Since the release of Netflix’s mega-hit Korean original “Squid Game” last year, English-language online posts related to Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, have increased approximately 30-fold, according to a Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange report released Monday. The Culture Ministry and KOFICE jointly analyzed data from three online media platform categories -- video and social ...

This year’s performance named, “Embracing King Sejong’s Spring,” will be held indoors at Jipgyeongdang, the Joseon queen’s royal chamber at Gyeongbok Palace. Three musicians will be playing traditional instruments -- geomungo, a six-stringed zither, daegeum, a large bamboo flute, and danso, a smaller flute -- and a song master of gasa, Korean traditional narrative song. From solo performances t...

As part of a new post-COVID-19 scheme, audience number limits will be lifted starting Monday, according to the Culture Ministry. The change is expected to revitalize the performing arts and theater sectors hit hard by the pandemic. Food consumption inside all cultural facilities, including movie theaters, indoor sports stadiums and religious facilities will be allowed starting April 25. Masks s...

When visitors exit Gyeongbok Palace’s eastern gate and walk along the stonewall walkway, they will arrive at the National Folk Museum of Korea, with historical artifacts and display offer a glimpse of what the daily lives of Korean people in the past were like. Across from the Folk Museum is a beautiful red-brick building housing the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul, where va...

The diversified genome of the Jeju horse allows a wide variety of colors within the breed. They appear in 50 different shades from black to white. The natural selection which went on for millennia, plus the human-led injection of 160 Mongolian horses in 1276, resulted in hybrid vigor for the Jeju horse breed, explaining the variations in coat colors. At 119 centimeters to 122 centimeters in heig...

The first of the biannual Moonlight Tour at Changdeokgung Palace series will kick off April 21, welcoming guests to a warm spring night at the royal palace. The tour, which takes around an hour and 40 minutes, is organized by the Cultural Heritage Administration’s Royal Palaces and Tombs Center and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation. Visitors can enjoy a nighttime view of downtown Seoul whi...

A longtime journalist covering politics and now a culture minister nominee in the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration, Park Bo-gyoon said he has ample experience and deep-seated interest in cultural matters. “I was mainly a journalist at the political news desk, but I wrote a lot of articles about culture, art, content, history, sports and tourism. When I traveled around the world, I visited c...

He faded out the background, which could be a familiar scene for many, and focused on the train door instead, allowing the viewer to imagine their own scenery outside the window. “The last photo features a purple sky. I took the photo when I was cycling along the river when the sky looked pretty in a mysterious way.” In the age of social media, when many creators and artists are keeping in mind...

Ven. Yeongdam also said that he would like to ask for the public’s forgiveness for the “childish response from the Jogye Order,” which turned the event into a dispute. Ven. Heojeong, who has been critical of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism in the past, shared Ven. Yeongdam‘s post on his Facebook, Saturday. Ven. Heojeong pointed to recent criticisms that compared the incident to stepping on a ...

In 2016, researchers discovered a previously unknown native King cherry tree on Hallasan, estimated to be about 330 years old. While the ancient tree is being considered for Natural Monument designation, the tree’s location remains undisclosed to the public. Father Taquet, who arrived as a missionary to Korea on Jan 5, 1898, sent out over 5,000 plant samples abroad with proceeds going to his chu...

A new opinion poll out Friday showed some 6 in 10 South Koreans think K-pop sensation BTS and other top artists who have contributed to boosting the country’s image should be exempted from active duty military service. A Gallup Korea survey of 1,004 Koreans aged 18 and older, conducted from Tuesday to Thursday, showed nearly 59 percent responding that K-pop artists should be able to carry out an...

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea is recruiting foreigners living in South Korea to collaborate with the museum in promoting Korean art and the national museum globally, as the number of overseas visitors have plummeted during the pandemic. Under the “#helloMMCA” program, the museum will pick 10 foreign residents in Korea to work for its campaign from May 2 to July 31. Th...

On Wednesday, the CHA released a press statement pointing out that the cornerstones on which Moon and first lady Kim Jung-sook sat on are “neither Designated Heritages nor Registered Cultural Heritages.” “We sympathize with the criticism that the event was not prepared more sensitively in advance.” the CHA said, adding that all efforts will be made in the future to “fully preserve the precious v...

A large pond called Chundangji greets visitors ahead of the greenhouse. With a short stroll at the circular path around the pond, visitors can see the Western-style greenhouse, built with large panes of glass and steel painted in white and wooden-framed structures. Inside, the greenhouse features colorful flowers and trees including bay laurel, ardisia crenata, citrus junos, camellia and more. ...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, watching videos on YouTube, cooking and regularly washing hands became part of a new routine to Koreans and foreigners alike, according to a recent survey by the Corea Image Communication Institute. The CICI’s survey titled “Effects of COVID in our daily lives” involved 417 participants -- 214 Koreans and 203 foreigners who have visited or resided in Korea, with mor...