Cozy, warm tearoom in Huam-dong For imbibers of among the oldest aromatic beverages, a cozy and quiet place to enjoy afternoon tea time can be found in Huam-dong in Yongsan, central Seoul. TeaRoom Rossetti is a small, friendly place where the owner offers freshly baked scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Try the afternoon tea set that includes hand-made sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and madeleines served for at least two people. If you plan to visit alone, the tearoom has an

Culture Nov. 17, 2023

SHANGHAI – International visitors returned to Shanghai’s West Bund, located on the west bank of the Huangpu River that runs north to south through Shanghai, where the 10th edition of the West Bund Art & Design fair took place from Nov. 9 through Sunday. The city’s flagship art fair and one of the leading art events in all of China, taking place at the West Bund Art Center and West Bund Dome, drew the participation of some 190 galleries, including Gagosian, Hauser&Wi

Arts & Design Nov. 15, 2023

British interdisciplinary artist Jane Benson applies her systematic interventions into existing works of literature and art. She interprets, combines and collapses sentences from written works, which are then created into other forms of art. At the exhibition “Dodo Note...” at Gallery Shilla in Seoul which closed Sunday, the artist unveiled new works that encompass several different forms of art -- from sculptures, sound, drawings and prints to installations. Benson took sentences fr

Arts & Design Nov. 14, 2023

The Korea Artist Prize has returned after the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea pledged to improve the 11-year-old annual artist award, strengthening the judge system and curation in order to present finalist artists’ practices in a deeper and more holistic way. The four artists who were announced as finalists for the prize -- Kwon Byung-jun, Gala Porras-Kim, Lee Kang-seung and Jun So-jung – unveiled their recent works at the exhibition, “Korea Artist Prize

Arts & Design Nov. 10, 2023

Artist Jun So-jung engages in many different art genres from sculptures, sound to digital art, transcending time and borders. At Barakat Contemporary in Seoul where her solo exhibition is being held through Jan. 4, 2024, the artist crosses seamlessly between the virtual world and reality. The exhibition “Overtone,” the artist’s first solo show at the gallery, features her new three-channel video that documents the journey of Park Soon-a, a Korean Japanese gayageum player who ha

Arts & Design Nov. 10, 2023

Gangnam Intermodal Transit Center is more than just an underground transportation station that will house three high-speed train lines and two subway stations in southern Seoul. For acclaimed architect Dominique Perrault, it is more of a social project. “It is not a project to build an underground tunnel. Architecture is part of culture. The space should be a quality public space where people want to come, not a damp and dark underground space,” the architect said in an interview wit

Arts & Design Nov. 6, 2023

This weekend may be the last chance to see the red and gold fall foliage at its peak in Seoul. N Seoul Tower is where you can enjoy the autumn colors while hiking the trail to the tower on top of Namsan. If you arrive at the top at night, you can enjoy panoramic views of central Seoul as well as check out Namsan Octagonal Pavilion. On top of N Seoul Tower is n.Grill, a French restaurant that offers a prix fixe menu for lunch and dinner. The restaurant rotates, giving a complete 360-degree panora

Culture Nov. 3, 2023

The inaugural design and art fair, Define Seoul, kicked off Wednesday, bringing together some 25 galleries and design brands from home and abroad in Seongsu-dong, one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Seoul, home to hip cafes, intriguing pop-up stores and shops. “Seoul is garnering unprecedented international recognition as one of the major art centers. Define Seoul encapsulates the idea of connecting design and fine art while redefining the way we perceive and engage with art,” said

Arts & Design Nov. 2, 2023

Online non-fungible token art trading platform ArtToken and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have signed a memorandum of understanding to push for projects integrated with art and technology. The MOU between KAIST’s Graduate School of Culture Technology and ArtToken, inked on Thursday, aims to foster collaboration in the fields of art and technology such as coding art, interactive art and NFT art based on blockchain technology. Based in Seoul, ArtToken has organized proje

People Oct. 31, 2023

To Swiss art collector, businessperson and former diplomat Uli Sigg, who is known for having an extensive private collection of contemporary Chinese art, collecting art in a meaningful way allows one to understand a society, and collectors supporting artists and museums enables them to develop and function better. “The most important quality a collector has to build is to find a focus that will distinguish a collection from a mere accumulation of works. I collect artworks as I find this th

Arts & Design Oct. 30, 2023

World-renowned architect Dominique Perrault unveiled details of an ongoing project at Seoul’s Gangnam Intermodal Transit Center at an exhibition held at the French Embassy in Seoul on Thursday. The exhibition centers around a newly published book that introduces the history and implications of the transit center at the heart of Seoul, which will become the largest underground station in the world. “The 'Lightwalk' will bring a change to the history of underground space in S

Arts & Design Oct. 27, 2023

Savor traditional Korean desserts at Korea House The Korea House, affiliated with the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, is offering a chance to savor traditional Korean confectionaries sold under its dessert brand Kohojae. The Korea House has prepared the "Autumn Dessert Course," which comprises a variety of traditional Korean desserts and beverages such as rice cake, candied fruits and teas. The Autumn Dessert Course includes a sweet rice honey cookie, or yakgwa, cinnamon punch with

Culture Oct. 27, 2023

Italian architect Franco Mancuso has donated nearly 4,000 documents related to the Korean Pavilion of the Venice Biennale to the Arts Council Korea (Arko). The architect had gathered the documents as he undertook the design of the pavilion together with Korean architect Kim Seok-chul, who has since died. Arko, the commissioner of the Korean pavilion, runs the 26th national pavilion in Giardini located on the eastern edge of Venice. Opened in 1995 as the last national pavilion at the biennale, it

Arts & Design Oct. 26, 2023

Silversmith William Lee is the winner of this year's Craft Prize, an annual craft award given by the Culture Ministry and the Korea Craft and Design Foundation. Lee, based in Seoul, studied silversmithing and metalwork at Camberwell College of Arts, part of the University of London. He re-creates a form of traditional Korean ceramics with silver that features delicate flowing lines and subtle marks that appear to be melted on the surface. Lee's silver objects -- such as vessels and jar

Arts & Design Oct. 24, 2023

Tang Contemporary Art, one of the most influential commercial galleries in Asia, will launch a new space in London next year, its first gallery in the West after 26 years in Asia. Headquartered in Beijing, the gallery represents Chinese contemporary art masters such as Ai Weiwei, Yue Minjun and Zhao Zhao. It has presented some 80 artists, mostly from Asia, including Korean artists Paik Nam-june, Chun Kwang-young, Woo Kuk-won and Lee Diren. The gallery is currently working on the interior desig

Arts & Design Oct. 23, 2023