes to attract tourists to Korea through contactless promotions, according to the KTO. Application is open to foreign nationals with more than 100 social media followers. The organization hopes to gather 10,000 supporters this year, 50,000 by 2023, and 100,000 by 2025. The parti

CultureOct. 22, 2020

'The Man Standing Next' chosen as S. Korea's 2021 Oscars entry

A political thriller depicting the intense power struggle among former President Park Chung-hee's top aides before one of them assassinated him in 1979 will represent South Korea in next year's Oscars. The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) said Thursday that it has chosen "The Man Standing Next" out of 13 films as the country's entry for the best international feature film category of the 93rd Academy Awards. The selection came after South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite"

FilmOct. 22, 2020

Naver accused of excessive censorship of webtoons after string of controversies

After the success of K-pop, K-drama and even K-movies internationally, the letter “K” is now often placed in front of Korean products that make Koreans proud. “K-quarantine” was a word used in multiple headlines this year to recognize the relative success of Korea in containing the COVID-19. However, there is one K- word that became widespread online this year that does the opposite: “K-censorship” is a derogatory term used to criticize excessive censorship

CartoonOct. 21, 2020

Culture Ministry to lend additional W40b to tourism industry

  The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Wednesday that it would inject an additional 40 billion won ($35.2 million) into South Korea’s tourism industry in the form of loans in the next two months. “As of the end of September, tourism industry sales had dropped by 9 trillion won compared to last year,” Choi Yoon-hee, second vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, said during a press conference Wednesday. In its 2020 budget, she explained, the ministr

TravelOct. 21, 2020

Busan International Film Festival kicks off without fanfare

The 25th Busan International Film Festival kicked off Wednesday for a 10-day run in a year that has seen many film festivals around the world canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this year’s BIFF is a much scaled down version with all large crowd-attracting events such as the opening and closing ceremonies, outdoor greetings and open talk sessions canceled. “Many leading overseas film festivals were canceled due to COVID-19, but we decided to hold it, as we have trust i

FilmOct. 21, 2020

Modern artist Byun Shi-ji offers comfort revealing severe loneliness in paintings

You may feel poignant loneliness in the paintings. The man who walks with a cane facing strong wind or a typhoon may look so lonely that it brings tears to your eyes. But at the same time, you will feel solace. What made his life so arduous? The question will linger in your mind as you view the works of Korean modern artist Byun Shi-ji at the Gana Art Center exhibition that features 40 paintings from his final years on Jeju Island, where he died in 2013. Born in 1926 on Jeju Island, the ar

Arts & DesignOct. 21, 2020

‘Cats’ singing in Korea as ‘beacon of hope’

While Broadway remains in a prolonged shutdown and the West End is just now coming back to life after seven months of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the felines of “Cats” continue to sing and dance in South Korea. Three cast members from the international tour production of “Cats” -- Joanna Ampil, playing Grizabella; Dan Partridge, playing Rum Tum Tugger; and Brad Little, playing Old Deuteronomy -- spoke about being part of the hit Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in

PerformanceOct. 21, 2020

What did the Russian architect see?

An exhibition titled “The Life and Works of Russian Architect Afanasy Seredin-Sabatin” opened in Seoul at the palace Deoksugung on Tuesday, marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Russia. Afanasy Ivanovich Seredin-Sabatin arrived in the port city of Incheon as a tidewaiter and stayed on in the country, working as an architect from 1890 to 1904. The exhibition, which runs through Nov. 11 in Jungmyeongjeon -- a building within the palace that Sere

CultureOct. 20, 2020

Hit drama ‘Phoenix’ rises again 16 years later

MBC’s drama series “Phoenix” from 2004 that featured actor Lee Seo-jin, Mun Jung-hyuk and the late Lee Eun-ju returns as an SBS daily morning soap opera starting from Monday at 8:35 a.m. The script for the 2020 “Phoenix” remake is once again written by Lee Yoo-jin, who wrote the original series. “Pheonix” revolves around Jang Se-hoon, who is poor, and Lee Ji-eun, from a rich family, as they get married, get divorced and meet again after their financi

TelevisionOct. 20, 2020

[Herald Design Forum 2020] D'strict expresses nature with digital media technology　

A massive wave crashing into the sides of what looks like a giant glass tank, but is actually a wrap-around LED display, grabbed the attention of not just passers-by but international media in May. D’strict, the company that created the public media art titled “WAVE” at Coex K-pop Square in Seoul, used a technology called anamorphic illusion to realistically express the force of nature with superb three-dimensional effects. In August, D’strict unveiled “Starry Bea

Arts & DesignOct. 20, 2020

[Herald Design Forum 2020] Finding balanced symbiosis by connecting art, natural sciences

Tomas Saraceno, an architect and artist from Argentina, uses an analogy of dreams to explain the elusive concept of utopia. “Sometimes you have nightmares and sometimes you have dreams. It means you can think about dystopia and utopia as a nightmare or a dream,” he said in an interview. Saraceno, who will join the Herald Design Forum 2020 slated for Thursday as one of keynote speakers, said that utopia, though as changeable as a dream, is “something that is supposed to be b

Arts & DesignOct. 20, 2020

[Herald Design Forum] Herald Design Forum to ponder ‘Another 10 Years’

The Herald Design Forum 2020 will be held virtually Thursday, envisioning the next 10 years of innovation by design. The 10th edition of the annual event, which celebrates the art of design and its value, will be held under the title of “Another 10 Years.” In response to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the forum will be held virtually. In compliance with the government’s social distancing guideline, fewer than 50 speakers and officials will attend the event held at Paradise

Arts & DesignOct. 20, 2020

Photographer Gabriele Basilico’s view of Italian cities on show in Seoul

The COVID-19 pandemic has made international travel virtually impossible, but there are ways yet to explore foreign lands and take in the view. Gabriele Basilico, a renowned Italian photographer whose works feature the country’s cities and architecture, provides an intimate look at how cities in Italy have changed in the contemporary era by training his eyes on their architecture and their streets. “Gabriele Basilico, Photographs of Italy,” the artist’s first solo exh

Arts & DesignOct. 20, 2020

South Korean avant-garde art to be introduced at Guggenheim Museum in 2022

South Korea’s avant-garde artists who introduced performance art to the country in the 1960s will be presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2022 as the first major international exhibition of Korean avant-garde art. The exhibition titled “The Avant-Garde: Experimental Art in South Korea, in 1960s-1970s” at Guggenheim Museum will be co-organized with the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul. The exhibition will be held in tandem at the tw

Arts & DesignOct. 20, 2020

Rapper Owen steps down from ‘Show Me the Money’ after report of drug use

Mnet announced Tuesday that rapper Owen of MKIT Rain Records is stepping down from the rap competition program “Show Me the Money,” following a local media report that he and four other rappers were found to have used marijuana last year. The local Channel A News reported Monday that the police investigated MKIT Rain Records and found all five rappers of the label had used marijuana sometime in August and September last year at the company’s office. The five rappers were Nafl

PerformanceOct. 20, 2020

[Herald Interview] Digital Seoul Fashion Week to challenge convention, promote designers globally

The sudden outbreak of the pandemic frustrated the fashion industry earlier this year when the 2020 fall-winter Seoul Fashion Week was canceled just a month before it was scheduled to take place. After gearing up for the 2021 spring-summer season for months, Korea’s largest fashion event is going digital, breaking the barrier between designers and audiences. “It will be our first show to attempt to show B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business to customer) retail models at the

Arts & DesignOct. 19, 2020

SPO preps for return to stage

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra is gearing up for a new start, after months of lull due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Like most other orchestras and music acts around the world, the SPO has had a rather underwhelming 2020. This year, the SPO took to the stage stage in February -- when its music director Osmo Vanska led two inaugural concerts in Seoul -- and in June and July, before performances were halted again as the number of COVID-19 cases spiked in August. But as Korea has eased

PerformanceOct. 19, 2020

‘Writing Tomorrow’ festival to discuss role of literature in COVID-19 era

The 2020 Seoul International Writers’ Festival, the largest international literary festival in South Korea, will take place online Nov. 2-8, with the aim of expanding opportunities to enjoy literature while providing a platform for literary exchange. Eleven writers from 11 foreign countries and 14 Korean writers are taking part in this year’s festival, themed “Writing Tomorrow.” Participating writers include Luis Eduardo Garcia of Mexico and Paolo Giordano of Italy, the

BooksOct. 19, 2020