Airbnb offers online classes starring K-pop acts

At a time when traveling is not an option, global house-sharing platform Airbnb hopes to invite guests to enjoy K-pop backstage through online classes starring hit K-pop bands from Monsta X to The Boyz, along with star dance instructors and makeup artists. Airbnb is hosting “Inside K-Pop” from Jan. 25 to Jan. 30, featuring 14 online experiences that offer insight into how K-pop stars are brought to the stage -- such as dance rehearsals, vocal practice sessions, makeup tutorials and

Jan. 18, 2021

[Weekender] Korean gatherings go virtual on Minecraft amid pandemic

Over the Christmas holidays, seven Korean YouTubers gathered in a room to draw lots for a Secret Santa gift exchange. In another room, almost a hundred YouTubers posed together for a group picture. No one wore face masks. Or rather, their virtual, Lego-like avatars didn’t. Under South Korea’s strict social distancing guidelines because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the YouTube community took their gatherings online on Minecraft – the most popular video game of all time. Communiti

Jan. 16, 2021

Korean Wave fans surpass 100 million: report

Even as borders closed around the world last year due to the pandemic, that didn’t stop the spread of the Korean Wave, or “hallyu,” from reaching new heights. There were a total of 100 million members in 1,835 Korean Wave-related clubs across the world as of September 2020, marking a 5.45 million increase from the year before, according to the latest report from the Korea Foundation, a public diplomacy arm of Seoul’s Foreign Ministry. The annual report, an account on th

Jan. 16, 2021

Culture Ministry to create W298.5b fund to support local cultural industries

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Thursday announced that it plans to establish three funds worth a total of 298.5 billion won ($271.6 million) to support local content creators and sports and tourism businesses. The money will be injected through a fund-of-funds managed by Korea Venture Investment Corp., in line with the Culture Ministry’s practice since 2005 of investing indirectly in small and midsized cultural businesses through venture capital funds instead of choosing

Jan. 16, 2021

Actor Lee Min-ho promotes beauty of Hangeul

The King Sejong Institute Foundation, a state-run institution overseeing some 170 Korean language centers worldwide, released a video promoting the beauty of Hangeul -- the writing system for the Korean language -- starring actor Lee Min-ho on Friday. Lee, an ambassador for the foundation, was featured in the 31-second clip introducing the uniqueness of Hangeul by showcasing Hangeul calligraphy along with fashion items and furniture pieces inspired by the Korean alphabet.   The foundati

Jan. 15, 2021

Number of global 'hallyu' fans crosses 100 million landmark

The popularity of "hallyu," or the Korean Wave, seems to have continued unabated across the world despite yearlong coronavirus restrictions, as the number of global hallyu fans topped the 100 million milestone last year, a public foundation said Friday. The number of members of hallyu fan clubs in 109 countries worldwide, excluding South Korea, rose to 104,770,000 as of September last year, marking an on-year rise of 5.5 percent, or 5.4 million, from 99,320,000, according to the Korea

Jan. 15, 2021

Korean image ambassadors Baby Shark and Delphine O shine light on Korea’s future

The creator of Baby Shark and Secretary-General of the UN Generation Equality Forum Delphine O, winners of awards for helping to promote Korea’s image to the world, have shed light on what direction Korea should take moving forward in a post-COVID-19 era. O and creator Lee Seung-gyu were presented with the awards at the 2021 Corea Image Communication Institute Awards Ceremony at InterContinental Seoul COEX on Thursday. Since 2005, CICI – a nonprofit organization -- has honored cul

Jan. 14, 2021

[Video] ‘Working from home’ to stay in 2021

South Korea’s stringent social distancing rules has emptied many offices as the nation tries to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Among confirmed cases, many of the infections are linked to densely populated metropolitan areas. In 2020, a shift toward working from home quickly became the norm among many workplaces. Along with worries and challenges, remote working introduced several changes -- the tools employees use to work, shortened commuting, what we wear to work, being able to wo

Jan. 13, 2021

Chinese YouTuber Li Ziqi’s kimchi-making video sparks controversy

Popular Chinese Youtuber Li Ziqi, who has over 14 million subscribers, drew controversy in Korea after she uploaded a video of herself making what appears to be kimchi with the hashtag #ChineseCuisine and #ChineseFood. The 19-minute video “The last episode of the ‘Life Series’: The life of white radish!” shows Li going through every step of kimchi-making, from harvesting cabbage from the ground to pickling the cabbage in a large jar and later applying spicy seasoning to

Jan. 12, 2021

Korea’s CHA presents mural conservation manuals to Myanmar

South Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration in Myanmar held a ceremony on Monday to present four booklets on Korea’s mural conservation and management to Myanmar’s cultural authorities. Minister of Religious Affairs and Culture of Myanmar Aung Ko, the director of the Department of Archaeology and National Museum, South Korea’s ambassador to Myanmar Lee Sang-hwa and Head of the Bagan Office of the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation Kim Dong-min attended the event at

Jan. 11, 2021

How Koreans try to stay fit with gyms shut

For the gym rats and the casual gymgoers alike, last year was a frustrating one with fitness centers going back and forth between closing, reopening and operating for limited hours depending on the social distancing level in place. And this year might see more of the same. The latest gym closures, which went into effect Dec. 8 and is scheduled to continue until Jan. 17, has been the longest shutdown so far. In the meantime, people are finding alternative ways to exercise without hitting the g

Jan. 9, 2021

Snow ducks are a big hit on social media after heavy snow

Though heavy snow created traffic chaos in Seoul on Wednesday evening, some enjoyed the weather by going outside and making “snow creatures” throughout the night. With more than 13 centimeters of snow in some regions, the weather allowed for some fun outdoor activities amid the pandemic that has kept many cooped up inside. People took to social media to post photos of the snowmen and snow creatures they spotted on the streets. Among the most popular snow creations were snow ducks

Jan. 8, 2021

Korean fried chicken picked as most popular Korean dish among foreigners

Korean-style fried chicken has been selected as the most popular Korean dish by foreign consumers, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ online survey of 8,000 local residents in 16 major cities across the globe. The survey found that 13.3 percent of the respondents who had tried Korean food picked Korean-style fried chicken as their most-preferred Korean dish, followed by kimchi at 11.9 percent and bibimbap at 10.3 percent. The respondents picked the same th

Jan. 7, 2021

Future of agriculture grows under Seoul’s subway stations

Walking down the stairs from exit No. 2 of Sangdo Station in southwestern Seoul, its not easy to miss a white and green signboard that reads “METRO Farm.” A method of what‘s known as “smart farming,” Metro Farms can create nature-friendly environments while being located inside urban subway stations, using AI and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Sangdo Station’s exit No. 2 was originally left unattended, merely serving its purpose as a meet-up plaza. S

Jan. 4, 2021

[Newsmaker] Shattering prejudice about cultural heritage

Imagine learning about Korean cultural heritage and history with K-pop stars while reading a webtoon or watching a short movie, instead of reading dry textbooks. The Cultural Heritage Administration is working to break the perception that learning about history and culture is boring, while also trying to appeal to young people. Last September, the CHA rolled out an eight-episode short documentary series starring boy band Monsta X on YouTube. The documentary videos, which broadcaster JTBC al

Jan. 3, 2021

Online education for adults seeing breakthrough

While students around the world cope with online schooling in the COVID-19 pandemic era, digital learning for adults is having its moment in South Korea. Online learning has been an emerging trend in recent years, but the pandemic has accelerated its growth. Best suited to those already comfortable with the digital world, mostly people in their 20s and 30s, classes normally consist of 20 to 30 lectures under 10 minutes long. “Taking cooking classes after work was a great joy for me. H

Jan. 1, 2021

Culture Ministry commits financial support for artists in 2021

Applying for government assistance involved some unpleasant experiences, recalled a Seoul-based artist in his 40s. “I applied for several assistance programs in the past but I never made it. I did not apply for the COVID-19 relief fund (in 2020), because I didn’t think I would be selected,” said the artist who wished to be identified by his surname, Jung. Jung chose to focus on his artwork rather than applying for the government fund , skipping the time-consuming process. H

Dec. 31, 2020

K-pop superstars to fill up New Year’s Eve and Day through online concerts

Two K-pop powerhouses -- Big Hit Entertainment and SM Entertainment -- will celebrate New Year’s Eve and Day with online concerts. Under the title 2021 New Year’s Eve Live, Big Hit Entertainment will begin streaming its first joint concert with Big Hit Label through the agency’s community platform Weverse at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. The paid online concert will feature live and prerecorded performances by BTS, Tomorrow X Together, ENHYPEN, GFriend and NU’EST. The concer

Dec. 30, 2020

Korean food translations become easier for foreigners to understand

Restaurant owners who are unfamiliar with English may not know how to properly translate Korean foods such as ‘bossam’ or ‘jumulleok’ for their menus, sometimes leading to confusion among foreign guests unacquainted with local dishes. To cope with such issues amid the rising popularity of Korean food, the Korea Tourism Organization will publish new standards for translating Korean food into English, Chinese and Japanese. While there were previously no unified guidelin

Dec. 30, 2020

Culture Ministry unveils DMZ Peace Trail logo

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday disclosed the logo for its DMZ Peace Trail, a trail created to promote the site near the Demilitarized Zone as a tourism destination. The DMZ, which cuts across the middle of the peninsula, is a buffer zone between North and South Korea. It is roughly 250 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide. The DMZ Peace Trail includes a main 524-kilometer route that connects the county of Ganghwa, Incheon and Goseong in Gangwon Province, as well as 10

Dec. 30, 2020