‘Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha’ script becomes bestseller online

The script of tvN’s hit drama “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha“ has made a surprising appearance on the bestselling lists of local online book stores Aladin and Yes24, attesting to the popularity of the 16-part series that ended its run Sunday. The final episode of the romantic comedy recorded a 12.7 percent viewership, the series’ highest rating, and a listing on Netflix’s Top 10 chart in more than 20 regions, including Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand and A

BooksOct. 18, 2021

20-year-old KIAF Seoul records largest-ever sales

The annual KIAF Seoul closed Sunday, attracting a record number of visitors and sales during the five-day fair at Coex in southern Seoul. Marking its 20th anniversary, the fair has become the hottest festival in the country among art fans, attracting interest in art among the general public. Around 5,000 people visited on the first day of the “VVIP” opening, raising 35 billion won ($29.5 million) in sales, surpassing the total sales of 31 billion won in 2019 when the fair was held p

Arts & DesignOct. 18, 2021

Tottenham’s Son Heung-min promotes Korean tourism

A video starring soccer player Son Heung-min was released Monday, showing various tourism destinations inKorea. The Korean Tourism Organization and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism appointed the Tottenham Hotspur striker as an honorary culture ambassador in July, with a view to promote travel to Korea in Europe, where Son has numerous fans. Under the slogan of “This is my Korea. What’s yours?,” the 80-second video presents Korea with seven different keywords -- pas

TravelOct. 18, 2021

SIDance 2021 goes hybrid, featuring 77 works

The 24th Seoul International Dance Festival is taking place through Nov. 14 at various venues around Seoul, featuring 77 dance works of diverse genres by choreographers and dance companies from 14 countries. The performances will be held both online and offline. The SIDance festival, organized by the Seoul Section of the UNESCO International Dance Council, kicked off Saturday with dance show “The Object,” presented by the Daegu Arts Center and Gyeonggi Arts Center. This year sees

PerformanceOct. 18, 2021

'Venom 2' tops 1m admissions on its first week in South Korea

"Venom: Let There Be Carnage" has dominated the South Korean box office in its opening weekend, topping 1 million total admissions, box office data showed Monday. The sequel to 2018's "Venom" sold a combined 778,000 tickets over the Friday to Sunday period, bringing its combined total to over 1.1 million since its release last Wednesday, according to data from the Korean Film Council. It is the third film this year to surpass the 1 million mark in its first week of release,

FilmOct. 18, 2021

Korea-Singapore travel bubble: Tourists, business travelers look forward to return to normal

South Korea inked a travel bubble agreement with Singapore on Oct. 8, the country’s second following a similar deal with Saipan. The deal is to allow those who are vaccinated to travel freely without the need for quarantine starting on Nov. 15. Their COVID-19 vaccination certificates will also be mutually recognized. While travelers from both sides have expectations for going on sightseeing tours like they had before the pandemic hit in early 2020, Noh Hyung Rae, 36, a lawyer at a private

TravelOct. 17, 2021

Lee Bul's rare paintings, silk collage works unveiled in Seoul

While Lee Bul is globally known for her installations best represented by the Cyborg and Anagram series, the mixed media paintings that she has been pursuing on the side are relatively unknown. Referring to the pieces as being between sculpture and painting, they are an extension of her sculpture work. Lee’s newly created Perdu series painted with acrylic, ground stones and mother-of pearl were repeatedly layered using a brush and then scrubbed to create a sculpture-like texture. Lee di

Arts & DesignOct. 17, 2021

Seoul International Music Festival to be held with ‘Amusement Park’ theme

The 13th Seoul International Music Festival will be held from Oct. 23 to 30 with the theme “Amusement Park.” The festival will take place across Seoul, including the Seoul Arts Center and the Lotte Concert Hall. During the press conference held on Wednesday in Gangnam, SIMF artistic director Ryu Jae-joon explained that the theme of the festival was decided when the pandemic just broke out last year. “We selected our theme last year, thinking that things would be back to no

PerformanceOct. 17, 2021

Lee Hyuk makes Chopin Competition finals

Korean pianist Lee Hyuk, 21, is among the12 finalists of the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition, taking place in Warsaw, Poland. The Chopin Competition, organized by the Polish Chopin Institute, had its first edition in 1927. Previous winners of the prestigious competition for musicians include big names in classical music, such as Martha Argerich and Krystian Zimerman. In 2015, pianist Cho Seong-jin rose became the first Korean winner of the competition and rose to stardom. The co

PerformanceOct. 17, 2021

Musicians gradually return to in-person concerts

As South Korea prepares to “live with” COVID-19, the music industry is readying itself to bring back live in-person concerts. While large music festivals have been canceled or switched to online formats, some individual artists are already returning to physical stages. From Oct. 29-31, K-pop artist Kwon Jin-ah will hold a solo concert series titled “The Way for Us.” According to her agency Antenna Music, “The Way for Us,” named after her latest EP release

PerformanceOct. 17, 2021

[Eye Plus] Into the world of Goryeo celadon

A rare exhibition is taking place in the country’s eastern coastal city of Gangneung, Gangwon Province.  More than 120 exquisite celadon ceramics from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), known locally as cheongja, are on display at “Celadon, the Microscopic World of Goryeo.”  Renowned for its subtle and elegant beauty, various shapes and sizes of celadon ceramics, which get their name from their mystic blue-green glaze, trace the untold story of the kingdom that flourish

Arts & DesignOct. 16, 2021

Tales carved in two cities

Unless a traveler is a history buff or a person of scholarly bent, they might not take much interest in the folktales and legends of old towns. What is new and trendy grabs more attention on social media. 　 Not surprisingly, many historical sites and neighborhoods stand empty -- neglected, for the most part, by travelers. But upon a closer look, these historical sites hold unique stories buried underneath the seemingly mundane landscape. Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, is one of the cities

TravelOct. 16, 2021

Cinnamon rolls as sourdough at Levain Rules

A newcomer to the burgeoning bakery scene, Levain Rules has quietly carved out a substantial niche for itself with a mouthwatering selection of sourdough and sandwiches. Six months have passed since the bakery opened in Seoul’s Samseong-dong and not only has the bakery expanded to a second location in Shinsegae Gangnam, but the baked goods are so popular that it can be difficult to get one’s sandwich of choice after 2 p.m.    “We make a limited number of sandwiches

FoodOct. 16, 2021

[Visual History of Korea] Korea’s metal printing press was head and shoulders above the rest

When French diplomat Victor Collin de Plancy (1853-1924) was posted in Joseon Korea, he collected many unique treasures, including rare ancient Korean books. He returned to France with the treasures he found in Korea, including a 1377 Jikji book printed with movable metal type, and a beautiful wife named Lee Shim, a former royal palace dancer he had spotted performing for Emperor Gojong. Lee, who moved to France with Collin de Plancy in 1893 and accompanied him to Africa the following year, la

CultureOct. 16, 2021

[Herald Interview] Korean Pavilion will ‘ring a bell’ at next year’s Venice Biennale: Lee Young-chul

When Lee Young-chul, an art professor at Kaywon University of Art & Design, proposed to direct the Korean Pavilion for the next year’s Venice Biennale, he felt like the Korean Pavilion should “ring a bell” at the biennale after the world has been going through the pandemic turmoil. The idea came to him while he was arranging his bookshelves and reencountered the book “La Citta del Sole (The City of the Sun),” by Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639), who was an Itali

Arts & DesignOct. 16, 2021

26th BIFF holds closing ceremony on Friday

The 26th Busan International Film Festival wrapped up its 10-day run on Friday at the Busan Cinema Center, with the closing ceremony hosted by two Korean rookie actors -- Lee Jun-hyuk and Lee Joo-young. This year‘s BIFF, which opened Oct. 6, screened 223 films from 70 countries offline at six selected theaters in Busan. This change was significant as the BIFF organizer held a much scaled-down event last year in light of COVID protocols. Each film was also screened only once at the Busan

FilmOct. 15, 2021

Female graduates of Hongik University art school celebrate perseverance at 40th anniversary show

In the 1970s, when it was still a struggle for South Korean women to establish art careers, a group of female students from the Hongik University College of Fine Arts gathered together to break stereotypes and defy conservative social norms. In 1982 they formed Hongik Women Artists Association and held an exhibition, which has continued every year uninterrupted for 40 years. Now the 40-year anniversary exhibition -- “Hongik Root Now! Again!” -- is running at the Hongik Museum of A

Arts & DesignOct. 15, 2021

Real-life 'Squid Game' canceled over COVID concerns, refunds issued

A hotel in Gangwon Province that organized an event based on Netflix’s megahit “Squid Game,” on Friday started issuing refunds to more than 1,100 participants, after the games got canceled by city authorities over COVID concerns. St. John’s Hotel in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on Thursday announced they would refund those enrolled in the event, called “Saint Game,” which would have been held on Oct. 24 at the hotel’s outdoor pine tree forest. Players

CultureOct. 15, 2021

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Have a Nice Day Festival The Have a Nice Day Festival will take place Oct. 23-24 at Samsung Hall at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. Every year since 2015, this event has offered a chance for music lovers who are unfamiliar with music festivals to enjoy music in an accessible way. This year’s festival consists of two sections, which start at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The lineup includes popular artists such as singer/songwriter Stellar Jang, rock band Soran, indie band Standing Egg, duo MeloMa

TravelOct. 15, 2021

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Stillwater (US) Opened Oct. 6 Thriller Directed by Tom McCarthy Bill (Matt Damon) visits France to meet his daughter Allison (Abigail Breslin), who is five years into serving a nine-year prison sentence. She is in prison for killing her roommate and unfaithful lover Lina while attending university in France. When Bill meets his daughter he discovers that she could be innocent and tries to find a way to prove it with a French woman named Virginie (Camille Cottin). No Time To Die (US) Opened Sept

FilmOct. 15, 2021