The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is due to establish a separate department within the ministry to support the Korean Wave by June or July at the latest. While the ministry declined to give a specific opening date for the new department, saying it will make the announcement when the details have been confirmed, the decision was made on May 12 during the meeting of a pan-government Hallyu cooperation committee, which includes representatives from 12 ministries. While this marks the f

Culture June 8, 2020

The lead track of “D-2,” released in May by Suga of K-pop sensation BTS, has sparked global fans’ interest in traditional Korean music. The title of the piece, “Daechwita,” refers to a genre of traditional Korean music that was performed at a king’s parade and other military ceremonies. The music consists mainly of wind instruments and percussion instruments. The new hip-pop track, which was created based on the traditional sound source provided by the Na

Performance June 7, 2020

Culture Minister Park Yang-woo on Wednesday evening held a videoconference with British counterpart Oliver Dowden and shared Korea’s experience with COVID-19 safety guideline compliance in performing venues. According to the ministry, the videoconference took place at the request of Britain, which sought advice and guidance related to preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus, especially in the cultural sector. During the videoconference, Dowden asked about Korea’s experienc

Performance June 4, 2020

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on Wednesday that it has discovered the head of a stone seated Buddha statue, which is estimated to date from the late Unified Silla period, in conjunction with the Silla Cultural Heritage Research Institute. The head of the statue was found buried on Namsan in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. “We began our research after the Gyeongju government asked us to find out the original location of the headless statue,” head of Silla Cu

Culture June 3, 2020

Hwang Sok-yong, one of South Korea‘s best known writers, said he would rather bring back the Lotus Prize for Literature than win a Nobel prize, during a press conference held Tuesday for the release of his latest novel “Three Generations of Railworkers.” The Lotus Prize for Literature was an award organized by the Afro-Asian Writers‘ Association that was presented annually to African and Asian authors between 1969 to 1988. “I was named (as a possible winner of t

Books June 2, 2020

Two state-designated treasures from the Kansong Art Museum will be returned to the museum after an auction Wednesday failed to find new owners. The two treasures -- Treasure No. 284, Gilt-Bronze Standing Buddha and Treasure No. 285, Gilt-Bronze Standing Bodhisattva -- which were put on the block at K-Auction at a starting price of 1.5 billion won each, failed to attract any bidders.　 “The detailed schedule of the return cannot be disclosed due to our contract with the clients,” sa

Culture May 30, 2020

Two state-designated treasures from the Kansong Art Museum failed to find new owners at an auction in Seoul on Wednesday. They were the first sales attempt of the storied museum’s artifacts. Treasure No. 284, Gilt-Bronze Standing Buddha and Treasure No. 285, Gilt-Bronze Standing Bodhisattva, both failed to attract bidders at the highly anticipated auction held by K-Auction in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul. The bidding started at 1.5 billion won for each treasure but no bidder came forwa

Culture May 27, 2020

A pair of gilt-bronze shoes was among the relics the Cultural Heritage Administration unveiled to the public on Wednesday in conjunction with the Silla Cultural Heritage Research Institute. The relics -- thought to be from the late fifth to early sixth century Silla Kingdom -- came from an archaeological excavation of sites near tomb No. 120 in Hwangnam-dong, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The excavation is still in its early stages, the CHA said. Gilt-bronze shoes were last discovered

Culture May 27, 2020

South Korean startup Espressobook CEO Hwang Sang-chul says with his company’s app, Harubook, anyone can become an author and publish a physical book. Using the app, whose name means “one-day book,” users can create a book by writing a page a day. After writing at least 20 pages, authors can easily edit their books using the templates provided. “Originally, people had to learn Adobe’s book editing software. But with our app, the users can do the editing on smart

Culture May 26, 2020

The Korea Craft and Design Foundation, a public organization affiliated with the Korean Ministry of Sports, Culture and Tourism, on Wednesday opened the “Hanji Culture and Industry Center” to promote Korean traditional paper hanji. “Hanji has a long history. However, it has not been promoted properly. Through the establishment of this center, we hope to work on promoting hanji not only in Korea but also in the global market,” Vice Culture Minister Oh Young-woo said at

Culture May 24, 2020

If you’ve ever wanted to experience life in Joseon society, the National Museum of Korea’s Immersive Digital Gallery, which opened Wednesday, gives you the chance. Visitors can join a Joseon king’s procession, become a researcher restoring cultural heritage and place their photos on a shelf painting from the Joseon dynasty. Immersive digital technology includes virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality that attempts to emulate a physical world through digital me

Culture May 20, 2020

The 11th Korea Opera Festival, which was postponed from May due to the spread of the new coronavirus, will begin on June 4. The festival, which will take place in three different theaters of the Seoul Arts Center, will have two separate parts this year to avoid too many people gathering. The first half of the performance will be held in June and the other half will take place from August to September. From June 4-14, the festival will be held at Seoul Arts Center’s Jayu Theater. From

Culture May 19, 2020

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced Tuesday that it would start holding tours and events at the country’s royal palaces, which have been suspended since Feb. 27 due to the risk of spreading COVID-19. On Wednesday, the changing of the royal guard ceremony at Gyeongbokgung will be the first event to resume. Saenggwabang within Gyeongbokgung, where tourists can experience a traditional tea ceremony and enjoy dessert, will be open from May 27 to June 29. The popular night tours

Culture May 19, 2020

The Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, an affiliate of the Cultural Heritage Administration, on Monday announced that it had published a report on the Korean collection at the Mission Museum of St. Ottilien Archabbey in Germany. “We hope that this catalog will strengthen the groundwork for future research on the Korean collections of museums overseas and help to enhance the public’s knowledge of Korea’s cultural heritage located abroad,” the Overseas Korean

Culture May 18, 2020

The characters in Frances Cha’s debut novel, “If I Had Your Face,” at first will not surprise those who are familiar with South Korean pop culture, especially dramas and movies, or who follow news from Korea. “My book is about a group of young women in Korea -- mostly orphans who grew up in the provinces and moved to Seoul the first chance they got,” Frances Cha said. “They are hustling to stay afloat in a very fast, competitive and glamorous society, and wi

Books May 17, 2020