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...

Chung Hyung-min, director of the Seoul National University Museum of Art, was named the new chief of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, the Culture Ministry said Thursday. Chung, 61, will hold the post for two years. After receiving a Ph.D in art history at Columbia University, Chung has held a variety of posts that helped her secure the knowledge and experience necessary as director of t...

“Divided country” is the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of Korea, said 34 percent of foreign nationals surveyed by the Corea Image Communication Institute. “Samsung” came in second (23 percent), followed by “kimchi” (20 percent). CICI announced the results of the survey at the annual CICI Korea Image Awards gala event held on Tuesday at Grand Intercontinental Hotel’s Grand Ballroo...

Korea boosts its brand value across the globe Fashionistas around the world may soon be adding a new city to their list of fashion capitals alongside Paris, New York, London and Milan. With its up-and-coming designers and beautiful celebrities Seoul is preparing to become the world’s next fashion and beauty destination. Greeting President Lee Myung-bak and his wife at the White House during th...

V en. Jaseung shares his plan for order’s 50th year anniversary The Jogye Order, Korea’s largest Buddhist sect, will focus on promoting harmony and peace this year, its 50th anniversary. “It’s easy to say the word ‘harmony,’” said Ven. Jaseung, president of the Jogye Order, at a press conference at the Center for Korean Buddhist History and Culture in Seoul on Tuesday. “But there is a saying t...

After his first performance in Korea on Tuesday, Norwegian singer-songwriter Bellman pondered why Scandinavian musicians often created such music. The musician, whose real name is Arne-J Rauan and who describes his sound as “floating, atmospheric pop music,” said the otherworldly quality associated with Scandinavian groups could be down to the weather in Northern Europe. “In these countries, wh...

The number of US pedestrians who have been killed or badly injured while wearing headphones has tripled in six years, according to a study published Tuesday. The annual tally rose from 16 in 2004 to 47 in 2011, bringing the total of cases to 116 over this period, say the authors. More than half of the incidents involved pedestrians who were run down by trains. Two-thirds of the victims were ma...