If you are a Monbebe, the name of K-pop band Monsta X’s fandom, you might be familiar with the colorful rainbow background in Monsta X member Kihyun's live performance video of his solo song "Voyager" for the “Vocals Only Live” program on YouTube. Get That Shot, a cafe that is perfect for filming live music content, is a well-known Instagram spot. From the entrance of the cafe, located on the first floor of the Lotte Department Store’s Yeongdeungpo branch in sou

An exhibition that highlights contemporary Nigerian arts opened Thursday at the Summit Gallery in southern Seoul. The exhibition, entitled “Seeds of Friendship,” introduces 110 pieces of art including six sculptures by 22 contemporary Nigerian artists, under the slogan “planting the seeds of culture on friendship.” Works of celebrated artists such as Tony Enebeli, who has a distinctive style of using plastocast and metal foil, and emerging young artists such as Kehinde Mu

In 1795, King Jeongjo traveled from Changdeokgung in the capital to Suwon Hwaseong Fortress to visit his father’s grave, Yongneung, in Hwaseong. Accompanying King Jeongjo on the eight-day journey was his mother, Lady Hyegyeong, celebrating her 60th birthday. Often cited as the expression of King Jeongjo's filial piety, the royal parade will be reenacted on Saturday and Saturday. The parade will set off at 10 a.m. at Changdeokgung, located in Jongno-gu, and course through areas of Seoul on

Contemporary Nigerian art will be explored at an exhibition opening Thursday at the Summit Gallery in southern Seoul. A total of 110 art pieces including 35 paintings and six sculptures by 22 Nigerian artists will be on display at the exhibition entitled “Seeds of Friendship.” The exhibition is being held under the slogan “planting the seeds of culture on friendship.” Among contemporary Nigerian artists represented at the exhibition is John Ogbeta, a mixed media painter,

Time travel to Japan's Edo period in Seoul An exhibition will take you on a time and space travel journey this weekend to 17th century Japan, without having to leave the city. An exhibition introducing urban customs and lifestyles of Japan's Edo period (1603-1867) is ongoing at the Seoul Museum of History, in central Seoul, through Oct. 23. Edo is the former name of Tokyo and the capital of the military government at the time, the Tokugawa shogunate. Titled "Scenes Around Sumidagawa River i

The Seoul Street Arts Festival is scheduled to return to the streets of Seoul this weekend. The three-day festival will kick off on Friday around the areas of Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul City Hall, the Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway and Mugyo Road in Jung-gu, and Nodeul Island. A total of 30 different art troupes will perform at the annual festival, under the theme of “Distance Between Us,” aiming to narrow the distance between people with a festival filled with artistic imagination

Namkoong Min is to wed his longtime girlfriend, model and actor Jin Ah-reum, next month, according to Namkoong's agency. “Actor Namkoong Min and his longtime partner Jin Ah-reum will be tying the knot,” 935 Entertainment announced Wednesday. “The private wedding will be held Oct. 7 in Seoul with close friends and families in attendance,” the agency said. The couple met in Namkoong’s directorial debut short film “Light My Fire” (2016), in which Jin starre

Architecture has the power to connect and bring two different things together, said architect Alfredo Brillembourg during his presentation at Herald Design Forum 2022 held at the Shilla Seoul, Tuesday. He gave a dual lecture with Ida Lien, a partner at Urban-A. The pair talked about how architecture can deal with conflicts and shape cultures, answering the underlying question: How can people live together today in harmony and in the city? “We are living in an increasingly urbanized and hyp

Architecture should remain vivid in people’s hearts like Beethoven or Mozart’s timeless music, said Tadao Ando at Herald Design Forum 2022 Tuesday, delivering the opening lecture under the theme “Life full of dreams and architecture.” “People say architecture should be rational, economical, pleasant and beautiful and all, but most importantly, I believe, architecture should remain firmly in people’s minds,” Ando said via video link at the forum's 12th ed

Art from the Lee Kun-hee collection is scheduled to embark on a nationwide tour next month, the Culture Ministry said Monday. The traveling exhibition will make stops at national museums and art museums in major cities in the Jeolla, Gyeongsang and Chungcheong Provinces through 2024, starting with Gwangju in October. Regional museums will showcase exhibitions highlighting region-specific features, based on the previous exhibition “A Collector’s Invitation” that was held at the

Miryang Arirang Festival, the top cultural festival in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, kicked off on Thursday, making its return after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The 64th edition of the festival marks the 10th anniversary of the enlisting of Korean folk song "Arirang" on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. There are several variations of "Arirang," usually prefixed by the place of origin. Under the theme “Connecting Miryang Arir

A two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist’s book on Korean culture and heritage is set to hit the shelves on Sept. 30. “Visual History of Korea” by Hyungwon Kang introduces 25 aspects of Korea’s cultural heritage. The 208-page book features photographs that capture the beauty of Korea’s unique culture and history through the lens of a visual storyteller, accompanied by writings in English and Korean. “A photo has the power to tell stories and communica

Paju doughnut shop for your fill of sweet treats With its vividly colored container-like building painted in pink and mint and decorated all around, eye-catching neon sign and giant ice cream cone sculpture by the entrance, the Malddong Donut in Paju Gyeonggi Province, is hard to miss. Located some 4-kilometers north of the Paju Book City complex, the store, which opened late last year, has customers waiting in line from the moment it opens at 8:30 a.m. Malddong Donut is a destination bakery, wh

An overseas exhibition on Korea’s ink-and-wash paintings is set to highlight the dramatic yet tranquil power that exists in the medium of ink. “Park Dae-sung: Ink Reimagined” is scheduled to open at the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire, from Saturday to March 19, 2023. A total of 23 ink-and-wash painting and calligraphy pieces will be on display, many of which are being shown for the first time in the US. The contemporary Korean ink-and-wash ar

Seoul Metropolitan Opera will stage Charles Gounod’s French opera “Romeo et Juliette” at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul, from Thursday to Sunday. Inspired by Hector Berlioz’s dramatic symphony of the same title, Gounod wrote the opera based on Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet." The opera premiered at Theatre Lyrique in Paris in 1867. The troupe is set to perform the tragic love story of a son and daughter from two rival fam

As Banpo Bridge’s Moonlight Rainbow Fountain spouted streams of water, heads turned at the splashing sound that seemed to signal the start of a long-awaited space-out competition taking place on Jamsu Bridge, right under Banpo Bridge. The Hangang Space-out Competition returned Sunday after a two-year hiatus. About 4,000 people signed up for the 50 spots available -- up to three people were allowed for each spot -- and not a single selected team failed to show up at Jamsu Bridge, which is c

Former President Moon Jae-in’s latest book recommendation “Utmost and Personal Nepal” has shot up on the bestseller’s list, showing once again the former leader’s formidable influence on many people’s reading choices. “Utmost and Personal Nepal,” co-written by Sujan Shakya and Hong Sung-kwang, is the eighth book he has recommended since leaving the Blue House in May. “The greeting ‘Namaste’ means ‘The god in me respects the

Leading writers from around the world are convening at the Seoul International Writers’ Festival, scheduled to kick off Friday. A total of 35 writers -- including 12 from eight foreign countries -- will take part in this year’s festival, held under the theme of "Beyond Narrative." The eight-day festival will offer reading sessions as well as conversations between writers and literary critics, exploring the boundaries of genre and language with the readers. The festival will

A Hallyu festival featuring all things Korean Wave will take place across Seoul next month, the Culture Ministry announced on Thursday. The “2022 Korean Culture Festival” is scheduled to kick off on Oct. 1 in areas around Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul and Jamsil Sports Complex in southern Seoul. With a theme of exploring a cultural journey of Hallyu on planet “THE-K,” the festival aims to offer a chance to experience various aspects of Korean culture, ranging from t

A man throws a woman in the open air and catches her with one hand. Then she carefully balances herself upside down with one hand holding his other hand. Getting a sneak peek into the performance “Enva” by Spanish artist group Amer i Africa Circ Cia, the hand-to-hand circus is sure to provoke “oohs” and “ahhs” from the audience with their compelling acrobatics. With music adding a mischievous mood to the act, the pair perform awe-inspiring acrobatics between 2