King to appoint palace royal guards in reenactment of court ceremony at Gyeongbokgung Palace

A reenactment of the Joseon Kingdom's royal guard appointment ceremony will take place at Heungnyemun Gate, the second inner gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace, at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Titled “The King Chooses His Palace Royal Guard,” the guard appointment ceremony event will be performed by some 200 people -- including 160 actors, 20 dancers and 20 musicians -- who will reimagine the ceremony based on historical records. During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), a royal guard unit called t

March 22, 2023

Possible Goryeo remains discovered at construction site

A historical site and numerous cultural relics thought to date back to the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) have been found at a construction site in Sinyeong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration and a private association commissioned to conduct a preliminary survey of the site on Monday. An architectural history survey was launched in December at the site, which had been used as a parking lot and was in the process of being developed into an apartment complex. The

March 20, 2023

Rio Tinto has more work to do, cultural heritage audit finds

MELBOURNE - Rio Tinto has more work to do to protect Indigenous cultural heritage at its mines around the world, according to an independent audit of its practices, the world's biggest iron ore miner said on Monday. Rio Tinto commissioned the audit as part of a pledge to overhaul its practices after it destroyed culturally significant rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia for an iron ore mine in 2020. The report noted improved practices particularly at Rio's iron ore ope

March 20, 2023

[From the Scene] ‘Art in Marche’ welcomes spring with fresh greens

On a lazy Saturday afternoon, the cheerful buzz of crowds and live music filled the air, complimented by fresh vegetable crops and colorful flowers on display in front of the National Theater of Korea's Haeorem Grand Theater, in central Seoul. Hosted by the National Theater of Korea, the “Art in Marche” is an open-air eco-friendly crop market where some 50 teams of farmers, artisanal food vendors and handicraftsmen offer their products. This year’s spring chapter of the &l

March 19, 2023

Pianist Cho Seong-jin "The Handel Project" tops Billboard's weekly classical album chart

South Korean pianist Cho Seong-Jin’s latest album, The Handel Project, has topped Billboard's Traditional Classical Albums weekly chart this week, according to the US magazine’s chart. The Handel Project, released on February 3, is a collection of three suites from Handel's first collection of Suites de pièces pour le clavecin, which are some of Cho's favorite pieces of music. The album also features Brahms's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, a pie

March 17, 2023

[Photo news] K-Arts Celebrates 30 years of nurturing artists

Some 30 years ago, the Korea National University of Arts, known as K-Arts, was established with a goal to provide top quality education so that Korean students would not have to go abroad to study the arts. It was a goal in which not many believed back them. After the opening of the music school in 1993, the theater, film, dance, art and traditional arts schools were introduced one after another. Now, K-Arts operates under 26 different departments across six schools -- the Schools of Music, Dram

March 17, 2023

[Well-curated] Knitting, luxury car exhibition and Spring adventures

A family day out at Children’s Grand Park Located in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, Children’s Grand Park is the perfect destination for a fun family day out. The park houses an amusement park which offers a wide range of family-friendly attractions and activities that are suitable for children of all ages. The park features thrilling rides for older children, who should not miss the opportunity to try out the Wave Swinger and the Drop Tower. In particular, the Family Coaster is wildly popular

March 17, 2023

Culture Ministry vows to protect creators' rights

Just three days after the news of the death of the cartoonist of the original "Black Rubber Shoes" broke, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced a series of measures to prevent similar tragedies. On Wednesday, the ministry announced that it plans to include specific provisions concerning secondary works in the standard contract for the comics field. Secondary works are creative works created by modifying, adapting or producing videos from the original. Under the plan, th

March 15, 2023

Koreans don’t sweat it when asking, ‘Will you marry me?’

“We’re having a June wedding, and he hasn’t proposed yet.” This oxymoronic statement is not that uncommon among Korean couples. Weirdly enough, a proposal, which usually involves someone on his or her knee nervously asking, “Will you marry me?” has little to do with asking for a hand in marriage in Korea. More often than not, Korean brides get proposed to after all the preparations are done, sometimes only days before the wedding. Unlike Western norms of marri

March 14, 2023

[Photo News] Japanese tram track discovered in Gwanghwamun

OLD TRAM TRACK -- A tram track used during the Japanese colonial period (1910-45) was discovered between September and October last year at the excavation site of Woldae, an elevated stage for royal ceremonies in front of Gwanghwamun, Gyeongbokgung's main gate. The tram was in service from 1917 to 1966, and ran on a Y-shaped train track on what is today's Sejong-ro, and connected Anguk-dong and Hyoja-dong via Woldae.

March 13, 2023

Hallyu's popularity to remain for years to come: survey

A majority of Koreans and foreigners believe that Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, is likely to continue riding the tide of globalization for a long time to come, according to a recent Corea Image Communication Institute survey aimed at probing people's views on popular topics. The CICI’s multiple-choice survey, titled “AI, ChatGPT and Hallyu,” involved 471 participants -- 257 Koreans and 214 foreigners who either visited or resided in Korea. More than 60 percent of the parti

March 13, 2023

[Photo News] Incheon Airport tourist center

An opening ceremony for the new tourist center at Incheon Airport's Terminal 1 was held Friday, with Choi Eung-chon (second from right), head of the Cultural Heritage Administration, in attendance. Operated by the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, the center aims to promote Korea's cultural heritage to visitors by introducing recommended destinations through the latest media art and virtual reality images.

March 10, 2023

[Newsmaker] Over half of Netflix users in Korea will drop service if account sharing is banned: survey

As global streaming service Netflix began a crackdown on account sharing in other countries, many Korean Netflix users said they would leave the service if the ban were enforced in Korea according to a survey. In February, a new plan charging additional fees for sub-accounts rolled out in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. The plan, which makes users set a "primary location" to match their account activity, is expected to be introduced in more countries in the coming months, incl

March 10, 2023

15th-century Hangeul letter designated treasure

The oldest extant all-Hangeul letter has been designated as a treasure, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced Thursday. The two-page letter with almost no margins, written by Na Sin-geol (1461-1524), a Joseon period military officer, was discovered in 2011 at the burial site of Na's wife Shin Chang-meng in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. The letter is thought to have been written in the 15th century, when Na served as a junior officer in Hamgyeong Province, which is now part of North Korea. P

March 10, 2023

Hallyu fans number 178 million in 2022

The number of active Hallyu fans around the world reached 178 million in 2022, according to an annual report published by the Korea Foundation in cooperation with overseas missions, Friday. The figure is about an 18-fold increase from 9.26 million in 2012, when the Korea Foundation’s survey was launched. In comparison, the population of Hallyu fans at 178 million would place it as the eighth-largest country in the world, just bigger than Bangladesh while trailing Brazil. The general report

March 10, 2023

[Well-curated] Enchanted greenhouse, Pengsoo merch and paper wonderland

Changgyeonggung's Grand Greenhouse under the stars With spring just around the corner, the Grand Greenhouse inside Changgyeonggung invites visitors to taken an enchanting stroll through the palace garden. Located in Jongno-gu, Seoul, the Joseon-period palace offers a peaceful retreat in the heart of the bustling city, having recently reopened its nighttime viewings in March, As you walk through the gates and into the palace court, the night lights cast a dreamy glow on the surroundings, cas

March 10, 2023

Rachmaninoff gets spotlight to mark 150th anniversary of his birth

Sergei Rachmaninoff's music holds a special place in the hearts of many Koreans, with his Piano Concerto No. 2 consistently ranking among the top five classical music pieces in surveys conducted by KBS Classic FM in 1982, 2009, 2016 and 2021. The Piano Concerto No. 3 has become more familiar for Korean audiences after Korean pianist Lim Yun-chan's captivating performance during the final of the 2022 Van Cliburn International Competition. The video of his performance on YouTube has garn

March 9, 2023

Exhibitions on Korean dreams of wealth, education point to uneasy future

South Korea, today famous for its K-pop culture, had a different reputation only a few decades ago, as a country that achieved rapid economic growth through the tireless work of its people. Emerging from the depths of war-induced poverty, Koreans had a deep-rooted thirst for higher education. This thirst not only resulted in accomplishments like Korea's students ranking among the top three countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in computer-based problem-sol

March 8, 2023

Jongmyo Jeryeak to be performed nationwide and in Hungary, Poland

The National Gugak Center is scheduled to go on a nationwide tour to perform Jongmyo Jeryeak, which is royal ancestral ritual music featured at Jongmyo Shrine. The tour will be followed by an overseas tour later in the year. The tour will start at Sejong Art Center in Yeongi-gun, Sejong City on Saturday. It will then be performed at Yeak-dang in the National Gugak Center in Seoul from June 14-16, followed by performances at the Daejeon Municipal Yeonjeong Korean Traditional Music Center on July

March 8, 2023

Creative team of 'The Phantom of the Opera' talks about much-anticipated return

The musical “The Phantom of the Opera” will kick off in Busan in March, a significant event on many levels. Not only is it the third Korean production of the iconic musical that took the local musical industry by storm with its debut in 2001, it is returning to Korea after 13 years. Danny Sihn, CEO and producer of S&CO, told reporters during a press conference on Monday that the latest production is focused on preserving the original vision of the 35-year-old musical created by l

March 6, 2023