One of the finalists for this year’s International Booker Prize, Hwang Sok-yong has vowed to continue until the end, asserting his commitment to the art of writing. Speaking at a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday, a week after named to the International Booker shortlist with his novel “Mater 2-10” on April 10, the 81-year-old writer revealed his plan to write three to four more novels by the time he turns 90, in addition to completing his book project of completing a 50-vo

Pearl Lam Galleries has established its name primarily in Greater China, working with artists from around the world for the past 20 years. The gallery is now embarking on a move to expand its presence to South Korea, which has grabbed global recognition as another art hub in Asia. “Seoul is an important center of not only contemporary culture but also strong traditional tastes and aesthetics,” said Pearl Lam, founder of the gallery, in a recent email interview with The Korea Herald.

Jeong Cha-sun, the mother of student activist Park Jong-chul, whose death by torture sparked a nationwide pro-democracy movement in 1987, passed away at the age of 91 on Wednesday. The bereaved families of Jeong said she died at around 5:20 a.m. at a hospital in Gangdong-gu, eastern Seoul. Park Jong-bu, Jeong's oldest son, told local media outlets that she "passed away peacefully with a smile on her face." "I think it was because she thought she was going to be with her son,&

Gyeongseong, as present-day Seoul was called during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea from 1910 to 1945, is the background of many popular TV shows, including “Mr. Sunshine" (2018) and “Gyeongseong Creature" (2023), or even in the musical “Il Tenoro" (2023). While watching “Mr. Sunshine,” the head and artistic director of the Seoul Metropolitan Opera, Park Hye-jin, envisioned Verdi’s opera “La Traviata” set in 1900s to 1930s Korea

The Seoul Metropolitan Government recently turned down a citizen petition to fund a loan from China of Fu Bao, the beloved giant panda who is the first of its kind to be born in South Korea. The petition was posted on April 8, urging the city to re-loan Fu Bao so that she may be housed at the Seoul Grand Park, in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. The park is funded and operated by Seoul. However, the city said it would be better for Fu Bao to stay in China, where she was sent earlier this month. &quo

For quite some time, celebrated picture book artist Lee Suzy has been writing on her blog as if it were a personal diary. However, when the blog platform shut down last year, all of her writing was at risk of disappearing into thin air. "We often believe records in the digital realm will be there forever, but that was not the case. I realized then that what I've been doing with my books was gathering those fleeting thoughts and words into tangible forms," said Lee. Her latest book

Amid heightened interest in Hangeul, the King Sejong Institute, which is at the forefront of Korean-language education abroad, saw a surge in the number of students last year, according to the King Sejong Institute on Friday. The number of online students rose 44 percent to about 88,000 last year. Including some 128,000 offline students, the King Sejong Institute now serves well more than 200,000 Korean-language students. “This shows digital innovation for the King Sejong Institute is very

DOHA, Qatar -- Strolling outside the National Museum of Qatar, pieces of black basalt just outside the museum entrance come into sight -- seemingly rough but polished, the installation looks like artwork and, at the same, like chairs. The installation "Afterimage of the Beginning 2023," collected by the museum, was created by Korean artist Choi Byung-hoon who pioneered his own genre of art, so-called “art furniture,” and has pursued it for the past 30 years. The work was in

South Korean Buddhist monks will bring back long-sought 14th-century Buddhist relics from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, following a transfer ceremony there Tuesday. The event is the latest highlight from a deal struck in February in which the museum agreed to “donate” the sarira, or bead-shaped objects found among cremated remains of Buddhist masters. The agreement between the museum and a delegation of Cultural Heritage Administration officials and monks from the Jogye Order of K

Writer and influencer Sarah Dongmi Choi has been selected as one of top 15 Korean influencers on Linkedin by Favikon, being noted for her presence as a prominent figure in the country's digital landscape. In a selection made by a leading global influencer AI platform in the B2B and B2C sectors, Choi claimed the highest spot among the female influencers in the nation. LinkedIn is a business and employment-focused social media platform used by over a billion people across the world and has ab

Exports of South Korean beverage products jumped to a record $572 million last year, helped by the popularity of Korean culture, government data showed Monday. The country’s beverage exports jumped 11.5 percent in 2023 from $513 million a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Corp. By country, beverage shipments to China accounted for 21 percent, or $121 million, followed by shipments to the United States with $83 million, Cambodia with $54 million and

Outreach to the young will be the focus of this year’s Buddhist Lantern Festival in Seoul, which starts Wednesday in the run-up to Buddha’s Birthday on May 15. The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the organizer of the annual festival, is betting big on an electronic dance music performance by the Ven. New Jean, a comedian who gained a following after he delivered Buddhist verses to EDM at last year’s event. The name, meaning a “fresh move forward,” is a wordplay on t

POHANG, North Gyeongsang Province -- Pohang, a coastal city in the southeast of North Gyeongsang Province, is a popular New Year’s celebration spot, drawing hundreds of people to Homigot, the main venue for the annual sunrise festival at the easternmost point of the Korean Peninsula. While Homigot is a beloved tourist destination, its sunrises alone have never managed to attract hoards of visitors. Understandably, Pohang's popularity as a travel destination has been rather muted compa

From suseok to pet stones, Korea’s rock-collecting culture makes a turn