Lifestyle

Seoul City to resume outdoor festivals following removal of distancing rules

People read books at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall in Seoul at an outdoor mobile library event organized by the city government, April 23. YonhapSeoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday it will resume large in-person outdoor festivals across the capital following the recent removal of major COVID-19 related social distancing rules.According to officials, the 2022 Seoul Jazz Festa will open on Nodeul Island in central Seoul later Tuesday for a six-day run until Sunday. The music festival was organized to celebrate the UNESCO-designated International Jazz Day, Saturday, and will also have on-site food trucks.An arts festival featuring around 30 sculpting artworks will also be held on the island from Tuesday until June 24.The city will also host various street arts festivals at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul Forest and other popular tourism sites on weekends and holidays until May 22.The "open library" event at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall will also continue Fridays and Saturdays until late October. The event attracted some 2,000 participants during its inaugural gatherin

Korea seeks to build new Busan airport as country's first 'floating airport'

An aerial view of the planned floating airport on Gadeok Island, the biggest island off Busan / Yonhap Korea plans to build the country's first floating airport in the southern port city of Busan by 2035, the land ministry said Tuesday.Last year, the National Assembly approved a bill on a mega state project worth 13.7 trillion won ($10.97 billion) to build the new airport on Gadeok Island, the biggest island off the coast of Busan, to handle growing air traffic demand and facilitate prosperity in the country's southeast region.According to the detailed plan announced by the ministry Tuesday, the new facility will be an offshore airport, which is to be built on a floating structure at sea.The government is pushing to skip a preliminary feasibility study to expedite the construction procedures, and a review committee under the finance ministry will make a final decision on the exemption later this week.The land ministry plans to begin drawing a detailed construction p

Venice Biennale's International Art Exhibition becomes celebration of female creative talent

Artist Lee Mire poses in front of her installation, “Endless House: Holes and Drips” (2022), on display at the Arsenale in Venice as part of the Venice Biennale's International Art Exhibition. Courtesy of Tina Kim GalleryFemale artists offer fresh perspectives on body, metamorphosis By Park Han-solVENICE, Italy ― Artist Lee Mire's new kinetic sculpture, “Endless House: Holes and Drips,” located in the middle of the International Art Exhibition at Venice's former shipyard and armory known as the Arsenale ― the highlight of the Venice Biennale ― commands immediate attention among visitors.Its sheer size, along with the sounds of dripping liquid and whirling motors that pervade the entire room, make any passing viewer come to a stop and turn back. They then face what appear to be near-raw human organs twisting and turning on steel racks, while being basked in an endless cascade of blood.“These porous objects are made of ceramics that underwent an initial stage of bisque firing, containing many openings that allow other substances to pass through freely. It'

Popular novelist Lee Oi-soo dies at 75

Novelist Lee Oi-soo speaks during a press conference in this March 2014 file photo. Korea Times file Lee Oi-soo, a maverick bestselling novelist known for his uniquely unconventional, insightful views about life, died of pneumonia Monday. He was 75.Lee died at around 8 p.m. at a hospital in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, while he was fighting the illness after being infected with COVID-19 in early March, according to his family.The writer had been undergoing rehabilitation since he collapsed due to cerebral hemorrhage in March 2020. He had suffered multiple ailments, including gastric cancer, in recent years.Born in Hamyang, South Gyeongsang Province, in 1946, he studied education in college and worked briefly as a teacher at a small branch school.Lee started his literary career in 1975 with the prize-winning novella "The Medal" and then earned fame with his first full-length novel "The Dreaming Plants" (1978) for his delicate emotions and signature idiosyncratic writ

Cheong Wa Dae to open to public at noon on May 10

Cheong Wa Dae / YonhapCheong Wa Dae will open to the public at noon May 10, immediately after President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's inauguration ceremony, in line with his promise to return the presidential compound to the people, officials said Monday.Visits can be booked in advance online starting Wednesday at 10 a.m. and will be limited to 39,000 people per day, or up to 6,500 people per two-hour time slot, according to the officials of the Cheong Wa Dae relocation task force."We decided to fully open the doors to Cheong Wa Dae as the inauguration ceremony on May 10 ends," Rep. Yoon Han-hong, chief of the task force on the presidential office relocation, said during a press briefing."Thus, the main building and the guest house, as well as the top-class garden Nokjiwon and Sangchunjae will be reborn into an open space that can be enjoyed by all the people," he said.Yoon promised during the campaign to relocate the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae and return the compound to the public, saying the move would help him connect better with the people as Cheong Wa Dae had become "a sym

Retro boom sees adults buying nostalgic comic books

A book cover of “Full House” / Courtesy of YES24By Kwak Yeon-sooShortly after the recent craze over Pokemon bread, which had been popular in the past, a new trend revolving around retro-themed comic books seems to be gaining in popularity as evidenced by the sharp increase in sales.In the 1990s and 2000s, popular anime and comic books such as “Sailor Moon,” “Slam Dunk” and “Doraemon” caught on with a generation of children in Korea. Now they are back in time for the country's retro boom, driven by adults who are often nostalgic for things and experiences from their childhood. Sales for the three comic books leaped by 15.4 percent in February compared to the previous month, and another 14.7 percent in March compared to February. About 80 percent of the consumers were in their 30s and 40s ― who generally account for 56.7 percent of all comic book purchases.Sales of the reprint edition of “Full House” (1993-1999), written and illustrated by Won Soo-yon, surged by about 11 times in February compared to the prior month, right aft

DAILY FORTUNE - APRIL 26, 2022

Asiana Airlines to reopen route to India, offer more to Japan, other countries

An Asiana Airlines' passenger jet is seen in this file photo. Korea Times file Asiana Airlines said Monday it will reopen its route to India this week as eased virus restrictions unleash pent-up demand. Asiana will offer one flight a week on the Incheon-Delhi route starting Friday after it suspended the route 33 months ago ― July 8, 2019 ― due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a statement. The company will also expand the number of flights on routes to Sydney, Los Angeles, Osaka, Fukuoka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Manila from May, it said. Its budget carrier unit Air Busan Co. said it will resume services on the routes from the southern port city of Busan to Fukuoka, Da Nang and Cebu. The routes have been suspended for the past 26 months. The Busan-Fukuoka route will be available from May 31, with the routes to Da Nang and Cebu set to begin June 29 and July 15, respectively, the statement said. Air Busan also plans to open five new international rou

Travel and tourism to create 126 million new jobs in next 10 years: WTTC

Philippine Department of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, center, speaks at the panel of the 21st World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit in Manila, Thursday. From left are Global Rescue Companies CEO Dan Richards, Dubai Airports International CEO Paul Griffiths, Secretary Romulo-Puyat, Marriott International Group President Craig Smith and WTTC Ambassador Katheleen Mathews. Courtesy of World Travel and Tourism CouncilOne-third of all new jobs worldwide forecast to be within travel and tourism sector: WTTCBy Lee Hae-rinMANILA, Philippines ― The travel and tourism sector is expected to create nearly 126 million new jobs within the next decade and bring the industry's global GDP back to pre-pandemic levels by 2023, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The forecast was announced by the WTTC President and CEO Julia Simpson in her opening speech of the 21st Global Summit at Marriott Hotel in Newport City, Manila, Thursday.“Over the next decade, travel and tourism will create 126 million new jobs worldwide. In fact, one in three of every new job

DAILY FORTUNE - APRIL 25, 2022