The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Sunday that its affiliated institutions -- museums, art galleries, libraries and performance venues – can resume operations. The Culture Ministry’s announcement follows the government’s statement Sunday that the social distancing campaign for facilities in the Seoul metropolitan area would be relaxed. The shutdown of state-run cultural institutions began at 6 p.m. on May 29. The ministry’s 10 museums, art galleri

Culture July 19, 2020

The Korea Foundation is holding a modern photography exhibition titled “KREAtive Perspectives” in conjunction with the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Korea, starting Monday. The exhibition will run until Sept. 23 at the KF Gallery in central Seoul. The title “KREAtive Perspectives” derives from the combination of the word “creative” and K, R, E and A from the two countries’ English names, Korea and Ukraine. The main theme of the exhibition

Arts & Design July 19, 2020

Hee-man Harry Ahn, who worked in various managerial positions at South Korean discount chain Homeplus shares his experience as a leader in his book “10 Leadership Lessons to Win and Grow.” The majority of his tips are based on leading different divisions as an executive at Samsung Tesco, the Korean subsidiary of the world’s third retailer Tesco since 2001. Ahn worked for almost twenty years at the company. In 2011, Samsung Tesco changed its name to Homeplus. On top of this,

Books July 18, 2020

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s new Hallyu department on Thursday announced detailed plans to support the Korean Wave in a press briefing in Seoul. Before the new department was launched in June, the ministry has only had task forces and committees conducting Hallyu-related projects. Three main strategies -- diversifying Hallyu content, fostering other industries through Hallyu content, and creating a sustainable environment for the growth of Hallyu -- were introduced by

Culture July 16, 2020

The Andong City government announced on Tuesday that it had decided to cancel the Andong Mask Dance Festival, which was set to start Sept. 25, due to the danger of COVID-19. According to the organizer of the 10-day festival, diverse performances were planned for Hahoe Village in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province. “We are sorry to announce the cancellation of the ‘Andong Mask Dance Festival.’ We will provide diverse events next year as a world-class festival organizer,&rdquo

Culture July 14, 2020

The Cultural Heritage Administration’s Deoksugung Palace Management Office and South Korea’s top mobile carrier, SK Telecom, on Monday launched a virtual reality tour of Deoksugung’s Western-style Seokjojeon building. Viewers will be able to enjoy the VR tour through SK Telecom’s Jump VR app with a series of 360-degree VR videos that take visitors on a guided tour of Deoksugung. VR headsets are not required. “Due to COVID-19, Deoksugung has remained closed for

Culture July 13, 2020

On the surface of white pottery is an illustration of a bear and a duckling playing surrounded by mokbuyong flowers, a type of lotus. The illustration is painted with blue pigments. The bear is a character named Brown and the duckling is Sally, both from global character brand Line Friends, while the lotus flowers represent Korean premium tableware brand Kwangjuyo. The blue and white color coordination stems from a traditional pottery style especially popular during the late Joseon era. The

Arts & Design July 11, 2020

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Friday announced it has released six photos and six videos of animals living at palaces and royal tombs in Korea. The CHA added there are also photos of the sites of palaces and royal tombs for people who would like to visit the sites but cannot do so due to the virus situation. The palaces and royal tombs have been shut down since May 29 due to the spread of the COVID-19. The organization highlighted that the video content includes raccoons playing

Culture July 10, 2020

Over 330,000 people have signed a petition asking to the government to cancel the health authority’s decision to ban small gatherings and meetings in churches on the government‘s online public petition platform as of Friday. The public petition was first posted on the website on Wednesday immediately after the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters said Protestant churches will be barred from hosting small Bible classes, choir practices and lunch services from Frid

Culture July 10, 2020

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Wednesday it will inject 156.9 billion won ($131.28 million) to support artists who are suffering financially from the spread of COVID-19. The amount accounts for around 45 percent of the total 346.9 billion won third extra budget of the ministry. “Since the overall culture industry has been hit by the COVID-19, we have worked hard for this third extra budget,” Oh Yeong-woo, first vice minister of Culture Ministry, said during a pr

Culture July 8, 2020

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on Friday that the National Assembly passed a third extra budget of 346.9 billion won ($289.4 million) to support the cultural industry that has been suffering financially due to the spread of COVID-19. The ministry added that the amount increased by 7 billion won from 339.9 billion won, the initial budget plan it had submitted on June 3. The National Assembly has approved the Culture Ministry’s project plans for increasing jobs and

Culture July 8, 2020

Culture Station Seoul 284 will unveil the “New Discovery of Travel” exhibition online on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Audiences can enjoy the online content during the “2020 Special Travel Week” which runs from July 1 through July 19 on Culture Station Seoul 284’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/seoul284official). The exhibition is themed around the question of “Why do we travel?” It was originally scheduled to run from June 23 to Aug. 8, but the opening wa

Arts & Design July 7, 2020

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Thursday unveiled the “Goryeo Lacquered Box Inlaid with Mother-of-pearl Chrysanthemum and Scroll Design” previously held in Japan at the National Palace Museum of Korea. The artifact was returned to Korea in December last year. “Mother-of-pearl lacquerware with our 1,000-year history has returned. This artifact is our cultural heritage that contains our DNA,” head of CHA Chung Jae-suk said during a press conference held Thursday.

Arts & Design July 4, 2020

The Korean Academic Society for Public Relations on Wednesday held a symposium to discuss promoting Korean culture in the post COVID-19 era. The event was sponsored by the Korean Culture and Information Service. “Next year is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of KOCIS. It is meaningful to have discussions like this at this time,” said Choi Yoon-hee, second vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. During the talk, Eulji University’s public rela

Culture July 1, 2020

Staff of the Royal Palaces and Tomb Center’s Gyeongbokgung Palace Management Office clean the interior of Gyeongbokgung’s main hall, Geunjeongjeon, on Monday. The Joseon-period palace is closed to visitors due to the spread of COVID-19. By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)

Culture July 1, 2020