Night of Ganghwa & Heritage Story Organized by the Ganghwa County Office and Incheon Tourism Organization, Night of Ganghwa & Heritage Story offers eight different programs to visitors, introducing the cultural heritage of Ganghwa. The festival, held Sept. 11-12 at the Yongheunggung Palace Park in Ganghwa, Incheon, west of Seoul, involves traditional art performances, a media facade and a parade, along with hands-on experiences for visitors of all age. Call the travel hotline at 1330

Travel June 19, 2020

Violinist Clara Jumi Kang and pianist Son Yeol-eum are to embark on a tour of South Korea in September. The seven-city tour will run Sept. 2-10 and take them to Jeju, Suwon, Goyang, Daegu and more. It will mark the two virtuosos’ first performances together in four years. Having attended the Korea National University of Arts together, the two debuted as a duo at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2012. They held a national tour in 2013, followed by another in 2016 celebrating the release

Performance June 17, 2020

A violinist will perform the solo repertoires of Bach and Ysaye, to take the audience on a “music trip” to Europe in July. Violinist Lim Ji-young, 25, will present the unaccompanied violin sonatas by Bach and Ysaye at central Seoul’s Seoul Anglican Cathedral on July 1 and the Seosomun Shrine History Museum on July 11. Lim rose to stardom in the classical music scene as the first Korean violinist to win the 2015 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, Belgium. Since then,

Performance June 16, 2020

Though no one is sure when the current coronavirus crisis will end, things will never be the same again for the performing arts scene, which has come to a near-complete halt for the past few months. 　 The global performing arts scene has suffered a major blow, as virus containment measures severely restrict gatherings in enclosed spaces. Even the most prestigious performing art venues, including Broadway in New York and the West End in London, have had to shut down. 　　 Numbers prove the impact

Performance June 14, 2020

Solo bingsu at Conrad Seoul Conrad Seoul’s rooftop bar Vvertigo is to launch single-serve bingsu from Monday. Typically, bingsu is shared among two to three people. However, as one-person bingsu has become the norm amid social distancing, Vvertigo is offering tropical-flavored pina colada bingsu and coffee-flavored Irish ice bingsu, adequate for a single guest. The bingsu varieties are liqour based, but can be enjoyed as non-alcohol desserts upon request. Pina colada bingsu costs 18,

Food June 12, 2020

Jeongnamjin Jangheung Water Festival The Jeongnamjin Jangheung Water Festival in Jangheung, South Jeolla Province, celebrates the clean and refreshing water of the Tamjin River and Jangheung Lake. The water festival takes place in areas along the river and in the Cypress Forest Woodland, allowing festivalgoers to take part in refreshing water activities from day to night. For more information in Korean, visit festival.jangheung.go.kr. Call the travel hotline at 1330 for help in Korean, Eng

Travel June 12, 2020

The annual Yeowoorak Festival, a gugak-themed festival organized by the National Theater of Korea, is to kick off on July 3, featuring 12 performances over 23 days. This year’s festival, titled after an abbreviation for the Korean sentence meaning “our music (gugak) is here,” will focus on the “here and now” of gugak, with an emphasis on the expansion of the traditional music genre. Cheolhyeongeum (steel-stringed zither) player and percussionist Yoo Kyeong-hwa,

Performance June 9, 2020

The international tour production of musical “The Phantom of the Opera” is to collaborate with the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), sharing an online performance by its lead actors singing iconic numbers from the musical in front of the MMCA Seoul. The live outdoor performance will be streamed online Friday on MMCA’s YouTube channel and local video sharing platform Naver TV. The three lead actors will sing “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Agai

Performance June 8, 2020

Staycation at Park Hyatt Seoul Park Hyatt Seoul is to present the Experience More package, marking the hotel’s official reopening Tuesday. The package features a breakfast for two served in-room, complimentary one-tier room upgrade applicable up to City View Deluxe level and a Park Hyatt Seoul signature teddy bear. A bathrobe for kids will be offered to guests staying with children on a first come, first served basis. Stays between Tuesday and June 30 are available for reservation thr

Food June 5, 2020

Centum Beer Festival The Centum Beer Festival, sponsored and managed by the Centum Beer Festival Committee, is held at KNN Centum Plaza in Busan every summer.  The festival offers unlimited beer and snacks for all visitors. Though the event takes place every May, this year, it has been postponed to August in concerns over the COVID-19 spread. It will be held Aug. 20-30.  Performances will take place throughout the festival from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more information in Korean, vi

Travel June 5, 2020

The 10th Ballet Festival Korea is to take place June 18-28 at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul, introducing a wide repertoire of ballet works from classical to modern. The festival was originally scheduled to open June 10 with the Korea National Ballet’s performance of romantic ballet “Giselle.” However, the show was canceled due to the government’s decision to apply stricter quarantine measures in the Seoul metropolitan area starting May 29, leading to the fest

Performance June 3, 2020

The prolonged COVID-19 crisis has been pushing the performing arts scene to search for new ways to share their art, and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has found a way to perform together onstage while complying with the social distancing measures. The SPO, a Seoul City-funded orchestra, had originally planned to perform onstage with an in-person audience at the Seoul Arts Center on Friday. The plan, however was canceled due to renewed concerns about COVID-19 community spread. The orchestr

Performance June 2, 2020

Just as they thought it was safe to reopen, theaters in Korea will continue to remain in hiatus as the South Korean government has brought back stricter social distancing norms. After several new infection clusters of the novel coronavirus cropped up in the Seoul metropolitan area, the government ordered all state-funded cultural facilities in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province to shut down. Following the order, four performing arts centers -- National Gugak Center, National Theater of Kore

Performance May 31, 2020

Tongyeong Hansan Battle Festival Tongyeong Hansan Battle Festival commemorates the Great Battle of Hansan in 1592, one of the most important naval battles in Korean history. Visitors will be able to see models of the geobukseon (turtle ship) designed by Admiral Yi Sun-sin and the ships used by the Japanese navy at the time. In addition to learning all about the battle, visitors will be able to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery of Tongyeong. A variety of hands-on experience programs are avail

Travel May 29, 2020

Suite night at Millennium Hilton Seoul Millennium Hilton Seoul has launched a Duplex Suite Package, involving its most high-end suites, Parkhill Suite, Vista Suite and Namdaemun Suite. Products from the European luxury perfume brand Memo will be on display, along with a complimentary sample of perfume. A welcome bottle of Moet Imperial Brut will be prepared. A one-way pickup or sending service is available within Seoul via a Cadillac CT6 or XT6. Guests can stay for up to 30 hours after chec

Food May 29, 2020