South Korea - The Korea Times

Australian punk rocker Ray Ahn embarks on long, hard journey back to Korea

Australian punk band the Hard-Ons are coming to Korea for the first time in September, but for bassist-vocalist Ray Ahn, it's a return to his birth country. Ahead of the tour, the band released a Korean-language EP, with Ahn singing four of their most memorable songs in Korean, including "Where Did She Come From?" and "Suck and Swallow." Ahn was born in Seoul, and emigrated to Australia at age 9 in 1974 with his family. Now in his early 60s, he still plays for the Hard-Ons, a legendary Sydney punk band known for its multicultural lineup when it was formed in 1982. The band also became notorious because of the name — which shouldn't shock anyone in Korea, where there was once a mainstream band called DickPunks and nobody ever made it weird. For Ahn and his bandmates, who got sick long ago of having to keep justifying their name, calling themselves the Hard-Ons meant playing the music industry on a hard setting. They faced barriers where other bands might not have, and they seem to have thrived on controversy in their early days. "Our rudeness was wielded as performance art," Ahn said. "I

Aug 29, 2026By Jon Dunbar

Australian punk rocker Ray Ahn embarks on long, hard journey back to Korea

Reimagining 'dancheong': French artist merges European graffiti with traditional Korean art

French artist Boyane Zelechowski is bringing a cross-cultural visual style to central Seoul's Hippie Hannam Gallery for a new solo exhibition, running through Sept. 19 as part of Seoul Art Week 2026. Titled "Neo Joseon," the show has Zelechowski blending European graffiti roots and comic book-styled illustrations with traditional Korean art forms. His background has always been built on this kind of contrast. Growing up in France, he was deeply involved in the European graffiti scene and spent the early 2000s tagging abandoned buildings and street corners. At the same time, he was studying formally at the École des Beaux-Arts de Saint-Étienne. Vandal by night, art student by day — that kind of dichotomy still shapes how he works today. In 2011, he relocated to Seoul and built a career as a muralist, silkscreen printer and fine artist. While his work retains its original street art grit, his years in Korea have transformed his approach, infusing it with a localized sensibility. Now, Zelechowski is drawing on that same sense of contrast for his newest solo exhibition, “Neo Joseon.”

Aug 28, 2026By Justin Kyle

Reimagining 'dancheong': French artist merges European graffiti with traditional Korean art

Korea considers opening National Skills Competition to foreigners

INCHEON — Labor authorities said they will consider opening the country’s top vocational skills competition to foreign nationals, as demand grows for highly skilled overseas workers in manufacturing and other industries. Lee Byoung-hoon, president of the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRD Korea), a government agency overseeing the National Skills Competition, said Tuesday that the agency would consult relevant ministries on expanding eligibility for the annual state-run event. “Because this would require a review and amendment of relevant laws and regulations, we will discuss the matter with the ministries of labor and justice when the opportunity arises,” he said. Currently, foreigners are eligible to compete in regional skills competitions but are barred from participating in the national event under the Act on Encouragement of Skilled Crafts, which limits eligibility to Korean citizens. Mun Hyun-tae, a senior official in charge of global affairs at HRD Korea, said allowing foreign nationals to enter the national competition could help revitalize skills contests

Aug 25, 2026By Jung Min-ho

Korea considers opening National Skills Competition to foreigners

Busan Biennale examines authority with exhibition at closed school

This year's Busan Biennale kicks off Saturday for a 65-day run, assembling 46 artists and collectives from over 22 countries around topics that embody the city's long history of resilience and solidarity. It unfolds at three unique venues across the southeastern city: Busan Museum of Contemporary Art, Space OneZ and the former Busan Nam High School. For co-artistic director Evelyn Simons, having exhibitions at a former school is a reminder of the central theme, "Dissident Chorus." "We wanted to play with that atmosphere of being in a context where you come to learn, but also are in such a transformative moment in your life," she said. "These two layers coexist and sometimes conflict with one another: coming of age, learning to get to know yourself, navigating group dynamics, notions of authority, power being exerted onto your body and mind, discipline and expectations." The tension between how an old high school can evoke memories of childhood and notions of authority is something they wanted to play with. "What we wanted was for that residue to sit right up against the work, so a visitor

Aug 24, 2026By Daniela P. Solano

Busan Biennale examines authority with exhibition at closed school

REVIEW 'The Tree at Panmunjom' vividly revisits 1976 tensions

Jeffrey Miller’s newest novel, "The Tree at Panmunjom," begins in the summer of 1976, as a soldier fresh out of basic training named Bill Davis arrives in Korea and finds himself assigned to Camp Kitty Hawk just before serving a tense 24-hour shift at the nearby Demilitarized Zone’s (DMZ) Joint Security Area (JSA). On arrival, Davis asks his fellow soldiers, “How long before this starts feeling normal?” The reply, “I’ll let you know when it does,” elicits chuckles from his more seasoned comrades. Then comes the real answer: “You get used to the routine. But normal’s not part of the package.” The novel brings to life the events of 50 years ago that ultimately led to Camp Kitty Hawk being given a new name: Camp Bonifas. On Aug. 18, 1976, an operation to trim a tree in the JSA ended with the murder of American officers Capt. Arthur Bonifas and First Lt. Mark Barrett by North Korean soldiers. In response, three days later, in an operation fraught with the possibility of sparking hostilities, a joint American-Korean task force cut down the tree as helicopters, fighters an

Aug 18, 2026By Matt VanVolkenburg

[REVIEW] 'The Tree at Panmunjom' vividly revisits 1976 tensions

Corooted presents artistic vision of Indigenous migration in Seoul

Corooted, an art collective founded in Paris years ago, is bringing together Indigenous Buryad, Sakha, Oirad-Kalmyk and Korean artists for its first Korea exhibition titled “Tactics for Survival in Uncertainty (…),” on view at KOTE in central Seoul's Insa-dong neighborhood from Aug. 22-29. The artists, based in the Netherlands, France, Hungary, Mongolia and Korea, are mostly students or art schools graduates, living long-term away from their homelands. They have worked closely together for over three years, establishing a curatorial platform dedicated to supporting Indigenous artists from around Eurasia. Through exhibitions and collaborative projects, the collective explores identity, memory, migration, language and contemporary social realities. Following two exhibitions in France, the group now brings its project to Korea, examining the everyday rituals and personal strategies people develop to regain a sense of control. For Seoul-based Nastya Komarova, curator and participating artist, art has always been a way of looking across distances — geographical, cultural and emotiona

Aug 18, 2026By Bereket Alemayehu

Corooted presents artistic vision of Indigenous migration in Seoul

Busan's Arise reopens with new design to celebrate 2 years of artistic endeavors

Over the past 30 years, Busan has been undergoing an artistic and cultural renaissance. The Busan International Short Film Festival may have started in 1980, but it was the inaugural Busan International Film Festival in 1996 that lifted Korea’s second city into global consciousness. In the autumn of 2000, the local foreign community of educators started grassroots arts events of their own centered around poetry, storytelling, theater and music. Eventually, those events started to drew strong participation from Koreans, and soon a thriving cross-cultural art community was born, contributing to Busan’s vibrancy. Two years ago, married couple Lee Jeong-min and Niall J. Ruddy, both with extensive experience as leaders and participants in the Busan art community, identified a gap in Busan’s artistic ecosystem. TheNaughty Muse Studios and Liquid Arts network collaborators noted artists were limited to showing their work in cafés and small galleries at one end, with expensive high-end commercial galleries that require large payments to host shows at the other. There was nothing in bet

Aug 18, 2026By Kenneth May

Busan's Arise reopens with new design to celebrate 2 years of artistic endeavors

Stand Up Seoul uses comedy to support North Korean refugees

North Korean refugees in South Korea face many hardships in trying to adapt to a new country. Among them can be the acquisition of English, without which they may struggle to find employment or even be able to further their education. Freedom Speakers International (FSI) seeks to address this issue. FSI offers free, personalized tutoring in English and public speaking. In teaching North Korean refugees to speak English, the organization not only improves their lives but also helps their stories travel and be heard around the world. To this end, FSI also holds public speaking competitions in English. On Saturday, Stand Up Seoul will hold a comedy show to benefit FSI, with all the proceeds going toward supporting North Korean refugees. The show will feature seven comedians, including Simmone P., who is also a support advocate for FSI. The show is being produced by Pat Bong, a prominent Canadian comedian in Seoul. Bong says he was already putting together a show when he heard that Simmone P. would be in Seoul on the date of the show. “We saw this as an opportunity to do a good show for a

Aug 18, 2026By Rory Kelly

Stand Up Seoul uses comedy to support North Korean refugees

MORNING CALM TALES The tree at Panmunjeom, 50 years later

On the morning of Aug. 18, 1976, a work detail entered the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjeom to perform what should have been a routine task: trimming the branches of a poplar tree. Within minutes, two U.S. Army officers were dead. Capt. Arthur Bonifas and 1st Lt. Mark Barrett were killed by North Korean guards during a confrontation that lasted only a few minutes. Several other American and South Korean members of the detail were also injured. This Aug. 18 marks the 50th anniversary of their deaths. The event became known as the Axe Murder Incident, one of the most infamous confrontations in the history of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). I can still remember when it happened. In August 1976, I was in the U.S. Air Force attending technical training school when I first heard about the killings at Panmunjeom. Korea was far away, and I could not have imagined that the events unfolding there would remain with me for the next half-century. But 50 years later, I find myself returning once again to that tree. To understand what happened on Aug. 18, it is necessary to know what was diffe

Aug 18, 2026By Jeffrey Miller

[MORNING CALM TALES] The tree at Panmunjeom, 50 years later

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK Geuni Sikdang offers a taste of North Korea in Cheonan

CHEONAN, South Chungcheong Province — In Cheonan, behind what can only be considered the most unassuming storefront in the country, lies a local favorite. This is Geuni Sikdang and it specializes in North Korean cuisine. Most will be familiar with Pyongyang naengmyeon (cold noodles), but this restaurant offers something a bit rarer: "eobok jaengban" (boiled meat platter). Eobok jaengban started in Pyongyang Market and was often shared when doing business deals to impress potential clients. It consists of beef brisket, beef broth, leafy vegetables and dumplings. When ours arrived, the beef cuts were splayed out beautifully around the outer edge of the pan and the fire underneath was immediately lit, both in the stovetop and in our appetites. We dug into the dumplings first and they were extremely subtle. A very mild kimchi was mixed in with tofu and bean sprouts. There was a surprising, yet welcome, parmesan flavor to the whole affair. The restaurant makes the broth every day and uses hanwoo 1++ Korean beef for this dish. Brisket and other “off-cuts” can be tough to use properly a

Aug 16, 2026By Kevin Grabb

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