October 'Culture Day' to offer nationwide discounts, free performances

Since January 2014, the last Wednesday of every month has been designated a special “Culture Day” to boost support for the local culture and arts.During Culture Day, museums offer discounts for exhibitions. Cultural sites such as the royal palaces and Jongmyo Shrine offer free admission or discounted admission fees, while performances at national art organizations such as the National Theater of Korea, National Gugak Center, Korea National Opera, and Korean National Ballet are free of charge or

Oct. 24, 2016

Korean Culture Week takes off at Kennedy Center

Jerome Ford, an antiques appraiser, left work an hour and a half earlier than usual Friday to put himself at the front of a long line of people at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.After another hour and a half waiting, he got what he wanted: one of the seats in the front row for the South Korean nonverbal comedy and percussion show “Nanta,” the opening installment of the inaugural three-day “Korean Culture Week.”Ford, 68, from Alexandria, Virginia, was among about

Oct. 24, 2016

Prince Albert buys Philadelphia home of mom Grace Kelly

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Philadelphia home where Oscar-winning actress Grace Kelly grew up and accepted a marriage proposal from Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1955 is now in the hands of the royal family.Her son, Prince Albert of Monaco, has confirmed to People Magazine that he was the recent purchaser of the six-bedroom, 2.5-story Colonial home in the city's East Falls section. He said in an interview on the magazine’s website posted Friday that the house is “very special to our family.” He s

Oct. 23, 2016

Nobel academy member calls Bob Dylan's silence 'arrogant'

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- A member of the Swedish Academy that awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature to Bob Dylan says the American singer-songwriter's silence since receiving the honor is “impolite and arrogant.”Per Wastberg said Dylan’s lack of reaction to the honor the academy bestowed on him last week was predictable, but disrespectful nonetheless. “One can say that it is impolite and arrogant. He is who he is,” Wastberg was quoted as saying in Saturday's edition of the Swedish newspa

Oct. 23, 2016

Wonder Woman named a special UN ambassador, despite protests

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United Nations celebrated Wonder Woman's 75th birthday on Friday by naming the comic book character as its new Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Woman and Girls, despite frustration from both inside and outside the world organization that the spot should go to a real -- and less sexualized -- woman.The carefully choreographed ceremony was marred by some 50 UN staffers protesting by the visitors’ entrance to the UN, who then went inside the Economic and Social

Oct. 23, 2016

[Herald Interview] Webtoonist mocks hierarchy of Korean workplace

A scene from artist Yang Kyung-soo’s webtoon series depicts a senior executive and several junior employees engaged in seemingly amicable conversation. The executive cheerily tells his department members, “They say there’s a crazy person in every team, but there isn’t in ours!” The employees, smiling politely, think to themselves, “It’s you.”　Such single-frame webtoons, uploaded regularly on Yang’s Instagram handle “yangchikii,” have gained a popular following among Korean office workers. Each p

Oct. 20, 2016

Seoul to hold kimchi-making festival involving 4,000 people next month

Around 4,000 people from around the world are to take part in a charity event in Seoul early next month to make kimchi for impoverished residents as the Seoul metropolitan government will hold a three-day festival to cherish the Korean tradition of making and sharing the iconic spicy fermented cabbage side dish, the local government said Thursday. (Seoul Metropolitan Government)The Seoul Kimchi Festival, which will open on Nov. 4, is aimed at promoting the Korean practice of making a great deal

Oct. 20, 2016

Viewers bash PyeongChang video featuring dancing frenzy

A video being used by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to promote the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is the subject of heated criticism over what viewers are calling subpar content. Responding to the adverse public reaction, the ministry said Tuesday that the clip is not the official promotional video for the sporting event.The nearly four-minute video depicts K-pop singers and comedians who, infected with the “Can’t Stop Moving” virus, dance uncontrollably to an

Oct. 19, 2016

Korean writers hold literary events abroad this month

Just in time for the busiest season for culture and arts, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea has been organizing events across North America, Europe and Asia to promote Korean literature.Writer and poet Song Sok-ze will be launching “Das Dorf am Fluss,” the German edition of his novel “Wepungdangdang,” and will talk about modern Korean literature at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany on Thursday.The following day, he will participate in a panel discussion with German author Ju

Oct. 19, 2016

Roman coins with baffling origins identified in Japanese ruins

TOKYO (AP) -- The eyes of a visiting archaeologist lit up when he was shown the 10 tiny, tarnished discs that had sat unnoticed in storage for 2 1/2 years at a dig on a southern Japan island.He had been to archaeological sites in Italy and Egypt, and recognized the “little round things” as old coins, including a few likely dating to the Roman Empire.“I was so excited I almost forgot what I was there for, and the coins were all we talked about,” said Toshio Tsukamoto of the Gangoji Institute for

Oct. 19, 2016

Government announces ‘K-Ribbon’ for outstanding cultural products

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Monday its latest cultural brand effort -- “K-Ribbon” marks awarded to cultural products deemed to best represent Korea. The K-Ribbon marks are given to cultural products that possess “Korea’s unique cultural values,” according to the ministry, with the aim of creating new premium brands through systematic management and marketing. “The new K-Ribbon mark has been established in an effort to increase Korea’s brand power,” said Park Young-guk o

Oct. 17, 2016

14th-century Goryeo Buddhist painting returns home

The rare 14th century Buddhist painting “Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara” has found its home at the National Museum of Korea. 　With less than 50 paintings from the Goryeo kingdom “Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara” in existence today, it was remarkable that Yoon Dong-han, the chairman of leading cosmetics and pharmaceutical manufacturing company Kolmar Korea, was able to buy the painting in Japan and bring it back home.Alerted to the availability of the piece, Yoon bought the painting for 2.5 billion won ($

Oct. 17, 2016

Experts discover ‘cavities’ in Egypt’s Great Pyramid

Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza could contain two previously unknown “cavities,” scientists using radiography to scan the millennia-old monument said Saturday.On Thursday, the antiquities ministry cautiously announced finding “two anomalies” in the pyramid built 4,500 years ago under King Khufu, with further tests to determine their function, nature and size.At 146 meters tall, Khufu pyramid, named after the son of pharaoh Snefru, is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.Egyptia

Oct. 16, 2016

Early editions of Shakespeare’s plays get rare public view

The public is getting a rare peek at first and early editions of some of William Shakespeare’s most beloved plays. The Boston Public Library is commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death with “Shakespeare Unauthorized,” a free exhibition that opened Friday.The library famously holds a copy of the “First Folio,” the earliest published collection of Shakespeare’s works.Early “quartos,” or booklets for individual works such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Hamlet” and “The Merchant of

Oct. 16, 2016

Klimt's 'Kiss,' made with 3-D printer, to touch and feel

VIENNA (AFP)- Like most artworks in galleries worldwide, visitors haven't been allowed to reach out and touch Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss” at its home at the Belvedere museum in Vienna -- until now.On Wednesday a special three-dimensional version of the masterpiece was unveiled, aimed at enabling the visually impaired to enjoy the work by running their fingers over it.The “interactive tactile relief,” made using a 3-D printer, makes it possible to touch details of the 1907-8 original, the Belvedere

Oct. 13, 2016

US, Cuba stepping up efforts to save Hemingway artifacts

BOSTON (AP) - Ernest Hemingway was a pack rat who saved everything. Fortunately for fans of the literary icon, US and Cuban officials and scholars have been working together to preserve artifacts at his former estate in Cuba -- items they say will help illuminate his colorful legacy.At a forum Wednesday at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum in Boston, Hemingway experts from both countries underscored their determination to save the books, letters, fishing rods, mounted animal trop

Oct. 13, 2016

Speculation abounds ahead of Nobel Literature Prize

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Literary circles are abuzz with speculation ahead of Thursday's Nobel Literature Prize announcement, with award watchers suggesting this year’s honors could go to a controversial writer such as Syrian-born poet Adonis.The Academy is known for its cloak-and-dagger methods to prevent any leaks about its choice, resorting to codenames for authors and fake book covers when reading in public.The list of nominees is never revealed and the jury's deliberations are kept secret for half

Oct. 12, 2016

North Korean defectors open up online

A trendy haircut, eyebrow piercings and a tattoo sleeve on his arm -- nothing about online personality Lee Pyung’s current appearance betrays the fact he was born under a totalitarian regime. But he was, Lee reveals in his live webcast series, 23 years ago in the city of Chongjin, North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. Lee made it to Korea in 2004, after bribing North Korean border guards, crossing into China, being imprisoned there, hiding in the Mongolian plains and being picked up by the Natio

Oct. 11, 2016