A goose-shaped chair with a gigantic art book in front of it dominates the room. If you came expecting a typical library, you might think you came to the wrong place. Sojeonseolim, which means “forest of books covered with white bricks,” is a new library in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, which opened Saturday. “Swiss architect Davide Macullo designed this building in 2016 as an art museum. We changed it into a library and Korean architect Choi Wook, director of One O One Ar

  The Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism announced Monday that it would suspend the operation of its Templestay program until March 20 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism, an affiliate of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, currently operates a Templestay program at 137 temples around the country. “As people’s concerns about the coronavirus rise due to the number of confirmed cases increasing day by day, we have inevitably decided to suspend o

YouTubers Josh Carrott and Ollie Kendal on Wednesday posted a clip saying the social media platform discriminates against Koreans by featuring English comments more prominently. Their channel, Korean Englishman, has over 3.7 million subscribers. “We realized that there’d be a Korean comment at the top with like 700 likes. Above it, there’d be like 10 English comments with maybe 100 likes each,” Carrott said in the video. Kendal added that when he sorted comments base

Foreign artists have postponed their concerts in Korea due to the spread of the COVID-19. As of 10 a.m. Friday, South Korea reported 52 new cases of the coronavirus. The total number of infections in the nation is now at 156. Australian artist Ruel, 18, who was to perform Thursday at MUV Hall in Mapo-gu, western Seoul, will now perform Sept. 18 at Yes24 Live Hall. According to Ruel’s concert organizer, all tickets for the February concert can be returned without any extra charges and

도널드 트럼프 미국 대통령이 20일(현지시간) 콜로라도주 집회에서 유세 도중 한국 봉준호 감독의 기생충이 아카데미 작품상을 받은 것을 비난했다. “올해 아카데미상 시상식이 얼마나 형편없었나. 다들 봤는지”라고 이야기를 시작한 그는 아카데미 시상식 사회자를 흉내를 내며 “올해의 수상자는 한국에서 온 영화…도대체 이게 다 무슨 일”이라며 조롱에 가까운 연설을 이어갔다. 트럼프 대통령은 이어 “우리는 한국과 이미 무역 문제가 충분히 많은데 오스카는 그들에게 작품상을 줬다. 그렇게 좋은 영화냐. 나는 모르겠다”고 비꼬았다. 그는 또 “‘바람과 함께 사라지다(1939)’ 같은 영화를 기대했다“며 ”그런데 수상작은 한국에서 온 영화였다“며 한국 영화에 대한 반감을 숨기지 않았다. 트럼프의 발언 직후, 트위터 상에는 그의 비영어권 영화에 대한 반감

Religious organizations are on alert after a drastic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases was linked to a church in Daegu. As of 5 p.m. Thursday, the South Korean government had reported 22 new cases of the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus. The total number of infections in Korea had jumped to 104. It is suspected that the nation’s 31st patient hastened its spread by visiting a church in Daegu, which is associated with a minor religious sect. Amid the quick sprea

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Wednesday unveiled two pieces of Korean cultural heritage previously held in the US -- Daegunjubo and the Royal Seal of King Hyojong -- at the National Palace Museum of Korea. “Three years ago, the official seal of Queen Munjeong, as well as a seal of King Hyeonjong, which were illegally taken to the US, were repatriated to Korea. We had to forcefully bring them back at the time. But this time it is different because these seals were donated,&rdqu

Actor Ha Jung-woo on Tuesday denied all accusations that he had illegally taken the anesthetic propofol at a plastic surgery clinic in Gangnam, Seoul. Propofol is a short-acting anesthetic that is highly addictive. Plastic surgery clinics normally administer it to patients undergoing surgery. The news first broke last Thursday when a local news outlet reported that prosecutors were looking into about 10 people suspected of abusing drugs, including a famous actor. Although Ha’s name was

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Monday announced that it will inject 50 billion won ($42.3 million) to provide loans without collateral to small and medium-sized companies involved in tourism, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. “We hope that providing prompt and practical emergency financial assistance will help those suffering in the tourism industry due to the spread of COVID-19 recover and revitalize management fast,” ministry official Choi Jae-won sai

News presenter Lim Hyun-ju has reignited debate on going braless after appearing on an MBC documentary on Thursday. In the program “Series M -- Do We Need to Wear Bras” (unofficial translation), Lim went bra-free for a day. She prepared for and did a live television show without wearing a bra, and shared how she felt about it afterward. On Sunday, Lim said people had left hateful comments on her Instagram account after she shared more information and her feelings about the exper

“Sungkyunkwan National Academy and Its Surrounding Village, Banchon,” an exhibition running at the Seoul Museum of History, shows Koreans’ obsession with education, which dates back to the Joseon period (1392 to 1910). The first part of the exhibition showcases the lives of elite students of Sungkyunkwan National Academy, which served as both as a center of higher education and a symbol of Neo-Confucian culture. The academy trained around 200 top students from around the cou

Lee Nak-joon, 35, balances three jobs -- web-serial writer, YouTuber and ear, nose and throat specialist. “At first I did not have much problems. I write fast. It usually takes around an hour and a half for me to write one episode (for my daily update). For YouTube, I only spent around 15 minutes shooting a video that is around 10 minutes,” Lee said in an interview with The Korea Herald. It became tougher to manage last year after his web serial “Trauma Center: Golden Hour&

When “Parasite” became the first non-English-language movie to win the top honor of best ensemble cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, actor Lee Sun-kyun joked, “I am a little embarrassed. It feels like we are parasites of Hollywood now.” He was being humble. Bong Joon-ho’s satire-thriller “Parasite” on Monday won best picture, best director, best international feature film and best original screenplay at the Academy Awards, becoming the first Kor

Foreign language speakers seeking assistance with their queries on the novel coronavirus are finding it difficult to get help through Korea Centers for Disease Control’s hotline 1339. Korea Tourism Organization announced on Thursday that people who need advice in foreign languages could call 1339 and press 4, which would connect them to a three-way call service with interpreters to accommodate callers who do not speak Korean. The service is available in eight languages, including Englis

“I crack nuts with my family on Jeongwol Daeboreum. I am not sure why, but I guess the tradition is supposed to shoo away some bad ghosts and bring good luck,” Kang Min-woo, 26, said. “I do know that there are some other Jeongwol Daeboreum traditions, but I do not celebrate them.” Saturday is “Jeongwol Daeboreum” or “Daeboreum,” a traditional holiday marking the first full moon of the Lunar New Year. However, traditions are slowly fading, especia

Munhaksasang, the publishing company that confers South Korea’s prestigious Yi Sang Literary Award, apologized Tuesday for the controversy that emerged when three of this year’s runners-up refused to accept their awards to protest contract terms they deemed unfair. “We apologize to everyone who was hurt and disappointed by this issue,” Munhaksasang CEO Lim Ji-hyun said in a statement. “We now realized that the biggest problem was our lack of awareness of copyright

The Korean Culture and Information Service on Tuesday released the results of a survey showing that 76.7 percent of non-Koreans have a positive image of South Korea. The survey involved 8,000 people in 16 countries, including South Korea, from July 18 to Aug. 22 last year. KOCIS began the annual survey in 2018 to assess South Korea’s image among global citizens. In the first survey, 80.3 percent of non-Koreans said they had a positive image of South Korea. The latest survey also showe

Kang Sue-jin has been reappointed as artistic director of the Korean National Ballet for the next three years, her third term after first taking the post in 2014. “We expect Kang to continue to interact with well-known national ballet groups and choreographers abroad to improve the level of our national ballet company. We also hope she will create original pieces based on Korean traditions for the development of Korean ballet,” Culture Minister Park Yang-woo said in a statement.

Composer Chin Un-suk, 58, has been named the winner of Leonie Sonning Music Prize 2021. The Leonie Sonning Music Prize is awarded every year to an internationally recognized composer, instrumentalist, conductor or singer. Chin is the first Asian to receive Denmark’s highest music award since its founding in 1959. Chin will receive 133,000 euros ($146,529), according to the Leonie Sonning Music Foundation. “With music rich in shimmering light effects and endless color play, Chin i

Reaching the heart through the stomach, the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism on Wednesday laid out its plan to Korean promote temple food internationally. Established in 2004, the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism promotes Korean Buddhism and its cultural contents by providing traditional cultural experience programs, education, exhibition and campaign. “We will promote Korean temple food overseas with Korean Cultural Centers and Korean embassies located outside of Korea,” head