The local performing arts scene saw its revenue soar nearly 80 percent in 2021 from a year earlier, thanks to eased social distancing rules and a rising vaccination rate, data showed Monday. The combined revenue of 12,000 theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances reached 307.1 billion won ($258.1 million) last year, according to the data by the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS). The 2021 amount marked a 78.4 percent on-year surge from 172.1

After winning the John Newbery Medal for the most distinguished children’s book in 2020 with “When You Trap a Tiger,” author Tae Keller said the book was inspired by a folktale that her Korean grandmother used to tell her. The Korean folktale she was referring to was “The Sun and the Moon” that centers on two siblings and a tiger. Keller’s storybook also includes a tiger from a Korean folklore which appeared at a grandmother’s house to find something t

The large bamboo flute called daegeum, used in traditional Korean music, is uniquely capable of producing a wide range of listening experiences from a single ancient woodwind instrument. Daegeum, a one-of-a-kind woodwind instrument indigenous to Korea, is made from double-groove bamboo, which is an anomaly in bamboo but perfect for making daegeum flutes with thick walls. Because a daegeum is made from natural bamboo, no two instruments are alike. Double-groove bamboo is unlike regular bamboo

Five months since the official designation of Korea’s “gaetbeol,” or tidal flats, as a UNESCO world heritage, “tidal flat harvesting” has made its way onto the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list, the Cultural Heritage Administration said. Four tidal flat areas spanning Seocheon in South Chungcheong Province, Gochang in North Jeolla Province, Sinan, Boseong and Suncheon in South Jeolla Province, were collectively inscribed on the World Heritage List in July

Religious groups in Korea have sent out their New Year messages this week, calling on people to make changes in 2022. The United Churches of Korea, one of the biggest Protestant church associations in South Korea, said Monday in a statement, “The Korean churches must once again restore the purity of the gospel and be reborn as a community that pursues the value of Jesus’ disciple.” The UCCK’s message said that the world’s view and evaluation of churches have becom

2022 is just around the corner! Do you want to know what’s the first thing Koreans do on New Year’s day and how Korean Gen Z wish “Happy New Year”? Don’t worry we got your back. (و ˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و Here are some trendy Korean phrases you can say to your friends in Korea! By Team Konnect Kim Min-jung (minjung.kim@heraldcorp.com) Jung Ji-eun (jungje@heraldcorp.com) Choi Jeong-yoon (jychoi@heraldcorp.com) Kim Jeong-ryul (ryul@heraldcorp.com)

Germans started it, but it was the Americans who perfected the celebration of Christmas in the 20th century. No Christmas would be complete without a Christmas tree, and a native Korean fir, locally called “gusangnamu,” is the preferred choice of Christmas tree in homes across the US and Europe. First encountered by Father Emile Joseph Taquet (1873-1952), a French Catholic missionary, on Hallasan, the main mountain on Jeju Island, in the early 1900s, famed botanist Ernest Henry Wil

Social cooperative association Energyhaeyou established the third net-zero joint market in Beop-dong, Daejeon, following its previous establishments in Miho-dong and Gwanjeo-dong. The net-zero movement, or carbon-zero movement, aims to completely neutralize the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activity and save the environment primarily by reducing carbon emissions.  Energyhaeyou aims to create a sustainable, safe and clean society by actively expanding its energy conversion m

Daebang Construction on Thursday said it would no longer seek the Cultural Heritage Administration’s approval to build a high-rise apartment complex near the UNESCO-listed royal tomb Jangneung in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province. To better protect the scenery of the tomb site, the CHA had ordered a suspension of construction, and asked Daebang Construction to submit new building plans that would lower the height of the new apartments. Daebang Construction is now refusing to submit any modified

Arte Museum Gangneung, the largest immersive media art museum in Gangwon Province, opened on Thursday with the theme “Eternal Nature,” presenting 10 media art displays that feature impactful visuals, sensuous sounds and fragrances offering an immersive art experience. The 4,600-square-meter museum is located in Gangneung and is the third immersive museum founded by d’strict, following Art Museum Jeju, which opened in September 2020, and Arte Museum Yeosu, which opened in Augu

From Thursday, a Christmas market will be set up at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza until the end of the year to celebrate the festive season. Under the theme “The Christmas airport - Travel to Santa’s world,” a total of 40 stalls will be in operation from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m, at Allim Hall 2, located within the plaza. The 2021 Seoul Christmas Market at DDP displays and sells a variety of holiday-related products, including light ornaments and other home decor, as well as accessori

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At the entrance of Korean content company SAMG Entertainment’s office in Gangnam, characters from the animation “Miniforce” greet visitors. In a company meeting room, a group of toys from various animations catches the eye. But SAMG Entertainment Vice President Choi Jae-won explains that it is not just a toymaker. The Korean animation company started producing toys along with the animations after realizing the value of IP content back in 2016. Since then it has been proving

Photographer MJ Kim’s life has been a wild roller-coaster ride. From studying film in London to landing a job with singer Paul McCartney, a partnership that would last more than 10 years, to taking photos of everyday people and making an award-winning short film, Kim, 49, has done it all. With irrepressible optimism and enthusiasm. A soft bossa nova tune plays in Kim’s studio, his “man cave,” in the hipster neighborhood of Seongsu-dong in Seoul. The white walls of the ro