[Well-curated] A weekend for fall-time festivities

Namhae Oktoberfest comes to Seoul A limited-time pop-up event introducing Namhae German Village is being held in Seongsu-dong through Tuesday. The event sheds light on how Namhae German Village -- a village built by Koreans who went to work in Germany primarily as nurses and miners in the '60s and the '70s and returned to Korea after retirement, many of them with their German spouses. The village was first settled by about 75 families. The event showcases photos and maps of Namhae Germ

CultureSept. 22, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Sleep” (South Korea) Opened Sept. 6 Mystery/Thriller Directed by Jason Yu A pregnant Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) discovers that her husband, Hyun-soo (Lee Sun-kyun), has started exhibiting strange behaviors while asleep. Overcome with anxiety that he may be a danger to the family, Soo-jin goes to great lengths to protect them and their baby. “A Haunting in Venice” (US) Opened Sept. 13 Mystery/Crime Directed by Kenneth Branagh Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot returns to his peace

FilmSept. 22, 2023

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights around Korea

Wonju Dancing Carnival The Wonju Dancing Carnival will be held at the Wonju Sports Complex in Gangwon Province, Sept. 22-24. The event will feature various programs, including art performances, a dance competition, a fringe festival, a free dancing festa and more. K-pop girl group fromis_9 and singers Insooni and Kim Bum-soo are scheduled to perform onstage. Admission is 10,000 won, with a special discounted rate of 5,000 won for Wonju residents. More information can be found at ddcwj.com. Gim

TravelSept. 22, 2023

[Around the hotels] Promotions and packages

Grand Hyatt Seoul presents special dining experiences Grand Hyatt Seoul is offering special dining experiences for the autumn season. The hotel’s Japanese restaurant presents dobin mushi, a traditional Japanese broth served in a tea pot with various ingredients and matsutake mushrooms. Tenkai, another Japanese restaurant at the hotel, offers lobster salad, unadon and meat and vegetable skewers, to be paired with craft beer and sake. The hotel’s Steak House offers premium beef steaks

FoodSept. 22, 2023

[Herald Interview] Farrar, Straus and Giroux looking for next ‘Parasite’

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, a part of Macmillan USA, boasts an impressive portfolio of Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning titles. Rohan Kamicheril, a senior editor at FSG, said the company has yet to feature a Korean writer and hopes to broaden its literary horizon by discovering new Korean voices. “We want to find writers in other parts of the world who are doing challenging, provocative things,” said Kamicheril. “I don't want to just bring over writers who do something simi

BooksSept. 21, 2023

Art:Gwangju:23 kicks off with special exhibitions

Gwangju city’s annual art fair, Art:Gwangju:23, kicked off Thursday at the Kimdaejung Convention Center with 105 galleries participating. Some 13 booths are dedicated to special exhibitions. The 14th edition of the art fair in the southwestern city is hosted by the city government and run by the Gwangju Branch of Korean Fine Arts Association. The four-day art fair includes culture talks by Kim Byung-hun, director of Sochon Art Factory, and Yoon Byung-hak, director of Chungjang 22, a cultur

Arts & DesignSept. 21, 2023

[Herald Interview] ‘Good translation is everything’

Forge Books, under its parent company, Macmillan USA, typically publishes three to four translated books a year. In recent years, they have consistently released one Korean book in translation each year. The past three years have seen the publication of works like "My Brilliant Life" by Kim Ae-ran (translation by Chi-Young Kim) and two novels by Lee Geum-yi, “The Picture Bride” and “Can’t I Go Instead” (translations by An Seonjae). Robert Davis, an editor

BooksSept. 21, 2023

[Herald Interview] Global publishers' take on Korean literature

The K-Literature Fellowship, an initiative organized by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea to promote Korean literature overseas, has been bringing international publishers and literary agents to Seoul since 2018. Over 70 global publishing companies have participated in the program so far, resulting in the publication of some 100 Korean literary works worldwide. This year, the fellowship invited 15 publishing houses from 11 countries to Seoul, where they joined 14 Korean publishers an

BooksSept. 21, 2023

CGV to screen Apple TV+ original film ‘Flora and Son’

Irish filmmaker John Carney’s latest movie “Flora and Son” will be screened exclusively at CGV theaters starting Friday. Viewers watching the 97-minute film at CGV theaters can get special gifts, including A3 posters, that are available on a first-come, first-served basis, the multiplex chain said. The audience can bring their tickets to the ticket counter to receive special “Flora and Son” merchandise for free. Helmed by the director of "Begin Again" (20

FilmSept. 21, 2023

[Herald Interview] Maestro Sung Si-yeon says orchestra is "conductor's mirror"

When Korean conductor Sung Shi-yeon took the stage at the Seoul Arts Center on Tuesday night to lead the Korean Symphony Orchestra, she chose some pieces that are unfamiliar to the public. Despite the risk of losing members of the audience, who tend to be less enthusiastic about such modern or unfamiliar pieces, Sung introduced Fazil Say’s "Water (Su) for piano and orchestra, Op.45" for the first time in Korea. With the piece and Carl Nielsen’s "Helios Overture, Op.17,

CultureSept. 20, 2023

[Herald Interview] Behind the scenes of Jongmyo Jeryeak with singers who breathe life into royal ceremony

Just as a conductor raises the baton in a Western classical orchestra, the “jipbak,” or the person playing the “bak” -- a wooden clapper used in Korean court and ritual music -- signals the beginning of the performance. Then the “chuk,’ a green box-drum that also signals the start of a royal ceremony, is struck nine times. Dressed in navy blue uniforms, the dancers in formation move gracefully and deliberately, with precise movements. As the musicians start to

PerformanceSept. 20, 2023

[Herald Review] Gang Dong-won in ‘Dr. Cheon’ gives viewers a welcome sense of deja vu

Actors often say they strive to show a different side of themselves in their latest films. But actor Gang Dong-won’s performance as Dr. Cheon in “Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman,” seems very familiar, as if he intended to act like he has done in the past. His comical swordsmanship and his impactful role as Dr. Cheon is reminiscent of his characters in “Jeon Woo-chi: The Taoist Wizard” (2009) and “Kundo: Age of Rampant” (2014). His cunning wit is also sim

FilmSept. 20, 2023

Netflix Korea to bring Western flavor with ‘Song of the Bandits’

Global streamer Netflix is scheduled to present a Korean interpretation of popular Westerns with its upcoming period action drama “Song of the Bandits.” With about 70 percent of land covered by mountainous regions, not many Korean films and dramas are in the Western genre, which are typically set in dusty towns and desert-like wilderness. “The series will present a new style of Korean period drama. ‘Song of the Bandits’ adds Asia’s cultural and historical el

TelevisionSept. 20, 2023

Mayfield Hotel Seoul teams up with Philip Colbert for wine fair

Mayfield Hotel Seoul, near Gimpo International Airport, has invited British artist Philip Colbert as a special guest to take part in live drawing performances at this year's Dionysus wine fair on Saturday and Sunday. The 18th edition of the fair coincides with the hotel's 20th-anniversary celebration. The event takes place at the hotel's Bell Tower Garden from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., showcasing a wide range of wines, from light and everyday varietals to cult and natural wines. Expert g

FoodSept. 20, 2023

[Herald Design Forum 2023] Fostering entrepreneurship while maintaining a creative edge

Fashion design is by nature a creative pursuit, but fashion guru Kathleen Kye stressed that balancing one’s entrepreneurial mindset with one’s innovative vision is important in the world of design. Speaking at the Herald Design Forum 2023 at the Shilla Seoul on Tuesday, the CEO and director of fashion brand KYE and EYEYE emphasized that having a business mindset helps foster one’s leadership and problem-solving abilities. In her lecture titled “How to Cultivate an Entrepr

Arts & DesignSept. 19, 2023

[Herald Design Forum 2023] Fashion designer, architect Francesco Scianni talks aboug defining new fashion trends

At this moment in history, a period of constant change, where "social" plays a key role and where news and information quickly become outdated, understanding and anticipating the public's taste is a complicated task. Speaking at the Herald Design Forum on Tuesday at the Shilla Seoul, Francesco Scianni, a member of Project Group SRL, a group that specializes in style consultancy and trends research, and the owner of the brand Lebelleforme and Fashion & Design Lab, said a new

Arts & DesignSept. 19, 2023

[Herald Design Forum 2023] Edward Lee places automotive design at heart of humanity

When Alpha Motor Corporation unveiled its Wolf electric truck at the 2023 Seoul Mobility Show this spring, Edward Lee, the founder, CEO and chairman of the board of the US-based EV startup, presented a key solution for a healthier future -- design. As the chief architect of Alpha Motor, which earned the title of "2023 EV Manufacturer of the Year, California" at the Corporate LiveWire Global Awards, Lee is dedicated to commercializing cutting-edge automobiles and innovative mobility

Arts & DesignSept. 19, 2023

[Herald Interview] Filmmaker Kang Je-gyu waited 3 years for ‘Road to Boston’ to open in cinemas

Director Kang Je-gyu's "Road to Boston" depicts the obstacle-laden path for Korean marathoners to participate in the 1947 Boston Marathon, but the film's journey to the screen was just as arduous. The film wrapped up shooting in January 2020, but Kang had to wait three years and eight months to see the film open in theaters. “It was hard, to be honest,” Kang told The Korea Herald in an interview in Seoul on Sept. 12. “Back then, I was expecting the film to b

FilmSept. 19, 2023

[Herald Design Forum 2023] Dan Goods explores universe through art installations

What if you could locate where satellites are in space just by listening to the sounds they make? The Orbit Pavilion at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, where the sounds visitors hear map out the trajectories of 19 satellites orbiting Earth, offers real-time auditory connections to space. But this experience would not be as compelling without the pavilion's giant seashell design, which transports visitors to the celestial landscape of satellites by representing their chat

Arts & DesignSept. 19, 2023

[Herald Design Forum 2023] Kim Teck-koun pioneers Kia's design philosophy

Kim Teck-koun, Kia's vice president and head of Kia Next Design Group in South Korea, spoke about the carmaker’s new design philosophy, “Opposite United,” at the Herald Design Forum 2023 at the Shilla Seoul on Tuesday. “The design philosophy takes inspiration from the contrasts found not only in nature but humanity. When you think of a stream softly (winding down a valley), there are huge stones along the way. We try to get inspiration (from) how things coexist in ha

Arts & DesignSept. 19, 2023