The Korea Herald

Seoul city announces hanok construction subsidy standards

The Seoul city government announced a set of guidelines on providing subsidies for the construction of Korean traditional houses Thursday amid efforts to preserve such buildings in the city.According to the new guidelines set up by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, those who erect new hanok, or Korean traditional accommodations, can receive up to 100 million won ($86,700), including 20 million won in special loans. If they are built within the special zones designated for the conservation of ha

June 9, 2016

US returns precious artifacts to India

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States returned more than 200 precious artifacts to India on Monday in a ceremony with visiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Justice Department said.The items included religious statues, bronzes and terra-cotta pieces -- some of them 2,000 years old -- which were recovered in an operation involving several US government agencies. “The United States is committed to ensuring that no nation is robbed of the objects that inform its identity, shape its traditions a

June 8, 2016

Saudi to showcase arts in reform drive

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) -- Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it plans to showcase the arts and grow its media industry to counter negative stereotypes of the kingdom, whose rights record is regularly criticized abroad.The initiatives are part of the wide-ranging National Transformation Program which sets targets for diversifying the oil-dependent economy.“The intention also is to transform the society,” Culture and Information Minister Adel al-Turaifi told reporters on the sidelines of a briefing

June 8, 2016

Gwangju World Web Contents Fest to highlight emerging online content

Online videos are rapidly evolving into independent cultural content covering topics ranging from beauty, food and online games to news, increasingly replacing conventional media. 　In line with such trends, a festival shedding light on emerging Web-based content will be held from June 23-26 in Gwangju, inviting some of the most popular YouTube channel content creators. 　“Web-based content has been expanding to the point where it challenges existing traditional media such as television programs,

June 7, 2016

Gwangju World Web Contents Fest to highlight emerging online content

[Weekender] Green rooftops brighten Seoul skyline

Seo Jin-kyung, 33, frequently visits Seoul Library’s Sky Yard, a rooftop garden located by the cafe on the fifth floor, where the panoramic view of the country’s capital city refreshes her.　Upon opening the glass door at one side of the cafe, a green space filled with various types of hibiscus syriacus – the national flower of South Korea –- and wooden benches under a blue sky welcome visitors. 　“I tend to relax with a cup of tea or talk on the phone here when I study at Seoul Library. I think i

June 3, 2016

[Weekender] Green rooftops brighten Seoul skyline

[Weekender] Creating the ultimate skyline garden paradise

As a major urban city, Seoul’s dense quarters leave little space for those with green thumbs to enjoy the relaxing pleasures of gardening within the confines of one’s home. However, one of the latest trends in combating Seoul’s lack of space is to utilize one’s rooftop. There are an increasing number of private homes independently creating their own rooftop Gardens of Eden, separate from the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s “Rooftop Greening Project” that seeks to revitalize public and private ro

June 3, 2016

[Weekender] Creating the ultimate skyline garden paradise

[Weekender] Rooftop beekeepers reconnect city with nature

The greening of rooftops in Seoul does not just benefit people, it provides the chance to protect a species threatened by humans – the honey bees. 　The growing number of rooftop gardens and farms is an opportunity to strengthen the city’s ecosystem by protecting the habitats of honey bees, said Park Jin, the founder of the social enterprise Urban Bees Seoul, which was established in 2013. He was speaking to The Korea Herald at the rooftop of the UNESCO House in Myeong-dong where several apiaries

June 3, 2016

[Weekender] Rooftop beekeepers reconnect city with nature

[Weekender] Growing crops on rooftops

Rows of carrots, onions, lettuce and herbs stretch across the 198-square-meter concrete rooftop of a typical four-story office building, against a backdrop of high-rise apartment blocks. 　The sight surprised 35-year-old Park Hyun-ho when he discovered it near his multistory residential building in one of the most densely populated areas of Mapo-gu, Seoul. The farm is run by Pajeori, a nonprofit organization registered with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. 　“Farming in Seoul is an unusual thing

June 3, 2016

Kim Hee-sun becomes first Korean to win Helsinki ballet competition

Kim Hee-sun has become the first South Korean to win the Helsinki International Ballet Competition, the contest's website showed Friday.The 24-year-old captured the Jane Erkko Grand Prix, which is the top award for women aged 20-25, on Friday, according to the website.Kim joined the Korean National Ballet last year and has been part of its corps de ballet, or dancers who only perform in groups.Previously, Hwang Hye-min, a principal with South Korea's Universal Ballet, tied for second place at th

June 3, 2016

Queen Elizabeth cherishes memory of traditional Korean birthday party: envoy

Queen Elizabeth II has said she cherishes the memory of a traditional Korean birthday party that was thrown for her during her visit to South Korea in 1999, South Korea's top envoy in London said Thursday.South Korean Ambassador to Britain Hwang Joon-kook said the queen made the remark when he presented his credentials to her at Buckingham Palace the previous day.During the queen's tour of the Hahoe Village in the city of Andong, southeastern South Korea, villagers prepared a party with a tradit

June 3, 2016

Suwon Hwaseong Fortress Cultural Festival to open in October

An annual cultural festival at Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO-designated cultural heritage site, is set to return to the city of Suwon, just south of Seoul, this fall to be culminated by a full-scale reenactment of a filial monarch's pilgrimage to his father's tomb, the Suwon municipal government said Thursday.The 53rd Suwon Hwaseong Fortress Cultural Festival, which will open on Oct. 7 for a three-day run, is held in celebration of the 220th anniversary of the fortress' construction. King Jeongjo,

June 2, 2016

Syrian regime troops looting Palmyra: German expert

BERLIN (AFP) -- A leading German cultural heritage expert on Wednesday charged that Syrian regime troops are looting the ancient city of Palmyra like the Islamic State jihadists who controlled it until March.Archaeologist Hermann Parzinger, head of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, was speaking on the eve of a two-day Berlin conference on ways to protect heritage sites in war-ravaged Syria.Speaking to media, Parzinger said that Syrian troops, when they are off-duty, “are conducting ille

June 2, 2016

Korean culture under spotlight during K-Culture Week in France

A variety of events that highlight Korean traditional and contemporary culture, ranging from traditional dance to K-pop, are taking place this month in France.　“K-Culture Week,” from June 1-7, was designated by the Korean and French governments. Its highlights include dance performances, exhibitions, food events and a literature event. Dancers perform at the biennial French dance competition Danse Elargie. (2015-16 Korea-France Year)　It seeks to boost the ongoing two-year-long series of cultura

June 2, 2016

Korean culture under spotlight during K-Culture Week in France

Proust‘s personal archives sell at auction for $1.3m

PARIS (AFP) - Intimate letters, personal photographs and rare manuscripts that once belonged to French writer Marcel Proust have sold at auction for 1.2 million euros ($1.3 million).The sale at Sotheby‘s in Paris on Tuesday far exceeded expert estimates for the collection of 520,000 to 740,000 euros. The trove of about 120 documents was sold by the writer’s 41-year-old great-grand-niece Patricia Mante-Proust and included a hand-corrected proof of one of Proust’s well-known works.The collection a

June 2, 2016

Proust‘s personal archives sell at auction for $1.3m

Britain‘s oldest hand-dated document found in Roman trove

LONDON (AFP) -- The earliest dated handwritten document from Britain has been unearthed in the heart of London, archeologists announced Wednesday, among a trove of Roman writing tablets revealing the city’s commerce-driven beginnings.The wooden tablet, a notice of debt owed dated Jan. 8, 57 -- less than 14 years after the Roman invasion of 43 -- was found deep beneath what is now the City of London financial hub.The 405 tablets also contained the earliest surviving written reference to London.Th

June 2, 2016

Britain‘s oldest hand-dated document found in Roman trove

KCON France to kick off amid diplomatic anticipation

The world's largest K-pop festival will kick off in Paris, its first European destination, on Thursday with South Korean President Park Geun-hye attending.The line-up for KCON France includes the likes of Bangtan Boys, Block B, SHINee, F.T. Island, f(x) and I.O.I, CJ E&M, a South Korean entertainment company, said. I.O.I is a girl group created from cult reality series "Produce 101," which narrowed 101 candidates down to 11 finalists who now comprise the act.Park, who is in France to celebrate t

June 2, 2016

Anthropologist follows trail of century-old hobo graffiti

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Anthropologist Susan Phillips had spent a career examining the graffiti that covers urban walls, bridges and freeway overpasses. But when she came across an unrecognizable collection made not of spray paint but substances like grease pencil and apparently left there for a century, she was stunned. Phillips had uncovered a peculiar, almost extinct form of American hieroglyphics known as hobo graffiti, the treasure trove discovered under a nondescript, 103-year-old bridge spann

June 1, 2016

Anthropologist follows trail of century-old hobo graffiti

Christie's fined over elephant ivory sale

LONDON (AFP) - Christie's auction house has been fined 3,250 pounds ($4,770) for selling a piece of elephant ivory without the correct documentation, London police said Tuesday.The silver-mounted tusk, put up for auction last year, did not have the right documentation under wildlife protection laws, a police statement said.A representative for the auction house pleaded guilty in London to selling the ivory, in contravention of an article in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Spe

June 1, 2016

Seoul to provide 180 mln won on renovation of 'hanok'

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday it will provide up to 180 million won ($151,200) worth of subsidies for the renovation of traditional houses, in line with its bid to preserve traditional buildings remaining in the city.The announcement came as Seoul designated 550,000 square meters of area in five districts, including Bukchon and Seochon, two of the oldest neighborhoods in the capital, as special zones for the conservation of hanok, or traditional-style housing.The houses in the

June 1, 2016

A palace walk with Hamlet, Jeongjo

In honor of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, Changdeokgung Palace opened its doors to a Hamlet-inspired Secret Garden tour on Sunday.“A Walk with Hamlet and Jeongjo,” a tour that is part of the annual series of performances of traditional music in Seoul’s royal palaces, features a recitation of the Shakespearean tragedy “Hamlet.” On Sunday, visitors listened to excerpts from “Hamlet” in unison with the tale of King Jeongjo while taking a brisk morning walk in Changdeokgung P

May 31, 2016