A goldfinch is sitting on the stem of a sunflower planted in a garden near the Danwon district office in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, on Aug. 29. A goldfinch eats a sunflower seed in a garden near the Danwon district office in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, on Aug. 29. (Photos: Yonhap)

Jirisan has long been revered by many South Koreans as one of three holy mountains alongside Geumgangsan and Hallasan. Hwaeomsa, the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, is located at the southern foot of the mountain in South Jeolla Province. The temple is home to an array of national treasures, and visitors can also enjoy scenic views of the mountain.  Records say Yeongi, an Indian monk, established the temple in the 5th century, but the construction was not completed unti

The most famous Korean cultural festival in Latin America, K-Expo 2021 kicked off in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Thursday, according to Korean Cultural Center Brazil. The annual festival is being held online for the second consecutive year via two popular streaming services, Youtube and Twitch. A special studio in Bom Retiro, Sao Paulo, was set up for viewing the virtual event.　 The first day of the show started with a virtual tour around Seoul’s hip Ikseon-dong followed by an online fan meeti

Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas offers meals for private gatherings Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas has launched a special lunchbox “Grab & Go Surf and Turf” promotion of meals prepared by hotel chefs with top-quality ingredients for small private gatherings. The “Grab & Go Surf and Turf” includes lobster, steak, abalone, dried yellow corvine, salad and dessert. The prepared meals will be served until Sept. 30 and priced at 110,000 won for four and 180

Eumseong Pumba Festival The Eumseong Pumba Festival will take place in Eumseong-gun, North Chungcheong Province, running for four days starting Oct. 21 at Seolseong Park. The origin of the festival is connected to the songs of street singers when strolling around the marketplaces to look out for anything they could get. Performers here do not beg for food and money, but they will sing at the event. The event features various programs, including the Pumba street parade and National Pumba King

Urban Break 2021 -- Asia’s largest art fair focused on contemporary urban art -- will kick off Thursday at Coex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul showcasing a variety of urban artworks and programs that feature VR. Some 300 artists from around the world are presenting about 25,000 creations at this year’s annual fair. Following the VIP opening Wednesday, the event will open to the general public Thursday and run through Sunday. Participating artists include a New York-based doodle a

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BORYEONG -- The annual Boryeong Mud Festival has been selected as one of Asia's three major festivals by an international festival association, a local government said Tuesday. According to the city government of Boryeong, about 190 kilometers south of Seoul, its popular mud festival was designated as one of the Three Major Festivals of Asia by the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) Asia. The two other festivals that received recognition were the annual Harbin Internationa

South Korea's tidal flats have been officially inscribed as a UNESCO world natural heritage despite receiving a deferral in a preliminary review, cultural heritage authorities said Monday.  Seoul has been pushing to register "getbol," or "Korean tidal flats," on UNESCO's world heritage list in the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee taking place in Fuzhou, China, online. The decision came as a surprise, considering that getbol was deferred from the list of pot

Some 291.8 billion won ($253.3 million) has been set aside for the second round of COVID-19 supplementary budget this year for the culture, sports and tourism sectors. Of the total extra budget, 141.8 billion won will be allocated for job creation in the culture industry and for a coupon program to encourage domestic demand for culture, sports and tourism, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Sunday in announcing the new supplementary budget. The 150 billion won secured through t