[Photo News] Beauty beams in the South Sea

Hallyeohaesang National Marine Park, located in South Gyeongsang Province, is known as one of the most beautiful places in Korea for its captivating scenery.  Along the trail, the ocean water shines like an emerald and various small islands scattered all around are visible to the naked eye.　 Hikers, relieved to finally reach the top of Mount Geumsan, admire the beauty of the South Sea from afar. Vibrant colors fill the scene as the sun sets, making the landscape look even more like a pai

March 20, 2021

Online Korea-UAE Festival to kick off on March 31

South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Culture and Youth will hold the online Korea-UAE Festival from March 31 to April 2. In November 2019, South Korea’s Culture Ministry and the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth held a special meeting during the UNESCO Forum of Ministers of Culture to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. During this meeting, the two countries’ Culture Ministries a

March 20, 2021

[Herald Interview] Erick Oh hopes for Oscar nomination for short animation ‘Opera’

The highly anticipated “Minari” isn’t the only film to watch out for as the announcement of Oscar nominations draws near. Korean director Erick Oh’s “Opera” could also be in the running for best short animation. As Oh awaits the announcement of Oscar nominations on Monday, he shared the creation story behind the film and his journey as an animation director. His unconventional film “Opera,” which won him the Minister’s Award at the 2020 Ko

March 12, 2021

LUXURY TRENDS POST-PANDEMIC

Chairman of Bluebell Korea Daniel Mayran gives a presentation titled “Future of luxury: Post-covid retail trends” during a forum held by the Corea Image Communication Institute on Tuesday at the residence of the Kuwaiti Ambassador Bader Mohammad al-Awadi. Some 20 foreign envoys and opinion leaders, including French Ambassador Philippe Lefort, Egyptian Ambassador Hazem Fahmy, Moroccan Ambassador Chafik Rachadi, Smart Study co-founder Ryan Lee, L‘Oreal Korea President Christian M

March 12, 2021

Busan to host G-Star through 2028

The Korea Association of Games Industry announced on Monday that Busan will continue to host the G-Star gaming exhibition until 2028. G-star is the country’s largest gaming exhibition held annually in November featuring games and developers from around the globe. After kicking off in Seoul in 2005, it relocated to Busan in 2009 and has been held at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center ever since. Previously, K-Games decided the G-Star venue for the upcoming two years and allowed a

March 9, 2021

University of Sheffield students learn Korean with BTS

The Korea Foundation on Thursday said the University of Sheffield in the UK had started an online class using “Learn! Korean with BTS” as its textbook on Feb. 10. This is the first Korean e-lecture series using BTS textbooks launched in the UK. In August last year, the Korea Foundation, K-pop powerhouse Big Hit Entertainment’s education business unit Big Hit Edu and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies joined forces to develop and provide Korean-language learning programs. Th

March 6, 2021

K-pop online concert studio to open at Olympic Park in October

Olympic Park K-Art hall in Songpa-gu, Seoul, will be turned into a venue for online K-pop concerts, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Wednesday. The new studio is scheduled to launch in October. “Contactless online concerts are not an alternative for face-to-face performances. It is a new kind of cultural content. How to create global and differentiated content by combining offline performance and advanced technology is crucial for the development of the future content in

March 3, 2021

KOCCA to plow W14.66b into video content creation

The Korea Creative Content Agency and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday announced a budget of 14.66 billion won ($13 million) to support the local video content industry. The budget, which was increased by around 3 billion won in total compared to last year. The conventional broadcast sector will receive 4.5 billion won in funding. A new subcategory for documentary series has been made this year under this sector. In the short-form sector, 2.15 billion won has been allot

March 2, 2021

[Feature] Ticketing woes plague live performances

As soon as tickets for the Seoul concerts featuring the 10 finalists of the popular audition show “Sing Again’ became available on Feb. 15, over 130,000 people clicked frantically to purchase a ticket. Interpark, the ticketing website, crashed momentarily and within 10 minutes of going on sale, all three days of shows were completely sold out. The audition program was filmed without an audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making the upcoming concerts the first chance for fans to

March 2, 2021

New Culture Minister stresses cultural infrastructure development

Culture Minister Hwang Hee on Thursday said it is important to inject money into developing cultural infrastructure here during a press conference. He raised putting money into renovating 266 local cultural and arts centers, which are currently only being used for small local events or holding training sessions for reserve forces, into a place that artists can actually perform as one of the example projects the ministry is reviewing. “Currently it is difficult to present any performanc

Feb. 25, 2021

KOCCA to invest W22.4b in Korean games

The Korea Creative Content Agency announced a budget of 22.4 billion won ($20 million) to promote the local games industry and produce global game content. The budget, which is a significant increase from last year's 14.7 billion won last year, will be used to fund four different sectors -- general games, functional games, new technology-based games and new market-creating games. The total number of projects to receive funding also increased to 66, from 46 last year.   Of the 22.4 billion

Feb. 24, 2021

Afreeca user apologizes for derogatory content shot in Brazil

Broadcaster Sijosae on livestreaming platform Afreeca apologized in the early hours of Wednesday for videos he uploaded during his trip in Brazil earlier this month. Videos of Sijosae’s trip stoked controversy as Sijosae presented a Brazilian favela in a derogatory light and commented on the appearance of women walking in front of him. He also was criticized for walking around without properly wearing a mask. Brazil is among the countries that has been worst hit by COVID-19. The videos b

Feb. 24, 2021

[Feature] What it’s like to be a comedian YouTuber

With KBS’ “Gag Concert,” the last regular sketch comedy show on a terrestrial broadcaster, coming to an end last year after a 21-year run, and COVID-19 greatly limiting opportunities for onstage performances, last year saw numerous comedians rushing to start their own YouTube channels. “To be honest, it’s sad that many comedy programs have disappeared. ‘Gag Concert’ and ‘People Looking for a Laugh’ among others disappearing is the reason wh

Feb. 22, 2021

[Weekender] 60 is the new 40, literally

Kang, a 65-year-old resident of Gyeonggi Province, had an eye lift surgery three years ago to restore her vision and to give herself a younger appearance before she got any older. “I am very satisfied with the surgery because it made me look younger and more lively. I strongly recommend that my friends get the operation if they want to,” Kang said. “I also have a friend who recently got a face lift surgery to look younger.” Kang and her friend are among the growing num

Feb. 20, 2021

[Newsmaker] SmartStudy CFO shares knowhows behind Baby Shark’s global success

Korean startup SmartStudy co-founder and CFO Lee Seung-gyu on Thursday shared the secrets behind its character Baby Shark’s global success during an event held by Corea Image Communication Institute at the residence of the New Zealand ambassador. SmartStudy is known for its popular animated characters Pinkfong and Baby Shark. Its YouTube channel has more than 8.92 million subscribers. On Nov 2 last year, the Korean startup’s English version of the “Baby Shark Dance” vi

Feb. 19, 2021

Shor in Seoul: The rise of an unusual composer

Composer Alexey Shor may be considered an enigma of sorts, a composer whose relatively late emergence onto the landscape of classical music has been marked by performances of his works at some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and by renowned artists from across the world. This year will see further performances of Shor’s works in locations around the world. Described as neo-romantic and neo-classical, Shor’s works present a penchant for traditional harmony and co

Feb. 18, 2021

Hongdae’s Walking Street looks for new street performers

As the harsh winter season is gradually coming to an end, fresh spots are opening up on the street corners of Hongdae, Seoul, for those who can sing, dance and are ready to perform in front of crowds this coming spring. The Mapo-gu district office’s tourism department said Monday it will begin recruiting artists for the event, “2021 Hongdae Culture Tour - To Hongdae, to culture, and to tourism,” to be held at the Walking Street in the popular district. 　 The categories for th

Feb. 17, 2021

Culture Ministry to use ‘hanji’ for award certificates

Starting this year, award certificates presented by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will be on “hanji,” Korea’s traditional paper handmade from mulberry trees. The purpose is to support the nation’s hanji industry, which is suffering from a lack of demand despite its competitive quality, the ministry announced. The ministry stated on Tuesday that they had established a hanji consultative body in October 2020, with the participation of both central and local

Feb. 16, 2021

New Culture Minister floats rapid virus test to support industry

Visiting theaters in Daehangno Sunday, new Culture Minister Hwang Hee suggested testing audiences with rapid coronavirus tests, as part of measures to prop up the hard-hit sector. Hwang suggested establishing two temporary centers in the art neighborhood for rapid polymerase chain reaction testing, which is currently under review by authorities. If the audiences can be tested right before using the facilities, the theaters would be able to operate without the one-seat-apart social distancing r

Feb. 15, 2021

[Newsmaker] Korean celebrities divided on Clubhouse

With the rise of US social media app Clubhouse, Korean celebrities also quickly hopped on the trend to socialize with their celebrity acquaintances as well as fans. Developed by California-based startup Alpha Exploration, the buzzy app is a new type of social network based on voice. The platform allows users to start and join its unique group chat room. Creators of the room and few others that are chosen by the creators can talk freely in this conversation room, while others listen. These li

Feb. 14, 2021