Andaz Seoul Gangnam launches ‘Romance at Andaz’ package Andaz Seoul Gangnam, a lifestyle hotel under Hyatt Hotels & Resorts located in Apgujeong, is offering a special package for couples’ staycation. The “Romance at Andaz” consists of a night’s stay at a room of your choice, and breakfast for two at the hotel’s luxury restaurant Jogakbo. A bottle of sparkling wine, cake, and a La Cuvee Maison bath bomb set is also included in the package. Access

Food Jan. 28, 2022

Standing face-to-face with Hollywood stars and well-known politicians may be a lifelong dream to some. Those wishes may be partially achieved when in Jeju. The Movieland Wax Museum, which has on display some 150 wax dolls that resemble global celebrities and beloved animated characters, opened in Jeju Island’s Jungmun Tourist Complex, Jan. 6. The MWM, the oldest and largest wax museum, opened in Buena Park, California, in 1962. During its four decades of operation before shutting down in

Travel Jan. 27, 2022

The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture unveiled plans to build a stronger support system for artists impacted by the lingering pandemic. Under this year’s slogan, “Together with art, standing beside citizens,” the SFAC announced its three top items on the agenda and 10 action plans of the year at a press conference at the SFAC Daehangno Center, Wednesday. The three items call for diversifying support policies for artists, vitalizing cultural programs for Seoul residents a

Culture Jan. 26, 2022

Hunminjeongeum, th Korean writing system created in 1443 and promulgated in a book format in 1446 by King Sejong, was made with the intention of developing “the proper sound for instructing the people.” On Friday, the National Hangeul Museum launched “Hunminjeongeum, The Design of a Writing System Beyond Millennia,” its first permanent exhibition since it opened in 2014. Designated as a national treasure of Korea in 1962 and inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the Wo

Culture Jan. 24, 2022

Beginning next year, South Korea will work on the restoration of the pylon and the access road of the Ramesseum, a mortuary temple of Pharaoh Ramses 2, located across from the modern city of Luxor in Upper Egypt, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration on Sunday. Kim Hyun-mo, head of the Cultural Heritage Administration and Mostafa Waziry, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, signed a memorandum of understanding for exchanges and cooperation on the two n

Culture Jan. 23, 2022

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul launches ‘Yut-Nori With Black Tiger’ promotion JW Marriott Hotel Seoul marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year with a package promotion curated for families celebrating the new year together. The stay package features yut sticks, a yut board and yut tokens handcrafted by the hotel’s pastry team for a joyful family game experience. Two glasses of Black Tiger Guinness will be provided by master mixologists at the seventh-floor MOBO Bar. The packag

Food Jan. 21, 2022

The charms of Korean culture and entertainment are being showcased online at the 2022 Korea Grand Sale, until Feb. 28. The festival kicked off Jan. 13, with an online K-pop concert livestreamed on YouTube, featuring boyband Tomorrow X Together, a dance crew from Street Woman Fighter, Lachica and girl group Everglow. This year‘s annual shopping festival focuses on K-beauty as the main theme, bringing together popular Korean beauty products. Some 40 active beauty brands are offering spec

Culture Jan. 20, 2022

Park Hyatt Seoul General Manager Andrew Ashdown has fond memories of running room to room as a child in a hotel his parent operated. He has always associated being in a hotel with positive emotions and, as the new general manager of Park Hyatt Seoul, his goal is to provide guests with similarly lasting experiences by delivering meaning services.  Ashdown, who took the post in November after three years as General Manager of Park Hyatt Busan, has said that he will begin this process by seek

Travel Jan. 20, 2022

The National Institute of Korean Language unveiled an ambitious plan to create a Korean language proficiency diagnosis system that utilzes artificial intelligence, the organization’s director Chang So-won said on Tuesday. The AI-based language proficiency test, to be developed over a five-year period from 2023 to 2027 with a budget of 10 billion won ($8.39-million), is meant to help improve the nation’s overall writing skills, which stood at 48 out of 100 in a research study conduc

Culture Jan. 19, 2022

After six years of restoration beginning in 2016, “Irworobongdo,” a Korean folding screen with a landscape of a sun and a moon painted in the mid 19th century has been completed to return it to its original form, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced Wednesday. “Irworobongdo,” meaning “Painting of the Sun, Moon and Five Peaks,” is a spectacular panel that was placed behind Eojwa, the king’s royal throne, to display the majesty of the Joseon roy

Arts & Design Jan. 19, 2022

Although the pandemic has put overseas travels on hold to a great extent, Korean literature has constantly made daring adventures beyond borders. Over the past five years, 34 works of Korean literature have sold over 5,000 copies each in overseas book markets, according to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea’s data on Tuesday. “Kim Ji-young, Born 1982,” a 2016 feminist novel by Cho Nam-joo, has sold more than 300,000 copies abroad by the end of 2020. The piece has

Books Jan. 18, 2022

A classical music concert that experiments to break out from conventional forms, “Beyond the Classic 2,” is to set the stage on Feb. 18, at the Seoul Arts Center by the Sam Philharmonic Orchestra, the organizer said on Monday. The concert aims to reach music fans weary from the long-lasting pandemic, to bring hopes and laughter throughout its 100-minute session, the organizer added. Various artists’ collaborative performances will be put together under the theme of “a c

Performance Jan. 17, 2022

An online website that explores kimchi making recipes and Korea’s unique kimjang culture, will be open to global viewers until the end of March, the Korean Cultural Center Canada announced Sunday. Titled as “Kimjang: The Aesthetics of Sharing,” the website explains in detail the history of how kimjang culture has been treasured by Koreans for generations, and thus came to be acknowledged in 2013 on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Alongside its

Food Jan. 17, 2022

Over the past two decades, large-scale franchise bakeries have swept across the country, growing in numbers to a point where it seems there is at least one franchise around the corner offering the standard cakes and baked goods. In recent years, however, independent bakeries serving items fresh out of the oven alongside warm drinks have been on the rise, not just in big cities but more often on city outskirts. These “destination bakeries” attract customers with unique interiors and

Food Jan. 15, 2022

Two state-designated national treasures owned by the Kansong Art Museum will be auctioned Jan. 27, South Korea’s second-largest auction house K Auction announced Friday. It is the first time national treasures will be put up for auction. The sale is expected to set a new record in the auction of cultural artifacts in the country. The two masterpieces that are to be put on the block are the Portable Shrine of Gilt-bronze Buddha Triad and Gilt-bronze Standing Buddha Triad with Inscription

Arts & Design Jan. 14, 2022