Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il painted the future of a technologically advanced and culturally vibrant city during The Korea Herald Global Business Forum 2024 held at Marina Park in Seoul on Wednesday. The meeting, attended by business leaders and academics as well as senior government officials, included Polish Ambassador to South Korea Piotr Ostaszewski. Offering congratulatory remarks, the envoy lauded the annual gathering on the global political and business landscape. Ambitious but prudent, Lee,

People June 6, 2024

A special exhibition on Buddhist art in East Asia at the Hoam Museum of Art has attracted over 60,000 visitors since March, averaging over 1,000 a day in what could be one of the country’s biggest art shows this year. “Unsullied, Like a Lotus in Mud,” explores contributions women made to the religion and, as the title suggests, their struggles along the way with 92 pieces including Buddhist statues, paintings and scriptures. The gilt-bronze standing Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva,

Arts & Design June 5, 2024

The arts are all about asking questions, even if the answers to everything are not presented all at once, according to the director of the Goethe-Institut Korea. In a recent interview with The Korea Herald, Clemens Treter, director of the Goethe-Institut Korea, said his mission is to help open up space for such exploration -- a job he has been busy performing since he took the post in September 2022. “We will also then get back to society and maybe influence and get other people to think,&

People June 4, 2024

UNESCO wrapped up a three-month review of the petroglyphs at Bangucheon, a stream in Ulsan, initiating the final step in deciding whether to list the prehistoric rock carvings as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the Korea Heritage Service on Monday, an official with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, which advises UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, last week completed a five-day on-site inspection of the carvings, capping the monthslong review initiated by ICOMOS i

Culture June 3, 2024

K-pop was only a trigger; ancient Korean history was the real pull, said Mutiara Chaerani, a 28-year-old Indonesian national who will mark four years living in Korea this August, a month after she wraps up her role as a global national heritage ambassador for Korean heritage. “I’m just fascinated by the ancient Korean kingdoms like Goguryeo and mythologies associated with them,” Chaerani said of why she decided to promote Korean heritage as one of the 23 brand ambassadors, all

People June 1, 2024

The Korean original musical “Marie Curie” will hit London’s West End on Saturday, the first time a Korean production is being staged in English in one of the two biggest theater districts internationally, along with New York’s Broadway. The musical will run at the 265-seat Charing Cross Theatre through July 28, with the Culture Ministry readying to promote the show through talks between the media and the cast on June 7 and joint concerts by the Korean and UK actors on Jun

Performance May 31, 2024

Blooms, evergreens at Vicheollin Vicheollin is a theme park in Jeju where go-karting comes with flower beds of hydrangea, vervain and trumpet vine -- all available through July 20. The park boasts “gotjawal,” literally meaning a forest bush, as well as a smaller park of evergreens for those seeking a secluded escape from the stress of city life. Admission for adults is 17,000 won, with the price for minors at 16,000 or 15,000 won, and seniors 15,000 won. The park is open from 8:4

Travel May 31, 2024

An agency whose mission has long centered on protecting national heritage, the newly renamed Korea Heritage Service has a new mandate: to fashion heritage to modern tastes. Choi Eung-chon, the inaugural administrator of the agency, said renaming the 79-year-old Cultural Heritage Administration on May 17 reflected a change in the institution’s focus toward providing “services” that enable the public to take advantage of national heritage. “Take Gyeongbokgung for example. T

People May 29, 2024

A joint exhibition of 675 contemporary jewelry pieces, also known as art jewelry, by Korean and Austrian artists will run from Tuesday to July 28 at the Seoul Museum of Craft Art. “Beyond Adornment,” the first contemporary jewelry exhibition the two countries have held together from planning to hosting since 1892 when diplomatic ties were established, explores works of adornment by 54 Korean artists and 57 Austrian artists. Art jewelry gained recognition in the mid-20th century as an

Arts & Design May 27, 2024

Traditional Korean and African dances by both the Little Angels and TAGG marked the Africa Day 2024 Korea Business Forum on Thursday, with a side event introducing African food and craft. Twenty-three members of the Little Angles opened the celebrations with “buchaechum,” or fan dance, followed by the singing of “A Beautiful Country,” a Korean song, at the forum cohosted by Herald Media Group and the African Group of Ambassadors at the Swiss Grand Hotel Convention Center

Performance May 26, 2024

Explore Play Aquarium Bucheon Feast your eyes on colorful fish and remarkable marine life at Play Aquarium Bucheon in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. Though Play Aquarium Bucheon is not as big as the country’s better-known aquariums -- Lotte Aquarium and Coex Aquarium -- it still has everything there is to satisfy young visitors by showing them exciting sea creatures up close. The aquarium greets its visitors with a wide range of fish tanks that house various fish species from around the world

Culture May 24, 2024

Jeju Folk Village A glimpse of what it was like living on Jeju Island in the 19th century is available at Jeju Folk Village. Visitors can check out an exhibition of “suseok,” or rocks of artistic value that are often collected, and spaces dedicated to wood and ceramic craftworks alongside paintings. Interactive experiences are available. Visitors can participate in activities like grinding grains with a millstone and play traditional games such as the board game “yutnori,&r

Travel May 24, 2024

A South Korean DJ-comedian in a Buddhist monk’s robe is riding growing popularity to step onto the global stage, but he is increasingly forced to deal with resurfacing complaints questioning his way of spreading the religion. Youn Sung-ho -- the comedian known as NewJeansNim, “snim” meaning monk in Korean -- stepped into the global spotlight in late April during his first overseas tour in Taiwan, where he delivered his electronic dance music performance of echoing Buddhist vers

Performance May 23, 2024

The CEO of a Korean luxury handcraft brand, Cheyul, believes that modernizing traditions while keeping the spirit behind them alive is key to delivering true “Korean luxury.” “We have shipped our armchair set adorned with mother-of-pearl as far away as Africa,” CEO Lee Jeong-eun told a gallery of foreign envoys during a tour of Cheyul’s flagship in Seoul’s Sinsa-dong on Tuesday. That armchair set is one example of how the company has put mother-of-pearl to mod

Arts & Design May 22, 2024

An exhibition shedding light on a culture of commitment to “exceptional craftsmanship” that powers Hermes is taking place in Seoul, as artisans demonstrate in person how the French luxury house has come to embody “know-how” and “creativity." At “Hermes in the Making,” 11 artisans -- all from France with one exception from Switzerland who works on watches -- offer a glimpse of their craft processes involving leather, silk, porcelain and gemstones, wi

Arts & Design May 20, 2024