Giant whale installation to appear in Jeju fest

A festival “Colorful Sanji,” jointly hosted by the Jeju Island and the Jeju Tourism Organization, is scheduled to kick off Saturday at Jeju Island’s Tamna Culture Plaza. The festival runs through Sept. 12, and the highlight is a media art exhibition which features a 30-meter giant whale installation made of three thousand model sardines. The whale display will be decorated with colorful lighting, videos and music, throughout the festival period, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

TravelAug. 12, 2022

Yi Yuksa’s handwritten letters to be listed as cultural heritage

A collection of four hand-written letters and postcards by Yi Yuksa (1904-1944), a Korean independence activist and writer of resistance poetry, will be registered as cultural heritage, South Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration announced Thursday. The letters were written during the Japanese colonial period, expressing hardships working for the country’s independence and his deep emotions to relatives and friends. The collection includes a letter sent to his close relative Le

CultureAug. 12, 2022

Jecheon International Music & Film Festival returns in full force with in-person events

Jecheon International Music & Film Festival, the only music-themed film festival in Korea, kicked off on Thursday at the Uirimji Stage of Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province. Returning to a full-scale format, the slogan of this year‘s six-day festival is “a tempo,” -- meaning “return to the original tempo” in music, signaling hopes for recovery from the pandemic. The festival opened with Polish screenwriter Bartosz Blaschke’s directorial debut “Son

PerformanceAug. 12, 2022

Cannes-winning ‘Decision to Leave’ selected for Oscar entry

Park Chan-wook’s romance-thriller “Decision to Leave” will represent South Korea at the Academy Awards next year, the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) announced Thursday. The council said it selected the Cannes-winning film as the country’s entry for best international feature film for the 95th Academy Awards, which is scheduled for March next year. The jury of five experts in the film industry explained that they considered many factors, including directorial recognition, c

FilmAug. 12, 2022

NMK to showcase Lee Kun-hee’s collection overseas by 2025

An impressive collection of national treasures and artworks donated to the country by the family of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, also known as the Lee Kun-hee Collection, will be taken overseas as early as 2025, according to Yoon Sung-yong, head of the National Museum of Korea. Just a month into Yoon’s appointment as NMK head, a plan was introduced during a press conference held at the museum on Thursday, with Lee Kun-hee’s collection placed on top of the agenda. It was

CultureAug. 12, 2022

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul presents signature set menu for office workers Oul, a Korean contemporary bar situated on the second floor of Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, presents the “OUL signature set” suitable for dinner gatherings. The signature set menu comprises the lamb jerky and kimbukak, lobster tteokbokki, yukhoe, naeng-bossam, bada ramyeon, jeon, and the tiramisu croffle as dessert. Prices start at 200,000 won. A minimum order of 160,000 won is needed to book a private room wit

FoodAug. 12, 2022

[Well-curated] Keep calm and visit library, hanok for peace of mind

After the unexpected record downpour that wreaked havoc over South Korea, this weekend is a good time to halt the usual weekend routine and give ample rest to your mind and body. Surrounded by two grandiose mountains that reach some 600 meters high, Awon Gotaek, also known as Awon Museum and Hotel, stands in one of the most serene wilderness locations of Wanju, North Jeolla Province. At Gotaek, meaning “old house,” the place re-created the original framework of a 250-year-old hanok

CultureAug. 12, 2022

Hyperound K-Fest 2022 to be held in Abu Dhabi next month

A Korean music festival in Abu Dhabi, dubbed “Hyperound K-Fest 2022,” will be held on Sept. 10 at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, the largest indoor entertainment venue in the Middle East. Jointly hosted with the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism and Yas Island, the one-day festival aims to bring artists who continue to spread K-music around the globe. The star-studded list of artists slated to perform in the UAE are up-and-coming K-pop rookie boy band P1harmony, South

PerformanceAug. 11, 2022

Independent thriller movie ‘Drown’ to compete with big budget films this summer

While local theaters are packed with big-budget Korean films like “Hansan: Rising Dragon,” “Emergency Declaration” and “Alienoid,” director Lim Sang-su hopes his independent film “Drown” will attract moviegoers with its own charm. “There are many good movies in theaters now. But I would like to emphasize the importance of the diversity of movies. We have a unique mysterious story and I think audiences will enjoy this,” actor Lee Jong

FilmAug. 11, 2022

Lee Jung-seop’s longing for family comes to life in exhibition

Korean artist Lee Jung-seop (1916-1956) is one of the most beloved artists in South Korea, where his unique style of painting or drawing has captured the hearts of many. An upcoming exhibition based on South Korea’s richest man’s collection might show the underlying force for his art: a yearning for family. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea will shed a light on the artist in an exhibition through 90 of his works, with “Chicken and Chicks” and &l

Arts & DesignAug. 10, 2022

2022 World Heritage Festival to highlight rich history of Andong, Suwon and Jeju

The World Heritage Festival, an annual event to celebrate UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites in South Korea, is set to take place in the country’s major historic sites for a seven-weeks period, its hosts, the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, said on Wednesday. Marking its third year, this year’s festival, titled “World Heritage in Transit,” will take place in Andong and Yeongju in North Gyeongsang Province, Suwon in G

CultureAug. 10, 2022

Nineteen cultural heritage sites damaged by heavy rain

A total of 19 cases of damage to nationally recognized cultural heritage sites and items have been damaged by the heavy rain in the Greater Seoul area this week, the Cultural Heritage Administration reported Wednesday. Major mountain fortresses partially collapsed, while trees dating back hundreds of years were overturned with their branches broken. Burial mounds and stone works have been washed away. Walking trails at cultural heritage locations’ flooded within hours, which were shut

CultureAug. 10, 2022

DMZ fantasy musical “Wonder Ticket” to be staged outdoors near N. Korea

What if a rusty train that had stopped its operation between the two Koreas for over 70 years can move back in time through a wish that transcends generations? The musical “Wonder Ticket” centers around such plot, with a young girl listening to her grandfather’s love story and reminiscing on his days before the division of the Korean Peninsula. The musical, which debuted in 2020 during the pandemic, is making its third run outdoors at the Pyeonghwa-Nuri Park in the Imjingak

PerformanceAug. 10, 2022

Korean actioner 'Carter' debuts at No. 1 on Netflix's weekly chart

The Korean action thriller "Carter" has debuted at No. 1 on Netflix's latest weekly viewership chart of non-English films. Released last Friday, the Netflix Korean-language original marked 27.3 million hours of viewing for the week of Aug. 1-7 to lead the official top 10 list for non-English films available on the service, according to Netflix on Tuesday (US time). It became the first Korean-language film to top the streamer's chart for the category since Netflix released the

TelevisionAug. 10, 2022

Jung Woo, Park Hee-soon return with nail-biting Netflix original

Debuting this Friday, crime-thriller “A Model Family” tells an entangled story of an ordinary-looking family that gets dragged into a string of disastrous incidents after making one wrong choice. Explaining the title, director Kim Jin-woo said he wanted to look into the meaning of “family” and “model” by portraying different groups of people who are bound under the name of “family.” “When we say something is exemplary, it’s usually

TelevisionAug. 9, 2022

Breaking news programs’ 115-year record rainfall coverage under fire

South Korean broadcasting companies came under fire for their breaking news coverage of the worst rainfall in 115 years in Seoul and its surrounding areas. The record overnight rainfall resulted in hundreds of flood victims, and jeopardized citizens in the capital area on their after-work commute. Roads and sidewalks in the capital area were flooded, causing some people to leave their cars on the road. A number of cars and buses were stuck for hours on expressways from Seoul to Gyeonggi Prov

TelevisionAug. 9, 2022

‘Perhaps Love’ bags two awards at 21st New York Asian Film Festival

Director Cho Eun-ji’s debut feature “Perhaps Love” bagged two awards -- audience award and best from the East award-- at the 21st New York Asian Film Festival, according to the film’s distributor NEW on Tuesday. “It has not been long since we celebrated Ryu Seung-ryong receiving the award for his performance, and I am truly honored to receive the audience award as well,” Cho said, according to NEW. “I would like to express my gratitude to the audience

FilmAug. 9, 2022

Gimhae withdraws bid for dolmen site’s national recognition

Gimhae City has withdrawn its application for the Gusan-dong Dolmen to be designated as a national historic site. The city sent an official document to the Cultural Heritage Administration for the withdrawal after mounting criticism had been made by experts who visited the site for preinspection on July 28, to find out that damage had occurred during the restoration process. The city had mapped out the restoration project and taken action since December 2020. A total of 1.6 billion won ($1.2

CultureAug. 9, 2022

Bizzare Cheong Wa Dae couch promotion sparks controversy

A furniture promotion video showing a sofa placed at multiple locations within Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential office compound, is facing public criticism after its release on Friday. Entertainment and media firm iHQ’s streaming service platform Babayo, uploaded an eight-minute video to its YouTube channel titled, “Everywhere Ep. 1: Cheong Wa Dae.” The video was taken down on Tuesday afternoon, after the Cultural Heritage Administration asked the iHQ to delete the clip

CultureAug. 9, 2022

[Herald Interview] Min-jin Lee hopes to make all readers Korean

Korean American writer Min-jin Lee, 53, spent some 30-odd years writing her second novel “Pachinko.” She interviewed numerous people in Korea, Japan and other places around the world for this book. Her quest for accuracy and authenticity even led her to abandon a previous draft in 2007 called “Motherland” which was nearly a full-length book. “It was a terrible book … it was really boring and even my husband said it was really boring. I didn’t want t

BooksAug. 8, 2022