Seoul's royal palaces throw open gates for tours

As blossoming flowers herald the arrival of spring, the Cultural Heritage Administration is running several programs related to the royal palaces in Seoul.　Changdeokgung Moonlight Tour, an annual event that kicked off in 2010, will be held from Thursdays through Sundays, from April 5 to the end of May, and from Aug. 23 to Oct. 28. There is no tour on May 6.Nighttime view of Changdeokgung (Cultural Heritage Administration)While visitors can freely roam the palace every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.,

March 28, 2018

Seoul confirms lineup for NK, Psy left off

The South Korean government on Tuesday confirmed the final lineup, size and schedule for its art troupe that will perform in North Korea next month.In a briefing held at the Seoul Government Complex, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism officially announced the lineup of Cho Yong-pil, Lee Sun-hee, Choi Jin-hee, YB led by Yoon Do-hyun, Baek Ji-young, Jung-in, Seohyun, Ali, girl group Red Velvet, Kang San-ae and jazz pianist Kim Kwang-min.Hwang Seong-woon, the spokesman for the Ministry of

March 27, 2018

[Photo News] Abandoned theme park finds ‘second life’ as photo venue

Yongma Land, a closed down theme park in the northern corner of Seoul, has lately seen an influx of visitors coming around to take photos with the battered vintage amusement rides in the background.The place can be eerie on first impression, with deserted rides standing still as if frozen in time. But since the park began to appear in K-pop videos and dramas, it has gained popularity even among foreign travelers. Perhaps the biggest boost the park received was through K-pop group Crayon Pop’s mu

March 23, 2018

[Weekender] Portrait photographs imbued with tradition, history

Photographs have the power to bring back memories associated with subjects presented within their four-sided frames. They can also arouse emotional responses in the viewers.Emotions and memories become -- perhaps -- much stronger when photographs deal with individuals with whom the viewers can relate. That may be why many people take photographs of themselves and of others. Portrait photographs, however, sometimes go beyond a mere representation of people, capturing moments and persona that elic

March 23, 2018

[Weekender] Reading diseases in Joseon portraits

Gazing at portraits created during the Joseon era, one is struck by the extreme delicacy with which the models’ facial features are depicted, from the fine wrinkle lines to tiny spots and faint scars.Lee Sung-nack, a board member at the Kansong Art and Culture Foundation, spotted such sophistication in the centuries-old portrait paintings and suggested that the portraits reflect signs of medical conditions that the subjects may have suffered. A dermatologist and professor who earned a doctoral d

March 23, 2018

[Weekender] Perfect selfie requires more than just luck

A decade ago, the word “selfie” did not even exist, but almost everyone with a smartphone takes such photos these days. In Korea, there is even a word for a person who looks very different in selfies in a good way: “selgikkun.” For instance, Yura of Girls’ Day, who takes excellent photos of herself. “Taking a good selfie takes enormous effort,” Yura said multiple times while starring in the MBC show “We Got Married.” She explained how she takes more than a hundred snaps for one perfect photo. Yu

March 23, 2018

Coex to operate Korea’s largest outdoor screen to feature K-pop content

K-pop videos will soon be streamed on a billboard four times the size of a basketball court in Seoul.SMTown Media Facade, made of curved screens and installed on the outer walls of the SMTown Coex Artium, will start operation Sunday, according to the Korea International Trade Association.SMTown Coex Artium is part of the Coex Convention and Exhibition Center in Gangnam, southern Seoul. The building offers experiences related to S.M. Entertainment stars and the agency.  (Yonhap)The new billboard

March 21, 2018

[Newsmaker] K-pop producer-songwriter to lead S. Korean art troupe to NK

　K-pop music will form the core of a South Korean art troupe’s repertoire when it performs in Pyongyang in April, with a prominent K-pop producer and songwriter to take the helm.　The Ministry of Unification on Sunday named Lee Yun-sang -- a singer-songwriter and producer professionally known as Yun Sang -- as the musical director for the South’s art troupe to Pyongyang. His North Korean counterpart is Hyon Song-wol, the leader of the all-female Moranbong Band. 　Yun Sang will lead the South Korea

March 19, 2018

Monk Haemin’s essay nominated for 2018 British Book Awards

“The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down,” written by South Korean Buddhist monk Haemin, has been nominated for the 2018 British Book Awards.The final shortlist for the awards was announced Friday (local time) by The Bookseller, the organizer of the awards and a British journal specializing in the publishing industry. Haemin’s essay was nominated for lifestyle book of the year. The British edition of “The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down” (Suo Books)Books from seven categories h

March 19, 2018

[Photo News] Holi Hai brings first colors of spring to Geoje

International visitors transformed into a palette of vibrant hues at the Holi Hai Festival of Colors, taking place on Wahyeon Beach in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, Sunday. The eighth annual festival, dubbed the “happiest event” in Korea, celebrates the coming of spring, the joy of friendship and values such as equality, while encouraging harmony between ethnicities and nationalities. The festival is held to mark the Indian end-of-winter festival of Holi, which people celebrate by spattering

March 18, 2018

Brothers dance in two competing ‘Giselle’ productions

Korea’s two leading ballet companies, the Korean National Ballet and the Universal Ballet Company will stage one of the most romantic classic ballet works later this month and in April, respectively.The productions share the same title, but are different in their interpretations. The KNB’s “Giselle” is the 1991 French production staged at the French Opera Ballet by Patrice Bart and Eugene Polyakov. The production is acclaimed for being faithful in its interpretation of Jean Coralli and Jules Per

March 18, 2018

[Trending] #Instagram #socialmedia

R&B singer Dean described Instagram as a “problem (of modern society)” in his latest hit song named after the social media platform, but it seems that the mobile application continues to captivate young Koreans. A survey released by Nas Media on Thursday showed that more than half of the respondents use Instagram, marking a 14.9 percent increase from 2017. The survey was conducted between Dec. 19 and Jan. 3 on 2,000 internet and mobile users in the country. According to the survey, Instagram is

March 17, 2018

[Trending] #SolitaryChatRoom

Don’t speak, just send a picture.Chat rooms with one simple rule, dubbed “solitary chat rooms,” are gaining popularity among young Koreans. Solitary chat rooms are part of the open chat rooms offered by mobile messenger KakaoTalk. Anyone with a KakaoTalk ID can enter the chat room and join the conversation via the open chatting service anonymously. Comedian Park Myung-soo holds a message board saying "Myung-soo pictures only." (Twitter)Each solitary chat room has its own distinctive theme, with

March 13, 2018

Jeonju Hanok Village gets 20 million visitors over 2 years

Jeonju Hanok Village received more than 20 million visitors in the past two years, according to the city government Tuesday.About 10.9 million people were found to have visited the cluster of traditional Korean houses in Jeongju, North Jeolla Province, in 2017. The figure was 10.5 million in the previous year. The data was compiled based on telecommunication records and credit and debit card usage in the village. Jeonju Hanok Village (Yonhap)The age group that made up the most number of visitors

March 13, 2018

[Video] An afternoon in Seoul: Making candles

Subtle scents waft through the air in a tiny alley in Seoul’s northwestern Yeonnam-dong. The source is Yvonne Morgun, an artisan candle shop that offers candle making classes for tourists and locals, and its own line of carefully concocted fragrances.The shop’s owner Lee Myung-seong, who majored in Western painting, infuses every item in the shop with her own sensibility -- a mix of coziness and elegance. Each candle glass, label and fragrance has been tailored by Lee. Dried flowers, embroidered

March 12, 2018

Cherry blossom most soothing among spring flowers: study

The cherry blossom topped the list of spring flowers in generating positive psychological effects, according to the Gangneung-Wonju National University research team. The research team analyzed the impressions and emotions of 40 male and 40 female respondents when they were shown the pictures of forsythia, azalea, Japanese apricot, cherry, magnolia trees with and without the flowers.Respondents were asked to evaluate their impressions from 27 pairs of adjectives such as bright-dark and beautiful

March 12, 2018

[Trending] #Small but certain happiness #小確幸

Ever heard the Korean phrase “sohwakhaeng”? The phrase, which means “small but certain happiness,” is currently trending here and simply refers a small piece of happiness that can be easily found in daily life. The concept of the keywords were first introduced in a 1986 essay by Japanese author Murakami Haruki called “Afternoon in the Islets of Langerhans,” where he described a small piece of happiness as eating a freshly-baked loaf of bread with one’s hands, seeing neatly folded underwear in a

March 11, 2018

[Eye Plus] Gwanghwamun embraces diverse voices of South Korea

Gwanghwamun is the largest main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace in the center of Seoul. Constructed in 1395, the gate was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times over the past several hundred years of history and was finally restored as it is in 2010. In the front of the gate is the Gwanghwamun Square that was redesigned to open to the public in August 2009. The backdrop of the traditional wooden palace and Bukak Mountain on one side and tall modern buildings surrounding the area on the other, Gwanghw

March 9, 2018

[Weekender] Cleaning up life’s clutter

“Spring is the time of plans and projects,” Tolstoy wrote in “Anna Karenina.” For centuries, people have recognized spring as a time of renewal and cleaning up the various parts of life that have fallen into disarray over the past year. The concept of “spring cleaning” is prevalent in many countries, including South Korea. 　In recent years, the idea of decluttering both the physical and psychological aspects of life has emerged as a new lifestyle trend. 　“I had everything I needed, but because I

March 9, 2018

[Weekender] The art of throwing away

My tiny studio apartment found its ideal identity as “home” only after I removed all the unnecessary items.It was at the school library where the idea of throwing away some of my personal belongings came across my mind. The book titled “Living with Less” by Mary Lambert, a decluttering and feng shui consultant in the UK, offered a way to create comfort by getting rid of excessive possessions at home.As I wanted a fresh start for 2018, minimizing the clutter was the perfect shift. Decluttering th

March 9, 2018