The Korea Herald

France’s Pleyel piano maker plays final note

Nov 17, 2013

PARIS (AP) ― Gone are its glory days, when Chopin composed concertos on its pianos. France’s Pleyel piano maker is shutting its doors, unable to keep up with cheaper and more agile competition.Down to just 14 employees after a 206-year history that produced more than 250,000 pianos, the Pleyel piano factory in Saint Denis, north of Paris, announced this week that it’s closing “because of recurrent losses and a very low level of activity.”Like so many industries that Europe once dominated, today
National Theater Company releases English book

Nov 14, 2013

The National Theater Company of Korea has released a compilation of three Korean plays translated into English, titled “Three Plays.” The 150-page book features the well-loved plays Bae Sam-sik’s “March Snow,” Ko Yeon-ok’s “The Master Has Arrived,” and Park Geun-hung’s “Red Bus.” The book also contains commentaries written about the writers’ lives and works by honorary professor at Pennsylvania State University, Richard Nicole. The National Theater Company of Korea has sent copies to more than 1
Naju National Museum to open next week

Nov 14, 2013

The Naju National Museum, the 13th central government-funded museum under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will open to the public on Nov. 22. Located about a 20 minutes’ drive from central Naju, South Jeolla Province, in a rural setting, the museum will be a place where the past meets the present and future of the Yeongsangang River area, said Park Jung-hwan, director of the museum.“In the past, we built national museums in city centers, but this time we are reenacting history: The
Lee Charm in hot water over allegations of receiving sexual favors

Nov 13, 2013

Lee Charm, CEO of the Korea Tourism Organization, is in hot water for allegedly receiving favors from a subcontractor by visiting a brothel in Japan last year. While the German-turned-Korean admits to visiting the business, he insisted that he paid for the services on his own, saying it was only a “pure massage to take away the fatigue.”According to a report by jTBC on Tuesday, the KTO CEO visited Japan during the Lunar New Year holiday in January last year with workers of a subcontract company
Cultural heritage agency faces tough scrutiny

Nov 12, 2013

The Cultural Heritage Administration has come under fire regarding a number of scandals suggesting internal irregularities, a lack of management skills and indifference to the country’s cultural assets. With President Park Geun-hye ordering a probe and disciplinary measures, the Daejeon-based state organization is now conducting an internal audit and formulating reform plans. Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Affairs Lee Jung-hyun on Monday briefed the press, saying President Park called
Korea promoter presents 10 things people should know about Korea

Nov 12, 2013

Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor of General Education at Sungshin Women’s University, well-known for his efforts for promoting Korea’s position on sovereignty over the Dokdo Islets, and has recently published a book titled, “Do you Know? 10 Things you Must Know About Korea.” Seo, who is known for his efforts to promote Korean culture, has selected a wide range of issues, historical moments and cultural aspects that he feels must be known about the peninsula including: the Dokdo Islets (listed as the
Egypt recovers 90 ancient artifacts on auction in Jerusalem

Nov 12, 2013

CAIRO (AFP) ― Egypt said Sunday that it has recovered 90 ancient artifacts that were put on sale by a Jerusalem auction house, and has asked Israel to find other antiquities and return them to Cairo.The ministry of antiquities said it had asked Israeli authorities to intervene after “spotting in recent weeks a sale of 110 ancient Egyptian artefacts on the website of an auction house in Jerusalem.”The auction house was unable to provide documents proving who owned the items and Israeli authoritie
Park orders probe into shoddy restorations

Nov 11, 2013

President Park Geun-hye ordered her staff Monday to strictly investigate cultural restoration projects, saying those found responsible for shoddy repair work should be severely punished.Park gave the order to her chief of staff Kim Ki-choon ahead of a meeting of senior presidential secretaries early in the day, citing recent revelations that the ancient Sungnyemun Gate was poorly restored, according to her senior press secretary Lee Jung-hyun.“This morning, President Park ordered a strict invest
Cambridge Univ. Press plans books on history of science in Korea

Nov 10, 2013

A 10-volume text on the history of Korean science will be released by the Cambridge University Press in English, the Academy of Korean Studies said Thursday. “Science and Civilization in Korea,” chronicling the history of science in Korea was originally released in 22 volumes in Korean. But through collaboration with the Needham Research Institute of the prestigious British university, they will be published in a 10-volume set in English. The first seven books will be titled “History of Science
U.S., Israel lose UNESCO voting rights

Nov 10, 2013

PARIS (AFP) ― The United States and Israel lost their UNESCO voting rights Friday after suspending funding to the organization in 2011 over Palestinian admission, a source from the U.N. agency told AFP.Neither the U.S. nor Israel provided documentation by Friday needed “to avoid losing their right to vote,” the source said on condition of anonymity. Both countries stopped paying their contributions to the global cultural body after the Palestinians gained membership two years ago, provoking a ma
Vatican unveils new magazine in Latin

Nov 10, 2013

VATICAN CITY (AFP) ― The Vatican on Friday presented a revamped version of its Latin-language journal “Latinitas” as it tries bid to make the dead language still used in the Catholic Church accessible to a wider audience.The first issue of the new twice-yearly magazine includes a preface written by Pope Francis, whose new Twitter account in Latin ― “Papa Franciscus” ― has reached more than 180,000 followers.“The aim is to highlight the glorious tradition behind us that has to be preserved and re
Veteran entertainers win cultural order

Nov 10, 2013

Four veteran entertainers, Cho Yong-pil, Gu Bong-seo, Ahn Sung-ki and Patti Kim, are to receive the Order of Cultural Merit from the Korean government. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Sunday, the four entertainers have been selected to receive the silver crown medal, Korea’s second-highest cultural honor.Cho was recognized for his enormous impact on the Korean pop music scene and for remaining one of the most influential figures in the country more than 45 years after
Korean libraries embrace new, expanded roles

Nov 8, 2013

Demographic changes spur libraries to beef up resident-centered programs for seniors and multicultural families
The end of libraries? Sort of

Nov 8, 2013

Offline libraries trying to redefine their roles for the digital era
Librarians becoming ‘information mediators’: Lim

Nov 8, 2013

Facing the digital age, libraries are increasingly pressed to stretch beyond their traditional role to offer more user-friendly and versatile functions, said Lim Won-sun, chief executive of the National Library of Korea.“Basically, we want to run a service that actively approaches (readers). Up to now, libraries’ role had been to collect and organize information for people to seek out,” Lim told The Korea Herald. “We want to approach people and say, ‘Don’t you need this (information)? I think th