Boryeong Mud Festival named as one of 3 major festivals in Asia

BORYEONG -- The annual Boryeong Mud Festival has been selected as one of Asia's three major festivals by an international festival association, a local government said Tuesday. According to the city government of Boryeong, about 190 kilometers south of Seoul, its popular mud festival was designated as one of the Three Major Festivals of Asia by the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) Asia. The two other festivals that received recognition were the annual Harbin Internationa

CultureJuly 27, 2021

S. Korean tidal flats listed as UNESCO world heritage

South Korea's tidal flats have been officially inscribed as a UNESCO world natural heritage despite receiving a deferral in a preliminary review, cultural heritage authorities said Monday.  Seoul has been pushing to register "getbol," or "Korean tidal flats," on UNESCO's world heritage list in the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee taking place in Fuzhou, China, online. The decision came as a surprise, considering that getbol was deferred from the list of pot

CultureJuly 26, 2021

MBC chief apologizes after yet another inappropriate caption airs during Tokyo Games

Public broadcaster MBC apologized once again after it became mired in yet another controversy, this time concerning a caption that was used during its broadcast of the Tokyo Olympic men’s soccer game on Sunday. After admitting the broadcaster‘s callousness, MBC President Park Sung-jae made a public apology during a press conference held at MBC headquarters in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, Monday afternoon. “Today, I am standing in front of you to publicly apologize for undermi

TelevisionJuly 26, 2021

Sejong Center’s art troupes to come together for original musical

The nine troupes under the wings of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts are to gather together for the musical play “For Forgotten Heroes” from Sept. 17 to 19. According to the theater, the musical set in the Joseon era tells the story of three friends -- historical figure Hong Gyeong-nae, who instigated a rebellion in 1811, legendary con artist Kim Seon-dal and fictional character Cho Jin-su. In the musical, the three characters are friends who studied under one teacher.

PerformanceJuly 26, 2021

Popular Korean musicals, plays to go online for global audience

The Korea Tourism Organization is bringing five of the most popular performances from a performing arts tourism festival to the global audience online from July 30 to Nov. 26. The event, “Welcome K-Stage,” will kick off July 30 with an online streaming of the musical ”The Adventure of the Final Problem” starring actors Kim Jong-goo and Jung Min. The musical is an adaptation of the last installment in “The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes,” a collection of short sto

PerformanceJuly 26, 2021

'The Boss Baby' sequel tops S. Korean box office over weekend

The American animated comedy "The Boss Baby: Family Business" made a surprise ascent to the top of South Korea's weekend box office in the first week of its release, data showed Monday. The sequel to DreamWorks Animation's 2017 hit "Boss Baby," released last Wednesday, attracted over 256,000 people from Friday to Sunday, bringing its combined total to over 356,000, according to data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). Its first week admissions record marked the second-bes

FilmJuly 26, 2021

[Newsmaker] MBC apologizes for Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony broadcast fiasco

Terrestrial network MBC admitted its carelessness and apologized for offensive images and captions that aired during its coverage of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony. While broadcasting the parade of national teams in the virtually empty stadium, MBC showed images and captions introducing each delegation of athletes. Several of the images were inappropriate and insensitive. As the Ukraine delegation marched in, MBC showed an image of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. El Salvador was int

TelevisionJuly 25, 2021

Culture Ministry to inject W291.8b toward COVID-19 relief

Some 291.8 billion won ($253.3 million) has been set aside for the second round of COVID-19 supplementary budget this year for the culture, sports and tourism sectors. Of the total extra budget, 141.8 billion won will be allocated for job creation in the culture industry and for a coupon program to encourage domestic demand for culture, sports and tourism, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Sunday in announcing the new supplementary budget. The 150 billion won secured through t

CultureJuly 25, 2021

[Eye Plus] Exotic scenery of white yachts at Jeongokhang Marina Port

Though summer travel abroad has become more difficult with strict travel restrictions and quarantine measures implemented around the world amid the pandemic, Jeongokhang Marina Port, located in Seosin-myeon of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, quenches the thirst of travel bugs, presenting an exotic sunset while white yachts are moored in the port.  The Jeongok port, the first marina in or around the capital area, opened in 2009, and has hosted various international marine sports events, includ

TravelJuly 24, 2021

[Photo News] Double rainbow shines bright in Seoul

The sky in Seoul was graced by a double rainbow at early night on July 19 in Seoul. This picture was taken from the rooftop of the Korea Meteorological Administration.  The rainbow in the indigo sky mesmerized Seoulites on their way home from work.   People jog against the backdrop of the double rainbow near Mangwon in western Seoul.  The double rainbow is reflected in a puddle in Seoul in the image. The double rainbow arches over two statues called Dol hareubang, at a pa

TravelJuly 24, 2021

The need to ‘translate’ a difficult text into a readily understandable one

“Why We Fail to Read” By Ji Bi-won (Memento) “Why We Fail to Read,” a collection of essays written by Ji Bi-won and published by Memento, starts with a simple yet thought-provoking question: Why are certain texts almost undecipherable? In this digital era, texts are overflowing from online news outlets to social media to mobile messengers. People tend to read and write more as the virtual space for writing expands at a breakneck pace. With the explosive growth of rea

BooksJuly 24, 2021

Actor-turned-director Cho Jin-woong’s ‘Ryuk-sa: A Teaser’ invited to two North American film festivals

Actor-turned-director Cho Jin-woong’s short film “Ryuk-sa: A Teaser” has been invited to two film festivals in North America, the Fantasia Film Festival and New York Asian Film Festival, according to his agency Saram Entertainment. The Fantasia Film Festival will run from Aug. 5-25 in Montreal, and the 2021 New York Asian Film Festival will take place Aug. 6-22. Both festivals will be hybrid online-offline events. Cho’s 17-minute short film aims to deliver a message t

FilmJuly 24, 2021

[Eye interview] Seodo Band pioneers ‘Joseon pop’

Judging by their looks alone, Seodo Band does not immediately strike one as a “fusion gugak” band, melding the traditional music of Korea with the sounds of the West. There are no traditional instruments in the band. And all for a reason. “It is not that we don’t use them. Rather, we are not able to use them,” Seo Do, the vocalist of Seodo Band, said during an interview with The Korea Herald on July 14, explaining the absence of traditional instruments in the panso

PerformanceJuly 24, 2021

Culture Ministry amends translation guidelines for kimchi

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Thursday announced that it had made some changes to the translation guidelines for kimchi, which were published in July 2020. The new guidelines state that kimchi’s proper Chinese translation is “xin qi.” The ministry deleted a part that said “pao cai” -- a pickled vegetable dish eaten in China -- is an acceptable translation for kimchi, as it is the name that is already widely used in China. The amendments came aft

CultureJuly 23, 2021

The Margaux Grill at JW Marriott Hotel Seoul recognized for wine selection

The Margaux Grill, the luxury steak restaurant, at JW Marriott Hotel Seoul was recognized by Wine Spectator, winning the Best of Award of Excellence. The Margaux Grill houses a wine cave that holds 4,000 bottles of some 800 varieties of wines that encompass tastes from wine beginners to professional sommeliers. The guests to the restaurant can take a tour of the wine cave to select wines. Wine Spectator is an internationally renowned wine magazine published in the US and annually recognizes

FoodJuly 23, 2021

Sculptor Kwon Jin-kyu’s works donated to SeMA

A large quantity of pioneering sculptor Kwon Jin-kyu’s artworks has been donated to the Seoul Museum of Art after the artist’s bereaved family had struggled for decades to find a place to house his sculptures. The donated 141 artworks consist of the 96 sculptures, 10 paintings, six drawings and 29 sketch books, as well as five artworks produced by Kwon’s wife, Kasai Tomo. Kwon’s family has founded Kwon Jin Kyu Commemoration Foundation to manage the artist’s work

Arts & DesignJuly 23, 2021

Exhibition displaying VR content on Oscar-winning “Parasite” kicks off in Paris

The Korean Cultural Center in Paris on Thursday announced that it has kicked off the special exhibition “Korea: Cubically Imagined,” displaying diverse types of immersive content including one that allows the viewer to look through the houses from the Oscar-winning “Parasite” film. The virtual reality content at the exhibition will show the opulent home of the rich Park family and halfway underground home of the struggling Kim family from “Parasite.” &ldquo

CultureJuly 23, 2021

Online 2021 ASEAN-ROK Film Workshop Series to be held Wednesday

The Korean Film Council will hold the 2021 ASEAN-ROK Film Workshop Series on Wednesday from 3-6 p.m. to strengthen the network between the movie industries of ASEAN countries and Korea. The workshop will be live streamed on KOFIC’s official YouTube channel. This year’s theme of the workshop is “Discovering a sustainable film exchange and cooperation model between Korea and ASEAN in the post-corona era.” The event will be divided into two parts -- forum and masterclass.

FilmJuly 23, 2021

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

The Boss Baby: Family Business (US) Opened July 21 Animation Directed by Tom McGrath Ted, the legendary boss of Baby Corp., is a successful grownup CEO. His nephew Tina, who everyone thought was an ordinary baby, turns out to be a secret agent at Baby Corp. Tina turns Ted and his brother Tim back into a baby for 48 hours to complete a mission to save the world. The Medium (US) Opened July 14 Thriller Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun A documentary team follows Nim (Sawanee Utoomma), a sha

FilmJuly 23, 2021

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and Packages

Wellness package at Fairmont Ambassador Seoul Fairmont Ambassador Seoul offers a wellness package that features a 60-minute body treatment at spa ESPA located at the hotel. The wellness package includes one night stay at a Fairmont Room, buffet restaurant for two, a body treatment for one, Balmain travel hair kit and complimentary use of swimming pool and fitness center. ESPA at Fairmont will deliver a 60-minute inner calm massage body treatment that helps relieve fatigue and restore energy.

FoodJuly 23, 2021