The former medical quarter of Changdoekgung will be open to the public from July 17 to August 18, offering traditional summertime drinks in what the Korea Heritage Service believes could boost tours to one of the four main Joseon-era (1392-1910) palaces in Seoul. At the quarter called “yakbang,” or pharmacy in Korean, visitors will be given small cups of two drinks “jehotang,” made with Korean medicinal herbs, and the “omija” tea prepared with magnolia berries

Culture July 12, 2024

Japan’s Rising Sun flag, seen by many as an offensive symbol of Japan’s colonial rule in the 20th century, could soon face a permanent ban in Busan public spaces, alongside other symbols alluding to Japanese militarism. A council member from Korea’s second-largest city floated an ordinance that empowers the Busan mayor to remove from public view emblems associated with Japanese wartime aggression -- a period that includes Tokyo’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Penins

Social Affairs July 12, 2024

Flattering colors How do you put together clothes, makeup and jewelry to look your absolute best is an everyday question for personal color consultants. They recommend colors that are flattering to you based on your complexion, draping fabric swatches across your shoulders to screen which shades -- there are numerous variations to a color -- light up or drain your face. At Color Signal in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, six such consultants -- some fluent in English or Chinese -- run personal color sessions

Arts & Design July 12, 2024

Water festival at Korean Folk Village A water festival at Korean Folk Village is a way to try something old and new at the same time as visitors play with water guns, watch performances and craft shell bracelets. “A Flash of Water in Dry Sky” will run for two months through Aug. 25 at the village in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The village is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, closing three hours later Friday-Sunday. Entrance fees are discounted for some. Check out more d

Travel July 12, 2024

An all-male six-member choir walks up to the stage and takes a deep breath, as guests are all ears for a tune that will animate a ceremony marked by many handshakes and applauses. “That’s the thrill, an adrenaline rush -- the feeling of undivided attention on the stage,” said Son Ye-bin, a baritone at Uangel Voice, a choir that has been performing since April 2009. Most of their performances since then have involved charity work, either raising funds for the marginalized or rai

Performance July 10, 2024

It could take more than a year to restore parts of a historic wall in Seoul that collapsed during heavy downpours earlier this week, according to an official handling the restoration efforts. On Tuesday morning, a passerby reported seeing a collapsed portion of the northern wall of Hanyangdoseong, also known as the Seoul City Wall, to the Jongno-gu office, which then relayed the discovery to the Korea Heritage Service, according to the state agency. Damage to the wall spans 30 meters, and no cas

Culture July 9, 2024

The National Museum of Korea is holding a biennial joint exhibition on lacquerware as part of an effort to showcase cultural artifacts common to Korea, Japan and China that began in 2014. The exhibition entitled “Lacquerware of East Asia” opens Wednesday, featuring 46 lacquerware pieces from the NMK, the Tokyo National Museum and the National Museum of China. The three countries have long used the sap of lacquer trees, which renders a durable, shiny finish once painted onto wooden ob

Arts & Design July 9, 2024

When Wooh Na-young, a graphic designer-turned-illustrator, quit her work at an online game publisher in 2012 after a decade in the industry, she suffered an identity crisis. But she at least knew that being a game graphic designer was not fulfilling for her. “I had to find what I wanted to do or be, and hanbok caught my eyes,” Wooh said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald, explaining her love for the hanbok silhouette -- the elongated lines and broad shapes. A want for her wo

Arts & Design July 7, 2024

Water festival at Everland Join revelers toting colorful water guns at Everland, as the country’s largest theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, hosts a water festival. “Water Stellar” takes place at Carnival Square through Aug. 25, with water splashing, squirting and fighting reaching a peak twice a day, at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., as Everland actors put on a performance. Bring water guns, shoes, a towel and extra clothes, but be advised that there are no changing rooms. Check

Travel July 5, 2024

An international conference on the restoration of damaged cultural heritage will take place next week at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul. The conference entitled “Damaged Cultural Heritage of the World: Its Restoration and Future,” hosted by the state-run museum, will bring together government officials and experts on heritage from Korea, Japan and France. The Wednesday gathering will draw on the three countries’ shared experience in restoring and using cultural he

Culture July 4, 2024

A longtime curator with a career spanning close to two decades at the National Museum of Korea has been tapped to lead the state-run museum with the largest collection in the country. Kim Jae-hong was an NMK curator from 1993 to 2012. He left the museum following a five-month directorship at the Chuncheon National Museum -- one of 13 regional museums under the NMK. Since September 2012, the 59-year-old Kim, who has a Ph.D. in Korean history from Seoul National University, has been a Korean histo

Social Affairs July 4, 2024

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is showing an 18th-century Korean Buddha statue, its first showing of a Buddha statue from Korea. Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, on loan from the National Museum of Korea, will be displayed at the Asian Pavilion of the Rijksmuseum for two years, through May 2026. Korea’s state-run museum arranged the loan as part of efforts to help museums around the world establish a more diverse collection of Korean artifacts, the museum said Wednesday. Avalokiteshvara Bodhisat

Arts & Design July 3, 2024

The custom suits BTS members wore for their Grammy Awards performance in March 2021 will be on exhibit at the Jewelry Museum in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, from Sept. 7 to Dec. 15. The city-run museum will showcase the custom suits that E-Land Group, a local clothing retailer, acquired in an auction. The agreement on the exhibition was signed by the city and the retailer’s private museum. E-Land Group bought the customs at Julien’s Auctions in January 2022, a year after the seven K

K-pop July 2, 2024

An exhibition exploring highlights of Notre Dame Cathedral’s history ahead of its reopening in December following an April 2019 fire will run through Sept. 1 at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul. The exhibition, “Notre-Dame de Paris, the Augmented Exhibition: 850 Years of History and Resilience at Your Fingertips,” offers an immersive and interactive experience, explained Bruno de Sa Moreira, CEO and co-founder of Histovery, a French startup that specializes in augme

Arts & Design July 1, 2024

An international conference will be held in Seoul next week to discuss advancing UN sustainable development goals to deliver by 2030, ranging from reducing inequality to promoting climate action. The Museums and the Sustainable Development Goals Towards 2030 gathering -- cohosted by the National Folk Museum of Korea and the International Council of Museums -- will bring together museum experts from 17 countries to look at the SDGs from five angles: partnership. people, planet, prosperity and pea

Culture June 28, 2024