‘Gag Concert’ to go on hiatus after 21 years

KBS’s “Gag Concert” is going on a break until further notice, signaling the end of comedy shows on terrestrial television networks. In the 2000s Koreans gathered in front of the TV on Sunday night to watch KBS’s “Gag Concert,” a comedy show that at one point enjoyed viewership rating of roughly 30 percent. Many people closed out the weekend with the guitar tunes that signaled the end of the episode on Sunday night and readied for another week. As “Gag

TelevisionMay 15, 2020

[Photo News] House style

Arts & DesignMay 15, 2020

KNCDC launches online stretching tutorials, ‘Flexible Day’

The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company’s home-training series, “Flexible Day,” kicked off with the first episode streaming Wednesday on KNCDC’s YouTube channel. “Flexible Day” is part of the online project “Dance on Air” by the KNCDC, which aims to show contemporary dance to the audience at home. Episodes of “Flexible Day” will be uploaded on YouTube and Naver TV every Wednesday and Friday for five weeks. Artistic director Nam

CultureMay 15, 2020

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and Packages

Bingsu returns to Novotel Seoul Dongdaemun　 Novotel Seoul Dongdaemun Hotel & Residences’ Gourmet Bar features two kinds of bingsu for the summer -- snowflake bingsu and mango bingsu. Both are served with macarons and topped with Oreo crumbles and cheesecake crumbles. Snowflake bingsu is priced at 28,000 and mango bingsu costs 35,000 won. They are available until Aug. 31. For more information or inquiries, call the Gourmet Bar at (02) 3425-8102.  Suite for Kids at Banyan Tre

FoodMay 15, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

The Call of the Wild (US) Opened May 14 Adventure, Drama Directed by Chris Sanders Buck is a big-hearted dog whose blissful domestic life gets turned upside down when he is suddenly uprooted from his California home and transplanted to the exotic wilds of the Alaskan Yukon in the 1890s. As the newest rookie on a mail-delivery dog sled team, Buck experiences the adventure of a lifetime. Unfortunately, the postal service closes and Buck gets into the hands of gold-hungry Hal, who constantly abus

FilmMay 15, 2020

Postponed to next year due to pandemic, Gwangju Biennale will feature feminism, new venue

The 13th Gwangju Biennale -- which was postponed to February 2021 -- will be held across Gwangju, including the town of Yangnim, a historic place that is witness to the city’s modern history, for the first time, and will feature feminism, which has emerged as one of the most important themes around the world. The art event will be held from Feb. 26 to May 9 next year with the theme, “Minds Rising, Spirits Tuning,” pushed back from September this year due to the COVID-19 pand

Arts & DesignMay 14, 2020

KOFIC ensures clean cinemas, filming locations

The Korean government agency for the film industry sought to assure the public of safety inside cinemas and at filming locations, and promised measures to support the industry suffering from the prolonged spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The Korean Film Council on Wednesday said it is operating a special safety management committee of health experts and members of the film industry to draw up new guidelines to be applied at the film scene in accordance with the government’s ease

FilmMay 14, 2020

Korea Film Council vows to ensure safe environment for film industry

South Korea's film industry governing body said Wednesday it will do its best to keep local theaters and filming sites safe from exposure to the novel coronavirus. The Korean Film Council said it has set up a special safety management committee, consisting of health experts and film employees, to oversee the implementation of quarantine rules in accordance with eased social distancing in the cinematic scene. "Our goal is to help healthy people protect themselves from possible virus infec

FilmMay 13, 2020

Lotte Concert Hall goes online with ‘Music Keeps Going’

The Lotte Foundation for Arts is set to launch artist support program “Music Keeps Going,” hoping to invigorate the stagnant performing art scene and help audiences and performers communicate through music. The foundation received applications from late-April to early-May from artists or acts under 10 persons. The applicants were limited to Korean nationals residing in the nation.  According to the art foundation’s announcement Wednesday, four acts were selected: Spec

PerformanceMay 13, 2020

MMCA hosts largest print exhibition in decade to rediscover marginalized art genre

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) is hosting the largest print exhibition in 13 years to explore the print art, which has been relatively unknown to the public as an art genre. “The exhibition is expected to reaffirm the values of Korean prints and encourage more interest on the potential of the marginalized genre,” said Youn Bummo, director of MMCA. The exhibition, “Prints, Printmaking, Graphic Art,” at the Gwacheon venue features aroun

Arts & DesignMay 13, 2020

‘Bori’ a story of special yet ordinary people around us

While most other films about disabilities focus on the disabled characters, “Bori” sheds light on the life of a hearing child in a deaf family. Such children, referred to as CODA -- children of deaf adults -- may be deemed “normal” outside the home, but with their family they find themselves to be special at times, or “abnormal” other times, just like Bori in the film. Among the family of four, Bori is the only person who does not have a hearing disability.

FilmMay 13, 2020

In age of untact, virtual world of Minecraft rises as alternative to physical world

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause the postponement and cancellation of event after event, creating online replicas of the world using Minecraft to host events in the virtual world has become increasingly popular. In Minecraft, one of the most popular video games of all time, players explore a world made of unit-sized blocks and alter the environment to their choosing. In creative mode, players can build anything they want with limitless possibilities offered by the unit-sized blocks.

CultureMay 13, 2020

Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun to star in plane disaster blockbuster

A much-hyped aviation disaster film has confirmed its full cast lineup, featuring some of the biggest names in Korean cinema today. Next Entertainment World, the distributor of “Emergency Declaration,” announced the full cast of actors Tuesday and said shooting is to begin this month. The blockbuster is helmed by director Han Jae-rim of “The Show Must Go On” (2007) and “The Face Reader” (2013). Actors Song Kang-ho of this year’s top Oscar winner &ld

FilmMay 12, 2020

‘Free, Minu’ pays tribute to migrant who fought for foreign workers’ rights

Director Jee Hye-won of “Free, Minu” had not intended the film to hold the last words of Nepalese singer and activist Minod Moktan -- better known by his Korean name Minu -- when she began working on the film in 2016 with the intention to raise the issue of migrant workers in Korea. The documentary that follows Minu from 2016 to 2018 premiered at the 10th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival in 2018. While Minu was banned from reentering South Korea for 10 years after a 2009

FilmMay 12, 2020

Itaewon cluster infection brings light to Korea’s nightlife

As the Itaewon area in central Seoul has become the focal point of a potential second wave of new coronavirus infections in Korea, nightlife establishments are being shut down across the country. Authorities are issuing administrative orders banning mass gatherings not just at “entertainment facilities,” referring to clubs and bars, but also some classified as “general restaurants,” such as singles bars and old-fashioned pubs, with concerns rising about a potential &ldq

CultureMay 12, 2020

[Newsmaker] Park Yu-chun apologizes on air for lying about drug use last year

Park Yu-chun, an actor and a member of K-pop group, JYJ, apologized for having lied about the drug charges against him last year in a TV interview aired on Monday. He said he had lost “rational judgement” when he swore to leave the entertainment industry if found guilty. “I really regret that I lied (about using drugs), and I still wonder ‘What if I had told the truth to people and sincerely asked for forgiveness (instead of insisting on innocence),’” Park

TelevisionMay 12, 2020

Scaled-back events mark 40th anniversary of Gwangju Democratic Uprising amid COVID-19

It has been 40 years since the Gwangju Democratic Uprising, when hundreds of citizens were killed in a deadly military crackdown during the authoritarian regime of Chun Doo-hwan, who came to power in a military coup in 1979. Due to the ongoing spread of the novel coronavirus, however, many events to commemorate the anniversary have been canceled or postponed. An annual event that was scheduled to take place on the eve of May 18, the historic day when the uprising started, has been canceled

CultureMay 12, 2020

Gwangju Biennale pushed back to next year as COVID-19 pandemic continues

The 13th Gwangju Biennale, which was scheduled to kick off in September, has been postponed to February 2021 due to the spread of COVID-19, the Gwangju Biennale Foundation announced Monday. The art biennale was originally scheduled to be held Sept. 4-Nov. 29 at the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall and other venues throughout the city of Gwangju. However, the foundation decided to delay the exhibition as COVID-19 infections continue to spread across the globe. “Considering that artists

Arts & DesignMay 11, 2020

[Herald Interview] A principal’s vision: From teaching to coaching students to develop games

Gyeonggi Game Meister High School in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, opened March 1, but it was not until April 16 that the school began its academic year. And the school’s inaugural principal, Chung Suk-hee, who is also the head of the Korea Game Developers Association, is still waiting to welcome the school’s first incoming class to the campus as the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the start of on-site classes. “Usually principals are chosen from among those who have been teachin

CultureMay 11, 2020

‘The World of the Married’ Jeong Jun-won apologizes for controversial photos

Actor Jeong Jun-won, who appears in the popular drama series “The World of the Married,” has caused controversy after pictures of the 16-year-old drinking and smoking with friends went viral on the internet. On Sunday, pictures that appear to be screenshots from Jeong’s social media page were trending in a local online community. One of the pictures showed the actor and his friends sitting around a table full of soju bottles, while another showed them smoking. The legal dri

TelevisionMay 11, 2020