Kim Dae-jin, 58, took the reins of the Korea National University of Arts, known as K-Arts, only 10 months ago, but his history with the school goes back to 1994, when he became a professor two years after the school opened. K-Arts, the country’s top arts school, was founded in 1992 with a mission to provide high-quality education so that students would not have to go abroad seeking great teachers and top-class training. Fast forward to 2022, the school is seeing the fruits of its labor

A new show currently airing gives fresh meaning to the term reality TV. Call it “American Democracy: Clear and Present Danger.” It should be required viewing. Almost 18 months after the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the US Capitol, a House of Representatives select committee is publicizing the findings of its detailed investigation into the event. The committee has interviewed over 1,000 witnesses and examined 125,000 documents. It has held six hearings so far in June, with a view to tr

US-China relations are the most critical bilateral relations among numerous others in the international community. Since Xi Jinping became the supreme leader of China in 2012, China has been shaping its own diplomatic color, instead of “taoguang yanghui” (keep a low profile and bide your time, while also getting something accomplished). Although there is still a lack of sophistication and detail, it is clear enough to shock and give tension to the US, since the US has enjoyed a

President Yoon Suk-yeol's disapproval rating surpassed his approval rating in a poll released Sunday. The survey by Research View, conducted on 1,000 South Koreans aged 18 or over from last Tuesday to Thursday, was the latest in a series of national polls, in which those giving a negative assessment of Yoon's performance outnumbered those who were bullish on the president. This poll was conducted while Yoon was visiting Spain for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, his firs

South Korea and China agreed Sunday to hold a ceremony returning remains of Chinese troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War in September, in what would be the ninth such repatriation, Seoul's defense ministry said. Kim Sang-jin, the ministry's director-general of international policy, and Li Jingxian, a Chinese veterans affairs official, met in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen, and agreed to hold an event casketing the remains on Sept. 15 and return them the following day. The min

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- The 19th edition of Music in Pyeongchang, an orchestral event in Gangwon Province, finally kicked off Saturday with an opening concert that mixes modern and classical music pieces. The first half of the opening concert began with Frederic Rzewski’s “To The Earth,” performed by percussionist Matthew Ernster. The percussion session that accompanied a poem recitation was followed by George Crumb’s “Voice of the Whale” for Th

Floor leaders’ meeting on the eve of new provisional assembly ends with no progress

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said Sunday that he would help Korean companies sell more goods overseas by offering more loans at a time when Korea’s exports snapped 15 months of double-digit growth in June, stocking recession worries. The trade deficit in January-June this year reached $10.3 billion, the highest level ever recorded in the first six months of a year, despite record-high exports in the same period, as soaring energy prices offset the export gains. “I am not quite su

“Broker,” the first Korean-language film project by Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda, on Sunday won the top award at the 39th Munich International Film Festival. According to the festival organizer, the ARRI award, established in 2008, is given to the filmmakers of the best international film in the CineMasters competition section. An independent three-member jury decides who shall receive the award, worth 50,000 euros ($52,000). Kore-eda’s “Broker” centers

If you want to see new art this week, visit the galleries of Samcheong-dong, a cozy and renowned neighborhood in central Seoul next to the main palace Gyeongbokgung. New works by conceptual artist Olafur Eliasson, who plays with light and color, are on display at PKM Gallery. The gallery has a restaurant where one can grab some coffee or a meal before or after enjoying works. Right next to PKM Gallery is Barakat Contemporary, where the first solo exhibition by Berlin-based Nevin Aladag, who ha

The average daily trading volume of retail investors on the main board Kospi in June dropped to its lowest level since February 2020, data from the Korea Exchange showed Sunday. The fall comes as investors are bracing for a growth slowdown from the US Federal Reserve’s rate hikes. The value of shares investors bought and sold in a day on average on the benchmark index reached 4.3 trillion won ($3.3 billion) last month. That is a little more than 3.7 trillion won recorded in February 2020

WASHINGTON -- Abortion, guns and religion -- a major change in the law in any one of these areas would have made for a fateful Supreme Court term. In its first full term together, the court's conservative majority ruled in all three and issued other significant decisions limiting the government's regulatory powers. And it has signaled no plans to slow down. With former President Donald Trump's appointees in their 50s, the six-justice conservative majority seems poised to keep control of the cour

The number of international travelers spiked to 1.28 million last month, surging 420 percent on-year, despite surging airfares and insufficient flight schedules, the Transport Ministry said Sunday. This was the first time that the number of monthly international travelers surpassed 1 million since the outbreak of COVID-19. The increase in international travel demand is likely to help the Transport Ministry achieve its goal of restoring the number of inbound and outbound flights to 50 percent o

Welfare Ministry plans full-scale program in 2025