For those who have missed the chance to experience Seoul’s royal palaces at night or see a gugak concert in the court garden last year, the year 2012 will come as an exciting one. More cultural events and educational programs will take place in the four royal palaces in Seoul ―Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, and Deoksugung ― as well as Jongmyo shrine this year, including court cui...

Chung Hyung-Min announces NMOCA will go through overall renovations through 2013 Chung Hyung-Min, newly appointed director of National Museum of Contemporary Art, said that she is happy to see that women are taking powerful positions in the art scene and thus generating public interest in it. Now she said she will take this opportunity to prove something “I feel a heavy responsibility for taki...

Opera Gallery Seoul offers artworks by contemporary artists influenced by Marcel Duchamp Had it not been for Marcel Duchamp, the “anti-artist” who stirred up the 20th century art world with an upside-down urinal, the contemporary art scene would never have become what it is. Opera Gallery Seoul in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, gathered artwork by 19 acclaimed artists after Duchamp’s time who ...

First established in Seoul in 1973, British Council Korea has been offering quality English language education programs and opportunities to study in the U.K. for the last 39 years. The institution has gone through a series of changes since its establishment, mostly because Korea is very different from how it was in the early 1970s. Davies said the British Council has changed to a “cultural relat...

Artist residency program in Sindang Jungang Market offers unusual art scene For anyone who has been to Jungang market near Sindang Station in Seoul, it would be hard to imagine that more than 30 artists have their working studios underground. And that some practically live there. The area is known for its merciless traffic and its overcrowded and colorful market. Stepping through the main gate ...

Exhibitions “BEING: Debbie Han 1985-2011”: Sungkok Art Museum is holding a large-scale exhibition looking back on Korean-American artist Debbie Han’s art world. It showcases about 60 of Han’s paintings, sculptures and installations through which she pondered identity issues and artistic values. The exhibition runs through March 18 at Sungkok Art Museum in Jongro-gu, central Seoul. Tickets range ...

‘Swiss Weeks in Seoul’ presents various cultural events throughout April Though it is hard to call it a house, the 10-meter-tall disorderly structure made of hundreds of fir planks had an entrance, bedrooms and even a small dining room-like place with a table. “It connects to my childhood nostalgia, it is kind of like a tree house,” Gregory Chapuisat told The Korea Herald on Tuesday. Chapuisat ...

SNU Museum of Art exhibition showcases 80 years of Dutch ‘Magical Realism’ Despite being named the nation’s favorite artist in recent surveys, few Koreans realize Vincent van Gogh was Dutch. “Not many know about Dutch artists after van Gogh, either. Koreans tend to be interested only in artists from the U.S. or a few European countries like France or England. It is an unbalanced diet,” said Oh ...