Around the hotels

Hong Kong cuisine at Sheraton Incheon HotelSheraton Incheon Hotel’s traditional Chinese restaurant YUE is presenting authentic Hong Kong cuisine from March 13 to 22. Two chefs have been invited from Jockey Club, one of the most prestigious social clubs in Hong Kong, for this special promotion. Chef Lap Sun Chan is currently associated with Cook-Po Chun Kitchen and won the silver award in the vegetable category of the 2011 Best of the Best Culinary Awards. Chef Kam Ho Lee is a highly renowned mas

Feb. 27, 2015

Yeol to offer English lectures on Korean art, culture, history

The Korean Heritage Preservation Society, Yeol, will be presenting an English-language lecture series this year, delving into Korean art, culture and history. The series will deal with subjects ranging from traditional music to K-pop, the Korean War, North Korean films, folktales and Buddhist sculpture. They will feature distinguished scholars and experts in the relevant fields. The next lecture will be given at 11:30 a.m. on March 9 by Bak Sang-mee, professor of cultural anthropology at Hankuk

Feb. 25, 2015

Highbrow arts take to the screen

Great news for local Benedict Cumberbatch fans: The 2011 British National Theatre production of “Frankenstein,” in which the “Sherlock Holmes” star played the titular role of a hideous creature, is currently playing here. The original production never came to Korea, but instead will appear on the silver screen. As part of National Theater Live series, The National Theater of Korea is screening the award-winning play ― written by British playwright Nick Dear and produced by Academy Award-winning

Feb. 17, 2015

Kim Seong-kon gets 2nd term as LTI Korea head

Kim Seong-kon, the incumbent president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, has been tapped to serve a second term at the state-run institution, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Tuesday. The ministry endorsed Kim, 66, for his efforts to spread Korean literature abroad through publishing Korean literature in translation in many countries and expanding the curriculum at LTI Korea Translation Academy to nurture native-speaker translators.  “I hope Kim will spearhead the

Feb. 17, 2015

Park Hyo-shin to star as Phantom

Singer Park Hyo-shin will star as the Phantom, a mysterious, disfigured musical genius living in the dark cellars of a Paris opera house, in an upcoming production of a musical based on Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel “Phantom of the Opera.” A Seoul-based EMK Musical Company production, the American musical “Phantom” will premiere in Korea on April 28, with Park sharing the lead role with veteran musical actor Ryu Jung-han and pop-opera singer and musical actor KAI. Park became one of the most sought

Feb. 16, 2015

Korea leads world in hotel Wi-Fi: study

South Korea has the highest percentage of hotels that offer quality wireless Internet, according to a study released last month by Hotel Wi-Fi Test, a company that collects and analyzes hotel Wi-Fi data from around the world. With 92 percent in Wi-Fi quality, South Korea topped the list by a healthy margin of 7.1 percentage points. Japan came in second with 84.9 percent. In third and fourth places were Ukraine and Switzerland, with 82.1 percent and 79.8 percent, respectively. The study assessed

Feb. 15, 2015

[Weekender] Get in the mood for Seollal

Seollal, or the Lunar New Year, is one of the few times in Korea when tradition comes out from behind its ultramodern facade and to the fore. During the holiday, which this year falls on Feb. 18-20, most Koreans rekindle with distant family members and pay respects to one’s ancestors through “charye,” offering up a table full of food on the first morning of the New Year. Koreans and foreigners exchange Lunar New Year greetings. (The Korea Herald)Aside from the ancestral rite, one of the most com

Feb. 13, 2015

[Weekender] Celebrating holiday with tradition

The Lunar New Year holiday is a great opportunity for locals and expats to experience traditional Korean activities. For those who are at a loss for how to spend these five days off, we suggest you take advantage of the various holiday promotions being offered at cultural sites around Korea. The National Gugak Center’s folk music group giving a “pangut” percussion performance (National Gugak Center)Palaces, tombs and games On Feb. 19, Lunar New Year’s Day, the Cultural Heritage Administration wi

Feb. 13, 2015

‘The top person must want change’

“Sorry seems to be the hardest word,” crooned singer Elton John; “Hard to say I’m sorry,” belted rock group Chicago ― indeed, the word “sorry” appears to be a difficult word to utter, so caught up are we in not wanting to appear weak.However, according to Kim Hoh, founder and head coach of THE LAB h who specializes in crisis management and communication, “sorry” is the word of the strong.  Kim Hoh (sixth from right) conducts a workshop at Hyundai Card last year. (THE LAB h)“People think apology

Feb. 13, 2015

Highlights: Theatre, Dance, Exhibition, Pop Music, Festivals

Theater“Heavy Metal Girls”: Joo-young, Eun-joo, Jung-min and Boo-jin are all 40-year-old women working at the same small company. When they all face a possibility of layoff, they decide to learn heavy metal, to impress their new boss who is a heavy metal fanatic. “Heavy Metal Girls” runs through March 1 at Yegreen Theatre in Daehangno, Seoul. Tickets are priced at 20,000 won and 30,000 won. For more information, call (02) 744-7090.“The Best in Tragedy”: The play centers on the playwright and Nob

Feb. 13, 2015

Sejong arts center appoints new CEO

Lee Seung-yeop, art management professor of Korea National University of Arts, has been appointed head of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts this week.  Lee Seung-yeop, CEO of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. (Sejong Center for the Performing Arts)Lee, 53, began his three-year term on Thursday with a goal to make the arts center an accessible and friendly place for Seoul citizens. “I will promote the brand value of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts so that it can be the

Feb. 13, 2015

‘We should be more proud of our history’

CHEONAN, South Chungcheong Province ― In the spacious, multibuilding history museum Independence Hall of Korea, there is a prominent spot dedicated to Yun Bong-gil, hailed as a national hero who willingly sacrificed his life to protest Japan’s colonial rule of Korea. Yun Ju-keyng, granddaughter of independence fighter Yun Bong-gil and president of the Independence Hall of Korea (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)The museum’s president, Yun Ju-keyng, has passed it numerous times, and every time it n

Feb. 6, 2015

Highlights

TheaterCast members rehearse for the play “The Best in Tragedy.” (Bananamoon)“The Best in Tragedy”: The play centers on the playwright and Nobel laureate Goh Il-bong, who has devoted his entire life to writing tragedies. But what he does not realize is that while he is writing a masterpiece on life and death, his wife is slowly dying. “The Best in Tragedy,” which raises questions about the meaning of life, tragedy and time, runs through Feb. 21 at the Byeoloreum Theater of the National Theater o

Feb. 6, 2015

Ahn Jung-geun musical to be staged in Harbin

An original Korean musical about independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun will greet audiences in the Chinese city of Harbin, the show’s producer said Thursday. Harbin is where the Korean man shot dead a prominent Japanese statesman more than 100 years ago to protest the then-imperialistic country’s colonization of Korea.  A scene from the musical “Hero.” (Acom International)“Hero” will be staged three times at the 1,600-seat Global Theatre of the Harbin International Convention Center on Feb. 7 and 8

Feb. 5, 2015

Books as new breed of hallyu

With its roots in Korean TV dramas and pop music, the Korean Wave, or hallyu, has generated great interest in Korean culture. Now, the country wants to take this chance to present other cultural areas, including publications, to the world.  Kim Seong-kon, president of the LTI Korea, speaks during the business information session held for the publications industry in Seoul on Wednesday. (LTI Korea)The roadmap for the development of the local publication industry, unveiled Wednesday by the Ministr

Feb. 5, 2015

Michelangelo’s last surviving bronzes ‘identified in Britain’

LONDON, (AFP) ― The only two surviving bronzes by Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo are thought to have been identified with the help of a tiny clue in a 500-year-old sketch, British researchers said Monday.The bronzes, “Bacchants Riding On Panthers,” date from 1506-08 and show a muscular pair of nude male revelers, arms raised in triumph to the sky, astride snarling panthers. One of two bronze statues named “Bacchants Riding on Panthers,” thought to be by Italian Renaissance master Michel

Feb. 3, 2015

Myanmar coffee scene fueled by middle class caffeine high

YANGON (AFP) ― Behind a wooden counter in downtown Yangon’s Coffee Club, the unmistakable hiss of a barista steaming milk briefly drowns out a funky soundtrack piped through a store filled with students glued to their smartphones.In any other Asian capital it would be a ubiquitous sight. But in Yangon, this is something new.Long absent from the region’s booming cafe culture, Myanmar’s commercial capital is now witnessing a surge in swish coffee bars providing an alternative to the treacly instan

Feb. 2, 2015

A million rare documents damaged in Moscow library blaze

MOSCOW (AFP) ― A fire that ripped through one of Russia’s largest university libraries is believed to have damaged over one million historic documents, with some describing the fire as a cultural “Chernobyl.”The blaze, which started Friday and was still not completely out on Saturday evening, ravaged 2,000 square meters of the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences in Moscow, which was created in 1918 and holds 10 million documents with some dating back to the 16th century.  Fire

Feb. 1, 2015