[Well-curated] Fall means Hangang night market, browsing books and hanbok for Chuseok

Banpo Hangang Park will stay brightly lit into the night this weekend with over 100 food trucks and arts and crafts vendors setting up shop. Starting at 5 p.m. Friday, Seoul Hangang Moonlight Night Market will offer international food, street food and special beverages from some 40 different food trucks. Around 60 arts and crafts vendors will be showcasing their unique products, from postcards and accessories to perfumes and pet supplies. The colorful changing of lights at the Banpo Bridge

Aug. 26, 2022

[From the Scene] Seoul Popcon returns after two-year COVID-19 break

Seoul Pop Culture Convention, a rebranding and expansion of comic culture festival Seoul Comic Con, kicked off its four-day run at C and D halls at Coex, southern Seoul. The offline festival returned after a two-year hiatus as South Korea continues to remove its COVID-19 social distancing restrictions. The huge crowds of masked attendees, the din of camera shutter sounds and the huge lines in front of booths proved that the long-anticipated return of this event has been well-received. &rdquo

Aug. 25, 2022

Hackberry from ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ receives natural monument status

A 500-year-old protected tree in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, which recently gained fame following its appearance in the global hit drama series “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” is to be designated a natural monument by the end of September, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced on Wednesday. The East Asian hackberry of Bukbu-ri, Changwon, also known as “Sodeok-dong paengnamu” in the TV series, stands 16 meters tall with a circumference of 6.8 meters. It h

Aug. 25, 2022

Gyeongbok Palace bathed in moonlight

Gyeongbokgung, the main royal palace of the Joseon era located in downtown Seoul, will stay open in evening hours for nighttime viewing from Sept. 1 to Nov. 6. The palace will offer nighttime viewings from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday, with last admission at 8:30 p.m. Over the Chuseok holiday of Sept. 10-12, the palace will offer nighttime viewing on Monday as well. The palace will also stay open for nighttime viewing on Oct. 3-4, Monday and Tuesday, during the 2022 Palace Cultu

Aug. 23, 2022

Show your space-out skills at Han River park

The Hangang Space-out Competition is returning to the banks of the Han River after a two-year break. The Sept. 4 event will crown a champion who can remain the “most stable” while staring into space for 90 minutes. The competition, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in collaboration with the event’s founder, Woopsyang, aims to show people the relaxing value of doing nothing, challenging the idea that spacing out is a waste of time. This year, in particular, par

Aug. 22, 2022

[Visual History of Korea] Buddhist temple building where monks gathered to plan independence movement

Following the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty signed in 1910, Koreans were left without a country to call their own. There was a systematic destruction of their traditions, values and language.　 Suddenly bereft of a royal ruler, Koreans quickly espoused the concept of Korean independence and democracy, including civic participation. On May 12, 1919, the Daegu District Court sentenced a Buddhist student, Yoon Hak-jo, 25, and nine defendants to 10 months in jail for leading a crowd to call for Kor

Aug. 20, 2022

[Scholars and their Spaces] What do men live by?

An activist for Korean independence, a hero who did what a million Chinese troops could not and a terrorist against Japanese imperialism -– thus is Yun Bong-gil (1908-1932) evaluated in three East Asian countries. Yun threw a bomb at the Japanese dignitaries attending a ceremony commemorating the victory of the Japanese army in Hongkou Park, in Shanghai on April 29, 1932. He was a member of the Korean Patriotic Troops, a special task force of the Provisional Government of the Republic of

Aug. 20, 2022

[Well-curated] Spend summer nights with guilt-free treats, scavenger hunt and musical movie

If you’re vegan or on a gluten-free diet, stop by Jigu Bakery this weekend for some delightful treats. About a 10-minute walk from Gajwa Station Exit No. 1 or 4 on the Gyeongui Jungang Line, following the direction to the Yeonnam-dong community center, the beige awning, floor-to-ceiling windows and a line of people signal the entrance to the bakery. Certified by the Korean Vegan Dessert Association, the baker of Jigu Bakery offers various desserts, ranging from pound cakes to muffins and

Aug. 19, 2022

Cultural agency files complaint for dolmen damage

A cultural agency took legal action against the city of Gimhae in South Gyeongsang Province for its poor management of an ancient historic site. The Cultural Heritage Administration filed a report on Wednesday against Gimhae for violations of the nation’s law on buried cultural heritage protection, based on its expert inspection of the Gusan-dong Dolmen. Earlier in August, Gimhae was under fire for mishandling the 350-metric-ton Gusan-dong Dolmen, one of the largest dolmen in the world,

Aug. 18, 2022

Dance competition Chumsaeng to welcome applicants from Sept. 1

South Korea’s first dance management company, Zinhipz Entertainment, is launching a world dance competition titled “Chumsaeng.” The label is home to Heady, the winner of JTBC’s dance survival program “Showdown,” Comet, Zooty Zoot, Teenie, Ogong, Starry and Javeline. Under the slogan “dance is life,” Chumsaeng is a dance show with a difference. Instead of vying for the top spot, participants will use dance to express themselves and show the imp

Aug. 17, 2022

K-musicals have a myriad of challenges to benefit from explosive potential

Compared to Broadway and the West End, which have become synonymous with musicals, South Korea’s musical industry remains small and stagnant at about 400 billion won ($307 million) a year. However, experts here said that Asia’s fourth-largest economy has developed musicals with its own distinct characters and hosts a unique audience and holds great potential, but only if it overcomes a myriad of challenges. “The popularity other K-cultural products enjoy and the potential of

Aug. 13, 2022

Yi Yuksa’s handwritten letters to be listed as cultural heritage

A collection of four hand-written letters and postcards by Yi Yuksa (1904-1944), a Korean independence activist and writer of resistance poetry, will be registered as cultural heritage, South Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration announced Thursday. The letters were written during the Japanese colonial period, expressing hardships working for the country’s independence and his deep emotions to relatives and friends. The collection includes a letter sent to his close relative Le

Aug. 12, 2022

NMK to showcase Lee Kun-hee’s collection overseas by 2025

An impressive collection of national treasures and artworks donated to the country by the family of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, also known as the Lee Kun-hee Collection, will be taken overseas as early as 2025, according to Yoon Sung-yong, head of the National Museum of Korea. Just a month into Yoon’s appointment as NMK head, a plan was introduced during a press conference held at the museum on Thursday, with Lee Kun-hee’s collection placed on top of the agenda. It was

Aug. 12, 2022

[Well-curated] Keep calm and visit library, hanok for peace of mind

After the unexpected record downpour that wreaked havoc over South Korea, this weekend is a good time to halt the usual weekend routine and give ample rest to your mind and body. Surrounded by two grandiose mountains that reach some 600 meters high, Awon Gotaek, also known as Awon Museum and Hotel, stands in one of the most serene wilderness locations of Wanju, North Jeolla Province. At Gotaek, meaning “old house,” the place re-created the original framework of a 250-year-old hanok

Aug. 12, 2022

2022 World Heritage Festival to highlight rich history of Andong, Suwon and Jeju

The World Heritage Festival, an annual event to celebrate UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites in South Korea, is set to take place in the country’s major historic sites for a seven-weeks period, its hosts, the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, said on Wednesday. Marking its third year, this year’s festival, titled “World Heritage in Transit,” will take place in Andong and Yeongju in North Gyeongsang Province, Suwon in G

Aug. 10, 2022

Nineteen cultural heritage sites damaged by heavy rain

A total of 19 cases of damage to nationally recognized cultural heritage sites and items have been damaged by the heavy rain in the Greater Seoul area this week, the Cultural Heritage Administration reported Wednesday. Major mountain fortresses partially collapsed, while trees dating back hundreds of years were overturned with their branches broken. Burial mounds and stone works have been washed away. Walking trails at cultural heritage locations’ flooded within hours, which were shut

Aug. 10, 2022

Gimhae withdraws bid for dolmen site’s national recognition

Gimhae City has withdrawn its application for the Gusan-dong Dolmen to be designated as a national historic site. The city sent an official document to the Cultural Heritage Administration for the withdrawal after mounting criticism had been made by experts who visited the site for preinspection on July 28, to find out that damage had occurred during the restoration process. The city had mapped out the restoration project and taken action since December 2020. A total of 1.6 billion won ($1.2

Aug. 9, 2022

Bizzare Cheong Wa Dae couch promotion sparks controversy

A furniture promotion video showing a sofa placed at multiple locations within Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential office compound, is facing public criticism after its release on Friday. Entertainment and media firm iHQ’s streaming service platform Babayo, uploaded an eight-minute video to its YouTube channel titled, “Everywhere Ep. 1: Cheong Wa Dae.” The video was taken down on Tuesday afternoon, after the Cultural Heritage Administration asked the iHQ to delete the clip

Aug. 9, 2022

Walking tour of Gwanghwamun Square, Cheong Wa Dae

The city of Seoul and the Seoul Tourism Organization are adding new routes on the “Seoul Guided Walking Tour” program starting Tuesday. The three new courses are the “Gyeongbokgung Stonewall Walkway and Cheong Wa Dae Course,” the “Gwanghwamun Square Course” and the “Yulgok-ro Palace Wall Road Course.” Each walking tour involves a narration about the site’s history by professional tour guides, as well as an introduction of popular spots such

Aug. 7, 2022

One of world’s largest dolmen sites in Gimhae damaged

A 350-metric-ton Bronze Age dolmen in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province -- one of the largest dolmens in the world -- was discovered to have been damaged during a recent restoration process. The damage was reported to the Cultural Heritage Administration by Cultural Heritage Committee members who visited the site on July 28 to conduct preliminary research for the dolmen’s designation as a national historical site. The CHA halted all restoration work on Aug. 1. The city of Gimhae initiate

Aug. 7, 2022