Lee Nak-joon, 35, balances three jobs -- web-serial writer, YouTuber and ear, nose and throat specialist. “At first I did not have much problems. I write fast. It usually takes around an hour and a half for me to write one episode (for my daily update). For YouTube, I only spent around 15 minutes shooting a video that is around 10 minutes,” Lee said in an interview with The Korea Herald. It became tougher to manage last year after his web serial “Trauma Center: Golden Hour&

People Feb. 14, 2020

When “Parasite” became the first non-English-language movie to win the top honor of best ensemble cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, actor Lee Sun-kyun joked, “I am a little embarrassed. It feels like we are parasites of Hollywood now.” He was being humble. Bong Joon-ho’s satire-thriller “Parasite” on Monday won best picture, best director, best international feature film and best original screenplay at the Academy Awards, becoming the first Kor

Film Feb. 10, 2020

Foreign language speakers seeking assistance with their queries on the novel coronavirus are finding it difficult to get help through Korea Centers for Disease Control’s hotline 1339. Korea Tourism Organization announced on Thursday that people who need advice in foreign languages could call 1339 and press 4, which would connect them to a three-way call service with interpreters to accommodate callers who do not speak Korean. The service is available in eight languages, including Englis

Travel Feb. 7, 2020

“I crack nuts with my family on Jeongwol Daeboreum. I am not sure why, but I guess the tradition is supposed to shoo away some bad ghosts and bring good luck,” Kang Min-woo, 26, said. “I do know that there are some other Jeongwol Daeboreum traditions, but I do not celebrate them.” Saturday is “Jeongwol Daeboreum” or “Daeboreum,” a traditional holiday marking the first full moon of the Lunar New Year. However, traditions are slowly fading, especia

Culture Feb. 6, 2020

Munhaksasang, the publishing company that confers South Korea’s prestigious Yi Sang Literary Award, apologized Tuesday for the controversy that emerged when three of this year’s runners-up refused to accept their awards to protest contract terms they deemed unfair. “We apologize to everyone who was hurt and disappointed by this issue,” Munhaksasang CEO Lim Ji-hyun said in a statement. “We now realized that the biggest problem was our lack of awareness of copyright

People Feb. 5, 2020

The Korean Culture and Information Service on Tuesday released the results of a survey showing that 76.7 percent of non-Koreans have a positive image of South Korea. The survey involved 8,000 people in 16 countries, including South Korea, from July 18 to Aug. 22 last year. KOCIS began the annual survey in 2018 to assess South Korea’s image among global citizens. In the first survey, 80.3 percent of non-Koreans said they had a positive image of South Korea. The latest survey also showe

Culture Feb. 4, 2020

Kang Sue-jin has been reappointed as artistic director of the Korean National Ballet for the next three years, her third term after first taking the post in 2014. “We expect Kang to continue to interact with well-known national ballet groups and choreographers abroad to improve the level of our national ballet company. We also hope she will create original pieces based on Korean traditions for the development of Korean ballet,” Culture Minister Park Yang-woo said in a statement.

Performance Feb. 3, 2020

Composer Chin Un-suk, 58, has been named the winner of Leonie Sonning Music Prize 2021. The Leonie Sonning Music Prize is awarded every year to an internationally recognized composer, instrumentalist, conductor or singer. Chin is the first Asian to receive Denmark’s highest music award since its founding in 1959. Chin will receive 133,000 euros ($146,529), according to the Leonie Sonning Music Foundation. “With music rich in shimmering light effects and endless color play, Chin i

Performance Jan. 30, 2020

Reaching the heart through the stomach, the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism on Wednesday laid out its plan to Korean promote temple food internationally. Established in 2004, the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism promotes Korean Buddhism and its cultural contents by providing traditional cultural experience programs, education, exhibition and campaign. “We will promote Korean temple food overseas with Korean Cultural Centers and Korean embassies located outside of Korea,” head

Culture Jan. 29, 2020

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday announced five cities across the country will be developed into tourism hubs. “Five cities were picked based on their potential. We will inject around 15.9 billion won ($13.51 million) in total this year,” Culture Minister Park Yang-woo said during a press conference in Seoul. The move is aimed at promoting destinations outside of Seoul, which currently attracts the vast majority of overseas tourists. Busan, picked as a glob

Travel Jan. 28, 2020

Korea Ssireum Association is holding a tournament during the Lunar New Year holidays in Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province from Wednesday to Monday, with the organizers expecting more spectators than usual on the back of the recent resurgence in popularity of Korean traditional wrestling. 　“We have been holding a ssireum tournament during the Lunar New Year holidays every year in different cities of Korea. Last year the stadium in Jeongeup was nearly full and we are expecting more this

Culture Jan. 23, 2020

K-pop powerhouse YG Entertainment on Wednesday warned fans about fake tickets for K-pop band Big Bang’s leader G-Dragon’s rumored concert in China.In an official statement, YG said it has spotted fake news about G-Dragon’s supposed concert in China on several online websites, including WeChat, a widely used social media platform in China. While G-Dragon will not perform in a concert in China, the company said that some people have received preorders for the tickets.“All i

Performance Jan. 23, 2020

Diverse cultural events will be held at Korean Cultural Centers located in countries that mark the Lunar New Year’s holiday, introducing Korea’s own Lunar New Year traditions and customs.Eighteen Korean Cultural Centers in 15 countries will organize Lunar New Year’s events, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korean Culture and Information Service announced Tuesday. The centers are operated by the Korean government. “To celebrate the Lunar New Year, Korean Cul

Culture Jan. 21, 2020

Although it is tempting to stay in bed late during the long Lunar New Year’s holiday, there will be diverse traditional cultural events and opportunities that people should not miss. The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on Monday that four Joseon-era palaces in Seoul -- Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung -- will keep their doors open throughout the four-day holiday this year.The four palaces will offer cultural experience programs for visitors. On Saturd

Culture Jan. 21, 2020

The norm of interviewers having limited roles in front of the camera no longer holds true, as more South Korean interviewers are starting to shine on YouTube. Interviewer and producer Lee Eun-jae of variety show “MMTG,” a program that kicked off on SBS’ YouTube platform in February 2018, is one such example. The program, which features interviews with stars in different fields, has a separate YouTube channel with more than 40,900 subscribers as of Sunday. Lee, also known as Jae

People Jan. 19, 2020