The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, has organized an art exhibition at 11 stations in northern Seoul in collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. “Painting Study,” which runs until Aug. 31, features 61 paintings by Kook Dong-wan and installation artist Vakki at the stations along the Ui-Sinseol Subway Line. The line connects Ui-dong in Gangbuk-gu with Sinseol-dong in Dongdaemun-gu. Kook and Vakki were selected for the MMCA’s 2020 artist r

Arts & Design May 6, 2020

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea will partly reopen on Wednesday, as new COVID-19 infection cases have sharply decreased here. Those who want to visit the four venues of the museum -- Deoksugung, Seoul, Gwacheon and Cheongju -- and Children’s museum in Gwacheon are required to make online reservations on the MMCA’s website, choosing a date from Tuesday to May 17. All visitors are required to wear a face mask and have their temperature checked before ent

Arts & Design May 4, 2020

For those who thirst for in-depth knowledge of Korea’s modern and contemporary fine art but did not know where to begin, “Korean Art from 1953: Collision, Innovation and Interaction,” published by Phaidon, a global art book publisher, may be a good point of entry. Published in English, “Korean Art from 1953: Collision, Innovation and interaction,” covers the development of the country’s modern and contemporary art history from 1953 -- the year when the Korea

Books May 4, 2020

Wonju Hanji Theme Park in Gangwon Province will build a new experience center centered on Korean papercraft by next year, investing 5.8 billion won ($4.73 million). Wonju Hanji Theme Park -- located in Wonju, Gangwon Province -- is dedicated to introducing the art of hanji. Hanji, which literally means “paper of Korea” is hand-made paper produced by soaking the bark of mulberry trees.  The paper, which has been made in Korea since the Three Kingdoms period, when the Korean P

Arts & Design May 4, 2020

Although the number of new COVID-19 infections has decreased sharply in South Korea, fears of a resurgence persist. As the coronavirus crisis has gripped the country for more than three months, life as we know it has changed. The prevalence of video meetings and interviews is one of the changes that seem likely to stay even as the pandemic situation subsides. The Busan branch of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement conducted its first-ever online conference on Saturday with 100

Culture May 2, 2020

When watching a play, you may sometimes feel like the actors are actually “acting” rather than being real people. How about when the actors actually live as a character 24/7, communicating with the audience? Yulhyul Arts Group, a 20-year-old arts group in Seoul, has come up with an extraordinary two-year project that consists of different performances under the theme of “city and desire.” Their goal is to have the plays naturally permeate into real life. Five actors fr

Arts & Design April 29, 2020

When the coronavirus hit the country earlier this year, art institutions found themselves suddenly having to cater to audiences who were isolating at home and craving cultural experience. The pandemic was a completely unexpected situation, with many galleries not prepared for weeks and even months of forced closure. As museums and galleries scrambled to go online to meet the demands of the new reality, Savina Museum of Contemporary Art in Eunpyeong-gu, northern Seoul, stayed calm, carrying o

Arts & Design April 28, 2020

The late works of Yun Hyong-keun (1928-2007), the master of monochrome painting, or Dansaekhwa, from the late 1980s to 1990s, have been unveiled to the public at PKM Gallery in Seoul. The exhibition is the first that focuses exclusively on the master’s works from his later years. Titled “Yun Hyong-keun 1989-1999,” the exhibition features 24 paintings from the period. Yun’s works garnered the international spotlight through a retrospective held at Palazzo Fortuny in Ven

Arts & Design April 27, 2020

Billy Childish, a painter who hails from the UK, opened his first solo exhibition in Seoul at Lehman Maupin in Jongno, central Seoul. The works of Childish remind that of Expressionism painters in the early 20th century, chracterized with strong brush strokes and vivid colors, Titled “Wolves, Sunsets and the Self,” the exhibition runs until June 27, featuring seven new paintings by the artist. His paintings, which look as if they are alive, come from the artist’s unique meth

Arts & Design April 24, 2020

Royal Tomb of King Sejong will partially open in May to the public, two years after restoration, the Cultural Heritage Administration, in charge of the tomb management, said Friday. The tomb, located in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, was built for the Joseon era’s fourth King Sejong and Queen Soheon. Entrance to the historic site was temporarily shut down since November 2017 for restoration.  Although visitors are allowed to tour the royal tomb, other historic sites near the tomb, incl

Culture April 24, 2020

Gallery Hyundai, one of the representative commercial art galleries in Korea, is holding a special exhibition to commemorate its 50th anniversary, showcasing major works of art once displayed at the gallery over the past half century. The special exhibition runs in two phases for three months at the gallery located in Jongno, central Seoul. The first part, unveiled through an online preview on the gallery’s website, will run until May 31 and features some 70 masterpieces by 40 contempor

Arts & Design April 23, 2020

Who doesn’t love donuts? More than 1,700 ceramic donuts welcome visitors to the Hakgojae Gallery in Jongno, central Seoul, each with a different look. “As long as people enjoy my donuts, I would say my works are a success,” artist Kim Jae-yong, who bills himself as a donut lover, told The Korea Herald. “I really feel happy when I see smiles on people’s faces. That is it. I want to give happiness to people.” “Donut Fear” is sculptor Kim&rsqu

Arts & Design April 20, 2020

In a dark room, 10 Haenyeo -- female divers of Jeju Island who harvest sea food -- appear on four video screens. Standing in a row, they sing a work song in the Jeju Island dialect, one of the world’s critically endangered languages. The 10 women slowly fade out one by one from the screen, illustrating the reality of the dwindling number of Haenyeo. At the end of the 5-minute video, the last Haenyeo disappears eventually and with it the song. The video work, “The Perfect Harmony&

Arts & Design April 19, 2020

In this time of strict social distancing, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, is offering an Instagram preview of its latest exhibition, “Axis of Horizon.” A 30-minute live preview of the exhibition, guided by curator Yang Ok-kum, will be available Thursday at 4 p.m. on the museum’s Instagram channel (@mmcakorea). The full exhibition, originally scheduled to open in early April at the Seoul venue, is on hold due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The exhibition features

Arts & Design April 14, 2020

While Korea’s drive-thru testing for the novel coronavirus grabbed the attention of countries across the world, the drive-thru model is recently being applied to other sectors of life here. Customers can now pick up diverse culinary dishes through drive-thru services, minimizing the chances of virus infection while still enjoying the delicacies. Drive for galbi and samgyetang Recently, a variety of Korean dishes, from galbi -- the short ribs widely enjoyed as Korean barbecue -- to samg

Culture April 10, 2020