Chinese vases soar 120 times past estimate to fetch $1.2m

NEW YORK (Bloomberg) ― A pair of Chinese porcelain vases sold Monday for $1.2 million at Doyle New York, soaring 120 times past its low estimate. The two 16-inch tall glazed vases, painted with branches of blooming peonies on a turquoise background, each had a Qianlong-era seal on its base, referring to the reign of the Qianlong Emperor from 1736 to 1795. Estimated at $10,000 to $15,000, they were part of Doyle’s “Asian Works of Art” sale in New York. The price includes buyer’s commission.  A pa

Sept. 17, 2014

History meets modern art, high tech

Move over galleries, museums and theaters. Royal palaces are the new face of Seoul’s vibrant art and culture scene ― at least for nine days starting on Sept. 20. The first-ever Royal Culture Festival brings a plethora of performances, art exhibitions and cultural programs to four majestic royal palaces of Seoul, blending history, modern art and futuristic technology. Cute robots reenact royal ancestral rites. The kings’ royal procession plays in a three-dimensional documentary film screened in a

Sept. 17, 2014

Festival attracts prominent writers to Seoul, Jeju

Writers from 13 countries will come together in Seoul’s historic neighborhood of Bukchon and the southern resort island of Jejudo to communicate through literature at the 2014 edition of the Seoul International Writers’ Festival.The fifth biennial literary festival, which launched in 2006, will run for seven days from Sept. 21-27, and will include presentations and readings by writers, diverse performances and cultural events, under the theme of “Eros and Dream.”  The official poster for the 201

Sept. 15, 2014

Updating a venerated institution

How do you renovate a popular 18th-century museum with minimum disruption to the visitors? Hotel Biron, the Paris location of the two-site Rodin Museum in France, has undertaken just that challenge with its two-year renovation.“The building was in very bad condition and the renovation was an opportunity to strengthen the structure,” said Catherine Chevillot, director of the Rodin Museum, during an interview with The Korea Herald on Sept. 3 at the Alliance Francaise in Seoul. She was in Seoul to

Sept. 12, 2014

Calendar

Pop music“Let’s Rock Festival”: The upcoming “Let’s Rock Festival” is gearing up to feature some of the country’s most notable indie bands in a two-day outdoor rock fest. The festival will include headlining acts Clazziquai Project, Peppertones, Zitten, Sister’s Barbershop, Crying Nut, No Brain, Guckkasten and Rose Motel as well as more than 30 other acts. The two-day indie music festival will be held at the Nanji Hangang Park on Sept. 20 and 21. Ticket prices are listed at 66,000 won for a one-

Sept. 12, 2014

Sookmyung Univ. dean named chief of Korea National Ballet

Hwang Sun-hyeHwang Sun-hye, dean of Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, has been appointed the new president of the Korea National Ballet, the Culture Ministry announced Thursday. She will run the national ballet troupe for the next four years, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said in a press statement. Hwang, 60, became the president of the Seoul-based college in 2012 after teaching for more than three decades in the department of English language and literature. A graduate of Soo

Sept. 11, 2014

Conductor Chang parts with Qatar Philharmonic

Chang Han-naCellist-turned-conductor Chang Han-na has resigned from her position as music director of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, citing “irreconcilable differences with the management.” Her abrupt departure was announced Monday, only one day after the 32-year-old Korean led the Qatari state orchestra’s BBC Proms debut. She said her resignation was effective immediately and that she would withdraw from a scheduled performance on Tuesday in Rome and all subsequent performances with the Arab

Sept. 10, 2014

Gyeongju Expo to bring attention to region’s culture, industry

With the joint cultural festival between Istanbul and Gyeongju, Istanbul in Gyeongju 2014, kicking off festively, a variety of events will be taking place from this weekend in the historic South Korean city of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The events, taking place alongside the 10-day festival introducing Turkish culture, seek to promote the host city’s various appeals as a place to travel, do business in or just live in. “A lot of events will be held alongside ‘Istanbul in Gyeongju 2014.

Sept. 10, 2014

Groceryships: Women find nutrition feeds conversations about life’s ups and downs

LOS ANGELES ― Every Wednesday evening, the women sit in a circle of folding chairs in a bungalow at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in South L.A. There’s always a box of tissues in the center; it rarely goes unused.They come to talk about food.They talk about how to make brown rice or cut back on salt. They talk about neighborhoods filled with fried chicken, barbecue, pizza and burger places.And they talk about how hard it has been, working the overnight shift at Target, to dig yourself and six boys

Sept. 10, 2014

Movement born out of childbirth trauma

ST. LOUIS, Missouri ― At first, Erin Shetler was angry the doctor had performed the procedures without her knowing. He had cut her vaginal opening, used vacuum extraction to deliver her baby and reached into her uterus to remove the placenta ― all of which carry risks.A month after the birth of her daughter, Shetler started to withdraw. She had nightmares and flashbacks, unable to stop replaying what happened.Everyone told her that she had a healthy baby, that nothing else mattered. But that jus

Sept. 10, 2014

[Weekender] Chuseok for modern Korean families

Family members dressed in traditional hanbok gather for the ancestral rite early in the morning on Chuseok, which falls on Aug. 15 on the lunar calendar. Dozens of dishes are laid out on the table for the rite, prepared by female family members over several days. After the ceremony, family members eat breakfast together. They make up for living apart in different regions by spending time together making songpyeong, a half-moon-shaped rice cake eaten during Chuseok. Such typical Chuseok scenes ar

Sept. 5, 2014

[Weekender] Parks, folk villages offer variety of festive choices

Chuseok, oftentimes referred to as Korean Thanksgiving, is one of the country’s most celebrated holidays and ushers in the fall season. Traditionally a time to spend at home with family members and loved ones, Chuseok is all about sharing in the riches of good company and good eats. However, for those looking for ways to spend the upcoming holiday outside the home, Seoul has countless destinations that are offering wide-ranging events and activities for both locals and expats alike. These opport

Sept. 5, 2014

[Weekender] Substitute holiday system in force

This year’s exceptionally early Chuseok holidays mark the first time the “substitute holiday system,” which guarantees an extra day off in lieu of public holidays that fall on a Sunday, will be implemented. As expected, all government organizations and most large companies will observe the extra holiday, whereas many small and medium-sized businesses cannot afford to offer a day off, to the dismay of their employees.The departure terminal of Incheon International Airport is crowded with travelle

Sept. 5, 2014

Finding beauty in ancestral rites

As the Chuseok holiday approaches, the life of Cho Gwi-bun is beginning to resemble that of a student preparing for an important exam. From a long to-do list, which mostly consists of grocery shopping, preparing the ingredients and cooking, she prioritizes and organizes daily tasks and gets her act together according to her plan. She tries to stay fit for the big day, avoiding any chance of catching a cold or flu.All of her endeavors will culminate in the setting of a table on Chuseok morning. T

Sept. 5, 2014

Calendar

Pop music“Let’s Rock Festival”: The upcoming “Let’s Rock Festival” is gearing up to feature some of the country’s most notable indie bands in a two-day outdoor rock fest. The festival will include headlining acts Clazziquai Project, Peppertones, Zitten, Sister’s Barbershop, Crying Nut, No Brain, Guckkasten and Rose Motel as well as more than 30 other acts. The two-day indie music festival will be held at the Nanji Hangang Park on Sept. 20 and 21. Ticket prices are listed at 66,000 won for a one-

Sept. 5, 2014

Cookie-cutter hallyu won’t last long: culture minister

New Culture Minister Kim Jong-deok said Wednesday that hallyu was bound to lose its appeal unless it moves on from its current cookie-cutter style and content. “Hallyu is now driven mostly by (the popularity of a small bunch of) entertainers (the so-called hallyu stars,)” he told a group of reporters in Seoul on Wednesday. But that’s not a sustainable strategy.Speaking at his first press conference since taking office on Aug. 21, the minister stressed the need for genuine cultural exchange and c

Sept. 3, 2014

Festival recreates glamour of Istanbul

The opulence and glamour of old Istanbul will be recreated in the historic South Korean city of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, during “Istanbul in Gyeongju 2014,” an upcoming cultural festival to tie the two cities as partners.The festival will kick off a 10-day run on Sept. 12 as part of the Gyeongju World Culture Expo, amazing visitors to Gyeongju with decorations resembling historic sites in Istanbul. It will also entertain them with performances, exhibitions and parades, all with a foc

Sept. 3, 2014

[Herald Interview] Russian museum director talks value of cultural exchange

Alexy Levykin has dedicated most of his life to the preservation of Russian history.As a former supervisor of studies at the Moscow Kremlin Museum for nearly 10 years and now the director of The State Historical Museum, Levykin is a firm believer that museums are gateways to both the past and the future. “The human memory is the guarantor of preservation and development of personality,” he said. “The museum is a place where it is necessary to go periodically and discover something new every time

Sept. 3, 2014

Innovation, ‘ppalli ppalli’ interest cultural leaders

With the underlying initiative of cultivating “unofficial ambassadors of Korea,” the Corea Image Communication Institute hosted its fifth annual Culture Communication Forum this week, inviting 16 cultural figures from around the world to participate in a three-day cultural exchange in Korea. Aiming to provide this team of various cultural leaders from 16 countries ― including Turkey, India, Russia, Brazil and the U.S. ― with hands-on experiences and insights into the local culture and history, C

Sept. 3, 2014