Sejong Summer Festival turns Gwanghwamun Square into lively dance floor

The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts’s Summer Festival kicked off Wednesday with enthusiastic cheers and vibrant dance moves filling the Gwanghwamun Square, which will remain a lively dance floor both for performers and audiences until Sunday. On Wednesday, approximately 1,000 people, including preregistered attendees and those who queued at the venue, filled the standing area, immersing themselves in the dynamic performances. Those unable to enter the square shared in the excitement

Aug. 29, 2024

KTO unveils award-winning tourism souvenirs

The Korea Tourism Organization announced 25 award-winning items for the 2024 Korea Tourist Souvenir Contest, each showcasing beauty and charms of Korea. The contest, held by the organization in May, received 580 applications of creative souvenirs under 300,000 won ($225). Gamseonok Original Set, a premium dessert box featuring iconic regional specialties like the dried persimmons of Sancheong, South Gyeongsang Province, won the top prize this year. The gold prize went to Aengganghyangcha, a medi

Aug. 28, 2024

'I am sorry for cheating on my wife': K-drama star's faux apology goes viral

"I made the unacceptable mistake of cheating on my wife. I offer my deepest apologies to the viewers." Actor Ji Seung-hyun, who stars in the hit K-drama "Good Partner," recently appeared in a YouTube video that at first glance looks like the real deal -- from the clickbait title ("I am Sorry") to the solemn-faced celebrity against a plain gray backdrop, bowing deeply before the camera as he delivers his pained apologies to the public. The video checks all the boxes

Aug. 27, 2024

[From the Scene] Seon meditation front and center for Jogye leader

GONGJU, South Chungcheong Province -- Templestay programs are usually light on message, focusing instead on enabling participants to experience Buddhist routines like prostrations and early morning chants. The latest templestay program held from Saturday to Sunday capped an eight-week teaching by the Ven. Jinwoo on practicing seon meditation. The president of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the largest Buddhist sect here, rallied participants to not only follow the Jogye style of meditation,

Aug. 27, 2024

Nodeul Island Classic festival to showcase 'The Sleeping Beauty,' 'Carmen'

The Nodeul Island Classic is set to bring back its signature outdoor performances this fall, with two iconic performances staged free of charge. On Oct. 12 and 13, the island will be transformed into a stage for “The Sleeping Beauty” from Ballet STP, a collective of three ballet companies: Universal Ballet, Wise Ballet and Seoul Ballet Theatre. The following weekend, the island will host the opera “Carmen,” which delves into themes of love, jealousy and fate. The opera

Aug. 26, 2024

[Exclusive] YouTube says account of singer convicted of sex crimes terminated according to guidelines

YouTube said that it decided to shut down the account of Go Young-wook, a former member of '90s band Roo'Ra who served 30 months in prison for raping minors, according to its guidelines, Monday. “We have terminated Go!Youngwook GoDog Days channel in accordance with our Creator Responsibility guidelines, which prohibit off-platform behavior that harms YouTube’s community. This means that the uploader is unable to use, own or create any other YouTube channels.” a YouTub

Aug. 26, 2024

[Herald Review] Ye concert in Seoul: confusion to awe to controversy

Rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has built a reputation for unpredictability, and for some fans in South Korea, an abrupt cancellation was almost expected at his first standalone concert “Ye x Ty Dolla Sign Vultures Listening Experience” held in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday. The performance was to be the rapper's first in Korea since the hip-hop electronic music festival "Summer Week & T" in Yangyang, Gangwon Province, in 2010, where he participated

Aug. 25, 2024

[Weekender] Art as more than propaganda: Meaning of culture and art transforms for North Korean defectors

Park Sang-young, the founder and principal of Set Net School for North Koreans resettling in South Korea, will be stepping down after 20 years. "Set" and "net" mean numbers three and four, respectively, in Korean. The school's name signifies that it serves as a continuation for North Korean defectors who have completed the three-month educational program at the government-run Hana Dul (One, Two) School. While several organizations offer alternative education programs f

Aug. 24, 2024

KTO launches Korea Dulle Trail campaign

The Korea Tourism Organization announced that a special campaign aimed at promoting the Korea Dulle Trail will run through Nov. 30, offering gifts, mobile certificates and more. The Korea Dulle Trail is a 4,500-kilometer walking trail that circles South Korea, including its east, west and south coasts and the border area of the Demilitarized Zone. Hoping to satisfy local and overseas trekking enthusiasts who wish to discover charms of South Korea with their feet firmly on the ground, the trail w

Aug. 24, 2024

Fun, laughters to fill port city as Busan International Comedy Festival opens for 10-day run

Korean and international comedians will converge for the 12th Busan International Comedy Festival, one of Asia's largest comedy events, which kicks off Friday. This year's BICF will begin with an opening ceremony on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Busan Cinema Center, hosted by popular Korean comedians Yoo Se-yoon and Jang Dong-min. The opening ceremony will showcase performances by the group Koyote and comedian Youn Sung-ho, also known as DJ Ven. New Jean. International comedians, including p

Aug. 23, 2024

[Well-curated] Retreat and confront extreme heat

In today’s busy modern society, people often seek a retreat from the city -- a place where they can find peace and fresh air in nature. Chwihoga, meaning "Temple of the Tiger" in Korean, offers just that. Consisting of three private houses, the property was curated by a married couple who left the bustling capital of Seoul in 2020 to find a new home in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province. The couple encountered Pyeongchang during their travels and felt an inexplicable sense of peace th

Aug. 23, 2024

BIFAN-winning director Francis Galluppi says ‘don’t go to film school’

“I would argue that this movie is not a Western,” Francis Galluppi, director of “The Last Stop in Yuma County,” said about his first feature film just hours before it won the audience award and top competitive Best of Bucheon title at Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival on July 12. The film takes place deep in the desert of 1980s Arizona at a diner next to the only gas station in a hundred miles. More than one mysterious stranger makes an entrance, denim and cow

Aug. 22, 2024

Seoul Tourism Organization to host lectures on K-culture trends

The Seoul Tourism Organization is hosting special lectures titled "K-Culture Trends in the World" at Seoul Tourism Plaza in Seoul on Sept. 28. The global standing of K-pop, trends in contemporary Korean art, and Korean webtoons and web novels will be discussed in three separate lectures by experts in the respective fields -- Kim Jae-heun, a culture reporter at The Korea Herald; Jason Haam, founder of Jason Haam Gallery and Cheon Beom-sick, well-known webtoon creator. The lectures are f

Aug. 19, 2024

[Herald Interview] Chat with your favorite webtoon character

The line between fiction and reality is becoming increasingly blurred. The AI planning team at Naver Webtoon has rolled out an official AI chatbot service, which lets users chat with fictional characters. Character Chat is a chatbot service available on the Naver Webtoon app which leverages Naver's AI language model, HyperClova X, to facilitate conversations with characters from webtoons. Users can interact with four popular webtoon characters of their choice, including Ki Sang-ho from &quo

Aug. 19, 2024

Top concertmasters gather in Seoul to celebrate 30 years of Sejong Soloists

Four esteemed concertmasters will gather to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Sejong Soloists at the Seoul Arts Center on Saturday. Frank Huang, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, David Chen, concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Andrew Wan, concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Daniel Cho, concertmaster of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, all share a significant connection: they are alumni of the Sejong Soloists, an ensemble founded 30 years ago

Aug. 19, 2024

North Korea threat still overshadows K-culture: Survey

Despite the rapid rise of South Korea's cultural and artistic presence on the global stage -- driven by the growth of K-pop, films, and dramas -- a recent survey reveals that the dominant image foreigners associate with Korea is still the threat from North Korea. The survey, released on Wednesday by the Corea Image Communication Institute, found that 83.9 percent of foreign respondents identified North Korea's security threat as their foremost association with Korea. This starkly contrasts with

Aug. 16, 2024

[Well-curated] Theme your summer

If you have some time to spare before (or after) shopping at the popular shopping complex HDC IPark Mall in Yongsan, central Seoul, head over to “The Great Era of Piracy," a special exhibition on "One Piece," a mega-hit Japanese animation series on air since 1999, on the mall's sixth floor. In Seoul, the exhibition which previously toured Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia, presents Korean anime fans with opportunities to enjoy the beloved series via limited edition merc

Aug. 16, 2024

[Herald Interview] Flutist Kim Yu-been on his journey from France to the US, first album

About 11 years ago, at the age of 16, aspiring South Korean flutist Kim Yu-been moved to France to pursue his passion for the instrument. Since then, Kim's journey as a flutist has taken him from France to Germany and now to the US, winning major competitions along the way and serving as the principal flutist at two prestigious orchestras. Kim studied at prestigious French music institutions, including the Conservatoire National Superieur Musique et Danse de Lyon and the Conservatoire Natio

Aug. 15, 2024

Pianist Park Jae-hong highlights hidden gems by Rachmaninoff, Scriabin in latest album

For emerging Korean pianist Park Jae-hong, his latest album featuring two Russian composers and the upcoming recitals showcasing it will be special, as he will bid a temporary goodbye to the music of these composers he loves this fall. On Monday, Park released his Decca debut album, featuring Alexander Scriabin’s 24 Preludes Op. 11 and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor Op. 28 - the two composers’ lesser-known works. Park, winner of the 2021 Busoni Piano Compet

Aug. 14, 2024

Korea unveils items linked to independence activists

Documents, books and a plaque shedding light on Korean independence activists who fought against Japan’s 1910-45 colonial occupation were disclosed Wednesday, a day before National Liberation Day. Thirteen documents written between 1851 and 1909 show how independence fighters organized a militia and how Japanese police cracked down on them. It’s the first time the 13 original documents have been made public, the Korea Heritage Service said, noting they were repatriated from Japan las

Aug. 14, 2024