Experience tradition at Imperial Palace Seoul

People try traditional Korean games at the newly opened Traditional Culture Experience Center of the Imperial Palace Seoul. The center also allows Korean and foreign visitors to take pictures with a Korean traditional house in the background, wearing hanbok, or traditional Korean clothing. The Club Lounge on the 20th floor features the interior of a traditional Korean house, too. (Imperial Palace Seoul)

CultureJune 29, 2018

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Healthy Korean food at JW Mariott DongdaemunJW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul’s restaurant Tavolo 24 offers the promotion Summer 8, featuring dishes inspired by regional food across the nation. Recreating traditional tastes, chefs whipped up the dishes with stylish techniques. Guests who dine at the lunch and dinner buffets can enjoy the promotion. The menu may differ depending on the timeslot. Other European and Oriental menu items have been prepared as well. The promotion will continue until

FoodJune 29, 2018

Gangneung sets up bus stop featured on BTS album cover

The city of Gangneung in Gangwon Province has set up a replica of a bus stop featured on the cover of BTS’ full-length album “You Never Walk Alone.”Gangneung, a city on the east coast of the country, recently built the bus stop on one of its beaches, Jumunjin. The location is the spot where the shooting of BTS’ album jacket took place. (Yonhap)The new bus stop will not function as an actual stop for local buses, according to the Gangneung city government. It will instead serve as a photo spot fo

PerformanceJune 29, 2018

BTS makes it back to Time’s ‘most influential online’ list

K-pop sensation BTS just keeps on adding to its legacy. It was included on Time magazine’s list of 25 most influential people on the internet for the second straight year.The boy band was the sole Korean representative on the list released Thursday, taking its place alongside US President Donald Trump, Kanye West and Rihanna among others.According to the magazine, the list was based on “their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news.” BTS (Big Hit Entertainment)It at

PerformanceJune 29, 2018

[Eye Plus] Hongdae: Seoul’s bustling hub for live busking

Hongdae is a neighborhood in northeastern Seoul known for its youthful ambience, boutique cafes, live performances, nightclubs and restaurants. But if Hongdae were to be described in one word, it would have to be “busking.”Day and night, the streets of Hongdae, the area surrounding Korea’s Hongik University, bustle with young musicians and artists staging outdoor performances. If you see a crowd huddled somewhere, you know there’s a musician, indie band, or dancers showing off their talent.A bus

CultureJune 29, 2018

[Epicurean Challenge] Loach soup for stamina, chueotang

Loaches or mudfish may not be the first thing that come to mind when thinking of healthy food. But in Korea, when people are exhausted, many look for loach soup, or chueotang. Chueotang is prepared by purging sand out of live loaches by boiling them in salted water. The loaches are then boiled again with various vegetables, such as chives and dried radish greens.  (Shot and produced by Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Herald) The soup can be enjoyed with either whole or pureed loaches. A

FoodJune 29, 2018

BTS makes it on Time's '25 Most Influential People on the Internet'

South Korean boy band BTS has been named among the US Time magazine's "25 Most Influential People on the Internet" for 2018.Time released its annual list Thursday (US time) based on "their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news."BTS was chosen for their huge success with the latest EP "Love Yourself: Tear," the first K-pop album to top the Billboard 200 albums chart. Behind the success was the group's powerful fandom Army, which "eagerly consume anything related to

PerformanceJune 29, 2018

‘Summer Love’: SongEun ArtSpace to present years of effort supporting young artists

SongEun ArtSpace is holding a group exhibition to feature young local artists the institution has supported over the recent three years. SongEun ArtSpace’s “Summer Love: SongEun ArtCube Group Exhibition” is the second such exhibition, following the first in 2015. The 2015 “Summer Love” exhibition was held to celebrate its fifth anniversary and highlight young local artists SongEun ArtCube had supported.Lee Chung-hyung’s installation work “A Wall that Resembles the Shape of a Sculpture” (SongEun

Arts & DesignJune 28, 2018

S.M. Entertainment to launch music-talk concert in July

S.M. Entertainment’s weekly digital music release program “The Station” will be reborn as music concerts. The agency said Thursday that it would launch a monthly music-talk concert series at SM Coex Artium in Gangnam, southern Seoul, in July. There will be live performances by artists from “The Station,” and musicians will share stories about songs and their production.  A promotional image for “The Station” (S.M. Entertainment)“The Station” was launched in 2016 with an aim to broaden musical cr

PerformanceJune 28, 2018

Remix version of Steve Aoki, BTS collaboration to come

A remix version of BTS’ “The Truth Untold” will be released soon. DJ and producer Steve Aoki, who is recognized around the world, announced through his social media account Wednesday, he will be releasing a remix version of “The Truth Untold.” The two acts partnered earlier this year, dropping the song through the band’s latest studio album “Love Yourself: Tear” in May.Steve Aoki (Yonhap)BTS (Yonhap)Saying that he is “so proud of the success,” Aoki added, he doesn’t want to make fans wait for lo

PerformanceJune 28, 2018

MMCA rolls out mid-term plan, incorporation plan scrapped

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Korea on Tuesday laid out the museum’s mid-term plan, including its future exhibition schedule and management plan. The mid-term plan was announced alongside the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s recent decision not to incorporate the museum, ending a decade of debate on the issue.While there have been talks of incorporation to free the museum from regulations and restraints of being a part of a governmental branch, there were also co

CultureJune 27, 2018

Government commends naturalized Korean proofreader for lifetime of service

Elizabeth G. Kraft, a naturalized Korean who worked as a proofreader for the government for the past 41 years, is retiring with one of the highest honors given to a civilian.The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Wednesday that it is presenting the Moran Medal, the second-highest Order of Civil Merit, to Kraft upon her retirement on Friday.Craft, an English proofreader currently working for the Korean Culture and Information Service, has been working for the Korean government sinc

PeopleJune 27, 2018

Kim Hyun-joong mulls screen return

Singer-turned-actor Kim Hyun-joong is considering a return to the small screen, his agency said Tuesday. According to KeyEast Entertainment, Kim has recently been offered a leading role in upcoming drama series “When Time Stopped,” a 12-part fantasy-romance. He would play a time traveler living a lonely life. Kim Hyun-joong (KeyEast Entertainment)Kim has not yet decided whether to take the offer, KeyEast said.His latest screen work was drama series “Inspiring Generation” in 2014. A former member

TelevisionJune 27, 2018

78.8-year-old grandpas return with scenery of central Europe

One of tvN’s all-time favorites, “Grandpas Over Flowers” is to make its return after three years.   The travel-reality show is considered the trailblazer of its genre, having first aired in 2013. With veteran senior actors -- Lee Soon-jae, Shin Goo, Park Geun-hyung and Baek Il-seob -- and actor Lee Seo-jin as a guide, the show traveled across Europe and Asia. The previous four seasons’ peak viewership ratings have been increasing, respectively marking 6.8, 7.2, 7.8 and 10 percent. The numbers ha

TelevisionJune 27, 2018

[Album Review] Momoland’s new album attempts to replicate past glory

Momoland“Fun to The World”(Loen Entertainment) Maybe its previous banger “Bboom Bboom” was too powerful, or our expectations were too high. While Momoland’s attempt to build on its newfound popularity with a song that echoes its past hit seems pretty reasonable, considering the rookie’s need to solidify its musical concept, the act’s new single “Baam” is an outright replication of “Bboom Bboom.” Specifically, the lead track off its “Fun to The World” EP feels like an immature version of “Bboom B

PerformanceJune 27, 2018

BTS stays on main Billboard charts for fifth consecutive week

K-pop boy band BTS stayed on Billboard's main albums and singles charts for the fifth straight week, according to the charts updated by the US music magazine on Tuesday."Love Yourself: Tear," the third full-length album by BTS, charted 27th on the Billboard 200 albums chart for the week of June 30, down seven notches from 20th the previous week. K-pop boy group BTS (AFP-Yonhap)The album's main track, "Fake Love," ranked 65th on the Hot 100 singles chart, up six spots from a week ago.BTS received

PerformanceJune 27, 2018

‘Believer’ becomes first Korean film to surpass 5 mln admissions this year

“Believer” surpassed 5 million in cumulative admissions on Tuesday, the first for a Korean film this year, data showed.　The crime thriller starring Cho Jin-woong and Ryu Jun-yeol passed the threshold at 2 p.m., according to the computerized box office tally from the Korean Film Council.　The film has sold 5,000,061 tickets since it opened on May 22, slightly more than that for two of the most popular domestic crime thrillers, 4.68 million for “New World” (2013) and 4.72 million for “Nameless Gang

CultureJune 26, 2018

Korean novelist Hwang Sok-yong wins 2018 Emile Guimet Prize

Hwang Sok-yong, one of South Korea‘s most famous writers, has received the 2018 Emile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature for his novel “At Dusk.”　Hwang was announced as the winner of the prize by the national Guimet Museum of Asian Art in Paris at 6:30 p.m. Monday (Paris time).　Founded last year to better introduce Asian literature in France, the prize selects the winner among contemporary Asian literary works published in French in the past year. Novelist Hwang Sok-yong (Yonhap)　The first winner

CultureJune 26, 2018

Suzy’s first Asian fan meeting tour to wrap up in July

Actress-singer Suzy’s first fan meeting tour in Asia will come to an end in Seoul next month.The last leg of her very first fan meeting event, dubbed “WITH,” will take place at 7 p.m. on July 7 after stops in cities including Taipei, Hong Kong and Bangkok, her agency JYP Entertainment said Tuesday.In Bangkok, the former member of now disbanded girl group Miss A performed solo numbers including “Holiday” and “Sober.” She wowed Thai fans with a rendition of the Thai song “Tur Mai Koey Roo,” delive

PerformanceJune 26, 2018

Momoland ‘thankful’ to have its name cleared on chart-rigging scandal

The past five months have been a roller coaster ride for Momoland and its fans, between the massive success of its hit “Bboom Bboom” and the wrongful accusation that the act rigged album sales. (Yonhap)What did the nine-piece group feel after the government probe cleared its name?“Thankfully we’ve been able to break free from such accusations,” said Yeonwoo, during the showcase for its new EP “Fun to the World” in Seoul on Tuesday. “Rather than it (the scandal) hurting us, we felt that what we c

PerformanceJune 26, 2018