Literature Translation Institute of Korea on Thursday announced that it will start a program to foster professional translators of Korean cultural content. The 12-week program will teach how to translate Korean movies and webtoons into English, Spanish and Vietnamese. The classes will begin on June 15 and around 10 students for each language will be selected. Anyone who has a bachelor’s degree with official language test scores can apply for the program. LTI Korea will accept applica

Culture April 9, 2020

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Wednesday announced that it has created material about the site of Wolseong, also known as Moon Palace, in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, in three foreign languages -- English, Chinese, Japanese. Wolseong was a royal dwelling of the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D. 935), and stood until the kingdom collapsed. An archaeological dig by the CHA in 2017 led to the discovery of bones of two people under the west walls of Wolseong Palace, suggesting that the

Culture April 9, 2020

Local churches laid out their plans for Easter this coming Sunday after the government announced Saturday that it was extending its social distancing campaign for another two weeks. Initially, South Korean churches hoped they could normalize their activities this Monday, the day after Palm Sunday. Holy Week, the week preceding Easter, is a meaningful time in the church calendar. Nonetheless, due to COVID-19, most of Korea’s Protestant megachurches have decided to hold their Easter serv

Culture April 7, 2020

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Monday that its affiliated institutions -- museums, art galleries, libraries and performance venues -- will remain closed until April 19. The Culture Ministry’s announcement follows the government’s announcement on Saturday that it was extending its social distancing campaign for another two weeks. The campaign was originally scheduled to end Sunday, but the Ministry of Health and Welfare extended it to April 19 in an effort

Culture April 6, 2020

Critical comments online are accumulating after Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc proposed bilateral cooperation to tackle the novel coronavirus pandemic with President Moon Jae-in on Friday. In phone talks with Moon, Phuc proposed coordination in efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Vietnamese leader told Moon that South Korea’s diagnostic testing on the coronavirus is drawing global attention as a model, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok. Phuc also

Foreign Affairs April 4, 2020

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung warned Saturday that an explosion of novel coronavirus infections is coming in the nation despite the central government‘s all-out efforts to stem the spread of the pandemic. On his social media page, the governor stressed that it is time to prepare for the worst scenario of mass infections, as shown in Italy and other European countries. “We have been building breakwaters to prevent the waves, but now we are expecting a tsunami that cannot be

Social Affairs April 4, 2020

K-pop group JYJ’s Kim Jae-joong canceled his schedule in Japan after criticism for announcing he had the new coronavirus as an April Fools‘ Day joke. Kim released his third Japanese single “Brava Brava Brava” in March and was scheduled to promote the album by appearing on several music shows in Japan. Kim’s agency CJes Entertainment on Friday announced that due to the current situation Kim would not appear as scheduled on TV Asahi’s music show “Musi

Performance April 3, 2020

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Wednesday announced that it had applied for the addition of Talchum, Mask Dance Drama in the Republic of Korea to the list of UNESCO intangible cultural heritage on Tuesday. The decision on the listing will be made in December 2022, after UNESCO reviews and evaluates the application’s technical completeness and the value of the heritage. Talchum is a performing art that encompasses dance, music, and theater. There are 18 different kinds of Kor

Culture April 1, 2020

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Wednesday announced that the government would exempt cinemas from paying into the movie development fund to help theaters weather the impact of COVID-19. The exemption will apply retroactively from February. The government expects the total amount that will be exempted to reach 54 billion won ($44.28 million), the average amount collected annually as movie development fund since 2016. Under the law, movie theaters are required to cont

Film April 1, 2020

Since the coronavirus outbreak, Culture Minister Park Yang-woo has been busy visiting different facilities to hear rising concerns and difficulties that artists are facing. Following this, the Culture Ministry has announced several plans for financial assistance. On Feb. 20, it decided to inject 3 billion won ($2.5 million) to provide loans for artists who are experiencing financial difficulties following the outbreak. From March 1 to 10, the government received applications for the loan and

Culture March 31, 2020

From Korean TV dramas and K-pop to the nation’s cinematic output, Korean content has taken the world by storm. This year, it may be Korean novels’ turn to engage global readers. According to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, a state-run institute that promotes Korean literature abroad, at least 91 Korean books are being published in 19 countries this year. “There might be more books that will be published overseas, this is the number that we have for now,&rdquo

People March 30, 2020

The Korean Culture and Information Service, affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, announced that its 11th group of “Friends of Korea” began activities from Friday. Friends of Korea is a group of people whose main task is to report erroneous information about Korea in foreign media to the Korea Culture and Information Service’s online platform, “Fact:Korea.” Over the next four months, the group will also promote Korean culture to foreigners

Culture March 29, 2020

The Korean broadcasting industry is bracing for more cases of the novel coronavirus, after a reality TV producer tested positive Saturday. The producer of season two of “Bob Bless You,” a food-oriented program on Olive TV, returned to Korea on March 18 after a vacation in New York and began showing symptoms of COVID-19 on Friday, according to CJ ENM. As soon as the producer went for a test, all staff members who had direct contact with the producer went into self-quarantine. &ld

Television March 29, 2020

Churches showed different responses to the Korean government‘s urging of stricter social distancing before schools are due to restart on April 6. The Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul on Wednesday announced that it has decided to suspend holding Mass and other large group activities until April 5. “We take the current situation very seriously so we have decided to delay our original plan and start our Masses from April 6, when elementary, middle and high schools start,” Cardinal

Culture March 26, 2020

Lauv, the US pop star who is popular among Korean fans for his songs “Paris In The Rain” and “I Like Me Better,” described his two collaborations with K-pop sensation BTS as a natural progression. “Basically, I met them at their show in London, and right after that they asked me to do the remix for ‘Make It Right’ and I was super-flattered and said, ‘of course,’” Lauv stold The Korea Herald by email. “Make it Right” is

Performance March 25, 2020