Online content for the Chuseok holidays

Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, is all about families returning to their hometowns and paying tribute to their ancestors by visiting graves and sharing a big meal. Also, the Chuseok holidays are the busiest time of the year for movie theaters with lots of new family movies being released. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has the Health Ministry strongly encouraging the public to stay home and keep a safe distance during the nation’s major traditional holiday. Although foll

TelevisionSept. 29, 2020

Despite reopening, public stage struggles with uncertainty

Though state-run culture facilities reopened Monday, uncertainties regarding the COVID-19 pandemic remain. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Friday that 23 museums and libraries and 11 government-run performing arts venues would reopen Monday after a monthlong shutdown. Despite them reopening, however, the performing arts sector continues to struggle. The Art Council Korea,, also known as Arko, under the Culture Ministry, canceled its Arko Partner project Thursday, cancel

PerformanceSept. 29, 2020

Valuable folk painting returns to Korea after 70 years

A rare painting by Korean folk painting master Kim Hong-do from the Joseon era (1392-1910) has returned to Korea after decades, finding a new owner in the home country. The painting by Kim (1745 -1806) fetched 490 million won ($419,000) at the auction held by Seoul Auction, the largest auction house in Korea, on Sept. 22. Bidding started at 400 million won. Among three entities competing over the painting, the Ansan city government in Gyeonggi Province won, becoming the owner of the artist

Arts & DesignSept. 29, 2020

[Video] Koreans welcome Chuseok with new flavors of songpyeon

Millions of people in South Korea are set to drive for hours to reunite with their family members for Chuseok, one of the country’s biggest annual celebrations. Chuseok, also referred to as “Hangawi,” falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which starts Wednesday and lasts through Sunday this year. Koreans also perform ancestral commemoration rites to honor the year‘s harvest as part of the festival. The time of celebrations and togetherness features a f

CultureSept. 29, 2020

New rice cakes break away from traditions

One of the traditional foods associated with Chuseok is tteok, or rice cakes. When people think of tteok, many think of traditional forms like baekseolgi and garaetteok that have a rich rice flavor, but in recent years more and more tteok treats have strayed from traditional flavors, and cooking methods targeting younger customers have been coming into the spotlight, with social media marketing leading the trend. The rise of fusion tteok like cream-filled tteok and ice cream tteok came with th

FoodSept. 28, 2020

KBS Orchestra to bring LoL music out of screen and onto stage

Music from the hit online video game League of Legends will be brought to life by an orchestra here. “League of Legends Live: The Orchestra” will be held at the Sejong Center of Performing Arts in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, Nov. 27-28. It will mark the first time that the Sejong Center is presenting a show with music from a video game. It will also be the first League of Legends concert hosted by Riot Games in Korea. League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena video ga

PerformanceSept. 28, 2020

‘Samjin Company English Class’ brings back ’90s vibe

It was the ’90s vibe that director Lee Jong-pil was after in his upcoming film “Samjin Company English Class,” which captures the mood of the country when it was on the cusp of globalization. The viewers are first introduced to three young women who work for Samjin Company -- Lee Ja-young, played by Ko Ah-sung, Jung Yoo-na, played by E Som, and Sim Bo-ram, played by Park Hye-soo. The year is 1995. The three women have been working at the company for eight years and are bett

FilmSept. 28, 2020

Local streaming service provider Wavve tops 10m subscribers

The number of subscribers of the local video streaming service giant Wavve has topped 10 million on rising demand for a wide variety of content, the company said Monday. Wavve was launched last year by South Korea's top mobile carrier, SK Telecom Co., and terrestrial broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS. "Despite a slight slowdown in the first half of this year, our memberships have been on a strong rise since July thanks to new releases of Wavve original series and exclusive foreign titles,&quo

TelevisionSept. 28, 2020

[Herald Interview] Chamber music festival to bring spring to Seoul in October

A spring music festival will be happening in the fall -- perhaps not so unusual in a year that has been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 15th Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music will now take place in mid-October, after the original May schedule was put on hold following the nationwide spread of the novel coronavirus. Violinist Kang Dong-suk, the artistic director of the festival who has led the SSF since 2006 when the festival was founded, recently arrived from France and completed

PerformanceSept. 28, 2020

S.M. Entertainment aims to lead contactless era with Disney-like IP

Korean entertainment behemoth S.M. Entertainment is changing to adapt to the contactless era while utilizing its intellectual properties. “Like how Disney achieved an IP empire, K-pop will overcome this (pandemic) situation and become a genre that forms an IP empire in the music industry,” said S.M. Entertainment co-CEO Lee Sung-soo on Friday in his speech at MU:CON Online 2020. MU:CON is a four-day international music industry annual gathering organized by the Korea Creative Cont

PerformanceSept. 27, 2020

National Museum of Korea reopens with extended schedule for largest-ever show of national treasures

The National Museum of Korea’s “The New National Treasures of Korea” exhibition has been extended for two weeks. The largest-ever show of national treasures opened on July 22 and will now be shown through Oct. 11. The new schedule was announced on Friday along with the Sept. 28 reopening of the facility. The exhibition organizer explained that it decided to extend the exhibition‘s run as not many people had an opportunity to enjoy the show because the museum was shut

CultureSept. 27, 2020

Fresh, bizarre world of Netflix’s ‘School Nurse Files’

The first season of Netflix original drama series “The School Nurse Files” was released Friday, bringing Chung Se-rang’s fantasy novel “School Nurse Ahn Eun- young” to life in over 190 countries around the globe. The highly anticipated drama series reached the top of the list of most popular TV shows on Netflix in Korea upon its release, according to data analytics firm FlixPatrol. The six 50-minute episodes of the first season of “The School Nurse Files&rd

TelevisionSept. 27, 2020

[Eye Plus] Incheon Airport still battling COVID-19

Will we ever be able to feel the excitement and joy that we had at airports before the COVID-19 outbreak?  After eight months of border shutdowns, the Incheon International Airport, one of the largest and busiest airports in Asia, appears to be trying to return to normalcy.  Yet, the third-floor departure area remains eerily quiet, as people continue to refrain from flying abroad under travel restrictions.  On the first floor for arrivals, hundreds of quarantine officials are s

TravelSept. 26, 2020

[Eye Interview] Korean Peninsula laid out on music sheets

Not much is known about North Korea, let alone its music scene. The few things known about North Korean music concern its propaganda, hailing the ruling Kim dynasty, and state-led acts such as the Moranbong Band and Samjiyeon Orchestra. According to pianist Kim Cheol-woong, 45, who defected from North Korea some two decades ago, such perceptions are partly true and partly wrong. “Western music before the 20th century can be played freely. However, those after that must be screened by

PerformanceSept. 26, 2020

[Weekender] Bringing the theater experience to homes

People all over the world have been stuck at home for several months now due to COVID-19. More and more concerts and performances have moved online, and some movies have been released on Netflix or other online content platforms exclusively or prior to opening in theaters. With myriad offerings available in these quarantine times, some people are looking to enhance the online experience by setting up sound systems for their homes. The visual experience of an online performance can also be enha

PerformanceSept. 26, 2020

Are webtoons uniquely prone to offend?

Although webtoons shown on major portal sites have been popular for almost two decades, they have never been subjected to as much criticism as they are getting now. Controversy over webtoon content has been especially heated since August, when popular webtoon author Kian84 uploaded an episode that was criticized by fans. The most recent controversy occurred Sept. 18, when author Joo Ho-min of “Along With the Gods” made a contentious remark during a Twitch broadcast after a viewer as

CultureSept. 26, 2020

K-beauty meets 18th century Princess Hwahyup

The National Palace Museum of Korea on Tuesday announced that it will revive cosmetics products used by Princess Hwahyup from the 18th century jointly in conjunction with the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage and local cosmetics maker Cosmax before the end of this year. The three entities will jointly launch a new brand named “Princess Hwahyup” that will be developed based on findings of cosmetic products that were presumably used by Princess Hwahyup (1733-1752), the

CultureSept. 26, 2020

KIAF's art talk offers tips on purchasing art for younger generation

An art talk show on collecting art for the millennial generation was livestreamed Thursday on the sidelines of the Korean International Art Fair -- the largest art fair in Korea, which kicked off Wednesday online due to the pandemic -- as purchasing art has become a growing trend among the younger generation. “The popularity of artwork collection has increased dramatically among the millennial generation,” said Jackline Byun, founding director of K Artists Art Advisory, at the tal

Arts & DesignSept. 25, 2020

Short-form online musical in the works

Adjusting to the turbulent times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, an online-only musical will be launched in November. In the past few months, it has become the norm for musical production companies to stream their shows online, as in-person performances have been barred with tight restrictions to restrain the spread of COVID-19. Though the musical industry has been trying to establish a for-pay model, it has not been easy to bring audiences online, tying them down at home to watch the two- to

PerformanceSept. 25, 2020

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and Packages

‘Thanks Mom’ package at Novotel Ambassador Seoul Doksan Novotel Ambassador Seoul Doksan prepares a special staycation package for the upcoming Chuseok holidays for children to give their mothers a relaxing night at the hotel. The package includes a one-night stay, complimentary use of the swimming pool and fitness center and a lalaChuu makeup gift package. The lalaChuu makeup gift package includes six different makeup items -- tension cushion (No. 21), ampoule cleanser, soothing e

FoodSept. 25, 2020