[Eye interview] Scholar warns Korean youth to avoid passivity

How does an “outsider” become an “insider?” 　By building a house, a palpable demonstration of the determination to belong, discovered Robert J. Fouser, a columnist for The Korea Herald and former Seoul National University associate professor of Korean language education.　Fouser, who made local headlines when he became the first foreign Seoul National University tenure-track professor to teach Korean language education in 2008, was in the limelight again after he bought and renovated an old hanok

April 8, 2016

Korean shamanic ritual documented in photography

Rare photographs that offer a glimpse of shamanic rituals and ceremonies in Korea are currently on view at the National Folk Museum of Korea. The exhibition features some 100 photographs, taken by the late Kim Soo-nam, a photojournalist who devoted more than 30 years to documenting scenes of shamanic rituals in Korea and other Asian countries. The photos reveal scenes of 22 major shamanic rituals that were or have long been practiced in Korea. The photos were culled from a vast archive of some 1

April 6, 2016

From limos to junk, quirky museums tell Beijing's history

BEIJING (AP) -- Stuffed into a tiny room off an alleyway are items that Wang Jinming readily admits were put out with the garbage: Paper string, a needle holder, a metal pancake maker built for thrusting into a fire.　"These objects all look quite old and shabby," he said. "But they record real history."　Wang's Beijing Old Items Exhibition in the heart of old Beijing is one of dozens of private museums that dot the capital’s backstreets and its suburbs. Their collections feature the grand and mun

April 5, 2016

Russia's Hermitage Museum offers help to restore Palmyra

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AFP) -- The director of Russia’s renowned Hermitage Museum, which has an important collection of sculptures from Palmyra, has offered its expertise to help restore the ancient Syrian city retaken by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces from the Islamic State group.　“Restoring Palmyra is the responsibility of all of us,” Mikhail Piotrovsky told AFP, surrounded by displays of tombstones, sculptures and coins from Palmyra at the museum in St. Petersburg.　Following the IS campa

April 5, 2016

Huge Rolling Stones exhibition offers satisfaction for fans

LONDON (AP) -- It’s only rock ‘n’ roll -- but it isn’t, is it? 　The music business is about commerce as well as entertainment, and the Rolling Stones are one of its biggest multinational firms.　There’s plenty of both art and business in “Exhibitionism,” a vast exhibition that covers 1,850 square meters of London’s Saatchi Gallery with five decades of Stones history. 　The more than 500 artifacts, borrowed from the band’s archive and private collectors, include musical instruments, lyrics, sketche

April 5, 2016

Secret Tut chamber? Egypt calls experts to examine evidence

VALLEY OF THE KINGS, Egypt (AP) -- Egypt on Friday invited archaeologists and experts from around the world to examine new data from new, extensive radar scanning conducted on King Tutankhamun's tomb to explore a theory that secret chambers could be hidden behind its walls.　The open invitation to a conference in Cairo in May, issued by the antiquities minister at a news conference just outside the tomb, aims to bring broader scientific rigor to what so far have only been tantalizing clues.　The n

April 3, 2016

Getting some shut-eye at the movies

What do you do when you are desperately in need of a lunchtime nap after a night of burning the midnight oil, or, as the case may be, drinking the night away.　If you work in Yeouido, Seoul's financial hub, and have 10,000 won ($8.70) to spare, you could make a dash for the Yeouido CGV where the movie theater chain transforms its Premium Theater into a cozy sleep nook during lunch hours, Monday through Thursday. The interior of the Premium Theater at Yeouido CGV (CGV)　“Plenty of office workers vi

March 31, 2016

Myanmar pagoda re-clad with gold blocks as devotees look to gain spiritual credit

YANGON (AFP) - Teetering on bamboo scaffolding, expert craftsmen are busy attaching blocks of gold to a Buddhist pagoda in downtown Yangon, burnishing one of the city's major landmarks and racking up spiritual credit for devotees.　The five-yearly renovation at the Sule Pagoda sees the monument shed its weather-damaged frontage. It is re-clad in several hundred solid gold plates -- each costing around $1,100 -- and thousands of squares of gold leaf.　The cost is significant in the impoverished Sou

March 30, 2016

US museum returns 10th century Khmer statue to Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- Cambodia on Monday welcomed home a 10th-century Khmer statue that was looted during the country's civil war before spending the past three decades at an American museum.　The sandstone Torso of Rama statue, which stands 157 centimeters high and is missing its head, arms and feet, was formally handed over at a ceremony in Phnom Penh attended by government officials, the US ambassador and the director of the Denver Museum of Art. Christoph Heinrich, director of the Denv

March 29, 2016

'Very doubtful' Palmyra can be restored after IS: UN expert

PARIS (AFP) - A Syrian expert for the UN‘s cultural body said Monday she was “very doubtful” the destruction caused to Palmyra’s ancient monuments during its occupation by the Islamic State group can be repaired.　“Everyone is excited because Palmyra has been ‘liberated,’ but we should not forget everything that has been destroyed,” said Annie Sartre-Fauriat, who belongs to a group of experts on Syrian heritage set up by UNESCO in 2013. 　“I am very doubtful about the capacity, even with internati

March 29, 2016

[Foreigners Who Loved Korea 14] Hu Zongnan, the “little giant” who helped Korea’s fight

In Korea’s turbulent path toward independence and nation building, there were foreign nationals who stood steadfastly by the Korean people, although their contributions have been largely overshadowed by those of Korean patriots. The Korea Herald, in partnership with the Independence Hall of Korea, is publishing a series of articles shedding light on these foreigners, their life and legacies here. This is the 14th installment. -- Ed.Hu Zongnan was born on May 12, 1896 to a poor household in Zhenh

March 28, 2016

Palmyra ruins generally 'in good shape': Syria antiquities chief

DAMASCUS (AFP) -- Ancient artifacts in the city of Palmyra are in much better shape than expected, Syria's antiquities chief said Sunday after regime forces recaptured the desert oasis from the Islamic State group. 　Antiquities director Maamoun Abdulkarim said much of Palmyra’s old city was intact and his department would try to restore relics destroyed during the jihadists' nearly year-long rule over the city. A general view shows the remains of the entrance to the iconic Temple of Bel that was

March 28, 2016

Has France finally reclaimed Joan of Arc's ring?

ROUEN, France (AFP) - A ring thought to belong to France's most famous historical martyr, Joan of Arc, was unveiled on Sunday at a theme park, even as historians remained sceptical about its authenticity.　The Puy du Fou historical theme park in the western Vendee region spent 376,833 euros ($425,000) to buy the ring, which is thought to have been in Britain for almost six centuries, at a controversial auction last month in London. 　The gold-plated silver ring was dated to the 15th century by an

March 24, 2016

French culture bash in Korea

French culture will be celebrated in Korea throughout 2016, as the year marks the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France.　“The Korea-France Year invites citizens to the cultural journey of France. French people had a chance to experience Korean culture last year at many cultural events that started with (the) Jongmyo Jeryeak performance and the light performance at Eiffel Tower,” said Henri Loyrette, head of the French organizing committee of the Korea-France Year at

March 23, 2016

Itching to graffiti? Do it digitally on Florence treasures

FLORENCE, Italy (AFP) - The days of scribbling “I woz here” on Florence’s historic monuments are gone: would-be vandals will now be able to graffiti via app instead, with their messages kept for posterity.　“Welcome to Giotto’s Campanile!” reads a message on a digital tablet for visitors scaling the Gothic white, green and pink marble tower by the famed Italian architect, which stands at one corner of the Cathedral in the Tuscan city.　“We have been protecting masterpieces for centuries: starting

March 23, 2016