Most Popular
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
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'Super Rich in Korea' will leave viewers appreciating Korea more: producers
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Probe of first lady on Dior bag allegations set to begin
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Top prosecutor pledges 'speedy, strict' probe into first lady's luxury bag allegations
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Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
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'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
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Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
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Beopseongpo Danoje designated as important intangible cultural asset
The Cultural Heritage Administration said Tuesday it has designated the Danoje Festival held in Beopseongpo in South Jeolla Province as Important Intangible Cultural Asset No. 123.The Beopseongpo Danoje is one of the major Dano festivals held in Korea along with Gangneung Danoje, a UNESCO-designated world cultural heritage. Programs include ritual offerings to the Dragon King for the sake of safety of fishermen, folk games, a Korean music competition, and a lantern parade to pray for the well-be
July 24, 2012
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English websites for promoting Korean culture, not accessible
English websites to promote Korean culture targeting international Internet users are not accessible from popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo!, a local news report said.The Korean Cultural Heritage Administration produced an English website for foreigners that provide information about Korea’s historical and cultural heritages such as Seokguram and Gyeongbokgung.However, the information does not appear on Google or Yahoo!. Even the National Institute of the Korean Language’s Korean l
July 24, 2012
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Self-esteem irresistible to opposite sex
A sense of humor and self-confidence are the most irresistible traits in a potential love interest, not physical traits, a U.S. survey indicates.A survey by Tango.com, a Web-based source for love and relationships, indicated 89 percent of respondents agreed that when one or both partners in a couple has poor self-confidence, relationship problems ensue."Conventional wisdom holds that attraction t
July 24, 2012
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S. Korea to open 14 more Korean language institutes
South Korea will open 14 more government-funded institutes offering Korean language courses in the second half of this year, the culture ministry said Monday in a bid to make them overseas bases for increasing the world’s awareness of Korean culture.The rising popularity of Korean pop music known as K-pop, and TV dramas in other Asian countries, the Americas and Europe has attracted international interest in Korean culture, according to government officials. They say such an interest has led to
July 23, 2012
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Celebs descending on London for Olympic bashes
LONDON (AP) ― The athletes and the Olympic torch have arrived in London ― and so has the party.For those keener on celebrity-spotting or dancing the night away than medal counting, the British host city has plenty of action to offer during games time. Away from the track and field, Hollywood royalty such as Brangelina and Nicole Kidman will be rubbing shoulders with diplomats and businessmen at the city’s glitziest clubs and grandest historic buildings. Meanwhile, Dizzy Rascal, Snow Patrol and o
July 22, 2012
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Waiting on life’s breath
Hannah, 2, awaiting groundbreaking procedure for windpipeThe sight of Lee Young-mi leading her nearly 2-year-old daughter Hannah along a hallway in Seoul National University Hospital might not sound too unusual. But when The Korea Herald visited her about one year ago, she could do nothing but lie on her back. Hannah can now walk if she holds on to her parents’ hands, though she can’t go far. Hannah was born without a windpipe. Because she needs to have her artificial airway cleared every fiftee
July 20, 2012
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‘Focus on human nature, not unique cultural aspects’
World-renowned story-teller Robert McKee says appealing to human nature matters mostHow to best produce hit dramas and movies based on traditional Korean culture is an important question for the government as it tries to promote the country’s heritage abroad.Robert McKee, a world-renowned teacher of story-writing and story-telling, said a strategy that focuses on cultural uniqueness is likely to fail because it has nothing in common with people in other countries. Stories that appeal to human na
July 18, 2012
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Auction for Haiti relief raises 170 million won
Art auction-company Seoul Auction raised some 170 million won during its third charity event “Haiti Children Support Fundraising Auction.” Titled “We Believe Haiti,” the auction was held on July 7 at Seoul Auction, Gangnam, with actor Lee Kwang-ki serving as the emcee. Items donated by renowned celebrities, writers, artists, and art collectors were put on the block for Haiti emergency aid funds operated by World Vision. All 50 works of art ― donated by artists and art collectors such as Bae Bien
July 18, 2012
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Corporate donations to arts drops in 2011
Korea’s mecenat council urges National Assembly to pass bill that offers tax deduction to companies supporting the artsThe total amount Korean companies gave to the arts and spent on their culture-related activities last year decreased 6.2 percent from the previous year, as businesses have begun to feel the pressure from Europe’s fiscal crisis, the country’s mecenat council said on Tuesday.According to a survey conducted by the Korean Business Council for the Arts, a total of 624 local companies
July 17, 2012
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12,000 cultural events across Britain to celebrate the Olympics
LONDON ― Every street, alley and grassy knoll here will be alive with a cacophony of ringing bells ― church bells, bike bells, doorbells and a ringing-bell app downloaded to smartphones. Or at least that’s the plan behind “All the Bells: Work No. 1197,” a massive interactive performance art project created by artist Martin Creed to mark the start of the London Olympic Games on July 27.“All the Bells” is one of 12,000 cultural events unfurled across Britain to celebrate the Games. The Cultural Ol
July 16, 2012
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Ancient pre-Inca tomb found in northern Peru
LIMA (AFP) ― Archeologists said Friday they have discovered a tomb about 1,200 years old, from the pre-Inca Sican era, in northern Peru.Human remains and jewelry were found July 4 along with the tomb, likely that of a member of the aristocracy of the Sican or Lambayeque elite, head researcher Carlos Wester La Torre told AFP.A gold earflap, a silver-plated crown, and some 120 silver and copper ornaments that served as emblems of power, along with 116 pieces of pottery and seashells were found in
July 15, 2012
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Ditching digital
Gadget-fatigued people turn back to vinyl records, film cameras, fountain pensKoreans are often thought of as some of the world’s most tech-savvy people, quick to catch on to the newest digital gadgets.Using their mobile phones or tablets, they listen to music, manage schedules, take pictures and type emails.However, an underground shopping arcade in Hoehyeon-dong, central Seoul seems to resist the tide of digital culture. Vinyl record stores line the passageways, and everything feels slow. If y
July 13, 2012
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Museums, art centers offer fun, education for kids
With school break just around the corner, museums and art centers have lined up a variety of cultural events. The programs will suit the needs of children and teenagers looking for fun and entertaining events as well as parents seeking to find more educational opportunities. Although the vacation has been made shorter by the five-day school week this year, children and parents can still make the best of it in an enriching cultural atmosphere. Here are some fun yet educational summer programs tha
July 13, 2012
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Culture minister to deliver lecture for overseas Korean language experts
South Korean Culture Minister Choe Kwang-shik will give a lecture on Friday for foreign experts of the Korean language and Korean studies at the ministry.The minister will speak on the theme of “The Vision of a Cultural Power in the Smart Age: Creative Integration of Tradition and Modernity” for 44 foreign experts from 22 countries.The foreigners are participating in a two-week program organized by the National Institute of the Korean Language. The program covers teaching methods for Korean lang
July 12, 2012
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Designer Vera Wang and husband separate
Vera Wang arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, in West Hollywood, Calif. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)Vera Wang’s publicist says the New York fashion designer has separated from Arthur Becker, her husband of 23 years.“They remain devoted parents to their two daughters,” Wang’s company president, Mario Grauso, said in a statement to Women’s Wear Daily.No reason was given for
July 12, 2012
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Korea’s first adoption center opens for rescued animals
The country’s first adoption center for rescued animals opened Saturday on Toegye-ro, Seoul, ironically, on a street lined with pet shops and puppy mills. Director of Coexistence of Animal Right on Earth (CARE) Park So-yeon explained that she specifically chose Toegye-ro as the location for CARE’s Adoption Center because the area is famous for puppy mills. “Hundreds of animals are locked up in small cages for reproducing pets. When the breeding dogs become useless, they are handed over to dog me
July 11, 2012
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Why Mali’s Islamists are destroying Timbuktu Muslim shrines
PARIS (AFP) ― The mausolea of Timbuktu, known as the “city of 333 saints,” are shrines in the Sufi brand of Islam dominant in Mali but a heresy to the fighters who follow the radical Wahhabi tradition, experts say.Fighters from the Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith) group which controls large swathes of northern Mali on Tuesday started hacking away at two tombs that are part of the ancient Djingareyber mud mosque, the city’s largest.Equipped with pickaxes and shovels, the fundamentalist group start
July 11, 2012
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Language-exchange cafes and groups promote cross-cultural understanding
Ross Kang didn’t see a future as an industrial parts buyer at LG. What he really enjoyed doing was learning English with native speakers, but couldn’t find comfortable places to conduct the meetings. So Kang left his stable job to create a business based on that experience. The first Culture Complex language and culture exchange cafe opened in 2005 and the CEO hasn’t looked back.“Foreigners, especially ones who just got to Korea, know little about Korea and they need help,” says the 35-year-old.
July 10, 2012
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Caravaggio claims spark Italian art world spat
ROME (AP) ― Caravaggio was notorious for his brawling, so it might be fitting that a claim by two Italian art historians that they discovered as many as 100 drawings by the painter in his boyhood has sparked an art world uproar.The researchers say they found dozens of early drawings by Caravaggio in the collection of master Milanese artist Simone Peterzano, the painter’s teacher from 1584 to 1588. Many experts have responded with skepticism to the startling claim: Over the centuries, art histori
July 9, 2012
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Culture Ministry unveils drive for ‘productive’ leisure
The Culture Ministry will begin a nation-wide campaign to promote recreation in the second half of the year with the aim of improving citizens’ quality of life.“Most Koreans still spend their spare time passively by watching TV and playing computer games at home. To create a productive and creative leisure culture here, the ministry will encourage people to spend more time outdoors, engage in various sports and attend cultural programs,” Culture Minister Choe Kwang-shik told reporters in Seoul o
July 9, 2012