Industry insiders, experts concerned about impact of direct government involvement in Hallyu promotion

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it will work with local governments to crack down on unlicensed businesses in the pet industry and others that violate industry regulations. The special inspection will run for three weeks starting Monday and affect a wide range of businesses in the pet industry, including those that sell and import pets. Inspectors will check on business operators to make sure they hold valid licenses and have completed all required training sessions

An artificial island in the shape of a heart is seen floating on Lake Uiam in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on Wednesday. The floating island will be filled with aquatic plants, which the city expects to purify the lake water as well as catch people’s eye when it’s done. (Photos: Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun (kimt17@heraldcorp.com)

Twelve weeks. That’s how long Kim Tae-hwan, 30, trained before getting his body profile picture taken. Kim had added body profile photos to his bucket list for 2020 after he found out about it while working out with a personal trainer. Kim hoped to have it checked off while he was still 30. The 12 weeks were not easy, as Kim, a construction site manager, tried to balance work and exercise while working out 14 hours a week. Spending an hour lifting weights, 40 minutes doing cardio exercis

Embattled travel industry slams Seoul’s tourist spots

A 9-meter-tall installation work that resembles Cheomseongdae -- Korea’s oldest astronomical observatory used during the Silla Kingdom in the seventh century that sits at Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province -- has been situated in the heart of Seoul. The installation artwork named “Rebirth” was created by Han Won-suk, an installation artist and architect, in 2006. It had previously been displayed in the Cheonggye Stream area, Hana Bank’s headquarters in Seoul and the S

Staycation at Park Hyatt Seoul Park Hyatt Seoul is to present the Experience More package, marking the hotel’s official reopening Tuesday. The package features a breakfast for two served in-room, complimentary one-tier room upgrade applicable up to City View Deluxe level and a Park Hyatt Seoul signature teddy bear. A bathrobe for kids will be offered to guests staying with children on a first come, first served basis. Stays between Tuesday and June 30 are available for reservation thr

Centum Beer Festival The Centum Beer Festival, sponsored and managed by the Centum Beer Festival Committee, is held at KNN Centum Plaza in Busan every summer.  The festival offers unlimited beer and snacks for all visitors. Though the event takes place every May, this year, it has been postponed to August in concerns over the COVID-19 spread. It will be held Aug. 20-30.  Performances will take place throughout the festival from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more information in Korean, vi

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on Wednesday that it has discovered the head of a stone seated Buddha statue, which is estimated to date from the late Unified Silla period, in conjunction with the Silla Cultural Heritage Research Institute. The head of the statue was found buried on Namsan in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. “We began our research after the Gyeongju government asked us to find out the original location of the headless statue,” head of Silla Cu

Many Korean celebrities joined the world in supporting the #blackouttuesday movement, posting black square images on their Instagram accounts on Tuesday. #Blackouttuesday was initiated by Atlanta Records marketing chief Jamila Thomas and Platoon’s Brianna Agyemang, who suggested putting the music industry on a pause and to think of ways to help the Black Lives Matter movement, following the police killing of George Floyd on May 25. With famous artists and major music labels joining the

　South Korea‘s output of medical equipment and related materials passed 7 trillion won ($5.7 billion) in 2019 on solid demand for dental treatment products, data showed. 　About 7.3 trillion won worth of medical equipment and materials were produced in the country last year, up 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. 　The sector’s annualized growth rate far outpaced the 2 percent increase in the country’s gross domestic product

Horses are taking a rest at Jeju Horse Pastureland in Yonggang-dong, Jeju City, on Tuesday morning. Vast grassland and mountains in the backdrop make the horse pastureland one of Jeju Island’s must-visit sites. Visitors can see 130 Jeju horses, designated as National Treasure No. 347, in the grassland from April to November. The pastureland is state-owned and managed by the Cultural Heritage Administration for the special horses that need special care. (Photos: Yonhap) By Kim Tae

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has started taking international applications for the next year’s Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (SBAU), aiming to select around 100 projects around the world. The biennale, which will be held from September to November 2021, will be held under the theme of “Crossroads, Building the Resilient City,” encompassing five co-related topics of urbanism, architecture, design, landscape and city to examine how the five factors can become

Hwang Sok-yong, one of South Korea‘s best known writers, said he would rather bring back the Lotus Prize for Literature than win a Nobel prize, during a press conference held Tuesday for the release of his latest novel “Three Generations of Railworkers.” The Lotus Prize for Literature was an award organized by the Afro-Asian Writers‘ Association that was presented annually to African and Asian authors between 1969 to 1988. “I was named (as a possible winner of t

The following is part of a series that explores museums dedicated to Korea’s well-known contemporary artists that bear their name. --Ed. If you are interested in Korea’s modern fine art, you may be familiar with Kim Whan-ki’s masterpiece “05-IV-71 #200 (Universe),” a piece that recorded the highest-ever price for a Korean artwork sold at an auction by fetching 13.2 billion won ($10.8 million) at a Hong Kong auction last year. Born in 1913, Kim was a pioneer of Ko