Ssak 3 debuts on ‘Show! Music Core’ with record ratings

Ssak 3 made their debut on MBC’s “Show! Music Core” on Saturday, after sweeping the music charts with their song, “Beach Again.” The trio, made up of entertainer Yoo Jae-suk, singers Lee Hyo-ri and Rain, performed their songs “Beach Again” and “In Summer,” on the weekly live music show Saturday afternoon, bringing a ’90s vibe to the K-pop idol stage. “Show! Music Core” reached its highest viewership rating of the year --

TelevisionJuly 27, 2020

[Herald Review] Underwater summit holds key to future of two Koreas in ‘Steel Rain 2’

How would the leaders of South Korea, North Korea and the United States prevent a war from happening on the Korean Peninsula on a stealth submarine some 300 meters under the water? “Steel Rain 2: Summit” takes this highly unlikely premise and looks at the ongoing inter-Korean conflict. The film kicks off by showing heightening military tensions between the US and China and the impending complications for the surrounding nations -- the two Koreas and Japan. While tension hangs ove

FilmJuly 26, 2020

‘Beasts Clawing at Straws’ grabs Special Mention at Far East Film Festival

Crime thriller “Beasts Clawing at Straws,” starring Jeon Do-yeon and Jung Woo-sung, won the Special Mention at the Far East Film Festival held in Italy, the film’s distributor Megabox Joongang Plus M announced on Friday. According to the distributor, the festival’s Executive Chairman Sabrina Baracetti acclaimed the Korean film as “an action thriller full of colorful casts, and a unique and unpredictable film,” adding that “the movie is very provocative

FilmJuly 26, 2020

Three solo contemporary art exhibitions at one place

Art Sonje Center -- a private art museum in Seoul recognized for experimental contemporary art exhibitions -- is showcasing three solo exhibitions by different artists. Bringing different displays to the museum, the three artists -- Camille Henrot, Lee Mi-re and Don Sun-pil -- guide visitors through diverse aspects of contemporary art. At the exhibition “Saturday, Tuesday,” French artist Henrot brings light to social issues in connection with the seven days of the week. “Tue

Arts & DesignJuly 26, 2020

[Herald Review] Revival of ballet with impassioned ‘Onegin’

Universal Ballet successfully presented “Onegin,” the first full-length ballet to go on the stage in Korea in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Onegin,” a drama of tragic love, went onstage from July 18 to Sunday at the Chungmu Arts Center in central Seoul. The drama ballet created by celebrated choreographer John Cranko is based on Alexander Pushkin’s novel “Eugene Onegin.” Kurt-Heinz Stolze arranged the music for the production, editing various

PerformanceJuly 26, 2020

Taean offers idyllic beach getaway in COVD-19 times

TAEAN, South Chungcheong Province -- Though COVID-19 has yet to be contained, summer is here, and so is the vacation season. Taean is a popular tourist town on the west coast of Korea, about a three-hour drive from Seoul. The small seaside county was the site of the worst oil spill in Korea in 2007, when a crane-barge collision led to the leaking of 11 million gallons of oil into the ocean. Workers, residents and volunteers from across the nation gathered in Taean to clean the blackened beache

TravelJuly 25, 2020

Kim Whan-ki as a poet who paints

Korean modern art master Kim Whan-ki is widely known at home and abroad for his signature dot paintings. But it is little known that the artist was actually a poet as well, having penned a number of poems as “Suhwa,” and that he sought poetic features in his paintings. “What I have felt since arriving here is a poetic spirit. Art, I think, should contain songs,” Kim wrote in his journal in January 1957 while staying in Paris. “There are powerful songs in the wor

Arts & DesignJuly 25, 2020

Lee Joon-ki, Moon Chae-won partner for marriage suspense in ‘The Flower of Evil’

Lee Joon-ki and Moon Chae-won are returning to the small screen in the upcoming tvN series “The Flower of Evil.” Lee, Moon, producer Kim Chul-kyu and supporting actors Jang Hee-jin and Seo Hyeon-woo attended a promotional event for the drama series on Wednesday. The event was livestreamed due to concerns over the new coronavirus. This is the second time Lee and Moon are teaming up in a TV drama, following tvN’s “Criminal Mind” -- a remake of the popular American

TelevisionJuly 25, 2020

[Weekender] Audiobook market expands in Korea, buoyed by COVID-19

“I used to checkout sets of Harry Potter audiobook tapes from the public library and listen to it with my brother when I was in elementary school. Now I listen to audiobooks while commuting to work by bus and sometimes it reminds me of my childhood,” Kim Jung-yeon, a 34-year-old office worker, said. For Kim, who spent most of her childhood in Canada, audiobooks are a familiar form of content that she has enjoyed since she was young, but for many Koreans, this is not the case. &ld

CultureJuly 25, 2020

Songpa-gu draws criticism over cancellation of ‘Mr. Trot’ concert

The much-anticipated “Mr. Trot” tour, scheduled to start Friday at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul and continue nationwide, has been delayed yet again after the local government banned concerts to crowds of over 5,000. TV Chosun’s “Mr. Trot,” an audition program that chose the best trot singer out of 100 contestants, posted record viewership ratings when it aired from January to March this year. Attesting to its popularity across generations, tickets to the

PerformanceJuly 25, 2020

2020 Museum Week in August to highlight diversity, inclusion

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that 2020 Museum Week will take place in August. Organized jointly with the Cultural Foundation of the National Museum of Korea, the week will feature diverse events highlighting diversity and inclusion. The week runs Aug. 14 to 23 and will involve online and offline events at 15 museums and art galleries. An exhibition and related educational programs at the Lee Art Museum in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, will focus on the five sens

Arts & DesignJuly 25, 2020

Three teams win 2020 Korea Young Architect Award

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced five people from three teams as winners of the 2020 Korea Young Architect Award on Friday. The award program is led by the ministry and organized jointly by the Korea Architects Institute, Korean Institute of Architects and the Korean Institute of Female Architects. For this year, B.U.S Architecture (Woo Seung-jin, Park Ji-hyun and Cho Sung-hak), JIYO Architects (Kim Se-jin) and On Architect (Jung Woong-sik) received the awards out of the

Arts & DesignJuly 24, 2020

Korea Film Museum reopens offline, featuring 12 North Korean movies

The Korea Film Archive announced the reopening of Korea Film Museum offline on Friday, among other facilities that it manages, after shutting them down due to the spread of COVID-19. At the Korea Film Museum, “Chaotic Times, Crossed Path: Movie People in Liberation Space” exhibition that was shown online starting July 7 will be opened to the public. The exhibition, which shows movie industry professionals who worked in both South and North Korea until the Korean War, marks the 70th

FilmJuly 24, 2020

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and Packages

Starry wedding at Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Hotel & Residences presents small wedding package “Art Collection: The Starry Night.” The wedding package is available at grand ballroom Rahan or at the hotel’s rooftop garden. Decorations, inspired by the famous oil painting “The Starry Night” by Van Gogh, complement a private wedding ceremony. The wedding package is priced at 9.9 million won for 100 guests, inclusiv

FoodJuly 24, 2020

[Eye Interview] With court battle over, singer-artist ready for limelight

“I am 75. I am past the age for singing. The state has now said that I should make a living painting,” says Cho Young-nam during an interview with The Korea Herald on July 13 at his apartment in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, overlooking the Han River and Yeongdong Bridge. He is speaking about the recent Supreme Court decision that found the singer and painter not guilty of fraud. In 2016, Cho was sued by a buyer who accused him of fraud. He was alleged to have hired another artist to pain

Arts & DesignJuly 24, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

A Mermaid in Paris (France) Opened July 23 Comedy, Fantasy, Romance Directed by Mathias Malzieu In Paris, heavy rains have led to historic flooding of the Seine along with mysterious disappearances. One night, Gaspard Snow (Nicolas Duvauchelle), a melancholic musician, is attracted by the enchanting voice of a wounded yet beautiful young mermaid (Marilyn Lima). Eager to save her, Gaspard unknowingly embarks on adventures that, through the power of love and music, may well mend his broken hear

FilmJuly 24, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Jeonju International Sori Festival The 2020 Jeonju International Sori Festival is a global music festival that centers on Korean music and vocals. It runs Sept. 16-20 at the Sori Arts Center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The festival bills itself as a major performing arts festival that brings together exquisite styles of music from around the globe, with its programs encompassing a wide array of performance genres. The program for the 2020 festival has not yet been set. For more inf

TravelJuly 24, 2020

Director says ‘Steel Rain’ universe is different from DC, Marvel comics

With three webcomic series and two films of the “Steel Rain” series about the Korean Peninsula, director-writer Yang Woo-suk has now built his own universe about what he calls “simulations” of situations and solutions to the ongoing inter-Korean conflict. “It’s a story that must be told and must be called upon by someone. I’m not trying to send a message, but giving suggestions of simulations and throwing questions through them. And the audience will m

FilmJuly 23, 2020

MMCA Gwacheon unveils its largest ever exhibition for kids

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea is showcasing the largest-ever exhibition for kids at its Gwacheon venue after reopening on Wednesday. The exhibition, “Driving into the Color,” is held at the circular gallery -- a 2,645 square-meter exhibition hall – and is dedicated exclusively to children. The exhibition consists of “The Exhibition Zone,” “Activity Zone,” and “Learning Zone.” At the exhibition zone, a total

Arts & DesignJuly 22, 2020

Indieforum 2020 kicks off Thursday after skipping a year

This year’s Indieforum, or Independent Film & Video Makers Forum, will start its five-day run at the Indie Art Space and the Seoul Art Cinema in central Seoul on Thursday. Along with the screening of 24 movies chosen from 813 submissions, exhibitions, including “Place, Ghost, Spot” that looks at history of a place, and “Roaming Subjects of Cinema” that focuses on the state of independent movies today will be shown at the 24th edition of the country’s old

FilmJuly 22, 2020