CHA discovers Paleolithic stonewares at village inside DMZ

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Tuesday announced the discovery of two articles of stoneware from the Paleolithic Age and other relics in Daeseong-dong of Paju, Gyeonggi Province. This was CHA’s first survey inside the Demilitarized Zone since drawing up a plan in March to seek UNESCO listing of the DMZ. “It is hard to say that the findings will have a direct influence on UNESCO listing,” CHA official Cho Eun-kyung told The Korea Herald. “The UNESCO makes eval

June 9, 2020

Korean, foreign students invited to join content creation contest centering on traditional Korean music

The Korean Culture and Information Service and the Culture Ministry announced Tuesday that the 2020 “Nonjangpan” competition for students interested in the liberal arts was starting. South Korean students and foreign students living in Korea are invited to submit applications by June 28. The competition aims to cultivate in-depth and broad understanding of Korean culture by encouraging participants to create content using traditional music. “Ongojisin,” a Korean prov

June 9, 2020

[Herald interview] From baseball to LCK, Yi Mino’s production story

When Yi Mino came to Riot Games three years ago as the executive producer for esports broadcasts, he was without a broadcast team and the LoL Park Arena in Jongno, central Seoul, had yet to finish construction. With the opening of LoL Park Arena, Riot Games wanted to start self-production of League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), like other regions in the globe. Yi, who worked at terrestrial broadcaster MBC producing sports programs for 12 years and drama series for three years, was the man

June 9, 2020

Culture Ministry launches Hallyu department

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the launch of a new department to support the Korean Wave’s further expansion on Tuesday. “We are still working on the details related to the new department, including its English name,” a Culture Ministry official from the Planning and Coordination Office, Shim Min-seok, told The Korea Herald on Monday. The new department, which is under the ministry’s Content Policy Bureau, will have nine members. “We were

June 8, 2020

What should, or can, the Culture Ministry’s new Hallyu department do?

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is due to establish a separate department within the ministry to support the Korean Wave by June or July at the latest. While the ministry declined to give a specific opening date for the new department, saying it will make the announcement when the details have been confirmed, the decision was made on May 12 during the meeting of a pan-government Hallyu cooperation committee, which includes representatives from 12 ministries. While this marks the f

June 8, 2020

Pet industry business inspections to start Monday

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it will work with local governments to crack down on unlicensed businesses in the pet industry and others that violate industry regulations. The special inspection will run for three weeks starting Monday and affect a wide range of businesses in the pet industry, including those that sell and import pets. Inspectors will check on business operators to make sure they hold valid licenses and have completed all required training sessions

June 7, 2020

[Photo News] ‘Heart-shaped’ artificial floating island

An artificial island in the shape of a heart is seen floating on Lake Uiam in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on Wednesday. The floating island will be filled with aquatic plants, which the city expects to purify the lake water as well as catch people’s eye when it’s done. (Photos: Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp.com)

June 6, 2020

Body profile: bucket list item of 2020

Twelve weeks. That’s how long Kim Tae-hwan, 30, trained before getting his body profile picture taken. Kim had added body profile photos to his bucket list for 2020 after he found out about it while working out with a personal trainer. Kim hoped to have it checked off while he was still 30. The 12 weeks were not easy, as Kim, a construction site manager, tried to balance work and exercise while working out 14 hours a week. Spending an hour lifting weights, 40 minutes doing cardio exercis

June 6, 2020

Missing head of Buddha statue on Namsan in Gyeongju discovered

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on Wednesday that it has discovered the head of a stone seated Buddha statue, which is estimated to date from the late Unified Silla period, in conjunction with the Silla Cultural Heritage Research Institute. The head of the statue was found buried on Namsan in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. “We began our research after the Gyeongju government asked us to find out the original location of the headless statue,” head of Silla Cu

June 3, 2020

[Photo News] Monorails prepare to get back on track

The Hamyang Daebong Mountain Valley Resort test-ran its monorails Wednesday ahead of reopening planned for late June.   The Daebong Monorail, 3.93 kilometers long, is South Korea’s first and longest sightseeing monorail that runs across a mountain. (Photos: Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp.com)

May 30, 2020

What next for Kansong Art Museum?

Two state-designated treasures from the Kansong Art Museum will be returned to the museum after an auction Wednesday failed to find new owners. The two treasures -- Treasure No. 284, Gilt-Bronze Standing Buddha and Treasure No. 285, Gilt-Bronze Standing Bodhisattva -- which were put on the block at K-Auction at a starting price of 1.5 billion won each, failed to attract any bidders.　 “The detailed schedule of the return cannot be disclosed due to our contract with the clients,” sa

May 30, 2020

Cultural institutes shut down again as COVID-19 resurgence seen in Seoul metropolitan area

The three venues of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) in Seoul, Gwacheon and Deoksugung will temporarily close for next two weeks starting Saturday, reflecting the government’s strict social distancing measures in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, MMCA announced on Thursday. MMCA Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province, however, will remain open for now. The announcement came after the government brought back stricter social distancing norms Thursday

May 29, 2020

LPL teams eliminate LCK teams on first day of Mid-Season Cup

League of Legends Champions of Korea (LCK) teams T1 and Damwon Gaming (DWG), failed to qualify for the semifinals of Mid-Season Cup (MSC) on Thursday, ceding the qualifying ticket to League of Legends Pro League (LPL) teams, FunPlus Pheonix (FPX) and Top Esports (TES). The four teams played a best of 1 round robin on Thursday. The day started with a win for T1 in the opening match against FPX, in which T1 dismantled FPX with a poke composition featuring Canna’s Jayce and Faker’s

May 29, 2020

Treasures from Kansong Art Museum fail to find new owners

Two state-designated treasures from the Kansong Art Museum failed to find new owners at an auction in Seoul on Wednesday. They were the first sales attempt of the storied museum’s artifacts. Treasure No. 284, Gilt-Bronze Standing Buddha and Treasure No. 285, Gilt-Bronze Standing Bodhisattva, both failed to attract bidders at the highly anticipated auction held by K-Auction in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul. The bidding started at 1.5 billion won for each treasure but no bidder came forwa

May 27, 2020

CHA unveils newly excavated gilt-bronze shoes from Silla Kingdom

A pair of gilt-bronze shoes was among the relics the Cultural Heritage Administration unveiled to the public on Wednesday in conjunction with the Silla Cultural Heritage Research Institute. The relics -- thought to be from the late fifth to early sixth century Silla Kingdom -- came from an archaeological excavation of sites near tomb No. 120 in Hwangnam-dong, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The excavation is still in its early stages, the CHA said. Gilt-bronze shoes were last discovered

May 27, 2020

[Photo News] May roses bloom

Roses in full bloom brighten up people’s day amid continued virus outbreak. Seoul citizens admire different species of roses while taking a walk around the Rose Garden at the Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul. On the opposite side of the country, a German rose called “Corona” attracts a bee at the River Seomjingang village in Gokseong, South Jeolla Province. People also take time to enjoy roses from around the world even though the 5th International Rose Festival that was

May 27, 2020

[Herald Interview] All it takes is a page a day

South Korean startup Espressobook CEO Hwang Sang-chul says with his company’s app, Harubook, anyone can become an author and publish a physical book. Using the app, whose name means “one-day book,” users can create a book by writing a page a day. After writing at least 20 pages, authors can easily edit their books using the templates provided. “Originally, people had to learn Adobe’s book editing software. But with our app, the users can do the editing on smart

May 26, 2020

S. Korea to conduct research on cultural heritage in DMZ

South Korea will conduct comprehensive research on cultural assets and natural heritage inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border with North Korea, the cultural heritage authority said Monday. In collaboration with the provincial governments of Gyeoggi Province and Gangwon Province, the survey will start Tuesday and run for one year, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA). The 55-member panel will look for archaeological relics and flora and fauna in 40 sites and vill

May 25, 2020

Hanji Culture and Industry Center opens to boost Korean traditional paper industry

The Korea Craft and Design Foundation, a public organization affiliated with the Korean Ministry of Sports, Culture and Tourism, on Wednesday opened the “Hanji Culture and Industry Center” to promote Korean traditional paper hanji. “Hanji has a long history. However, it has not been promoted properly. Through the establishment of this center, we hope to work on promoting hanji not only in Korea but also in the global market,” Vice Culture Minister Oh Young-woo said at

May 24, 2020

[Eye Plus] Modern Korean history at a glance

The forces that shaped today’s Korea -- from its belated opening to the outside world in the late 19th century and its annexation by Japan in 1910 to the 1950-53 Korean War, dictatorships, rapid industrialization and blood-paved democratization -- are on exhibit at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History. Located in Gwanghwamun Square, a site of historic and symbolic importance, the eight-story museum tells stories of the country’s politics, society, economy and culture

May 23, 2020