Jinan Red Ginseng Festival The Red Ginseng Festival is set to take place in the northern region of Maisan in Jinan, North Jeolla Province, from Sept. 22 to 24. The event entertains visitors with various programs and cultural activities, including a red ginseng cocktail experience, a special stamp tour, a concert with local artists, a trot festival and more. It also offers a chance for festival-goers to purchase Jinan’s renowned red ginseng at discounted prices. Admission fees vary by progr

Travel July 28, 2023

Reality and talk shows featuring the personal stories of Korean celebrities may have enjoyed huge popularity several years ago, but that is no longer the case. In recent years, many Korean TV personalities have revealed their homes and starred on reality shows with friends and family members, allowing viewers to observe almost every moment of their lives. Actors Choo Ja-hyun and Yu Xiaoguang are among many celebrities who starred in SBS’ reality show “Same Bed, Different Dreams 2:

Television July 26, 2023

Naver Webtoon’s "Lore Olympus" notched its second win at the Eisner Awards on Sunday. At the award's 35th edition held at San Diego Comic-Con International, “Lore Olympus” was selected as the winner of the Best Webcomic prize, according to Naver Webtoon, the tech giant’s digital comics platform. Named after Will Eisner, a pioneer in the American comic book industry, the Eisner Awards are regarded as the Oscars for comic books in North America. “Lore O

Books July 24, 2023

Making his debut as a screenwriter in upcoming Disney+ action drama series “Moving,” webtoon creator Kang Full exudes confidence in delighting both his devoted webtoon readers and those new to his fictional world with Korean-style superheroes. In 2015, “Moving” started out as an action webtoon series on Daum Webtoon, garnering Kang more than 200 million accumulated reads in Korea. The story revolves around high school students endowed with supernatural powers and their pa

Television July 23, 2023

Lotus and Water Lily Festival, Jeju Island The Lotus and Water Lily Festival, which began July 7, will run through Aug. 31 at Hallim Park, one of the most popular tourist spots on Jeju Island. The park, spanning almost 100,000 square meters, is home to various types of flowers and plants. More than a hundred types of lotus and water lily flowers are in full bloom during the summer. Admission is 9,000 won, 10,000 won and 15,000 won for children, teenagers and adults, respectively. Online reservat

Travel July 21, 2023

South Korean viewers have been unable to hide their long-waiting excitement for Netflix’s upcoming second season of “D.P.,” as the original season ranked No. 10 on Netflix’s Korean top 10 chart for TV series as of Tuesday. “D.P.,” a drama series adapted from a popular webtoon series of the same title by creator Kim Bo-tong, revolves around the lives of Pvt. Ahn Jun-ho (Jung Hae-in) and Cpl. Han Ho-yeol (Koo Kyo-hwan) and their duty to capture Army deserters. W

Television July 19, 2023

While many viewers showed their support for “D.P.” series launched in 2021 for its realistic depictions of South Korean Army life and its controversial sides, the director explained that the upcoming "D.P. 2" focuses more on the narratives of the individuals. Short for “Deserter Pursuit,” the series centers on the lives of Private Jun-ho (played by Jung Hae-in) and Sergeant Ho-yeol (played by Koo Kyo-hwan), to uncover the motivations behind soldiers' attemp

Television July 18, 2023

Local creative content company Jaedam Media Corp. is scheduled to showcase a series of artificial intelligence-generated comics in December. Since October last year, the company has collaborated with renowned cartoonist and webtoon creator Lee Hyun-se, training AI software on more than 4,000 of Lee's comics, including some of the artist's most beloved comic projects, “Untouchables” (1986), “Armageddon” (1988), “Mythology of the Heavens” (1997) and mo

Books July 17, 2023

Seo Hyun-jin and Gong Yoo were confirmed as lead actors in Netflix’s Korean original series “The Trunk” on Monday. Seo Hyun-jin, 38, will make her Netflix debut with “The Trunk” as In-ji, an employee in a matchmaking company called New Marriage. “Train to Busan” star Gong Yoo, who mesmerized viewers in Netflix’s “Squid Game” (2021) and “The Silent Sea” (2021), will co-star in the series, playing the role of Jeong-won, a musi

Television July 17, 2023

Two recent Korean dramas presenting an intimate look into social media-driven lives are enjoying local popularity with unique stories that are easily relatable to many viewers. Though a lot of creative content such as dramas, films and variety shows have included brief scenes depicting social media usage, Netflix’s latest suspense series “Celebrity” and cable channel ENA’s “Battle for Happiness” put the spotlight on characters’ social media interaction

Television July 16, 2023

Jangheung Water Festival The Jeongnamjin Jangheung Water Festival will be held from July 29 to Aug. 6 at areas around the Tamjin River and woodland in Jangheung, South Jeolla Province. The event celebrates the clean and refreshing water of the Tamjin River and Jangheung Lake. Various water activities include canoeing, banana boats, water gun fights and more. Admission fees vary by program. Updated information can be found at https://festival.jangheung.go.kr/festival. Haman Sunflower Festival,

Travel July 14, 2023

Girl group Mamamoo’s Hwasa, 27, is under police investigation after a civic group filed an official complaint over the artist's sexually explicit dance moves at a campus festival in May. Hwasa, a popular K-pop star, was performing at Sungkyunkwan University as part of cable channel tvN's music show, “Dancing Queens on the Road." The show follows South Korea's iconic solo dance artists Kim Wan-sun, Uhm Jung-hwa, Lee Hyo-ri, BoA and Hwasa as they travel around the c

Culture July 13, 2023

The production company behind JTBC’s romantic comedy “King the Land” issued an official apology on Wednesday for its cultural insensitivity. The creators -- Npio Entertainment, BY4M Studio and SLL -- expressed their sincere apology to the viewers in an official apology letter posted on the show's website in Korean, English and Arabic. “We had no intention of caricaturing or distorting any particular country or culture,” the production companies said in the lett

Television July 13, 2023

The city of Cheonan on Tuesday named popular singer-songwriter Paul Kim and the taekwondo-themed performance crew Taekwoncre as ambassadors for the city's upcoming culture expo in August. Cheonan added two additional members, following members of K-pop boy band Ateez, who were appointed as ambassadors in June, to promote the cultural festival to a wider audience and enhance its reputation. Kim, who has mesmerized many fans with hit songs -- including “Me After You,” “After

Culture July 12, 2023

World Wide Web Novels is on the hunt for the next big web novels through a competition running through Aug. 31. Organized by local IT firm Thingsflow, WWW 2023 aims to discover new talents that can lead the Korean creative content industry and promote the web novel-genre that has been growing rapidly in recent years. Many of the web novels, or novels published online, have been adapted as TV dramas and films. JTBC's "Reborn Rich" (2022), starring heartthrob Song Joong-ki, was orig

Books July 12, 2023