Wellness at hanok village, mountain meals and design treasures

Get ready for winter this weekend with wellness programs at Namsangol Hanok Village, have a feast after a hike on Cheonggyesan or try redecorating your home. As the temperature drops, Seoul’s Namsangol Hanok Village is inviting visitors to experience a season of warmth and restoration through its new winter program, "Warm Winter Healing in Hanok," running Nov. 15 to Dec. 6. Reinterpreting the wisdom of traditional Korean medicine under the theme of warming the body and boosting energy, the progr

Nov. 14, 2025

This, too, is Korean pop

Korean traditional music, or gugak, has many faces. Even within its vocal traditions, it can be broadly divided into three regional lineages: Gyeonggi minyo from the central provinces, Seodo minyo from the North, and the narrative art of pansori mainly from the South. Each carries its own rhythm and emotional tone. Today, a new generation of artists is reimagining how these traditions can speak to contemporary audiences. Rejecting the easy labels of “fusion” or “crossover,” they define their own

Nov. 13, 2025

Lee Hee-joo’s 'Creamy(nal) Love' confronts obsessive side of love and K-pop

"Creamy(nal) Love" By Lee Hee-joo Munhakdongne Publishing In recent years, much of South Korean fiction translated abroad has leaned toward science fiction or what critics call “healing fiction” — gentle, empathetic stories that capture quiet slices of everyday life. But Lee Hee-joo has taken a decidedly different path. Her work delves into distorted desire and the chaos it leaves behind, offering readers an unsettling glimpse into the darker edges of affection. Since debuting in 2016 with "Phan

Nov. 13, 2025

Speculative fiction explores blurry line between human and machine

"The Seashell Within" By Kim Cho-yeop Rabbit Hole Another leading voice in South Korean science fiction, Kim Cho-yeop is set to make her English-translation debut next April with "If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light," forthcoming from Simon & Schuster and already sold to more than 10 countries. Her first story collection, a stunning and poignant work of speculative fiction, established her as a bestseller and helped bring Korean SF into the mainstream, with more than 400,000 copies sold here.

Nov. 13, 2025

After android jockey and vampires, Cheon Seon-ran turns to zombies

"Where No One Comes" By Cheon Seon-ran Hubble From the android jockeys of "A Thousand Blues" to the vampires of "Midnight Shift." Cheon Seon-ran, one of Korea’s leading voices in science fiction, has explored the boundaries between the human and the nonhuman, loss and survival, salvation and care. Now, she returns with a zombie apocalypse. “The most tragic apocalypse is the zombie,” she writes in the opening lines of her new three-part novella. Here, Cheon’s undead are not the mindless monsters

Nov. 12, 2025

Alexander Ekman swings his ‘Hammer’ to break open the ego

Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman is bringing his signature visual audacity and theatrical flair to the Seoul stage for the first time this week with "Hammer," hoping to enrapture audiences and provoke reflection. “I’m a showman,” Ekman said at a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. “I love a great show. I love entertainment. But for me, good entertainment means holding your attention. It’s not about a specific genre or style; it’s about the ability to keep your focus for a full performan

Nov. 12, 2025

Daesan literary awards come full circle as former grant recipients take top honors

Novelist Lee Ki-ho has won the fiction category at the 33rd Daesan Literary Awards for his novel “The Cheerful, Struggle-Free Life of Lee Sibong,” the Daesan Foundation announced Monday during a press conference at Kyobo Tower in Seoul. The novel follows a young man named Lee Si-seup and his grieving family, whose lives become intertwined with their pet, a Bichon Frise named Sibong. Together, they embark on an unlikely odyssey of loss, guilt and healing. Lee said the story was inspired by his ow

Nov. 10, 2025

Dance as prayer, 99 Art Company brings 'Burnt Offering' on European tour

Under a dim light, two dancers sit quietly on a large white canvas. They clasp one another's hand, still and meditative, while in their free hands they hold sticks of charcoal. Moving in unison, the two begin to draw with gestures deliberate, rhythmic, almost sacred. As the movement repeats, their hair loosens, their breath grows heavier, and the charcoal begins to blur and smudge, leaving behind black traces that resemble sparks, flowers, then ashes. The performance feels like a ritual, or a ce

Nov. 9, 2025

Cellist Lee You-bien wins top prize at 2025 Isangyun Competition

Cellist Lee You-bien has won first prize at this year’s Isangyun Competition, the Tongyeong International Music Foundation announced on Sunday. Lee was named the top prize winner after performing Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Tongyeong Festival Orchestra, conducted by Leos Svarovsky, in the final round held Saturday at the Tongyeong Concert Hall. “I’m truly honored and grateful to receive such a prestigious award,” Lee said during the award ceremony. “I learned so much from all th

Nov. 9, 2025

A 7.5-hour game where you fight alongside donkeys to reclaim their jobs — and why it means much more

When the audience files into SFAC Theater Quad in Seoul's Daehangno district this weekend, they won’t just be watching a show — they’ll be playing a video game together. "asses.masses" is a seven-hour-plus video game told over 10 episodes. Designed to be played from beginning to end in a live theater setting, it invites the audience to take turns (or not) holding a single game controller. The story follows a herd of donkeys who have lost their jobs to machines and are trying to rise up and win t

Nov. 7, 2025