Lifestyle

DAILY FORTUNE - SEPTEMBER 26, 2022

Performing arts festival to open in Daehangno Saturday

Actor O Yeong-su, left, and dancer Monika, who are honorary ambassadors to promote the nation's performing arts, pose during a press conference for the Welcome Daehakro Festival at the SKON theater in central Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapBy Kim RahnA feast of theatrical performances will take place starting Saturday through Oct. 30 in Daehangno, the central Seoul district that is the mecca of plays and theater performances, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The sixth edition of the Welcome Daehakro (Daehangno) Festival, organized jointly by the ministry, the Korea Tourism Organization and the Korea Performing Arts and Tourism Association, will showcase some 150 plays, musicals, nonverbal and traditional performances as well as special events in the neighborhood, as part of efforts to promote the nation's performing arts.The opening ceremony, titled “Welcome Roadshow,” will start at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The 500-meter main street of the Daehangno area will be car-free to transform into large outdoor stages for 32 performing teams, which will include Lee K-

World ginseng expo to kick off on Sept. 30 in Yeongju City

Yeongju City Mayor Park Nam-seo, right, in front row, makes ginseng liquor to wish 2022 World Punggi Ginseng Expo success in Daegu Samsung Lions Park, July. Courtesy of Yeongju City Steeped in 500 years of ginseng-producing history, Yeongju prepares for futureBy Lee Yeon-wooThe southeastern city of Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, is home to premium ginseng. Every year, the city hosts a ginseng festival to encourage tourists to visit and experience the medicinal root. This year, the city authorities were determined to go beyond the local festival.To promote Korean ginseng's value and boost its global competitiveness, Yeongju City will host the 2022 World Punggi Ginseng Expo from Sept. 30 to Oct. 23, under the theme, Ginseng, Embrace the World and Open the Future. The expo aims to help both locals and foreigners explore not only premium quality ginseng, but also ginseng derivatives, such as skin care products that use ginseng extract as an ingredient and ginseng f

Over half of participating artists to present new works at 2023 Gwangju Biennale

Betty Muffler's “Healing Country” (2018) / Courtesy of Fondation Opale, SwitzerlandThemed 'Soft and Weak Like Water,' Biennale invites some 80 multigenerational creatorsBy Park Han-solAn official poster for the 14th edition of Gwangju Biennale, themed “Soft and Weak Like Water” / Courtesy of Gwangju Biennale FoundationThe 59th edition of the Venice Biennale's International Art Exhibition, helmed by Cecilia Alemani, made global headlines earlier this year for filling approximately 90 percent of its roster with women and gender non-conforming artists ― for the first time in the event's 127-year history. Lee Sook-kyung, the artistic director for the 2023 Gwangju Biennale, witnessed the long overdue women-dominated art event herself and came to a conclusion: There's still plenty of room for her to contribute to the scene.“The Venice exhibition, while notable for its inclusive roster, was still focused largely on female creators from Europe and North America. There is still a great deal of other lesser-known artists whose oeuvre deserves our recognition just

From Monet to Picasso: MMCA Gwacheon transforms into 19th-century Paris

Pierre-Auguste Renoir's “Andree in Yellow Turban and Red Skirt (Reading)” (1917-1918), back, and a series of Pablo Picasso's ceramic works, including “Jacqueline at the Easel” (1956) and “Aztec Vase with Four Faces” (1957), are on view as part of the “MMCA Lee Kun-hee Collection: Monet, Picasso, and the Masters of the Belle Epoque” exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea's Gwacheon branch in Gyeonggi Province. The show invites the works of eight European masters into the gallery. Yonhap National museum takes dive into art world of eight era-defining European mastersBy Park Han-solSetting foot in the gray-walled circular gallery nestled in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, is like traveling back in time to 19th-century Paris in the Belle Epoque. Surrounded by the flickering, golden-hued glow reminiscent of the gas lamps that once dotted the Parisian streets, visitors to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) only n

DAILY FORTUNE - SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

Seaside train tour offers epic coastal views, heritage sites in Gangneung

Passengers look out the window at the sea from a train running along the coast in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Sept. 16. NewsisGwandong Pungryu Era Route is one of 10 Korean Heritage RoutesBy Kwak Yeon-sooGANGNEUNG ― Gangneung is a city with rich cultural heritage and incredible ocean views. The eastern coastal area stretching from Gangneung to PyeongChang, Sokcho and Yangyang is nicknamed “the jewel of Korea's real landscape painting” for its stunning scenery and coastal views. Since ancient times, scholars and travelers headed east to Gangwon Province to enjoy the beauty of the Baekdudaegan Mountain Range stretching across the Korean Peninsula and visit the East Sea. Many of them composed poems and wrote travelogues, praising the natural landscape, history and culture of the Gwandong region (now eastern Gangwon Province). The region was described in the Gwandongbyeolgok, a travel journal written by Jeong Cheol during the Joseon Kingdom period (1392-1910).Among the explorers was a 14-year-old girl named Kim Keum-won (1817-?), who disguised herself as a man and traveled t

DAILY FORTUNE - SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Korean choreographer's work called 'Chinese dance' by Hong Kong troupe as 'kimchi wars' extend to the stage

A scene from “Myth of the Dancing Durumi,” performed by Hong Kong Dance Company Courtesy of Hong Kong Dance CompanyBy Park Ji-wonHONG KONG ― The Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDC) has discovered to its cost that the “kimchi wars” can extend to dance, as it defends its latest program against South Korean claims of Chinese cultural imperialism.On Wednesday, one of the choreographers behind the company's “Myth of the Dancing Durumi” program, which runs until Sept. 18, demanded that the troupe remove the Chinese term “chaoxian” from the description of her work “The Moon,” a new commission rooted in Korean traditional dance, Korean shamanism and folklore.Korean choreographer Han Hyo-lim, based in Seoul, told the Post she was surprised that the program notes claimed her work embodies “Chaoxian sentiments,” which to her is a specific reference to ethnic Korean culture in China and not a description that applies to her work.Descriptions of the troupe's outreach programs also use chaoxian dance and #ChineseDance to introduce

Korea mulls over PCR test-free arrivals, lifting remaining outdoor mask mandate

Travelers are seen outside a COVID-19 testing center at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, in this file photo from Aug. 24. Korea Times photo by Hong In-keeBy Lee Hae-rinThe government has embarked on reviewing the remaining social distancing measures, most notably rules on outdoor mask use and PCR testing within 24 hours on arrival, as the number of COVID-19 infections has now stabilized, according to the health authorities on Tuesday. Lim Sook-young, a senior official at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), said that the recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections has passed its peak ― which reached 180,803 infections per day in the third week of August ― and the health authorities are preparing to ease travel regulations accordingly.Lim explained that testing requirements for international arrivals vary by country and the government will “study how other countries are doing and gather expert opinions to introduce new quarantine measures.”The outdoor mask rule and PCR testing within one day of arrival are the two measures that are subject to c