[Photo News] Chestnut picking in Gongju

Farmers are busy harvesting chestnuts for the upcoming Chuseok holiday in Banpo, a district in Gongju of South Chungcheong Province.  The Gongju district is the largest chestnut-producing region in South Korea. The chestnuts are ripe and ready for picking -- despite the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of typhoons hitting the nation. Farmers are preparing to offer a chestnut picking event to last until October. (Photos: Yonhap) By Song Donna (donnadsong@heraldcorp.com)

CultureSept. 12, 2020

[Herald Review] Stage turns into playground of masked ‘Cats’

The international tour production of “Cats” kicked off its Seoul run on Wednesday, trying to adapt to the turbulent times of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the iconic musical’s Seoul schedule was decided in July, the COVID-19 situation in South Korea was on a steady path to recovery with the number of coronavirus cases dropping sharply. Except for the two-week self-quarantine requirement for the 40 foreign nationals on the “Cats” team, it seemed as if the disease wou

PerformanceSept. 12, 2020

Busan film fest pushed back 2 weeks, downsized amid COVID-19

The 25th Busan International Film Festival has been postponed two weeks and scaled down considerably as the new coronavirus cases continues to spike in number nationwide. The board members of the festival’s organizing committee on Friday afternoon held an extraordinary general meeting and decided to delay the festival two weeks from Oct. 7-16 to Oct. 21-30. The decision was made out of concerns over further spread of COVID-19 following the Chuseok holiday season that is set to start on S

FilmSept. 11, 2020

Korean soloist’s ballet choreographing selected for Benois de la Danse’s online project

The Korean modern ballet, “Into the Pulse,” choreographed by Kang Hyo-hyung -- a soloist at the Korean National Ballet -- was selected to be included in the line-up of an online project by Benois de la Danse. The online project titled “Benois de la Danse. Pages of History” showcases archival recordings from gala concerts that took place at the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. Founded by the International Dance Association in Moscow in 1991, Benois de la Danse is a prestigiou

Arts & DesignSept. 11, 2020

Fair sells hanbok online via livestreaming

Korea’s annual expo of Hanbok, traditional Korean costume, kicked off Thursday through an online platform. Hosted by the Hanbok Advancement Center and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the major hanbok fair brings together 73 hanbok ateliers in Korea. The Hanbok Advancement Center newly launched the online hanbok store (hanbokexpo.com) for the first-ever online hanbok expo, offering nearly 800 of traditional and modernized hanbok and accessories with a 30 percent discount on ave

Arts & DesignSept. 11, 2020

Online traditional ritual to offer comfort in pandemic times

The Korea National University of Arts (KNUA) kicked off the Ars Electronica Garden Seoul Festival to present diverse ideas on how society would transform after the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival is part of the 2020 Ars Electronica Festival, an international new media art festival held annually in Linz, Austria, every September. Due to the pandemic, the festival has been expanded to both online and offline with more than 120 organizations participating across the globe under the theme of &l

Arts & DesignSept. 11, 2020

[Herald Review] ‘The Woman Who Ran’ and the three women who did not run

“If he keeps on repeating himself, how can he be sincere?” Nearing the end of “The Woman Who Ran,” this line, blurted out by a wife about her famous and “hypocritical” novelist husband, sounds like the perfect wakeup call and a punch in the head for the protagonist Gam-hee, who until now, has been forcing herself to be satisfied with the feeling of being loved. Unlike what is implied by the title, South Korean arthouse auteur Hong Sang-soo’s 24th feat

FilmSept. 11, 2020

[Herald Interview] Lang Lang hopes to ‘reach people’s heart and soul’

  Pianist Lang Lang, known for his power-charged, knuckle-busting performances, is to share another side of his music with the world through Bach’s Goldberg Variations. The celebrated Chinese pianist has released a recording of the monumental 1741 keyboard work from earlier this month under the Deutsche Grammophon label. The album features two performances -- one recorded in a studio and the other recorded live at the St Thomas’s Church in Leipzig, Germany, where Bach resided

PerformanceSept. 11, 2020

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and Packages

InterContinental to offer 2020 Chuseok Gift Sets Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas and InterContinental Seoul Coex in Samseong-dong are offering delivery of the 2020 Chuseok Gift Set to help communicate best wishes to loved ones from a distance. Alongside the 40 carefully selected premium products, a premium memorial rites table for ancestors prepared by InterContinental’s Korean cuisine chefs is also available this year for the first time. The Chef’s Assorted Memorial Service T

FoodSept. 11, 2020

[Herald Interview] ‘Beauty Water’ makes breakthrough for Korean genre animation

If you were able to change your appearance exactly the way you want for 200 million won ($168,000), would you do it? Horror-thriller “Beauty Water,” which hit the local cinemas Wednesday, explores just that question, and in doing so, is forging a new path for Korean genre animation. The film, based on the “Beauty Water” episodes of Oh Sung-dae’s hit omnibus webtoon series “Tales of the Unusual,” was invited to several international film and animation

FilmSept. 10, 2020

Bong Joon-ho joins team on ‘Sea Fog’ remake

Oscar-winning auteur Bong Joon-ho is to join the production of the Hollywood remake of “Sea Fog,” a 2014 South Korean thriller. Bong was the producer of the original film. American film studio Participant -- which produced feature-length titles “Dark Waters,” “Green Book,” and “Contagion” -- is in charge of the project, according to US entertainment media outlet Deadline. Matt Palmer, who made his feature debut with Netflix thriller flick &ldquo

FilmSept. 10, 2020

CHA plans to apply for Gaya Tumuli’s UNESCO listing

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Thursday announced it is to apply for the listing of the Gaya Tumuli as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Gaya Tumuli is a serial property consisting of seven different tumuli sites -- Gimhae Daeseong-dong Tumuli, Haman Marisan Tumuli, Hapcheon Okjeon Tumuli, Goryeong Jisan-dong Tumuli, Goseong Songhak-dong Tumuli, Changnyeong Gyo-dong and Songhyeon-dong Tumuli and Namwon Yugok-ri and Durak-ri Tumuli -- located along the Nakdong River in the southern pa

CultureSept. 10, 2020

50-day-old giant panda cub 10 times heavier than birth weight

Photos of a 50-day-old giant panda cub at Everland, a theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, released Thursday show a cub who now weighs 10 times as much as she did at birth. The female cub now weighs 2 kilograms, almost 10 times her birth weight of 197 grams recorded in July. Yet to be named, she is the first panda to be born in South Korea. According to Everland, the cub is in good health. She recently opened her eyes for the first time and can turn over by herself. The theme park has

TravelSept. 10, 2020

DMZ doc fest settles on closed-door screenings

South Korea’s biggest documentary film festival, the DMZ International Film Festival, will be held behind closed doors this year -- its efforts to push ahead with an in-person festival thwarted amid the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak. The festival’s organizing committee on Wednesday announced the cancellation of ticket sales, which were scheduled to begin Wednesday. The festival will be open to only to participating directors, invited guests, press and industry personnel. &l

FilmSept. 9, 2020

Post COVID-19 music industry to be discussed at MU:CON 2020

The four-day international music fair “2020 MU:CON” will take place online Sept. 23 - Sept. 26, according to the Korea Creative Content Agency on Wednesday. Now in its 9th year, MU:CON gathers members of the music industry and artists for discussions about the industry and to showcase performances from both Korean and international groups. “The music industry has shown the power of K-pop through a fast transition to contactless concerts, despite the tremendous damage due to

CultureSept. 9, 2020

Pianist Kim Sun-wook to make formal debut as conductor in December

Having already had performances postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, pianist Kim Sun-wook seems headed for a busy year-end, making his official debut as a conductor along with plans for solo and duo recitals. Kim, 32, who became the first Asian and youngest winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2006, will mark his formal debut as a conductor by leading the KBS Symphony Orchestra on Dec. 14 at the Lotte Concert Hall in Jamsil, eastern Seoul. Kim received a master of arts de

PerformanceSept. 9, 2020

Online lectures on UNESCO World Heritage open Thursday

The Preparatory Office for International Center for the Interpretation and Presentation of World Heritage Sites is holding an online lecture series titled “Understanding World Heritage Interpretation and Presentation” from Thursday to Nov. 26. The center’s establishment was approved as a UNESCO Category 2 Center at the 40th UNESCO General Conference held last November. It was created to focus on research, education and dissemination of information related to world heritage in

CultureSept. 9, 2020

Nepalese, UK groups win UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize

Two groups based in Nepal and the UK that have been campaigning against illiteracy in Nepal and Myanmar have won the 2020 UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize. The Nepal-based organization, Ageing Nepal, was created in 2016 and has helped over 180 seniors learn Nepali in a country where the majority of adults are illiterate. The group was recognized for its innovative and instructive classes, which involved activities such as touring local markets so the students could practice reading street sig

CultureSept. 9, 2020

Busan Biennale scrambles to put on a show in pandemic times

When the second wave of COVID-19 infections hit South Korea in late August, forcing people to suspend many of their daily activities, the Busan Biennale‘s organizing committee went into crisis mode. With the government announcing that strict social distancing rules would remain nationwide until Sept. 20, the Busan Biennale 2020 -- the international contemporary art show scheduled to open Sept. 5 in the southern port city of Busan -- had to quickly change its plans only a few days before

Arts & DesignSept. 9, 2020

BTS tops Billboard Hot 100 chart for 2nd consecutive week

K-pop superstar BTS ranked first on the Billboard main singles chart for the second consecutive week Tuesday with its latest single "Dynamite." "BTS' 'Dynamite' is officially No. 1 on this week's Hot 100 chart for a second consecutive week," Billboard said on Twitter. The Hot 100 blends all-genre US streaming, radio airplay and sales data. Billboard will update all charts later this week. Last week, the boy group debuted at No. 1 on the chart with the English-language song

EntertainmentSept. 9, 2020