Churches in Korea consider canceling Sunday services as coronavirus spreads

Protestant churches in South Korea are considering canceling Sunday worship services this week due to the spread of COVID-19. The disease became an even more serious concern for churches after a pastor at Myungsung Church in eastern Seoul, which has more than 100,000 members, was diagnosed with the virus on Tuesday. He is reported to have attended several services on Feb. 16. Myungsung Church announced Tuesday that it is shutting down its facility and its Sunday services will be canceled unti

Feb. 26, 2020

Membership-based Sojeonseolim library offers space for writers, readers to mix and mingle

A goose-shaped chair with a gigantic art book in front of it dominates the room. If you came expecting a typical library, you might think you came to the wrong place. Sojeonseolim, which means “forest of books covered with white bricks,” is a new library in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, which opened Saturday. “Swiss architect Davide Macullo designed this building in 2016 as an art museum. We changed it into a library and Korean architect Choi Wook, director of One O One Ar

Feb. 25, 2020

National Museum of Korea presents religious implication of Buddhist sculptures at Smithsonian

The National Museum of Korea held a symposium last week at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery to introduce the religious implication embedded in Korean Buddhist artifacts, the national museum said Tuesday. The symposium -- held from Thursday to Friday at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, known as the Smithsonian’s Asian art museum -- coincided with the exhibition “Sacred Dedication: A Korean Buddhist Masterpiece,” jointly organized by the Freer Gallery, Sackler Ga

Feb. 25, 2020

Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism shuts down temple stay program due to spread of coronavirus

  The Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism announced Monday that it would suspend the operation of its Templestay program until March 20 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism, an affiliate of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, currently operates a Templestay program at 137 temples around the country. “As people’s concerns about the coronavirus rise due to the number of confirmed cases increasing day by day, we have inevitably decided to suspend o

Feb. 25, 2020

Does YouTube discriminate against Koreans?

YouTubers Josh Carrott and Ollie Kendal on Wednesday posted a clip saying the social media platform discriminates against Koreans by featuring English comments more prominently. Their channel, Korean Englishman, has over 3.7 million subscribers. “We realized that there’d be a Korean comment at the top with like 700 likes. Above it, there’d be like 10 English comments with maybe 100 likes each,” Carrott said in the video. Kendal added that when he sorted comments base

Feb. 23, 2020

[Eye Plus] Inside a mountain fortress

Sitting 480 meters above sea level, Namhansanseong is a mountain fortress 25 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The fortress stretches 12 kilometers, and is said to have been built during the Unified Silla Kingdom in the seventh century. Namhansanseong’s significance as a fortress emerged in 1624 when King Injo designated the city to serve as an emergency capital and administrative center in the Joseon era in times of war. Namhansanseong is protected dually under the Cultural Heritag

Feb. 21, 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

Feb. 20, 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

Feb. 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

Feb. 19, 2020

Esports league plays to empty stadium

Two weeks have passed since the 2020 League of Legends Champions Korea Spring season started without spectators as a precaution against the spread of novel coronavirus. At LoL Park in Jongno, Seoul, on Sunday, masks were distributed to players and staff entering the arena, as temperatures were measured and hands sanitized. Referees wore masks and gloves, while the 400 seats in the arena had posted notices prohibiting sitting. Coaches did not shake hands after the pick-and-ban phase as had be

Feb. 17, 2020

Behind successful students, there were slaves

“Sungkyunkwan National Academy and Its Surrounding Village, Banchon,” an exhibition running at the Seoul Museum of History, shows Koreans’ obsession with education, which dates back to the Joseon period (1392 to 1910). The first part of the exhibition showcases the lives of elite students of Sungkyunkwan National Academy, which served as both as a center of higher education and a symbol of Neo-Confucian culture. The academy trained around 200 top students from around the cou

Feb. 16, 2020

[Graphic News] Trending ‘Parasite’ filming locations after Oscar wins

　Locations that appeared in director Bong Joon-ho’s masterpiece “Parasite” are trending, with fans visiting the venues in celebration of the film’s historic Oscar wins. - Where “Parasite” begins Doijissal Supermarket Address: 32, Songijeong-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul Hours of Operation: 8:30 a.m.-12:30 a.m. daily Directions: Subway Line Nos. 2 & 5, Exit No. 6 of Chungjeongno Station, walk 10 minutes - Stairs connecting to President Park’s house Stair

Feb. 13, 2020

Drag artists prepare to ‘Werq the World’

All eyes will be on Seoul’s burgeoning underground drag scene when local artists kick off the Asia tour of “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq the World” at Yes24 Live Hall at the end of this month. The Asian leg of the international tour, produced by Voss Events, will take popular performers, including Kim Chi -- a Korean American contestant from Season 8 -- to Hong Kong, Singapore, Manila and Tokyo, in addition to Seoul. The Emmy award-winning television show “RuPaul&r

Feb. 13, 2020

British rap duo help students unlock inner creativity

In an hourlong workshop, ninth grade students were tasked to write a piece about the things they loved or hated and perform it. They wrote about family, the new coronavirus and TikTok. Students from Dulwich College in Seoul participated in a session run by Mark Grist and MC Mixy, a poetry and rap duo from Peterborough, England, also known as the Dead Poets. The workshop was the last in the duo’s Asian tour. For 10 years the Dead Poets have toured the world, holding workshops like this

Feb. 12, 2020

[Graphic News] International award-winning Korean films

  　As Korean cinema marked its centennial last year, director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” won the country’s first Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, opening a new chapter in Korean cinema. 　Bong continues to write history, clinching the first Golden Globe for a Korean film. ”Parasite“ also became the　first film to win at the BAFTA Film Awards, winning the best film not in English and best original screenplay. “Parasite” now awaits

Feb. 6, 2020

[Weekender] Forgotten stories behind Jeongwol Daeboreum traditions

“I crack nuts with my family on Jeongwol Daeboreum. I am not sure why, but I guess the tradition is supposed to shoo away some bad ghosts and bring good luck,” Kang Min-woo, 26, said. “I do know that there are some other Jeongwol Daeboreum traditions, but I do not celebrate them.” Saturday is “Jeongwol Daeboreum” or “Daeboreum,” a traditional holiday marking the first full moon of the Lunar New Year. However, traditions are slowly fading, especia

Feb. 6, 2020

More than 76 percent of non-Koreans have positive image of Korea: KOCIS

The Korean Culture and Information Service on Tuesday released the results of a survey showing that 76.7 percent of non-Koreans have a positive image of South Korea. The survey involved 8,000 people in 16 countries, including South Korea, from July 18 to Aug. 22 last year. KOCIS began the annual survey in 2018 to assess South Korea’s image among global citizens. In the first survey, 80.3 percent of non-Koreans said they had a positive image of South Korea. The latest survey also showe

Feb. 4, 2020

[Eye Plus] Around the world in a day

Curiosity about the world has fanned many cultural byproducts. The Multiculture Museum in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, is one such example. Tucked inside the four-story museum is director Kim Yoon-tae’s private collection of cultural objects from 40 countries, including the US, Canada, Russia, China, Mongolia, India, Thailand, Turkey, Egypt, Kenya, Italy, France, Brazil and Peru. Miniature replicas of the Tower of Pisa or a Dutch windmill and Venetian gondolas are only part of the vast coll

Jan. 31, 2020

[Weekender] Does screen-free parenting work?

Annie Jeong has always been concerned about her 3-year-old son’s exposure to digital devices. She became more worried recently after learning about the rise of screen-free parenting. But such a scheme is a tall order, she said. With digital-driven education permeating classrooms across South Korea, the use of digital devices and software has become a necessity for the future generation. “I’m worried that my kid might be in trouble in the future if he grows up tech-free,&rd

Jan. 30, 2020

Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism to promote temple food at foreign universities

Reaching the heart through the stomach, the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism on Wednesday laid out its plan to Korean promote temple food internationally. Established in 2004, the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism promotes Korean Buddhism and its cultural contents by providing traditional cultural experience programs, education, exhibition and campaign. “We will promote Korean temple food overseas with Korean Cultural Centers and Korean embassies located outside of Korea,” head

Jan. 29, 2020