After popular trot singer Lee Chan-won tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, celebrities who had come into contact with him were quickly tested and quarantined. How Lee got infected is unknown. On Thursday morning, Lee’s agency New Era Project announced that the singer had tested positive and gone into self-quarantine. “Currently, everyone associated with Lee Chan-won is being tested, and some have already finished testing and are in self-quarantine,” said New Era Projec

The Plaza presents ‘Bulmung’ package The Plaza of Hanwha Hotels & Resorts is offering the “Bulmeong” package for guests looking to rest at the hotel’s suite equipped with a fireplace. Bulmeong, combining “bul,” meaning fire, and daydream -- “meong” -- means to find rest in difficult times. The package comes with a one-night stay at the hotel’s signature suite with an electronic fireplace, a bottle of wine and use of the club loung

In a year that has witnessed the COVID-19 pandemic disrupt lives and devastate economies around the world, South Korea is seeking innovations to meet the challenges it presents. The following is the third article in a four-part series on how Korea is creating a new normal during the pandemic, produced in partnership with The Korea Foundation -- Ed. 28,714,247. That’s the number of number of South Koreans who traveled abroad last year, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. Due

Netflix original Spanish drama series “Money Heist” will be getting a 12-episode Korean remake. Kim Hong-sun, producer of OCN dramas “The Guest,” “Voice” and “Black,” among others, will be producing the Korean remake, while Ryu Yong-jae, who wrote Netflix original series “My Holo Love,” will lead the screenwriting. BH Entertainment, which made the movie “A Single Rider,” and Zium Content, which made “Itaewon Class,&r

With many Korean dramas and movies heading to Netflix, the platform, with services in 190 countries, is becoming a major medium for the spread of Korean pop culture. Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency’s African sector recently mentioned Netflix as one of the reasons for the popularity of Korean culture in South Africa. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs announced in October that South Korea’s favorability is at 60 on a zero-to-100 scale, the highest yet. Besides favorabil

As the stove league continues in the League of Legends Champions Korea offseason, roster changes and transfers are being announced in preparation for the franchise system that will start in spring. However, player salaries and transfer fees, on which everyone keeps an eye every year during the stove league, are once again kept hidden, revealed only through rumors, without any official statements. Despite the secrecy surrounding the exact price, the figures being tossed about this year are at

Two fairytales by poet Jeong Ho-seung, “Loving” and “Lonesome Jar: Poetic Fables,” have been published in English by Seoul Selection. Born in 1950 in Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province, Jeong is known for his poetry collections “Seoul’s Jesus” (1982), “Dawn Letter” (1987) and “Stars Are Warm” (1990), among others. His poems have been turned into songs by popular singers including Yang Hee-eun and the late Kim Kwang-seok. The sto

Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas presents holiday cakes by NY patissier Grand Deli located on the ground floor of Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Samseong-dong is offering holiday cakes that will lift the festive mood of Christmas and year-end home parties for a limited time only from Tuesday to Dec. 31. These are all available for reservation from Nov. 25. Head patissier Eric P. Kalaboke from New York recommends three varieties for this year-end season: the Pine Tree Cake with a C

With the resurgence of COVID-19 in Seoul, many dramas were forced to halt production as actors tested positive for the new coronavirus or came in contact with people who had. So far, 10 dramas across multiple broadcast stations have halted production when actors and staff tested positive. They are “The Penthouse: War in Life” (SBS), “The Spies Who Loved Me” (MBC), “The Moon Rising River,” “Bossam,” “Snowdrop” (JTBC), “Sisyphus:

After a monthlong break, reality show “Fake Men” returned to local streaming platform Kakao TV on Tuesday at noon with its fifth episode, titled “3000 PT gymnastics ... start of a new training process.” The second season of “Fake Men” went on hiatus after some of the instructors came under scrutiny over their past. The program was also criticized for excessive violence and near torture of the participants. The return of the show on local platforms Kakao T

The first Korean sci-fi blockbuster set in space, “Space Sweeper,” will be released exclusively on Netflix. The film was scheduled to open in theaters on Sept. 23, but the release was postponed due to COVID-19, and there are now no immediate plans to show the film in theaters. Set in 2092, “Space Sweepers” by director Jo Sung-hee is about a space cleanup crew trying to sell a weapon of mass destruction: the humanoid Dorothy. With a star-studded cast including Song Joon-

Michelin Guide Seoul’s fifth edition was released on Thursday as star revelation ceremony took place online with all the honored chefs joining a conference call. Michelin said it wanted to host an extravagant event for the fifth anniversary, but the pandemic situation made it necessary for the chefs to receive the awards separately by a Michelin official at each restaurant. The event started out with a video showing the efforts of chefs around the world supporting medical staff and commun

Picture book “The Paper Boat: A Refugee Story,” released in September, recounts the story of author Thao Lam, who escaped Vietnam after the Vietnam War in a small fishing boat with her parents, becoming a refugee at age 2. Known for previous works including “Skunk on a String” and “My Cat Looks Like My Dad,” Lam walks through the pain of her refugee experience as well as the help she received in a foreign country that gave her a normal life once again. The

Online game League of Legends esports team T1 posted an official apology to its player Lee “Effort” Sang-ho, and European team Fnatic player Gabriel “Bwipo” Rau apologized to both T1 and Effort on Thursday following a series of online controversies surrounding a leak about a potential transfer in the stove league during Effort’s stream. The controversy started when a private chat between T1 members was shown in Effort’s stream on Nov. 3. The chat implied tha

With two new European versions starting up this month, broadcaster MBC’s entertainment show, “The King of Mask Singer,” is capping a successful year, with localized shows in more than 30 countries. “The King of Mask Singer,” which began airing in 2015, is a program where singers and celebrities compete with one another wearing a mask to hide their identity. The singers they take off their masks to reveal their identities once they lose. The show has been a major

Shinsegae Chosun Hotel X L’Escape Hotel offer ‘Romantic Mood’ package Shinsegae Chosun Hotel in central Seoul’s Jung-gu has collaborated with L’Escape Hotel to offer the Romantic Mood package for guests who want to spend a romantic night during the holiday season. Guests using the package will be offered a special dim sum meal, depending on the room type, at the Palais de Chine in L’Escape Hotel. The package also comes with complimentary use of the library

After a week of online voting, the most popular player in each of the five roles in League of Legends was selected to play in the 2020 LoL All-Star Event on Dec. 18 to 20. Unlike the previous years in which current and retired pros and influencers from all over the world gathered in one city, this year’s event will be held online. All the chosen players from Korean LoL esports league, LoL Champions Korea, will be playing at LoL Park in Jongno, Seoul. The LoL All-Star is an annual event

Mobile content streaming platform Kakao TV will kick off its latest original drama “No, Thank You” on Saturday at 10 a.m. through its mobile app, KakaoTalk. “No, Thank You” is based on popular webtoon “Myeoneuragi” by Soo Shin-ji, serialized on Instagram in 2016 with 600,000 followers. “Myeoneuragi” is a term coined by Soo to describe the period when a daughter-in-law, or “myeoneuri,” is new to the family and wants to be liked and com

Busan Esports Arena will officially open Wednesday, Busan Metropolitan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency announced Tuesday. The esports arena to open in Busan on the 15th and 16th floors of Samjung Tower is the first arena dedicated to esports to open outside the capital area. This is the first of the three esports arenas supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to open following the government decision to promote esports outside of Seoul in 2018. The other two arenas

While audition shows are a dime a dozen on Korean television, JTBC’s newest program “Sing Again” promises to be a new type of singing program that will touch the hearts of viewers. “Sing Again” features actor and singer Lee Seung-gi as its host and eight judges who will evaluate 71 singers auditioning for the program. As opposed to previous audition programs that tried to find new talent, each “Sing Again” contestant has released an album before. Singe