The United Christian Churches of Korea have proclaimed May 31 “Korean Church Worship Restoration Day,” and are aiming for 80 percent attendance at Sunday services throughout the country on that day. Two churches in Incheon, Palbock Church and Onlove Church, had a scare recently when a cluster of infections traced to Seoul’s Itaewon area affected two church members and led to around 780 people being tested for the virus. The churches followed social distancing guidelines and as

National Museum of Korea opens a gallery featuring VR, AR and MR

The 11th Korea Opera Festival, which was postponed from May due to the spread of the new coronavirus, will begin on June 4. The festival, which will take place in three different theaters of the Seoul Arts Center, will have two separate parts this year to avoid too many people gathering. The first half of the performance will be held in June and the other half will take place from August to September. From June 4-14, the festival will be held at Seoul Arts Center’s Jayu Theater. From

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced Tuesday that it would start holding tours and events at the country’s royal palaces, which have been suspended since Feb. 27 due to the risk of spreading COVID-19. On Wednesday, the changing of the royal guard ceremony at Gyeongbokgung will be the first event to resume. Saenggwabang within Gyeongbokgung, where tourists can experience a traditional tea ceremony and enjoy dessert, will be open from May 27 to June 29. The popular night tours

Changes in roster and coaching staff are happening daily before the June 17 kick-off of the 2020 League of Legends Champions Korea Summer Split. The most exciting of the announcements made in the off season by Riot Games so far has been the Mid-Season Cup, to be held for four days starting on May 28, where the top four teams from China and Korea will compete for prize money of $600,000. Going into the summer split, Team Dynamics will replace Griffin in the LCK, which will allow new faces to e

FC Seoul posted a formal apology on social media on Monday for putting mannequins, which many contend are sex dolls, in the stands for the team’s first home game of the season, which was held Sunday without spectators. “We apologize to all the fans for causing deep concern regarding the cheer-mannequins set up during the game on the 17th. Although the mannequins differed from previous ones in that the material is human-like, from the start we confirmed that these products were not

The Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, an affiliate of the Cultural Heritage Administration, on Monday announced that it had published a report on the Korean collection at the Mission Museum of St. Ottilien Archabbey in Germany. “We hope that this catalog will strengthen the groundwork for future research on the Korean collections of museums overseas and help to enhance the public’s knowledge of Korea’s cultural heritage located abroad,” the Overseas Korean

Five kestrels, designated as South Korean natural treasure No. 323, were born in a nest built inside a flower pot on an apartment balcony in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province. It was March 20 when the chicks’ parents settled on the balcony. The resident of the apartment made a bigger nest out of cardboard for his little guests to have enough space to brood five eggs. The five chicks were all born healthy and are now getting ready to fly on their own. (Photos: Yonhap) By Kim Tae-eun

Need for anti-discrimination law is greater than ever, LGBTQ community says

Churches and temples remained on their toes Sunday, taking strict precautionary anti-virus measures, in the second week since the resumption of their public services following COVID-19 outbreaks. South Korea eased strict social distancing guidelines on May 6, allowing churches, state-run museums and libraries to resume operations. But following a recent resurgence of virus infections, traced to clubs in Seoul's nightlife district of Itaewon, reopening churches and temples remained highly vigi

COVID-19 pandemic fuels change in beauty lifestyle

The National Museum of Korea, located in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, is home to the country’s heritage dating back 700,000 years. From the prehistory and ancient history gallery to the medieval and early modern history gallery located on the first floor, calligraphy and painting gallery and donations gallery on the second floor, sculpture and crafts gallery and world art gallery on the third floor, the building is filled with around 330,000 relics. In the main hallway stands the stone

The Korean Culture and Information Service announced Friday that it is hosting the “Talk Talk Korea 2020” contest from May 15 to Sept. 15 jointly with the Foreign Ministry. The contest was established in 2014. According to KOCIS, it is the largest global contents contest in Korea, with more than 30,000 foreigners participating each year. It accepts diverse content such as videos, photos, illustrations, and webtoons that can promote a positive image of Korea. “The importance

The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company’s home-training series, “Flexible Day,” kicked off with the first episode streaming Wednesday on KNCDC’s YouTube channel. “Flexible Day” is part of the online project “Dance on Air” by the KNCDC, which aims to show contemporary dance to the audience at home. Episodes of “Flexible Day” will be uploaded on YouTube and Naver TV every Wednesday and Friday for five weeks. Artistic director Nam

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause the postponement and cancellation of event after event, creating online replicas of the world using Minecraft to host events in the virtual world has become increasingly popular. In Minecraft, one of the most popular video games of all time, players explore a world made of unit-sized blocks and alter the environment to their choosing. In creative mode, players can build anything they want with limitless possibilities offered by the unit-sized blocks.