Louis Vuitton has invited Korean VIPs on an exclusive 10-day shopping trip to the five-star JW Marriott Jeju Resort & Spa, starting Oct. 23, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The French luxury house will pay for flights and accommodations for between 100 and 500 VIP guests, who will be asked to purchase at least one showcased item, among them the brand’s latest spring-summer 2025 collection revealed earlier this year. The sources confirmed that the event wouldn&

Culture Oct. 13, 2024

Reduce, reuse, rehydrate At A Cup of Dungji in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, you can enjoy a delicious drink while reflecting on the environment. Though it may seem like any other cafe with its warm wooden interior and sunlight pouring through large windows, A Cup of Dungji is a special space run by the zero-waste brand Sojunghan Everything. Here, you can explore a vegan menu and learn about resource-recycling methods. All dishes are vegan, with no eggs, butter or milk used. Drinks that usually require

Culture Oct. 11, 2024

Fall blooms in Jangseong Check out fall flowers -- everything from cosmos to sunflowers, verbenas to zinnias -- all in their full glory in Jangseong-gun, South Jeolla Province. For the past nine years, the Jangseong Hwangryong River Fall Flower Festival has been one of the major local attractions. The festival, which saw over 60,000 visitors on its first day, runs for nine days through Sunday. For more details, visit jangseong.go.kr. Gimpo Laveniche Festival This year’s Gimpo Lav

Travel Oct. 11, 2024

Negotiations between a US museum and the South Korean government are dragging out over the terms on which the museum will lend a 14th-century Buddhist reliquary to Korea, as the two sides follow up on their February agreement to push for a temporary loan. According to Rep. Lee Ki-heon of the Democratic Party of Korea on Thursday, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has yet to say what it thinks of a June proposal by the Korea Heritage Service that it would immediately return the Buddhist reliquary

Culture Oct. 10, 2024

A two-day forum on promoting intangible cultural heritage will take place next week in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, hosted jointly by the Korea Heritage Service and UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific office handling intangible cultural heritage. The Oct. 17-18 meeting, held annually and now in its eighth edition, will explore how peoples have maintained their self-identities over migration and what intangible cultural heritage could do to help advance cultural diversity. Over 30 participants from 14

Arts & Design Oct. 10, 2024

A 12-week English program exploring Korean heritage from food to architecture will take place every Saturday through Nov. 30 for interested foreign nationals living in Korea, according to the Korea Heritage Service. The program, launched last week, features a series of lectures by faculty of the agency-run Korea National University of Cultural Heritage at such historic places as the main Joseon-era (1392-1910) palace Gyeongbokgung and Bukchon Hanok Village in Seoul. A field trip to Jinkwansa, a

Culture Oct. 9, 2024

The Korean language and its writing system Hangeul are not easy to learn, let alone teach. Two non-Korean scholars have shown that that notion might be changing -- and the Korean government agrees. The two scholars will be awarded the Order of Culture Merit, the highest national recognition for contributions in the field of culture, at an official ceremony marking Hangeul Day on Wednesday morning in Sejong City. The city is named after King Sejong the Great (1418-1450), the fourth Joseon king wh

People Oct. 8, 2024

An annual festival run by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism will officially host performances by Jogye Buddhist followers for the first time in the festival’s history. Now in its fifth year, the Buddhist Culture Festival, running Oct. 17-24, includes a series of performances -- singing and dancing -- delivered by nine teams of 60 Jogye followers on Oct. 19 at the Historic Cultural Memorial Center of Korea Buddhism at the Jogyesa complex in Seoul, the headquarters of the nation’s lar

Arts & Design Oct. 7, 2024

The biannual festival at the four biggest Joseon-era (1392-1910) palaces in Seoul will start a five-day run Wednesday packed with performances from ballet to classical music and musicals. The K-Royal Culture Festival, held in spring and fall, will host performances at Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung. At Gyeongbokgung, “The Royal Concert: Ballet and Sujecheon” will be performed Oct. 10-13, showing a blend of ballet and the royal court music of Joseon. On O

Arts & Design Oct. 4, 2024

Cultural objects like a white porcelain moon jar will be reimagined with a BTS theme, Hybe, the label behind the K-pop superstars, announced Friday. Fourteen items decorated with BTS lyrics and designs linked to the seven-member boy band have been created in the latest collaboration between Hybe and the state-run National Museum Foundation of Korea, Hybe said. A white porcelain moon jar and a seated pensive bodhisattva and are some of the items to be made public Wednesday, which is also Hangeul

K-pop Oct. 4, 2024

A government ceremony officially recognizing those who have helped promote Korea’s writing system Hangeul will be held on Hangeul Day, which is recognized each year on Oct. 9. Miyuki Hamanoue, a professor of the Korean language at Kanda University of International Studies in Japan, and Dafna Zur, a professor teaching Korean literature at Stanford University in California, will receive the Order of Culture Merit, the highest recognition by the Korean government, according to the Ministry of

Culture Oct. 4, 2024

Nighttime view of Gongsanseong A nighttime stroll around the storied Gongsanseong is perfect for those wanting a leisurely walk that is also enlightening. The fortress in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, will be lit up between 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. through Oct. 10. Installations will also give a glimpse into the Baekje Kingdom (18 BC to 660 AD). Visit ggm-art.kr. Wild chrysanthemums Check out a wide variety of chrysanthemums in full bloom at the Garden of Morning Calm in Gapyeong, G

Travel Oct. 4, 2024

대한불교조계종이 미국 예일대에 100만불(한화 약 13억원)을 기부한다. 조계종이 한국불교학 발전을 위해 해외대학을 지원하는 첫 사례로, 역점 사업인 ‘선(禪)명상’의 세계화를 올해 안에 본 궤도에 올리겠다는 총무원장 진우스님의 강한 의지가 엿보인다. 1일 복수의 예일대 관계자에 따르면, 기부 협약식은 예일대에서 내주 10일(현지시간) 체결된다. 8일 출국해 5박7일간 방미하는 진우스님, 모리 맥기니스(Maurie McInnis) 예일대 총장, 윤재웅 동국대 총장이 배석할 예정이다. 조계종 방미단의 공식일정은 5일부터 13일까지로 규모는 100명을 약간 넘는 수준이다. 기부금은 국제 및 지역학을 연구하는 예일대 맥밀란센터(MacMillan Center)가 받아 관리한다. 센터는 현재 교수 5명과 학예사 및 전문강사 각 1명으로 구성된 ‘불교학 이니셔티브’를 운영 중이다. 한국인 김환수 교수(일미스님)가 그 중 한명이다. 한 예일대 관계자는

한국어판 Oct. 2, 2024

The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the largest Buddhist sect in Korea, will donate $1 million to Yale University to promote Korea’s Seon Buddhism -- the first-ever such gift to a foreign university and the largest one-off contribution to any organization overseas in the history of the Jogye Order. A ceremony making the donation official will take place Oct. 10 at the Ivy League school in New Haven, Connecticut, with Jogye Order President the Ven. Jinwoo, Yale University President Maurie M

Culture Oct. 2, 2024

Herald Corp. Chairman Jung Won-ju was inaugurated as the president of the Lay Buddhist Association at a ceremony held Wednesday at Jogyesa in Seoul. Some 200 people attended the ceremony held at the main hall, Daeungjeon, of Jogyesa, Jogye’s headquarters. Jung’s inauguration comes as the sect is stepping up efforts to promote its style of meditation, called “seon,” to win over both the domestic public and international followers. Jung echoed the sentiment. “Seon has

Culture Oct. 2, 2024