[Photo News] Tiger family at S. Korean amusement park

Tiger cub siblings, one male and one female, were introduced to the public Thursday at Everland, a zoo and theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The mother tiger was shown taking care of her cubs, which are less than 100 days old. (Photos: Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp.com)

May 23, 2020

[Photo News] Buddhism-inspired lanterns light up Cheonggye Stream

Buddhism-themed traditional lanterns portraying fairies, lotus flowers, animals and Buddha are displayed to brighten up Cheonggye Stream in Seoul from Thursday to next Sunday. Meanwhile, Buddhist groups in South Korea canceled a lantern procession this weekend to mark Buddha’s birthday amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. The procession had already been postponed, with the actual Buddhist holiday being on April 30. Celebratory services, however, will be proceeded at temples across the

May 23, 2020

Night tours of royal palaces to reopen next week

The popular nighttime tours of royal palaces in South Korea will resume next week, months after their suspension due to novel coronavirus fears, the cultural heritage authority said Saturday. The Gyeongbokgung Starlight Tour will start on Wednesday and go through June 8, while the Changdeokgung Moonlight Tour will open from Thursday until June 21, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration. Tickets for the nocturnal programs are available for purchase at the e-commerce website Auction

May 23, 2020

[Graphic News] Cultural exports jump 9.1% in 2018, led by games, character IP

　South Korea’s exports of cultural goods jumped nearly 10 percent on-year in 2018, led by games and character intellectual property, a government survey showed. 　The combined overseas sales in 11 culture and entertainment sectors reached about $9.62 billion, up 9.1 percent from 2017, according to the annual content industry statistics published by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. 　The industries surveyed included movies, broadcasting, publishing, music, games, cartoons,

May 22, 2020

Kansong Art Museum to auction treasures

The Kansong Art Museum -- a private museum in Seoul that has collected valuable artifacts since the Japanese colonial era -- has put two state-designated treasures up for auction. The Buddhist sculptures are the first items to be sold by the museum in its 82-year history. The trading of state-designated cultural treasures is also a rare occasion in the auction market. Founded in 1938 as the country’s first private museum, the Kansong Art Museum is a point of cultural pride in Korea.

May 21, 2020

May 31 declared ‘Korean Church Worship Restoration Day’

The United Christian Churches of Korea have proclaimed May 31 “Korean Church Worship Restoration Day,” and are aiming for 80 percent attendance at Sunday services throughout the country on that day. Two churches in Incheon, Palbock Church and Onlove Church, had a scare recently when a cluster of infections traced to Seoul’s Itaewon area affected two church members and led to around 780 people being tested for the virus. The churches followed social distancing guidelines and as

May 21, 2020

Cultural artifacts brought to life with immersive digital technology

If you’ve ever wanted to experience life in Joseon society, the National Museum of Korea’s Immersive Digital Gallery, which opened Wednesday, gives you the chance. Visitors can join a Joseon king’s procession, become a researcher restoring cultural heritage and place their photos on a shelf painting from the Joseon dynasty. Immersive digital technology includes virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality that attempts to emulate a physical world through digital me

May 20, 2020

Korea Opera Festival to begin from June 4

The 11th Korea Opera Festival, which was postponed from May due to the spread of the new coronavirus, will begin on June 4. The festival, which will take place in three different theaters of the Seoul Arts Center, will have two separate parts this year to avoid too many people gathering. The first half of the performance will be held in June and the other half will take place from August to September. From June 4-14, the festival will be held at Seoul Arts Center’s Jayu Theater. From

May 19, 2020

Royal palaces resume events, group tours

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced Tuesday that it would start holding tours and events at the country’s royal palaces, which have been suspended since Feb. 27 due to the risk of spreading COVID-19. On Wednesday, the changing of the royal guard ceremony at Gyeongbokgung will be the first event to resume. Saenggwabang within Gyeongbokgung, where tourists can experience a traditional tea ceremony and enjoy dessert, will be open from May 27 to June 29. The popular night tours

May 19, 2020

LCK sees several changes during off-season

Changes in roster and coaching staff are happening daily before the June 17 kick-off of the 2020 League of Legends Champions Korea Summer Split. The most exciting of the announcements made in the off season by Riot Games so far has been the Mid-Season Cup, to be held for four days starting on May 28, where the top four teams from China and Korea will compete for prize money of $600,000. Going into the summer split, Team Dynamics will replace Griffin in the LCK, which will allow new faces to e

May 19, 2020

Football fiasco: FC Seoul accused of placing sex dolls in home stands

FC Seoul posted a formal apology on social media on Monday for putting mannequins, which many contend are sex dolls, in the stands for the team’s first home game of the season, which was held Sunday without spectators. “We apologize to all the fans for causing deep concern regarding the cheer-mannequins set up during the game on the 17th. Although the mannequins differed from previous ones in that the material is human-like, from the start we confirmed that these products were not

May 18, 2020

Catalog of Korean collection in German museum includes rare craftwork from early 20th century

The Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, an affiliate of the Cultural Heritage Administration, on Monday announced that it had published a report on the Korean collection at the Mission Museum of St. Ottilien Archabbey in Germany. “We hope that this catalog will strengthen the groundwork for future research on the Korean collections of museums overseas and help to enhance the public’s knowledge of Korea’s cultural heritage located abroad,” the Overseas Korean

May 18, 2020

[Photo News] Kestrel chicks hatch in apartment balcony

Five kestrels, designated as South Korean natural treasure No. 323, were born in a nest built inside a flower pot on an apartment balcony in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. It was March 20 when the chicks’ parents settled on the balcony. The resident of the apartment made a bigger nest out of cardboard for his little guests to have enough space to brood five eggs. The five chicks were all born healthy and are now getting ready to fly on their own. (Photos: Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun

May 18, 2020

Linking of COVID-19 to gay clubs raises concerns among sexual minorities

When a new cluster of COVID-19 infections was linked to clubs in Seoul’s Itaewon area, many initial media reports highlighted the fact that some of the establishments were “gay clubs.” Gay bashing ensued, particularly on the internet, criticizing the gay community for causing a resurgence in the spread of a virus the nation appeared to have gotten under control. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced at Sunday’s regular COVID-19 briefing that 166

May 17, 2020

Religious services still in anti-virus mode due to resurgence of cases

Churches and temples remained on their toes Sunday, taking strict precautionary anti-virus measures, in the second week since the resumption of their public services following COVID-19 outbreaks. South Korea eased strict social distancing guidelines on May 6, allowing churches, state-run museums and libraries to resume operations. But following a recent resurgence of virus infections, traced to clubs in Seoul's nightlife district of Itaewon, reopening churches and temples remained highly vigi

May 17, 2020

At-home beauty solutions encroach on professional beauticians‘ turf

The last time Jang, a 28-year-old translator in Seoul, had her hair permed was early this year. After the country was hit hard by COVID-19, she had to put off visiting a hair salon for a treatment that would prolong her perm. Searching online, she found an electric hair cap that claimed to provide hair treatment effects. “I have been reluctant to visit a hair salon because it was near a place where a COVID-19 patient had visited according to information provided by Seoul Metropolitan Go

May 16, 2020

[Eye Plus] National Museum of Korea: where story of 700,000 years begins

The National Museum of Korea, located in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, is home to the country’s heritage dating back 700,000 years. From the prehistory and ancient history gallery to the medieval and early modern history gallery located on the first floor, calligraphy and painting gallery and donations gallery on the second floor, sculpture and crafts gallery and world art gallery on the third floor, the building is filled with around 330,000 relics. In the main hallway stands the stone

May 16, 2020

KOCIS hosts ‘Talk Talk Korea 2020’ contest to promote Korean culture

The Korean Culture and Information Service announced Friday that it is hosting the “Talk Talk Korea 2020” contest from May 15 to Sept. 15 jointly with the Foreign Ministry. The contest was established in 2014. According to KOCIS, it is the largest global contents contest in Korea, with more than 30,000 foreigners participating each year. It accepts diverse content such as videos, photos, illustrations, and webtoons that can promote a positive image of Korea. “The importance

May 15, 2020

KNCDC launches online stretching tutorials, ‘Flexible Day’

The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company’s home-training series, “Flexible Day,” kicked off with the first episode streaming Wednesday on KNCDC’s YouTube channel. “Flexible Day” is part of the online project “Dance on Air” by the KNCDC, which aims to show contemporary dance to the audience at home. Episodes of “Flexible Day” will be uploaded on YouTube and Naver TV every Wednesday and Friday for five weeks. Artistic director Nam

May 15, 2020

In age of untact, virtual world of Minecraft rises as alternative to physical world

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause the postponement and cancellation of event after event, creating online replicas of the world using Minecraft to host events in the virtual world has become increasingly popular. In Minecraft, one of the most popular video games of all time, players explore a world made of unit-sized blocks and alter the environment to their choosing. In creative mode, players can build anything they want with limitless possibilities offered by the unit-sized blocks.

May 13, 2020