Bowling alley with neon lights and rock-'n-'roll February has begun, but the evenings in Seoul are still quite chilly after sundown. When it feels too early to call it a day with friends or acquaintances, a special bowling alley decorated with flashy neon lights and some rock music awaits. Only a three-minute walk from Gangnam Station's Exit No. 10, Temple Strike, a bowling alley located on the basement floor of the bustling district, opens from 11 a.m. to 5 a.m. the next mornin

Arario Gallery, a leading commercial gallery in South Korea, has reopened the space after a year of hiatus, finishing its relocation to a new place in central Seoul. Looking over Changgyeonggung, the gallery is now located next to Arario Museum. Founded in 1989, the gallery is one of oldest galleries that have supported Korean artists for decades. Reopening on Feb. 1, the gallery has moved to Wondseo-dong in Jongno-gu, central Seoul, next to the landmark building of Gonggan Saok, a former archit

Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan -- one of the most controversial contemporary artists -- is having his first show in Korea at Leeum Museum of Art. His humorous yet satirical works have grabbed attention globally, and his recent conceptual art involving a banana titled “Comedian,” on show at Leeum, is sure to provoke questions about the contemporary art scene such as what constitutes art and what conceptual art is. “Comedian,” a banana duct-taped to a wall, stirred up c

BUSAN -- Japanese leading contemporary artist Takashi Murakami showed up in South Korea’s southern port city of Busan for his first exhibition in the country in 10 years. Inspired by Japan’s “otaku” subculture, his art may look bright and “kawaii,” cute in Japanese, at first glance. However, its content is more profound than what first meets the eye. Otaku is a Japanese word that refers to people with an obsessive interest in particular subjects such as animat

Cocktails inspired by 12 zodiac signs Sindang-dong in Jung-gu, Seoul, was once an enclave of shamans, with the name of the neighborhood meaning a shrine or temple dedicated to spirits. When the sun goes down, Zoosindang, a cocktail bar themed after the stories of the 12 zodiac animals, comes to life. At first glance, the place looks like an eerie shaman’s house with no entrance. Push the cat statue, who is gatekeeping the place, and you will find yourself in an otherworldly forest. The ba

The two paintings by Sapierre featured in the novel “Two of Flags" are on show at Gallery Hyundai's exhibition of works by Park Min-joon, a fiction come to life. The novel, written by Park, tells the story of painter Sapierre who wanted to bring to life the figures in his paintings. His ambition and deathly efforts result in two paintings from which a boy named Ain springs out. The boy, asleep for 600 years, finally opens his eyes. The story refers to the fictional artist’s

The leading international gallery Thaddaeus Ropac has brought together a group of Korean and Korean diaspora artists to Seoul as its first exhibition of the year. The show is a first group show that focuses on art that shares the cultural context of Korea. The exhibition, titled “Myths of Our Time,” highlights the narratives drawn by the three female artists of Korean ethnicity whose works hold diverse cultural contexts “reimagined through a contemporary lens to address urgent

The Korean art auction market saw a downturn last year, after sales reached a record high in 2021, but was buffered by two artists -- Korean artist Lee U-fan and Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama -- whose works saw the greatest popularity in the country’s auction markets, a recent report by Korean Art Authentication and Appraisal showed. Auction market sales fell 34.2 percent last year compared to 2021, while works by the two art masters saw steady popularity. Kusama’s “Statue of

If you are looking for a place to spend the long Seollal holiday weekend that runs through Tuesday, take a look at art exhibitions that will remain open at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea and Seoul Museum of Art. The national museum, which operates four branches across the country, will run throughout the holidays, except for MMCA Seoul in Samcheong-dong on Sunday, the first day of the lunar year. The museum’s four venues are located in Samcheong-dong, Deoksugung

Sledding at Ttukseom Hangang Park Take Exit No. 2 from Ttukseom Station on Subway Line 7 and you will find a sledding park run by the Ttukseom Hangang Park for the winter season. The 55-meter-long slope may not look so steep at first sight -- it is 6 meters at its highest point -- but after a couple of rides, your inner child will have you standing in line for another ride. You can ride as many times as you like. The speed and the gush of winds will take you to the bottom of the slope in a blink

Global jewelry brand L’Dezen unveiled Tuesday its limited edition non-fungible token creation based on the brand’s award-winning “Blooming of Ages” ring at Meta Z Lounge in southern Seoul. The founder of the jewelry brand, designer Payal Shah, showcased physical and digital versions of the ring at Tuesday’s event. Founded a decade ago by Shah, the brand has styled diamonds for such celebrities as Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj and Michelle Obama. The physical ring, which

Lee Ungno Museum in Daejon is shedding light on Korean modern artist Lee Ung-no's career from the 1960s and 1970s, focusing on how the late artist strove to break away from the conventional style of painting. The exhibition “Lee Ungno: New Style,” which launched Tuesday and runs through April 2, explores 62 artworks that he created over the two decades following the Korean War (1950-53). Lee, who helped pioneer Korean contemporary art, left for France in 1958 upon invitation b

Asia Culture Center in Gwangju is accepting applications starting Jan. 25 for the 2023 ACC Residency program, inviting participants engaged in soundscape works to explore acoustic environments in cultural and geopolitical contexts with an emphasis on the sounds of Asian cities. Collaboration with the ACC Sound Art Lab, currently engaged in a long-term project called "Futures of Listening," is part of the residency program. A number of Asian cities have undergone rapid urbanization unde

David Zwirner, a leading international gallery, is showcasing Korean artist Yun Hyong-keun (1928-2007) in Paris, unveiling the artist’s never-before presented hanji works. Hanji is Korea's traditional mulberry paper. “The exhibition is meaningful as we have not shown his works in Paris since Yun's passing. The paintings on hanji have never been shown to people although they were an important experiment in his career,” said Park Kyung-mee, president of PKM Gallery, the

Jun Hye-joo was selected as the winner of the Songeun Art Award for her installation work "Hummer," which manifests our daily exposure to war, the Songeun Art and Cultural Foundation announced Saturday. Jun was among 20 artists shortlisted for the 22nd edition of one of the most prestigious art awards in South Korea. The shortlisted artists were selected from a pool of 503 under consideration, according to the Songeun Art and Cultural Foundation, a private cultural foundation establish

Hanok-themed Cafe Onion in Jongno If you’re looking for a place to rest while strolling through Bukchon Hanok Village, a cluster of old-style Korean houses, pay a visit to a hanok-themed cafe for delicious desserts in a unique traditional setting. If you walk toward the Hyundai Building for two to three minutes from Anguk Station Exit No. 2 or 3 on Subway Line No. 3, you can see wooden doors supporting a traditional tiled roof -- called “giwa” -- signaling the entrance to Cafe

Shows by artists Oh Hein-kuhn and Kang Hyun-seon running at Art Sonje Center in Seoul prompt visitors to think more deeply about identity. Kang and Oh use different media. Oh is a photographer while Kang uses digital technology, including virtual reality, which she has employed for the first time. While the artists’ works are quite different, they lead visitors to look both inward and outward -- to think about who you are and who they are. On the first and third floors is the exhibition &l

Youn Bum-mo, director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, said on Tuesday that while it is “unfortunate” the museum was subjected to a special audit, he would use the audit results to improve the museum. At a press conference that had been scheduled to announce the museum's plans for the year, including its lineup of exhibitions and projects, Youn briefly spoke on the audit report released Monday. However, questions from press were mostly about the Cu

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea was found to have committed 16 illegal or inappropriate deeds in managing the museum, according to the result of a special audit released by the Culture Ministry on Monday. The 16 cases include inappropriate process of purchasing artworks and illegal spending of the MMCA Foundation fund as incentives to the museum’s employees. The foundation, also led by the museum's director, was established in 2013 to support the museum. The

The Korean art market has enjoyed an unprecedented period of growth over the past couple years, seeing a record-breaking number of visitors to successive art fairs, including last year's inaugural Frieze Seoul. The timing also coincided with international galleries opening or expanding in Seoul, lending credence to the claim that the capital was on its way to becoming the next hub of the Asian art market. The value of the Korean art market surpassed one trillion won for the first time. Befo