Find your hanbok at DDP

A variety of hanbok, the traditional Korean clothing, will be up for sale at an up-to 80 percent discount during a four-day hanbok expo opening Friday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Over 100 shops will be offering both traditional and modern hanbok varieties, including pieces for pets and accessories to go with the garment. Everything will be sold at a 30 percent discount on average, with some discounted up to 80 percent. The annual event, launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tou

Aug. 7, 2024

Conference to examine activist artists’ contribution to Korean independence

The National Museum of Korean Contemporary History will hold a conference Friday to explore independence activist artists ahead of Liberation Day next week, the state-run museum said Wednesday. The event will look at how Korean artists and their works boosted efforts towards achieving independence from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, with seven academics discussing their research in different fields. A keynote speech by Kim Jeong-in, a historian teaching at Chuncheon National University of

Aug. 7, 2024

ASEAN trade fair invites public for food, drinks

The annual ASEAN Trade Fair invites the public and prospective buyers to a four-day showcase of food and beverages enjoyed by the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that starts Thursday at Coex in Seoul. The annual fair, run by the ASEAN-Korea Centre since 2009 to expand business ties, will have three spaces set up for individuals dropping by and businesses looking for partnerships with participating ASEAN companies. The Exhibition Zone will focus on sauces and desserts,

Aug. 5, 2024

[Exclusive] Seoul Fashion Week to show world’s first stretchable display

The spring-summer 2025 Seoul Fashion Week, set for next month, brings to the runway something unlike anything seen since 2000 when the biannual show began: Stretchable display panels -- worn by models, who will tout them as the “next (thing) in fashion.” The designer behind this project is Lee Chung-chung, womenswear designer and founder of LIE, whose runway will be the finale of the five-day fashion week starting Sept. 3 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, with a demonstration of how panels

Aug. 4, 2024

Futura Seoul in Bukchon to open with inaugural Refik Anadol exhibition

A large-scale exhibition space in Seoul's Bukchon neighborhood is set to open early September with the inaugural solo exhibition of Turkish-American media artist Refik Anadol, whose work pioneers the aesthetics of machine intelligence. As exemplified by Anadol's exhibition, his largest held in Asia, the 1,200-square-meter space will function as an art space accommodating a variety of exhibitions and art events. The building, comprising exhibition spaces on the first and second floors

Aug. 2, 2024

Video artist Kim Hee-cheon asks, what is horror?

New work by video artist Kim Hee-cheon, acclaimed for his insight into the contemporary technological environment and culture, articulates uncertainty to viewers with his interpretation of the experience of horror. Entering the exhibition hall at Atelier Hermes, visitors will be baffled as nothing will be visible in the dark at first and all you will hear is the sound of someone speaking. Soon after, on two screens, a story will start to unfold evolving around Chanjong, the head coach of a hig

July 31, 2024

Law to promote transparency in Korean art scene takes effect

Those who purchase art in South Korea can ask for a certificate that guarantees the authenticity of the work, while artists will be guaranteed royalties every time their work is resold in the art market, according to the newly enacted Art Promotion Act. The Art Promotion Act and its enforcement decree partly went into effect Friday, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. While people could ask for a type of document that identify that the artwork is authentic when purchasing

July 28, 2024

Letters by Korean independence fighter to go on exhibit

Seven letters written by Korean independence fighter Na Seok-ju that shed light on his plans to destroy Japan-run companies in protest of Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule are on display at the National Museum of Korea, from Friday to Oct. 9. Shown to the public for the first time, the letters, written to fellow activists in 1925, discussed how Na found it more viable to bomb Joseon Siksan Bank and the Oriental Development Company in central Seoul among other Japanese state-run businesses. On

July 26, 2024

National Museum of Korea provides major grant to Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art

The National Museum of Korea will award the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art $1.4 million as part of its overseas Korean Galleries Support Program. It marks the largest grant ever awarded by Korea's state-run museum to any institution. The grant will be awarded over four years to help the museum expand the program that aims to deepen the public's interest in Korean art and culture. The program includes reinstalling the museum’s permanent collection of Korean art i

July 24, 2024

Art world welcomes eased rule on exports of post-1946 Korean art

A revision to the Cultural Heritage Preservation and Utilization Act's enforcement decree that had banned works of art at least 50 years old from being taken out of the country went into effect Tuesday, allowing for Korean art created after 1946 to be moved out of the country more easily. The art circle welcomed the long-awaited change, which, they said, would make it possible to more effectively promote Korean contemporary art. The previous enforcement decree required any transportable art

July 23, 2024

Enforcement decree in heritage law eased to promote Korean art overseas

The Korea Heritage Service has eased a decades-long rule that banned artworks from being taken out of the country. Under the previous rule, artworks 50 years old or more, when being considered for sale or exhibition outside Korea, were required to get agency approval over concerns valuable heritage could slip out of the country. The new enforcement decree to the Cultural Heritage Preservation and Utilization Act, effective Tuesday, has loosened the restriction, removing the review process for ar

July 23, 2024

[Herald Interview] Alternatives to apartments are possible in Korea: curator Chung Dah-young

Apartments constitute the most typical residential form across South Korea's cities, accounting for more than half of all housing in the country. Most people rarely have a chance to think critically about what options other than apartments might be possible. The newly opened exhibition “Performative Home: Architecture for Alternative Living” at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, gets visitors to think outside the box about

July 22, 2024

[Media Art Now] Sanghee’s gameplay revisits idea of interactivity and connectivity

Everything seems synchronized today, happening at the same time and at the same speed. You can connect yourself with the world, whenever you want and even when you do not want to. It is an age where a sense of being together is more easily obtained than a sense of being separated. But is this really true? Is the synchronicity a prerequisite or a preference when you seek to generate interactive togetherness? Sanghee (capitalized as SANGHEE by the artist), who came to distinguish herself with he

July 20, 2024

Old shabby water tower in Seoul transforms to 'Rain Veil'

Anyone familiar with the Songpa-gu neighborhood of southern Seoul may be aware of the tall old water purification tower that has been left unused for the past 20 years. The 32-meter eyesore has long been a topic of discussion as to whether it should be demolished or not. The water purification tower, built in 1986, once held 600 tons of water daily for purification, however, it ceased operations in early 2004 following changes in the water supply system. Now the tower has gained new life as the

July 19, 2024

Smithsonian's Asian art museum appoints Hwang Sun-woo as Korea art curator

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art has appointed Hwang Sun-woo as its inaugural Korea Foundation Curator of Korean Art and Culture. Hwang will shape a major Korean art loan exhibition scheduled for 2025–2026 with the National Museum of Korea, featuring masterworks recently donated by the family of former Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Hwang was selected for the position in April, which was made possible by a matching gift from the Korea Foundation to promote Korean a

July 18, 2024

[Media Art Now] Sanghee’s gameplay revisits idea of interactivity and connectivity

Everything seems synchronized today, happening at the same time and at the same speed. You can connect yourself with the world, whenever you want and even when you do not want to. It is an age where a sense of being together is more easily obtained than a sense of being separated. But is this really true? Is the synchronicity a prerequisite or a preference when you seek to generate interactive togetherness? Sanghee (capitalized as SANGHEE by the artist), who came to distinguish herself with he

July 18, 2024

[What to See] Summer gallery hopping in Gangnam, Hannam, Samcheong

Exhibitions are in full swing for the summer. Koenig Seoul is presenting a group exhibition of female Asian artists. Gallery Hyundai is hosting a solo exhibition of Korean artist Lee Seul-gi for the first time in six years. And British artist Billy Childish's unique brush strokes and color use shown at Lehmann Maupin is another must-see exhibition this month. Female Asian artists at Koenig Seoul A group exhibition of 12 female Asian artists is on view at Koenig Seoul in Cheongdam-dong, ma

July 18, 2024

Frieze, Kiaf mark third collaboration in September

Frieze Seoul and Kiaf Seoul mark their third collaboration in early September as they bring together a variety of art programs across the city, with some 320 galleries from around the world participating. Internationally renowned art fair Frieze Seoul and the home-grown international art fair Kiaf Seoul will kick off at Coex in southern Seoul on Sept. 4. Frieze Seoul will run through Sept. 7 and Kiaf Seoul through Sept. 8. The two art fairs will co-host a talk program in collaboration with the K

July 17, 2024

Daniel Arsham gives glimpse of thousand years from now

One rarely imagines how the present world would be remembered and seen a thousand years later. American artist Daniel Arsham’s solo exhibition at Lotte Museum of Art in Seoul does just that. Arsham has shown works based on the concept of “fictional archaeology” that he created inspired by archaeologists. The artist imagines everyday objects of today as artifacts excavated in the future, creating an ambiguity about the period we inhabit. The exhibition titled “Daniel Arsha

July 16, 2024

Korean media art to be featured in Paris during summer Olympics

Korean media art will be presented in Paris in July to coincide with the 2024 Summer Olympics featuring video art founder Paik Nam-june and leading Korean contemporary media artists. The exhibition “Decoding Korea, La Coree Decodee” will be held from July 26 to Aug. 25 at the Grand Palais Immersif, an art center dedicated to digital art in Paris, hosted by the South Korean Culture Ministry and organized by the Korea Arts Management Service. A total of 18 media artworks by 11 artist

July 14, 2024