Pianist, chamber musician, accompanist to a choral conductor and artistic director -- Willem Vogel, 66, has played many roles in the field of music. In a career spanning 30 years, Vogel has hosted more than 6,000 concerts through Salon Music, his impresario business, and has engaged in productions, theater rentals and educational projects since 1993. Vogel is the founder and artistic director of the Brooklyn Theater, a venue in Pretoria, South Africa, established in 2010. He is also artistic dir

On Wednesday, Kim Kyu-jin became the first openly gay Korean woman to give birth. While the birth of her child is a unique event here, it was a casual conversation over lunch which first sparked the idea of becoming a mother. “You are married? You are going to have a baby, right?” The question was posed to her by her boss at a multinational company in France. The question got her thinking, “If this kind of question can be so easily asked over lunch on the first day of work beca

Peggy Gou is a superstar DJ doing tours around the world year-round. Her shows are always sold out across mostly European cities. Gou’s latest single “(It goes like) Nanana” has been on the UK top 10 singles chart for 10 straight weeks, and topped the charts in the Netherlands and Belgium over the summer. Although she may not be as widely known as BTS in her home country, Gou is a proud South Korean, born and bred in Incheon. “When people see other Asian performers and as

The award ceremony for the 52nd Korea Herald English Speech Contest was held on Thursday at the Australian Embassy in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul. The Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Catherine Raper, Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy to the Republic of Korea Alexandra Siddall, The Korea Herald CEO Choi Jin-young, Vice President Shin Yong-bae and Managing Editor Lee Joo-hee were in attendance. “Some of the issues we face are daunting. But when I hear you speak w

On the afternoon of Aug. 15, a special forum took place at Gonjiam Valley in Gyeonggi Province, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of signing the armistice of the Korean War. The Past 4 Present, a youth organization with students from elementary schools to universities, held the "Youth International Peace Forum & Concert," with an aim to uphold the value of peace and liberal democracy acquired through the 1950-53 Korean War. A notable highlight of this year's forum was t

Life in Korea is far from the fantasies seen in popular media -- and as with everywhere else, hard work and preparation is needed, says Yukta Tyagi. “Don’t come here just because you like K-pop and K-dramas. It is not the fantasy land that you see in the shows, and there’s not a Korean 'oppa' walking on the street," she said. The allure of K-pop and K-dramas has drawn many international students to South Korea, but the realities of studying abroad can be quite

From performing at Yonsei University’s Akaraka festival and teaching English on Jeju Island, to making content as a full-time creator, TikTok influencer Max Not Beer has been enjoying a variety of experiences in South Korea. Max -- whose real name is Max Abrams -- moved to Korea last February from the US to pursue his career as a full-time content creator, having garnered a significant following of over 1.2 million followers on TikTok. His content mainly consists of personal stories and

Education ministers and vice ministers from 21 countries pose for a group photo with the Rev. Park Ock-soo (seventh from left, front row), founder of the International Youth Fellowship, at the World Minister Forum held at Nurimaru APEC House in Busan to discuss youth-related problems and plans to promote the "Mind Education" program promoted by the Christian-based organization, Thursday.

The CEO of Korail Tourism Development, a unit of state rail operator Korea Railroad Corp., said Monday he aims to invigorate the local tourism industry by offering unique and green tourism products to foreign nationals looking to explore South Korea. "We have focused until now on revitalizing the tourism industry for domestic travelers. However, our new aim is to focus on attracting overseas tourists to help the nation's tourism industry take a next step," said Kwon Shin-il, CEO o

Ten major English-language education societies based in South Korea will hold a joint academic conference to discuss issues arising in English language teaching amid the ongoing digital transformation. The 2023 Joint International Conference on ELT in Korea will begin its three-day session on July 6 at Konkuk University in Seoul, with the theme “English Language Education in the Era of Digital Transformation: Opportunities, Connectivity and Sustainability,” the Korea Association of T

Global Education Venture, an educational company based in Dubai, has joined hands with boarding school King’s College to provide British education to students across the world. This partnership aims to establish British schools across regions including South Korea, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Macao, India and Nepal. More regions will be added to the list going forward. Based on the agreement, Global Education Venture has been granted exclusive rights to establish and develop King’s

Max Park only needed 3.13 seconds to solve a 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube, setting his fifth Guinness World Records in speed cubing, at an event in California last weekend. According to Guinness World Records, the 21-year-old Korean-American advanced the previous record of 3.47 seconds, held by China's Yusheng Du since 2018, by 0.34 seconds. Smashing records at a breathtaking speed in other speed cubing categories, Park also holds Guinness World Records for solving 4x4x4, 5x5x5, 6x6x6 and 7x7x7

Jung Gyu-ri, CEO of medical company Mediforest and the winner of the 2022 Mrs. Korea pageant, is set to compete at this year’s Mrs. Globe 2023 in California from June 20 to 25. Mrs. Globe is regarded as one of the most prestigious and competitive international beauty pageants in the world, where women from over 100 countries aged 25 and up vie for recognition of their outstanding intellect, humanitarianism and beauty. Jung expressed her determination to represent South Korea on the global

Daniel Mayran, the chairman of Bluebell Korea, received the "Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) from the French Ministry of Culture in a ceremony held in Paris on Friday, according to Bluebell Korea on Tuesday. Mayran is also the director of group business development retail and travel retail of Bluebell Group, and founder and president of Luxury Business Group. Thierry Dana, former ambassador of France to Japan, presented h

In just six days, a certain YouTube video has garnered an impressive 352,000 views and counting. It may seem like the YouTube debut of a popular TV star. However, these numbers belong to Cho Min, the daughter of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, whose life took a dramatic turn when her admission to a graduate school of medicine here was revoked after she had already graduated and passed the state medical licensing exam. Launched on May 12, her YouTube channel, "minchobae," has only on

On Dec. 23 last year, a group of South Korean tourists became stranded in Buffalo, New York, during a heavy blizzard on their way to Niagara Falls. Their van got stuck in the snow, so two of them knocked on the door of a nearby house to ask for shovels to dig the vehicle out of a ditch. That was the home of Alexander Campagna and his wife Andrea, who had planned for a quiet Christmas weekend indoors, with a stocked fridge to wait out the snowstorm. The couple invited the nine travelers plus the

Georgian Ambassador to Korea Tarash Papaskua stressed the potential of his country such as its strategic location as a main gateway connecting east and west at the Global Business Forum organized by The Korea Herald at the Ambassador Seoul - A Pullman Hotel on Wednesday. During the 12th session of the GBF held under the theme “Next Prosperity,” Papaskua highlighted key developments and business opportunities backed by the Georgian government in his opening remarks. “The Georgia

As we exchange business cards at the start of the interview, his card catches my attention. The navy blue card with silver letters and an embossed seal of the school is very distinguished looking. The design clearly intends to command respect. I note the unusual design and Dr. Bae Sang-cheol, distinguished professor at Hanyang University, explains that the school’s distinguished professors are given the special cards. Bae, a former director of Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Dise

“If I uploaded a video, I could get 5 more toys”, recalls Choi Lynn, a 16-year-old content creator who is more popularly known as “Mylynn.” In 2015, at the age of 8, Choi attended the YouTube Google Kids Day, and since then, he has been documenting his life on YouTube, becoming Korea’s first elementary student YouTuber to reach 1 million subscribers. Find out how Mylynn became an iconic YouTuber and how he balances it all with his busy high school schedule. Lim

Rep. Yoon Young-seok from the ruling People Power Party met with Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, and discussed the importance of fiscal discipline during his visit to Europe. "Though Korea has been stepping up as a global leader of various high-tech industries, it is at a time in which the introduction of fiscal discipline like that of the EU is needed for the fiscal stability of the future, considering the unprecedented low fertility rate and aging population,&