Korea is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its independence from Japan’s colonial rule with a slew of cultural events this week.Amid the festive mood, museums are presenting exhibitions and special events that provide an understanding of various aspects of the anniversary and how life in Korea has changed over the past seven decades. Museums will also open for free during the three-day weekend starting Friday, as Aug. 14 was designated a special holiday. The turbulent and dynamic lives of Kore

GANGHWADO ISLAND, Incheon -– A special wedding ceremony took place Sunday at Ganghwa Peace Observatory on the border island of Ganghwado, off South Korea’s western coast. 　The island’s residents came out to see the unlikely event, which drew guests from other parts of the country and even from other Asian countries. But the groom was nowhere to be found. In a contingency plan, the bridesmaid and the bride’s father came out to pick a groom candidate from the audience. The ceremony was in fact a s

When the 38th Parallel was drawn to divide the Korean Peninsula after the Korean War, many people had to make a tough decision: Which side would they support?Artist Lee Quede faced the question at a prison camp where he was jailed after being captured by South Korean soldiers for being cooperative with North Korean soldiers who briefly occupied Seoul. The artist, born in 1913 in the small town of Chilgok, South Gyeongsang Province, chose to go to the North in 1953, leaving his wife and four chil

Rare pieces of Korean traditional art, spanning from the Bronze Age to the 19th-century Joseon era, have been brought together to present the exquisite beauty of Korean art this summer. The Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art showcases national treasures of Korea and valuable Korean artifacts on loan from leading foreign art institutions that highlight lavish features, exquisite details and refined artistry.  Crown, 5-6th century, Gaya (Leeum)In contrast to the Leeum exhibition exploring the opulence o

Life inside the reclusive North Korean society has remained a mystery to the people outside. To many, the society poses a grim picture with horrific tales of labor camps and the totalitarian regime‘s surveillance of civilians, as told by defectors. Only few foreign photographers have sought to look beyond those fragmented images and capture an unknown side of the society -- how life manages to go on in such isolation.  　British photographer Nick Danziger is one of the few. His 2013 journey to th

When artist Cody Choi first arrived in the U.S. in the 1980s, he frequently suffered from stomach and bowel problems, stemming from having to adjust to a new culture.  Unable to afford a clinic visit, his go-to remedy was Pepto-Bismol, an over-the-counter stomach relief medicine. Looking back on his early days in the U.S., Choi made a sculpture in 1996 that has the shape of Rodin’s “The Thinker” but is made with pink liquid Pepto-Bismol and toilet paper -- the two objects that represent his earl

Leading K-pop stars, such as Psy, G-Dragon and Rain and dozens of other Korean celebrities, as well as historic and sports figures, have been brought to life in wax models at the Grevin Museum opening in Seoul on Thursday.  The French wax museum’s first Asian branch presents 80 life-size wax models of world-renowned figures and celebrities, including 30 Koreans. Life-size wax figures of K-pop stars and Hollywood movie stars are on display at Grevin Museum Seoul, which opens Thursday in Seoul. (G

There’s nothing quite like sitting down to a cup of tea with a cat on your lap. These days, with the advent of cat cafes, you don’t even need your own cat to experience it. While they have been around in South Korea for some time, the rest of the world is beginning to catch on, and the trend that was once the cultural domain of Japan and Korea is spreading globally. 　Although the first cat cafe was founded in Taiwan in 1998, the concept blossomed in Japan and Korea, particularly in the last deca

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province -- A man painted from head to toe stands against a painted wall as if he walked straight from a portrait painting. His moving hands seem so unreal that it looks like he could only exist in a painting.When it is taken as a photograph, the scene actually turns into a two-dimensional painting.  “A Man Turned Into Painting” by Yoo Hyun-mi (Wooyang Museum of Contemporary Art)In this opening performance for a joint Korean and Russian media art exhibition, artist Yoo

Among the thousands of stamps that Dutch philatelist Wim van der Bijl has gathered from all over the world, the image on a small North Korean stamp left on him a strong impression. The stamp collector soon found out that similar images in bigger sizes were on North Korean propaganda posters. He decided to buy more of them. His colleague Ronald de Groen, who is also an avid stamp and painting collector, joined him in the building of a dangerous, yet thrilling collection of North Korean art. From

A girl in a white feather dress has her eyes closed and floats aimlessly with her dress and hair moving naturally to reveal their velvety layers. The weightless calm captivates the viewer, wondering where this place with such a calm state could be. “Angel 1,” Swan Song by Zena Holloway (Courtesy of the artist)This mystical photo is in fact taken underwater by photographer Zena Holloway, a British photographer who specializes in underwater photography. She is holding her first exhibition in Seoul

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Solid Inc., a South Korean telecom device firm listed on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market, joined the local consortium that is in talks to acquire Pantech Co., industry sources said Thursday, casting a brighter outlook on the revival of the cash-strapped smartphone maker.The move came after a Seoul court approved the takeover plan proposed by South Korean optical manufacturer Optis Co. to acquire Pantech.Industry watchers said the Optis-led consortium may clinch an official deal wi

A decades-old weir set up in the Hangang River in Seoul is in hot water over what environmentalists call its outdated efficacy and increasing ecological damage, as it has recently been pointed to as a possible culprit for the threatening green tide that persists in the river.The algae phenomenon reignited the extensive debate Thursday over Singok weir in the mouth of the Hangang River in Gyeonggi Province, pitting the small dam’s water control role crucial for local fishermen against ecological

Two Korean menswear designers presented their spring-summer looks in the men’s collection during New York Fashion Week, drawing interest with innovative and unique designs. Kang Dong-jun of DBYD and Jang Hyung-chul of Ordinary People showed their creations as part of the Korean government-organized Concept Korea event, held semiannually during New York Fashion Week since 2010 to introduce Korean designers in the fashion hub of New York. A model presents creations of Ordinary People by Jang Hyung

Your workout plan for a perfect beach body for this summer is a half success without a healthy meal plan. Even if you stick to a strict exercise schedule, what you eat after the workout hours will determine the result you want to achieve. When you try to cut down calories to lose weight, eating food that is filling yet low in calories can help you achieve your diet goal faster. Office worker Park Il-gyu, 31, proved he could lose the weight by just eating healthy. Feeling heavy and tired from the

Korean artists Yang Haegue and Cody Choi are successfully transcending physical and cultural boundaries with their works, holding exhibitions at major art institutions around the world.  Yang, a Korean-born artist currently living in Berlin and Seoul, is showing her installation works at four major art institutions -- the Museum of Modern Art and Guggenheim Museum in New York, Vienna Biennale and the Modern Art Museum in Stockholm.The artist, using everyday materials to create resounding message

Wedding gown of Empress Consort Sunjeong, 1919 (Seojong University Museum)Stories of women at the royal court of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) do not occupy major chapters in the 518 years of history for the monarchy. Rather than being major players, queens and concubines are often seen as symbols of jealousy or, sometimes, victims of political strife. Despite little attention paid to their individual lives, these women shaped the sophisticated and splendid royal culture of Joseon that people o

“Three more to go!” “Fighting!” The cheers echo in the gym studio at Reebok CrossFit Sentinel Downtown in the bustling downtown of Seoul.  As one member finishes 500 meters of rowing, another takes over to complete the 1,000-meter goal. Then, the first partner picks up the weights and starts a set of 25 dumbbell thrusters, an exercise that combines a front squat and a push press. The second partner, on the rowing machine should catch up with her and finish the rest of the 25 dumbbell thrusters.

Under the blazing summer sun, rows of loosely hanging reed blinds create shade, inviting passersby on the heated streets of Seoul to cool down.The reeds form the main part of a “park with a roof” set up outside the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea."Roof Sentiment" by SoA (MMCA)It was designed and constructed by architect duo Lee Chi-hoon and Kang Ye-rin – together known as Society of Architecture – and won this year’s Young Architects Program, jointly organized by the MMCA,

종합편성채널 JTBC의 예능 프로그램 ‘비정상회담’이 6일 새로운 멤버들을 소개하며 시청률 상승, 더 넓어진 문화적 다양성 그리고 신선한 재미라는 세 마리 토끼 모두를 거머쥐었다. 　‘비정상회담’은 지난 29일 프로그램 1주년을 맞아 기존의 12명의 멤버 중 6명인 줄리안 퀸타르트(벨기에), 로빈 데이아나(프랑스), 일리야 벨랴코프(러시아), 블레어 윌리엄스(호주), 수잔 샤키야(네팔), 테라다 타쿠야(일본)의 교체를 발표한 바 있다. 비정상회담 (JTBC)방송은 원년 멤버와 새로운 멤버들을 구 G6와 신 G6로 나눈 대결구도로 진행되었으며, 두 그룹 사이의 감도는 긴장감을 유머로 승화했다. 　나아가 청문회 형식으로 시청자들이 새로운 멤버에 대해 갖는 궁금증을 집중적으로 파헤쳤으며, 생소한 나라들에 대한 소개 또한 들을 수 있었다.　새로운 6명의 멤버들은 카를로스 고리토(브라질), 니콜라이 욘센(노르웨이), 안드레아스 바르사코풀로스(그리스), 프셰므스와브 크롬피에츠(폴란드), 새미