Seollal, the Lunar New Year, is one of the most celebrated holidays in Korea: It is not only a time to pay respects to one’s elders and ancestors, but is also an opportunity to spend time with family and friends to celebrate the New Year immersed in tradition. With the colorful hanbok (traditional Korean costume) and the traditional food and folk games, Seollal gives people the chance to experience some real Korean culture. Whether it be traveling to the countryside to reunite with extended fami

Photographer Bae Bien-u worships nature with his works of sea, pine trees, oreum

Off the southern coast of Korea near Jindo Island, a team of Korean archaeologists have discovered a cornucopia of relics that they hope will provide a glimpse into the country’s rich history of cultural assets. Among the artifacts are a pair of ceramic jars believed to date back to the Three Kingdoms era (57 to 668 AD) and two items that look like yogo, an ancient prototype of janggo, the traditional hourglass-shaped double headed drum. “The waters off Oryu-ri, Jindo, are an underwater treasure

Korean mothers must choose right time to send kids abroad to maximize English learning

The former president of the Louvre Museum and Cho Yang-ho, the chairman and CEO of Korean Air, will head up a joint organizing commission to prepare for the 130th anniversary of Korean-French diplomatic relations in 2015 and 2016.Henri Loyrette, former president and general director of the Louvre Museum, announced his appointment as he wrapped up a week-long visit to South Korea with a press briefing at the French Embassy, Tuesday. Cho is well-known as an avid supporter of the arts here and abro

Korea struggling to find ways to preserve prehistoric rock engravings

MEXICO CITY (AP) ― Juan Gelman, a renowned Argentine poet and left-wing activist who was awarded the prestigious Cervantes Prize, has died in Mexico. He was 83. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez on Wednesday announced three days of mourning in his native country, where writers paid homage to him as one of the most brilliant writers in Spanish of the 20th century. “Gelman worked with words like they were plastic, he modeled them,” writer Vicente Muleiro told reporters. He was widely mourned

Protestant churches stagnate, but passion for evangelism carries on

The quintessential “Me Generation” hotel amenity, the minibar, may be fading away like disco music, transistor radios and bell-bottom jeans.Upscale resorts today seem lukewarm, at best, about providing and maintaining the self-service, in-room liquor caches, where guests can crack open a miniature bottle of tequila or vodka or perhaps even enjoy cookies and soft drinks.Never a huge moneymaker due to chronic petty larceny and the high labor costs of monitoring and restocking liquor supplies, the

A collection of traditional Korean wrapping cloths, called bojagi in Korean, is being showcased in Japan, where the garments are often used in everyday life.About 40 Korean bojagi on loan from the Museum of Korean Embroidery, along with 25 traditional pocket bags, are on view in a special exhibition at Koryo Museum of Art in Kyoto until March 30.It is the third time for the Korean museum to be invited to present its collection in Japan, reflecting a growing interest in Korean bojagi.  “In Japan,

A Chinese province added Yut Nori, a Korean traditional board game, to its list of regional intangible assets, local media outlet MBN reported. Yut Nori, along with the six-holed bamboo flute Tungso and sword dance, was included on a list of intangible cultural assets posted on the official website of Heilung-chiang province, where ethnic Koreans living in China are concentrated.The popular Korean game was recognized as provincial cultural heritage, not at the national level. However, speculatio