The Naver Cultural Foundation said Monday it has reached an agreement with a state-run cultural agency to produce English promotional materials for new and ambitious Korean visual artists.The agreement between the foundation and the Korea Arts Management Service calls for KAMS to translate content published on Naver's Hello! Artist website into English, the foundation said. The foundation is run by South Korea's largest Internet portal, Naver. This composite image from Naver`s Hello! Artist webs

Due to an entertainment market flourishing in the pan-Asian region, South Korea's tourism industry has made tremendous gains over the years. But while Hallyu generates interest and curiosity in Korea, there are cultural bridges that prevent some potential overseas visitors from making the trip.English-speaking YouTubers have filled that gap. Living in Korea and documenting their time here, viewers become more accustomed to the idea of traveling in the country.Clark in one of her vlogs introducin

Cultural Night Walk in Jeonju“Cultural Night Walk in Jeonju,” a program selected by the Cultural Heritage Administration in a competition, offers visitors the chance to walk through hundreds of traditional Korean houses in Jeonju Hanok Village under the moonlight.Highlights include a moonlight photography competition, a traditional music night, Jeonju traditional opera, a shadow orchestra and night views of Jeonju.The event is being held until Sept.13. For more information, visit www.jeonju-nigh

Kim Yun-jin will foray onto the stage in the US with the play “Wild Goose Dreams.” 　“There is not only the one-dimensional everyday of Korean society but a deep reflection on everyday people and their love stories,” said Kim about the upcoming play.　“There’s a theme that the American audience can relate to as well. That’s what I like about it. I chose it right away,” she said.　The play is set in Seoul and centers on Yoo Nan-hee, a woman who has defected from North Korea. Through an online dating

GANGNEUNG/SOKCHO, Gangwon Province -- Just a two-hour drive from the sleepless metropolis that is Seoul, South Korea’s eastern coast feels like a different world: white sandy beaches, laid-back shore towns and surfers paddling in the sea.No wonder beaches along the East Sea are popular holiday destinations for locals seeking to escape the city. Songjiho Beach, located in Goseong County, Gangwon Province, some 200 kilometers east of Seoul.“We often come to the beaches off the East Sea as the wate

Beaches along the East Sea draw vacationers for their soft sand and clear water. Below are The Korea Herald’s top four picks to check out this summer. 　Gyeongpo Beach, the biggest on East SeaThe Gyeongpo Beach located between the East Sea and Gyongpo Lake in South KoreaWith a sand beach stretching some 6 kilometers, Gyeongpo Beach is a sand bank located between the East Sea and Gyeongpo Lake. It is the biggest beach along the east coast, attracting an average 6.5 million people each summer.　Loca

GANGNEUNG/SOKCHO, Gangwon Province – Gangwon Province and its coastal towns used to be the less developed and less populated in South Korea. But that seems to be changing fast. With accessibility from the metropolitan area greatly enhanced and expected to improve yet more in the coming months, the once laid-back coastal towns and cities are seeing a property development boom, with a number of luxury hotels, resorts and apartment complexes being erected. The Seamarq Hotel in GangneungThe upcoming

Chae Man-shik was a prolific Korean novelist, playwright, literary critic, journalist and essayist who boldly confronted society’s pretensions and predicaments under the restrictions of Japan’s colonial occupation using satire.Born in 1902 in Okgu, present-day Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, Chae lived true to his calling as a public intellectual, practicing his “publish-or-perish” ethos until succumbing to tuberculosis in 1950. In a span of about 25 years he produced some 290 novels, tales, play

An annual international mud festival will open in the South Korean city of Boryeong on Friday under the slogan of "Let's Go to Boryeong and Play with Mud!," an official on the event's organizing committee said Wednesday."The 2017 Boryeong Mud Festival will open for a 10-day run at Daecheon Beach in the namesake city, 190km south of Seoul, on Friday," the official said. (Yonhap)Launched in 1998, the festival has developed into a top international summer event with its mud flats attracting many to

Two expats on mission to teach the world about traditional Korean alcohol

On Thursday afternoon, the 17th Korea Queer Film Festival kicks off, the latest event in a monthlong program organized as part of the Korea Queer Culture Festival.Saturday’s gay pride parade proved a massive success, drawing a record 85,000 people to Seoul Plaza. The turnout apparently shows Korea becoming more understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and the organizers hope to build on that.From left to right: Holic and Ha-re stand outside the Korea Herald building

Madonna asked a judge Tuesday to block an auction of memorabilia including a breakup letter from rapper Tupac Shakur, saying the intimate items were stolen by her former friend.The pop superstar filed a motion with a New York court a day before auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll was set to start taking bids for more than 100 items, with Tupac's letter expected to fetch as much as $400,000. In this July 11, 2017 file photo, Madonna, left, sits with her adopted children David, Stella and Mercy

Everland Resort, an amusement facility equipped with a water park and a zoo, was the No. 1 destination for local and foreign visitors last year, South Korea's tourism agency said Wednesday.According to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, 6.96 million people visited the amusement park in Yongin, just south of Seoul, in 2016. It marks the second year in a row that Everland took the top ranking, although the number of visitors was down 6.2 percent. October was the most popular month for the pa

The evolving dining industry in Seoul has transformed blue-collar communities into hipster havens, where artists and expats alike relocate to open their restaurants and cafes. With food comes locals, drawn by the aesthetically pleasing interiors and foods on a platter, housed inside abandoned warehouses and narrow alleyways.Industrial neighborhoods, like Mangwon-dong, are only in their beginning stages of revival. Mangwon-dong’s main roads are crowded with open-air markets and low-cost produce,

Asia tour of one of the longest-running Broadway musicals kicks off in Seoul