The former Seoul Station building will turn into a big live theater where artists, dancers and musicians will present a variety of arts performances that pay tribute to the history of the place. Each room of the historic building will be dedicated to live performances and interactive exhibitions from Nov. 14 to 30 as part of the seasonal program of Culture Station Seoul 284, the current name of the space. Seoul Station was built by a Japanese architect in 1925 during the Japanese colonial period

Singer Lee Seung-chul was denied entry to Japan on Sunday in an apparent retaliation for a performance on the easternmost Korean islets of Dokdo in August. The singer performed on the islet on Aug. 14, a day before the 69th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Lee sang a song with a choir of young North Korean defectors.The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed regret over Lee’s entry refusal on Tuesday. “It’s regrettable for a Korean national to have been report

For Koreans, kimchi-making is the annual family or neighborhood ritual that prepares them to get through the long winter with nutritional kimchi. This year, this custom called “gimjang” will be celebrated in a big way in bustling spots across Seoul such as Gwanghwamun, Cheonggye Plaza and Seoul Plaza. The 2014 Seoul Kimchi Making and Sharing Festival will run from Friday to Sunday with a variety of events related to kimchi. The festival invites citizens and tourists to taste different kinds of k

Linda McCartney was the first woman photographer whose photos were featured in Rolling Stone magazine. She made a name for herself by taking pictures of famous rock stars in the 1960s and ’70s such as The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and The Beatles.She’s also well known as the first wife of Paul McCartney, a Beatle. Of her four children, Mary is a photographer, too, and Stella a fashion designer.Daelim Museum in Seoul is holding Linda McCartney’s first exhibition in Kor

Nearly a decade after Seoul City’s urban beautification campaign, design has become an essential part of urban planning in Korea. In Seoul, flashy new buildings continue to pop up, creating some noticeable spots in its repetitive sprawl of cookie-cutter structures. Some even resemble a tsunami (the new Seoul City Hall) or a spaceship (the Dongdaemun Design Plaza). Although not as noticeable as the new edifices, traffic signs, bus stops and advertisements are being given a designer touch. Rooftop

For the past decade, major urban projects in Seoul have centered on creating landmarks to achieve the ambition of making it the design capital of Asia. Old buildings and neighborhoods have been transformed into high-end locales designed by famous architects. While the Korean capital has gradually turned into an ultramodern city, the streets and alleys behind the landmarks have been left with indistinct buildings that still comprise much of the landscape.Recently, city planners and architects hav

The three biggest safety concerns for foreign tourists traveling to Korea were pickpockets, the North Korean threat and car accidents, according to a recent survey of foreign tourists by the Korea Tourism Organization.Thirty-five percent of 704 foreign respondents said they were concerned about pickpocketing, 17 percent said they were worried about the North Korean threat and another 17 percent said they were concerned about accidents involving public transportation. The answers were given befor

Macau Food Festival at Conrad Seoul The buffet restaurant ZEST is presenting Macanese food from Nov. 7-16 with the Macau Government Tourist Office. The food promotion will offer Macanese dishes prepared by visiting chefs from Macau, who will also run egg-tart cooking classes on Nov. 10 and 15. The menu includes Portuguese suckling pig with orange, prawns with chili and Portuguese-style curry crab. Guests who upload photos of their food experience onto Instagram (instagram.com/conradseoul) will h

The vast 17-meter-high space dedicated to site-specific installations at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea looks like it’s been filled with water and floating boats with blinking lights. As the idea of filling the exhibition space with water is counterintuitive, the scene challenges our usual perceptions of space. Up close, what appears to be a night scene at a small port turns out to be carefully arranged installation pieces by Argentinean artist Leandro Erlich. The square museum

Using 3-D printing technology, Dutch design studio Minale-Maeda has designed a set of plastic connectors that make it possible to assemble your own wooden furniture. Without using any tools, the connectors can be used to join wooden legs and a wooden tabletop to make a functional table.  The design studio has gone a step further by disclosing the blueprint for the connector so that anyone can make one with a 3-D printer. A 3-D-printed connector for the wooden legs of a table by Minale-MaedaThe t

Simple, abstract sculptural objects by American artist Donald Judd are on display in Seoul, shedding light on one of the most significant artists of the postwar period. Though widely associated with minimalism, Judd (1928-1994) objected to this term, saying that it was a generalization and misinterpretation of his philosophy. He created his own term, “specific object,” for his thought that every component of an object including materials, form and colors can be used to explore space. It’s also t

SEOUL/JEJU ― The Tap-dong area was once a bustling entertainment and shopping street in Jeju City. Located just 4 kilometers from Jeju International Airport, the neighborhood was one of the most expensive places in Jeju with movie theaters and outdoor markets drawing people from all over the island. But with the creation of a new downtown in Jeju City, the neighborhood lost its vitality and the number of visitors and residents dwindled. Kim Chang-il, CEO of Arario Group and one of the top 200 co

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) ― United Airlines has launched daily direct flights between South Korea and Guam for the first time, serving a market that helped boost Guam’s tourism industry when the number of visitors from Japan declined. “As Guam’s hometown airline, we are delighted to bring additional economic benefits to our tourism industry and further expand the extensive route network from our Guam hub,” said Sam Shinohara, United’s managing director for business development in the Asia-Pacific.Unite

Thanksgiving roast Turkey at The Westin Chosun Seoul Vecchia e Nuovo, the Westin Chosun Seoul’s Italian Bistro, offers the whole roasted turkey and Australian prime rib prepared with peppercorn sauce for Thanksgiving and year-end parties from Nov. 10 to Dec. 31. The essential Thanksgiving side dishes such as mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce will be offered with roast turkey with chestnut stuffing. Reservations should be made at least three days in advance. Delivery is available during

Artist Noh Sun-tag’s work resembles that of a photojournalist. He has taken pictures of tense and sometimes violent protests.Most recently, he was on the site of protests in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, against the construction of a high-voltage power transmission tower there. Over the last decade, Noh has captured highly charged scenes including protests against U.S. troops and mass labor strikes.“In the beginning, I visited those places out of pure curiosity to figure out something that

French-born Philippe Vergne, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, has spent most of his career in the U.S. In pursuit of the “American Dream,” Vergne arrived in Minneapolis 17 years ago and worked as a curator for a decade, working his way up to top positions in art in New York and Los Angeles. He served as the director of Dia Art Foundation in New York for more than five years and took the helm of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles earlier this year. Vergne has been

The Korea Tourism Organization released a Korean travel mobile application for Chinese tourists traveling independently in Korea. The app features a Korea map in Chinese, directions, and public transportation and shopping information such as the opening hours of major shopping places as well as discount coupons.The mobile app targets the growing number of Chinese tourists in Korea, which are expected to reach some 5.8 million by the end of the year. Chinese arrivals have already reached 42 perce

Lotte Hotel Seoul invites Michelin-starred Korean chef Lotte Hotel Seoul’s Mugunghwa is hosting Hooni Kim, owner-chef of the Michelin-starred Danji and the acclaimed Hanjan in New York. The celebrated chef has been invited to present the creations he serves at Danji and Hanjan. The lunch menu, priced at 95,000 won, includes New York-style cold spicy sea bream soup with seaweed and fumet sherbet, Korean beef tartar with natural pine mushroom, butterfish simmered in soy sauce or Hooni Kim-style sp

This is the first in a weekly series that examine the expanding role of design as the run up to the Herald Design Forum 2014 on Nov. 26. -- Ed.The Herald Design Forum 2014, a celebration of creativity and innovation in design, will explore the changes that design will bring to life in its fourth edition in November.Under the title “Design Spectrum, Expanding the Definition of Design,” the forum, organized by Herald Corp., will discuss the influences of design in various fields, including archite

Japanese architect Toyo Ito speaks at the Herald Design Forum in 2013. Herald Design ForumHerald Design Forum has established itself as one of Korea’s leading platforms to discuss design.The forum has shed light on the growing role of design in contemporary life since it was first held in 2011. The significance of design has been stressed by a number of key figures in design from around the world. It is the speaker lineups of world-leading designers that put the forum on the map.In 2012, the for