A glimpse into Park Soo-keun’s world

Children play in an alleyway. Women wash clothes by a stream. Girls carry their baby sisters and brothers on their backs. These are the scenes from the lives of ordinary Korean people in the 1950s and ’60s captured in the paintings of artist Park Soo-keun. Fifty major paintings by Park depicting life immediately after the Korean War are on display at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death. Park is one of Korea’s first generation of W

May 5, 2015

[Herald Interview] MapleStory ― 12 years old and still growing

Koo Kyo-seong has a lot on his mind these days.Whether riding his skateboard during lunch hour or sitting at his office desk surrounded by animated figurines, all Koo thinks about is how to make “MapleStory” more visually engaging and entertaining.As the chief concept artist for MapleStory, Nexon Korea’s fantasy adventure multiplayer online role-playing game, he is faced with the heavy burden of making the company’s all-time favorite PC game sustainable in this rapidly-changing mobile environmen

May 3, 2015

Korea’s mountain temples seek UNESCO recognition

GONGJU, South Chungcheong Province ― Nestled in the hills of Mount Taehwasan sits Magoksa Temple, a serene haven with cozy tiled-roof shrines dotting sprawling courtyards and a five-story stone pagoda as its centerpiece. The spring mountain scenery surrounding the temple is lush and pristine, as if this were the first spring it had ever known. But the temple, founded in 640, bears the signs of history in its time-worn walls. It is this history that the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism hopes to cel

April 30, 2015

Parents, kids differ on gift choice: survey

With Children’s Day looming, many Korean parents are looking for gift items that can satisfy the whims of their kids without breaking the bank. According to a survey by online shopping mall 11st, a toy from almighty mega-franchise Power Rangers ― Power Ranger Dino Force, to be precise ― was picked as kids’ most wanted gift, with 25 percent, followed by an Avengers 2 action set with 20 percent. Robot car series such as Hello Carbot and Tobot took the third place with 18 percent. Parents’ plans, h

April 29, 2015

How to keep your little ones amused on Children’s Day

With Children’s Day just around the corner on May 5, many Korean parents are stressing over how to entertain their kids on the special day. Designated a national holiday in 1975, the day is devoted to the welfare and enjoyment of children and a rare opportunity for modern working parents to create an entire day of memories with their little ones. The Korea Herald suggests five events for a holiday full of both entertainment and education: Outdoor activities at the Lighting Museum Festival (Light

April 29, 2015

Rare shamanism archive unveiled

Despite the long history of shamanism in Korea, remaining shamanistic relics and records are considerably few partly due to oppression following the dominance of Confucianism and modernization. Folklorist Kim Tae-gon (1936-1996) was the first scholar who paid attention to the disappearing shamanistic practices in the 1960s when it was considered a “primitive, backward and outdated culture.”The National Folk Museum of Korea sheds light on the lifetime work of folklorist Kim, who collected more th

April 27, 2015

[Herald Interview] From teacher’s podium to center stage

After one live performance and just one email, the life of English teacher Micah Hein took a dramatic turn. A little over a year ago, the 24-year-old American theater major arrived in Korea ― traveling abroad for the first time ― to teach English through performing arts. Little did he know that in this alien country, he would realize his dream of becoming a professional actor and debut with a title role.It all started when the theater lover found himself crossing off what is on the to-do list of

April 26, 2015

[Weekender] Islam in Korea, past and present

Korea and the Middle East may look like they have nothing in common.On the surface, the two regions do not seem to have crossed paths as they have totally different economies, cultures and ideals. Above all, religion may be what divides the two. While the religious heritage of Korea derives mostly from Buddhism, Confucianism and more recently Christianity, the Middle East is deeply rooted in the Islamic teachings of Prophet Muhammad. Yet, scholars say the two sides’ cross-cultural relations date

April 24, 2015

[Weekender] Islam finds way into Korean society

Stepping outside a lecture room at Kyung Hee University amid a flock of Korean students, a 28-year-old Jordanian student heads toward a Muslim prayer room set up in his university campus.Mohammad’s daily ritual in the prayer room demonstrates Korea’s efforts to understand the once-alienated religion, he noted.“These days, Koreans do not discriminate against me on the basis of me being a Muslim,” he said, adding this was not always the case.“When I came here in 2010, Koreans gave the cold shoulde

April 24, 2015

[Weekender] ‘Violence far from essence of Islam’

When Lee Haeng-lae was introduced to Islam in the 1950s, his image of the religion was like most other people during that time: the Koran in one hand, and a sword in another. But after a trip to Malaysia, he realized that Muslims were not violent people and ultimately converted to the religion in the early 1960s.Embracing Islam was not an easy task in a country where the religion has struggled for years against the perception that it is radical and violent. “My father particularly flat-out said,

April 24, 2015

Visit Joseon palaces during royal culture festival

Royal life will unfold at Seoul’s four historic palaces during the first Royal Culture Festival in May. From May 2-10, the Joseon-era palaces ― Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung ― and Jongmyo Shrine invite locals and foreigners to immerse themselves in all things royal. “The Cultural Heritage Administration has held programs that would bring citizens and foreign tourists closer to royal palaces such as the night tour program at Changdeokgung Palace. This festival bring

April 22, 2015

[Weekender] Analog’s allure in a digitized world

In this digital age, the word analog has taken on new meanings. In a highly connected society swamped by hand-held digital devices, more and more people are harking back to simpler times. Times when electronic devices were not “smart” and the word application usually meant a paper document to be submitted when seeking an academic or professional position.This sense of longing has led to all things “old” being referred to as “analog” in Korea, and has given rise to the term “analog sensibilities.

April 17, 2015

Think on your feet: Standing desks

While technology has evolved more than ever before, our posture, it seems, has grown increasingly Neanderthal.In an era where everything can be done with the touch of a finger, hunched over a laptop or smartphone, releasing energy has become the issue. To deal with this, a number of modern offices have brought in the standing desk, allowing employees to literally think on their feet.Jeong Jae-kyung, a communications director at IBM Korea, is all for her company’s latest office procurement. An em

April 15, 2015

Korea’s mass tug-of-war awaits UNESCO recognition

Experts from across Asia flocked to Korea’s Dangjin to discuss the international preservation of “juldarigi,” a traditional Asian folk game similar to tug-of-war. The game is currently waiting to be designated an Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO, following an intergovernmental joint application submitted in 2013. Results will be announced this November at a conference in Namibia. A symposium on the organized protection of juldarigi was held at the annual Dangjin Juldarigi Festival at G

April 13, 2015

Corporate sponsorship of arts win-win: Mecenat chief Park

Companies promoting their products and services through art sponsorships and cultural events are often frowned upon in Korea. But Park Sam-koo, chief of Kumho Asiana Group, has questioned why.Park, who has recently taken up the chairmanship of the Korea Mecenat Association, said it can be a “win-win situation for both enterprises and the artists,” during his first press conference in Seoul on Thursday as chief of the association, a local advocacy group for corporate sponsorship of the arts. Comp

April 9, 2015

Biographies of Korean patriots to be published

The Independence Hall of Korea announced Wednesday the launch of a five-year project that traces the legacies of thousands of Korean independence activists and compiles them into an encyclopedia. “The Who’s Who in the Korean Independence Movement” will feature 16,000 patriots who campaigned against Japanese colonial rule, including well-known heroes Ahn Jung-geun and Yun Bong-gil. The encyclopedia is expected to be published in 2019, the year that marks the 100th anniversary of the foundation of

April 8, 2015

Keeping records of Sewol sinking

Posters of a K-pop boy band and a big stuffed bear imply the owner of the room must be a teenage girl. Indeed, sitting at the center of the room is a large portrait of a girl with the typical look of a Korean high school student with short, straight hair. But she hasn’t been home since April 16, 2014. Seventeen-year-old Danwon High School sophomore Han Se-young was one of the 304 who perished when the Sewol ferry sank off the southern coast of Korea. She was on a school trip to Jejudo Island, wi

April 8, 2015

Exploring the bounds of Korean art at Seoul Station

A peculiar sculpture greets visitors at the old Seoul Station building. Dangling from the ceiling in the main lobby of the building is a tangled clump of twisted wooden ropes that are studded with rocks. All of the materials are from nature, but the wooden stalks are painted red, yellow, blue and white ― colors that conjure images of the cluttered manmade chaos of electrical wires. Artist Cha Ki-youl, who created the piece, “The Journey of Circulation/A Period Between Ark and Kangmok,” said it w

April 5, 2015