Articles by Choi Si-young
Choi Si-young
siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com-
[Well-curated] Pies, cute stationery and Confucianism
Savoring leisure with warm pie and coffee If you're planning to embark on a journey from Seoul Station or just passing through the heart of Seoul, enjoy a warm pie for a meal that's a little different than the typical. Focal Point is a pie restaurant in at a brown brick building behind Seoul Station. Various savory pies welcome visitors, including the Song-jung tteokgalbi pie, featuring minced short rib, broccoli and corn seasoned with soy sauce, the grilled corn pie topped with al
Culture April 5, 2024
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[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea
N Seoul Tower tours Throughout April, N Seoul Tower is offering discounts on admission to its observatory and meals at its dining hall, allowing visitors to enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the capital and the cherry blossoms. Tickets for the observatory start at 18,900 won for adults, and a package offering entry to the observatory plus dinner for two adults is priced at 230,000 won. Lunch specials are also available. The observatory is open year-round from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m
Travel April 5, 2024
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K-Royal Culture Festival marks anniversary with wider outreach
The biannual festival involving five palaces of Joseon-era (1392-1910) Seoul is expecting to draw the biggest-ever participation by foreign nationals with exclusive programs, as it marks its 10th anniversary this month. The nine-day event starting April 27 at five palaces -- Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Gyeonghuigung -- will feature royal music and dance performances as well as tours with royal cuisine tastings. At Gyeongbokgung, “gugak” or traditiona
Culture April 4, 2024
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Foreign national-only Deoksugung tours with musical performances to launch May
Tours exclusively for foreign nationals of Deoksugung, a Joseon-era (1392-1910) palace, including a musical performance at Seokjo Hall, will be offered for the first time in May. Nighttime tours of the hall -- the first Western-style stone building in Seoul built in 1910 -- will run from May 1 to May 3, with three tours taking place daily, each limited to 18 people. Participants will be served refreshments like coffee and madeleines as they watch musical performances. A classical music performan
Culture April 3, 2024
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Joseon palaces offer something extra
Starting this month, three palaces from the Joseon era in Seoul will add something extra to their tours: a venue to taste “royal desserts” and audio guides. Gyeongbokgung will open up Saenggwabang, the kitchen where desserts and refreshments for the Joseon royal household were prepared. Seven snack options, including “juak” -- fried rice cake -- and therapeutic herbal tea prepared according to a recipe written by the king’s doctors in 1607 will be offered to visitor
Culture April 2, 2024
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Application filed to have ‘hanji’ preserved by UNESCO
South Korea has made a bid to add “hanji,” or traditional Korean mulberry paper, to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List. “Traditional knowledge and skills associated with the production of hanji and related cultural practices in the Republic of Korea will undergo an evaluation procedure,” the Cultural Heritage Administration said in a statement Monday, referring to the submission the previous day to the UN culture body. The Republic of Korea is the formal nam
Culture April 1, 2024
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[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea
Light festival at Cheongdo Provence Photoland A trip to Cheongdo County in North Gyeongsang Province is well worth it for the photos of a lifetime. Cheongdo Provence Photoland, dotted with installations and attractions, is running the Cheongdo Light Festival, which has been a fixture of the county since 2012. Open through November, the park charges 13,000 won for middle schoolers and older and 9,000 won for those younger. For more information, visit cheongdo-provence.co.kr. Canola Flower
Travel March 29, 2024
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[Eye Interview] Seeking redemption -- for church
For former Methodist pastor Lee Dong-hwan, an encounter with one of his congregants in early 2015 changed his life. About a year into his pastoral work at a church in Suwon, a churchgoer came out to Lee, prompting him to learn everything he could about homosexuality. Lee admitted that he did not know enough about it to adequately comfort and advise the congregant. “The thing is, I too thought homosexuality was a crime back then. I said I’d get back to the person with an answer and st
People March 28, 2024
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Changdeokgung to open spring nighttime tours
Tickets for the annual spring nighttime tours of Changdeokgung will go on sale at 4 p.m., Thursday. On Thursday through Sunday from April 11 to June 2, six tours will take place per day -- three starting a little past 7 p.m. with another three starting around 8 p.m. The guided tours will start at Donhwamun, the palace’s main gate, making stops at the various halls and residential quarters -- including Injeongjeon, the palace’s main hall, where Joseon-era kings oversaw state affairs,
Culture March 27, 2024
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Changdeokgung nighttime tours with royal court music to be held in April
Tickets for Changdeokgung nighttime tours featuring a performance of “gugak,” or traditional Korean music, taking place April 3-6 went on sale online Tuesday. There will be two tours daily, at 6:30 p.m. and 6:40 p.m., each limited to 15 people, starting with a look inside Huijeong Hall and ending at Daejo Hall, where musicians from the National Gugak Center will give a 30-minute performance. The tours end at 8 p.m. “The musicians will perform royal court music on traditional st
Culture March 26, 2024
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[단독] 조계종, 내달 16일 ‘고려 사리’ 환수차 미국行
대한불교조계종 문화부장 혜공 스님이 다음 달 16일(현지시간) 일제강점기에 반출된 것으로 추정되는 14세기 고려 선사(禪師)의 사리 환수를 위해 미국 보스턴미술관(Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)에서 열리는 전달 기념식에 참석한다. 25일 코리아헤럴드 취재를 종합하면, 혜공 스님은 봉선사 주지 호산 스님과 함께 16일 행사를 마치고 18일 오후에 귀국할 예정이다. 귀국 당일 총무원 고불식(부처님께 알리는 의식)이 예정돼 있고, 사리는 5월 중으로 원 소장처로 추정되는 봉선사 말사(末寺)인 경기도 양주 회암사에 안치될 계획이다 이는 지난 2월 초 미술관과 대면 협상에서 합의된 내용으로, 당시 미술관은 올해 부처님 오신 날(5월 15일) 전까지 사리를 기증하겠다고 약속했다. 협상에 참여했던 문화재청에 따르면 사리를 담은 ‘은제도금 라마탑형 사리구’는 현재 임시 대여를 목표로 양측이 조율 중이다. 최응천 문화재청장의 기념식 참석 여부는 막판 논의 중
한국어판 March 25, 2024
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[Exclusive] April 16 event in Boston to mark Goryeo relics’ repatriation
A repatriation ceremony will take place on April 16 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston after which two Korean Buddhist monks will bring back to Korea long-sought 14th-century Buddhist religious relics. The arrangement is the latest development following an agreement last month between the museum and the Korean representatives from the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, once the owner of the relics, and the Cultural Heritage Administration, the government agency handling the matter. “The cerem
Culture March 25, 2024
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Fashion KODE puts on show of contrasts
A spectacle of contrasts from colors to styles was what the audience was treated on the second day of the 2024 Fashion KODE, a biannual event meant to advance Korea’s fashion industry by engaging a wider public. A joint fall-winter runway show Friday by Minasong and Valoren -- the womenswear and menswear brands, respectively -- juxtaposed minimalism with deconstructed fashion, giving out a taste of the latest trends both young and old could find relatable. A distinct palette of black and c
Arts & Design March 22, 2024
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[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea
Cherry blossoms in Daegu The season of cherry blossoms is finally coming all across the country -- and more so in Daegu in the south. Those looking to not only see the trees bursting with white and pink petals, but sit back on amusement park rides while looking at them, need an “all-pass” to E-World -- priced at 35,900 won until April 7. Tickets, available online, grant access to the Blossom Road and attractions -- plus discounts on drinks at the observatory cafe on the 77th floo
Travel March 22, 2024
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Popular Gyeongbokgung nighttime tours return in April
Tickets for nighttime tours of Gyeongbokgung, the main Joseon royal palace, go on sale online at 2 p.m. on Friday, with the first round of the highly popular tours starting April 3. Available through Ticket Link, the tickets cost 60,000 won ($45). The ticket covers a royal “dosirak,” or a boxed meal of dishes enjoyed by the Joseon (1392-1910) royals, followed by a guided tour of the palace’s northern side. The first round of tours will take place April 3 to April 21, twice dail
Travel March 21, 2024
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