Some 1,500 cyclists participate in Samcheok bicycle festival

The Around Samcheok 2018 Trek Ride Fest concluded Sunday with over 1,500 participants pedaling around the beautiful scenery across Samcheok, Gangwon Province.The noncompetitive bicycle race took place around the most renowned tourist spots in the city. Riders could choose between a 138-kilometer “challenge” course and a 42-kilometer “accompanying” course. Participants of the Around Samcheok 2018 Trek Ride Fest cycle during the event in Samcheok, Gangwon Province, Sunday. (Emerson K Partners)The

May 2, 2018

S.M. Entertainment to open new culture space ‘SMTown Museum’ Friday

SMTown Museum, a new cultural exhibition space launched by K-pop powerhouse S.M. Entertainment, will open at SMTown Coex Artium in Gangnam, southern Seoul, Friday. According to the agency Wednesday, SMTown Museum will be on the third floor of SMTown Coex Artium, a compound featuring content related to S.M. musicians.Among the facilities in the new space are “S.M. Archive,” where visitors can enjoy S.M. artists’ albums, photo shoots, music and videos; “Special Exhibition,” an exhibition of the ar

May 2, 2018

Pursuing ‘permissible’ beauty in Korea

Cosmetics tycoon Elizabeth Arden once said, “To be beautiful is the birthright of every woman,” rewriting the mantra of the beauty industry in the early 20th century.Half a century later, not every woman is yet able to enjoy the right to be beautiful, restricted by personal and social boundaries. Take for example Muslim women in Korea. Their choices of cosmetics, limited by their religious faith, are further narrowed by an unchanging, conservative Korean market.  Korean cosmetics stores line the

May 1, 2018

Korea to join hands with ASEAN, CIS countries to boost Hallyu

In a bid to further spread Korean pop culture throughout the world, Korea will seek cultural exchanges with other countries, including members of ASEAN and CIS, the state-run agency promoting Korean culture said Monday.Korean Culture and Information Service announced its strategies aimed at boosting Hallyu or Korean Wave, referring to the popularity of Korean entertainment and culture in other parts of the world. Director of Korea Culture and Information Service Kim Tae-hoon speaks during a pres

April 30, 2018

[2018 Inter-Korean summit] South Koreans’ lunch today: Pyongyang Naengmyeon

Following the historic meeting between the two Koreas’ leaders on Friday morning at Panmunjeom, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un said something to South Korean President Moon Jae-in that caught the ears of many Koreans watching the conversation via television.The two heads of state met and exchanged handshakes charged with historical significance at the Military Demarcation Line at 9:30 a.m. After a welcoming ceremony and walk to the meeting venue, the Peace House, the two leaders sat down for the summ

April 27, 2018

Korea to open Asia's largest arboretum with released Siberian tigers next week

BONGHWA, North Gyeongsang Province -- South Korea's forest authorities said Tuesday they plan to open an arboretum with two Siberian tigers strolling in a "tiger forest" in southeastern South Korea next week as part of efforts to preserve the endangered species in the wild.The Korea Forest Service will open to the public on May 3 the National Baekdu-daegan Arboretum located on a mountain range near Bonghwa, a town in South Korea's southeast province of North Gyeongsang, before showing visitors t

April 24, 2018

Gyeongbokgung Palace to host ‘Starlight Tour’

Gyeongbokgung Palace will commence the Gyeongbokgung Starlight Tour next month, featuring various programs centered on traditional food and performances of the Joseon royal palace.This year’s evening tour will be held from 7:40 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on May 9-19 and June 6-16, except on Tuesdays. Up to 60 people can participate in each tour.The tour starts at Heungryemun Gate with actors re-enacting a day in the Joseon royal place, and includes a taste of a king and queen’s daily meal, and a performa

April 23, 2018

Not leaving anything to chance

The arrival of spring is heralded by a slew of wedding invitations in the mailbox and weekends from late April to early June are filled with the ceremonies to attend. While the size and style of weddings differ, many couples, or rather their parents, do one identical thing for the big day -- consult a fortuneteller for the couple‘s “gunghap.” Fortunetellers predict “gunghap” at street stalls in eastern Seoul. (Photo by Im Eun-byel / The Korea Herald)While many people no longer believe in destiny

April 22, 2018

[Video] Take a break with ‘Space-out Competition’

The “2018 Space-out Competition” took place at Yeouido Han River Park on Sunday, under the pitch “Let your exhausted brain relax for a while.” Despite the rainy weather on Sunday morning, about 150 contenders seen in the park stayed blank-faced for 90 minutes without talking, sleeping, eating or checking their phones. The contest rule is simple, a person who maintained the most stable heartbeat rate becomes the winner.(Related article: Seoul City to hold ‘space-out’ contest on April 22)(Shot and

April 22, 2018

[Photo News] Back to the Joseon era

While time machines are the stuff of movies and fairy tales, it is possible to get a taste of what life was like in the Joseon era (1392-1910) at the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, this spring.The living history museum is holding the “Welcome to Joseon” festival until June 24, under the pitch “Would you time travel to Joseon Dynasty with us?” vThe Korean Folk Village, which was once most commonly associated with school field trips, found a new lease of life in 2013 when it sta

April 20, 2018

[Weekender] Slurping cold bowl of nostalgia

Many Asian countries have long been home to cold noodle dishes, and in contemporary times, they have become a popular way to fight the heat during summer. And in Korea, naengmyeon is the cold noodle dish of choice to fight the humid summer. Long lines of people brave the heat outside for at least 30 minutes to get into Seoul’s top restaurants for cold noodles -- their decades of history keeping them popular despite their unfashionable locations in run-down inner-city areas.  A typical bowl of na

April 20, 2018

Recreating royal cultures of King Sejong’s reign

A Joseon-period mix of a royal ceremony and a folk play will be performed in downtown Seoul for the first time in more than 230 years.The event is part of the fourth annual Royal Culture Festival, this year focusing on programs related to King Sejong the Great to mark the 600th anniversary of his enthronement.The festival, hosted by the Cultural Heritage Administration and operated by Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, will be held from April 28 to May 6 at Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgy

April 18, 2018

BTS, Lee Joon-gi, Yoona voted hallyu stars of 2017: survey

K-pop group BTS, actor Lee Joon-gi and actress Yoona have been chosen as the most popular "hallyu" stars of 2017, a survey showed Tuesday.Soompi, a US-based online news provider specializing in Korean pop culture, announced the winners of the 13th annual Soompi Awards, who were selected in a vote by over 163 million hallyu fans from over 190 countries around the world. Hallyu refers to the global boom of Korean pop music, TV dramas and films. BTS (Big Hit Entertainment)BTS won awards in five cat

April 17, 2018

[Herald interview] Artists duo fascinated by nomadism of island

The Korea Herald interviewed Jane and Louise Wilson by e-mail. Following is an excerpt of the exchanges.The Korea Herald: What kind of project are you currently working on? Jane and Louise Wilson: We‘re here on Gapado Island to research a new photographic, film and sculpture project that will lead us to create a new installation and at the moment we have a working title “Undoings.” The work will inevitably represent an extension of our working practice already but we hope to eventually show the

April 16, 2018

Giving remote island a new lease of life

Gapado is a small island located between Jeju Island and southernmost islet of Marado, known for its idyllic pastoral scenery and annual green barley festival, which attracts some 60,000 visitors.  Gapado (Hyundai Card)Over the years, the island’s population has been in decline, as young people leave in search of jobs. In the 1970s, the island had a population of more than 1,000; today that figure is down to 170, with only about 120 people actually living there, most of them making a living in f

April 16, 2018

Han Kang, Im Heung-soon to collaborate in 2018 Carnegie International

South Korea's internationally acclaimed writer Han Kang and media artist-film director Im Heung-soon will take part in the 2018 Carnegie International, the oldest North American exhibition of contemporary art from around the globe.The two Koreans are on the list of artists participating in the 57th edition of the biennale, announced by the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh on Wednesday (local time)."Carnegie International proposed a collaboration between me and novelist Han Kang," Im told Yon

April 16, 2018

Young Koreans maximize small rooms with cozy interiors

A growing number of Koreans in their 20s and 30s are turning their small studio apartments into cozy nooks. More people are sharing photos of their home interiors on social media platforms, showcasing carefully decorated rooms. A search of the hashtag “ja-chi-bang,” a Korean word for small studio apartments where people live alone, on Instagram found over 180,000 posts. Photos of carefully decorated studio apartments are uploaded on Instagram. (Instagram)The photos depict snug, warmly lit spaces

April 15, 2018

Park Chan-wook among figures penalized in relation to Sewol

Over 100 figures in culture and entertainment sector, including prominent film director Park Chan-wook, had been unlawfully censored or penalized for publicly denouncing irregularities related to 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry.In a report issued on Friday, the government-civilian joint committee to investigate Park Geun-hye administration’s blacklist of cultural figures found that 116 of 1,302 artists and entertainers who publicly decried the Sewol tragedy were either excluded from state suppor

April 15, 2018

[Trending] #HomeCafe #Instagram

Open a bottle, pour the drink into a cup and decorate it with a scoop of ice cream. Videos featuring the three simple steps are now rocking the internet in Korea on the sidelines of current fad “small but certain happiness.”(Read the article:[Trending] #Small but certain happiness #小確幸)The videos are gaining popularity especially on Instagram, as many users share their own process of making a drink at home. Searching “Home cafe” on the social media platform brings up more than 547,000 posts. Mos

April 13, 2018

[Weekender] Why more Koreans are working out at home

Working out at home, often referred to as “home training” in Korea, is rising as a trend among busy modern consumers. Without leaving the comforts of the home, people are able to carry out an extensive workout, proponents say. A wealth of home training videos available online allow those pressed for both money and time to stay fit with less hassle.Along with the fad, there has been a rise in sales of exercise equipment for those opting to break a sweat at home. In January, sales of yoga mats ros

April 13, 2018