South Korea celebrates the 574th Hangeul Day on Oct. 9, commemorating the creation of the Korean alphabet. Hangeul is the writing system for the Korean language, consisting of 24 letters. King Sejong of the Joseon era led the invention of the easy-to-learn writing system with a group of talented scholars in order to promote the literacy level of the general populace. The official Hangeul system was promulgated in 1446. Hangeul Day was inaugurated in the 1920s by several scholars when

Andaz Seoul Gangnam releases 100 Lucky Room Vouchers Andaz Seoul Gangnam is launching a special Lucky Room Voucher offer to 100 guests, worth a maximum of 12 million won ($10,400) in celebration of its first anniversary on Oct. 8. The Lucky Room Voucher includes a one-night stay in a randomly assigned room, which means guests can get anything from a standard room to the top suite, the Gangnam Penthouse. Also included in the voucher are breakfast for two at the Jogakbo restaurant, the Andaz Se

The sixth Royal Culture Festival will kick off Saturday at 7 p.m. at Gyeongbokgung’s famous venue for state banquets during the Joseon era (1392-1910). “For this year’s festival, we prepared a performance at Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, a place that drew global attention after the BTS performance for … ‘The Tonight Show,’” Na Myeong-ha, a Cultural Heritage Administration official, said Wednesday during a press conference at the palace. The opening performa

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and its affiliate agency the National Institute of Korean Language on Wednesday jointly published a 29-page guide book on translation of widely used Korean words. The publication comes after the ministry published guidelines on the translation of Korean words that often cause confusion due to the absence of clear standards on July 15. The book provides a translation guide for three languages -- English, Chinese and Japanese — and mainly conta

　Cancer has been the No. 1 cause of death in South Korea since 1983. 　The statistics agency said 574.8 deaths were reported per 100,000 people here last year. It also said 158.2 per 100,000 had died of cancer. 　Heart disease is the second-largest cause of death here, with 60.4 deaths per 100,000 people, followed by pneumonia with 45.1 deaths per 100,000 people. 　The leading causes of death included cerebrovascular disease, suicide, diabetes and Alzheimer‘s disease. (Yonhap)

If you see people wearing T-shirts with Cakeshop designs on them, they are more likely to be supporting a nightclub in Itaewon than expressing their love for desserts. Struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic, nightclubs in Korea are selling T-shirts and other goods. Cakeshop is one such nightclub, selling goods through crowdfunding platform Tumblbug. "We approached several cultural spaces which have been suffering due to the coronavirus to jointly find a possible solution to sust

The Korea Foundation on Tuesday said that it has launched a lecture series using ‘Learn! KOREAN with BTS’ at Middlebury College, a liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont that is known for its foreign language programs. In August, the KF, K-pop powerhouse Big Hit Entertainment’s education business unit Big Hit Edu and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies announced that they were working together to develop and provide Korean language learning programs. The e-school lectu

Pernod Ricard Korea said its new campaign to promote its blended Irish whiskey Jameson comes at a time when people are seeking connection with a small group of close friends in their own emotional and inspirational way. Dubbing it “Why Jameson Highball?” the company wants to tap into the growing sentiment by offering an approachable way of enjoying whiskey, namely in the form of a highball, which is made by mixing whiskey with soda water or ginger ale. “Genuine connection an

Artist Jackson Shim, indie band Adoy and choreographer J Black come together for a unique campaign by Jameson

A wide range of events will be held at 32 Korean Cultural Centers located in 27 countries to mark the 574th Hangeul Day on Oct. 9. the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korean Culture and Information Service announced Monday. Hangeul is the writing system for the Korean language, consisting of 24 letters. King Sejong the Great (1397-1450) led the invention with a team of scholars and Hangeul was promulgated in 1446. “Through holding these events to commemorate Hangeul Day, we

Park Re-hyun retrospective presents range of works spanning paintings, prints

The prolonged battle against the COVID-19 outbreak is changing life patterns, including how we read and digest books. Public libraries have shut down with some offering delivery-only services, or activating “e-bookshelf” sections online as an alternative way out during and after the crisis. Efforts for new reading experiences seem to have gained overall success so far. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in 2019, the rate of e-book readers hit 16.5 percent for

State-run cultural facilities reopened Monday following a monthlong shutdown, but COVID-19 threats still exist. To safely indulge in holiday traditions during the Chuseok holidays, virtual visits to cultural sites are an option. For families with young children, who may be uncomfortable with the idea of visiting crowded places, some royal palaces are available online, enhanced with the latest technologies - from virtual reality to augmented reality -- offering users a more interactive experienc

COVID-19 brings greater access to alcohol with fewer constraints

An inaugural Korean culture festival will kick off next month to give people from all over the world chances to enjoy Korean cultural heritage and modern trends in a virtual way, the culture ministry said Thursday. The first edition of the 2020 K-Culture Festival will be held online from Oct. 10-Nov. 11, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Led by the ministry and the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), the newly launched event was designed to p