Ansan Star Village Marking its 10th anniversary this year, a light festival that runs year-round in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, is perfect for those seeking a break from the noise of city life. An 8,000 won entrance fee is all it takes to make a tranquil escape to Ansan Star Village. The park, which includes a garden and animal installations, opens from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., with the lights turned on every day at 5 p.m. from November through February. Admission is priced at 5,000 won for grade sc

Travel Feb. 9, 2024

Photographing celebrities and influencers kept many carrying a press pass occupied at this year’s Seoul Fashion Week, which ended Monday. But what made the biannual event so lively were those looking in from the outside, many of whom have stories to tell. Lauryne Bouyssy and Caitlin Kantner -- French nationals who are pursuing their goals of becoming professional models -- shared theirs with The Korea Herald, as they were illuminated with camera flashes outside Dongdaemun Design Plaza on M

Arts & Design Feb. 8, 2024

The runway show that kicked off the five-day Seoul Fashion Week on Thursday last week was a dazzling prelude to the 20 runway collections that followed, each celebrating inclusion and diversity. Designer Park So-young, also known as Sooy Park, delivered a resonating 24-minute presentation of her fall-winter 2024 collection, opening the biannual Seoul Fashion Week at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul. The 41-year-old designer said she was surprised to be asked to open Seoul Fashion Week in which s

Arts & Design Feb. 7, 2024

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston will loan to South Korea a 14th-century Buddhist reliquary, following a deal reached Monday that marks a dramatic shift in the US museum’s position on the artifact over the last 15 years. A day of negotiations at the museum resulted in the Museum of Fine Arts donating the remains of Buddhist masters found after cremation, called “sarira,” while placing on loan the reliquary from the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) containing the sarira, according to th

Culture Feb. 6, 2024

The Culture Ministry launched Tuesday an office charged with promoting Korea overseas, taking over the duties of the affiliated agency for the last 53 years. The International Cultural Affairs and Public Relations Office will report to the first vice minister, and the two bureaus under the office will each be responsible for cultural affairs and public relations on the international stage. “Interagency efforts and coordinating policy on culture, sports and tourism are important to expandin

Culture Feb. 6, 2024

KwakHyunJoo Collection’s fall-winter 2024 runway show at Seoul Fashion Week on Sunday was a unisex show of colors -- from clotted cream and pink to bright lime green and light blue -- in a wide array of outwear. At Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, the mix of colors and fabrics on the runway embodied what designer Kwak wants her brand to become: attractive and sexy. Boxy blazers and coats, slouchy crop tops, draped trousers and chiffon skirts set Kwak’s collection apart from others.

Arts & Design Feb. 5, 2024

As expected, Im Seon-oc, the womenswear designer known for her use of neoprene, celebrated her synthetic-rubber style at Seoul Fashion Week on Saturday, this time in exuberant bursts of pink, red and lavender. The fall-winter 2024 collection of Partsparts embodied muted luxury or a “uniform for city life.” Long-sleeve tops and draped trousers, with minimal or almost no embellishments, reflected Im’s way of balancing practicality and originality. “Clothes have to be innova

Arts & Design Feb. 4, 2024

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston said it would review any claims of theft if such evidence is presented concerning a Buddhist reliquary that South Korea is looking to repatriate, ahead of talks over the issue Monday morning in the US. Karen Frascona, the museum’s marketing and communications director, told The Korea Herald that “there is nothing in its history to indicate theft, looting or coercive transfer.” Negotiations over the Buddhist relic from the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392

Culture Feb. 4, 2024

At Seoul Fashion Week on Friday, Lee Chung-chung, the iconic womenswear designer famed for elegantly juxtaposing bold colors with soft features, added something new to his fall-winter 2024 collection: the Olympic, or “All-lympic,” spirit. An abstract painting of the five Olympics rings drawn by a performer with prosthetic arms kicked off LIE’s runway show at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in eastern Seoul. Some of the models came out in wheelchairs. “A sense of togetherness was

Arts & Design Feb. 2, 2024

Starting off the biannual Seoul Fashion Week on Thursday were runway shows that touched on the themes of reverence for heritage and personality. Designer Park So-young, who goes by Sooy Park, delivered a powerful 24-minute catwalk that featured worn-out shirts and monotone suits, which the womenswear designer brought back to life, a reinterpretation of the old while reaching for aesthetic sophistication. Oversized garments in muted tones and nuanced color palettes, rather than bold and vivid, un

Arts & Design Feb. 2, 2024

Strawberries, tomatoes at Yulbom At Yulbom, a botanical garden in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, visitors can pick strawberries. Visitors have 30 minutes to pick up to 1 kilogram of strawberries at the daily market price, which is charged on top of the 5,000-won entrance fee. Making strawberry jelly or jam costs 15,000 won for a 600-milliliter bottle and a 500-gram jar of jam. Tomato picking is priced at 15,000 won for 1.2 kilograms, and making tomato gochujang, a Korean fermented chili paste,

Travel Feb. 2, 2024

Free tours of the Old Korean Legation building in Washington will be offered to the public starting next week, aimed at raising awareness of the Korean historical site. The Cultural Heritage Administration said Thursday a shuttle bus will take participants from Washington, Virginia and Maryland to the building on Wednesdays and Saturdays during the second week of every month from February to November. The agency turned the legation into a museum in 2018 after acquiring it in 2012 to preserve it

Culture Feb. 1, 2024

The chief of the Cultural Heritage Administration said Thursday he is looking to “make some progress” in the talks on the repatriation of Buddhist objects, at his scheduled meeting with officials from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Talks on the repatriation of a Goryeo-era (918-1392) Buddhist reliquary will resume in Boston on Monday amid waning expectations for a breakthrough. The museum has maintained that it can return only the sarira part from inside the reliquary, since the Bu

Culture Feb. 1, 2024

The Cultural Heritage Administration has turned in an application to add to UNESCO’s World Heritage Site petroglyphs or rock carvings at the stream Bangucheon in Ulsan, which date back to prehistoric times, the agency said Wednesday. Bangucheon encompasses a series of historical sites in Ulsan’s Ulju-gun, including the Cheonjeon-ri and Daegok-ri petroglyphs, both designated as national treasures. The Cheonjeon-ri petroglyphs, found about halfway down the stream Daegokcheon, are well

Culture Jan. 31, 2024

A research arm of the Cultural Heritage Administration published for the first time an English report on “gwaebul,” large paintings depicting Buddha preaching to his followers that are hung outside temples when rituals take place. Such paintings are rarely found in China and Japan, the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage said Tuesday, citing a project that has been studying gwaebul since 2015. A broader probe into Buddhist paintings took off in the mid-1970s, it added. T

Culture Jan. 31, 2024