The long-sluggish Korean art market got a boost on Wednesday after dynamic sales of the seized art collection of the family of former President Chun Doo-hwan, setting the stage for the next round of auctions of the Chun collection next week. All items being auctioned were sold off, raking in some 2.5 billion won ($2.4 million), about nine times K Auction’s original estimate.The Korean government commissioned K Auction and Seoul Auction, two major auction houses in Korea, to sell all 235 confisca

Artist Lee Myung-ho takes on the role of a movie producer in his photography projects. He searches all year round for perfect locations for his photo shoots, traveling to some of the most remote places in the world such as the Gobi Desert and the Tundra, and directs a production crew of 10 to 100 along with heavy cranes. Traces of such a complex procedure are hardly seen in Lee’s simple, meditative images of trees and deserts. The final products only show a tree standing alone against a white ca

With Christmas just around the corner, hotels in Seoul, decked in lavish Christmas decorations, are gearing up to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Day with luxurious accommodation and dinner packages. Splendid Christmas decorations greet guests in the lobbies and restaurants, raising the festive spirits. Many of the city’s five-star hotels boast of their own unique Christmas decorations and Millennium Seoul Hilton’s 18-year-long decorating tradition ― featuring a Christmas tree 10 meters high

Photography is one of the most common and popular mediums of art enjoyed by Koreans. It’s not unusual to see people hold a digital camera in one hand and take a “selfie,” which then goes instantly online on micro blogs or social networking sites. While such popularity has undermined the value of photography as a genre of art, fine art photographers in Korea have been capturing what individual amateur photographers miss. A touring photo exhibition brings together images that reflect changes in Ko

Performance artists from around the world will bring a vibrant vibe to the artistic streets of Hongdae in Seoul and Seogwipo in Jeju during the 12th Korea Experimental Arts Festival this month. The annual festival, which began in 2002, will bring performances by more than 50 artists from 15 countries to the public from Thursday to Dec. 23.“The Korea Experimental Arts Festival aims to observe various social and environmental issues of today through art performances. The festival, to be held in tw

Seoul aims to prove that the city has much more to offer beyond the usual travel routines through palaces, shopping districts and barbecue restaurants. The Seoul Metropolitan Government launched a tour product certification system last year that rates the quality of group tour programs in an effort to ensure that foreign tourists leave the country satisfied and consider coming back again. The certification has selected nine tour products that satisfy standards of the certification, which include

JW Marriott International has opened a new hotel in Hanoi following two openings in the past two months in Bangalore and New Delhi in India. The hotel, built on a 75,000-square-meter site in a new central business district in Hanoi, features 450 rooms, six restaurants and a bar, all designed by the acclaimed Carlos Zapata Studio. The hotel also offers a total of 17 meeting rooms, including two ballrooms of 1,000 square meters each and an extensive public foyer to cater to MICE (meetings, incenti

Shamanistic practices were considered an aspect of Korea that needed to be stamped out in its shift to industrialization and modernization. In the 1970s, the government-initiated New Year’s campaigns, promoted in newspapers, stressed that people must build their own fortune by working hard, rather than depending too much on shamanistic fortunetelling. A few practices have survived despite the government’s attempt to break away from old customs, but most of them are remembered through research an

The calm yet thought-provoking images of Hiroshi Sugimoto, one of the most acclaimed artists in contemporary photography, are on exhibit at Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art from this week through next year.Known for long-exposure photographs intended to capture layers of time and space, Sugimoto presents his photographic series on seascapes, theaters, portraits and lightning done over the past 40 years, beginning in the 1970s, at his solo exhibition in Seoul. As meticulous and patient as he is with

Piles of junk take up a corner of the gallery space with signs saying the clutter is not garbage to be removed. The blinking lights from fluorescent lamps and neon acrylic boards are also carefully placed for a seemingly artistic vibe. The junk installation is one of the recent works by German artist Anselm Reyle, a rising artist in the international contemporary art scene. His works are being showcased at Kukje Gallery until the end of the year. “These are pieces that we consider as garbage. So

Contemporary photographs and media art from Southeast Asia are being showcased in Seoul, shedding light on the dynamic and vibrant cultural scenes in Southeast Asia. The exhibition “ASEAN-Korea Contemporary Media Art Exhibition 2013” brings together some of the hottest contemporary artists in ASEAN countries. They are introducing their compelling works of art alongside the artwork of Korean artists. The exhibition, in its fourth year, presents some 90 photographs and pieces of media art by 18 ar

A Chinese woman entered Dr. Park Plastic Surgery in the “beauty Mecca” of Gangnam, known for its cluster of plastic surgery clinics, as the first patient on a Friday morning. She and her two friends were greeted by a Chinese staff interpreter in the lobby. An hour later, a second set of patients ― a father and a daughter from Kazakhstan ― came in, and were escorted by a staff interpreter who speaks Russian to examination rooms for a checkup.On one side of the wall in the lobby hang four plastic

Ah, Paris. The food. The art. The sights.The hotel bill.It was the little matter of finding a place to stay that kept an international vacation off our radar, especially in wake of a recession that had put a king-size crimp in our international travel plans. As we discussed a European getaway, we realized that a hotel stay for my wife, Nancy, our daughter, Hannah, and me would cost us as much as our airline tickets.I had read about house exchanges, but Nancy was hesitant to let strangers into ou

The art collection confiscated from the family of former President Chun Doo-hwan will be put on the auction block in December at two major auction houses in Korea. K Auction and Seoul Auction, designated as the official auction houses by the Korean government to sell the seized artworks, will present a total of 235 pieces at their regular winter auctions next month. The artworks are estimated to be worth more than 3.7 billion won ($3 million) and include masterpieces of Korean art ― from old lan

The number of foreign tourists to Korea reached the 10 million mark as of the end of October, a month earlier than last year, despite the continued fall in the number of Japanese tourists and the slow down in the increase of Chinese tourists in October. According to the monthly tourist figures for October, about 10.34 million foreign tourists visited Korea in the first 10 months of the year, a 9.3 percent increase from the same period last year. In 2012, the number of foreign tourists surpassed

The historic Space building, built by first-generation modern architect Kim Swoo-geun, will be turned into a gallery space following Arario Gallery’s purchase of the property on Monday, according to the Space Architecture Group. The architectural firm said the ownership of the building was handed over to Arario Gallery CEO Kim Chang-il from Space Architecture Group president Lee Sang-lim. The two heads signed the contract on condition of not altering the structure, especially the old work studio

A group exhibition of young Korean and Chinese artists opened at Songzhuang Art Center in Beijing Saturday, showcasing artwork in diverse mediums and dealing with various topics in contemporary art. The exhibition, held by city-run museums in Seoul and Beijing, presents photographs, installations, video works and drawings by 10 Korean and Chinese artists in their mid-30s to early 40s whose works shed light on their engagement with reality and the society in which they live.“The exhibition aims t

Arario Gallery became the new owner of the historic Space building, according to the Space Architecture Group on Monday. The gallery paid 15 billion won ($14 million) to purchase the early modern work of architecture that is likely to be reviewed for registration as a cultural heritage site. The price was the lowest estimate for the building when it was put up for auction last week, which failed to attract bidders. The gallery bought the building on the condition that the building wasn’t damaged

The Space building, an early modern work of architecture that was on the auction block last week after the building owner filed for bankruptcy, may be purchased by the Kim Swoo Geun Foundation, as 1 billion won ($942,000) was raised in five days via a social funding initiative. The social funding initiative was launched Nov. 18 as an attempt to save the historic building and register it as a cultural heritage site. “We plan to purchase the building through social funding and begin the process of

Hanbok designer Kim Young Seok has developed an emotional attachment to discarded old objects in his childhood home. In elementary school, he started taking out dust-covered household objects from storage and has picked up things on his trips to the provinces since he was in elementary school. “How many are there in my collection? I don’t know. I never tried to count. I know I have some 1,000 pillows,” said Kim in an interview with The Korea Herald at his hanbok shop in Seoul last week. “I have