Compared to Broadway and the West End, which have become synonymous with musicals, South Korea’s musical industry remains small and stagnant at about 400 billion won ($307 million) a year. However, experts here said that Asia’s fourth-largest economy has developed musicals with its own distinct characters and hosts a unique audience and holds great potential, but only if it overcomes a myriad of challenges. “The popularity other K-cultural products enjoy and the potential of

A collection of four hand-written letters and postcards by Yi Yuksa (1904-1944), a Korean independence activist and writer of resistance poetry, will be registered as cultural heritage, South Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration announced Thursday. The letters were written during the Japanese colonial period, expressing hardships working for the country’s independence and his deep emotions to relatives and friends. The collection includes a letter sent to his close relative Le

An impressive collection of national treasures and artworks donated to the country by the family of the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, also known as the Lee Kun-hee Collection, will be taken overseas as early as 2025, according to Yoon Sung-yong, head of the National Museum of Korea. Just a month into Yoon’s appointment as NMK head, a plan was introduced during a press conference held at the museum on Thursday, with Lee Kun-hee’s collection placed on top of the agenda. It was

After the unexpected record downpour that wreaked havoc over South Korea, this weekend is a good time to halt the usual weekend routine and give ample rest to your mind and body. Surrounded by two grandiose mountains that reach some 600 meters high, Awon Gotaek, also known as Awon Museum and Hotel, stands in one of the most serene wilderness locations of Wanju, North Jeolla Province. At Gotaek, meaning “old house,” the place re-created the original framework of a 250-year-old hanok

The World Heritage Festival, an annual event to celebrate UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites in South Korea, is set to take place in the country’s major historic sites for a seven-weeks period, its hosts, the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, said on Wednesday. Marking its third year, this year’s festival, titled “World Heritage in Transit,” will take place in Andong and Yeongju in North Gyeongsang Province, Suwon in G

A total of 19 cases of damage to nationally recognized cultural heritage sites and items have been damaged by the heavy rain in the Greater Seoul area this week, the Cultural Heritage Administration reported Wednesday. Major mountain fortresses partially collapsed, while trees dating back hundreds of years were overturned with their branches broken. Burial mounds and stone works have been washed away. Walking trails at cultural heritage locations’ flooded within hours, which were shut

Gimhae City has withdrawn its application for the Gusan-dong Dolmen to be designated as a national historic site. The city sent an official document to the Cultural Heritage Administration for the withdrawal after mounting criticism had been made by experts who visited the site for preinspection on July 28, to find out that damage had occurred during the restoration process. The city had mapped out the restoration project and taken action since December 2020. A total of 1.6 billion won ($1.2

A furniture promotion video showing a sofa placed at multiple locations within Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential office compound, is facing public criticism after its release on Friday. Entertainment and media firm iHQ’s streaming service platform Babayo, uploaded an eight-minute video to its YouTube channel titled, “Everywhere Ep. 1: Cheong Wa Dae.” The video was taken down on Tuesday afternoon, after the Cultural Heritage Administration asked the iHQ to delete the clip

The city of Seoul and the Seoul Tourism Organization are adding new routes on the “Seoul Guided Walking Tour” program starting Tuesday. The three new courses are the “Gyeongbokgung Stonewall Walkway and Cheong Wa Dae Course,” the “Gwanghwamun Square Course” and the “Yulgok-ro Palace Wall Road Course.” Each walking tour involves a narration about the site’s history by professional tour guides, as well as an introduction of popular spots such

A 350-metric-ton Bronze Age dolmen in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province -- one of the largest dolmens in the world -- was discovered to have been damaged during a recent restoration process. The damage was reported to the Cultural Heritage Administration by Cultural Heritage Committee members who visited the site on July 28 to conduct preliminary research for the dolmen’s designation as a national historical site. The CHA halted all restoration work on Aug. 1. The city of Gimhae initiate

It was devastating for Kim Jung-hui (1786-1856), a member of the royal family born into the prestigious Gyeongju Kim clan, to be imprisoned inside a shabby house with a thorn fence on a remote island as punishment. Exiled to Moseulpo in the southwestern part of Jeju Island, he suffered from chronic illnesses and loneliness for over eight years. In reading and writing, his sole pleasures, he found the strength to endure his pain. Ironically, his distinctive calligraphy style called “Chusach

Civilizations are judged by the quality of historical knowledge they document and leave behind. For about 3,000 years, “seoye,” the art of calligraphy, has been a visible documentation of East Asian civilizations and culture. The ink used in traditional calligraphy, “meok,” made from burnt carbon, is long-lasting. In traditional calligraphy, each brush stroke carries philosophical thoughts beyond just the literal meaning of the written characters. For example, a dot

For those looking for a unique experience this weekend, how about a quick travel in time to the ’70s? The National Folk Museum of Korea, located inside Gyeongbokgung, is hosting special events outdoors where bustling streets from the 1970s and 1980s have been recreated. Named “Street of Memories,” the neighborhood has its own evening school, a barbers hop, a coffee house, a comic books store, a photo studio and more. At Yaksok Dabang, visitors are offered a complimentary c

A forum convening a group of noted scholars and architects for a discussion on how physical space and virtual space impact cultural communication will be held later this month in Seoul. “After the pandemic, ‘space’ is newly emerging as a place for the diverse experience of touch and smell, while a growing number of people are seeking shared spaces,” said the Corea Image Communication Institute Tuesday in announcing the 13th Cultural Communication Forum on Aug. 25 at the

Arirang songs evoke powerful emotions and often lead to spontaneous shoulder dance moves among Koreans, at home or abroad. Arirang is a genre of Korean music featuring heart-wrenching laments of tragedy, hardship, suffering and injustice. Arirang‘s improvisational nature enables anyone to easily weave their own poignant life stories into the song, like modern-day rap. Life has always been tough for ordinary Koreans, especially in remote areas. Poverty, hard labor, and abrupt political ch