Despite the long history of shamanism in Korea, remaining shamanistic relics and records are considerably few partly due to oppression following the dominance of Confucianism and modernization. Folklorist Kim Tae-gon (1936-1996) was the first scholar who paid attention to the disappearing shamanistic practices in the 1960s when it was considered a “primitive, backward and outdated culture.”The National Folk Museum of Korea sheds light on the lifetime work of folklorist Kim, who collected more th

American Micah Hein joins all-Korean cast of ‘Music Show Wedding’

Two distinct worlds connected for nearly 1,000 years

Itaewon, where Korea meets Muslim world

When Lee Haeng-lae was introduced to Islam in the 1950s, his image of the religion was like most other people during that time: the Koran in one hand, and a sword in another. But after a trip to Malaysia, he realized that Muslims were not violent people and ultimately converted to the religion in the early 1960s.Embracing Islam was not an easy task in a country where the religion has struggled for years against the perception that it is radical and violent. “My father particularly flat-out said,

Four royal palaces and Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul to open to public day and night, presenting various cultural programs

In a highly connected society swamped by hand-held digital devices, more and more people are harking back to simpler times.

Latest office fad arrives at some health-minded Korean companies

Experts from across Asia flocked to Korea’s Dangjin to discuss the international preservation of “juldarigi,” a traditional Asian folk game similar to tug-of-war. The game is currently waiting to be designated an Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO, following an intergovernmental joint application submitted in 2013. Results will be announced this November at a conference in Namibia. A symposium on the organized protection of juldarigi was held at the annual Dangjin Juldarigi Festival at G

Companies promoting their products and services through art sponsorships and cultural events are often frowned upon in Korea. But Park Sam-koo, chief of Kumho Asiana Group, has questioned why.Park, who has recently taken up the chairmanship of the Korea Mecenat Association, said it can be a “win-win situation for both enterprises and the artists,” during his first press conference in Seoul on Thursday as chief of the association, a local advocacy group for corporate sponsorship of the arts. Comp

The Independence Hall of Korea announced Wednesday the launch of a five-year project that traces the legacies of thousands of Korean independence activists and compiles them into an encyclopedia. “The Who’s Who in the Korean Independence Movement” will feature 16,000 patriots who campaigned against Japanese colonial rule, including well-known heroes Ahn Jung-geun and Yun Bong-gil. The encyclopedia is expected to be published in 2019, the year that marks the 100th anniversary of the foundation of

Grassroots movement to collect records of the maritime disaster marks first anniversary with touring exhibition

A peculiar sculpture greets visitors at the old Seoul Station building. Dangling from the ceiling in the main lobby of the building is a tangled clump of twisted wooden ropes that are studded with rocks. All of the materials are from nature, but the wooden stalks are painted red, yellow, blue and white ― colors that conjure images of the cluttered manmade chaos of electrical wires. Artist Cha Ki-youl, who created the piece, “The Journey of Circulation/A Period Between Ark and Kangmok,” said it w