The 2022 Royal Culture Festival’s opening performance was held at Heungnyemun Square in Gyeongbokgung, on Tuesday evening, after having gone virtual for two years due to the pandemic.　 Jointly hosted by the Cultural Heritage Administration’s Royal Palace and Tombs Center and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, the spring edition of the biannual festival is being held under the theme of “Narye and Yeonhui“ through May 22. The festival centers around royal court ritua

Cheong Wa Dae opened its doors to the public on Tuesday soon after Yoon Suk-yeol, a former prosecutor general, was sworn in as South Korea’s 20th president.  　The opening of the gates to Cheong Wa Dae was broadcast live as part of the presidential inauguration ceremony, bringing an end to its function as the office and residence of 12 Korean presidents, from President Syngman Rhee to President Moon Jae-in, since the establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948. 　Jongmyo Jerye

The fame of “K-food” was not built in a day. Korean cuisine, an important component of the country’s soft power along with K-pop and K-dramas that have a relatively short history, dates back centuries, with written records of it going back to the Three Kingdoms period (57 BC–AD 668). In metropolitan cities, fine dining restaurants that serve ornate contemporary Korean cuisines and small eateries with bite-sized Korean snacks are easy to find. However, places that serv

Canadian nature documentary “Geographies of Solitude” has won the Grand Prize in the international competition section at this year’s Jeonju International Film Festival. The feature debut by Jacquelyn Mills was among the 20 winners announced by the 23rd Jeonju IFF organizing committee Thursday. The festival comes to an end Saturday after a 10-day run. “Geographies of Solitude” is about Zoe Lucas, an environmentalist who has been cataloging the flora and fauna of

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul presents special dining promotion for families Flavors, a buffet restaurant at JW Marriott Hotel Seoul, greets the arrival of May with a special buffet menu dedicated to families. During the month of May, the buffet features seafood, grilled meats, Korean dishes and other cuisines prepared at seven live stations. On Children’s Day, May 5, kids’ favorites including beef tacos, rose tteokbokki with chewy noodles, mini burgers and mozzarella hotdogs will be av

In hopes of promoting intangible cultural heritage to the public, the National Intangible Heritage Center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, is holding special workshops onsite every Saturday until November. The program is divided into three sections -- outdoor folklore games, traditional handicraft workshops, and intangible heritage in everyday life. Visitors can learn traditional games, including arrow-throwing “tuho,” traditional board game “yutnori,” “jegichagi

Gyeongbokgung, the Joseon royal palace, will host its spring season starlight tour from May 18 to 29. Organized by the Cultural Heritage Administration’s Royal Palaces and Tombs Center and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, the tour takes visitors through the northern area of Gyeongbokgung, where they can enjoy a dining experience, watch a traditional music performance and go for a stroll under the stars by the moonlit palace. Tours will be held twice a day starting at 6:40 p.m. an

 After 11 years of numerous obstacles and criticisms, the Lego blocks are finally stacked and Legoland Korea Resort is ready to open on Children’s Day. However, historical artifacts found near the site and the surrounding areas -- the source of opposition to the theme park in Chungcheon, Gangwon Province -- remain neglected inside plastic greenhouses. As Legoland Korea Resort’s Thursday grand opening nears, the amusement park is under fire once again for dragging its feet wit

Four national museums across Seoul will be holding exhibitions and events to mark Children’s Day on May 5 and the family month of May. This year marks the centennial of Children’s Day, established in 1922 by Bang Jeong-hwan, a children’s rights activist and a pioneering children’s literature writer. The National Museum of Korea will hold an activity-based exhibition titled “The Child in All of Us” from Tuesday, at the Special Exhibition Gallery of the Childr

The Lotus Lantern Parade, one of the highlights of Yeondeunghoe, illuminates Seoul’s Jongno district Saturday evening.  Starting at Heunginjimun, the parade proceeded to Jogyesa, a Buddhist temple in central Seoul. This year marked the first Yeondeunghoe after its UNESCO listing in December 2020.  More than 35,000 faithfuls participated in this year’s parade, according to the Yeondeunghoe Preservation Committee. By Kim Hae-yeon (hykim@heraldcorp.com)

In celebration of Buddha’s 2,566th birthday which falls on May 8 this year, major Buddhist temples and the Cheonggye Stream area in central Seoul have been lit up with thousands of lotus lanterns. Although the official Yeondeunghoe, the lantern lighting festival, will be held for three days starting Friday, the festive mood will continue on with most lanterns staying lit through May 10. In December 2020, Yeondeunghoe was officially inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific

Grand Hyatt Seoul launches new steak dishes The Steak House at Grand Hyatt Seoul brought a fresh change to its menu starting early April, offering a variety of steak options using its signature cooking methods. To go along with different steak options, the restaurant has created their own four different mustard sauces for the best pairings. Guests will be able to enjoy a customized dining experience with live cooking performances for the three options: aged Korean beef tartare, Avruga caviar

문화재청 궁능유적본부가 다음달 5일 어린이날 7개 궁능을 전면 무료개방으로 전환한다. 또한, 내국인과 외국인에 대하여 별도의 궁능유적 관람료 체계를 적용하고 있는 부분에 대해서도, “문화적 다양성을 존중해나가는 사회적 추세를 반영하지 못하고 있다”고 판단된다며 “관람료 규정체계를 정비할 예정”이라고 밝혔다. 　 이로써 어린이날 외국인 어린이에 대하여 차별을 두었다는 지적은 일단락이 되었지만, 평상시 내외국인 궁능 관람료 차등에 대한 규정은 문화재청이 해결해야 할 다음 과제로 남게 된다. 　 문화재청은 최근 공개한 5월 궁능 무료개방 범위에 관한 안내 글에서 어린이날 궁능 무료 입장 제한 사항에 ‘외국인 어린이 제외’라는 문구로 대중들로부터 거센 비난을 받았다. 　 덕수궁관리소 홈페이지에 게시된 위 안내문을 두고 소셜미디어와 온라인 커뮤니티 등에서 항의글이 빗발치자, 문화재청 궁능유적본부는 해당 안내문을 수요일 오전 삭제

In response to public outrage over the exclusion of foreign children from free admission to local historical sites on Children’s Day, the Cultural Heritage Administration on Thursday announced plans to revise the policy and will now allow all visitors, regardless of age or nationality, to enter at no cost. The original post, which was taken down Wednesday morning, said two accompanying guardians of children under the age of 12 would be admitted free of charge to seven designated palaces a

Children’s Day in Korea is a day that all kids look forward to, but it may not carry the same meaning for foreign children in Korea, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration’s understanding of Children’s Day. The CHA’s recent online announcement posted on the Deoksugung website that appeared to say that foreign children are excluded from free admission to palaces on Children’s Day sparked public outrage after it was brought to light in a social media post