Novelist Kwon Yeo-sun, cellist Yang Sung-won, Lee Tae Seok Foundation receive Musan Cultural Awards

The Manhae Musan Foundation held its second Musan Cultural Awards ceremony Friday at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan, central Seoul, presenting prizes to three winners: writer Kwon Yeo-sun, cellist Yang Sung-won and the Lee Tae Seok Foundation. The Musan Cultural Awards were established to honor the life and legacy of the late poet and Buddhist monk Cho Oh-hyun, known by his pen name Musan. Each prize carries a cash prize of 100 million won ($72,500). In the literature category, novelist Kwon w

May 30, 2025

MODAFE to promote global talent with new international dance competition

The 44th edition of the International Modern Dance Festival (MODAFE), the country’s longest-running festival for modern and contemporary dance, returns this year under the theme “Open to All, Creation is Omnivorous.” This year, the festival signals a bold transformation into a global creative platform that welcomes the participation of artists from around the world. The newly launched international competition program, International Spark Place, is a signature initiative that reflects MODAFE’s s

May 30, 2025

Kim Hye-soon shortlisted for Germany’s International Prize for Literature

Kim Hye-soon has been shortlisted for the International Prize for Literature awarded by the House of World Cultures (HKW) in Germany for her poetry collection "Autobiography of Death," published in German translation this February. HKW announced Wednesday the six finalists for this year’s prize: Kim, Turkish German writer Dogan Akhanli, Canadian writer Sarah Bernstein, Ukrainian writer Anna Melikova, French writer Neige Sinno and American novelist Jesmyn Ward. The award is jointly presented to b

May 29, 2025

Music to fill Gyeongbokgung for Gugak Week

In a sweeping celebration of sound and culture, the National Gugak Center is set to host the inaugural National Gugak Day on June 5, transforming the heart of the capital into a vibrant stage for Korea’s traditional music. The newly established national commemoration aims to spotlight gugak’s enduring relevance — bridging the traditional and the contemporary. The Gugak Week, a 10-day cultural festival running from June 5 to 15, will offer the public a rich array of performances, hands-on experie

May 28, 2025

'I Invite you to my funeral': 83-year-old actor stages her final farewell

On Sunday, on the windswept shores of Sunpo Beach in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, 83-year-old Park Jeong-ja broke into a shoulder-shimmying dance in a pair of red shoes, her green floral dress fluttering in the sea breeze. This was no ordinary festival, but a scene in her upcoming film, "Between Cheongmyeong and Gogu" (working title), directed by actor-director Yoo Jun-sang. The scene being filmed was a funeral -- specifically, that of the character “She,” played by Park. But in a rare and deepl

May 26, 2025

Interview: Lee Hye-young reclaims ‘Hedda Gabler,' says magic of theater makes age irrelevant

Lee Hye-young recently starred as a cold-blooded assassin in "The Old Woman with the Knife," and now commands the stage in the National Theater Company of Korea’s revival of Henrik Ibsen’s "Hedda Gabler," which opened May 16 at Myeongdong Theater in central Seoul. The titular antiheroine who refuses to be defined by men, marriage or societal expectations, is considered one of modern drama’s most enigmatic female protagonists. Lee first took on the role in 2012 in a sold-out production that earne

May 26, 2025

Shakespeare’s 'Twelfth Night' gets Joseon-era makeover

Shakespeare’s "Twelfth Night" will be reimagined as a Joseon-era (1392-1910) comedy in a new production by the National Theater Company of Korea, running June 12 to July 6 at the Myeongdong Theater in Seoul. The beloved comedy is transported to a coastal Joseon village, giving the play a Korean cultural flair while remaining faithful to the original's whirlwind of romantic mischief and mistaken identities. The story begins with twin siblings Shin-ae and Mi-eon being separated by a shipwreck, eac

May 25, 2025

Retro listening pleasures and a trip around the world

For a relaxing weekend, head to a cafe in Hongdae, grab a drink and listen to music on cassette tapes and vinyl records. For the culturally curious, take a trip around the world at a festival at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. A laid-back weekend might include sipping coffee, sinking into music and soaking up the sun with nothing planned. For the no-plans crew ready to float into the weekend, why not stop by Hongdae -- a neighborhood in Seoul's Mapo-gu known for its youthful ambience -- to savor a drin

May 23, 2025

Filmmaker Park Chan-wook to speak at Seoul International Book Fair

Filmmaker Park Chan-wook, renowned for his visually striking and psychologically complex films, will participate in the 2025 Seoul International Book Fair, the annual book fair's organizer announced Wednesday. Park has often drawn inspiration from literature, adapting several novels into screen productions including the HBO series "The Sympathizer" (2024) and the BBC series "The Little Drummer Girl" (2019). During his talk on June 20, titled Park Chan-wook's Literary Anchors, Park will discuss e

May 21, 2025

'Silence is dangerous. We must keep talking,' says bilingual novelist Yoko Tawada

Yoko Tawada, a celebrated novelist who writes in both Japanese and German, is skeptical about the use of artificial intelligence in literary translation. “I’ve heard predictions that AI translations will decline in quality year by year,” Tawada said at a press conference in Seoul on Monday. “Since these systems learn from the sentences produced by a wide range of anonymous translators, I believe the proportion of poorly constructed sentences will inevitably increase. In the long term, I don’t th

May 20, 2025