Making wishes while watching the first sunrise of the new year is considered a special event for many Koreans, who believe the practice will bring them luck in the year ahead. Rising before dawn on New Year’s Day is difficult, but watching the beautiful sunrise is worth the effort. Similarly, some people enjoy watching the sunset on the last day of the year, reflecting on the passing year. Here are some of the best spots for catching the sunset or sunrise in Seoul, and around the country.H

The magical morning of Dec. 25 is a time of great excitement and anticipation, as you get to spend time with your beloved family and make more memories to cherish. One of the essential parts of celebrating Christmas is exchanging good vibes and spreading the holiday’s goodwill. It’s exactly around that time of year where the whole world turns boisterous and people are drawn to the festive spirit. The noise of bells jingling, colorful seasonal decorations and Christmas trees embellish

The Cleveland Museum of Art recently acquired a rare Buddhist painting from the Goryeo Kingdom period in the 14th century, depicting the afterlife.“The Fourth King of Hell” is from a series of paintings depicting the 10 Buddhist kings of hell, according to the museum’s press release dated Dec. 19. The practice of painting the 10 kings of hell developed in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907) and this practice was subsequently adopted in Korea and perfected during the Goryeo

Kukje Gallery’s Busan venue is holding a solo exhibition of Daniel Boyd, featuring 11 convex-dot paintings based on historical photos that Boyd has come across in different sources, from family photo albums to the photo collection of the British Museum. Boyd is an Australian artist who transforms photos of the colonial and postcolonial periods into paintings that raise questions about the colonial history of Australia and the power dynamic in the historical narrative.Boyd began his artisti

With the Seoul Light Festival underway at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the Seoul Design Foundation hosted a forum Friday, discussing how art should evolve in the era of artificial intelligence. The state-funded design foundation is hosting the festival from Friday to Jan. 3, turning the outer walls of the DDP into a gigantic media facade. The projected media art is themed “Seoul Haemong,” inspired by the past, present and future of Seoul City and South Korea. “The DDP has

Coex Aquarium announced this week the birth of a baby Humboldt penguin, marking the first time a Korean facility has succeeded in natural breeding for a fourth straight generation.The newly born bird was the fourth generation from 20 Humboldt penguins the aquarium acquired in 2008, and was revealed to the public for the first time Wednesday.Officials at the aquarium noted that natural breeding of the species is extremely difficult, as the process is very sensitive to surroundings such as the tem

The history of Seoul dates back nearly 2,000 years, but citizens and visitors alike find it difficult to imagine what life here must have been like just half a century ago. From the 1950s to the present, the city has undergone the most dramatic transformation in its history, one that is almost unparalleled from a global perspective as well. Rising from the ashes of war to attain economic prosperity, the city has abandoned the remnants of its impoverished past and embraced futuristic skyscrapers,

Special dinner buffet and afternoon tea at Four Points by Sheraton Seoul, Gangnam The hotel’s restaurant, Evolution, will provide special dinner buffets only for three days, on Dec. 24, 25 and 31. A lobster platter and a variety of seafood and meat dishes will be prepared, along with champagne and strawberry desserts. The price is set at a reasonable 77,000 won per person, and time is limited to three hours for the dinner. The reservation can be made at (02) 2160-8989.Also on Christmas Eve

Part of the joy of the Yuletide season is visiting Christmas markets. Although not as grand as those found in some European cities, Seoul has places where one can shop for Christmas decorations, gifts and treats. Han River Park Seoul’s Bamdokkaebi Night Market’s official 2019 run ended in mid-October, but is back for a special Christmas edition. Opening today at the Multiplaza inside Yeouido Han River Park, the market’s Bamdokkaebi charm is intact -- a mix of delectable fo

From Seoul’s Cheonggye Stream to Busan’s beaches, South Korea is decked out for Christmas

Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France (1)The sixth Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France will be held at the Petite France Park in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, until Feb. 29. The annual festival is inspired by the southern French town of Montpellier. In addition to beautiful lighting at night, another highlight is the 30-meter light tunnel installed next to a round structure modeled after asteroid B 612, home of the Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s book

Choi Yoon-hee, a former South Korean female swimming star, was appointed as new second vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in a reshuffle of four vice minister-level officials conducted by President Moon Jae-in on Thursday.The president named 52-year-old Choi to succeed Roh Tae-kang as the No. 2 official at the culture and sports ministry, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.Choi, who gained fame in the 1980s after winning five Asian Games gold medals in swimming,

In his sunset years, a civil engineer-turned-photographer has been making his name at international photography competitions. Over the past five years, professional photographer Ryu Shin-woo, 76, has won 2,420 acceptances for 352 works in 466 competitions across 73 countries,  sponsored by the Federation Internationale de l’Art Photographique, also known as the International Federation of Photographic Art.  The federation, a nongovernmental organization recognized by UNESCO,

A nighttime light show will take place in central Seoul for about two weeks to celebrate the end of this year and the beginning of next year, municipal officials said Wednesday. The light show, dubbed "Seoul Light," will be staged at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, or DDP, from Friday to Jan. 3, according to officials at the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Design Foundation.The show featuring a mix of colorful light and visuals and music will be held every hour from 7 p.m. to

In the first match of his retirement series, South Korean Go master Lee Se-dol defeated home-developed artificial intelligence program HanDol on Wednesday.Lee secured the victory after 92 stones thanks to an early blunder by HanDol, a program developed by South Korea's NHN Entertainment Corp.Lee announced his retirement from Go, or baduk in Korean, last month, saying he felt he could no longer beat AI programs. Lee famously defeated AlphaGo of Google's DeepMind in 2016 in one match of a five-mat