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Son‘s mission to preserve memories of 93-year-old mom earns him unexpected recognition
Senior director‘s award-winning short film, resurrecting mother’s extinct village on hand-drawn map, celebrates family love, bridges generational gaps Last year, Kang Heon-koo, 63, undertook an intriguing personal project: reconstructing a map of his family‘s now-defunct old village using the memori
Aug. 7, 2024 -
1988
Find the answer at the bottom. For South Koreans, 1988 was one memorable year. It is because in 1988, the nation hosted the Summer Olympics, a much-anticipated opportunity to show the world how the once impoverished nation had developed. Although the country had hosted the Asian Games two years earl
Aug. 7, 2024 -
Should priority seating for pregnant women be kept empty?
Seoul Metro‘s trains have had priority seats reserved for pregnant women since 2013. These pink seats, located at the ends of some rows, however, have been a source of continuous controversy. Recently, debate erupted online and in local media when one individual proposed that the city install a sens
Aug. 6, 2024 -
Firsts in Korea's Olympic history
This year, summer in South Korea is even more sizzling with excitement as its athletes have delivered outstanding performances at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Major milestones in Korea’s history of participation in the Summer Games -- like shooter Ban Hyo-jin’s win of the country's 100th gold medal and the men’s saber fencing team's win of Korea's 300th medal of any type -- have sparked awe. But equally if not more deserving of recognition are the firsts i
Aug. 5, 2024 -
Grammy-winning producer David ‘Yungin’ Kim sets to bridge gaps between music and cultures
David "Yungin" Kim, a Grammy Award-winning mix engineer, hopes to create a bridge between Korea and the US music industries as he continues on his professional and personal journey in both countries. Kim, who goes by his artist name Yungin, is the first Korean-born person to win a Grammy outside of classical music. As a mix engineer, he has worked with many big names including BTS, Nas, Kendrick Lamar, Hit-Boy, Post Malone and Ariana Grande. And earlier this year he debuted as a produc
Aug. 2, 2024 -
Gold medal sport
Find the answer at the bottom. South Korea consistently dominates the sport of archery at the Summer Olympics in a way that not many other countries have, particularly the women's team competition. Ever since the introduction of the women's archery team event at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, Korea's f
July 31, 2024 -
Budget or bougie: Coffee choices in S. Korea
Can South Koreans today manage a day without coffee? Data from market research company Euromonitor International suggests it's unlikely, as they consume an average of 405 cups annually as of last year -- well above the global average of 152 cups. Korea's voracious coffee consumers have unleashed a price war among retailers, leading budget coffee shops here to converge on the standard price of 1,500 won ($1.09) per Americano for several years now. At the opposite end of the spectrum,
July 30, 2024 -
After diving head-first into webtoons, creator learns hard lessons
Aspiring webtoon artist Dang Yeon-hee shares her experience of Korea‘s competitive web comics scene and how she came to appreciate the importance of staying grounded in reality Many dream of leaving their mundane jobs to pursue something creative and original. Only a few actually take the leap, and
July 24, 2024 -
Liver metaphors
Find the answer at the bottom. In traditional Korean medicine, the liver is considered one of the five most important organs in the body. This belief in the liver being in charge of many functions may be why a number of references to the organ are often found in colloquial Korean phrases. "Gan (간),
July 24, 2024 -
What are they wearing? Korean fashion brands attract youth locally, globally
Following the global popularity of K-pop, K-dramas and K-food, get ready for another "K": K-fashion. Alongside established Korean fashion houses like Songzio, Wooyoungmi, Juun.J and System, a new generation of local fashion labels is making waves globally, establishing Korea as a fashion hot spot, particularly for today’s style-savvy millennials and Generation Z. Recognizing Korea’s dynamic and emerging fashion profile, a 2023 US News & World Report survey ranked the
July 23, 2024 -
How to say ‘no’
S. Korea‘s social norms and pressures amplify the challenge of declining After a second date, Lee Tae-hyung, 26, wanted to ask the woman out again. He sent her a KakaoTalk message saying, “Do you have time this weekend?” and the reply he received was, “I don‘t think I can make time. I have plans thi
July 21, 2024 -
When living in Korea becomes overwhelming: an expat psychologist's view
As South Korea sees the increase of foreign residents, understanding their lives and the challenges they face here is becoming increasingly important. To explore these issues, The Korea Herald sat down with Chad Ebesutani, a licensed psychologist in both the US and South Korea who runs the Seoul Counseling Center. "There are many great things about Korea, such as the infrastructure, consumer lifestyle and culture, but there are also unique stressors," he said. The intense urban environ
July 20, 2024