Articles by Song Seung-hyun
Song Seung-hyun
ssh@heraldcorp.com-
Royal Culture Festival leverages BTS’ popularity
The sixth Royal Culture Festival will kick off Saturday at 7 p.m. at Gyeongbokgung’s famous venue for state banquets during the Joseon era (1392-1910). “For this year’s festival, we prepared a performance at Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, a place that drew global attention after the BTS performance for … ‘The Tonight Show,’” Na Myeong-ha, a Cultural Heritage Administration official, said Wednesday during a press conference at the palace. The opening performa
Culture Oct. 7, 2020
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Culture Ministry publishes guide book on translation of Korean words
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and its affiliate agency the National Institute of Korean Language on Wednesday jointly published a 29-page guide book on translation of widely used Korean words. The publication comes after the ministry published guidelines on the translation of Korean words that often cause confusion due to the absence of clear standards on July 15. The book provides a translation guide for three languages -- English, Chinese and Japanese — and mainly conta
Culture Oct. 7, 2020
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Busan International Film Festival to begin Oct. 21
The 25th Busan International Film Festival, originally set to open Oct. 8, will be held Oct. 21-30 both offline and online, according to the festival organizers. “We will screen a total of 194 films, and 125 will be screened through our online channel,” a BIFF organizer told The Korea Herald on Wednesday. “There will not be any outdoor events, including opening and closing ceremonies, outdoor greetings and open talk sessions, which can gather crowds. Instead, we will focus
Performance Oct. 7, 2020
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Desperate nightclubs sell T-shirts as pandemic losses mount
If you see people wearing T-shirts with Cakeshop designs on them, they are more likely to be supporting a nightclub in Itaewon than expressing their love for desserts. Struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic, nightclubs in Korea are selling T-shirts and other goods. Cakeshop is one such nightclub, selling goods through crowdfunding platform Tumblbug. "We approached several cultural spaces which have been suffering due to the coronavirus to jointly find a possible solution to sust
Culture Oct. 6, 2020
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‘Collectors’ to steal moviegoers’ hearts with tomb-robbery tale
Comedy crime film “Collectosr” is ready to steal moviegoers’ hearts with its original story about tomb robbery. “As the first Korean film about tomb robbery, we will present new visuals that the audience has never seen before,” director Park Jung-bae said during an online press briefing Tuesday. “Collectors” is Park’s debut feature. “Collectors” introduces three robbers. Kang Dong-goo, played by Lee Je-hoon, is a genius robb
Performance Oct. 6, 2020
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Middlebury College students learn Korean with BTS
The Korea Foundation on Tuesday said that it has launched a lecture series using ‘Learn! KOREAN with BTS’ at Middlebury College, a liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont that is known for its foreign language programs. In August, the KF, K-pop powerhouse Big Hit Entertainment’s education business unit Big Hit Edu and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies announced that they were working together to develop and provide Korean language learning programs. The e-school lectu
Culture Oct. 6, 2020
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Netflix to show Korean American director Caroline Suh’s Blackpink doc
Netflix on Monday said its highly anticipated K-pop documentary “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky,” directed by Korean American film director Caroline Suh, is set to premiere on Oct. 14. Once the film is released, Blackpink will be the fourth female act featured in a Netflix original documentary, following Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Taylor Swift. The documentary will mainly feature Blackpink’s short but intense journey to K-pop superstardom now from rookies in 2016. It also will hav
Film Oct. 5, 2020
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Events to mark Hangeul Day to be held at Korean Cultural Centers worldwide
A wide range of events will be held at 32 Korean Cultural Centers located in 27 countries to mark the 574th Hangeul Day on Oct. 9. the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korean Culture and Information Service announced Monday. Hangeul is the writing system for the Korean language, consisting of 24 letters. King Sejong the Great (1397-1450) led the invention with a team of scholars and Hangeul was promulgated in 1446. “Through holding these events to commemorate Hangeul Day, we
Culture Oct. 5, 2020
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YouTube show ‘Fake Men’ goes multi-platform
The second season of reality show “Fake Men,” which was originally created for YouTube, is now also streaming through two local platforms -- Kakao TV and Watcha. The first season of the show, made by channel operator Physical Gallery with security and tactics consulting firm MUSAT, featured YouTube celebrities in extreme situations as they participated in MUSAT’s simulated Underwater Demolition Team training program. The show was initially a parody of MBC’s “Real
Television Oct. 4, 2020
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Online content for the Chuseok holidays
Chuseok, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, is all about families returning to their hometowns and paying tribute to their ancestors by visiting graves and sharing a big meal. Also, the Chuseok holidays are the busiest time of the year for movie theaters with lots of new family movies being released. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has the Health Ministry strongly encouraging the public to stay home and keep a safe distance during the nation’s major traditional holiday. Although foll
Television Sept. 29, 2020
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‘Samjin Company English Class’ brings back ’90s vibe
It was the ’90s vibe that director Lee Jong-pil was after in his upcoming film “Samjin Company English Class,” which captures the mood of the country when it was on the cusp of globalization. The viewers are first introduced to three young women who work for Samjin Company -- Lee Ja-young, played by Ko Ah-sung, Jung Yoo-na, played by E Som, and Sim Bo-ram, played by Park Hye-soo. The year is 1995. The three women have been working at the company for eight years and are bett
Film Sept. 28, 2020
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S.M. Entertainment aims to lead contactless era with Disney-like IP
Korean entertainment behemoth S.M. Entertainment is changing to adapt to the contactless era while utilizing its intellectual properties. “Like how Disney achieved an IP empire, K-pop will overcome this (pandemic) situation and become a genre that forms an IP empire in the music industry,” said S.M. Entertainment co-CEO Lee Sung-soo on Friday in his speech at MU:CON Online 2020. MU:CON is a four-day international music industry annual gathering organized by the Korea Creative Cont
Performance Sept. 27, 2020
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National Museum of Korea reopens with extended schedule for largest-ever show of national treasures
The National Museum of Korea’s “The New National Treasures of Korea” exhibition has been extended for two weeks. The largest-ever show of national treasures opened on July 22 and will now be shown through Oct. 11. The new schedule was announced on Friday along with the Sept. 28 reopening of the facility. The exhibition organizer explained that it decided to extend the exhibition‘s run as not many people had an opportunity to enjoy the show because the museum was shut
Culture Sept. 27, 2020
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K-beauty meets 18th century Princess Hwahyup
The National Palace Museum of Korea on Tuesday announced that it will revive cosmetics products used by Princess Hwahyup from the 18th century jointly in conjunction with the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage and local cosmetics maker Cosmax before the end of this year. The three entities will jointly launch a new brand named “Princess Hwahyup” that will be developed based on findings of cosmetic products that were presumably used by Princess Hwahyup (1733-1752), the
Culture Sept. 26, 2020
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‘Night of the Undead’ features more than just absurd comedy
“When I first read the script, I was puzzled,” Lee Mi-do, one of the main actors in the upcoming science fiction comedy “Night of the Undead,” said during a press conference held at the CGV Yongsan movie theater in Seoul on Tuesday. The conference was held through livestreaming, with reporters and actors in separate parts of the theater due to the ongoing spread of COVID-19. Lee’s reaction was understandable as the film’s director, Shin Jung-won, was not a
Film Sept. 23, 2020
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