Itaewon cluster infection brings light to Korea’s nightlife

As the Itaewon area in central Seoul has become the focal point of a potential second wave of new coronavirus infections in Korea, nightlife establishments are being shut down across the country. Authorities are issuing administrative orders banning mass gatherings not just at “entertainment facilities,” referring to clubs and bars, but also some classified as “general restaurants,” such as singles bars and old-fashioned pubs, with concerns rising about a potential &ldq

May 12, 2020

Scaled-back events mark 40th anniversary of Gwangju Democratic Uprising amid COVID-19

It has been 40 years since the Gwangju Democratic Uprising, when hundreds of citizens were killed in a deadly military crackdown during the authoritarian regime of Chun Doo-hwan, who came to power in a military coup in 1979. Due to the ongoing spread of the novel coronavirus, however, many events to commemorate the anniversary have been canceled or postponed. An annual event that was scheduled to take place on the eve of May 18, the historic day when the uprising started, has been canceled

May 12, 2020

[Herald Interview] A principal’s vision: From teaching to coaching students to develop games

Gyeonggi Game Meister High School in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, opened March 1, but it was not until April 16 that the school began its academic year. And the school’s inaugural principal, Chung Suk-hee, who is also the head of the Korea Game Developers Association, is still waiting to welcome the school’s first incoming class to the campus as the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the start of on-site classes. “Usually principals are chosen from among those who have been teachin

May 11, 2020

Onstage shows set to resume as quarantine rules ease

The South Korean performing arts scene is joining the nationwide return to normal life after a monthslong battle with the novel coronavirus. Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul said it will stage the special concert "Dear My Parents" at its main Concert Hall on Saturday to celebrate Parents' Day, which falls on Friday, and to express gratitude to those who have dedicated themselves to the fight against COVID-19. The center said it will invite medical workers and their families to th

May 8, 2020

Bat flipping and fancy cheerleading: How Korean baseball culture differs from US

While Americans take to watching Korean baseball as ESPN started streaming KBO starting with Tuesday’s long-delayed Opening Day, the unique baseball fan culture in Korea has yet to be shown, as the games are being played without spectators. The baseball fan culture in Korea is unlike anything that fans would find in the MLB. The first major difference is the cheering. All 10 Korean baseball teams have songs to support the teams, which are sung multiple times by the fans at each game.

May 7, 2020

Korea to relax regulations on game industry to lead global market

Culture Minister Park Yang-woo on Thursday announced a plan to support the Korean gaming industry with the aim of leading the future global market. “We will lead innovative growth of the game industry by actively revising the regulatory system,” Park said during a press briefing held in Seoul on Thursday. “Large global conglomerates such as Google and Facebook are expanding in the global gaming market with new technologies. However, there is criticism that our regulations

May 7, 2020

[Feature] K-webtoons become mainstream, go global

Once considered a subculture enjoyed by the young, web-based cartoons have now fully entered mainstream entertainment. With the global ascent of K-pop, Korean webtoons are also expanding their global presence, along with Korean cinema and TV.　　 Webtoons first emerged in South Korea in the early 2000s, initially as a means to attract users to portal sites and to digitize paper comics. The country’s two largest portals Daum and Naver launched their own webtoon platforms in 2003 and 2004

May 6, 2020

National Intangible Heritage Center reopens with renovated exhibition hall

The National Intangible Heritage Center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, reopened its permanent exhibition hall on Wednesday. According to the center, it has renovated the “Traditional Craftsmanship” exhibition hall ahead of the reopening. The renovation that began in September re-creates traditional craftsman‘s workshops and displays craft materials and tools. The center originally planned to reopen the center in April, but the reopening was delayed due to the spread of C

May 6, 2020

ACC looks for unique film projects in Asia to support

The Asia Culture Center and the Asia Culture Institute, both affiliated with the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has started taking applications for the 2020 ACC Cinema Fund to support experimental and independent films and media projects. 　 Launched in 2018, the ACC Cinema Fund is a biannual program led by the ACC Cinematheque, the organization in charge of the ACC’s video art projects.  The organizers said they were calling for entries from across Asia from

May 6, 2020

National Museum of Korea to reopen with caution

The National Museum of Korea’s permanent exhibition hall will reopen Wednesday, more than two months after the entire museum was shut down in late February due to the spread of COVID-19. The museum will accept 300 individual visitors per hour in observance of the government’s social distancing guidelines. To minimize personal contact, exhibition commentary service will not be provided until further notice. Visitors will have to make an online reservation in advance to enter the fa

May 5, 2020

[Feature] LCK seeks return to glory with franchise system

On April 7, League of Legends Champions Korea announced that it would be adopting a long-term partnership model for 2021. LCK is the last of the major LoL esports leagues to adopt the long-term partnership model, also known as a franchise model, with the Chinese league LPL and North America league LCS having adopted the system in 2018 and European league LEC in 2019. “We started looking into the franchise model in 2018. Back then, we had just built the LoL Park Arena and started broadca

May 5, 2020

Tzuyang eats her way to top on YouTube

As the camera zooms into the Korean ramen, YouTuber Tzuyang digs into the dish in front of her. The curly ramen noodles dressed in scorching red gradually glide down her throat. She opens her eyes with amazement and continuously praises the taste. Behind the screen, millions of her fans enjoy the vicarious pleasure of a spoonful of tasty cuisine. Yet unlike her cultivated cute appearance, her palate in food is difficult to follow. Tzuyang started her eating career on AfreecaTV in October 20

May 3, 2020

Belgians asked to 'eat more potatoes'

Belgians are well known for their love of french fries, or "pommes frites," topped with plenty of mayonnaise. In March, the Belgian government spared french fry vendors from its order to lockdown schools, bars and all cultural and sporting facilities. However, potato farmers hit by the COVID-19 crisis have claimed that their livelihoods are at stake despite the state’s efforts. Belgapom, the association for the Belgian potato trade and processing industry, noted that some 75

May 3, 2020

[Weekender] New social norms emerge in the age of COVID-19

As the number of new COVID-19 infection cases continued to fall, the government began applying a relaxed social distancing advisory starting April 20. Despite the eased guideline, many Koreans are still following “rules” that emerged following the virus spread. “While taking our lecture using ‘Zoom,’ we have to wear earphones,” Kim Ki-wook, a graduate school student told The Korea Herald. He explained that if the online livestreaming lecture participants d

May 2, 2020

How to speak, look better for video meetings

Although the number of new COVID-19 infections has decreased sharply in South Korea, fears of a resurgence persist. As the coronavirus crisis has gripped the country for more than three months, life as we know it has changed. The prevalence of video meetings and interviews is one of the changes that seem likely to stay even as the pandemic situation subsides. The Busan branch of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement conducted its first-ever online conference on Saturday with 100

May 2, 2020

CHA to designate 17th century Buddhist sculpture as treasure

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Wednesday announced that it will designate the Ven. Hyunjin’s earliest sculpture from the 17th century as treasure. The piece is called “Jangseong Baekyangsa Mokjoamitayeoraejwasang,” or “Wooden Seated Amitabha Buddha” from the temple Baekyangsa in Jangseong, South Jeolla Province. The sculpture is a 208-centimeter-tall statue that the Ven. Hyunjin created with the Ven. Hueil and the Ven. Moonseub in 1607. The Ven. Hyunjin

May 2, 2020

[Eye Plus] Lighting up Buddha’s Birthday

Buddha’s Birthday, the largest Buddhist holiday, is celeberated with lotus lanterns of all shapes and colors. Every year, the lanterns cover the yard of Jogyesa, the Buddhist temple in central Seoul, and the surrounding areas.   While this year’s events have been scaled down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Buddhist faithful gather to celebrate the holiday, offering prayers and taking part in rites that have developed within Korean Buddhism over the centuries.  While lotus

May 1, 2020

[Photo News] Endangered oriental stork

A pair of oriental storks, endangered species designated as South Korea’s natural treasure No. 199, laid eggs in a nest they had built on top of a transmission tower standing in the middle of a farmland in southern Taean, South Chungcheong Province on Tuesday.  The storks inhibited in the wild after being artificially fecundated at Yesan Stork Park in South Chungcheong Province. It is rare for wild storks to find their mate and build a nest on an ordinary structure like a transmissi

May 1, 2020

[Photo News] Cultural exchange with Fiji

International Youth Fellowship founder and pastor Park Ock-soo (right) and Fijian Ambassador Peniana Lalabalavu sign a memorandum of understanding in Seoul on Tuesday to promote educational exchange activities for young people and to cooperate in cultural and economic areas.  IYF established a Fiji branch in January 2013 and since then it has carried out various educational activities for young people such as overseas volunteering, character education, cultural exchange and character camp

April 29, 2020

Players angry with updates boycott major gaming companies

NCSoft’s Lineage 2M and Nexon’s Fifa Online 4 have come under fire for updates that undermine the efforts of the players and require them to spend more money. Players criticized NCSoft when a new package item update for Lineage 2M was released on April 22. While Lineage 2M is a MMORPG mobile game that is known for multiple in-app purchase contents, updates are generally welcomed by players as they mean new content. But this time many of the items required purchases. Lineage

April 29, 2020