Most Popular
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Top prosecutor orders speedy investigation into first lady's alleged acceptance of luxury handbag
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation
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S. Korea, China, Japan in talks to hold trilateral summit May 26-27: official
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Korea seeks UNESCO World Heritage designation for 7 mountain temples
Korea‘s Cultural Heritage Administration submitted an application Friday to list seven Buddhist mountain temples for a UNESCO World Heritage site, the state-run agency said Thursday.The seven temples, all located on mountains, are Beopjusa on Songnisan, Tongdosa on Yeongchuksan, Buseoksa on Bonghwangsan, Bongjeongsa on Cheondeungsan, Magoksa on Taehwasan, Seonamsa on Jogyesan and Daeheungsa on Duryunsan. Beopjusa Temple (Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism) Buseoksa Temple Magoksa TempleWhether the t
Feb. 2, 2017
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S. Korean comic book awarded at French Angouleme comics festival
The South Korean comic book "Bad Friend" received an award at a global comics festival, Korea Manhwa Contents Agency (KOMACON) said Sunday.The book by a South Korean cartoonist, who goes by her pen name Ancco, was awarded the Prix Revelation at the 44th Angouleme International Comics Festival, becoming the first Korean comic book to be recognized by one of the most renowned comics awards events."I used to consider myself to be someone who led a weird, lonely life in Korea. But now I am here. Thi
Jan. 29, 2017
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Culture Ministry apologizes for blacklist
South Korea’s Culture Ministry on Monday publicly apologized for keeping a list of cultural figures to be excluded from receiving state support. However, the ministry did not offer any explanation as to how the list was created, what kind of damage it inflicted, or how and if those involved would be punished.On the heels of former Culture Minister Cho Yoon-sun’s arrest Saturday for her alleged involvement in creating the list, the ministry held a press conference at the government complex in Sej
Jan. 23, 2017
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Korea eyes more SE Asian tourists
Korea will step up efforts to attract more tourists from Southeast Asia, the Americas and Europe, the state-run tourism agency said Monday.Unveiling the projects for 2017, the Korea Tourism Organization said it aims to diversify the country‘s tourism market, which is largely dependent on neighboring China and Japan. The goal is to attract 3.6 million tourists from Southeast Asia, 2.5 million from the Americas and Europe by the end of the year. The group aims to surpass 20 million foreign tourist
Jan. 23, 2017
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‘The Accusation’ wins British translation award
A collection of anti-North Korean stories written inside the reclusive state has recently won a translation award from by a UK-based literary group.“The Accusation,” by North Korea-based author Bandi, was among 10 PEN Translates’ Autumn 2016 winners. It was translated by Deborah Smith, who won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016 for her translation of “The Vegetarian” by Han Kang.The PEN Translates award is given by the English PEN, the founding center of worldwide writers’ association PE
Jan. 18, 2017
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Quaker group marks centennial with ‘Waging Peace’ exhibit
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The American Friends Service Committee is celebrating 100 years of nonviolent activism with an exhibition, “Waging Peace,” that showcases the group’s accomplishments while also illustrating work that remains to be done.General Secretary Shan Cretin hopes both aspects of the exhibit inspire visitors.“We don’t want to just be looking backward, (but) a lot of the issues that are so urgent today -- how we treat immigrants, racial justice issues -- are issues we have been working
Jan. 17, 2017
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‘Blacklist’ actors perform against government oppression
Artists on the government’s blacklist of anti-Park Geun-hye cultural figures were placed at a disadvantage in competing for state funding, as they were labelled by the Park administration as left-wing biased. Now, they have set up a stage of their own in Gwanghwamun Square in the heart of downtown Seoul to hit back at the government by performing precisely what it did not want to see. Black Tent is a makeshift theater inside a giant tent that hosts plays and performances dealing with social issu
Jan. 17, 2017
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Artists seek legal action against government
A group of cultural figures in Korea on Monday announced it would file a lawsuit against the Park Geun-hye administration for the “blacklist” it kept of anti-government artists. Comprised of groups including Cultural Action, Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) and others in the culture circle, the association for legal action on the blacklist held a press conference to publicly invite fellow artists as plaintiffs in its lawsuit.“The Park administration abused the inherent disadvantage of
Jan. 16, 2017
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Korea rolls out new measure to minimize impact of bankrupt Song-In Books
The South Korean government Sunday said it will spend 3 billion won ($2.6 million) to support publishers related to Song-In Books, as part of measures to minimize the fallout from the bankruptcy of the country’s No. 2 book distributor.Song-In Books filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 3, sparking concerns over the possible impact on the some 2,000 smaller publishers that it had ongoing business deals with. The direct financial loss, such as nonpayment, is estimated to be around 30 billion won. As part o
Jan. 15, 2017
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Golfer Pak Se-ri presented Korea Image Award
The Corea Image Communications Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Korean culture worldwide, hosted the 2017 Korea Image Award ceremony at the InterContinental Seoul Coex on Wednesday. The winners of this year’s awards were Korean golfer Pak Se-ri, artificial intelligence program AlphaGo and Cho Tae-kwon, chairman of porcelain company Kwangjuyo and a promoter of Korean culinary arts.Since 2005, the event has recognized individuals who have enhanced Korea’s image abroad. Ab
Jan. 12, 2017
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Symposium celebrates what’s gained in translation of literature
Marking the 10th anniversary of its founding, the Yoo Yeong Research Foundation hosted a symposium Wednesday that reflected on Korea’s progress in literary translation and honored those who have helped bridge the country and the world through cultural reinterpretation. The event held at Yonsei University bestowed the Yoo Yeong Translation Award to Uhm Il-nyeo, who translated Sarah Waters’ “The Little Stranger” into Korean in 2015. In partnership with the university’s English Literature Research
Jan. 12, 2017
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Award honors individuals for globalizing Korea
Winners of the 2017 Korea Image Award ceremony, an event annually organized by the Corea Image Communications Institute, pose at the InterContinental Seoul Coex on Wednesday. (Corea Image Communications Institute)Winners of the 2017 Korea Image Award ceremony, an event annually organized by the Corea Image Communications Institute, pose at the InterContinental Seoul Coex on Wednesday. Since 2005, the venue has honored individuals who have promoted Korea worldwide, supported by Korea’s Ministry o
Jan. 11, 2017
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Online novels rake in W50m a day
As paperbacks move over to make room for e-books, what’s become popular to readers in Korea is the serialized romance novels published online.Last year’s hit TV drama “Moonlight Drawn by Clouds” was first a weekly web novel before it was made into a TV show.Celebrity actor Park Bo-gum aside, it was clear to industry insiders from the beginning the show would be a success, based on the staggering 50 million accumulated views the original novel had garnered. An illustration for the original "Moonl
Jan. 11, 2017
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Why some artists no longer want to be famous
PARIS (AFP) -- “I love being famous,” the black US comedian Chris Rock once quipped. “It’s almost like being white.”But a growing number of artists would rather have success without the encumbrance of fame.From the street artist Banksy to the Italian literary phenomenon Elena Ferrante, a new brand of creator is actively rejecting the limelight and doing everything they can to avoid it.Even first-time novelists, whose publishers are often desperate for them to go out and promote their work, are t
Jan. 8, 2017
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[Weekender] The rules of drinking alone
All lawyer Kim Eun-hye, 29, wanted was to be alone with a glass of wine after a draining day of consulting with clients, wading through legal paperwork, sitting through a tense office dinner and losing a case. Instead of heading home to an empty fridge, Kim decided to drop by Goya, a quiet bar near her house in Yeonnam-dong.“I guess I come here when I feel like having a nice drink, but don’t have the energy to engage in forced conversation with people who can’t offer good advice,” she said, orde
Jan. 6, 2017
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[Weekender] ‘Honsul,’ the art of savoring the tipsy self
With a pensive gaze, Park Si-in sips an old fashioned, a whiskey-based cocktail, at a dim, jazzy bistro nestled in a gentrified alley in Seoul. “I don’t think about anything,” she says. “I come here to empty and organize my thoughts. I need it, regularly and personally. Drinking alone is actually enjoyable.” Beside her, Kang Dong-wan, a university student majoring in graphic design, chatters with a bartender. “The bar acts as a sort of a mental hospital, a healing space,” explains Kang, in an in
Jan. 6, 2017
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[Weekender] Table for one, please
One of the newest cultural trends sweeping the nation is all about the art of being alone. From eating, drinking, shopping and living solo, this new trend seems to defy the once cultural norm of “togetherness.” With the phenomena of “honsul” and “honbap” -- meaning to “drink alone” and “eat alone,” respectively -- there no longer appears to be social stigmas attached to requesting a table for one. Nor is there a corresponding gasp of dismay or pity for one going to a bar solo and enjoying a coc
Jan. 6, 2017
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London museum says goodbye to ‘Dippy’ the dinosaur
LONDON (AFP) -- The towering replica skeleton of “Dippy” the dinosaur, a star attraction at London’s Natural History Museum for more than 100 years, made its final appearance Wednesday before being dismantled.The 292-bone plaster cast of a fossilized diplodocus has for decades greeted visitors in the museum’s iconic entrance hall, but is now being replaced by the skeleton of a blue whale.More than 90 million people have seen “Dippy” since it was presented to the museum by industrialist Andrew Ca
Jan. 6, 2017
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With tourists scarce, Egypt struggles to maintain heritage
CAIRO (AFP) -- With a shaky economy following years of unrest and a huge drop in tourists, Egypt is struggling to preserve its fabled archaeological heritage. From Alexandria on the Mediterranean to the Great Pyramid of Giza -- the last of the Seven Wonders of the World -- and Aswan to the south, the North African country is home to impressive ancient monuments.For years, the sites were able to rely on a steady stream of ticket sales to finance their upkeep.But since Egypt’s 2011 revolution, the
Jan. 4, 2017
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[Foreigners Who Loved Korea] Father Na, friend of the people of Seogwipo
In Korea’s turbulent path toward independence and nation building, there were foreign nationals who stood steadfastly by the Korean people, although their contributions have been largely overshadowed by those of Korean patriots. The Korea Herald, in partnership with the Independence Hall of Korea, is publishing a series of articles shedding light on these foreigners, their life and legacies here. This is the 23rd installment. -- Ed.Thomas Ryan was born in Crossmolina, a town in County Mayo on th
Jan. 3, 2017