The Korea International Art Fair, the biggest art fair in Korea, kicked off Tuesday, introducing a wide range of artworks presented by 182 local and international galleries at Coex. In its 14th year, the fair invites leading galleries in Korea and from overseas, including Kukje Gallery, Arario Gallery and Hakgojae Gallery in Korea, Pearl Lam Gallery in Hong Kong and Tomio Koyama Gallery in Japan. Featured artists include world-renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Nam June Paik, Tracey Emin, Kim

Performance Oct. 6, 2015

From India to Korea and Japan, Buddhist statues are one of the most common forms of ancient art in Asia. Sculpted of stone, wood or made in gilt bronze, sculptures of Buddha preaching, meditating or in deep thought have been important objects of worship for Buddhists for two millennia. A rare exhibition in Seoul traces the origins of Buddhist statues and follows transitions in Buddha images with the spread of Buddhism across Asia for 700 years. The exhibit, currently at the National Museum of Ko

Culture Oct. 5, 2015

“The Long Way Home” is a film that seeks to address both the implications of war on a grand scale and the microscopic relationship between two individual soldiers, all the while providing wholesome family comedy, moving drama and high-quality battle scenes. None of these ambitious aims, however, are quite met. Nam-bok (Sol Kyung-gu) is a farmer who has been drafted to fight in the Korean War and entrusted with the mission of delivering a crucial, top-secret document containing war strategies to

Film Oct. 1, 2015

A retrospective of designer Lee Young-hee traces the iconic hanbok designer’s four-decade quest to modernize the Korean traditional costume and promote it in the global fashion stage. From traditional hanbok style, consisting of a short bolero-style blouse and a full skirt, to contemporary evening gowns that are reminiscent of hanbok’s restrictive use of colors and delicate silhouettes, some 100 of Lee’s hanbok creations are on display at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul until Oct. 9. Lee, 79, h

Arts & Design Oct. 1, 2015

Art has always been about challenging existing norms and practices. For artists, defying accepted art practices often means finding new possibilities of art, thereby expanding the standard boundary of art. Artists Lee Seung-taek and Ha Chong-hyun are two pioneers in this respect. Challenging established art practices has been their lifetime task. When Koreans were used to seeing art as pretty paintings and sculptures, Lee and Ha experimented with nontraditional materials to challenge typical vis

Performance Sept. 23, 2015

Delicate curved lines of moon jars, glistening mother-of-pearl inlay, geometric aesthetics in Korean traditional costume hanbok and alphabet Hangeul -- representative aesthetics of Korean craft and design are on view in Paris and London.In Paris, “Korea Now,” which kicked off at the Decorative Arts Museum on Friday, presents a wide spectrum of Korean art from traditional craftworks to contemporary fashion until Jan. 3, 2016. Celebrating the 130th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea

Performance Sept. 21, 2015

The job is simple – write pages of a novel on a piece of paper for an hour. Participants, one by one, walk into a small white room, sit down and pick up a pencil. They check at the page left open and begin to move their hand to transcribe it.  This is an art project by artist Ahn Kyu-chul. At his solo exhibition currently at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, the 60-year-old artist invites the audience to engage in his creative process of completing conceptual installatio

Performance Sept. 17, 2015

Herald Design Forum 2014“It’s Design, Stupid!” This is the phrase raised in Thomas Friedman’s 2008 book “Hot, Flat and Crowded” about the role of design in addressing environmental problems. Design is no longer a decoration for products. Design has expanded its primary role and created collaborations with technology, management, psychology, humanity and art. The Herald Design Forum kicks off its fifth edition in November in Seoul with key words such “design,” “creation” and “convergence.” Leadin

Arts & Design Sept. 17, 2015

Award-winning artist Kong Sung-hun is presenting his new series in a solo exhibition at Arario Gallery in Seoul. Named artist of the year in 2013 by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, Kong’s new painting series is in line with his previous works that won him the prestigious art prize.The “Dusky Landscape” consists of 16 large works that are as tall as 1.8 meters. The images in the series are familiar scenes: a white trail of an airplane in the sky, bare winter trees, stor

Performance Sept. 15, 2015

When the Korean government announced the biggest-ever hike in cigarette prices last year, smoker and artist Kim So-cheol and his friends decided to take action: They decided to make cigarettes on their own. They planted seeds of the two most popular tobacco plants -- Virginia and Burley -- on the rooftop of Kim’s small house in Mapo-gu, western Seoul. In four months, the plants grew as tall as Kim. “It started as a response to the government’s decision to raise tobacco prices,” Kim told The Kore

Performance Sept. 14, 2015

The Affordable Art Fair arrived in Seoul for the first time, kicking off its three-day showcase of contemporary art on Friday. The Seoul fair offers a wide range of artworks such as paintings, sculptures, installations and media works that suit “every tasteful taste bud,” said Will Ramsay, founder of the art fair.“There is plenty of good-quality art in an affordable price range. We are the venue for finding it,” he said in an interview at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the fair venue, in Seoul on Thur

Performance Sept. 11, 2015