South Korea aims to enhance the entire experience for foreign tourists, from streamlining entry procedures to providing diverse tourist programs, the government announced Monday. The measures aim to address the slow recovery of tourism revenue -- the amount that inbound visitors pay for goods and services in the country -- despite the fast rebound of the number of tourists. According to the Korea Tourism Organization Thursday, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country stood at 4.86 m

The state-run National Library of Korea will open a space dedicated to learning about Korea at the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan in December. So far 35 such spaces have opened globally. “Window on Korea,” a space that opened this week at the National University of Mongolia, contains some 1,500 books about Korea. The university was the first to launch a department on the Korean language in 1991, and currently offers degrees in Korean interpretation and translation as well as Ko

Moxy Seoul Myeongdong presents new summer package ‘Summer Vibes’ Moxy Seoul Myeongdong, located in Jung-gu, central Seoul, offers “Summer Vibes” for its guests’ delightful stay filled with great benefits. This promotion includes a one-night stay in a queen (or double) bed, free welcome drinks, a breakfast buffet for two guests and South Korea’s popular “chimaek,” a combination of “chicken” and maekju (beer). Relaxing on picnic mats with

‘Rock is my life,’ says the talented vocalist of the rising band

'Lovely Runner' star Byeon Woo-seok’s moment has come as Ko anticipated

Go Joon-hee once again expressed feelings of unfairness and denied involvement in the Burning Sun scandal that resurfaced after the BBC released a related documentary on May 19. The actor, known for her roles in 2015 film "Intimate Enemies" and 2019 thriller TV series "Possessed," on Tuesday appeared as a guest on the YouTube show “Don’t Forget Your Breakfast,” where she said, “I don’t even know where Burning Sun is at and I have never been the

Jin of K-pop phenomenon BTS was discharged from his one year and six months of military service, Hybe said, Wednesday. Other BTS members took time off to go meet and congratulate Jin at the Recruit Training Battalion of the Army 5th Infantry Division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. All BTS members except Suga were there to welcome Jin's return to civilian life in Yeoncheon, with RM, J-Hope, V, Jungkook and Jimin greeting him warmly. RM, serving in the military band, performed the group&rsq

Making Korean traditions more relatable and accessible to children is what the National Folk Museum of Korea plans to do this year, the new director of the state-run museum said Wednesday. Jang Sang-hoon, the NFMK director, said in the second half of the year, special exhibitions will take place on “kkokdu,” the traditional Korean wooden figurines used on biers, and on coffee, a drink that marks 140 years of use in Korea this year. “We intend to have those exhibitions explore s

Music in PyeongChang, an annual music festival held in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, will take place under the theme of "Ludwig!" from July 24 to Aug. 3, the festival's artistic director, Yang Sung-won, announced Tuesday. Expressing his goal to create a program that can have the last impact on young visitors as the fourth artistic director of the 21-year-old festival, Yang said that this year the music festival aims to offer a "spiritual link" to Beethoven, by showc

The signature Buddhist temple from the Baekje Kingdom (18 BC to 660 AD) used split stones for column bases, the Buyeo National Cultural Heritage Research Institute said Tuesday, citing its latest find. This contradicts previous findings on Baekje Kingdom temple construction, which had thought that only soil bases were used for columns. The state-run think tank said its monthslong excavations at Geumdang, the central hall at the Mireuksa temple complex in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, revealed th

Three members of the popular K-pop group EXO -- Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin -- claimed Monday their agency SM Entertainment is making an "unfair" demand over revenue from their individual activities, reigniting their conflict with the K-pop powerhouse after a year. They alleged that the agency is unjustly demanding a 10 percent royalty from revenue of their individual activities without fulfilling its end of a behind-the-scenes deal made to resolve the conflict in June last year. During

Binary Korea, a subsidiary of K-pop powerhouse Hybe, will officially launch the country’s first creator fandom platform, “Theus,” on June 22, the company said Monday. Theus aims to be the "one and only playground where creators and fandom gather," providing an environment for creators to communicate with fans actively. Dedicated "spaces" are available for each creator, allowing them to upload their content, interact with fans and conduct various events to

Actor Lee Jung-jae has been accused of attempting to unfairly seize management rights over RaemongRaein, the Korean drama production company responsible for producing series such as "Maestra" (2023) and "Reborn Rich" (2022). Kim Dong-rae, the head of RaemongRaein, said via a press release on Monday that Artist United, a company in which Lee stands as the largest stakeholder, has been unjustly pushing RaemongRaein to convene an extraordinary general meeting in a bid to replace

From K-pop fan to influencer and teacher, Nura Ezzatie continues her venture

Kicking off his much-anticipated recital tour in South Korea, pianist Lim Yunchan on Friday dispersed any concerns about his change in repertoire only about six weeks ago. He was originally supposed to perform Chopin’s Etudes, from his debut album with Decca, along with Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words in E major, Op. 19-1, and Songs Without Words in D major, Op. 85-4, followed by Tchaikovsky's "The Seasons," Op. 37b. With the release of the album in April, many of h