Exhibition on celebration of royal babies to be held

An exhibition on how Joseon Dynasty (A.D. 1,392~1,910) celebrated the birth of babies in the royal family will kick off Wednesday in Seoul.The National Palace Museum of Korea will hold the exhibition “The Birth of a Royal Baby of Joseon Dynasty” through Sept. 2, which will be at the special exhibition rooms on first and second floor. A ten-panel screen showing the celebration of a crown prince’s birth. (National Palace Museum of Korea)It will introduce the royal relics owned by the NPMK along wi

June 26, 2018

S. Korea to establish Korea Center in New York City

South Korea will build an information center in New York City, a global hub of culture and the arts, by July 2020, the government said Monday.The Korean Culture and Information Service, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said it will hold a ground-breaking ceremony for the facility, called the New York Korea Center, on Thursday.The new seven-story building on Manhattan's 32nd Street will have a total floor space of 3,212 square meters. It will be equipped with

June 25, 2018

[Weekender] Mind your surroundings

The next time you are atop one of Seoul’s mountains, take a look at what surrounds the megalopolis buzzing below you. More specifically the old Seoul, referring to the modern-day city’s northern area surrounded by four gates. It is said that the city has the perfect balance between yin and yang. The water is supposed to be yang, which forms the Han River on the old city boundaries. It is in harmony with the mountains -- the yin -- which extends from all the way back from Baekdusan, thus completi

June 22, 2018

[Herald Interview] Master calls for Korea to bring geomancy into open

Like other East Asian countries, South Korea has long practiced geomancy, or “pungsu jiri” in the local language. While doubt may prevail toward the pseudoscience, some Korean entrepreneurs and politicians have taken to consultants to make the most of a Korean equivalent to China’s feng shui to decide where to live, where to start a business or where to bury the dead. To them, finding an auspicious site has been deemed an essential bid to evade the narrowest chances of bad luck and pursue prospe

June 22, 2018

[Trending] K-pop star sparks ‘cow intestines’ craze in Korea

Cow intestines, or gopchang, have always been favored by Korean drinkers, but the popularity of the dish is soaring throughout the country these days. Many local gopchang restaurants are packed with customers every night, and some eateries are even temporarily shutting down due to an inadequate supply of gopchang nationwide. Mamamoo`s Hwasa eats gopchang on the MBC show "I Live Alone." (MBC)At the center of the craze is Hwasa of K-pop group Mamamoo. The 22-year-old diva recently ate mouthwaterin

June 21, 2018

3 YouTube Vloggers show glimpse into biracial marriage life

Biracial couples who speak in Korean are gaining subscribers and viewers on YouTube, carving a niche for themselves amid the staggering number of videos that appear on the online video platform daily.It is a noteworthy feat considering that 50 million users upload 300 hours of videos on YouTube every minute. In addition, the world’s largest online video platform attracts over 30 million visitors who watch around 5 billion videos every day, according to YouTube. Here are three such couples who ar

June 21, 2018

Korea’s cultural heritage brought to life via VR

State-run cultural heritage bodies on Thursday launched an online exhibition of the tangible and intangible cultural assets of Korea through virtual reality technology. In cooperation with Google, the National Intangible Heritage Center and the National Palace Museum of Korea established the Korean Heritage project via Google Art and Culture, an online platform that exhibits data on over 6 million art pieces and relics from 1,500 organizations across 70 countries. The NPMK provided the data for

June 21, 2018

Korea CQ Forum holds summer gathering

The Korea CQ Forum of the Corea Image Communication Institute held a ceremony Tuesday at Grand Hyatt Seoul to recognize envoys to Korea for their work in promoting ties between Korea and the countries they represent.The Korea CQ Culture Award was given to Malaysian Ambassador to Korea Dato Rohana Ramli for bridging cultural exchanges between Malaysia and Korea during her more than five-year tenure in Seoul. Members of the Korea CQ Forum pose for a group photo at Grand Hyatt Seoul on Tuesday. (CI

June 20, 2018

‘Over half of women in culture sector fell victim to sexual violence’

Over half of the women currently working in the culture and entertainment sector have experienced some form of sexual violence, a government investigation team on sexual violence in the culture and entertainment industry said Monday. The team recommended that the government create an organization specifically to deal with the issue. The special probe team, formed jointly by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Human Rights Commission, conducted a survey of 3,718 cultural

June 19, 2018

[Trending] Korean guy studying alone creates a huge following on YouTube

A handsome Korean man is livestreaming what he does all day: study alone. Nothing special, except for the incredible reaction his videos generate among Korean audiences.YouTube creator "Bot-No-Jam" (YouTube)The mysterious YouTube creator, who is said to prepare for a state exam to become a police officer, has been regularly livestreaming footage of him studying since April this year. Sitting on a chair and reading a book, he rarely moves, speaks, or expresses any emotion during the 6-hour live t

June 17, 2018

‘Richard III’ brings entertainment, evokes reflection

One can easily moralize and judge upon his or her evil deeds. But, it is rather complicated when the person comes face-to-face and talks directly at you with bare honesty, even if the person has spilled the blood of family members for his own vain desire. Thomas Ostermeier’s Richard tells one such story.　Having first premiered in Berlin in 2015, talented German director Thomas Ostermeier’s “Richard III” brought sheer-wicked, grotesque, deformed yet relatable vice in front of the eyes of the loca

June 15, 2018

Busan to host mingling events for singles

Busan, the second-largest city in Korea, will host events to help single people get together to find a potential date.Those eligible to take part should be aged between 36 and 46. The city announced Monday that it will hold the mingling events on June 16 and July 7, at Geumjeong-gu’s ‘Evergreen Forest’ camping facility. The city will also host a festival on June 24 for those aged between 25 and 38. Recruiting is ongoing at the festival’s homepage www.선남선녀.kr for 20 men and 20 women. (www.선남선녀.kr

June 11, 2018

Ryse opens with ‘energy of Hongdae’

Newly-opened boutique hotel Ryse hopes to offer a trendy and artistic hospitality experience to guests, embracing the “Hongdae culture.” Hongdae area in western Seoul refers to the neighborhood near Hongik University, known for its art school, and the neighborhood‘s young and artistic crowd fill the area with a cool vibe and energy. RYSE from rooftop bar Side Note Club (RYSE)Ryse, part of Mariott’s Autograph Collection, officially opened its doors to guests and non-guests on May 24, hoping to re

June 7, 2018

[Video] Small bookstores draw book lovers with specialty-driven curation

Lee Hyun-min, 31, frequents a small bookstore Mystery Union whenever he feels like reading a spine-chilling thriller book. “The store is small and hard to find, but I bet almost every mystery lover in Korea would know this place,” Lee told The Korea Herald.Just like Lee, a growing number of Koreans are hunting for books at small yet specialized bookstores.While large bookstores continue to dominate the market, small players are discovering their own profitable niche.  Poetry bookstore `Wit n Cyn

June 6, 2018

Park Sae-eun wins best female dancer at Benois de la Danse

MOSCOW/SEOUL -- Park Sae-eun, a "premier danseur" of the Paris Opera Ballet, has won best female dancer at one of the ballet world's most prestigious awards.The South Korean dancer picked up the award at the Benois de la Danse awards ceremony in Moscow on Tuesday (local time), beating five competitors from ballet companies all around the world.She was recognized for her lead role in "Diamonds," which is part of the "Jewels" trilogy from choreographer George Balanchine."Thank you a lot for the pr

June 6, 2018

[Feature] Young Koreans redefine play culture at noraebang

Jang Seon, a 37-year-old real estate developer in Seoul, moved to the capital city from Busan and has lived alone for nearly a decade. Jang said loneliness crept up on him at seemingly random times throughout the day. But, after discovering his new favorite pastime of singing, he learned to embrace solitude within the four walls of a coin-operated karaoke booth, known in Korea as noraebang. The entrance to a room at “Superstar Coin Noraebang” Gangnam Station branch. (Catherine Chung / The Korea

June 4, 2018

[Photo News] Royal palace under moonlight

The beauty of Joseon-era architecture and modern skyscrapers in Seoul can be seen all at once -- if one visits major royal palaces at night this summer. On the Changgyeonggung nighttime tour, people are now allowed to stroll around the palace under the moonlight, surrounded by its beauty and nature that surrounds the palace buildings.According to the Korea Tourism Organization, Changgyeonggung is an ideal destinations for anyone who is interested in seeing Korean palaces in Seoul. Designated as

June 1, 2018

[Video] Starbucks closes 8,000 stores for racial bias training

Instead of their favorite coffee, Starbucks-goers on Franklin Avenue were welcomed by a notice reading “we’ll see you tomorrow,” footage from Brooklyn in New York City showed, on Tuesday.　Starbucks closed over 8,000 stores in the United States on Tuesday afternoon, so that 175,000 employees could undergo anti-racial bias training, in response to protests and boycotts amid allegations of racist incidents caused by staff at the coffeeshop.　The protests followed an incident at a Starbucks store in

May 30, 2018

Kim Ae-ran, Han Kang vying for German literary award

Writers Kim Ae-ran and Han Kang have been shortlisted for a literary award given by a German organization that promotes work from Asia, Africa and South America.Litprom recently commenced online voting for its Liberaturpreis prize, an annual award given to a female writer from the aforementioned continents. Its candidates consist of female writers whose works have been included in the quarterly recommendation by the organization.  The cover for ““My Palpitating Life” (Literature Translation Inst

May 29, 2018

Overseas K-pop fans get a chance to learn from pros

K-pop star-wannabes around the world will get a chance to learn from people on the scene as the government on Monday launched a program on the global phenomenon.“K-pop Academy Project” plans to deploy musicians to Korean Cultural Centers in 25 regions outside Korea, starting with one based in India. The program will run for the next eight months, running classes in singing and dancing.While the Korea Culture and Information Service has been operating singing classes for the past three years, but

May 28, 2018