HONG KONG (AFP) ― One of China’s rarest stamps sold for HK$6.9 million ($890,000) at auction in Hong Kong, the auctioneers said Wednesday. With just 32 recorded copies, the Qing Dynasty “1897 Red Revenue Small One Dollar” stamp is “China’s rarest regularly-issued stamp,” Interasia Auctions said in a press release. The bright red stamp, symbolising luck and good fortune in Chinese culture, is ra...

Iris Grace Halmshaw, an autistic 3-year-old girl living in Britain, has attracted keen public attention with her fascinating paintings. Iris, diagnosed with autism in 2011, cannot talk; she even gets distressed when her friends get close to her. She started painting as a part of therapy. In the process, her parents noticed she is a talented painter. Since then, her paintings have been on displ...

As for who King Yisaji was, more research is needed. The name is not found in Samguksagi or Samgukyusa, two annals about the Three Kingdoms period ― Silla, Baekje and Goguryeo ― written during the Goryeo era (918-1392). “The name may refer to either a real king or a very powerful person related to the king. Back then, very powerful royal people were often referred to as kings,” said researcher H...

Joseon-period painter, calligrapher, poet and critic famed for introducing Western painting methods

NEW YORK (AP) ― Gray dust blankets everything in the subterranean halls of the unfinished National September 11 Memorial & Museum. But while the powder may look ominously like the ash that covered lower Manhattan after the terrorist attacks, this time it is a product of rebirth, not destruction. After a yearlong construction shutdown because of a funding dispute, and additional months of cleanup...

Pop music “2013 Ansan Valley Rock Festival”: As Korea’s biggest rock festival, the Valley Rock Festival presents one of the best line-ups of big musicians from Korea and abroad such as this year’s headliners The Cure, NiN, Skrillex, the Foals, the XX, My Bloody Valentine, Idiotape, Peppertones and many others. This year’s festival has moved from Jisan Resort to the Daebu Sea Breeze Theme Park. T...

The Korean traditional folk song “Arirang” reflects Koreans’ unique sentiment of “han,” representing the suppressed yet hopeful desire for justice. The UNESCO Cultural Heritage piece is also believed to have played a key role in creating solidarity among Korean people throughout historical hardships and in shaping the Korean identity. In commemoration of gugak, or Korean traditional music, song’...

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Monday said it would push to register five historical sites of the Korean War (1950-1953) as cultural heritage subject to state management. Those being considered are the Resistance Shrine at Mount Gamaksan in Paju; the Norwegian field hospital in Dongducheon; a military bunker in Pocheon; the joint cemetery of the Taegeukdan resistance in Goyang, all in G...

Portraits in Korea are much more than simple artworks. Rather, they are signs of respect for ancestors that have been passed down through generations. Portraits of the Joseon era (1392-1910) are known for their realistic description and details. They are also called jeonsinhwa, a painting that passes down the spirits of ancestors. Unlike in neighboring countries, painters were devoted to portra...

Cosmetic surgery reality TV shows shape public perception and attraction for plastic surgery, beauty