Olga Tokarczuk, Peter Handke win Literature Nobels

Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk on Thursday won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, which was delayed over a sexual harassment scandal, while Austrian novelist and playwright Peter Handke took the 2019 award, the Swedish Academy said. Tokarczuk, considered the most talented Polish novelist of her generation, was honoured "for a narrative imagination that with encyclopaedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life".Her books portray a polychromatic world perpetually

Oct. 10, 2019

Alex Mustonen talks about breaking prejudice about architecture

Alex Mustonen, co-founder of New York-based studio Snarkitecture, talked about breaking some of the biased perceptions that people have about architecture at the Herald Design Forum 2019 on Thursday.“A lot of time, we think of architecture as something quite serious. I think the same limitations that people have with art can also be applied to architecture. They are seen as something that has to be looked at and not necessarily something that they can engage with,” Mutonen said. &ldq

Oct. 10, 2019

Herald Design Forum asks world: ‘Do we need another planet?’

In an era some are calling the “Anthropocene,” marked by significant human impact on Earth’s geology and ecosystems, mankind may be facing an imminent decision about the future of this blue marble. Global warming, exhaustion of natural resources and worldwide pollution may be spelling out an inconvenient truth necessitating interstellar travel for solutions.The annual Herald Design Forum opened Thursday with a rather provocative question: “Do we need another planet?&rdquo

Oct. 10, 2019

Michael Govan emphasizes importance of cultural diversity

Michael Govan, director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, on Thursday talked about the importance of cultural diversity when managing an art museum, at the Herald Design Forum 2019.“To survive in an increasingly globalized society, we need to understand each other’s cultures,” Govan said. “We have arts of all time and places. We have 150,000 objects for our collections and one and a half million people come to see this. We also have 4,000 education programs to show

Oct. 10, 2019

Hangeul celebrated on its birthday

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will hold a wide range of events Wednesday to celebrate the 573rd Hangeul Day in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.Hangeul is the writing system for the Korean language, consisting of 24 letters. King Sejong the Great (1397-1450) led the invention with a team of scholars and Hangeul was promulgated in 1446.  This year’s event, “Hangeul Opens the World” (unofficial translation), is expected to attract more than 10,000 attendees -- studen

Oct. 8, 2019

[Eye Plus] Hangeul, our proud script

Oct. 9 is the birthday of Hangeul, the writing system for the Korean language. On this national holiday, South Koreans celebrate the beauty of the over 500-year-old alphabet, invented by King Sejong the Great (1397-1450). Originally made up of 28 letters and later reduced to 24 -- 14 consonants and 10 vowels -- Hangeul is so logical and phonetic that linguists worldwide regard it as one of the most remarkable writing systems in the world. It is also easy to learn. King Sejong once said, &ld

Oct. 4, 2019

Adorable monsters to decorate Seoul lake

First came a rubber duck. Then came a supermoon, a pair of swans and a human-shaped figure. This year, it's going to be a group of monsters that shimmer under moonlight.South Korean retail conglomerate Lotte and the Songpa Ward office said Thursday that gigantic figures of Seoul-based creative studio Sticky Monster Lab will decorate Seokchon Lake in southeastern Seoul from Oct. 3-27.The exhibition, called the Luna Project, is the latest in a series of larger-than-life figures that have decorated

Oct. 3, 2019

[Eye plus] Traces of ancient kingdom in Seoul

The soul and spirit of an ancient kingdom reside in the center of Seoul’s Songpa-gu. The ancient tombs in Seokchon-dong -- a set of stone mound tombs believed to have been built during the early Baekje Kingdom (18 BC-AD 660) -- sit among modern buildings, in a reminder that Seoul was the kingdom’s capital city. The tomb site is among several archeological sites in Seoul that offer hints about the Baekje Kingdom, its customs and culture, its golden period during the fourth c

Sept. 27, 2019

Gyeongju certified as a key Silk Road city

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- The heads of a group of universities located on the Silk Road have certified that the Korean city of Gyeongju which was the capital of the Silla Kingdom was part of the ancient trade routes that connected the East and West. The certification was authorized by university presidents, rectors and chancellors and their deputies who participated in the fifth General Assembly of the Silk Road Universities Network held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Sept. 18-21.  The certificate of r

Sept. 27, 2019

S. Korea joins Gothenburg Book Fair as guest of honor

South Korea on Thursday took part in the 2019 Gothenburg Book Fair as the guest of honor, providing the Nordic audience a rare glimpse into its literature and culture.The four-day annual book fair, the largest cultural event in Scandinavia, opened in Gothenburg, the second-largest city in Sweden, earlier in the day, with some 85,000 people from about 40 nations joining at an 11,000-square-meter exhibition center. This year's book fair presents three themes -- "South Korea-Guest of Honor,&qu

Sept. 26, 2019

Intangible heritage of Thailand, Bhutan to be performed in Korea

Traditional mask dances of Thailand and Bhutan will be performed in Korea as part of a cultural exchange program, along with an international conference about the present and future of traditional mask dances in Asia.“Mask Performance in Asia,” hosted by the National Intangible Heritage Center, will be held at the NIHC complex in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, from Oct. 4-5.  The highlights of the event will be the performances of Khon from Thailand and Drametse Ngacham from Bhu

Sept. 24, 2019

Website about Goryeo Buddhist Paintings in US museums launched

A website carrying information about Buddhist paintings from the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) currently held at US museums has been launched.The digital catalogue, “Goryeo Buddhist Painting: A Closer Look,” launched by the Cultural Heritage Administration and the US-based Freer and Sackler Galleries, was revealed to the public Saturday. The website carries information about the 16 Goryeo paintings owned by eight museums in the US: Freer and Sackler Galleries (three), Metropolitan Museum

Sept. 23, 2019

[Eye Plus] Peaceful Buam-dong rises as hip place

Nestled between two mountains -- Bugaksan and Inwangsan -- Buam-dong in Jongno-gu, Seoul, is a quiet neighborhood often described as an oasis of tranquility not far from the city center. While a large number of Seoul’s residential villages have turned into giant fortresses of high-security high-rise apartment complexes, Buam-dong has kept its old-town feel with low-lying houses, curved roads and ample greenery. Not accessible by Seoul’s massive web of subways, the villages were

Sept. 20, 2019

[Weekender] Bank branches reinvented

As banking goes mobile, retail banks are trying to figure out what to do with their increasingly empty branches. One idea is to give customers more reasons to stop by, like a cup of Paul Bassett coffee, a Krispy Kreme doughnut or a chance to browse through some new books. Woori Bank, one of South Korea’s three major retail banks along with Kookmin and Shinhan, was the first to sublet space in its branch to a retail business in 2016, opening up a corner of its branch in Seoul’s Ichon-

Sept. 20, 2019

Kaan show attracts Pattaya visitors

Pattaya on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand may be better known for its nightlife and water sports. But the city also offers the Kaan show, a theatrical experience that combines live-action and cinema, stage performance and advanced technologies. The 60-minute show is inspired by classic Thai literature. It features more than 90 actors performing magic supported by production staff with international experience, advanced technologies and a state-of-the-art audiovisual system. 

Sept. 19, 2019

King Sejong Institute to open 1st Seoul center

The first King Sejong Institute center in Seoul will open next month to meet rising demand for learning Korean language and culture from foreigners living in South Korea, its operator said Wednesday.King Sejong Institute Foundation said it will test run Yongsan Sejong Institute in Yongsan, central Seoul, from Oct. 14 for three months in cooperation with the district office, the first time that the foundation has partnered with a local government to run an institute in South Korea. The foundation

Sept. 18, 2019

‘Thousands of Mirrors’ festival to reflect world literature

The 2019 Seoul International Writers’ Festival is to take place at Dongdaemun Design Plaza from Oct. 5-13.  Launched in 2006, the previously biennial event goes annual from this year. Along with the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, which has run the event from the beginning, the Seoul Design Foundation and Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture are co-hosting the event.“I personally think that this is the new first year for the festival,” said Kim Sa-in, head of L

Sept. 17, 2019

Royal palaces, museums to offer free admission throughout Chuseok holiday

Chuseok is the traditional Korean autumn harvest celebration, similar to Thanksgiving in the United States. Many Koreans visit their hometowns for ancestral rituals and spend time with their families during the holiday. But if you're planning to spend the Chuseok holiday in Seoul, visiting royal palaces and tombs, national museums and parks in the city can be a good option. Four royal palaces in Seoul, including Deoksu Palace at the heart of the capital, will keep their doors open throughout the

Sept. 12, 2019

[Eye plus] Where tradition lives on

The approaching Chuseok holiday is a time of the year that Koreans press pause in their busy day-to-day life and appreciate traditional values of their family, communities and the nation as a whole. Many families visit palaces and famous historic sites during the holiday, usually after performing ancestral rites in the morning of Chuseok, which this year falls on Friday. One of the popular destinations is Namsangol Hanok Village in central Seoul, a traditional village that shows what life was du

Sept. 11, 2019

Films, performances, events to spice up Chuseok

It is called the “grand national migration,” as Koreans pack up, and set off to visit their hometowns, families, and pay respect to their ancestors during the upcoming Chuseok holidays.During the four-day holidays, one of the biggest in the nation -- commemorating the autumn harvest -- there are several events being offered to keep oneself entertained.Film distributing giants Lotte Entertainment and CJ Entertainments are clashing head-on as their heavyweight movies roll out on Wednes

Sept. 11, 2019