The annual Lotus Lantern Festival, called “Yeondeunghoe” in Korean, is held on a rainy Saturday in celebration of Buddha’s birthday at the Jogye Temple in Seoul. This year’s parade of lanterns was scaled down over concerns of a spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, after last year’s cancellation. Buddhist communities at home and abroad participate in “Yeongdeunghoe,” the Lotus Lantern Festival, via Zoom at Jogye Temple in downtown Seoul, sharing words o

Culture May 16, 2021

In a YouTube video titled “Starlight: Stand with Myanmar,” Shin Dae-chul, the lead guitarist of South Korea’s first heavy metal band Sinawe, holds up a three-fingered salute. “This music is dedicated to the citizens of Myanmar. I hope that our hearts go with them,” said Shin, who is also a songwriter. The message of solidarity comes at the end of the performance of “Starlight,” composed and produced by Shin, featuring 11 guitarists, including himself

Culture May 12, 2021

Six hundred meters up a mountain in the southern part of the country’s longest range, Baekdu-daegan, stands a building in a clearing with a seed-shaped roof. But the above-ground structure of the Baekdu-daegan Seed Vault belies the true size of this sprawling underground structure. The idea of building a Seed Vault in South Korea initially began with the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing in 2010. Officially launched in 2016 and designated a national security facility since

Social Affairs May 10, 2021

A committee to promote Korean traditional paper “hanji,” which are handmade from mulberry trees, was launched on Thursday in hopes it will win recognition as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. Politicians, public administrators and experts in the field of traditional craft making gathered at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul to discuss initiatives that need to be taken for hanji to be included on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hu

Social Affairs April 30, 2021

South Korea’s pet scene is steadily growing, with pets in 1 in 4 households, adding up to some 10.5 million companion animals, according to data gathered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. In proportion to the growing number, a proper farewell to the animals’ last moments has become part of the culture. Various types of pet funeral homes have been grabbing the attention of pet guardians, with 21gram among them. 21gram manages the funeral process of not only cat

Culture April 21, 2021

In Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province, Aleksandra Bykova, a Russian graduate student, is taking a break from city life. The graduate student is known as a “WWOOFer” in the town. Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms is a global movement that promotes cultural and educational experiences on organic farms. First launched in the early 1970s in England, it has since spread its influence in more than 132 countries. “I was curious to know the real culture of Korea, not the ones

Travel April 6, 2021

A densely populated city, but also individualistic. Huge skyscrapers and state-of-the-art facilities coexisting with old-fashioned street corners. If one asks residents living in Seoul to picture the city, these are a few of the most common answers. The old and new seem to fit harmoniously together in the city, but even greater value is hidden underneath the bustling city when an architect views the landscape. Architect Kim Young-soo is CEO of More Less Architects. Between carrying out projec

Culture March 23, 2021

The burning of leftover inventory to preserve brand value is still a common practice in the fashion industry. Other items end up in landfills. But brands are coming up with new ideas to minimize waste and hopefully save the environment. RE;CODE is a South Korean fashion brand launched in 2012 by Kolon Industries. Under the slogan “This is not just fashion,” the brand aims to encourage conscientious purchasing by upcycling deadstock. Choi Young-jin, a senior designer at RE;CODE, dis

Arts & Design March 16, 2021

진행자: 김혜연 Naomi Garyan 1. Boys no longer preferred 요약: 통계청의 작년 출생성비가 104.9명을 기록하면서, 43년 만에 남자 아이 비중이 최저 수준을 기록했다. [1] Statistics Korea’s data on Monday showed the male ratio at birth in South Korea fell to the lowest level last year, implicating the end of the country’s long-held tradition of boy preference. *long-held: 오랫동안 간직해 온 (생각 따위를) 지니다, 믿다 *preference: 선호(도), 애호 [2] The gender ratio at birth, or the number of baby boys per every 100 baby girls born, stood at 104.9 in 20

Podcast March 3, 2021

As the harsh winter season is gradually coming to an end, fresh spots are opening up on the street corners of Hongdae, Seoul, for those who can sing, dance and are ready to perform in front of crowds this coming spring. The Mapo-gu district office’s tourism department said Monday it will begin recruiting artists for the event, “2021 Hongdae Culture Tour - To Hongdae, to culture, and to tourism,” to be held at the Walking Street in the popular district. 　 The categories for th

Culture Feb. 17, 2021

Starting this year, award certificates presented by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will be on “hanji,” Korea’s traditional paper handmade from mulberry trees. The purpose is to support the nation’s hanji industry, which is suffering from a lack of demand despite its competitive quality, the ministry announced. The ministry stated on Tuesday that they had established a hanji consultative body in October 2020, with the participation of both central and local

Culture Feb. 16, 2021

The Ministry of Justice is accelerating its efforts to implement a birth registration system for non-Korean children born in South Korea, in a bid to provide legal status to newborns, regardless of their parents’ social and legal status. On Monday, the ministry held a policy committee meeting and deliberated on introducing a “foreign child birth registration system.” As the current system is riddled with problems, the ministry has been pushing for the enactment of a special l

Social Affairs Feb. 16, 2021

In a deep, dark underground tunnel, photos of a young man appear, alongside those of his favorite music albums, films, endearing messages exchanged with his parents and video clips of him fooling around cheerfully with his friends. As one walks through the tunnel, the young man’s access card for Taean power station appears. It reads, “Name: Kim Yong-kyun; Expiration date: 2018-12-31.” Those are scenes from the last episode of season 2 of MBC’s VR documentary series, &l

Television Feb. 12, 2021

South Korean car-sharing app operator SoCar is facing a public outcry over a sexual assault case involving one of its users. A local news report suggests that the company slowed down the police investigation when it failed to promptly turn over the suspect’s information. The accused man, who is in his 30s, reportedly rented a car from SoCar on Saturday and allegedly used it to pick up the teenage girl who later accused him of sexual assault. The two had met in an online chat room, the r

Social Affairs Feb. 10, 2021

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics has been facing various hurdles so far, the biggest one being the COVID-19 pandemic, but now internal problems have surfaced, threatening to further hamper the event’s progress. The Tokyo Olympics’ organizing committee chief Yoshiro Mori caused public outrage when he made derogatory remarks against women in a board meeting speech last week. He was quoted as saying that “a board meeting with many women will make it drag on,” while adding that women

Olympic Games Feb. 9, 2021