[Video] Indoor Games go wild to combat quarantine boredom

The 2020 Tokyo Games have been postponed, but people are taking themselves to the games at home to fill that void -- with the Quarantine Games. It all started when the Presley family held their games to combat lockdown boredom. The family uploaded footage of a viral competition series on TikTok, a short video-app, which quickly made them “internet famous.” The competition began in April when one of the family members attempted a challenge in which participants competed in drinki

CultureAug. 24, 2020

National Museum of Korea acquires two state-designated treasures from Kansong Art Museum

The National Museum of Korea announced Monday that it has purchased two state-designated treasures from the Kansong Art Museum. The newly acquired items -- Treasure No. 284, Gilt-Bronze Standing Buddha, and Treasure No. 285, Gilt-Bronze Standing Bodhisattva -- will be displayed in the museum’s permanent exhibition hall when it reopens. The museum shut down Aug. 16 after one of its employees tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The two state-designated treasures were put up for a

Arts & DesignAug. 24, 2020

Jazz legend dies at 77

Jazz vocalist Park Sung-yeon died Sunday at the age of 77. Park, who had kidney failure for more than two decades, had been in a nursing home in western Seoul for the past few years. The singer is often called the “godmother of jazz music” in South Korea. She opened Janus, the country’s first jazz-only club, in the college district of Sinchon, western Seoul, in 1978. “Korea, which had been a dead land of jazz music, has now become a thick forest, being home to numer

PeopleAug. 24, 2020

[Herald Interview] Festival delves into 'K-World music'

Like most fests this year, the 11th ACC World Music Festival has not been able to escape the crippling impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual music festival kicked off Friday, despite the fast-spreading virus crisis. However, as the government decided to expand strict social distancing guidelines nationwide Saturday, the rest of the festival schedule had to be canceled. “It was like ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’” string instrument geomungo virtuoso Heo Yoon-

PerformanceAug. 23, 2020

Culture sector close to complete shutdown

With the virus pandemic here unraveling out of control nationwide, productions from the stage to the small screen are shutting down to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. After a cast member of the musical “Kinky Boots” was notified of having close contact with a person who was confirmed to have COVID-19, the show canceled its weekend performances. The musical “Rent” took a blow, too, as stage actor Choi Jae-rim, who stars in “Kinky Boots,” appears i

TelevisionAug. 23, 2020

Yeol Society to present Korean beauty at ornament exhibition in Sept

Yeol Korean Heritage Preservation Society, a private organization founded to promote Korean beauty and cultural heritage, will host its first exhibition of the year, presenting the beauty of Korean craft art from 12 promising artists. The exhibition, “Ornament,” will be held from Sept. 1 to 28 at Yeol Bukchonga in central Seoul, showcasing a variety of ornaments and scarves that feature Korean traditional beauty from nine craft artists and three textile artists. The artists includ

Arts & DesignAug. 23, 2020

[Herald Interview] Pianist puts himself in Beethoven’s shoes

Ludwig van Beethoven is an important figure for every musician, but for pianist Kim Sun-wook -- a promising South Korean composer -- it is more than that, he’s a role model given his life’s work. Kim, the winner of the 2006 Leeds International Piano Competition, will hold a recital Sept. 13 at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul. The recital, initially scheduled to take place in March, was postponed due to the spread of COVID-19. Celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birt

PerformanceAug. 22, 2020

[Photo News] Exhibition offers artists’ view of pandemic

The Daegu Culture & Arts Center in Dalseo, Daegu, is hosting an exhibition titled “Pandemic & Daegu.” The event kicked off Wednesday and will run until Aug. 30. The exhibition presents a range of mask-inspired artworks created by members of the Daegu Contemporary Artists Association and many foreign artists, including eight from France. (Photos: Yonhap) By Lee Sae-byul (nstelle@heraldcorp.com)

Arts & DesignAug. 22, 2020

Classic bites at Oui Madeleine

Sequestered in Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong, Oui Madeleine stays true to its name. There is only one item on the menu –- the shell-shaped madeleine. Asked why she specializes solely in these sponge cakes, owner-patissier Ryu Hye-sun answered, “While I love to explore that which is new, I have a penchant for the basics and classics and that is reflected in my decision to focus on the madeleine.” Before Ryu soft opened Oui Madeleine on Aug. 7, she studied pastries at Le Co

FoodAug. 22, 2020

MBC’s ‘When I was Most Beautiful’ returns to basics of romance drama

A boy falling in love at first sight on a rainy day, a chance meeting as a teacher and a student a few days later and a romantic bike ride in the countryside seem too cliche for a Korean romance drama in a year when a series featuring a husband and wife cheating on each other was a huge hit. Yet MBC’s new romance drama, “When I Was Most Beautiful,” does just that, presenting a romance drama reminiscent of those from the 1990s and early 2000s. “When I Was Most Beautiful

TelevisionAug. 22, 2020

Seoul Auction collaborates with Artsy as pandemic jeopardizes HK auctions

Seoul Auction is holding an online auction in conjunction with Artsy, a global art sale platform, featuring artworks by Korean masters as well as international artists, such as Damien Hirst and KAWS. South Korea’s largest auction firm is running a preview until Sept. 1 at the Seoul Auction Gangnam Center. The “Artsy x Seoul Auction: Splash! Splash!” will show around 80 art pieces by artists from 11 countries. The total value of the pieces estimated at around $780,000. It

Arts & DesignAug. 22, 2020

Church holds trial for pastor who blessed sexual minorities at queer festival

The Korean Methodist Church put Rev. Lee Dong-hwan of Glory Jeil Church on trial Friday for giving a blessing to sexual minorities during a queer festival in August 2019. The case marks the first time a person is being tried by the Korean Methodist Church for supporting homosexuality. The church doctrine states “Violating laws regarding drugs and performing activities supporting or agreeing with gambling or homosexuality” are punishable. Lee participated in a queer festival in Inc

CultureAug. 21, 2020

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and Packages

Stay at Mayfield Hotel with Asiana Airlines mileage Mayfield Hotel Seoul is offering a chance for guests to use their Asiana Airlines mileage while COVID-19 precludes international travel. Guests can reserve rooms at the hotel with Asiana mileage until Sept. 16 for stays before the end of the year, excluding blackout days (Sept. 30 through Oct. 3, Oct. 31 and Dec. 24-26). Guests interested in using mileage will have to call the hotel for a reservation number and present personal identificatio

FoodAug. 21, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival The Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival will be held Oct. 16-17 at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park, an hour’s drive from Seoul. The annual rock festival, ardently supported by local rock fans and music fans worldwide, usually takes place in early August. However, this year the event was postponed to October due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. Program details for the festival have yet to be announced. For more information in Korean, visit www.ppen

TravelAug. 21, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

An Old Lady (Korea) Opened Aug. 20 Drama Directed by Lim Sun-ae The elderly Hyo-jung (Ye Su-jeong) is sexually abused by a 29-year-old male nurse’s aide during physical therapy. When she reports the case to police, wary young officers wonder if she may be suffering from dementia. When no one seems to believe Hyo-jung, who has no family or friends, her roommate Dong-in (Ki Joo-bong) investigates the case and speaks to the suspect to persuade him to turn himself in. Moving On (Korea) Op

FilmAug. 21, 2020

COVID-19 causes TV production stoppages

The South Korean entertainment industry could face a shutdown with the growing number of COVID-19 infections among TV cast and crew members. Terrestrial broadcaster KBS is on alert after a member of the cast of “Men Are Men” was confirmed to have the new coronavirus Wednesday. While all related staff have tested negative, production at the network is encountering mass delays. A public relations official from KBS said Friday that actor Seo Seong-jong of the KBS2 drama was confirme

TelevisionAug. 20, 2020

'Evil' beats 'Peninsula' to become most watched summer film of 2020

The South Korean action thriller "Deliver Us From Evil" has emerged as the most-watched film at the country's box office this summer, outpacing the performance of homegrown zombie apocalypse movie "Peninsula," data showed Thursday. The number of combined viewers for "Evil," starring Hwang Jung-min and Lee Jung-jae, reached 3.87 million as of early Wednesday, surpassing the 3.79 million aggregate tally for "Peninsula," according to the data by the Korean

FilmAug. 20, 2020

[Herald Interview] Rookie filmmaker wants to talk more about family, children

Director Yoon Dan-bi, 30, received the Bright Future award at International Film Festival Rotterdam in February for her debut feature, “Moving On.” That win followed on the heels of four awards at the Busan International Film Festival the previous year. “I really didn’t expect the film to win an award at Busan, let alone Rotterdam,” Yoon said during an interview Friday. “I just wanted to make a family film. The big plot was that a family of four, parents an

FilmAug. 19, 2020

Women’s film fest to show ‘mutual gaze’ of women

The 22nd Seoul International Women’s Film Festival will take place Sept. 10-16 under the slogan “Mutual Gaze.” With the novel coronavirus spreading in the capital area at an alarming rate, organizers hosted an online press conference about the upcoming annual event on Tuesday. Stating the main themes of this year’s festival as “bold challenge” and “passionate engagement,” festival director Park Kwang-soo said, “We took the opportunity to

FilmAug. 19, 2020

[Feature] Controversy over architectural heritage from Japanese colonial era continues

Walking around Seoul, one can easily spot buildings built during the Japanese colonial era. Park Ga-hee, 31-year-old resident of a neighborhood next to Gyeongbokgung Palace in central Seoul, passes by the Bank of Korea Money Museum on her way to and from work. The building, built in 1912, was the headquarters for the Bank of Joseon during the Japanese colonial era. “I am aware that the building was used to colonize Korea. It is not a pleasant thing to see the building,” Park said

CultureAug. 19, 2020