Culture Ministry meets gaming sector, discusses 52-hour workweek

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Thursday convened a roundtable with key figures from Korea’s gaming sector, addressing concerns that the nation’s 52-hour workweek policy — initially intended to curb overwork — has instead fueled longer unpaid hours, amid the industry’s demanding production cycles. Kim Young-soo, vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, met with representatives from gaming company labor unions to discuss the state of working conditions across the sector. The s

Nov. 6, 2025

K-beauty artists take over New York in 'Perfect Glow'

Nearly every facet of Korean culture seems to have gone global, from K-pop and K-dramas to K-food. Now, K-beauty is taking its turn in the spotlight. A new variety show, "Perfect Glow," brings K-beauty to the streets of Manhattan, where some of Korea’s most popular makeup artists are bringing their craft to an international clientele. The show follows their journey as they open a pop-up beauty salon in New York City, offering makeovers to locals eager to experience K-beauty firsthand. The elite

Nov. 6, 2025

Seoul Independent Film Festival returns with record submissions, restored funding

The 51st Seoul Independent Film Festival will raise its curtain with "Dear You, Unrelated," an experimental film that reimagines Park Nam-ok's 1955 classic "The Widow," and Korea's first feature directed by a woman. The opening work originated from an exhibition project centered on Park and her sole surviving film. Directors Sohn Koo-yong and Lee Jong-su led the creative endeavor, which picks up where "The Widow" left off, filling in the lost denouement through their imagination. "We were asked

Nov. 5, 2025

Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch hopes to see 'Carnations' bloom again

When a choreographer dies, their art lingers in the memories of those who moved with them, in the steps and movements passed down through generations of dancers, and becomes part of the company’s repertoire. Right now, few embody that process as vividly as Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, a company that continues to carry the legacy of its founder, the late German choreographer Pina Bausch, more than a decade after her death -- this time with a new generation of dancers who have never worked w

Nov. 5, 2025

Two women and one dead man — new thriller hits Netflix

A gripping new thriller about two women who conspire to kill an abusive husband — led by breakout actors from “Squid Game” and “Parasyte: The Grey” — is soon to release on Netflix. “As You Stood By” follows Hee-soo (Lee You-mi) and Eun-soo (Jeon So-nee), two close friends who conspire to murder Hee-soo’s violent husband. The drama series is adapted from Hideo Okuda’s acclaimed Japanese novel “Naomi and Kanako,” with the Korean remake reimagining the story through the lens of female solidarity an

Nov. 5, 2025

'KPop Demon Hunters' global pop-up tour makes Seoul its first stop

Netflix’s "KPop Demon Hunters" is set to kick off its worldwide pop-up event tour in Seoul. The Seoul pop-up will run for 25 days from Dec. 4 to 28 in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul. The official pop-up tour then travels to Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo and Taipei, Taiwan. The pop-up store will showcase a range of exclusive official merchandise created for the global fan base of "KPop Demon Hunters." Fans will be able to preorder items through the official fan community (kpopdemonhunters.fan) and pick

Nov. 5, 2025

Year-end brings Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Bizet and Gluck operas to Korea

As Korea’s opera scene heads into the year’s final stretch, major companies across the country are unveiling high-profile productions that underline the growing ambition and scale of the nation’s opera companies. From the Seoul Metropolitan Opera’s grand 40th-anniversary staging of Verdi’s "Aida" and Chung Myung-whun’s long-awaited return to "Carmen" in Busan, to Wagner’s monumental "Tristan und Isolde," Puccini's "Tosca" and Gluck’s "Orfeo ed Euridice," audiences are being offered an exceptiona

Nov. 4, 2025

'Telecom Derby' showdown: T1 and KT Rolster face off in all-Korean Worlds

South Korea is sweeping this year's global League of Legends stage, with Faker’s T1 and veteran squad KT Rolster charging into the 2025 World Championship Finals set for Friday in Chengdu, China. League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), the Korean professional League of Legends league long recognized for its dominance in esports, has produced both finalists this year — marking the first all-Korean Worlds final since DRX faced T1 in 2022. Both T1 and KT Rolster have endured grueling runs througho

Nov. 4, 2025

Seoul’s high-rise push sparks world heritage alarm

Seoul’s approval of a 141.9-meter (approximately 34-story) building across from Jongmyo Shrine — Korea’s first UNESCO World Heritage site — has resurfaced a longstanding question: how far should urban renewal go when internationally recognized heritage is at stake? The city recently revised height limits for the Sewoon District No. 4 redevelopment zone, easing the cap from the previous 71.9 meters to 141.9 meters on the Cheonggyecheon side. The change comes seven years after limits were first im

Nov. 4, 2025

Hanwha to open ‘Space ZeroOne’ in New York’s Tribeca

The Hanwha Foundation of Culture will open a non-profit exhibition space, Space ZeroOne, in New York this week. Located in Tribeca, one of the city’s most vibrant cultural districts, the venue aims to serve as a global platform and launchpad for emerging Korean artists, according to the foundation on Tuesday. It will also be the first exhibition space in New York directly run by a Korean business-run cultural foundation. Opening on Friday, the inaugural exhibition, “Contours of Zero,” will showc

Nov. 4, 2025

Tving launches in Japan

Korean streaming platform Tving, home to hit originals such as "Lovely Runner" and "Transit Love," will become available in Japan starting Wednesday. According to Tving, the platform entered into a strategic partnership with Disney+ and will officially roll out a dedicated hub, titled Tving Collection, within Disney+ Japan. The launch marks both Tving’s debut in Japan and the first time Disney+ has created a dedicated streaming brand hub within its platform in the Asia-Pacific region. Tving desc

Nov. 4, 2025

'Project Y' takes top prize at London East Asia Film Festival

Director Lee Hwan's crime caper "Project Y" took home the best film in competition award at the 10th London East Asia Film Festival, capping a strong festival run for the South Korean heist thriller. The film stars Han So-hee and Jeon Jong-seo as Mi-seon and Do-kyung, two women who turn to crime after losing their savings. Their scheme to target a stash of hidden cash and gold bars spirals into a high-stakes game of survival. LEAFF ran Oct. 23-Nov. 2 at venues across London, showcasing 45 films

Nov. 4, 2025

Seoul’s top spots for book lovers this fall

In a city defined by screens and speed, many Seoulites are finding comfort in turning real pages again, trading scrolling for reading as a new form of rest. According to a September survey by the Korean Publishers Association, 87.8 percent of South Koreans read at least one paper book in 2024. The largest share said they read “to broaden their knowledge and become cultured,” followed by those seeking fun, self-improvement or emotional healing. As reading gains traction as a fashionable hobby, ca

Nov. 4, 2025

Gyeongju National Museum to limit visitor numbers to Silla gold crowns exhibition

Gyeongju National Museum will limit the number of daily visitors to “Silla Gold Crowns: Power and Prestige,” an unprecedented exhibition showing six gold crowns discovered in ancient royal tombs of the Silla Kingdom (57 BC-AD 935) in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, the capital of the ancient kingdom. The exhibition, organized to follow the recent APEC summit, opened to the public on Sunday, drawing a long line of people well before the museum opening at 10 a.m. The state museum announced Su

Nov. 3, 2025

5-year-old Music Festival Pohang continues to experiment, evolve

Known more for its steel and shoreline than symphonies, Pohang is redefining its cultural identity. This week, its growing classical music festival returns in its fifth edition. "Five years may sound like a short time for a festival, but this fifth anniversary means a great deal to us. So this year, we’ve put together an especially varied and generous program to celebrate it," Park Yu-shin, cellist and music director of Music Festival Pohang, told reporters during a press conference Monday in Se

Nov. 3, 2025