A box for holding the royal seal called “borok,” estimated to be made after the 1800s, has returned home from the UK, the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation announced Wednesday. The state heritage foundation initially obtained information of the borok last year, which had been in possession of a British corporation. The British company acquired the borok via an auction and was in the process of selling it to an unknown buyer. The item was acquired on July 12, after a seri

An exhibition on the Mesopotamian civilization is underway at the National Museum of Korea in conjunction with the US’ Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Mesopotamia: Great Cultural Innovations, Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art” is the first long-term exhibition in Korea dedicated solely to the theme of Mesopotamian cultural heritage. It is also the third special world-themed exhibition to be held at the NMK following the Egypt Gallery, which operated from December 201

A seminar that will shed light on Korea’s diaspora literature is scheduled to take place Friday, its organizer, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, said on Monday. The offline seminar, titled “2022 Korean Literature in Diaspora and Anthropogeography,” will take place at LTIK’s headquarters in southeast Seoul. Co-hosted by The International Association for Literature of Korean Residents Abroad, this seminar aims to reflect the growing interest in Korean li

The Cultural Heritage Administration and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation are hosting an online royal palace tour program, “Gung On.” The annual “Gung On” was launched in 2020 amid the pandemic to offer wider access to palace-related content to be enjoyed at home. This year, participants will be chosen by lottery. A total of three events are available -- Dalbitgihaeng (Moonlight travel), Byeolbityahaeng (Starlight nighttime walk) and Saenggwabang. A total of 1,100

The National Folk Museum of Korea, Paju, a massive open storage facility in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, is marking its first anniversary with a special exhibition, “Folklore x Crafts: Simple and Neat.” the first-ever exhibition at the venue. Some 49 works by 13 contemporary craft artists bridging tradition and modernity are on display in collaboration with the Korea Craft & Design Foundation. The 200 other pieces on show come from the NFMK Seoul’s collection. Two types of cr

Clothing is an extension of our self-image. It helps define who we are. Five colors of nature -- blue, white, red, black, and yellow -- are found in traditional Korean hanbok, including wedding garments. The colors in children’s clothes bring balance with nature: blue for spring, white for fall, red for summer, black for winter and various shades of yellow representing the land. “In history books, Koreans were said to have clean clothes, to wear silk clothes and to revere white cl

In 1762, Hong Dae-yong (1731-1783), at the age of 32, built the first private astronomical observatory, Nongsugak, in his hometown of Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, and installed Honcheonui, which can measure the location of celestial bodies. Hong, who was eventually known as the “Copernicus of Joseon,” was the first Joseon scholar to argue that the Earth rotates. He was the first Silhak scholar of Joseon to study practical materials, but his claim was rejected by the mainstr

The former presidential office site Cheong Wa Dae will be transformed into a cultural complex, while a fund worth 4.8 trillion won ($3.66 billion) aimed at supporting Korean content will be set up. In the first policy briefing to President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday, Culture Minister Park Bo-gyoon outlined the ministry’s priorities, including converting Cheng Wa Dae into a cultural landmark and measures to support the country’s cultural industry. With the principle of preserving

Hanbok saenghwal -- a series of cultural practices which encompass the whole experience of making, wearing and enjoying hanbok -- made it to the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced Wednesday. The Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee decided to finalize the official name as “hanbok saenghwal” instead of its provisional title, “hanbok wearing,” announced earlier in March, considering the name to be a better rep[resen

Guards slowly opened the gates to welcome visitors to Cheong Wa Dae as dusk fell. On Tuesday evening, a day before the official opening of the Cheong Wa Dae nighttime tour, a press event was held with some 50 reporters and public honorary promotion ambassadors in attendance. The 90-minute tour was led by Shim Yong-hwan, a historian, writer and professor, who gave a brief overview of the buildings and facilities. He also provided fun facts and tidbits about former presidents who worked and li

The 2022 World Heritage Festival in Jeju Island, named “CONNECT- Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes,” which seeks to promote the importance of Jeju’s UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites through the story of the volcanic island’s birth, will return as an on-site program after a break last year. Jointly organized by the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, the festival will be held Oct. 1-16 at major World Natural Heritage locatio

With expanded global tourism infrastructure and distinctive travel themes, Seoul looks to become a landmark city like Paris and London, according to Kil Ki-yon, head of the Seoul Tourism Organization. The STO announced its “endemic tourism” initiative, a strategy to promote tourism in the latter half of the year, during a press conference on Monday in Seoul. The organization will work together with Seoul Metropolitan Government to achieve its goal of attracting an average of 28 mi

A study of Gyeongbokgung’s rear garden -- the site of Cheong Wa Dae -- will be conducted more than two months after the former presidential office was opened to the public. The Korea Association for Architectural History, which won the bid to conduct the research, has 120 days to report its findings, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration on Monday. Historical records show that the area functioned as part of the rear garden of Gyeongbokgung, the main royal palace during the Jo

Among Korea’s oral traditions, “pansori,” or narrative singing of epic stories and folklore drama, is performed with audience participation. A solo performer who sings and narrates folktales must have an audience who verbally cheers, reacts to the climax of a scene, and helps the performer build up the spiritual and physical energy needed for the culmination of the story. A combination of singing, called “chang,” plus verbal storytelling called “aniri,&rdqu

What first seemed to be a simple trend is now a major part of how many Koreans define themselves. People often ask each other what their MBTI is – between friends, on blind dates and even in job interviews. But why are Koreans so obsessed with MBTI and who brought it to Korea? Let’s find out! Kim Su-hyeon, Park Sun-yeong and Lee Ji-min contributed to this report. By Kim Min-jung (minjung.kim@heraldcorp.com) Choi Jeong-yoon (jychoi@heraldcorp.com)