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Kwon Mee-yoo

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.

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Arts & Theater

Must-see shows in Seoul during winter holidays

When the winter holidays arrive, theaters come alive with classic favorites and new productions ready to whisk audiences away to realms of fantasy, heart and spectacle. Whether you crave timeless holiday magic, high-energy musicals or a truly unconventional night out, this season offers plenty of reasons to trade a cold night out for a seat in the theater. Holiday classics The beloved ballet “The Nutcracker” is staged in various productions, highlighting its enduring charm as a holiday ballet. The Korean National Ballet presents Yuri Grigorovich’s celebrated version at the Seoul Arts Center’s Opera Theater through Dec. 25, featuring top principal dancers such as Park Seul-ki and Cho Yeon-jae. In a unique tradition, the role of the Nutcracker is performed by a child dancer chosen annually from the company’s ballet academy, rather than a wooden puppet, adding a special charm to the production. The Universal Ballet Company’s “The Nutcracker” is based on Vasili Vainonen’s Mariinsky Ballet version, which closely follows the original 1892 St. Petersburg premiere. From the eth

Dec 14, 2025By Kwon Mee-yoo
Must-see shows in Seoul during winter holidays
Korean Heritage

PHOTOS CookieRun characters meet Korean heritage

What happens when CookieRun’s beloved characters are let loose in the heart of Korea’s royal past? “CookieRun: In Search of Korea’s Lost Heritage” transforms Dondeokjeon Hall at Deoksu Palace into a playground where animated cookies wander through the dramatic story of the Korean Empire. Blending playful game icons with real historical artifacts, this special exhibition, co-organized by the Korea Heritage Service and game studio Devsisters, invites visitors to explore history through a mix of curiosity, imagination and nostalgia. The show opens Dec. 9, aligning with National Heritage Day, and continues through March 1, 2026.

Dec 9, 2025By Kwon Mee-yoo
[PHOTOS] CookieRun characters meet Korean heritage
Films

'No Other Choice,' 'KPop Demon Hunters' earn Golden Globe nominations

Park Chan-wook’s latest film “No Other Choice” and Netflix animated hit “KPop Demon Hunters” landed major nominations at the 2026 Golden Globe Awards, underscoring the widening footprint of Korean storytelling and creators in the global film industry. Among the Korean and Korea-inspired contenders, announced Monday (local time), Park’s satirical black comedy thriller earned nods for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy and Best Non-English Language Motion Picture. The film revolves around Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun), a family man who is suddenly laid off and embarks on a desperate fight to find a new job. Park returns to the Golden Globes just three years after “Decision to Leave” was nominated for Best Non-English Language Film in 2023. With “No Other Choice” picking up three nominations, anticipation is growing for Park to finally take home trophies this year. The film’s international momentum began with its invitation to the main competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, becoming the first Korean film in 13 years to do so and drawing global at

Dec 9, 2025By Kwon Mee-yoo
'No Other Choice,' 'KPop Demon Hunters' earn Golden Globe nominations
People & Events

Korea Image Awards name The Black Label, 'gat,' Buldak as 2026 winners

The Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) announced the winners of its 2026 Korea Image Awards, recognizing a K-pop music label, a traditional cultural symbol and a global food brand for broadening Korea’s appeal overseas. The Korea Image Stepping Stone Award will go to The Black Label, represented by CEO Jung Kyung-in and executive producer Teddy, for taking part in producing the soundtrack for the hit animated film “KPop Demon Hunters.” The institute said the label’s “innovative sound and global sensibility” helped deliver the emotional appeal of K-content to international audiences and contributed to the soundtrack’s milestone achievements, including ranking No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard and U.K. Official charts for multiple weeks. The Korea Image Firestone Award, presented to a person or symbol that sparked global interest in Korea, is awarded to the “gat,” a traditional Korean horsehair hat widely associated with the upright spirit and refined dignity of the Joseon era. According to CICI, gat has been reinterpreted across K-pop, film, drama and fashion, with re

Dec 8, 2025By Kwon Mee-yoo
Korea Image Awards name The Black Label, 'gat,' Buldak as 2026 winners
Arts & Theater

Korean Art Odyssey Connecting the dots: Towards more integrated approaches for Korean art abroad

CHICAGO/JEJU — As global interest in Korean culture reaches new heights, museums across the world are approaching Korean institutions with unprecedented frequency, seeking joint exhibitions, research partnerships and even permanent Korean galleries. But this rush of attention has also exposed structural limits of the existing system for cultural exchanges and support for Korea-related programs. Overseas, staffing shortages, conservation gaps and short-term project cycles continue to restrict what institutions can achieve, even as demand accelerates. These challenges have formed the backdrop to Korea's reorganized support system for Korean-themed collections and galleries abroad — a structure that aims not only to streamline responsibilities, but also to answer a larger question of how to turn short-term momentum into lasting infrastructure. Korean cultural heritage began appearing in overseas exhibitions as early as the 1960s, when most exchanges were limited to museum-to-museum loans. Over the decades, the Korea Foundation, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, helped expand these

Nov 29, 2025By Kwon Mee-yoo and Pyo Kyung-min
[Korean Art Odyssey] Connecting the dots: Towards more integrated approaches for Korean art abroad
Opinion

As Korean literature goes global, who chooses what books get read?

One year after Han Kang became Korea’s first Nobel laureate in literature, Korean fiction is finally taking its place alongside K-pop, K-drama and K-film in the landscape of K-culture. Once viewed as a niche, lofty pursuit, Korean literature is now claiming its own "K-" prefix at home and abroad. The numbers are striking. Overseas sales of translated Korean literature reached about 1.2 million copies in 2024, more than double the 520,000 of the previous year. Domestic novel sales climbed nearly 29 percent year-on-year. Book events are booming, with the Seoul International Book Fair setting a record at 150,000 visitors and smaller fairs like Publishers Table and Unlimited Edition drawing long lines of bibliophiles. Clearly, Han Kang’s Nobel win brought a new wave of readers, revitalizing fiction as a cultural medium that younger audiences are willing to embrace. Yet as interest in Korean fiction surges, the next question is not whether it will be read, but which stories and voices will shape this moment and who will help them cross linguistic and cultural divides. Industry insiders w

Nov 26, 2025By Kwon Mee-yoo
Arts & Theater

Korean Art Odyssey Korea's dual mission for overseas heritage: reclaim what it can, revitalize what it can't

DENVER, Colo./DRESDEN, Germany — For decades, many museums in Europe and the United States devoted themselves to filling their halls with the world’s most prized antiquities. These fervent acquisition campaigns meant a tide of works were brought in from nations that had been exploited by colonization and war. Today, those same institutions find themselves at a moment of reckoning. Questions of ethical stewardship and problematic provenance now press upon them, prompting growing international calls to return objects that were forcibly removed from their place of origin. Korea, too, bears its own scars of loss. Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule and the 1950-53 Korean War forced many cultural treasures to leave their homeland. What seems to distinguish Korea’s response, however, is its unusually centralized approach. The task of tracking, research and strategic planning for overseas artifacts is not scattered across separate entities but is instead entrusted to a single organization: the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation (OKCHF). Established in 2012, the year following the hi

Nov 24, 2025By Park Han-sol and Kwon Mee-yoo
[Korean Art Odyssey] Korea's dual mission for overseas heritage: reclaim what it can, revitalize what it can't
Arts & Theater

Korean Art Odyssey 'Hallyu!' exhibit redefines global presentation of Korean culture

ZURICH — In Switzerland, where many first encountered Korean pop culture through the K-drama “Crash Landing on You” — featuring iconic scenes filmed at Iseltwald, Jungfraujoch and the Munster Bridge — a different kind of Korean phenomenon took hold this year. Museum Rietberg in Zurich drew an unusually varied audience for “Hallyu! The Korean Wave,” a traveling exhibition that ran from April to August and offered a glimpse into how global perceptions of Korea are shifting. On a typical August afternoon, the museum buzzed with an eclectic mix of visitors from elderly subscribers wandered through the show with catalogues in hand to a costume enthusiast lingered over the intricate folds of hanbok (traditional Korean attire). Teenagers decked out in K-pop merch took selfies in front of multicolored light sticks and idol costumes and their parents followed an on-screen dance tutorial for PSY’s “That That,” while nearby visitors paused to read about Korea’s rapid modernization. “We saw this exhibition on Instagram,” said Stray Kids fans Lena, 17, and Winona, 16, from

Nov 14, 2025By Kwon Mee-yoo
[Korean Art Odyssey] 'Hallyu!' exhibit redefines global presentation of Korean culture
Music

Musical gala celebrates Korea Times' 75-year legacy, power of music

To mark its 75th anniversary, The Korea Times brings the magic of musical theater to the concert stage with a gala “The Musical,” helmed by music director and conductor Kolleen Park. Featuring Kang Hye-jung, Michael K. Lee and Choi Jae-rim, the concert pays tribute to the legacy of Korea's oldest English daily and the universal language of music. Born to a Korean father and Lithuanian American mother, Park made her debut as music director for the Korean original musical "The Last Empress" in the 1990s and has since led major productions including "Aida" and "She Stars!" over the past three decades. Her experience extends to large-scale events and concerts, such as serving as director for the opening ceremony of the 2014 Asian Para Games and, more recently, directing the opening and closing ceremonies of the 106th National Sports Festival in Busan in October. A constant challenger in her own right, Park is also active on stage as an actor, best known for her portrayal of Diana in the musical "Next to Normal." This summer, she broke new ground by taking on the traditionally male role

Nov 6, 2025By Kwon Mee-yoo
Musical gala celebrates Korea Times' 75-year legacy, power of music
Books

PHOTO K-Book Festival in London

Korean writer Cheon Seon-ran, center, speaks during a book talk hosted by the Korean Cultural Centre UK (KCCUK) at Foyles on Charing Cross Road in London, Saturday (local time). Known for her sci-fi novels "A Thousand Blues" and "The Midnight Shift," Cheon discussed the inspiration behind her works, explaining how she "revisited what it means to be human through the concept of a robot with emotions." The event was part of K-Book Festival, held at the downtown London bookstore to celebrate Korean storytelling ranging from award-winning fiction to webtoons. Courtesy of KCCUK

Nov 3, 2025By Kwon Mee-yoo
[PHOTO] K-Book Festival in London
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