A four-member team won the top prize at Herald Corporation’s English-language presentation competition for college students on Thursday for their engaging presentation on urban slum transformation.“None of us have studied overseas to learn English,” said Jeong Jun-young, a member of the winning group.“We all learned the foreign language using local resources. So this prize means a lot to us.”The winning team, named “Shall We Design,” consists of students of different majors: French literature, l

A total of four teams were selected as finalists at the semifinal of Herald Corporation’s English-language presentation competition Wednesday.The design-themed contest welcomed a diverse array of opinions that delved into the broad spectrum of design-related topics ― including music, shoes, newspapers and even Korea’s traditional pottery. A total of 10 semifinalists competed in the hope of making it to the finals. “This is the second edition (of the event) and I see it is just getting better and

Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, Ballet to bring authentic Russian classical arts to Seoul in separate showsA series of Russian classical music and ballet performances by the prestigious Mariinsky Theater from St. Petersburg, widely deemed Russia’s cultural capital, takes to the stage in Seoul in November.The Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, led by conductor Valery Gergiev, will bring works of Russian composers to produce the authentic Russian orchestral sound in Seoul. The list of programs by the Mari

SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) ― The studio where painter Winslow Homer derived inspiration on Maine’s craggy coast and produced some of his most notable seascapes isn’t heated by wood or illuminated by oil lamps the way it was in Homer’s day.But in most other ways, the studio has now been restored to what it was like when Homer lived there, from 1883 until his death in 1910, following a multiyear, $2.8-million restoration by the Portland Museum of Art.With the renovation complete, the museum will begi

Deoksugung Project breathes new life into desolate royal bedchamber, garden and buildingsThe turbulent royal history of late Joseon period seemed to have faded in memories of visitors to Deoksugung. But this fall, the royal history is revived by Korean contemporary artists, who shed light on both happy and unfortunate days of the palace. Through the Deoksugung Project, organized by the National Museum of Modern Art, Korea and Deoksugung Office of the Cultural Heritage Administration, 12 artists

Artist Koo Dong-hee has been chosen the winner of the 13th Hermes Foundation Art Award. The art award, launched in 2000 in Korea, aims to contribute to the development of Korean art by supporting Korean artists. Koo was selected among three finalists including Jackson Hong and Lee Mi-kyung, whose works are also on exhibit at Hermes Atelier inside the Maison Hermes Dosan Park in Seoul. The Hermes Foundation presented Kim with an award of 20 million won ($18,000) and a plaque last Thursday. Koo wo

Korea’s traditional dance troupe re-stages its 1984 original repertoire ‘Madam Domi’There have been a lot of efforts by local ballet troupes to create and promote original performances, mostly based on Korea’s traditional folktales. The Korean National Ballet’s “The Love of Chunhyang” and Universal Ballet Company’s “Shimchung” are some of the successful examples, blending ballet movements and Korea’s traditional sentiments.Outside the ballet scene, however, developing original repertoire has bee

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― A box of bric-a-brac purchased for several dollars at a Virginia flea market contained an unlikely treasure: a painting by French Impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir.The canvas, which shows a scene along the Seine River titled “Paysage Bords de Seine,” is scheduled to be auctioned later this month by the Potomack Company, an auction house in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC. It is expected to sell for between $75,000 and $100,000. The small oil painting

LONDON (AFP) ― An exhibition celebrating the Pre-Raphaelite movement that shook up the Victorian art world opened at London’s Tate Britain on Wednesday.“Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde” includes masterpieces by the group’s founders ― William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.The group formed in rebellion against the art establishment, and was inspired by the purity of early Renaissance painting and the natural world.The Tate exhibition features well-known painti

Korea National Ballet experiments with gayageum master Hwang Byung-ki to add ‘something Korean’ to the Western danceForget about tutus, Tchaikovsky and pas de deux ― the very first things that come to your mind when you think of ballet. Korea National Ballet, one of the major ballet troupes here, attempts to create something new and also Korean by featuring gayageum master Hwang Byung-ki this month. “I think Korean ballet has become one of the top class troupes in the world. And I thought it is

Asia’s largest art event invites citizens, visitors to become part of artworkThe city of Gwangju has again turned itself into a huge contemporary art exhibition that experiments with and showcases the latest trends in the art world. The 9th Gwangju Biennale, opened Thursday, offers a variety of artworks not only at the main exhibition hall, but also at sites such as a Buddhist temple, a local market and a theater. Titled “Round Table,” this year’s exhibition features about 300 artworks by 92 ar