The 2020 Korea Art Week will kick off Thursday under the theme of “Your Life Is Art,” providing a variety of art programs offered by nearly 300 art institutes across the country and reaching out to the public through virtual reality programs. The country’s largest art festival, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, this year aims to promote local exhibitions and the art market hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The annual art festival will run through Oct

Autumn packages at Walkerhill Grand Walkerhill Seoul offers three fall packages for those looking for a fall staycation and a hike on Achasan. Two Falling in Fall packages include a one-night stay in a grand deluxe room and a choice of chicken and beer or pizza, at starting prices of 184,000 won and 194,000 won. The hotel also offers the Autumn Sky package, which includes a one-night-stay in the club suite room, along with breakfast and happy hour at the club lounge starting at 330,000 won.

College classes have gone virtual with a second wave of COVID-19 from last month, and with the prolonged pandemic campus life is changing fast -- including the campus festivals that mark the start of fall semester. On Tuesday, Ewha Womans University in Seoul kicked off a three-day online festival, where students can engage in online games and programs prepared by the student council and watch livestreamed bands. Gone are the usual student pop-up shops and live performances. “From classe

MU:CON 2020 director Yoon Sang praises BTS becoming first Asian hip-hop artists to top Billboard Hot 100

Korean International Art Fair unveiled its online viewing room during the VIP preview session that kicked off Wednesday. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Korea’s largest art fair has moved online with 139 art galleries from 11 countries presenting artworks online. The annual art fair was scheduled to be held in late September at Coex in southern Seoul, but the organizing committee decided to host Korea’s major art fair online through Online Viewing Room that opens to the public

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea was awarded the bronze prize at the 17th International Business Awards for the museum’s online campaign “My Museum, MMCA,” which ran last year to commemorate the museum’s 50th anniversary, MMCA announced Wednesday. Around 3,800 organizations from 60 countries were nominated this year for consideration in a wide range of categories, including for achievement, COVID-19 response, public relations, customer service

Understanding transmission by asymptomatic patients has been cited as a key factor in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in communities. Korean public health authorities have repeatedly warned of the potential of asymptomatic patients to be behind a “silent spread” of the disease. “Epidemiological investigations reveal approximately 40 percent of all confirmed cases so far are asymptomatic,” said Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s deputy chief

People have come up with innovative alternatives to keep themselves entertained as the novel coronavirus persists worldwide. New hobbies tailored for the pandemic era are flourishing on social media, aiming to combat the fatigue induced by extended social distancing and working from home. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a rise in creative DIY activities, including bead bracelets. Taeyeon of Girls’ Generation posted pictures of her self-made bead bracelets, which garnered the attention o

Taiwanese travelers are to board a flight that will take off to Jeju Island -- before landing right where it started. The Korea Tourism Organization‘s Taipei office, Taiwanese travel agency Ezfly and airline Tiger Air introduced a flight deal from Taipei to Jeju Island on Friday, selling out in just four minutes. The flight will not land on Jeju Island, however, it will circle above the island before returning to Taipei. To offer an experience of Korean travel, passengers will have a c

Conference to discuss unlearning past practices, teaching art in local communities, role of art education in time of confusion

The National Museum of Korea will livestream an online show of its largest-ever exhibition of national treasures at 7 p.m. Tuesday on Naver TV. “We hope the Naver TV livestream show ‘The New National Treasures of Korea 2017-2019’ can be of great comfort to the people who are suffering due to the coronavirus situation,” an NMK official said in a statement. “The New National Treasures of Korea” exhibition, jointly organized by the Cultural Heritage Administ

RM, the leader of K-pop group BTS, donated 100 million won ($84,426) to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Foundation, Korea towards the production of the museum’s art publication that will be donated to public libraries and schools across the country. The donation was made to mark the singer‘s 27th birthday, on Sept. 12, the foundation said Monday. The art publications, some of which are currently out of print, include those on Korea’s representative modern

Of the many streams that weave through the crowded city of Seoul, Hongjecheon one of the first tributaries of the Han River, passes many historic monuments.  The 13.92-kilometer stream starts in the mountains just north of the city, and courses through Seodaemun-gu and Mapo-gu districts in the west of Seoul before reaching the Han. Built on Hongjecheon is Hongjimun, a structure that connected Hanyangdoseong, or the Seoul City Wall, and Bukhansanseong, a nearby mountain fortress. Built du

K Auction, the second-largest auction house in Korea, will introduce a live online bidding system for the first time at an upcoming bimonthly auction event scheduled for Sept. 24 at K Auction’s headquarters in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul. “Introducing the live online bidding system has been long in discussion, and the prolonged pandemic situation motivated us to kick off the new system,” Son Yee-chun, public relations director and principal auctioneer at K Auction, told The K

Farmers are busy harvesting chestnuts for the upcoming Chuseok holiday in Banpo, a district in Gongju of South Chungcheong Province.  The Gongju district is the largest chestnut-producing region in South Korea. The chestnuts are ripe and ready for picking -- despite the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of typhoons hitting the nation. Farmers are preparing to offer a chestnut picking event to last until October. (Photos: Yonhap) By Song Donna (donnadsong@heraldcorp.com)