[Herald Review] 2019 Grand Mint Festival features more band music

The 13th Grand Mint Festival took place at Olympic Park, eastern Seoul, over the weekend, with a heavier emphasis on band music than ever before.The all-genre music festival featuring K-pop artists, rock bands, hip-hop artists and more had a total of 50 acts in this year’s lineup. According to the festival, this year the main focus was band music. As with previous editions, “space hero” Minty was the festival mascot, appearing on all the festival posters as well as its mer

PerformanceOct. 21, 2019

Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' racks up $1.3m over weekend in US

Cannes-winning black comedy "Parasite" racked up nearly $1.3 million over the weekend in the United States, industry data showed Monday.Directed by eclectic South Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho, the film, released stateside on Oct. 11, ranked 11th at the US box office during the Friday-Sunday period, with a cumulative total of $1.8 million, according to data from Box Office Mojo. It is now being screened in 33 theaters in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and San Francisco

FilmOct. 21, 2019

[Video] A mix of ‘nogari’ and beer in Euljiro, Seoul

Euljiro has emerged as one of the most popular districts in Seoul thanks to a host of unique pubs, cafes and shops. A distinctive vibe resonates through its narrow alleys, best known for their old print shops. The Korea Herald’s interns visited Manseon Hof, a popular spot in Euljiro that is going strong on social media. Thanks to its surging popularity, thirsty hordes usually begin to appear early in the evening. The pub’s signature dish is “nogari,” or dried pollack, whi

FoodOct. 21, 2019

[Feature] Where is South Korea’s ‘Star Wars’?

With stories of intergalactic warfare, robots gone rogue and distant alien civilizations, science fiction remains one of the world’s most popular literary genres, gripping readers with its ability to integrate technological change and innovation into fantastical stories. It is curious then that South Korea, heralded as one of the most technologically innovative countries in the 21st century, has yet to find its foundation in the genre. While neighboring countries China and Japan have seen

CultureOct. 21, 2019

Seoul Fashion Week suggests fresh looks for 2020

The spring-summer 2020 Seoul Fashion Week shows were filled with fun and fresh offerings.The event took place at the Zaha Hadid-designed Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul from Monday to Saturday.This edition was the first to be run by the new director Jeon Mi-kyeong, a former editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar Korea. For the past four years, veteran fashion designer Jung Ku-ho had led the biannual fashion event.As in the previous editions, this season saw 34 Seoul Collection shows a

Arts & DesignOct. 20, 2019

Musical ‘Aida’ to kick off final run in Korea next month

The final South Korean production of the beloved musical “Aida” will kick off next month, wrapping up a run that spans 732 performances, 14 years and 730,000 audience members.The local promoter for “Aida,” the Seensee Company, said the musical will be performed Nov. 13 to Feb. 23, 2020, at the Blue Square Interpark Hall in central Seoul. Yoon Gong-ju and Jeon Na-young have been cast as the title character and will appear along with other musical stars such as Kim Woo-hyun

PerformanceOct. 20, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Joker(US)Opened Oct.2Drama, mystery & suspense Directed by Todd Phillips A clown-for-hire by day, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) aspires to be a stand-up comic at night. But finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty character study. Crazy Romance (Korea)Opened Oct.2RomanceDirected by Kim Han-gyeolJae-hoon (Kim Rae-won) is hurt by

FilmOct. 18, 2019

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Trick or treat at Millennium Hilton Seoul Millennium Hilton Seoul’s all-day buffet dining restaurant Cafe 395 will feature a special Halloween-inspired dessert buffet station in addition to its usual buffet spread, from Saturday to Oct. 31. Creepy fingers cake, eyeball gelatin, witch cupcakes and much more will be prepared at the station, alongside jack-o’-lanterns and other Halloween decorations. Children who come dressed in a Halloween costume will receive a special gift.Cafe 395&r

FoodOct. 18, 2019

Lamb on the table

Backed by the rising popularity of lamb here, Conrad Seoul’s Italian dining restaurant Atrio presents its Italian Lamb Trio promotion, with Australian cuts of the featured meat. Seeing a 300 percent increase in its lamb rack sales from January to September on-year, the restaurant has teamed with Meat & Livestock Australia’s Korean unit to present promotional lamb dishes using Australian lamb, dubbed the True Aussie Lamb. The trio dishes are a rack of grilled lamb rack, lamb

FoodOct. 18, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Everland ‘Horror Club: Fear the Night’ festival Everland theme park is presenting a horror-themed party “Horror Club: Fear the Night” on each Saturday of October.The event, held as part of its annual zombie-themed festival “Blood City,” will feature DJs like Bequz and Cream, along with performances by rock band Devil’s Rock.Around 100 staff are dressed as zombies, clowns and monsters, creating a Halloween vibe. Photo spots are set up at various places, i

TravelOct. 18, 2019

BTS to issue remake of 'Make It Right' featuring Lauv

A new version of K-pop boy band BTS' song "Make It Right" featuring Lauv will be released Friday afternoon, the band said.The remade version of the BTS song, which comes from its latest album, "Map of the Soul: Persona," will be released at 6 p.m. (Korean time) through major online music distributors in and outside of Korea, the band said on its official social media accounts. The new version has revised lyrics and vocals. American singer-songwriter and producer Lauv wrote so

PerformanceOct. 18, 2019

[Weekender] Pets onboard

South Korea’s first pet taxi startup began with co-founder Park Nara’s personal experience of an emergency vet visit back in 2015. Her dog needed to be taken to a vet immediately, but no taxi would take her and the dog. She had to run in the end. The next year Pet Me Up was launched, aiming to respond to the travel needs of dogs, cats and other companion animals and their owners. “It is estimated that nearly 1 in 5 Korean households own pets, but many still face difficulties li

CultureOct. 18, 2019

[Weekender] A kindergarten for puppies

It is just like any kindergarten for kids. A place for playing and learning, a chance to build social skills and a guarantee of safety and well-being while their main caretakers are away. Except for the sound of dogs barking in unison.  Happy Puppy in Seoul’s Nonhyeon-dong is one of the many “dog kindergartens” that have popped up in Seoul in recent years. When this reporter visited, about 25 furry friends were there. “If they hadn’t come, they would have staye

CultureOct. 18, 2019

[Weekender] Smart gadgets make pet parenting easier

Technology is making our lives easier. So why not make our pets’ lives easier too? Evolving technology and creative new ideas are bringing changes in pet parenting, with a dazzling array of smart products that make feeding your pets, playing with them and watching them from afar easier. Pet gadgets, some too gimmicky for a mainstream push, come mostly from small tech startups -- but big home appliance brands are going pet-friendly too, introducing new functions to existing products. I

CultureOct. 18, 2019

[Weekender] Pet care industry thrives with creative services

An aging dog gets acupuncture treatment for its aching joints. A young puppy attends a “dog kindergarten” two to three days a week to nurture social skills. With nearly 1 in 5 Korean households owning pets and many treating them as full-fledged members of the family, a pampered pooch is no longer restricted to Hollywood celebrities. Korea’s fast evolving pet scene is churning out creative new products and services from smart pet trackers to nonalcoholic pet beers. Pet care

CultureOct. 18, 2019

[Eye Plus] Seonyudo, a place of peace and tranquility inside Seoul

Seonyudo is one of several natural islands on the Han River in Seoul. Located west of Yeouido -- the biggest of those islands -- it is a popular destination for those seeking peace and tranquility inside the concrete jungle of Seoul. The 110,400-square-meter island was the site of a water treatment plant for more than two decades, until the facility closed in 2000. City officials decided to turn it into an urban park, and Seonyudo Park opened to the public in 2002. Its current look is the w

CultureOct. 17, 2019

MMCA’s ‘The Square’: exhibition unthreads Korea’s modern history

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea is holding the exhibition “The Square: Art and Society in Korea 1900-2019” in celebration of its 50th anniversary this year. 　The exhibition takes place in the three MMCA venues, including the main branch and the Deoksugung branch in central Seoul, Gwacheon branch in Gyeonggi Province. It’s the first time for the museum to hold an exhibition at three different venues.The binding motif for the exhibitions at three separ

Arts & DesignOct. 17, 2019

Game changers gather for Sustainable Fashion Summit Seoul

With the 2020 Spring-Summer Seoul Fashion Week currently underway, the organizers hosted a forum to discuss sustainable fashion on Wednesday and Thursday The Seoul Design Foundation hosted Sustainable Fashion Summit Seoul at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in central Seoul invited fashion designers who are currently participating in sustainable fashion projects from here and abroad.The event was divided into four sessions: fashion and community development; harmony of human and technology; sustainab

Arts & DesignOct. 17, 2019

Fans, friends bid final farewell to K-pop star Sulli

Fans and fellow K-pop stars bade their final farewells to Sulli as her coffin finally left for her burial early Thursday.The 25-year-old K-pop star and actress, whose legal name was Choi Jin-ri, was found dead at her residence in Seongnam, south of Seoul Monday, sending a shockwave across the country. Before her death, she was suffering from severe depression, according to her close aides.Following a four-day funeral and mourning ceremony at a Seoul hospital, the coffin carrying Sulli left the h

PerformanceOct. 17, 2019

Kim Nyung-man looks back on his early days in the ’70s

Kim Nyung-man, a 70-year-old professional photographer, is holding a solo exhibition that looks back on the early days of his 50-year career. Born in 1949 in Gochang, North Jeolla Province, Kim started his career as a photojournalist in 1978 at the Dong-a Ilbo, a local newspaper. Working as a photojournalist for 33 years, he covered the Blue House, the truce village of Panmunjom and the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement. The exhibition, which opened Monday, includes 36 of his early works fro

Arts & DesignOct. 16, 2019