Next administration should create single gov’t body focused on media: seminar

Experts called for the creation of a government organization specializing in media, during a seminar on media credibility, held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul on Wednesday.“In the future, a media-related government body needs to form a policy frame aimed at strengthening the public function of news media such as newspapers, broadcast news and online outlets, and a support system to develop (media) into a competitive industry,” said Kim Dong-kyu, Dean of Konkuk University’s Graduate School of

April 13, 2017

Gangwon Province to share local culture

(The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Folk Museum of Korea will collaborate on a special exhibition to celebrate the 300 days that are left until the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Through the exhibition “Spring Picnic – Mountain, Flower and Food,” the ministry plans to introduce Gangwon Province’s food, nature and culture.The exhibition consists of three sections, “Mountain,” “Flower” and “Food.” In the “Mountain” space, vis

April 12, 2017

Seoul to create ‘World Traditional Culture’ street

Seoul will transform a street in front of Dongdaemun Design Plaza into a “World Traditional Culture” venue on the third Sunday of each month. Called “Walking in the middle of Hallyu: K-Culture Festival,” various cultural fairs will be held on the 310-meter street from this week. Seoul police will ban vehicles from the street that stretches from the crossroad in front of DDP to Doosan Tower between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. The special events are to run through October, barring July and August when the w

April 12, 2017

Library celebrates Yoon Dong-ju’s 100th anniversary

Namsan Library in Seoul plans to hold cultural events to celebrate the 100th anniversary of poet Yoon Dong-ju’s birth. Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said Tuesday that book concerts, exhibitions and lectures will be placed in the library until the end of May. The library plans to hold a book event titled “Meet Dongju” on Saturday. Professor Kim Eung-kyo of Sookmyung Women’s University will recite Yoon’s poems. Music will be played along with the performance. Kim will also give a lecture

April 11, 2017

Two years after UNESCO listing, tug-of-war game faces new challenges

DANGJIN, South Chungcheong Province -- On Sunday, the sprawling yard behind the Gijisi Juldarigi Museum was packed with residents of the city of Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, all engaged in a joint effort to achieve one goal: to pull a gigantic 1-meter-wide, 200-meter-long, 40-metric ton rope into place for a game of tug-of-war.Bits of straw filled the air along with the shouts of festivalgoers, from children to the elderly, anticipating the 500-year-old event about to take place. The Gij

April 11, 2017

Photo of missing 15th century book on Hangul released　

An independent candidate running in a regional by-election revealed a photo of what he claims is a centuries-old instruction book for Hangul, deemed missing since 2008.Bae Ik-gi is running for the National Assembly seat for Sangju, Gunwi, Uiseong and Cheongsong regions in Wednesday’s election.　Bae, a self-claimed scholar and collector of old books, released a photo of what he claims is the Sangju edition of the Hunminjeongeum Haerye, an instruction book on Hangul, the Korean alphabet, published

April 10, 2017

Why hospitality students head to Switzerland

MONTREUX, Switzerland -- Park Sung-eun is a Korean student studying hotel management in Neuchatel, a quaint Swiss town whose medieval architecture has been untouched for centuries by war or renovation. She wakes up in a dorm room decorated like a hotel room, located within the International Hotel and Tourism Training Institute.“I love talking to people,” she said, which is why Park wanted to pursue an “interactive” profession in a field where she could at once hone her foreign language skills an

April 4, 2017

[Seoul Saunter] Webtoon characters liven up streets

Seoul is a vibrant megalopolis with modern high-rises crowding the city’s major arteries. Nestled among the gleaming buildings are maze-like alleys that appear to have escaped the passage of time. The Korea Herald explores the many nooks and crannies of Seoul, proclaimed the capital of Joseon in 1392, that reveal a multifaceted city. -- Ed. Murals line the Kang Full Cartoon Alley in Seongnae-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, in these photos taken Wednesday. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)On the wall of

April 3, 2017

Van Hove asks, ‘idealism or practicality?’ via ‘The Fountainhead’

To pursue what one believes in or to compromise is a question that ails nearly every soul, but this question can be even more pressing for someone walking down the path of art.Such a dilemma is what Howard Roark -- protagonist of novel-turned-play “The Fountainhead” -- confronts as the young architect refusing to compromise his artistic and personal vision for worldly success.According to Ivo van Hove, director of the acclaimed drama, this theme was the main motivation in producing a theatrical

March 30, 2017

Political satire on SNL returns after Park’s fall

The new season of “Saturday Night Live Korea” launched Saturday with the tvN comedy show poking fun at the political situation involving ex-President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil.The return of blatant satire to the show -- which at one point had resorted to relying mostly on sexual innuendo -- is a reminder that the Park administration’s controlling hand over pop culture is no more.In one sketch on Saturday, actor Kim Min-kyo dressed up as the imprisoned Choi. His character was

March 26, 2017

Gender-bending fashion on Tokyo runway bang on trend

TOKYO, (AFP) -- If gender bending fashion is suddenly all the rage in the West, think Pharrell Williams promoting Chanel’s new unisex handbag, then nowhere has the look excelled more than in Tokyo.Japan, for decades a pioneer of the androgynous look in the style of Comme des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto and Kenzo, is spawning young designers blurring the lines expertly between masculine and feminine.Genderless-looking boys are gaining traction in fashion circles and on the streets of Tokyo -- gay but

March 25, 2017

[Weekender] Lifelong learning takes first step in Korea

About 40 percent of South Korean adults aged under 70 have received college-level or higher education, according to a recent report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.The figure is far above the OECD average of 30 percent.The Paris-based organization also said its 34 member countries (currently 35) posted 40.8 percent in the proportion of adults that had participated in various types of lifelong learning such as not-for-credit courses by universities, lessons at priva

March 24, 2017

Poland’s WWII museum opens amid an uncertain future

WARSAW (AP) -- A major World War II museum opened in northern Poland on Thursday amid plans by the conservative government to change its content to fit the government’s nationalist views.The Museum of the World War II in Gdansk is at the center of a standoff between the historians creating it and Poland’s populist government, which is seeking a court order to have it closed and then wants to reshape its current multi-national focus.The museum was initiated in 2008 by then-Prime Minister Donald T

March 24, 2017

[Seoul Saunter] Odd but pleasant mix of past, present in Ikseon-dong

Seoul is a vibrant megalopolis with modern high rises crowding the city’s major arteries. Nestled among the gleaming buildings are maze-like alleys that appear to have escaped the passage of time. The Korea Herald explores the many nooks and crannies of Seoul, proclaimed the capital of Joseon in 1392, that reveal a multifaceted city. -- Ed. Walking out of the Jongno 3-ga Station in central Seoul, you will find vibrant streets of jewelry shops, tourists, couples on dates, street vendors and movie

March 20, 2017

MMCA opens its shopping bag

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea is showcasing its shopping bag, exhibiting a selection of its purchases and acquisitions from 2013 to 2016 at its Seoul branch. The title of the exhibition, “Samramansang: From KIM Whanki to Yang Fudong,” is appropriated from New York-based Kang Ik-joong’s “Saramansang,” which stands majestic at the entrance of the show. It is apt as “samramansang” can be interpreted as “all things and phenomena of the universe” and can hence be taken to

March 19, 2017

[Weekender] Minimalist lifestyle: Detoxing mind and body

Being a minimalist is confined not only to reducing the possessions of material things but giving up on unnecessary and superficial social relationships in life, according to an author who wrote a book in Korean about how to live a minimalist life and take care of domestic work.“Having deep relations with two people is more comfortable and (psychologically) healthier than having superficial relations with 10 people. Because you don’t say much and say only necessary things to a person you deeply

March 17, 2017

Comedy or politics? No need to pick in today's TV

The political scandal of former President Park Geun-hye, rooted in her decades-long relationship with her confidante Choi Soon-sil, is one of the biggest, if not strangest, in modern Korean history. It's also too good a topic for TV networks to just pass up.But it's one thing for network executives to order new shows that deal with the latest politics. It's another for showrunners to take the inside minutia of politics and actually make it interesting and engaging, not just for political junkies

March 11, 2017

Culture Ministry pushes for ‘anti-blacklist’ bill

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Thursday vowed to push for legislation that would protect artists from discrimination, including political oppression, as part of its follow-up measure aimed at preventing the government from drawing up a blacklist of cultural figures.Investigation of the corruption and influence-peddling scandal involving President Park Geun-hye and her confidante Choi Soon-sil has revealed that the ministry kept a list of artists who were to be excluded from recei

March 9, 2017