Cha In-pyo is an actor who enjoyed immense popularity in the 1990s. Now living on his past glory, Cha hopes to make a comeback but no one is willing to cast him. This description is true both for the 53-year-old South Korean actor and the fictional character of the same name in the upcoming Netflix production “What Happened to Mr. Cha?” “Instead of creating a completely fictional character, I wanted to use Cha’s existing image. I thought that it would make it easier fo

One of the most popular travel destinations for South Koreans in 2020 was Jeju Island, known for its wide-open spaces and natural surroundings, as an alternative to overseas travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Jeju Tourism Association, the number of visitors to Jeju Island dropped to around 500,000 in February and March, but soon began to rebound in April. Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk said in an interview with the local daily Chosun Ilbo in June that Jeju Island was on

A short film on the inspection of guards at a Joseon royal palace will be released on Dec. 31, featuring several well-known actors. “Cheobjong- Palace Guard Inspection Ceremony” is a 20-minute film produced jointly by the Cultural Heritage Administration and Korea Cultural Heritage. Actor Tae In-ho, who has played several supporting roles in hit Korean dramas, including “Descendants of the Sun” and “Misaeng,” and K-pop idol-turned-actor Park So-jin are a c

Josee (Korea) Opened Dec. 10 Romance, Drama Directed by Kim Jong-kwan University student Young-seok (Nam Joo-hyuk) bumps into Josee (Han Ji-min), who uses a wheelchair, and falls in love. Young-seok finds out that Josee lives with her grandmother and barely leaves her house. As he develops feelings toward her, Yeong-seok approaches her slowly and also attempts to show her the real world.　 　 Good Neighbor (Korea) Opened Nov. 25 Drama Directed by Lee Hwan-kyung Agent Dae-kwon (Jung Woo) is tas

Career bureaucrat Kim Jung-bae was appointed to be the new second vice minister at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Monday, as part of a reshuffle of vice ministerial posts. Kim Hyun-mo was named new head of the Cultural Heritage Administration. The new second vice minister replaces Choi Yoon-hee, a former swimming star who was appointed to the post last year in December. Born in 1966, Second Vice Minister Kim graduated Pohang High School in North Gyeongsang Province and studie

The Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation on Tuesday announced Maria Eugenia Olsen Aguilar’s “Anniquin Arirang” as the winner of its “Arirang”-themed video contest. The contest -- held jointly by the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation -- called for short videos featuring diverse versions of the Korean folk song “Arirang.” “(Through the competition) we discovered that our national intangible cultural heritag

Criticism is rising over President Moon Jae-in’s son Moon Joon-yong, who was selected as a recipient of 14 million won ($12,600) in relief funding for artists who have been hit by the pandemic. The fund is operated by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, under the Seoul Metropolitan Government. On Dec. 17, Moon Joon-yong’s solo exhibition kicked off at Keumsan Gallery in Seoul, reportedly with the city funding received earlier in the year. The exhibition runs until Wednesday.

  “Minari” is showing that winning two awards from the Boston Society of Film Critics was only the start of its journey to capture the hearts of critic groups across the US. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association on Monday announced that Youn Yuh-jung had won for best supporting actress for playing Soon-ja, an elderly woman who comes to America to live with son Jacob’s family, in “Minari.” The movie revolves around the story of a first-generation South K

On Monday, a tweet about a traditional Korean painting-inspired calendar sold on the National Museum of Korea’s website went viral. “The calendar is so pretty and the garden painting on it becomes more and more complete by flipping through each month. It is like enjoying a different piece of art every month,” the Twitter post said, accompanied by a few pictures of the calendar. Designed based on paintings of Aechun Shin Myeong-yeon, a literati painter of the Joseon era, &ldq

Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho on Friday praised “Minari” in his talk with the film’s director Lee Isaac Chung, held during Variety’s inaugural FYC Fest. “I think it takes a lot of courage to shoot a film about yourself or your family, since it’s autobiographical,” Bong was quoted as saying in Variety. “But what I appreciated more about this film is that it doesn’t wallow in nostalgia. It follows the perspective of multiple characters

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Friday that its affiliated institutions in Seoul-- museums, art galleries, libraries and performance venues -- will remain closed due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in the capital area. The shutdown of state-run cultural institutions began on Dec. 8 and was set to end Friday. The facilities, including the National Museum of Korea, the National Folk Museum of Korea, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, the National Library of K

The world’s largest music streaming platform Spotify on Friday announced that it would officially launch its service in South Korea in the first half of 2021. “We are excited about our upcoming launch in South Korea, a market recognized as an epicenter for music, culture and tech innovation,” Alex Norstrom, chief freemium business officer of Spotify, said in a statement. According to Spotify, South Korea -- the sixth-largest music market globally -- is an important market

Yeondeunghoe, a lantern lighting festival in South Korea, was inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural assets on Wednesday. The final decision on the lantern festival’s listing was made during the 15th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which runs Monday to Saturday. The meetings are being held virtually due to the global pandemic. “Unfortunately, we could not celebrate the listing on site together with K

The top six contestants on TV Chosun’s hit talent audition show “Mr. Trot” will be honored by the Corea Image Communication Institute for their contributions to building a positive image of South Korea at home and overseas. The other winners at CICI’s 2021 award ceremony are the Generation Equality Forum’s Ambassador and Secretary-General Delphine O and Korean content creator Pinkfong’s song “Baby Shark.” The institute’s 17th annual award

Veteran actor Youn Yuh-jung and her movie “Minari,” directed by Lee Isaac Chung, appear set for smooth sailing to the 2021 Academy Awards. Local movie distributor Pan Cinema announced Monday that Youn won an award for best supporting actress from the Boston Society of Film Critics for her role in “Minari.” Composer Emile Mosseri also won an award for best original score for his music in Lee’s movie. Since the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Ja

The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) said Monday that cinema ticket sales this year are expected to drop 73.3 percent on-year to 510 billion won ($467.54 million), influenced by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Local movie theaters’ sales tumbled by 71.2 percent to 498 billion won for the January to November period, from 1.72 trillion won during the same period last year. It is unlikely that sales will pick up in December, KOFIC said, as the COVID-19 crisis is worsening here with 7,0

The South Korean movie industry did not have much to say about director Kim Ki-duk’s death on Friday in Latvia from COVID-19 complications. None of the local movie associations released an official statement about the matter, and only a few of Kim’s acquaintances from the local film industry sent short social media messages mourning his loss. “You left lonely. We had makgeolli in Insadong and it became the last time we met. Goodbye, Ki-duk,” Won Dong-yeon, CEO of Rea

Kim Sun-wook’s piano recital scheduled for Monday at the Lotte Concert Hall in Jamsil, eastern Seoul, has been canceled. Classical music concert organizer Vincero said the decision to indefinitely postpone Kim’s recital was made soon after the Seoul city government announced Friday afternoon that stricter social distancing rules would be in effect from Saturday to Dec. 18. This is not the first time that a performance of Kim’s has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The organizer of the Seoul Independent Film Festival announced Friday that its two-day event “Next Link,” held Tuesday and Wednesday to connect indie movie creators with distributors, was a success. The event at the Eyelove Art Center in Gangnam, Seoul, was organized jointly with Indie Ground, an independent movie retail and distribution hub created by the Korean Film Council in August. Short and feature-length indie films had separate sessions during the event where the directors

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will hold the final round of its IYKoongChallenge online dance competition Saturday in conjunction with the Korean Tourism Organization. The event will be livestreamed through the KTO’s YouTube (www.youtube.com/ImagineYourKorea) and Tiktok (tiktok.com/@imagineyourkorea) channels. The event aims to promote five South Korean cities selected as tourism hubs by the Culture Ministry in January: Busan; Gangneung, Gangwon Province; Jeonju, North Jeol