Spring has arrived even as COVID-19 continues to plague countries around the world. Although you may have to confine yourself at home and minimize social activities, there are still ways to get a taste of spring. One idea is ordering cut flowers or plants for home delivery, or stopping by a florist on your way home to pick up flowers for loved ones who are going through the “corona blues.” Kim Seo-yoon, who runs Baum and Blum in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, says although the

The South Korean government announced Wednesday that it has decided to inject 14 billion won ($11.38 million) to develop a trail adjacent to the Demilitarized Zone called the DMZ Peace Trail. The 248-kilometer-long DMZ, established in 1953, divides the Korean Peninsula roughly in half. “We will make the DMZ Peace Trail more prosperous by turning it into a place where people can experience the precious values of peace and also making it a place where foreigners would like to visit,&rdq

The Overseas Korean Culture Heritage Foundation has found transcriptions of Uigwe -- the royal protocol of the Joseon era -- at the National Museum of Asian Arts-Guimet in France. The books were created by French researcher Henri Chevalier and cover two Uigwe -- Heonjong Daewang Gukjang Dogam Uigwe and Hyohyeon Wanghu Gukjang Dogam Uigwe, which consist of 10 and six books, respectively. Heonjong Daewang Gukjang Dogam Uigwe records the state funeral ceremony held after King Heongjong died in

The National Library of Korea started providing its enhanced online service Digital Collection on Monday. “Digital Collection provides selected content curated by experts from different fields who also wrote commentaries. We hope that this cultural content can help people who are having a difficult time due to the delay of the new school semester and social distancing,” a National Library of Korea official said in a statement. The service can be accessed via the National Library

Conflicts emerge in family relationships as COVID-19 crisis prolongs

North Korea’s media outlets criticized the Cultural Heritage Administration’s plan to seek UNESCO listing of the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas jointly with North Korea, according to local news outlets on Friday. The response from the North Korean news outlets came after the CHA on March 11 announced having the DMZ recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of its projects for 2020. The CHA said it intended to submit a tentative list to UNESCO in conjunction with

Mainstream Protestant church groups -- the National Council of Churches in Korea and the United Christian Churches of Korea -- apologized to the public on Thursday for the COVID-19 clusters that formed at churches. The statement also said the organizations hoped to normalize group activities and worship services from April 6. The joint statement followed an increase in the number of novel coronavirus clusters in South Korea this week among those attending Protestant church services. As of Fr

As several COVID-19 infection clusters have emerged at churches, bringing religious institutions to the public’s attention as potential sources of contagion, some Christians worry that these incidents could feed hostility against Christianity. After the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, considered a cult by mainstream Protestant churches, became the epicenter of the outbreak in South Korea, cases have emerged at a number of other churches across the country. Criticism of churches escalated

Critics say some smaller churches press on for financial reasons

The novel coronavirus pandemic is having an impact on all sports globally, but esports remains among few areas that have been relatively less scathed. As matches go online, changes in lifestyle brought about by the new coronavirus are turning into an opportunity for esports. At first, esports matches played in stadiums without an audience. However, concerns for player safety led to the postponement of leagues throughout the world as COVID-19 spread quickly across borders. But then matches resu

The Cultural Heritage Administration seeks to register the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, together with North Korea, according to its plan for 2020 announced last week. CHA’s DMZ plan came after President Moon Jae-in raised the issue during his 2020 New Year’s Address. “The DMZ’s value is enormous and relates to ecology, history, peace and reconciliation between the South and the North. Jointly registering the DMZ on the lis

Another cluster outbreak of COVID-19 occurred near the capital, as 40 members of River of Grace Community Church in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, were newly confirmed with the novel coronavirus infection on Monday morning. Another person who came in contact with a church member was also confirmed Monday afternoon. The first patient at the church was confirmed on March 9, followed by a couple on Friday. On Saturday, one woman was confirmed and on Sunday, the head pastor and his wife, both asympt

As coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc, readers turn to 60-year-old tale of epidemic

Roses are red, violets are blue. The season of love is here, and the coronavirus is too. “I was supposed to get married on White Day but I delayed it to this fall due to the coronavirus,” a bride-to-be commented on Naver blog Make My Wedding, a popular online community with more than 38,997 members who are preparing for weddings. In Korea, White Day, which falls on March 14, sees men giving candy to women. On Valentine’s Day, women typically give chocolate to men. “I

When Park Jin-ryoung, a Daegu resident, saw people waiting in line for hours to buy a face mask -- a must-have survival item in the city, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of COVID-19 cases in South Korea -- her thoughts went to people in need. So she took out her sewing machine. She visited offline and online stores to buy the materials she needed to make 120 fabric face masks: elastic braids, wire cords, filters and fabric. Park and her two daughters -- whose elementary school graduatio