[Video] Celebrating the birth of Korea’s alphabet

  South Korea celebrates the 574th Hangeul Day on Oct. 9, commemorating the creation of the Korean alphabet. Hangeul is the writing system for the Korean language, consisting of 24 letters. King Sejong of the Joseon era led the invention of the easy-to-learn writing system with a group of talented scholars in order to promote the literacy level of the general populace. The official Hangeul system was promulgated in 1446. Hangeul Day was inaugurated in the 1920s by several scholars when

Oct. 8, 2020

Royal Culture Festival leverages BTS’ popularity

The sixth Royal Culture Festival will kick off Saturday at 7 p.m. at Gyeongbokgung’s famous venue for state banquets during the Joseon era (1392-1910). “For this year’s festival, we prepared a performance at Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, a place that drew global attention after the BTS performance for … ‘The Tonight Show,’” Na Myeong-ha, a Cultural Heritage Administration official, said Wednesday during a press conference at the palace. The opening performa

Oct. 7, 2020

Culture Ministry publishes guide book on translation of Korean words

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and its affiliate agency the National Institute of Korean Language on Wednesday jointly published a 29-page guide book on translation of widely used Korean words. The publication comes after the ministry published guidelines on the translation of Korean words that often cause confusion due to the absence of clear standards on July 15. The book provides a translation guide for three languages -- English, Chinese and Japanese — and mainly conta

Oct. 7, 2020

Desperate nightclubs sell T-shirts as pandemic losses mount

If you see people wearing T-shirts with Cakeshop designs on them, they are more likely to be supporting a nightclub in Itaewon than expressing their love for desserts. Struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic, nightclubs in Korea are selling T-shirts and other goods. Cakeshop is one such nightclub, selling goods through crowdfunding platform Tumblbug. "We approached several cultural spaces which have been suffering due to the coronavirus to jointly find a possible solution to sust

Oct. 6, 2020

Middlebury College students learn Korean with BTS

The Korea Foundation on Tuesday said that it has launched a lecture series using ‘Learn! KOREAN with BTS’ at Middlebury College, a liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont that is known for its foreign language programs. In August, the KF, K-pop powerhouse Big Hit Entertainment’s education business unit Big Hit Edu and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies announced that they were working together to develop and provide Korean language learning programs. The e-school lectu

Oct. 6, 2020

Launching the ‘Why Jameson Highball?’ campaign

Pernod Ricard Korea said its new campaign to promote its blended Irish whiskey Jameson comes at a time when people are seeking connection with a small group of close friends in their own emotional and inspirational way. Dubbing it “Why Jameson Highball?” the company wants to tap into the growing sentiment by offering an approachable way of enjoying whiskey, namely in the form of a highball, which is made by mixing whiskey with soda water or ginger ale. “Genuine connection an

Oct. 5, 2020

Bond and connect: Three artists relate over highballs

It is an unlikely collaboration, yet it makes so much sense. They all work in different disciplines of art, but each is the epitome of things that are trendy, unpretentious and free-spirited. Pop art artist Jackson Shim, four-piece indie band Adoy and choreographer J Black have taken on the role as ambassadors for Pernod Ricard Korea’s new social media campaign “Why Jameson Highball?” The three shared in an interview with The Korea Herald why they chose to work with Jameson

Oct. 5, 2020

Events to mark Hangeul Day to be held at Korean Cultural Centers worldwide

A wide range of events will be held at 32 Korean Cultural Centers located in 27 countries to mark the 574th Hangeul Day on Oct. 9. the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korean Culture and Information Service announced Monday. Hangeul is the writing system for the Korean language, consisting of 24 letters. King Sejong the Great (1397-1450) led the invention with a team of scholars and Hangeul was promulgated in 1446. “Through holding these events to commemorate Hangeul Day, we

Oct. 5, 2020

Tech-fueled traditional activities for Chuseok holidays

State-run cultural facilities reopened Monday following a monthlong shutdown, but COVID-19 threats still exist. To safely indulge in holiday traditions during the Chuseok holidays, virtual visits to cultural sites are an option. For families with young children, who may be uncomfortable with the idea of visiting crowded places, some royal palaces are available online, enhanced with the latest technologies - from virtual reality to augmented reality -- offering users a more interactive experienc

Oct. 1, 2020

Korean culture festival to kick off virtually next month

An inaugural Korean culture festival will kick off next month to give people from all over the world chances to enjoy Korean cultural heritage and modern trends in a virtual way, the culture ministry said Thursday. The first edition of the 2020 K-Culture Festival will be held online from Oct. 10-Nov. 11, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Led by the ministry and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), the newly launched event was designed to p

Oct. 1, 2020

Pandemic deepens generational conflict surrounding Chuseok

As the prolonged pandemic continues into late September, Chuseok -- South Korea’s major traditional holiday -- has become a thorny issue for some families, igniting a generational conflict over whether to have family reunions during the holiday. “I feel reluctant to have a family gathering at this pandemic time, and I am particularly worried about my 3-month-old baby,” one post in an online community reads. “What are you all going to do during Chuseok this year? I don&r

Sept. 30, 2020

[Video] Koreans welcome Chuseok with new flavors of songpyeon

Millions of people in South Korea are set to drive for hours to reunite with their family members for Chuseok, one of the country’s biggest annual celebrations. Chuseok, also referred to as “Hangawi,” falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which starts Wednesday and lasts through Sunday this year. Koreans also perform ancestral commemoration rites to honor the year‘s harvest as part of the festival. The time of celebrations and togetherness features a f

Sept. 29, 2020

National Museum of Korea reopens with extended schedule for largest-ever show of national treasures

The National Museum of Korea’s “The New National Treasures of Korea” exhibition has been extended for two weeks. The largest-ever show of national treasures opened on July 22 and will now be shown through Oct. 11. The new schedule was announced on Friday along with the Sept. 28 reopening of the facility. The exhibition organizer explained that it decided to extend the exhibition‘s run as not many people had an opportunity to enjoy the show because the museum was shut

Sept. 27, 2020

Are webtoons uniquely prone to offend?

Although webtoons shown on major portal sites have been popular for almost two decades, they have never been subjected to as much criticism as they are getting now. Controversy over webtoon content has been especially heated since August, when popular webtoon author Kian84 uploaded an episode that was criticized by fans. The most recent controversy occurred Sept. 18, when author Joo Ho-min of “Along With the Gods” made a contentious remark during a Twitch broadcast after a viewer as

Sept. 26, 2020

K-beauty meets 18th century Princess Hwahyup

The National Palace Museum of Korea on Tuesday announced that it will revive cosmetics products used by Princess Hwahyup from the 18th century jointly in conjunction with the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage and local cosmetics maker Cosmax before the end of this year. The three entities will jointly launch a new brand named “Princess Hwahyup” that will be developed based on findings of cosmetic products that were presumably used by Princess Hwahyup (1733-1752), the

Sept. 26, 2020

KOCCA strives for K-animation success

Local animations funded by Korea Creative Content Agency projects are grabbing international attention. KOCCA has been trying to raise the competitiveness of Korean animations with many annual projects, including the domestic animation production support project that funds up to 2 million won ($1,700) for promising animations. One of the funded animations, “Bread Barbershop” by Monster Studio, was listed among the global top 10 most popular TV programs by Netflix just 14 days afte

Sept. 23, 2020

Boy band Monsta X to promote Korea cultural heritage via YouTube

K-pop band Monsta X will star in an online video series aimed at promoting treasured Korean cultural heritage overseas, according to cultural heritage authorities Wednesday. The YouTube series, titled "Korean Heritage Travelog," will premiere next Tuesday and will feature the six-member K-pop group alongside Seo Kyoung-duk, a liberal arts professor at Sungshin Women's University and a well-known Korea promoter, according to the state-run Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA). The se

Sept. 23, 2020

Protestant church groups fail to deliver highly anticipated decision on Jun Kwang-hoon

  Two major Protestant church groups -- the General Assembly of Presbyterian Church in Korea and the Presbyterian Church of Korea -- failed to make a decision in the case of the controversial Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon during their respective online general meetings on Monday. The two church groups had planned to decide at the meetings whether they considered the Presbyterian pastor a cult leader. But the meetings did not run smoothly and not everyone had a chance to speak, partially due to tech

Sept. 21, 2020

[Feature] Time running out for large rescued dogs

Bambi, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, was rescued last winter from an abusive owner who starved her. An animal rescue organization saw to her recovery, and last Tuesday Bambi was put on a flight to meet her new family in the US. Bambi, who at 16 kilograms is considered a large dog in South Korea, would have been hard to place domestically in a country where apartments are the predominant form of housing. Large dogs are often sent overseas to countries where they are more widely accepted as co

Sept. 21, 2020

[Weekender] Chuseok traditions go contactless

For centuries, Chuseok has been one of the nation’s most cherished holidays -- a time for family gatherings, an occasion to share the joy of the harvest and honor the ancestors. This year, however, the holidays are expected to take a different turn with the coronavirus pandemic forcing families to follow strict social distancing guidelines. “I’m very worried about my grandparents contracting the virus,” Lee Min-kyu, 27, told The Korea Herald on Wednesday. Lee lives in

Sept. 19, 2020