Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Modern minhwa artist paints luck, everyday hope in Korean folk art

When Kim Kyung-hee first picked up a traditional Korean paint brush, she wasn’t chasing a lifelong dream. A former stay-at-home mom with a master’s degree in ceramic arts, she was recovering from illness and searching for something to anchor her again. What she found, unexpectedly, was minhwa — a once-dismissed form of Korean folk painting rooted in people's everyday hopes, featuring symbols of good fortune. “During that period of rest, I asked myself what I truly wanted to do,” she recalled in an interview with The Korea Times at her home studio. “That’s when I enrolled in a folk painting class.” That decision reshaped her life. Today, Kim is a full-time minhwa artist whose colorful paintings echo centuries of tradition while connecting with a new generation of viewers. Minhwa flourished during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), created primarily by anonymous, non-elite artists. Unlike court or literati painting, it was closely tied to people's everyday lives, beliefs and rituals, and used by ordinary people to decorate their homes. Common subjects include animals, flowers,

Jan 14, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Modern minhwa artist paints luck, everyday hope in Korean folk art

Horses from history gallop back to life at Shinsegae The Heritage

Witness horses from history thunder back to life at Shinsegae The Heritage, a century-old bank reborn as a cultural venue in central Seoul. “The Horse: Galloping into Eternity,” an exhibition presented by the Korea Heritage Service and retail giant Shinsegae Group, casts light on Korea’s national heritage through the enduring figure of equines as the country looks ahead to the 2026 Year of the Horse. Running from Friday through Jan. 25 inside the former headquarters of Korea First Bank — now an annex of Shinsegae Department Store’s main branch — the five-part show moves from excavated replicas and traditional crafts to modern sculpture and digital photography. It traces the animal’s many roles since prehistoric times, as a means of transport, a companion on the front lines and an emblem of authority. Among the highlights are horse-shaped “tou” (clay figurines) and pottery engraved with cavalry processions from the Silla Kingdom (57 BC–935 AD), alongside horse armor and battlefield regalia from the Gaya Confederacy (42 BC–562 AD). The refined aesthetics of equestria

Jan 8, 2026By Park Han-sol

Horses from history gallop back to life at Shinsegae The Heritage

Royal palaces, tombs draw record visitors in 2025

A record 17.8 million people visited royal palaces, tombs and Jongmyo Shrine last year, officials said Monday, as public interest in traditional Korean culture continued to rise. The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of the Korea Heritage Service said a total of 17,805,664 people visited these major heritage sites in 2025, up 12.8 percent from 15.78 million the previous year. The number marks the highest annual tally on record and the first time combined visitors to the four main palaces — Gyeongbok, Changdeok, Changgyeong and Deoksu — as well as Jongmyo Shrine and the royal tombs have surpassed 17 million. Jongmyo is where the ancestral tablets of the royal family of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) are enshrined. Visitor numbers had plunged to just 6.7 million in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic but have since rebounded, staying above 10 million for four consecutive years. Annual figures reached 14.37 million in 2023, 15.78 million in 2024 and 17.81 million in 2025, each setting a new record, the agency said. Gyeongbok Palace, the largest of Seoul's royal complexes, drew the biggest crowd

Jan 5, 2026By Yonhap

Royal palaces, tombs draw record visitors in 2025

Korean traditional goods sales hit record high amid 'KPop Demon Hunters' boom

Sales of traditional Korean cultural products hit an all-time high last year, boosted by the global popularity of the Netflix animated film "KPop Demon Hunters," government data showed Friday. The Korea Heritage Agency said combined sales of its "K-Heritage" souvenir brand across its online and offline stores reached an estimated 16.1 billion won ($11.13 million) in 2025, the highest since the agency was founded in 1980. The figure marks a 35.5 percent jump from the previous year's 11.9 billion won, with sales surpassing the 10 billion-won mark for the third consecutive year. The agency develops traditional cultural goods featuring heritage-inspired designs and sells them at major tourist spots, such as Gyeongbok Palace, Deoksu Palace, the National Palace Museum of Korea and Incheon International Airport. Officials attributed the surge partly to the worldwide boom of Korean culture sparked by "KPop Demon Hunters." Popular items included a tiger porcelain doll modeled after the film's character Duffy and cups shaped after the traditional Korean hat of "gat" worn by the Saja Boys, the in-f

Jan 2, 2026By Yonhap

Korean traditional goods sales hit record high amid 'KPop Demon Hunters' boom

National Museum of Korea's gift shop posts record $29.9 mil. in sales amid K-culture boom

The National Museum of Korea's official merchandise brand MU:DS has surpassed 40 billion won ($29.9 million) in annual sales for the first time, driven by surging global interest in Korean traditional culture, officials said Tuesday. The National Museum Foundation of Korea said provisional data showed that cumulative sales of MU:DS products exceeded 40 billion won this month, breaking the previous record just two months after crossing the 30 billion-won mark in October. It marks the highest sales figure since the foundation was established in 2004. Launched as a line of goods inspired by national museum artifacts, MU:DS combines the words "museum" and "goods" in its name. Its hit products include jewelry modeled after Silla-era gold crowns, lamps shaped like the Seokguram Grotto, and a miniature of the Pensive Bodhisattva, which is famous among BTS fans for being owned by member RM. Sales jumped sharply in mid-2025, fueled by the global wave of Korean culture. Monthly revenues, which had averaged around 2 billion won in the second quarter, more than doubled to about 4.95 billion won in

Dec 30, 2025By Yonhap

National Museum of Korea's gift shop posts record $29.9 mil. in sales amid K-culture boom

Baekje Kingdom's iconic incense burner gets its own museum hall

BUYEO, South Chungcheong Province — In 1993, at an old temple site in Buyeo, archaeologists uncovered an unexpected marvel during the construction of a parking lot: a gilt-bronze incense burner from the Baekje Kingdom (18 BC–660 AD), buried beneath more than a thousand years of accumulated soil. Preserved in astonishingly pristine condition, the sixth-century relic startled excavators not only with its size — standing 62.3 centimeters tall — but also with the precision of its craftsmanship, enough for the state to designate it a National Treasure just three years later. Three decades after its chance discovery, the iconic burner now glows in its own sanctuary at the Buyeo National Museum, where a three-story hall was built solely to house this masterpiece. Fashioned through sophisticated lost-wax casting and mercury amalgam gilding, the incense burner contains an entire microcosm shaped by Taoist and Buddhist ideals. Across its surface rise jagged mountain ridges and winding waterfalls; lotus blossoms emerge amid the terrain, while Chinese phoenixes, dragons, tigers and crocodil

Dec 22, 2025By Park Han-sol

Baekje Kingdom's iconic incense burner gets its own museum hall

Seoul city, heritage agency hold first preliminary talks over high-rise project near Jongmyo

Korea's heritage authorities and the Seoul metropolitan government have held their first round of preliminary talks to address a growing dispute over a controversial high-rise redevelopment project planned near Jongmyo Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Director-general-level officials from the Korea Heritage Service (KHS), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the city government met last Friday to discuss "practical matters" in preparation for coordination talks between central and local authorities, KHS Administrator Huh Min told reporters Wednesday. He added that no agreement has yet been reached on whether a heritage impact assessment should be carried out for the city-led project. Huh said another round of preliminary talks will be held before a full coordination session is convened, which could involve Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. Friday's talks come after public controversy erupted last month over Seoul's plan to redevelop Sewoon District 4, located directly across from Jongmyo, the Confucian royal shrine that houses the memorial table

Dec 10, 2025By Yonhap

Seoul city, heritage agency hold first preliminary talks over high-rise project near Jongmyo

Korea to highlight K-heritage at 2026 UNESCO committee session

The Korea Heritage Service (KHS) pledged to use next year’s UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) session in Busan to spotlight the richness of Korea’s cultural and natural heritage. The 48th WHC session is scheduled from July 19-29, marking the first time Korea will host the meeting since joining the committee in 1988. The WHC convenes annually to review the state of existing World Heritage sites and decide on new inscriptions. Former Korean ambassador to UNESCO Lee Byong-hyun will chair next year’s gathering. “The 48th session will be an important opportunity to showcase Korean heritage to international visitors,” KHS Administrator Huh Min said during a press conference at Government Complex Seoul on Wednesday. “We plan to present a wide range of K-heritage elements for participants to experience.” Around 3,000 visitors are expected to travel to Korea for the 11-day event. According to Huh, KHS is preparing a media art exhibition highlighting Korea’s 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites, along with reenactments of the royal palace changing-of-the-guard ceremony, intangible cu

Dec 10, 2025By Kim Se-jeong

Korea to highlight K-heritage at 2026 UNESCO committee session

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

Gwanghwamun Square to light up this winter with large-scale media art

A year-end light festival will return to Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul this week, lighting up the square at night with media installations through early January, officials said Tuesday. Seoul Light Gwanghwamun 2025 will run from Friday through Jan. 4 at the square, featuring artwork from various media artists, including Doug Aitken, winner of the International Prize at the 1999 Venice Biennale, the Seoul city government said. This year's festival will display various media installations across the square, including a 26-meter light projection of re-imagined Korean traditional buildings. A digital stage consisting of an LED wall and floor will also be installed just north of the statue of King Sejong at the square to feature works from 11 artists, with the best work to be chosen by visitors. On Dec. 31, the media show will hold a New Year's Eve countdown event, featuring synchronized media art on digital billboards of multiple buildings around the square. As part of crowd safety measures, the city plans to station safety management personnel around the square and cooperate with fire

Dec 9, 2025By Yonhap

Korean Heritage