Ancestral rites for Joseon royals, tight rope walking entertains visitors to the former presidential office

On the afternoon of Friday, just two days before Parent’s Day, a flower shop at Namdaemun Market in Jung-gu, Seoul, is crowded with people buying carnation flowers as a gift for their parents. Parents’ Day in South Korea was established in 1973, replacing the Mother‘s Day previously marked on May 8, and includes diverse public and private celebrations. In South Korea, Koreans seek to honor their parents by gifting them carnations. It is a practice in Korea for students to pr

On the morning of Friday, two days before the anniversary of Buddha’s birth, Buddhists perfume the image of Buddha as part of a ceremony to commemorate the baby Buddha’s arrival at Jogyesa Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Buddhists chant prayers under colorful lanterns. Buddhists chant prayers under colorful lanterns. Officials of Jogyesa Temple put name tags under colorful lanterns as Buddhists and their families watch. Buddhists pray as they walk around the tower. Buddhists perform

Koreans celebrate the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, better known in Korea as Shakyamuni Buddha, on Chopail, a public holiday on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, which falls on May 8 this year. Some of life’s questions for humanity have always been “Who am I?” and “Where am I going?” In Korean Buddhism, Chamseon, which means participating in Seon meditation, the goal is to reach enlightenment. “You must know who you are first, before you know where y

“Sitting in a well, looking at the sky and saying it is a small sky.” This great saying comes from the impressive story of how Yi Saek overpowered the Chinese who ignored him because he came from a small Korean kingdom called Goryeo and because of his poor Chinese skills. This writing shows Yi’s profound learning of Chinese literature and masterful writing as well as Korea’s neo-Confucian identity. In fact, he was such a great writer that he was tasked with reviewing

Parents’ Day in South Korea falls on May 8, a day that is usually celebrated with the family. One may have a family gathering to catch up with each other and express gratitude to their parents. To get the freshest cuts of carnations, the flowers that are typically presented to parents, head to Yangjae Flower Market Center in Seocho-gu, southern Seoul, which is the largest wholesale flower market in Seoul that houses a total of 430 shops. It is located near the Yangjae Citizen Forest Stat

In hopes of promoting intangible cultural heritage to the public, the National Intangible Heritage Center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, is holding special workshops onsite every Saturday until November. The program is divided into three sections -- outdoor folklore games, traditional handicraft workshops, and intangible heritage in everyday life. Visitors can learn traditional games, including arrow-throwing “tuho,” traditional board game “yutnori,” “jegichagi

Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon royal palace, will host its spring season starlight tour from May 18 to 29. Organized by the Cultural Heritage Administration’s Royal Palaces and Tombs Center and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, the tour takes visitors through the northern area of Gyeongbokgung, where they can enjoy a dining experience, watch a traditional music performance and go for a stroll under the stars by the moonlit palace. Tours will be held twice a day starting at 6:40 p.m. an

The Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute is participating in the 15th World Forestry Congress, which runs at Seoul’s Coex for five days until Friday. The institute’s chairperson Ryu Kwang-soo said, “I hope the World Forestry Congress will serve as an opportunity to directly or indirectly experience the arboretum and garden cultures designed by the Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute.” At the conference the institute will have exhibition booths of its arboretum, botan

Civic groups accuse head of the Cultural Heritage Administration of ‘illegal’ opening of Legoland

Four national museums across Seoul will be holding exhibitions and events to mark Children’s Day on May 5 and the family month of May. This year marks the centennial of Children’s Day, established in 1922 by Bang Jeong-hwan, a children’s rights activist and a pioneering children’s literature writer. The National Museum of Korea will hold an activity-based exhibition titled “The Child in All of Us” from Tuesday, at the Special Exhibition Gallery of the Childr

The Lotus Lantern Parade, one of the highlights of Yeondeunghoe, illuminates Seoul’s Jongno district Saturday evening.  Starting at Heunginjimun, the parade proceeded to Jogyesa, a Buddhist temple in central Seoul. This year marked the first Yeondeunghoe after its UNESCO listing in December 2020.  More than 35,000 faithfuls participated in this year’s parade, according to the Yeondeunghoe Preservation Committee. By Kim Hae-yeon (hykim@heraldcorp.com)

Cattle have long been an important part of Korean culture as members of the workforce, as Korea has traditionally been an agrarian society.　 Only well-to-do families owned cattle. Owning a cow or bull back then is equivalent to owning a tractor these days.　 Cattle has been widely seen as liquid assets, as rural Korean families often sold cattle to cover their children’s university education costs.　 Before modern commercial feed became available, feeding cooked meals to “hanwoo&rdq

Have you ever wondered what makes award-winning movies so special? Then try watching director Hong Sang-soo’s 27th feature, “The Novelist’s Film,” in theaters this weekend. The 92-minute long black-and-white film, which was shot in March last year, won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at Berlin International Film Festival in February. Hong’s movie follows female novelist Jun-hee (Lee Hye-young) who goes to a bookstore run by an old friend with whom she has fallen

UNESCO-listed cultural heritage makes colorful return, marking Buddha’s birthday