Korea is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its independence from Japan’s colonial rule with a slew of cultural events this week.Amid the festive mood, museums are presenting exhibitions and special events that provide an understanding of various aspects of the anniversary and how life in Korea has changed over the past seven decades. Museums will also open for free during the three-day weekend starting Friday, as Aug. 14 was designated a special holiday. The turbulent and dynamic lives of Kore

Culture Aug. 11, 2015

GANGHWADO ISLAND, Incheon -– A special wedding ceremony took place Sunday at Ganghwa Peace Observatory on the border island of Ganghwado, off South Korea’s western coast. 　The island’s residents came out to see the unlikely event, which drew guests from other parts of the country and even from other Asian countries. But the groom was nowhere to be found. In a contingency plan, the bridesmaid and the bride’s father came out to pick a groom candidate from the audience. The ceremony was in fact a s

Performance Aug. 10, 2015

When the 38th Parallel was drawn to divide the Korean Peninsula after the Korean War, many people had to make a tough decision: Which side would they support?Artist Lee Quede faced the question at a prison camp where he was jailed after being captured by South Korean soldiers for being cooperative with North Korean soldiers who briefly occupied Seoul. The artist, born in 1913 in the small town of Chilgok, South Gyeongsang Province, chose to go to the North in 1953, leaving his wife and four chil

Performance Aug. 6, 2015

Rare pieces of Korean traditional art, spanning from the Bronze Age to the 19th-century Joseon era, have been brought together to present the exquisite beauty of Korean art this summer. The Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art showcases national treasures of Korea and valuable Korean artifacts on loan from leading foreign art institutions that highlight lavish features, exquisite details and refined artistry.  Crown, 5-6th century, Gaya (Leeum)In contrast to the Leeum exhibition exploring the opulence o

Culture Aug. 4, 2015

Life inside the reclusive North Korean society has remained a mystery to the people outside. To many, the society poses a grim picture with horrific tales of labor camps and the totalitarian regime‘s surveillance of civilians, as told by defectors. Only few foreign photographers have sought to look beyond those fragmented images and capture an unknown side of the society -- how life manages to go on in such isolation.  　British photographer Nick Danziger is one of the few. His 2013 journey to th

Performance Aug. 3, 2015

When artist Cody Choi first arrived in the U.S. in the 1980s, he frequently suffered from stomach and bowel problems, stemming from having to adjust to a new culture.  Unable to afford a clinic visit, his go-to remedy was Pepto-Bismol, an over-the-counter stomach relief medicine. Looking back on his early days in the U.S., Choi made a sculpture in 1996 that has the shape of Rodin’s “The Thinker” but is made with pink liquid Pepto-Bismol and toilet paper -- the two objects that represent his earl

Performance July 30, 2015

Leading K-pop stars, such as Psy, G-Dragon and Rain and dozens of other Korean celebrities, as well as historic and sports figures, have been brought to life in wax models at the Grevin Museum opening in Seoul on Thursday.  The French wax museum’s first Asian branch presents 80 life-size wax models of world-renowned figures and celebrities, including 30 Koreans. Life-size wax figures of K-pop stars and Hollywood movie stars are on display at Grevin Museum Seoul, which opens Thursday in Seoul. (G

Performance July 29, 2015

There’s nothing quite like sitting down to a cup of tea with a cat on your lap. These days, with the advent of cat cafes, you don’t even need your own cat to experience it. While they have been around in South Korea for some time, the rest of the world is beginning to catch on, and the trend that was once the cultural domain of Japan and Korea is spreading globally. 　Although the first cat cafe was founded in Taiwan in 1998, the concept blossomed in Japan and Korea, particularly in the last deca

Culture July 28, 2015

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province -- A man painted from head to toe stands against a painted wall as if he walked straight from a portrait painting. His moving hands seem so unreal that it looks like he could only exist in a painting.When it is taken as a photograph, the scene actually turns into a two-dimensional painting.  “A Man Turned Into Painting” by Yoo Hyun-mi (Wooyang Museum of Contemporary Art)In this opening performance for a joint Korean and Russian media art exhibition, artist Yoo

Performance July 28, 2015

Among the thousands of stamps that Dutch philatelist Wim van der Bijl has gathered from all over the world, the image on a small North Korean stamp left on him a strong impression. The stamp collector soon found out that similar images in bigger sizes were on North Korean propaganda posters. He decided to buy more of them. His colleague Ronald de Groen, who is also an avid stamp and painting collector, joined him in the building of a dangerous, yet thrilling collection of North Korean art. From

Performance July 22, 2015

A girl in a white feather dress has her eyes closed and floats aimlessly with her dress and hair moving naturally to reveal their velvety layers. The weightless calm captivates the viewer, wondering where this place with such a calm state could be. “Angel 1,” Swan Song by Zena Holloway (Courtesy of the artist)This mystical photo is in fact taken underwater by photographer Zena Holloway, a British photographer who specializes in underwater photography. She is holding her first exhibition in Seoul

Performance July 20, 2015

A decades-old weir set up in the Hangang River in Seoul is in hot water over what environmentalists call its outdated efficacy and increasing ecological damage, as it has recently been pointed to as a possible culprit for the threatening green tide that persists in the river.The algae phenomenon reignited the extensive debate Thursday over Singok weir in the mouth of the Hangang River in Gyeonggi Province, pitting the small dam’s water control role crucial for local fishermen against ecological

Social Affairs July 16, 2015

Two Korean menswear designers presented their spring-summer looks in the men’s collection during New York Fashion Week, drawing interest with innovative and unique designs. Kang Dong-jun of DBYD and Jang Hyung-chul of Ordinary People showed their creations as part of the Korean government-organized Concept Korea event, held semiannually during New York Fashion Week since 2010 to introduce Korean designers in the fashion hub of New York. A model presents creations of Ordinary People by Jang Hyung

Arts & Design July 16, 2015

Your workout plan for a perfect beach body for this summer is a half success without a healthy meal plan. Even if you stick to a strict exercise schedule, what you eat after the workout hours will determine the result you want to achieve. When you try to cut down calories to lose weight, eating food that is filling yet low in calories can help you achieve your diet goal faster. Office worker Park Il-gyu, 31, proved he could lose the weight by just eating healthy. Feeling heavy and tired from the

Food July 15, 2015