[Diana’s Table] New Year Special: Rice Cake Soup or Tteokguk

New Year’s Day is one of the major holidays in Korea when all the families gather together and bid each other good wishes for the new year. It is also a day to have specially prepared food which will not only nourish your body but supposedly bring good fortune. Tteokguk is such a dish which is always eaten on the first day of the New Year. Tteokguk has a special meaning in Korea. We have a saying. “You don’t age a year until you eat a bowl of tteokguk.” Another reason

FoodDec. 31, 2020

Culture Ministry commits financial support for artists in 2021

Applying for government assistance involved some unpleasant experiences, recalled a Seoul-based artist in his 40s. “I applied for several assistance programs in the past but I never made it. I did not apply for the COVID-19 relief fund (in 2020), because I didn’t think I would be selected,” said the artist who wished to be identified by his surname, Jung. Jung chose to focus on his artwork rather than applying for the government fund , skipping the time-consuming process. H

CultureDec. 31, 2020

Star lecturer Seol announces departure from all shows, admitting plagiarism

Star lecturer Seol Min-seok said he will leave all programs in which he appears, admitting to plagiarism of his master’s degree thesis written 10 years ago. He holds a master’s degree in history education from Yonsei University. “I sincerely apologize for causing concerns over thesis plagiarism which was reported on news today. I admit I neglected my research and was not sufficiently thorough with noting references and footnotes,” he wrote via Facebook on Tuesday. &ldquo

TelevisionDec. 30, 2020

Additional W594b in loans to be provided to tourism industry

South Korean tourism businesses that are suffering due to the pandemic will be eligible for additional loans from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. A total of 594 billion won ($546.57 million) will be provided in the form of additional loans, while repayment may be deferred for 100 billion won worth of loans that are due next year. “We made changes by actively reflecting various feedback from the tourism industry, which is currently experiencing difficulties. We hope that th

TravelDec. 30, 2020

K-pop superstars to fill up New Year’s Eve and Day through online concerts

Two K-pop powerhouses -- Big Hit Entertainment and SM Entertainment -- will celebrate New Year’s Eve and Day with online concerts. Under the title 2021 New Year’s Eve Live, Big Hit Entertainment will begin streaming its first joint concert with Big Hit Label through the agency’s community platform Weverse at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. The paid online concert will feature live and prerecorded performances by BTS, Tomorrow X Together, ENHYPEN, GFriend and NU’EST. The concer

CultureDec. 30, 2020

Illegal websites, pandemic-related problems hamper growing webtoon market: KOCCA report

With many webtoons being made into movies, TV dramas and games, the medium is enjoying new heights of popularity. Although COVID-19 has made the creation of webtoons more difficult, it could not stop the fast growth of the industry. At the same time, however, illegal websites that feature pirated webtoons have persisted with no signs of abating, despite governmental efforts. The Korea Creative Content Agency and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism released its 2020 annual report on the

CartoonDec. 30, 2020

Korean food translations become easier for foreigners to understand

Restaurant owners who are unfamiliar with English may not know how to properly translate Korean foods such as ‘bossam’ or ‘jumulleok’ for their menus, sometimes leading to confusion among foreign guests unacquainted with local dishes. To cope with such issues amid the rising popularity of Korean food, the Korea Tourism Organization will publish new standards for translating Korean food into English, Chinese and Japanese. While there were previously no unified guidelin

CultureDec. 30, 2020

Culture Ministry unveils DMZ Peace Trail logo

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday disclosed the logo for its DMZ Peace Trail, a trail created to promote the site near the Demilitarized Zone as a tourism destination. The DMZ, which cuts across the middle of the peninsula, is a buffer zone between North and South Korea. It is roughly 250 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide. The DMZ Peace Trail includes a main 524-kilometer route that connects the county of Ganghwa, Incheon and Goseong in Gangwon Province, as well as 10

CultureDec. 30, 2020

Homage or plagiarism? Solbi’s cake ignites debate

Singer and artist Kwon Ji-an, better known as Solbi, sought to stifle allegations that she had plagiarized artist Jeff Koons’ famous sculpture Play-Doh by uploading a video on Instagram of herself eating the cake at the center of the case. Kwon uploaded an almost 10-minute video on Monday that shows her opening a cake box and eating the cake in silence before ending the video with the phrase, “Just a cake, Seoul.” A previous post on Dec. 22, showing Kwon making the cake, spa

Arts & DesignDec. 29, 2020

Retro style becomes comforting trend at pandemic times

Reminiscing on the good times is natural when we face tough times in life. Some get comfort by reminiscing and talking about the good old days, wishing they could turn back time. As such, the retro trend has been rising fast this year, as more people look back as a distraction from the unprecedented challenges in these pandemic times. Lee Ok-young, a 32-year-old housewife, recently purchased some old-fashioned items that remind her of her childhood years, including a table that could be seen a

CultureDec. 29, 2020

Cha In-pyo hopes to overcome slump with Netflix comedy film ‘What Happened to Mr. Cha?’

Cha In-pyo is an actor who enjoyed immense popularity in the 1990s. Now living on his past glory, Cha hopes to make a comeback but no one is willing to cast him. This description is true both for the 53-year-old South Korean actor and the fictional character of the same name in the upcoming Netflix production “What Happened to Mr. Cha?” “Instead of creating a completely fictional character, I wanted to use Cha’s existing image. I thought that it would make it easier fo

FilmDec. 28, 2020

[Feature] A year full of YouTuber troubles and controversies

In 2020, YouTube was a land of opportunity -- a place where a nobody could rise to fame and riches. As many people were forced to spend more time indoors in the year of COVID-19, it became not too difficult to find an acquaintance or two starting a YouTube channel, hoping to become the next YouTube sensation. According to mobile data analytics firm IGAWorks, 83 percent of Koreans spend 29.5 hours on YouTube per month -- longer than Facebook and KakaoTalk combined. Sales of microphones and vid

CultureDec. 28, 2020

Park Seo-bo biography published online in English

The English-language edition of a biography of Park Seo-bo, a contemporary artist who led the “dansaekhwa” movement of the 1970s, was recently published online as an open-access publication at www.parkseobo.life. Dansaekhwa refers to a style of Korean abstract painting that accompanies a process of repetition and meditation. The original biography, “Park Seo-bo’s Art&Life,” was written in Korean by the artist’s daughter Park Seung-sook, an art therapist,

Arts & DesignDec. 28, 2020

Double whammy: Forced to cancel, Airbnb guests denied full refunds

One of the most popular travel destinations for South Koreans in 2020 was Jeju Island, known for its wide-open spaces and natural surroundings, as an alternative to overseas travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Jeju Tourism Association, the number of visitors to Jeju Island dropped to around 500,000 in February and March, but soon began to rebound in April. Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk said in an interview with the local daily Chosun Ilbo in June that Jeju Island was on

TravelDec. 27, 2020

CHA to release short film on palace guard inspection ceremony

A short film on the inspection of guards at a Joseon royal palace will be released on Dec. 31, featuring several well-known actors. “Cheobjong- Palace Guard Inspection Ceremony” is a 20-minute film produced jointly by the Cultural Heritage Administration and Korea Cultural Heritage. Actor Tae In-ho, who has played several supporting roles in hit Korean dramas, including “Descendants of the Sun” and “Misaeng,” and K-pop idol-turned-actor Park So-jin are a c

CultureDec. 27, 2020

Healthyish, Mediterranean fare at Chick Peace

 Chick Peace, a Mediterranean-inspired fast casual spot, seems to have mastered the art of serving healthyish, gourmet-inflected fare with the speed and convenience of fast food. Diners can swoop in and, from one of several automated machines, pick and choose from salads, pita bread “burgers,” shakshuka and rice plates, adding on sides of their choosing. Portions are generous and everything is flavorful and solid. These are fluffy gyro-style “burgers” and heart

FoodDec. 27, 2020

Fast paced romance of 'Lovestruck in the City' captures audience

Just 10 minutes into watching Kakao TV’s latest drama, “Lovestruck in the City,” viewers realize it’s not your ordinary K-drama with a sequential plot. The Kakao TV original drama, with episodes also released on Netflix two hours after the Kakao TV release, targets the young generation with its fast-paced and unique storytelling, combining interviews of different characters and flashbacks to tell the love stories of young people in the city. The first episode of the 16

TelevisionDec. 27, 2020

[Herald Interview] Opera in times of COVID-19

Like most people now, conductor Sebastian Lang Lessing’s plans for the festive period have been thwarted. The 54-year-old conductor stayed in Korea for more than three months to lead two operas with the Korea National Opera. The German-born conductor, who has led the Hamburg State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and other orchestras around the world, has been maintaining a close relationship with Korea‘s state opera company since 2018, taking the baton for operas “Manon&rdq

PerformanceDec. 26, 2020

Virus changes drinking habits

When the calendar gets closer to New Year’s day, it is usually common to meet up with family and friends for nice dinners and year-end parties with a couple of drinks. But in the time of COVID-19, such get-togethers and celebrations are a no-no due to increased social distancing measures. Instead, drinking alone at home has become popular. According to a drinking habits survey released Thursday by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, home became the most preferred place to drink in the

CultureDec. 26, 2020

IYF hosts global dance competition to give joy amid pandemic

International Youth Fellowship -- an international Christian youth organization -- held a global dance competition “Online Creative Dance Competition” that was streamed live on Saturday on its official YouTube channel under the title “Shall we dance like the stars?” The dance competition aimed to foster hope and offer joy to people amid the pandemic, according to the organization. A total of 30 selected teams from around the world -- 20 teams from Korea and 15 teams fr

TelevisionDec. 26, 2020