Four veteran entertainers, Cho Yong-pil, Gu Bong-seo, Ahn Sung-ki and Patti Kim, are to receive the Order of Cultural Merit from the Korean government. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Sunday, the four entertainers have been selected to receive the silver crown medal, Korea’s second-highest cultural honor.Cho was recognized for his enormous impact on the Korean pop music scene and for remaining one of the most influential figures in the country more than 45 years after

Nov. 10, 2013

Some people still assume that the library is a place for bookworms and exam takers. Ask Ahn Si-young, a regular library goer, and she will give a different idea. The 55-year-old mother of two college students enjoys attending educational programs at public libraries ranging from a book club to parenthood lectures. “The public library is where I can get educational benefits either free of charge or cheaper than anywhere else, and I want to make the most out of it,” Ahn said in an interview with T

Nov. 8, 2013

Friendly librarians mill around towering bookshelves, with the smell of newly printed books and dusty paperbacks in the air. The traditional image of a library is of a place to study, read books and hang out at a leisurely pace. With the emergence of the digital age, however, people are turning away from traditional libraries. According to Statistics Korea, a Korean household spent an average of 19,026 won a month on books in 2012, down from 20,570 won the year before. It marked the first time s

Nov. 8, 2013

Facing the digital age, libraries are increasingly pressed to stretch beyond their traditional role to offer more user-friendly and versatile functions, said Lim Won-sun, chief executive of the National Library of Korea.“Basically, we want to run a service that actively approaches (readers). Up to now, libraries’ role had been to collect and organize information for people to seek out,” Lim told The Korea Herald. “We want to approach people and say, ‘Don’t you need this (information)? I think th

Nov. 8, 2013

Korean parents are famously passionate aboard their children’s education. Unsurprisingly, they view English as an important subject for their kids and invest heavily in them learning the language, often pushing even toddlers to read English books.But there are not many English libraries for Korean children. Among 83 public libraries for children nationwide, only a few facilities specialize in English books. There are two English libraries for children in Yongsan-gu of northern Seoul, two in Mapo

Nov. 8, 2013

Korea and Britain have agreed to bolster cultural ties to support the creative economy by holding a joint cultural forum, researching cultural infrastructure and reinforcing support for relevant industries, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Thursday. Cooperation between the two countries is expected to boost mutual understanding and expand market opportunities, the government said.  According to the memorandum of understanding signed by the Korean Culture Minister Yoo Jin-ryong an

Nov. 7, 2013

Early Tuesday morning, about 27 people gathered in front of Sajik Park gate at the foot of Mt. Inwangsan in central Seoul, to embark on an autumn English walking lecture organized by YEOL Korean Heritage Preservation Society. David Mason, a Namseoul University professor who specializes in studies of the great mountains of the Korean Peninsula and Korean shamanism, provided fresh insight into Korean culture and society throughout the tour.The group started from Sajikdan, an altar where the kings

Nov. 6, 2013

A group of 23 foreign envoys, foreign CEOs and Koreans were treated to a special tour of Areumjigi Culture Keepers Foundation in Tongui-dong, Seoul, Tuesday night.The visit to the newly opened Areumjigi headquarters and the ongoing exhibition “Po, the Seonbi Spirit in Clothing” was part of the curriculum of Korea CQ, a 10-week program run by the Corea Image Communication Institute that introduces its members to various aspects of Korean culture.The visitors were led through the second floor wher

Nov. 6, 2013

In 1994, there were no smartphones linking people 24 hours a day, no flashy Starbucks with fashionable lounge music and no “League of Legends” to blow gamers’ minds away.Instead, people queued in front of public pay phones to page their friends, make confessions of love or mumble after binge drinking. Trendy boys and girls in baggy jeans would flock to Kentucky Fried Chicken for biscuits and move to “rock cafes” to hook up; listen to Seo Tai-ji, the so-called president of teenagers, for fresh an

Nov. 3, 2013

Pianist Lee Ko-eun was named one of three top winners at the 2013 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition and the recipient of the Victor & Sono Elmaleh Piano Prize, the CAG announced Thursday. The Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition is an annual event open to instrumentalists, singers and chamber ensembles performing classical and non-traditional repertoire. The other two winners this year are the Donald Sinta Quartet and violinist Alexi Kenney.Lee, who also won several ot

Oct. 31, 2013

Google, the world’s most-visited website, will dedicate a section to Korean culture including traditional dress, architecture, film and Hangeul. The internet giant will also support the development of a special program and space where children of multicultural families and foreigners can learn and understand the unique Korean writing system at the Hangeul Museum, which is slated to open in Seoul in 2014, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Google announced Wednesday at a joint press

Oct. 30, 2013

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened its halls to the 1,000-year-old legacy of the Silla Kingdom (B.C. 57-A.D. 935) with an exhibition that highlights the glory of the kingdom that unified the Korean Peninsula.Featuring a total of 132 artifacts, including a number of state-designated national treasures, “Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom,” opened Tuesday to the members of the Met and will open to the general public on Nov. 4. The exhibition is slated to run through Feb. 23, 2014. The Sil

Oct. 29, 2013

Korean cultural authorities on Tuesday officially launched the restoration of the archaeological ruins at an Angkor temple in Laos, as part of the K-Heritage initiative. According to the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Cultural Heritage Foundation, the first stage of the restoration of Hong Nang Sida (meaning chamber of Princess Sida) inside the Wat Phou Temple in the Champasak area of southern Laos kicked off on Tuesday, local time, with key officials from both countries attending. The

Oct. 29, 2013

An English book on “kimjang,” the kimchi-making process for the winter, was released on Monday to mark the Korean tradition likely to be designated UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, according to the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation. The 192-page “Kimjang: Making and Sharing Kimchi” explains the origin, history and people behind kimchi, possibly the most popular Korean food. “Kimchi, along with rice, is one of the two things that people in this country cannot live without. It is fine to make

Oct. 28, 2013