[Photo News] Hanbok-inspired school uniforms on display

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Education have announced plans for hanbok-inspired school uniforms, and samples are on display at the KCDF Gallery in central Seoul. The 53 samples were selected through a contest held in April 2019. Schools can view them and meet with consultants from the Culture Ministry’s Hanbok Advancement Center at a booth in the gallery. A total of 20 middle and high schools are to adopt the uniforms with government assistance. The tw

Arts & DesignMay 8, 2020

[Herald Interview] EBS producer Chung Hyun-sook seeks common values in Asia

Over the past five years, Chung Hyun-sook, senior executive producer at the Educational Broadcasting System, has been producing international documentaries in collaboration with other Asian countries. Her ultimate goal as a producer is to make a cultural community for Asian countries. Chung, who has also been chair of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Kids since 2004, has focused on drama and documentaries mainly on kids. But her new fifth documentary, “Family Asia,” which aired Mon

TelevisionMay 8, 2020

Bat flipping and fancy cheerleading: How Korean baseball culture differs from US

While Americans take to watching Korean baseball as ESPN started streaming KBO starting with Tuesday’s long-delayed Opening Day, the unique baseball fan culture in Korea has yet to be shown, as the games are being played without spectators. The baseball fan culture in Korea is unlike anything that fans would find in the MLB. The first major difference is the cheering. All 10 Korean baseball teams have songs to support the teams, which are sung multiple times by the fans at each game.

CultureMay 7, 2020

Korea to relax regulations on game industry to lead global market

Culture Minister Park Yang-woo on Thursday announced a plan to support the Korean gaming industry with the aim of leading the future global market. “We will lead innovative growth of the game industry by actively revising the regulatory system,” Park said during a press briefing held in Seoul on Thursday. “Large global conglomerates such as Google and Facebook are expanding in the global gaming market with new technologies. However, there is criticism that our regulations

CultureMay 7, 2020

‘Space Sweepers’ starring Song Joong-ki slated for summer release

The distributor for the upcoming sci-fi blockbuster “Space Sweepers” confirmed the film would be released this summer and unveiled a clip of the film Thursday. Distributor Merry Christmas released the first trailer for the film, saying the exact date of its release had not yet been confirmed. The star-studded film, better known by the Korean title “Spaceship Victory,” stars Song Joong-ki and Kim Tae-ri. Veteran actors Yoo Hai-jin and Jin Sun-kyu are also part of the ca

FilmMay 7, 2020

[Feature] K-webtoons become mainstream, go global

Once considered a subculture enjoyed by the young, web-based cartoons have now fully entered mainstream entertainment. With the global ascent of K-pop, Korean webtoons are also expanding their global presence, along with Korean cinema and TV.　　 Webtoons first emerged in South Korea in the early 2000s, initially as a means to attract users to portal sites and to digitize paper comics. The country’s two largest portals Daum and Naver launched their own webtoon platforms in 2003 and 2004

CultureMay 6, 2020

Performances resume as strict social distancing relaxed

As the spread of the new coronavirus continues to slow in South Korea, the nation has switched to a new strategy stressing disease prevention in everyday life, allowing national theaters and arts troupes to return to their normal routines.　 Five state-run performance venues -- the National Theater of Korea, National Gugak Center, Jeongdong Theater, Myeongdong Theater and Asia Culture Center -- that were shut down in late February will all resume operations, according to the Ministry of Culture

PerformanceMay 6, 2020

National Intangible Heritage Center reopens with renovated exhibition hall

The National Intangible Heritage Center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, reopened its permanent exhibition hall on Wednesday. According to the center, it has renovated the “Traditional Craftsmanship” exhibition hall ahead of the reopening. The renovation that began in September re-creates traditional craftsman‘s workshops and displays craft materials and tools. The center originally planned to reopen the center in April, but the reopening was delayed due to the spread of C

CultureMay 6, 2020

ACC looks for unique film projects in Asia to support

The Asia Culture Center and the Asia Culture Institute, both affiliated with the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has started taking applications for the 2020 ACC Cinema Fund to support experimental and independent films and media projects. 　 Launched in 2018, the ACC Cinema Fund is a biannual program led by the ACC Cinematheque, the organization in charge of the ACC’s video art projects.  The organizers said they were calling for entries from across Asia from

CultureMay 6, 2020

Art on Seoul subway line enlivens commute

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, has organized an art exhibition at 11 stations in northern Seoul in collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. “Painting Study,” which runs until Aug. 31, features 61 paintings by Kook Dong-wan and installation artist Vakki at the stations along the Ui-Sinseol Subway Line. The line connects Ui-dong in Gangbuk-gu with Sinseol-dong in Dongdaemun-gu. Kook and Vakki were selected for the MMCA’s 2020 artist r

Arts & DesignMay 6, 2020

Film industry likely to go back to normal under relaxed social distancing

As South Korea switched to an everyday form of social distancing from Wednesday, the film industry, hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic, is slowly moving to go back to normal. The number of daily moviegoers plunged to an all-time low of 15,000 on April 5 as people have been asked to stay at home to prevent further the spread of infection. The country's total COVID-19 infections surpassed 10,000 on April 3. Consequently, the monthly number of viewers hit 972,000 for April, marking the f

FilmMay 6, 2020

20 schools to be selected to adopt hanbok-inspired uniforms

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday announced that it will select 20 middle and high schools that will adopt hanbok-inspired school uniforms in conjunction with the Ministry of Education. “We hope that a new value of hanbok can be discovered through hanbok-inspired uniforms that look good and feel comfortable,” a Culture Ministry official said in a statement. This project began in February last year when the Culture Ministry and the Ministry of Education signed

Arts & DesignMay 5, 2020

National Museum of Korea to reopen with caution

The National Museum of Korea’s permanent exhibition hall will reopen Wednesday, more than two months after the entire museum was shut down in late February due to the spread of COVID-19. The museum will accept 300 individual visitors per hour in observance of the government’s social distancing guidelines. To minimize personal contact, exhibition commentary service will not be provided until further notice. Visitors will have to make an online reservation in advance to enter the fa

CultureMay 5, 2020

KCDC’s #ThanksChallenge goes viral as celebrities join

Celebrities joined the #ThanksChallenge this week via their social media accounts to thank the medical personnel who have worked tirelessly to fight the COVID-19 pandemic The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the start of the challenge during its regular briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic situation on April 16. The challenge consists of posting yourself showing the word “respect” in sign language -- placing the right hand with the thumb up on top of the left

PeopleMay 5, 2020

[Feature] LCK seeks return to glory with franchise system

On April 7, League of Legends Champions Korea announced that it would be adopting a long-term partnership model for 2021. LCK is the last of the major LoL esports leagues to adopt the long-term partnership model, also known as a franchise model, with the Chinese league LPL and North America league LCS having adopted the system in 2018 and European league LEC in 2019. “We started looking into the franchise model in 2018. Back then, we had just built the LoL Park Arena and started broadca

CultureMay 5, 2020

[Feature] ‘Crisis will come again, and more indie theaters could prevent the worst’

More than three months into the coronavirus crisis, the South Korean film scene continues to struggle amid what cineastes describe as an unprecedented time of strife in more than 100 years of Korean cinema. The number of cinemagoers recorded new lows every month since January, and April saw the figure fall below 1 million for the first time since the Korean Film Council started compiling the data in 2004. Multiplexes, which dominate the market, temporarily shut down some screens, and as new

FilmMay 5, 2020

Korean enoki mushrooms recalled in US

The US Food and Drug Administration flagged South Korean enoki mushrooms for the third time in the last two months as a possible source of listeria. H&C Foods, a Brooklyn-based company, recalled boxes of enoki mushrooms imported from Korea’s Green Co. after the FDA released evidence of potential contamination. Enoki mushroom samples from Sun Hong Foods Inc., Guan’s Mushroom Co. and H&C Foods tested positive for listeria bacteria, which can cause serious food poisoning in

FoodMay 5, 2020

MMCA reopens with online reservation system

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea will partly reopen on Wednesday, as new COVID-19 infection cases have sharply decreased here. Those who want to visit the four venues of the museum -- Deoksugung, Seoul, Gwacheon and Cheongju -- and Children’s museum in Gwacheon are required to make online reservations on the MMCA’s website, choosing a date from Tuesday to May 17. All visitors are required to wear a face mask and have their temperature checked before ent

Arts & DesignMay 4, 2020

Revelations by alleged school bullying victims shake Korean TV industry

Postings on online communities by alleged victims who claim they were bullied by TV celebrities in their school years are rattling the show business industry. Freelance TV producer Kim Yoo-jin, who appeared on the MBC reality show “Don’t Be Jealous” with her husband-to-be, star chef Lee Won-il, was reportedly hospitalized Monday after posting a message that said she had been falsely accused and that hinted at a suicide. On Monday afternoon, Kim’s sister posted on soc

TelevisionMay 4, 2020

Large numbers expected at Children’s Grand Park in Seoul on Children’s Day

Thousands of people visited the zoo in Children’s Grand Park on May 1, when it reopened after closing down due to the spread of COVID-19. All the indoor animal exhibits are still closed and only around 50 percent of the outdoor exhibits are open, but that did not stop parents from bringing their children to the park over the long weekend. “On Saturday we had around 25,000 visitors and on Sunday we had 29,000,” said Chun Jin-woo, the head of operations at Children’s Gran

TravelMay 4, 2020