Commemorating the fourth anniversary of the Namdaemun gate arson, the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea this week is holding two events examining better ways to protect cultural properties from natural and man-made disasters. On Thursday, the administration is holding a special session titled “International Symposium 2012 on Disaster Risk Management for Cultural Heritage: Cultural Herita...

More English literature and language programs in local universities should offer English-immersion courses, and collaboration among scholars with different interests would strengthen the local English-language studies, said the newly appointed president of English Language & Literature Association of Korea. “Our academia is divided into English literature, English language, English education, an...

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The National Archives unveiled its 715-year-old copy of Magna Carta on Thursday after a conservation effort removed old patches and repaired weak spots in the English declaration of human rights that inspired the United States’ founding documents. A $13.5 million gift from philanthropist David Rubenstein funded conservation and a new case for the only original Magna Carta in th...

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will push Korean traditional culture as the new driving force for “hallyu,”or Korean Wave. The Culture Ministry announced on Monday plans to further promote Korean traditional culture and also inaugurated the K-Culture Promotion Taskforce which will coordinate the plans. “K-drama started hallyu in 1995 and K-pop has been continuing its popularity sinc...

Drinks, exhibition venues and overseas promotions for designers become part of shopping experience Fashion merchandise buyer Nam So-hyun has been making occasional visits to multi-brand shops sprawled along Garosugil in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, for quite some time. “Being a buyer, it helps me keep a good eye for fashion. Multi-brand shops bring in new, interesting brands and are the quickest...

Theater “Without You” : Based on musical star Anthony Rapp’s best-selling memoir of the same title, the musical “Without You” brings to life Rapp’s turbulent personal journey in the late 1990s. Rapp, best known for the role of Mark in Jonathan Larson’s Tony Award-and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “Rent,” plays himself in the upcoming musical in Seoul. The show chronicles Rapp’s making of “Rent,...

7 Wonders chief refutes doubts among Koreans Korea’s Jeju Island was chosen as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature through fair competition and there should not be any more doubts about the process, the chief of the Swiss-based organization told a Thursday press conference in Seoul. Bernard Weber, chairman of the New7Wonders Foundation, convened a press gathering a day after arriving in Kore...

Top policymaker stresses globalization of Korean wave, eyes 11m visitors this year With the world’s attention continually shifting from one aspect of Korean culture to another, Korea should produce high-quality and consistent cultural products in the coming years by linking the old and new and the unique and universal, Culture Minister Choe Kwang-shik said. “The first hallyu was led by Korean d...

BEIJING (AP) _ Millions of ethnic Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese across Asia are ringing in the new Year of the Dragon with fireworks, feasting and family reunions. From Beijing to Bangkok and Seoul to Singapore, people hoping for good luck in the new year that began Monday are visiting temples and lighting incense, setting off firecrackers and watching street performances of lion and dragon da...