[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

Gurye Sansuyu Festival The Gurye Sansuyu Festival, an annual spring flower festival, runs March 14-22 in the Jirisan hot springs area. Major attractions include an exhibition of local products made with “sansuyu” (cornus fruit) as well as fireworks and traditional music and dance. Admission is free, and the festival is open to visitors of all ages. For more information in Korean, English, Japanese or Chinese, visit www.gurye.go.kr. Jindo Miracle Sea Road Festival The Jindo

TravelFeb. 21, 2020

[Eye] Wisdom in a dish

  While more people around the world are starting to appreciate Korean food -- or “hansik” in Korean -- a basic understanding of true Korean food is necessary for all Koreans, says the Ven. Sunjae, head of the Korean Food Promotion Institute. Since April 2018, the Buddhist nun, known as a master of temple food, has been leading the state-funded institution. “Some questioned why a Buddhist nun was appointed to the position. It is true that I joined the Buddhist order 40 y

FoodFeb. 21, 2020

Expats find performance community in Wordsmiths

On the surface, Wordsmiths is like any other open mic event, providing a space for writers to share their poetry, prose and music. But a swift dig beneath the surface reveals a community of warmth, mutual support and acceptance. Wordsmiths’ events are held on the second Sunday of each month at Southside Parlor in Itaewon, organized by three of its members -- Kang Yea-hwon, Grace Kim and Brendon Spencer -- in their spare time. Spencer, Wordsmith’s resident DJ, has been involved s

BooksFeb. 21, 2020

[Weekender] The ‘Parasite’ impact

  For Jeon Da-jung, a 35-year-old office worker who often commutes through the neighborhood of Buam-dong, central Seoul, the concrete staircase that leads to the nearby Jahamun Tunnel didn’t mean much to her. But “Parasite,” from the acclaimed South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, completely changed her mind. By using the urban landscape as a metaphor for the deepening social divide between the haves and the have-nots, it opened her eyes to the reality of Korea today, she

FilmFeb. 21, 2020

‘Crash Landing on You’ star Lee Sin-young sues over school bullying rumors

Rising star Lee Sin-young, who played a supporting role in the hit drama “Crash Landing on You,” is taking legal action after being accused of school bullying, Lee’s agency, Forest Entertainment, said Thursday. A lawyer from law firm Gangnam, on behalf of the agency, released an official statement saying libel and blackmail complaints have been filed against a man claiming to have suffered school bullying by Lee. Earlier this month, a man claiming to have been Lee’s m

TelevisionFeb. 20, 2020

[Herald Interview] Salaryman-turned-director Kim Yong-hoon debuts big

The desperate desire inside Kim Yong-hoon, when he left his stable job at an entertainment conglomerate to realize his dream of becoming a filmmaker, may have led him to his first feature-length film, “Beasts Clawing at Straws.” A crime noir thriller with a trace of black comedy, “Beasts Clawing at Straws” tells the story of how the desire to possess a bag of cash turns ordinary people into monsters. The director caused a buzz even before the film’s release, winn

FilmFeb. 20, 2020

[Newsmaker] Religious groups respond to COVID-19 outbreak

Religious organizations are on alert after a drastic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases was linked to a church in Daegu. As of 5 p.m. Thursday, the South Korean government had reported 22 new cases of the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. The total number of infections in Korea had jumped to 104. It is suspected that the nation’s 31st patient hastened its spread by visiting a church in Daegu, which is associated with a minor religious sect. Amid the quick sprea

CultureFeb. 20, 2020

Moon meets Bong Joon-ho, vows govt. efforts against cinema screen monopolies

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday his government would do its best to introduce a legal measure to curb screen monopolies in South Korean cinemas, speaking at a Cheong Wa Dae meeting with Bong Joon-ho, director of the Oscars-winning movie "Parasite." The president pledged "tangible support" for the further development of the local film industry and cited the proposed ceiling on the total number of screens for a certain movie and the expansion of academies. The Ministry o

FilmFeb. 20, 2020

Bong Joon-ho continues commenting on social issues

After a 10-month journey that kicked off at the Cannes Film Festival last year, the “Parasite” team is back in Seoul -- with four Oscars in tow. “It’s been almost a year since we held our preview press conference here. ‘Parasite’ has been around the globe with such strong vitality and we’re glad that we can be back here after all that. It feels very strange,” director Bong Joon-ho said during the film’s final official press conference held

FilmFeb. 19, 2020

Wearing face masks, people go makeup free, change style

After Kim Se-han, 30, a research scientist at a dairy company, was notified last month to wear a face mask in the office to prevent spread of the novel coronavirus, she started to feel a sense of freedom from a troublesome routine: wearing makeup every day. “I used to feel pressure every morning to wear makeup, but now my colleagues and I do not put much makeup on as we started to wear masks at work,” Kim said. “This is really comfortable because I do not have to care abo

CultureFeb. 19, 2020

Cultural Heritage Administration unveils 2 returned cultural artifacts

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Wednesday unveiled two pieces of Korean cultural heritage previously held in the US -- Daegunjubo and the Royal Seal of King Hyojong -- at the National Palace Museum of Korea. “Three years ago, the official seal of Queen Munjeong, as well as a seal of King Hyeonjong, which were illegally taken to the US, were repatriated to Korea. We had to forcefully bring them back at the time. But this time it is different because these seals were donated,&rdqu

CultureFeb. 19, 2020

[Newsmaker] Actor Ha Jung-woo denies illegal drug use

Actor Ha Jung-woo on Tuesday denied all accusations that he had illegally taken the anesthetic propofol at a plastic surgery clinic in Gangnam, Seoul. Propofol is a short-acting anesthetic that is highly addictive. Plastic surgery clinics normally administer it to patients undergoing surgery. The news first broke last Thursday when a local news outlet reported that prosecutors were looking into about 10 people suspected of abusing drugs, including a famous actor. Although Ha’s name was

FilmFeb. 19, 2020

'Parasite' wins prestigious Italian award

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's film "Parasite," which won four Academy Awards this month and the Cannes Film Festival's top honor, the Palme d'Or, last year, captured a prestigious Italian award dubbed Italy's Oscars, an Italian news agency said Wednesday. "Parasite" has been selected as this year's winner of best foreign language film at the David di Donatello awards, ANSA said. The South Korean social comedy-thriller beat Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time

FilmFeb. 19, 2020

Kim Tae-hee returns to small screen as ghost mom in ‘Hi Bye, Mama!’

Actress Kim Tae-hee is returning to the small screen in five years as a ghost mom in tvN’s new comedy drama series “Hi Bye, Mama!” Kim, a mother of two daughters, said her character in the upcoming drama, Cha Yu-ri, is one that is the most similar to herself of all the characters she has played so far. “(Yu-ri) Is an ordinary mom of a daughter, a member of a family, and I felt she was the closest to myself,” the actress said during a video press conference held

TelevisionFeb. 18, 2020

Indie film ‘Lucky Chan-sil’ wishes dreamers well

While indie film “Lucky Chan-sil” may seem like a story about cineastes, director Kim Cho-hee is dedicating the movie to anyone pursuing a dream. “There is an underlying pressure in our society that makes people with dreams feel as if they have to achieve something,” the director said during a press conference held Monday to promote the movie. “Small and big twists in life sometimes turn out to be an opportunity leading to a new life. I hope the audience can laugh

FilmFeb. 18, 2020

Lee Kwang-soo injured in car accident

South Korean star actor and entertainer Lee Kwang-soo has been injured in a traffic accident and will cancel all of his scheduled activities, his agency said Tuesday. According to King Kong by Starship, Lee was hit by a car violating traffic signals on Saturday last week. "He underwent a thorough examination at a nearby hospital and was diagnosed with a right ankle fracture," the company said. "He is now being hospitalized and receiving medical treatment." As a result, L

PeopleFeb. 18, 2020

[Herald Interview] Baritone comes full circle in ‘Barber of Seville’

Baritone Kim Ju-taek, also known as Julian Kim, is a singer recognized beyond the Italian opera scene, even by non-classical music audiences in Korea. Kim is to perform in opera concert “Barber of Seville” in March, as part of art management agency Arts&Artists’ opera concert series.　 He is exceptionally attached to the opera piece as he made his official debut as Figaro in “Barber of Seville” at Teatro G.B. Pergolesi in Jesi, Italy in 2009, Kim, 33, said. &

PerformanceFeb. 18, 2020

Samsung SDI employee gets credit for giving blood more than 200 times

With the coronavirus scare dragging down the amount of blood donations in South Korea well below average, exemplary cases of devoted blood donors are receiving spotlight. Battery company Samsung SDI employee Cho Hyun-su was acknowledged by the Korean Red Cross for donating blood more than 200 times over the past 20 years, according to the firm this week. Cho, 38, started giving blood from highschool years and have now drawn an accumulated 85 liters of his blood for others, which is equivalent

PeopleFeb. 18, 2020

Oscar-winning 'Parasite' tops Japanese box office

The Oscar-winning film "Parasite" topped the Japanese box office over the weekend, becoming the most-watched Korean movie in the neighboring country in 15 years. According to Japanese box-office tracker Kogyo Tsushinsha, director Bong Joon-ho's black comedy "Parasite" stood atop the box office for the Saturday-Sunday period in Japan. The war film "1917" placed second. "We are calculating its exact box office revenue for the weekend," the film's Japanese

FilmFeb. 17, 2020

Park Shin-hye says ‘Call’ a never-before-seen mystery thriller

Actress Park Shin-hye will be returning to the big screen for the first time in three years with “Call,” a movie she describes as the tensest and fiercest among those in which she has acted. “There are stories that stimulate my imagination as I read on. They make me wonder how alike or different those imaginations will be when the stories are actualized on the set,” Park said at a press conference in Seoul on Monday. Park exclaimed she got goosebumps just reading the s

FilmFeb. 17, 2020