Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Oldest known gunpowder weapon in Korea discovered near minefield

Deep inside a hazardous zone once marked for landmine detection on Mount Geumseong in Naju, around 280 kilometers south of Seoul, archaeologists have uncovered what is now confirmed to be the oldest surviving gunpowder weapon in Korea. The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage said Monday that a three-year study has authenticated the artifact, known as the "Hwangja Hwatong" or Yellow-Character Hand Cannon. Measuring just under 25 centimeters long and weighing roughly 1 kilogram, the bronze handheld firearm offers unprecedented insight into early East Asian military technology. "This is an extraordinary discovery with immense academic, historical and cultural value," Cho Mi-soon, director of the National Naju Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, said during a press briefing at the National Palace Museum of Korea. "It comes from a crucial transitional period between the late Goryeo and early Joseon dynasties, when physical artifacts of firearms are exceptionally rare." A detailed reading of a 28-character inscription etched onto the barrel revealed the weapon’s exact speci

17h agoBy Jhoo Dong-chan

Oldest known gunpowder weapon in Korea discovered near minefield

From royal seals to water droppers: Korea's museum cosplay contest finale thrills onlookers

A giant golden royal seal swayed down a red carpet to pounding music, along with two women — one dressed in a Western-style uniform from the Great Korean Empire period, the other in a green Joseon era official’s robe and sunglasses. “Where did the state seal go?” they called out as thousands of spectators cheered at the National Museum of Korea’s open plaza in Seoul on Saturday afternoon. The seal, handcrafted from a barbecue restaurant exhaust hood and a large box spray-painted gold, represented "Jegojibo," the royal seal used for imperial decrees. Looted and taken to Japan in 1911 during the colonial occupation, the seal returned home decades after Korea’s liberation. Their entrance set the tone for the final round of “Dress Like a Museum Exhibit,” the National Museum of Korea’s increasingly popular artifact cosplay contest. What began in 2024 as a small program has grown into a nationwide heritage fan event, drawing 275 teams and 643 participants this year — more than three times last year’s 83 entries. More than 2,000 people registered in advance to attend. The s

1d agoBy Lee Hae-rin

From royal seals to water droppers: Korea's museum cosplay contest finale thrills onlookers

Seoul brings 600 years of heritage, Han River noodle bars to Rome

Long before Korean culture swept global airwaves through pop music and cinema, residents of Seoul perfected "pungryu" — a philosophy of refined leisure, artistic expression and communion with nature. Now, that centuries-old ethos has arrived in Italy, bridging ancient Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) scholarship with the vibrant pulse of modern city life. The Seoul Museum of History, in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Center in Italy, officially opened its touring international exhibition, "The Charm of Seoul: Pungryu," in Rome Thursday. Following a widely acclaimed run in Warsaw, Poland, earlier this summer, the showcase invites European audiences to experience 600 years of Seoul's aesthetic heritage through rare artifacts, immersive media and interactive culinary pop-ups. Supported by Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism under its Touring K-Arts initiative, the exhibition uses the concept of pungryu to trace how Seoul’s citizens have cultivated joy across eras. The journey begins in the late Joseon Dynasty period, showcasing historic treasures such as "Sangchun Yaeyo

Sep 18, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan

Seoul brings 600 years of heritage, Han River noodle bars to Rome

Deoksu Palace to relive 1901 diplomacy of Korean Empire

Step through the grand gates of Deoksu Palace this autumn, and the year is no longer 2026, but 1901. Amid the looming shadows of regional empires, Emperor Gojong is entertaining foreign envoys, desperately leveraging diplomacy to safeguard his nation's sovereignty. Beginning Oct. 2, the Korea Heritage Service, alongside the Korea Heritage Agency, will host an immersive historical reenactment titled "Audience with Foreign Envoys of the Korean Empire" at Deoksu Palace in central Seoul. Running through Oct. 4, the event invites visitors to step directly into a pivotal chapter of modern Korean history. Timed to commemorate the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France, this year’s program, themed "The Korean Empire: Embarking on Diplomacy Toward the Future," reconstructs the tense geopolitical landscape of the spring of 1901. Rather than serving as passive spectators, participants will take on the role of press correspondents for the Korean Empire. Equipped with press notebooks and dedicated web applications, audience members will follow historical reenactments ac

Sep 16, 2026By Lee Kyung-min

Deoksu Palace to relive 1901 diplomacy of Korean Empire

Korean royal folding screen to join Paris exhibit on Joseon bookshelf paintings

The Korea Heritage Service's National Palace Museum of Korea will lend a folding screen from the royal court of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) to a special exhibition opening Wednesday at the Guimet Museum in Paris, the museum said. The screen, known in Korean as a "chaekgado byeongpung," will appear in "Trompe-l'oeil Knowledge, Korea (18th-20th Century)" exhibition, running through Jan. 4, 2027, at the Guimet Museum, a French national museum devoted to Asian art. The show is part of the Guimet's yearlong Une annee K-arrement Coree! program marking 2026 as its Year of Korea. Chaekgado, meaning bookshelf painting, is a genre that emerged in the late 18th century under King Jeongjo, blending Western-style perspective techniques with Joseon painting traditions to depict bookshelves stacked with volumes and scholarly objects. The genre reflected the Joseon royal court's reverence for learning. The National Palace Museum's screen will appear in the exhibition's first of four sections, which explores 18th-century Joseon's culture of knowledge and how Jeongjo, in 1791, installed a chaekgado s

Sep 15, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan

Korean royal folding screen to join Paris exhibit on Joseon bookshelf paintings

Artisan behind Korea's legendary baduk boards

His right index finger tells the entire story before he utters a single word. Unable to straighten naturally and stuck resting lifted upward, misshapen from more than six decades of pressing down on hand planes, it is the quiet, undeniable badge of a craftsman who has spent a lifetime shaping raw timber into pieces of living history. At 75, Shin Wan-sik bears the physical toll of 60 years dedicated to an ancient craft. He commands 70 percent of Korea's domestic baduk board market through his company, Six Brothers Baduk. Baduk is more commonly known internationally as "go." Virtually every landmark event in modern Korean baduk has unfolded over his creations. Recently a custom board made by Shin was presented by Korean President Lee Jae Myung to Chinese President Xi Jinping during an APEC summit in Gyeongju in 2025. His influence reaches far beyond diplomatic gifts: One of his boards was used in the historic match between Lee Se-dol and AlphaGo, as well as the personal boards favored by legendary masters Cho Hun-hyun and Lee Chang-ho — the real-life inspirations behind the film "The Ma

Sep 15, 2026By Park Jin-hai

Artisan behind Korea's legendary baduk boards

Unearthing modern history: Korea moves to preserve its recent past

In the traditional narrative of heritage preservation, cultural value is often measured in centuries, etched into ancient stone pagodas or preserved in ink and paper. But as Korea looks back on its meteoric transformation over the past half-century, heritage officials are rewriting those boundaries to capture the relics of a rapidly evolving modern identity. The National Heritage Administration announced Monday the nine winning selections from its third annual contest to uncover candidate preliminary cultural heritage artifacts — items less than 50 years old that nevertheless capture the country's modern narrative. Drawn from a competitive pool of 18,156 individual objects submitted by 20 public and private organizations across the country, the final roster highlights how sports, typography, literature, labor and grassroots activism shaped modern Korea. The top honor went to the Korea Baseball Organization for its handwritten founding master plan from 1981. Drafted just months before the official launch of the league in 1982, the strategy ushered in Korea's first professional sports l

Sep 14, 2026By Lee Kyung-min

Unearthing modern history: Korea moves to preserve its recent past

Korea Heritage Service to bring Seokguram Grotto exhibition to Paris

To celebrate 140 years of diplomatic ties between Korea and France, one of Asia’s most celebrated spiritual and architectural masterpieces is heading to Paris. Starting Oct. 1, the Korea Heritage Service (KHS) will unveil a landmark exhibition dedicated to the ancient Seokguram Grotto, bringing centuries of East Asian artistic brilliance to the heart of Europe. The exhibition, titled "The Millennium Mystery of Buddhist Art: Seokguram," will run through March 13 at the Korean Cultural Center in France. It is being organized with the center, the Gyeongju city government and other institutions. Seokguram is an eighth-century artificial stone grotto near Gyeongju that houses a large seated Buddha statue and is considered a masterpiece of Silla Dynasty Buddhist art. In 1995, it became one of the first Korean sites added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The exhibition will feature an immersive digital installation projecting a three-dimensional scan of the grotto's interior across the walls and floor of the center's auditorium, along with photographs, a tactile 3D model designed for visua

Sep 14, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan

Korea Heritage Service to bring Seokguram Grotto exhibition to Paris

Traditional court music meets ballet at Gyeongbok Palace

This autumn, the historic grounds of Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul will serve as the backdrop for a rare cultural fusion, bringing together royal Korean court music and Western classical ballet for a four-night spectacle featuring more than 90 performers. Titled "Ballet x Sujecheon," the open-air production will run from Oct. 2-5, starting at 7 p.m. each evening at Jipokjae, a two-story royal library constructed during the late 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty. Known for its distinct architectural blend of traditional Korean and Chinese influences, the pavilion provides a dramatic stage for an artistic experiment that bridges centuries of East Asian heritage with European performance arts. The ambitious program pairs Sujecheon — a legendary piece of court music dating back to the Baekje Kingdom that was historically performed to wish peace upon the royal family — with classical ballet. The three-act showcase is brought to life through a collaboration between the K-Arts Ballet of the Korea National University of Arts, the Sujecheon Project and the traditional performance troupe Yeonhui C

Sep 11, 2026By Lee Kyung-min

Traditional court music meets ballet at Gyeongbok Palace

Korea Heritage Service to hold 'Heritage Week' themed around Korean food culture

The Korea Heritage Service, together with the Korea Cultural Heritage Utilization Council, will run "2026 Korea Heritage Week" throughout October across 16 local governments in five regions nationwide. Now in its third year, Heritage Week is an annual program designed to let the public experience the value of heritage sites close to home through hands-on activities. This year continues last year's approach and centers Korean food culture. It links the history of heritage sites to regional cuisine through five special programs, along with 380 separate local heritage programs and a mobile stamp tour event running nationwide. In the Seoul-Gangwon region, a program at the Yanghwajin Ferry and Jamdubong Peak Historic Site — once a hub of Joseon-era commerce and shipping on the Han River — lets participants cook and taste dishes tied to the area's food history while listening to a heritage court music performance. In Gyeonggi and Incheon, a program at Incheon's former port district — home to Japanese colonial-era buildings including bank and shipping company buildings — has participant

Sep 9, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan

Korean Heritage