If you want to take a break from urban life, Seoul Botanic Park at Gangseo-gu, western Seoul, offers an emotional refuge with plants from 12 cities around the world and Korean gardens. From plant-loving visitors to gardening experts, programs are on offer for the public to enjoy education, experience, culture and art related to plants. The botanic garden is an area within the Seoul Botanic Park, consisting of outdoor theme gardens, greenhouse and Magok cultural hall. Though it is the winter c

“Having blind faith about unverified information and online-offline bullying with that knowledge are very common in our modern society,” Yoo Ah-in said in an online interview with a group of reporters Wednesday. “There were reviews about ‘Hellbound’ less than an hour into its release. People were making a huge fuss about the information that they heard from a five-minute YouTube video, believing that was the absolute truth. The collective madness, hatred and viole

Incheon Romance Market Festival The Incheon Romance Market Festival is running through Dec. 26 at the north square at the Dongincheon Station and at the nearby market district. The fourth edition of the event provides various programs, including a free black and white photo studio and classic movies -- “Dr. No,” (1962) “The Magnificent Seven,” (1960) and “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” (1957) -- at Incheon Milim Cinema. The tickets are priced at 5,000 won. The v

South Korean cultural icons including Oscar-winning actor Youn Yuh-jung, top comedian Yoo Jae-suk and K-pop bands BTS and aespa were among the six winners recognized at the 2021 Visionary Awards on Wednesday. The second edition of the annual awards, presented by South Korean media and entertainment giant CJ ENM, recognizes individuals who created new trends in the entertainment business and contributed to the spread of Korean Wave. The six winners -- Youn, Yoo, BTS, aespa, “Squid Game&r

For actor Park Jeong-min, the global popularity of “Hellbound” was unexpected. “Because I was simply a huge fan of the original webtoon, I was excited to play the television producer Bae Young-jae. Though I never took the role lightly, I did not have the pressure of turning the project into a smash hit series. I enjoyed working with amazing colleagues and director Yeon Sang-ho,” Park said in an online interview with a group of reporters on Tuesday. “Hearing the n

As Korean webtoons enjoy new heights of popularity, being turned into drama series and films, the Korean webtoon industry is seeking to take down illegal websites featuring pirated webtoons. Seven leading webtoon platforms -- Kakao Entertainment, Kidari Studio, Lezhin Entertainment, Naver Webtoon, Ridi, Topco and Toomics -- announced Tuesday that they would take collective action to fight the illegal distribution of webtoons. The companies seek to protect the authors’ desire to create ori

Public educational TV channel EBS is launching two extended reality science programs, “The Home” and “The Dreamer,” this week. Extended reality is an umbrella term encompassing virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. The computing technology can merge physical and virtual worlds, bringing digital elements to the viewers. “There has been a few music programs partly applying XR technology, but ‘The Home’ and ‘The Dreamer’ are t

With the arrival of Disney+ and Apple TV+ setting off fierce competition in the country’s video streaming market, Netflix is seeking to cement its top position with a slew of new reality shows. The global streaming giant is premiering three original Korean variety shows for the year-end season, hoping to continue its dominance there on the back of recent global hit drama series like “Squid Game,” “My Name” and “Hellbound.” Starring six celebrities --

“Hellbound,” Netflix’s latest Korean original series directed from Yeon Sang-ho, presents a concrete observation on humans in a dystopian world, where moral principles and beliefs give way to religious zealotry. Yeon, who has been issuing his social criticism by depicting worlds in chaos, does not seem to limit himself in a single profession. The 43-year-old director’s love for fantasy horror has been presented in animation and as a film director, illustrator and scree

For director and actor Yoo Teo, releasing “Log in Belgium” as his debut film was never part of the plan. “Shooting a video was a way for me to endure the self-quarantine period in an unfamiliar city of Antwerp, Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when countries closed their borders and locked themselves down,” Yoo said in a press conference Tuesday at CGV Yongsan in central Seoul. He was in Antwerp working on the joint German-Japanese drama prod

Naver Webtoon’s beloved webtoon series “True Beauty,” “Tower of God” and “Doom Breaker” will be published in book form in the fall of 2022, the company said in a press release Monday. American imprint Webtoon Unscrolled, launched by Wattpad Webtoon Studios, will publish the print editions, according to Naver Webtoon. The new imprint is part of Naver Webtoon’s push to expand its contents and webtoon IP, including TV series, movie adaptations and

Netflix’s latest Korean original “Hellbound” has caught the attention of both local and foreign fans with horrifying depictions of death and episodes full of suspense. The series, directed by the mastermind behind megahit zombie sensation “Train to Busan” Yeon Sang-ho, is an adaptation of a highly rated webtoon of the same title, also by Yeon. Though Yeon said he tried “not to veer much from the original webcomics,” avid readers of the webtoon that end

Netflix will ring in the Christmas season with the sci-fi mystery “The Silent Sea,” its last Korean original series of the year. The platform on Monday announced the show’s release on Dec. 24 and unveiled a mysterious poster showing a lone astronaut in outer space. The series, which revolves around a group of space explorers on a classified mission to an abandoned research facility on the moon, is an adaptation of a short film of the same title by director Choi Hang-yong. T

Entertainer Kim Jong-kook is seeking to put an end to doping rumors, and most recently he appeared in a YouTube video with a media lawyer to talk about defamation. In the video, posted Thursday on Kim’s bodybuilding channel, media and telecommunications practice lawyer Park Min-chul joined the singer as he denied the doping rumors. “I have worked as a television celebrity for 27 years and believed that the most important role as a celebrity is to bring joy and happiness to the pu

TvN’s new Friday-Saturday drama “Bad and Crazy” is scheduled to kick off on Dec. 17, after “Happiness” comes to an end Dec. 11. Directed by You Sun-dong who produced OCN’s hit drama “The Uncanny Counter,” the cable network presented a 15-second teaser Friday showing its lead characters. Top actor Lee Dong-wook takes the role of “bad” detective Ryu Su-yeol, who is willing to do anything and everything to accomplish his objectives. Co

Riot Games made a successful debut on Netflix with the League of Legends-themed animation “Arcane,” soaring to No. 2 on the service’s official weekly chart. Riot Games released its animated series Nov. 7 after the Worlds 2021 Championship, one of the most popular global esports events. “Arcane” ended the historic 46-day reign of Netflix global sensation “Squid Game,” topping the chart within a few days of its release. The series has made the top 10

Wonju Dynamic Dancing Carnival The Wonju Dynamic Dancing Carnival will be held at Wonju Sports Complex in Gangwon Province, from Friday to Sunday. The event, rescheduled from October, has grown into a global festival with a parade competition that typically takes place in the streets. However, the festival has downsized the scale, with programs being presented only at a special stage at Wonju Sports Complex. The annual festival is returning after two years, featuring cultural arts performances,

INCHEON -- Autumn is a wonderful season to go anywhere in Korea. And it’s not too late to enjoy the autumn breeze. Though the recent rains might have made an unwelcome visit, pulling some of the colorful leaves from their branches earlier than usual, colorful fall foliage still welcomed hikers on Manisan last weekend. A mountain standing a moderate 472 meters high on Incheon’s island of Ganghwado, some 60 kilometers west of Seoul, Manisan is one of the most popular places in Kore

BUSAN -- South Korea’s largest gaming convention, G-Star kicked off in Busan Wednesday, showcasing the latest games and technologies by major game-related firms from both home and abroad. Arguably the biggest exhibition held since the “living with COVID-19” scheme took effect earlier this month, G-Star put in its utmost effort to be an example of a successful offline event. G-Star 2021 is a hybrid online-offline event with the participation of leading gaming and tech firms

For director Yeon Sang-ho, 43, producing new Netflix series “Hellbound” felt like creating his own playground. “When I was creating ‘Hellbound’ as a web comic, I was expecting to reproduce the series as a video. The project shows different sides of humans in a desperate situation surrounded by extreme social chaos. I want to keep presenting my views about humanity via ‘Hellbound.’ I will continue to play around by creating unique characters and stories