COVID-19 accelerates changes in art institutions, spurs artists to reflect and create

The show must go on, and so must travel. While the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyone’s life one way or another, one of the sectors that has been hit the hardest is the tourism industry. The tourism industry around the world has been crippled by the virus. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, 96 percent of the planet’s destinations have imposed travel restrictions, either completely or partially closing their borders. Though international travel is off the table f

The popular pairing of fried chicken and beer -- known locally as chimaek -- can be eaten almost anywhere in Korea, but east coast beaches have become an exception. Under government guidelines issued for disease control, Gangwon Province imposed an administrative order on eight of its provincial beaches last month to restrict gatherings and ban eating outdoors at nighttime. Announcements warning that visitors are barred from eating there from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., and that those who violate the r

The Asia Culture Center, an international arts and cultural exchange organization based in Gwangju, announced Friday that it will be hosting a multimedia art project titled the Hall of Night Light, designed to illuminate the night sky through a range of light shows and interactive art installations from August 15 to December 31. Throughout the event, the center will transform into a colorful playground packed full of interactive multimedia art pieces, and feature dazzling light shows which w

Design company d’strict, which gained global attention in May with its immersive video art installation “Wave” at Coex K-pop Square, has launched a media artist unit “a-strict,” and is showcasing its first exhibition at Kukje Gallery, a commercial gallery in central Seoul. The commercial design company’s a’strict is a loose group of artistic creators from both inside and outside the company. The members are freely formed based on an art project, said

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Friday announced that it will open Gyeongbokgung to visitors in the evening from Sept. 2 to Dec. 4. During this time, the palace will accept up to 4,500 nighttime visitors per day from 7 p.m to 9:30 p.m. The palace is closed on Tuesdays. The CHA added that it will sell 2,500 tickets online, while selling 2,000 tickets on-site. The online tickets can be booked on portal giant Naver’s Booking platform. Before entering the site, people who made res

Popular webtoon, or digital comic, writer Kian84 apologized and revised his latest work “Bokhakwang,” as controversy over the latest episode posted Tuesday sparked online protests. “Bokhakwang,” which means king of returning to school, is the most popular work by Kian84 that is uploaded at around 11 p.m. on Tuesdays on web portal Naver. “I am very sorry for causing concern with inappropriate depictions in my work,” Kian84 wrote on his webtoon page on Thursd

Leading figures in cultural communication from around the world will join offline panel members to discuss the changes in how cultural contents are delivered in the post COVID-19 era at the 11th Cultural Communications Forum being held from Aug. 26-27. The two-day forum will feature speakers from the EU in the evening of the first day and speakers from North America in the morning of the second day, due to the time difference of the countries from where the speakers will join via video call. E

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Korea‘s liberation from Japanese colonial rule this Saturday, the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, is putting the country’s oldest Taegeukgi, the national flag, on display in its Korean Empire Hall through Aug. 23. The oldest known extant Taegeukgi is held by the Smithsonian museum. Gojong, the last Joseon king and and the first Emperor of Korea, presented the flag to his diplomatic adviser Owen N. Denny from the US when Den

Two events will be held at Gyeongbokgung this month to give visitors a literal taste of Joseon royal life. First held in 2016, the Gyeongbokgung Starlight Tour includes a tasting of an everyday meal for the king and queen, traditional music performances and a guided tour of the grounds. This year’s night tour begins at Heungnyemun Gate and offers an exclusive tour of the two halls--Jipgyeongdang and Hamhwadang -- which are normally not open to the public during the night tour. The to

Photographer Choi Kwang-ho’s solo exhibition brings you back to New York 30 years ago through more than 400 of his photographs. The ongoing exhibition at Gallery Ryugaheon in central Seoul -- a space dedicated solely to documentary photography -- showcases a variety of peoples’ lives in New York between 1988 and 1994, when the city was much rougher than it is now. Choi, 65, remembers those five years in New York as a passionate and precious time for him, living as a young and fea

Face masks that tightly cover mouths and noses are a vivid symbol of how the world is combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Masking up in public is mandated in more than fifty countries to guard their citizens against getting infected. And masking may stay for quite a while, according to experts. But face coverings in troubled times have hindered facial expressions of all kinds. Understanding and displaying feelings through closed layers are baffling for the majority to interpret emotions. Likewis