It was somewhat natural for Gi Yoo-jeong, a 30-year-old gayageum player, to turn to the Korean traditional twelve-string instrument. "My mom was a gayageum player, and I grew up listening to her playing it at home all the time. And naturally, I became one too,” she said. “My mom didn’t say a word about my career. It was solely at my will to play gayageum,” said Gi, as she played the instrument at her home. When she began to play gayageum, her first child Ji-an sat be

Tashi Choden, a Bhutanese social media influencer who was crowned this year’s Miss Bhutan, was 15 when she first realized she was "different." “I first came out as a bisexual person to my friends, but soon realized that my affection tilted more towards women,” Choden, now 23, told The Korea Herald in an exclusive interview. “After doing some research on gender identities, I found out that I was a genderfluid lesbian.” Being gender-fluid means that one&rs

Veteran gugak musician Ahn Sook-sun, 73, has been recognized as the National Intangible Cultural Heritage holder of "Chunhyangga" pansori, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced Tuesday. "Chunhyangga" is the best-known among the pansori genre, depicting a love tale between a daughter of an entertainer and the son of a magistrate. Ahn surrenders the "Gayageum Sanjo and Byeongchang" holder's qualification, since the CHA states that a single person should not

Over the past five years, issues of increasing the role of women in society in the country have been raised to the level of state policy, and 25 legislative acts have been adopted in this area. Various programs to support women are being implemented with the assistance of international organizations. In the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, the Committee on Women and Gender Equality and Commission on Ensuring Gender Equality, headed by the chairperson of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, have been establ

Archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik became the fourth South Korean cardinal in an appointment ceremony at the Vatican on Saturday. You, 70, was sworn in at St. Peter’s Basilica at 4 p.m. as one of 20 new cardinals appointed by Pope Francis. The appointment was announced in May. He was also among 16 cardinal electors under 80 years old, who are eligible to vote for the next pontiff in a secret conclave. You became the fourth Korean cardinal after the late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, th

The International Council of Museums named Chang In-kyung, former head of the ICOM Korea Committee and founding director of the Iron Museum in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, as co-vice president of ICOM headquarters, on Thursday. The announcement was made after the 37th ICOM General Assembly held in Prague, on Thursday. Emma Nardi, professor in University Rome Tre’s Experimental Pedagogy studies department, was elected president, and Terry Simioti, assistant curator of Ichthyology

Korean-American psychologist warns against living life as an ‘impostor,’ urges to embrace failures

Doctor-turned-owner committed to sharing joy of listening to classical music

Actor Nam Joo-hyuk has denied another round of bullying allegations raised against him. Management Soop, Nam’s agency, said Wednesday that they had sought to verify the facts through various channels after the rumors were raised and found that such allegations were “not true.” The controversy erupted on Tuesday last week when a local media outlet ran a report alleging that Nam had bullied a classmate in high school. The article was based on a tip-off from an anonymous pers

Choreographer opens up about what makes K-pop different and being on dance audition program, ‘Be Mbitious’

The teaser image for singer and actress Kang Ji-young‘s new single, “Lucid Dream,” was released on Monday. Kang, who co-wrote the lyrics of the melodic blues-inspired song about missing a loved one, expressed excitement about her first release in four years. She also launched the YouTube channel “My Name is Jiyoung Kang ” last Tuesday and released a video about her new single. “Lucid Dream” is a collaborative project between Kang and Unda, a shampoo

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Wednesday said that it has appointed pianist and professor Chang Hyoung-joon as the new president of the Seoul Arts Center. Starting Friday, Chang will lead the country’s top art complex for the next three years. Born in 1962, Chang received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. He has been teaching piano at Seoul National University since 1995. He has collaborated with world-reno

Pediatric psychiatrist says Korean parents make child-rearing into too much hard work

With his eye-catching gestures, comical facial expressions and mischievous voices, illusionist Lee Eun-gyeol turned even a small studio into a grand stage for his stage performances. “Which version of Lee Eun-gyeol do you want to see today? I don’t think the performer from MBC is available today,” Lee playfully told The Korea Herald during a recent interview. The zany persona that made him so well-loved on MBC’s “My Little Television” might have been absen

Korean activist reveals personal info of parents refusing to pay child support, likens it to ‘#MeToo movement for children’