Heritage agency unions file complaint against former chief over Kim Keon Hee allegations The controversy over allegations that Kim Keon Hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, improperly used national heritage sites has escalated into an internal clash at the Korea Heritage Service. The agency’s internal audit led to heavy discipline for working-level officials who followed instructions, while excluding Choi Eung-chon, who led the agency at the time — a result unions described as scapegoating. Some in the civil service say the fallout will be hard to resolve unless administrative structures that leave officials vulnerable to improper demands from those in power are changed. The Korea Heritage Service branch of the Government Employees’ Union and the broader union held a news conference Feb. 4 outside Jongno Police Station in Seoul and filed a complaint with investigators against Choi. They accused him of abuse of authority, dereliction of duty and obstruction of business. They said investigating Choi, the top decision-maker at the time of the alleged incidents, should come first. Hwang Jin-gyu, head of the agency’s union, criticized the lack of action against Choi, saying it has long been common for political appointees to avoid responsibility after a change in administration or retirement while shifting blame to lower-level staff. He added that, based on Choi’s position and past actions, it is “common sense” to conclude Choi had a close relationship with Kim, and said it was “contradictory” that only working-level officials would be punished. Last month, the Korea Heritage Service filed a complaint with Jongno Police Station against Kim on suspicion of obstructing official duties and violating the Cultural Heritage Protection Act. The agency’s internal probe found Kim held a private tea gathering at Mangmyoru Pavilion at Jongmyo Shrine. It also said she inspected a storage facility at the National Palace Museum of Korea and sat on the royal throne at Geunjeongjeon Hall at Gyeongbokgung Palace, interfering with the agency’s management activities. The unions objected that the audit did not hold Choi accountable, while the agency removed Lee Jae-pil, former head of the Royal Palaces and Tombs Headquarters, from his post and asked the Ministry of Personnel Management to impose heavy discipline. Hwang said the unions “cannot accept” the audit results and urged police to thoroughly investigate Choi as the top official responsible at the time so that “legal justice” can be realized. Kim Ik-hwan, a lawyer at Law Firm Suseong representing the complaint, said it alleges four offenses: abuse of authority, dereliction of duty, aiding obstruction of official duties and violations of the anti-graft law. He said additional complaints could follow. Some civil servants warn similar incidents could recur unless conditions change that make it difficult for junior officials to refuse orders from superiors. In November, South Korea revised Article 57 of the State Public Officials Act to remove a “duty of obedience” provision, allowing officials not to follow illegal orders. But critics say the change has limited effect because it includes no penalty provisions for those who issue such orders. 2026-02-04 15:57:00

South Korea’s MU:DS museum brand to debut in Europe at Milan Korea House South Korea’s national museum merchandise brand MU:DS is set to make its European debut.  The National Museum Foundation of Korea said Tuesday it will present MU:DS at Korea House in Italy from Feb. 5 to 22 during the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics.    Korea House, operated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, will be set up at Villa Necchi Campiglio, a historic building in central Milan. The foundation said it plans to introduce visitors to K-culture through MU:DS, which reinterprets Korean cultural heritage with a modern sensibility.    MU:DS will appear under the global slogan, “MU:DS, K-Culture Unboxed - Reimagining Tradition, Redefining K-Culture.” For the event, the foundation selected 96 products across five themes: pensive bodhisattva, celadon, white porcelain, mother-of-pearl lacquerware and K-pop Demon Hunters.  It said items drawing on Korean motifs highlighted by the popularity of Netflix’s animated “K-pop Demon Hunters” — including a gat hat, magpie-and-tiger imagery and the Irwolobongdo screen — will be featured prominently.  The foundation called the appearance MU:DS’ first official entry into the European market. To mark it, 19 popular items will be sold on-site, including a “Pensive Bodhisattva” miniature from the “Mind” series, a magpie-and-tiger badge and key rings.    The foundation said it aims to use Korea House not only for sports diplomacy but also as a distribution platform showcasing Korean lifestyle products.  It said museum merchandise sales totaled 41.3 billion won last year. MU:DS also sold out within a week when it was introduced alongside an overseas traveling exhibition of items donated by the late Lee Kun-hee at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington.    Jeong Yong-seok, president of the National Museum Foundation of Korea, said, “It is meaningful to share the beauty of our cultural heritage at the Winter Olympics, a festival for people around the world.” He added, “This expansion into Europe will be an important turning point in confirming the global competitiveness of K-goods,” and said he hopes MU:DS becomes a national representative brand people worldwide want to own.    Separately, the foundation said it will support Naver’s group cheering event for the Winter Olympics for two days starting Feb. 15 by providing items including a “Denny Taegeukgi” key ring and a miniature bag inspired by a zoomorphic earthenware vessel.    Korea House will operate from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Visitors can enter by reserving through the official website or applying on-site.   2026-02-04 14:39:00

National Theater Company to Restage ‘Sammaegyeong’ After Six Months The play “Sammaegyeong” is returning to the stage. The National Theater Company of Korea, led by CEO and artistic director Park Jeong Hui, said Tuesday that “Sammaegyeong,” based on an original work by Ham Se Deok and adapted and directed by Lee Cheol Hui, will open March 12 at Myeongdong Theater. The company, South Korea’s largest theater producer, premiered “Sammaegyeong” last year as part of its mission to develop “Korean classics.” The production reimagines a work long regarded as a landmark in Korean theater history with a contemporary sensibility. Actor Ji Chun Seong, who rose to prominence with the earlier original “Dongseung” (1991, directed by Park Won Geun), leads the cast; the premiere drew sold-out houses and strong reviews from audiences and critics, the company said. The company said it is bringing “Sammaegyeong” back as a model of South Korean original theater that keeps modern and contemporary Korean drama alive onstage. It also called the revival its first step in 2026, which it has designated as a starting year for discovering new repertory works and testing them with audiences. Audience events are also planned. On Feb. 19 and 20, the director and cast will meet theatergoers for a script-reading session. From March 28-30, the production will offer accessibility performances with Korean Sign Language interpretation, Korean subtitles, audio description, a stage-model touch tour and mobility support. Post-show talks are scheduled after the March 15 and 29 performances, with Lee and Ji among those set to attend. The run continues through April 5. The company will offer a 50% discount, titled “See it three times, fall into ‘Sammaegyeong,’” to patrons holding two paid tickets for the production. It will also offer a 30% discount, titled “This year, too, a performance ‘Sammaegyeong,’” to holders of paid tickets to any performances in 2025-2026, including musicals, dance and concerts; the discount applies even if the ticket is not for a National Theater Company production. Tickets are available through the National Theater Company and NOL Ticket websites. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-04 13:30:33

South Korea’s National Museum to Open Earlier, Add Pondside ‘Water-Gazing’ Steps "To fully implement a K-museum that leads the world, we will innovate the future viewing environment and visitor experience." Yu Hong-jun, director of the National Museum of Korea, said at a New Year news briefing on Feb. 3 that the museum has entered an era of 6.5 million visitors a year. He said the key was not treating it as a place that simply displays old artifacts, but as a complex cultural space where culture is shared. Under this year’s vision of “a museum for everyone,” the museum said it will redesign how people visit and how it operates, aiming to become a participatory cultural complex open to all. Starting March 16, it will move opening time up from 10 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.). Yu said visitors line up by 8:30 a.m., adding that he felt it was unreasonable for people to stand for an hour and a half. In August, the museum will expand outdoor amenities to reposition itself as a place where people want to stay. It plans to build “water-gazing steps,” a set of steps where visitors can rest while looking out over the pond, similar to rest areas found at major museums worldwide. Yu said the museum is “absolutely short” on cafes and restaurants, and that a glasshouse-style cafe will be added above the restaurant by the Mirror Pond. He said the museum also aims to revive the visitor route from the main entrance to the Mirror Pond. The museum said it will build a customer relationship management system by December to improve the visitor environment and operations and ease congestion. It also plans to develop online reservations and ticketing, on-site ticketing, contactless electronic ticket checks and mobile QR tickets, in preparation for paid admission. By 2029, it plans to expand and rebuild the children’s museum to about twice its current size. Yu said one of the museum’s biggest points of pride is that many young people visit. “Directors of foreign museums ask me to tell them the secret to attracting young people,” he said. “I think it’s because it’s fun, you can learn, and you can enjoy the museum even without going into the galleries.” The museum also outlined major exhibitions planned for 2026, combining public appeal and academic value. They include “Our Table” (July 1-Oct. 25), which looks at the origins and evolution of Korean food culture amid global interest in K-food; “Thai Art” (June 16-Sept. 6), the first Thailand art exhibition of its kind in South Korea; “War, Art and Life” (Nov. 27-’27.3.21.); and “Marie Antoinette Style” (Dec. 18-’27.3.31.). It also plans to upgrade how it runs permanent exhibitions. The “Daedongyeojido” display on the “Path of History” (2.12.) will be created as a symbolic space where the visitor route itself becomes a historical experience. Other plans include reopening the Korean Empire gallery in April and a special public showing of Dunhuang Buddhist sutras in October.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-04 13:30:00

Buddhist Temple-Style Jumbo Dumplings Hit Online Stores and Supermarkets DobanHC Co., the business holding company of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, and CJ CheilJedang are releasing a limited run of “temple-style jumbo dumplings.” DobanHC said Tuesday the dumplings are filled only with selected plant-based ingredients — including cabbage, zucchini and mung bean sprouts — to boost texture and deliver a clean, nutty flavor. The company said it strictly follows traditional Buddhist practice-food rules, using no meat and no “five pungent vegetables” — garlic, green onion, chives, wild chives and asafoetida. It said the product is aimed at consumers seeking a gentler eating experience and was released as part of a recent CJ CheilJedang collaboration collection. The dumplings come in a 1.05-kilogram family-size pack. They will be sold at all E-Mart stores and E-Mart Everyday, and can also be ordered nationwide through DobanHC’s online store, Seungso Mall, and CJ CheilJedang’s online mall, CJ The Market. A “temple-style jumbo dumpling” tasting demonstration is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Feb. 6 at the Salim Food Research Institute in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, run by temple-food expert Prof. Park Seong Hui of Hyejeon College. Park will present cooking methods to highlight the dumplings’ mild flavor and lead a live cooking and tasting session so participants can experience “K-temple food” with all five senses. 2026-02-04 09:33:00

National Library of Korea to Expand AI Training Data and Public Access The National Library of Korea said Tuesday it has released its “2026 key work plan” to modernize national knowledge and information services using artificial intelligence and to move toward a next-generation library model. A central task is building and opening high-quality training data that underpin the AI industry. The library said it will continue compiling AI training text data, focusing on materials whose copyright has expired or been cleared, and provide them to the Ministry of Science and ICT’s “independent AI foundation model project.” The project refers to a general-purpose AI model trained and operated directly using domestic technology and resources. The library also plans to open a “Shared Bookshelf” section on its website to make the data available to the public, aiming to support AI technology development and innovation in the K-content industry. To strengthen the foundation for South Korea’s knowledge growth, the library set a goal of comprehensively collecting about 330,000 print items, including books and nonbook materials, and about 400,000 digital items, including e-books and K-content. It said it will use tools such as crowdfunding platforms to survey independent publications and actively identify unstructured publications such as conference materials from international events. To expand overseas Korea-related holdings, the library said it will broaden the countries targeted for rare-book investigations to include the United Kingdom and Germany, and plans to secure about 88,000 pages of Korea-related records held by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. The library also said it will significantly expand AI literacy education so more people can benefit from AI. It plans to increase AI-related offerings from seven courses held 25 times to 10 courses held 32 times, and to subdivide programs into step-by-step tailored training and AI-based creative education. For children and teenagers, it plans hands-on programs that combine new technology and reading, including creative programs using AI platforms, an AI digital ethics experience center with interactive content to build digital ethics awareness, and expanded augmented reality musical content. For academic researchers, the library said it will run training programs on using AI models and data. It also said a research support program for K-content creators, piloted last year, will be launched in earnest this year, aiming to create a virtuous cycle in which the library’s knowledge resources and AI technology become sources for new creative works. The library said it will also host a “National Librarians Meeting” in connection with the “2026 World Library and Information Congress,” set to be held in Busan in August 2026. It said the international meeting, expected to bring together heads of national libraries from about 100 countries, will help lead global discussions on libraries’ roles and vision in the AI era and raise the profile of South Korean libraries. Kim Hee Seop, director of the National Library of Korea, said the library will “faithfully serve as a repository of national knowledge and information” while becoming “an innovative institution leading the era of AI transformation,” so that all people can fully enjoy knowledge and culture.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-04 09:18:00

South Korea to Hold Sixth Korean Sign Language Day Ceremony The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it will hold a ceremony Tuesday afternoon at the Modu Art Theater to mark Korean Sign Language Day and promote the value and importance of Korean Sign Language.  The sixth annual event will be held under the theme, “Today Connected by Language, Tomorrow Continued Through Culture!” The ministry said it was planned to highlight Korean Sign Language not only as the first language of Deaf people but also as a valuable linguistic and cultural asset for South Korean society as a whole. During the ceremony, the ministry will present the culture minister’s commendations to people and groups recognized for expanding and developing Korean Sign Language. Honorees include Pyo Min Ae, head of the Dangjin branch of the Chungnam Association of the Deaf, cited for work including early-childhood sign language education and efforts to strengthen Deaf people’s right to know and language rights for Deaf people without formal schooling. The ministry will also honor “Sueo Mindulle,” described as the country’s only organization specializing in sign language literature. An awards ceremony will also be held for the Korean Sign Language Day sign language design contest, launched for the first time to mark the 10th anniversary of the enactment of the Korean Sign Language Act. Organizers reviewed 65 teams and selected 11 winners: one grand prize, two top excellence awards, three excellence awards and five encouragement awards. Winners will receive the Korea Association of the Deaf president’s award and prize money. The grand prize design will be used for event souvenirs.  * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-02-03 11:12:27

Modern interpretation of ancestral ritual dance wins award in New York SEOUL, January 21 (AJP) - "One Dance," a contemporary interpretation of South Korea's royal ancestral ritual presented by the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, won an award in New York on Tuesday. It won the New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, which annually honor outstanding achievements by independent dance artists. Choreographers Jung Hye-jin, Kim Seong-hun, and Kim Jae-deok, who collaborated on the modern adaptation of a ceremonial dance from Jongmyo Jeryeak, shared the honor with three other winners selected from 12 nominees. The work was praised for its "visually captivating" choreography, striking a perfect balance of stillness and movement. Jung said, "'One Dance' reflects the spirit of people who endured together with one heart toward a single goal," adding that the award was the result of the time and effort that many people devoted to the project. 2026-01-21 15:06:10

K-webtoon exhibition to open in Tokyo to court Japanese readers SEOUL, January 20 (AJP) - South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) will -co-host a K-webtoon exhibition in Tokyo aimed at promoting Korean digital comics to Japanese audiences. The event will run from Jan. 30 to Feb. 28 at Gallery MI inside the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo, the organizers said on Tuesday. The exhibition will feature around 20 major webtoon titles, including 11 winners from the World Webtoon Awards 2025. Globally recognized works such as “Hell,” “Yumi’s Cells” and “If I Don’t Debut, I’ll Die” will be on display. The exhibition is designed to help Japanese visitors better understand the webtoon format by highlighting storytelling structures, character design and directing techniques unique to vertically read digital comics. A dedicated section for World Webtoon Awards 2025 winners will be set up, alongside key milestones and records that have drawn attention to K-webtoons in global markets. An opening-day program on Jan. 30 will feature a talk by webtoon creator Choi Kyu-seok, known for works such as “Hell” and “Awl.” * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2026-01-20 15:38:10

South Korean violinist in wheelchair wins top prize at US competition SEOUL, January 20 (AJP) - Violinist Lim Hyun-jae won the triennial Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition (EOIVC) in Boca Raton, Florida last weekend. At last Sunday's finals at Lynn University Conservatory of Music, Lim, 28, performed Jean Sibelius' "Violin Concerto in D minor" while seated in a wheelchair and won the top prize among four finalists. She also won two special prizes awarded to the best performers of the EOIVC's commissioned work. Lim received US$30,000 in prize money and an additional $20,000 for special awards, along with the opportunity to perform more than 30 times over the next three years on international stages including Boston and New York, as well as Cremona, Italy. The graduate of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia began playing the violin at the age of seven. She returned to Seoul during the coronavirus pandemic while studying in the U.S., but a traffic accident in May 2020 forced her to stop performing for more than four years. After undergoing surgery six times and a lengthy rehabilitation, she returned to the stage in June 2024. Founded in 2017 by American violinist and winner of Moscow's prestigious Tchaikovsky International Competition Elmar Oliveira, the EOIVC aims to help young musicians build independent careers. The competition is held every three years for those aged 18 to 30. 2026-01-20 14:40:26