Middlebury College students learn Korean with BTS

The Korea Foundation on Tuesday said that it has launched a lecture series using ‘Learn! KOREAN with BTS’ at Middlebury College, a liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont that is known for its foreign language programs. In August, the KF, K-pop powerhouse Big Hit Entertainment’s education business unit Big Hit Edu and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies announced that they were working together to develop and provide Korean language learning programs. The e-school lectu

CultureOct. 6, 2020

‘KKUM’ wins Grand Prize and Public Prize at OIAF

Director Kim Kang-min became the first Korean to take home both the Nelvana Grand Prize for Independent Short and the Public Prize at the 44th Ottawa International Animation Festival, with his short film “KKUM” on Saturday. “KKUM,” meaning “dream” in Korean, is a black-and-white stop-motion animation about a mother who has prophetic dreams of the dangers her son will face and how the son matures in her love. “Winning the Grand Award at Ottawa was one

FilmOct. 6, 2020

Musical ‘Mozart!’ viewed online by 15,000 paid audience

The two-day online screening of musical “Mozart!” gathered 15,000 paid audience members in Korea over the Chuseok holiday. EMK Musical Company, the production company behind the hit musical, offered a paid online stream of its hit musical “Mozart!” on Saturday and Sunday via Naver V Live, a local video streaming platform. A total of 15,000 people purchased online tickets for the musical screening, according to EMK Musical Company Tuesday. Some 12,000 were individual t

PerformanceOct. 6, 2020

S. Korean cinemas see 70% drop in revenue due to protracted coronavirus pandemic

The combined revenue for South Korean movie theaters declined by over 70 percent as the new coronavirus pandemic has continued for months, according to a lawmaker Monday. Cinemas across the country posted revenue of 415.1 billion won ($356.9 million) in the first nine months of this year, more than a 70 percent fall from 1.448 trillion won a year ago, Rep. Park Jeung of the ruling Democratic Party said. The number of moviegoers also fell by some 70 percent, from 170 million to 48 million, over

FilmOct. 5, 2020

Launching the ‘Why Jameson Highball?’ campaign

Pernod Ricard Korea said its new campaign to promote its blended Irish whiskey Jameson comes at a time when people are seeking connection with a small group of close friends in their own emotional and inspirational way. Dubbing it “Why Jameson Highball?” the company wants to tap into the growing sentiment by offering an approachable way of enjoying whiskey, namely in the form of a highball, which is made by mixing whiskey with soda water or ginger ale. “Genuine connection an

CultureOct. 5, 2020

Bond and connect: Three artists relate over highballs

It is an unlikely collaboration, yet it makes so much sense. They all work in different disciplines of art, but each is the epitome of things that are trendy, unpretentious and free-spirited. Pop art artist Jackson Shim, four-piece indie band Adoy and choreographer J Black have taken on the role as ambassadors for Pernod Ricard Korea’s new social media campaign “Why Jameson Highball?” The three shared in an interview with The Korea Herald why they chose to work with Jameson

CultureOct. 5, 2020

Netflix to show Korean American director Caroline Suh’s Blackpink doc

Netflix on Monday said its highly anticipated K-pop documentary “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky,” directed by Korean American film director Caroline Suh, is set to premiere on Oct. 14. Once the film is released, Blackpink will be the fourth female act featured in a Netflix original documentary, following Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Taylor Swift. The documentary will mainly feature Blackpink’s short but intense journey to K-pop superstardom now from rookies in 2016. It also will hav

FilmOct. 5, 2020

Events to mark Hangeul Day to be held at Korean Cultural Centers worldwide

A wide range of events will be held at 32 Korean Cultural Centers located in 27 countries to mark the 574th Hangeul Day on Oct. 9. the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korean Culture and Information Service announced Monday. Hangeul is the writing system for the Korean language, consisting of 24 letters. King Sejong the Great (1397-1450) led the invention with a team of scholars and Hangeul was promulgated in 1446. “Through holding these events to commemorate Hangeul Day, we

CultureOct. 5, 2020

[Herald Interview] Sohyang talks singing in ‘Begin Again,’ lesson from battle with pneumonia

After basking in the limelight of “King of Mask Singer” in 2017, Sohyang has kept a low-profile, staying away from the small screen. Over the course of her public absence, she’s battled severe pneumonia, which recurred eight times and nearly took away her voice, and made her certain, at one point, that her singing career would be over. But ironically, it was also those times of despair that helped get her head above water and led her to music variety show “Begin Again.&rd

PerformanceOct. 5, 2020

'Lt. Lee' resolves debt conflict

One of the trainers in the first season of popular YouTube show “Fake Men,” “Lieutenant” Rhee Keun, also known as Ken Rhee, uploaded a 91-second video Monday morning announcing that the monetary conflict with one of his acquaintances, identified as Kim, has been resolved and that he has paid back all debt owed to him. The conflict rose to the surface when Kim posted on Instagram on Friday accusing Rhee of not paying back 2 million won ($1,720) he had borrowed. Although&

TelevisionOct. 5, 2020

MMCA sheds light on underappreciated modern art pioneer

Park Re-hyun pioneered Korean modern art during the Japanese colonial era (1910-1945) and the years when Western culture flooded into Korea after its liberation from Japanese rule. While Park began her art studies in Japan and her paintings that feature Japanese aesthetics were once highly acclaimed, the artist sought to erase that legacy and went on to develop her own style, contemplating the fundamental aesthetics of Korea. Deeply fascinated by cubism, the style pioneered by Pablo Picasso, s

Arts & DesignOct. 4, 2020

YouTube show ‘Fake Men’ goes multi-platform

The second season of reality show “Fake Men,” which was originally created for YouTube, is now also streaming through two local platforms -- Kakao TV and Watcha. The first season of the show, made by channel operator Physical Gallery with security and tactics consulting firm MUSAT, featured YouTube celebrities in extreme situations as they participated in MUSAT’s simulated Underwater Demolition Team training program. The show was initially a parody of MBC’s “Real

TelevisionOct. 4, 2020

‘Emperor of Trot’ Na Hoon-a concert proves 73-year-old’s star power

Along with eating traditional food and getting together with family, for many, one of the highlights of this year’s Chuseok holidays was watching local broadcaster KBS 2TV’s “2020 Chuseok Grand Plan Republic of Korea Again Na Hoon-a” on Wednesday. The 2-hour and 40-minute recording of 73-year-old trot singer Na Hoon-a’s first-ever online concert, which took place Sept. 23 and aired Wednesday, got a record-breaking viewership rating of 29 percent, according to mark

PerformanceOct. 4, 2020

Books going through digital transformation

The prolonged battle against the COVID-19 outbreak is changing life patterns, including how we read and digest books. Public libraries have shut down with some offering delivery-only services, or activating “e-bookshelf” sections online as an alternative way out during and after the crisis. Efforts for new reading experiences seem to have gained overall success so far. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in 2019, the rate of e-book readers hit 16.5 percent for

BooksOct. 3, 2020

BLACKPINK hopes to show growth, share positive energy with 1st full album

K-pop group BLACKPINK said Friday it wanted to show its growth as an artist and send out a message of hope and positive energy with its first-ever full-length album. Earlier in the day, the quartet unveiled the album "The Album," which includes main track "Lovesick Girls" as well as hits that have topped music charts such as "How You Like That" and "Ice Cream" featuring Selena Gomez. "We wanted to not only express various emotions on love but also s

PerformanceOct. 2, 2020

Preorders for BLACKPINK's upcoming full-length album top 1m

Preorders for K-pop girl band BLACKPINK's upcoming studio album have topped 1 million, its management agency said Friday. "The Album," set for official release later in the day, posted 670,000 preorders from South Korea and 340,000 from overseas, YG Entertainment said. It said if the album records 1 million copies in actual sales in its first week, it will be the most by a K-pop girl group in history. Eight tracks of the quartet's first full-length album will be available to the pub

PerformanceOct. 2, 2020

Horrors, zombie thrillers set to attract TV viewers in coming weeks

On chilly fall nights, monsters, ghosts and zombies are poised to thrill or even scare South Korean TV viewers and binge-watchers. The horror show "Sweet Home," based on a famous web cartoon with the same title, will be released on Netflix later this year. The series is about a student who faces scary experiences after moving into a new apartment, where its residents turn into monsters. It has drawn wide attention from viewers as the Netflix debut by renowned South Korean director L

TelevisionOct. 2, 2020

Tech-fueled traditional activities for Chuseok holidays

State-run cultural facilities reopened Monday following a monthlong shutdown, but COVID-19 threats still exist. To safely indulge in holiday traditions during the Chuseok holidays, virtual visits to cultural sites are an option. For families with young children, who may be uncomfortable with the idea of visiting crowded places, some royal palaces are available online, enhanced with the latest technologies - from virtual reality to augmented reality -- offering users a more interactive experienc

CultureOct. 1, 2020

Korean culture festival to kick off virtually next month

An inaugural Korean culture festival will kick off next month to give people from all over the world chances to enjoy Korean cultural heritage and modern trends in a virtual way, the culture ministry said Thursday. The first edition of the 2020 K-Culture Festival will be held online from Oct. 10-Nov. 11, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Led by the ministry and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), the newly launched event was designed to p

CultureOct. 1, 2020

Pandemic deepens generational conflict surrounding Chuseok

As the prolonged pandemic continues into late September, Chuseok -- South Korea’s major traditional holiday -- has become a thorny issue for some families, igniting a generational conflict over whether to have family reunions during the holiday. “I feel reluctant to have a family gathering at this pandemic time, and I am particularly worried about my 3-month-old baby,” one post in an online community reads. “What are you all going to do during Chuseok this year? I don&r

CultureSept. 30, 2020