[Weekender] In love with #retro

Fashion trends come and go. What was once old-fashioned suddenly comes back in style, as nostalgia for the good old days brings back elements of the past. But the latest retro trend here is being fueled more by curiosity than nostalgia, with its main followers being youths born and raised in this era of dizzying technologies. Locally dubbed “new-tro,” this craze is reaching far beyond the boundaries of fashion and design. In Ikseon-dong, the retro mecca of Seoul, young people dressed up in retro

April 5, 2019

[Video] Throwback to Korea’s roaring ‘20s in Ikseon-dong

Tucked deep into Seoul’s central district of Jongno lies Ikseon-dong, the latest hip hangout place in a city where fashion wears fast. At a glance, it is easy to see why the neighborhood’s photogenic cluster of modernized 20th century hanok, or traditional Korean houses, would appeal to the Instagram generation.Crowded on weekdays and weekends alike, Ikseon-dong is imbued with the fashionable ambience of a particular time in modern Korean history: the late 19th to early 20th century period of mo

April 4, 2019

Government revamps Korea promotional website

The government’s promotional website www.korea.net has been revamped with an improved design user interface and expanded content, officials said Thursday.The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korean Culture and Information Service had analyzed how the platform was used and made changes for the new version. For example, the sizes of the text and photos have been made larger, and the menu was reorganized to help users find information more easily. A poll function was added for user feedb

April 4, 2019

Korean language boom heats up in Thailand

The fever for learning Korean is steadily spreading among Thai students, as the number of secondary schools teaching Korean as a second foreign language in Thailand is expected to swell to 130 this year, officials said Tuesday.The Korean Education Center in Thailand said as many as 130 middle and high schools in the Southeast Asian country are expected to adopt Korean as a second foreign language in the new semester set to begin in May. Thai students posing with their Korean language textbooks.

April 2, 2019

BTS, President Moon contend in TIME list of 100 most influential people

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and world-famous K-pop band BTS were nominated for TIME magazine's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World, a list showed Friday.Moon and BTS were two South Korean candidates competing for the annual list, with which the TIME editors recognize the most innovative and best-performing artists, leaders, scientists, activists and entrepreneurs, according to the TIME list of candidates released earlier this week. (Yonhap)With 4-percent support, B

March 29, 2019

[Eye Plus] Bukjeong's beauty

Nestled against the ancient city walls of Seoul, Bukjeong is a small village with a much larger character. Although Bukjeong Village has been linked to redevelopment projects, it remains one of the last standing Daldongne – a hillside shanty town so named for being on steep hillsides and therefore closer to the moon – in Seoul.The village is also symbolic of contrasting characteristics of Seoul. While the village itself is packed with small, aging properties it overlooks one of the wealthier nei

March 29, 2019

[Weekender] Sejong Institute looks beyond classroom walls

Aspiring Korean speakers are virtually all over the world now, thanks to the borderless travel of Korean pop culture. To reach them, the King Sejong Institute plans to go beyond its physical limitations and provide an extensive range of online classes, said Kang Hyoun-hwa, chief of the state-run institution that oversees some 170 Korean language centers worldwide. “On a recent business trip, I looked down from the airplane window on the so many islands that make up Indonesia. Then it struck me.

March 29, 2019

[Weekender] Korean: A rising language

When King Sejong invented Hangeul, the Korean alphabet and writing system, hoping to “broadly benefit mankind,” he couldn’t have possibly meant people on the other side of the planet. But five centuries later, thanks to YouTube, video calls and mobile apps, the Korean language is being taught in places far, far away from its native land. On DuoLingo, a hugely popular free language-learning app with over 300 million users worldwide, some 3.3 million are taking the Korean course.“It is the sixth-m

March 29, 2019

‘Lion King’ to perform in Busan for another week

The international tour of hit musical “The Lion King” in Korea will continue until May 26, extending the initial schedule by a week.According to local promoters of the show, the tour in Busan that was slated from April 11 to May 20 will be extended for a week at the Busan Dream Theater. The tour is currently in Seoul, with its final performance in the city on Thursday. “The Lion King” (Clip Service)Tickets for May 21-26 performances in Busan will open at 2 p.m. on April 3 on local online booking

March 27, 2019

[Weekender] Inside South Korea’s boom in preschool English books

In a country where 4 in 10 adults read less than one book written in their native language per year, an unlikely segment of the book market is thriving: English books for children. Lee Seung-a, an 8-year-old elementary student, is one contributor to this boom. A child reads an English picture book inside Mapo English Literacy Center, a public library of English books for children in central Seoul. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)Currently on a challenge to read 1,000 English books, she tries to

March 22, 2019

[Weekender] Snapshot of English book scene in Korea

When it comes to English books, there are three types of readers in South Korea: expats, Korean elites and language learners. For retailers and distributors, the first is the most difficult consumer group to target as their tastes in books are just as diverse as their backgrounds. The most lucrative and competitive market, on the other hand, is that for young English learners, as Korean moms -- always willing to reach into their pocketbooks for their children’s education -- wake up to the power

March 22, 2019

[Eye Plus] The history beneath our feet

History is closer to people’s lives than in the musty pages of old books. In the ultra-modern metropolis of Seoul, there is a place where a step into the lower ground of a high-rise office building can pull one into the city’s past, dating back to the 16th century. It is Gongpyeong Historic Site Museum, a 3,817-square-meter space in the underground floor of Centropolis office building in Gongpyeong-dong, central Seoul -- the biggest historic site unearthed in Seoul to date.  (Park Hyun-koo/The K

March 21, 2019

52 temples recognized for excellent templestay programs

With the aim of encouraging and promoting templestay programs, the Korean Buddhist Cultural Foundation honored 52 temples across South Korea on Tuesday for their effective programs.The Korean Buddhist Cultural Foundation held an award ceremony at Jogyesa in central Seoul to recognize temples that had operated outstanding templestay programs in 2018. Templestay program (Korean Buddhist Cultural Foundation) Representatives of temples recognized for offering outstanding templestay programs in 2018

March 19, 2019

[Weekender] Itaewon’s identity wanes in the wake of gentrification

Late on a Saturday afternoon, Itaewon was nothing like the way it is described in most Seoul tourism books. People could be seen walking down the street in sparse numbers. Stores were almost empty. Some had gone out of business and displayed “for rent” signs in their windows. Granted, this neighborhood is better known for its nightlife, but it was too quiet for a place once known as a “magnet” for expats and locals alike. An owner of a souvenir shop on the neighborhood’s main street told The Kor

March 14, 2019

Preservation, promotion of cultural heritage among key plans for S. Korea

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Wednesday laid out its plan for the year, centered on strategic goals of preserving and promoting the country’s legacy here and abroad to create jobs and boost local tourism.Other goals for the state-run agency includes making headway in plans for inter-Korea archaeological excavation and research of ancient Korean kingdoms based in territory currently occupied by North Korea.In a press briefing, the state-run agency said it plans to improve the repair and

March 13, 2019

Culture Ministry vows inter-Korean cooperation, including joint Olympics participation

Despite the recent collapse of the Washington-Pyongyang summit, worsening prospects for inter-Korea relations, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Monday vowed to “spearhead peace between the Koreas” by making preparations for joint participation in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In a media briefing led by Vice Culture Minister Kim Yong-sam, the ministry rolled out plans that center on cooperation with North Korea in the sports and culture sector, increasing benefits for low-incom

March 11, 2019

[Eye Plus] Migratory birds say adieu to S. Korea as spring arrives

With the arrival of spring in South Korea one can witness the spectacle of migratory wild birds leaving back to their homes across the world in huge numbers. After enduring a slightly less cold winter on the Korean Peninsula, wild birds are getting ready to return home in regions spanning from Siberia to the eastern Manchuria area of China. Korea is host to more than 100 types of migratory birds every winter.From September to November, birds from northern Russian and China fly several thousands

March 7, 2019

LTI Korea worries about division of two Koreas’ literature

Poet Kim Sa-in, head of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, has expressed worries about division of the literary works of North and South Korea. His comments came as LTI Korea, a state-funded institute that aims to link Korean literature to foreign readership, announced its plans for this year, including events to promote the expansion of the boundaries of Korean literature. Kim Sa-in, head of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, speaks during a press event in central Seoul

March 6, 2019

S. Korean Go master Lee Se-dol considering retiring at end of 2019

South Korean Go master Lee Se-dol, who was famously defeated by Google’s artificial intelligence program AlphaGo, said Tuesday that he might retire at the end of this year.Lee, 36, made the surprising announcement after he fell to his Chinese rival Ke Jie in a special match at a Seoul hotel.“I started playing Go when I was six years old, and I became professional player in 1995,” Lee said. “That’s quite a long time. I think this year may be my last year.” (Yonhap)Lee said he hasn’t definitely de

March 5, 2019

More pets travel in, out of Korea

With the idea of traveling with pets (companion animals) is becoming the norm, travel-related industries are welcoming pet owners and their pets by launching related services.The number of service animals on flights has been increasing significantly in recent years. (123rf)According to the Ministry of Land and Transportation, in 2017, 41,343 pets were carried on planes, marking a 46.7 percent increase from 28,182 of 2015. Compared with 33,437 of 2016, it is a 23.6 percent increase. Reflecting th

March 1, 2019