Journalist

Yoon Ju-hye
  • International Symposium to Reassess Video Art Pioneer Nam June Paik Marks 20th Anniversary of Death
    International Symposium to Reassess Video Art Pioneer Nam June Paik Marks 20th Anniversary of Death Korea Arts Council (ARKO) and the Nam June Paik Art Center will jointly host an international academic symposium, “Paik After Paik,” on April 23 at the ARKO Arts Theater Grand Theater in Seoul, ARKO said Tuesday.  The event marks the 20th anniversary of the death of video art pioneer Nam June Paik (1932-2006). Nine leading researchers from South Korea and abroad will review the state of Paik scholarship built over the past 60 years and discuss how his legacy can be reinterpreted within contemporary debates on art, technology and culture. Organizers said the symposium approaches Paik not as a closed historical subject but as a field of inquiry that continues to be reshaped within today’s technological environment and systems of knowledge. The program includes a keynote address, two sessions and a panel discussion. The keynote will be delivered by Hannah Higgins, a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, who will revisit Paik’s experiments in the 1960s by linking them to conditions of learning and knowledge production in the age of artificial intelligence. Session 1, “The Structural Terrain of Paik Studies,” will examine research methods and institutional foundations with a focus on curatorial practice, media theory and archives. Participants are Lee Sook-Kyung, director of the Whitworth at the University of Manchester in the U.K.; Lev Manovich, distinguished professor at the CUNY Graduate Center; Hannah Fajersztajn, collection coordinator for the Nam June Paik Archive at the Smithsonian American Art Museum; and art historian Son Boo-kyung. Session 2 will broaden discussion by connecting Paik to 21st-century themes including data science, machines and labor, posthumanism and transnational cultural practice. Participants are Woo Jung-a, a professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology; Douglas Barrett, an assistant professor at Syracuse University; Lee Hyun-ae, an academic research professor at Chung-Ang University; and Jun Okada, an associate professor at Emerson College. ARKO and the Nam June Paik Art Center said the symposium aims to build an international research network linking scholars, arts institutions and archives. It is their first joint academic project under a memorandum of understanding signed in December 2025, and organizers said it will serve as a starting point for cooperation including archival research, journal publication and international researcher exchanges. ARKO Chairman Chung Byung-kuk said he hopes the symposium, through cooperation with the Nam June Paik Art Center, will help expand Paik research. “ARKO will continue to support efforts to invigorate discourse in the visual arts,” he said. Park Nam-hee, director of the Nam June Paik Art Center, said the symposium will review accumulated scholarship and rethink it in light of contemporary technological environments and conditions of knowledge. She said she hopes it will encourage audiences to see Paik not only as a historical figure but as an open subject of research shaping the present and future. The symposium is free and open to the public, with advance reservations recommended. More information is available on the ARKO and Nam June Paik Art Center websites. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-15 14:27:25
  • Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young seeks film industry solutions on holdback, funding
    Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young seeks film industry solutions on holdback, funding “I think we can work through this quickly.” Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young said on the 14th that the government, the film industry and the Korean Film Council should form a public-private consultative body to address pending issues, stressing the need for swift action. Speaking at a meeting with filmmakers in Seoul’s Jung District on supplementary budget planning for the film sector, Choi said there were areas that also required talks with theaters and that he hoped discussions would move forward. The meeting was held to hear industry views on issues including scrapping efforts to legislate a holdback, introducing limits on screen concentration, expanding minimum screening days and increasing policy funds. Attendees included Kim Byeong-in, head of the Korea Scenario Writers Association; Kim Seung-beom, CEO of Niners Entertainment; Baek Jae-ho, head of the Korean Independent Film Association; and director Yang Woo-seok. Earlier, a coalition of 13 major film groups held a news conference saying Korea’s film industry faced a structural crisis and calling for a more active government role, including institutional changes. The groups voiced clear opposition to legislating a “holdback” that would allow films to be released on follow-on platforms such as OTT services only six months after their theatrical run ends. Saying the holdback would amount to a near blackout, they called instead for a system to limit excessive allocation of screens to specific films. Choi noted differing views within the industry and said more discussion was needed. “On holdbacks, there are a variety of opinions even within the film industry,” he said, adding that it did not appear to be an issue to be discussed separately by each side. He said proposals under discussion in the National Assembly were not finalized. “On the big principles, the direction and perspective of the film industry and the government are not different,” Choi said. “What matters is how we turn specific issues into workable measures.” The ministry said it secured a major increase in funding for the film industry through the first supplementary budget for 2026. The package includes 26 billion won for mid-budget film production, 4.5 billion won for independent and art film production, 8 billion won for advanced production support for Korean films, and 27.1 billion won to promote moviegoing, for a total of 65.6 billion won. Choi said he pushed the plan with a sense of crisis that “if film collapses, K-culture collapses,” and with the aim of minimizing the scale of damage from the war in the Middle East. He said the government budget allocated to the film sector for 2026 was 127.9 billion won, and the supplementary budget for the sector was 65.6 billion won. He said support was included for two mid-budget films with production costs of 10 billion to 15 billion won, and that 18 additional films in the 2 billion to 10 billion won range would be designated. Considering the original plan to support 20 mid-budget films, he said, the total support would cover 40 films. 2026-04-14 15:22:03
  • Korea’s Traditional Soban Tables Get Modern Showcase at Milan Design Week
    Korea’s Traditional Soban Tables Get Modern Showcase at Milan Design Week Korea’s traditional soban, a small low table, will be presented in new forms at Milan Design Week, one of the world’s largest design events. The Seoul Design Foundation said Monday it will stage an international exhibition, “Seoul Life 2026 Milan: Heritage Reimagined, Soban,” from April 20 to May 10 at Italy’s ADI Design Museum. The project is hosted and organized by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Design Foundation, with cooperation from the ADI Design Museum. It aims to introduce “Seoul lifestyle and design identity” by combining the soban — a symbol of Korea’s traditional everyday culture — with contemporary design. The soban reflects Korea’s floor-seating tradition and single-diner table culture. Its low, portable structure, balanced proportions and curved legs are presented as distinctive features of Korean furniture design shaped by that lifestyle. Seventeen designers and teams from Korea and abroad are taking part, each reinterpreting the soban in their own design language. The works combine Korean craft techniques with contemporary technologies such as 3D printing and AI-based design, the foundation said. Participants include Korean designer Kim Jinsik of Studio JINSIK KIM, known internationally for work emphasizing minimal forms and material qualities; Korean designer Son Donghoon of Atelier SOHN, whose designs combine function and form through experiments with materials and structure; and Andy&Jong, a Korean-French design duo focused on human-scale work including furniture and lighting based on spatial experience. They are joined by global designers including Italian designer Stefano Giovannoni of Giovannoni Design Studio, known for signature products for Alessi; Italian designer Anna Gili of Anna Gili Design Studio, who gained international recognition through collaborations with Cassina and Alessi; and French architect Odile Decq of Studio Odile Decq, who has won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale. The exhibition space is inspired by the daecheongmaru, the open wooden hall of a traditional Korean house. A long platform structure is placed at the center so visitors can move through the gallery as if walking along a wooden floor while viewing the works. Soban products reflecting “Seoul Color,” described as expressing the city’s identity, will also be shown. The works presented in Milan will later be added to the DDP collection, with a follow-up exhibition planned in Seoul within the year, the foundation said. “This exhibition shows how Seoul’s daily life and culture — and traditional and contemporary design — can meet through the traditional soban,” said Seoul Design Foundation CEO Cha Kang-hee.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-14 10:39:51
  • Gyeongbokgung to Host King Danjong-Themed Programs Tied to Royal Tomb Sites
    Gyeongbokgung to Host King Danjong-Themed Programs Tied to Royal Tomb Sites As the film 'The Man Who Lives With the King' draws audiences, visitors will be able to follow the traces of King Danjong and Queen Jeongsun through programs at major heritage sites including Gyeongbokgung, Jangneung, Sareung and Jongmyo. According to the Korea Heritage Service on the 14th, a special program will run at Gyeongbokgung's Saenggwabang from April 27 to May 3, three times a day for seven days. Each session lasts 70 minutes. The program, held 18 times in total, features a hands-on experience with simple foods made using ingredients linked to Danjong, along with stories from his childhood. It includes segments titled Meeting Danjong, Being With Danjong (a simple meal experience using wild greens), Connecting With Danjong (writing a letter) and Returning to Everyday Life. Participation is free by advance reservation. Starting at noon on April 20, applicants can reserve up to two tickets per Ticketlink account on a first-come, first-served basis. A separate two-day, one-night field trip program will be offered three times — in April, May and October — tracing what organizers described as the tragic yet affectionate path of Danjong and Queen Jeongsun. The itinerary begins at Changdeokgung and continues to Cheongnyeongpo and Jangneung in Yeongwol, then to Sareung in Namyangju, and ends at Yeongnyeongjeon Hall at Jongmyo, where the couple's spirit tablets are enshrined. From April 20 to April 30, a quiz will be held on the Royal Culture Festival's official Instagram account asking participants to identify the name of the Gyeongbokgung building where Danjong stayed in the film. Twenty winners will be selected by drawing to receive a coupon for the K-Heritage online mall and tickets to the closing ceremony of the 2026 fall Royal Culture Festival. In July, organizers will also hold a public contest seeking videos and photos that use generative artificial intelligence to reinterpret 'life with the king' in a modern way. Detailed schedules and participation instructions for each program will be announced in stages on the websites of the Royal Tombs and Palaces Heritage Headquarters and the Korea Heritage Agency Foundation.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-14 09:21:36
  • Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival spotlights young Mozart-era prodigies
    Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival spotlights young Mozart-era prodigies Classical music prodigies will take the spotlight in Seoul this spring, performing works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — often cited as history’s greatest child prodigy — alongside older, established musicians. Violin prodigy Kim Yeon-a, 11, spoke at a news conference April 13 at the Yun Posun House in Seoul for the 21st Seoul Spring Chamber Music Festival, known as SSF. “I’m so excited and nervous — and happy,” she said. Kim, a widely watched young violinist whose YouTube videos have surpassed 160 million views, called the violin “a lovely friend that listens to the sound of my heart.” She said she hopes the festival will help her learn chamber music by “breathing together, listening to other people’s sound, and learning how to do chamber music.” SSF is regarded as a launching pad for rising musicians. Performers now active on international stages — including Cho Seong-jin, Sunwoo Yekwon, Kim Sunwook and Son Yeol-eum — also appeared at the festival when they were young. Artistic director Kang Dong-suk, who has led the festival for 21 years, is also a former prodigy who won the top prize at the Dong-A Music Competition at age 12. Marking the 270th anniversary of Mozart’s birth, SSF is putting “prodigies” at the center of this year’s programming. Under the theme “Mozart and Prodigies,” the festival will run from April 21 to May 31 with 13 performances featuring works by Mozart as well as other early-blooming composers, including Camille Saint-Saens — sometimes called “the Mozart of France” — and Claude Debussy, who entered the Paris Conservatory at age 10. The lineup also includes works by later-blooming masters such as Joseph Haydn and Antonin Dvorak. A May 2 program titled “Family Concert: Prodigies” will feature Kim along with other young performers — Kim Jeong-a, Lee Do-young, the Appassionato Trio (Jeong Hyeon-jun, Jeon Seo-woo and Kim Ju-ho), and Lee Ju-eon — with an average age of 15, performing with senior musicians. The festival said the young artists were recommended by institutions including the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts and the Kumho Foundation. Kang said the festival will also introduce short pieces Mozart wrote at ages 5 and 6. “When you listen, you’ll feel, ‘He really was a genius,’” Kang said. He added that chamber music can teach young musicians about life and how to see “the overall flow of music,” and he hopes SSF will help them grow. Kim said she hopes to become a world-class violinist like Chung Kyung-wha and Kang. “Someday I want to play on the world stage with a Stradivarius, release recordings, and become a violinist who gives people comfort and happiness,” she said. Kim said applause helps her onstage. “It doesn’t matter if there are many people or not, but when there are more people, I actually don’t get as nervous,” she said. “If you clap a lot, I relax.”* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-13 15:21:20
  • Korean Picture Books Target Global Market at Bologna Children’s Book Fair
    Korean Picture Books Target Global Market at Bologna Children’s Book Fair The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Publishing Industry Promotion Agency said Sunday they will take part in the 63rd Bologna Children’s Book Fair, running April 13-16 at BolognaFiere in Italy, to step up efforts to expand the global market for Korean children’s publishing content. Korea will operate a 352-square-meter area centered on an export consultation zone and an author promotion zone, aiming to showcase the strength of Korean picture books and children’s literature and deliver tangible export results. In the export consultation zone, organizers will focus on one-on-one business meetings between Korean and overseas publishers. A total of 39 Korean publishers, including Changbi Publishers, Sakyejul Publishing and Dasan Books, will run individual booths. A professional agency will also handle export consultations for 100 titles submitted on behalf of 27 companies that cannot attend in person. Last year, 40 Korean publishers joined the consultation zone and held 556 export meetings. Organizers said they will support talks by arranging pre-scheduled meetings with overseas buyers, providing professional interpreters and producing an English directory introducing participating companies’ books. A “Networking Day” is set for April 14 to promote exchanges among publishing professionals. After the fair, displayed books will be donated to King Sejong Institutes and local universities to broaden access to Korean publishing content. The author promotion zone will highlight Korea’s creative range in children’s publishing by exhibiting representative works and original illustrations from 15 Korean authors. A total of 109 books, including key titles by 10 authors attending the fair, will be displayed. Organizers will run 16 author programs to introduce the writers’ work in greater depth. A special lecture will feature author Lee Geum-yi, a finalist in the writing category for the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award, often described as the “Nobel Prize of children’s literature.” Organizers will also host book talks and a special exhibition centered on works that won the BolognaRagazzi Award in March, aiming to underscore the international standing of Korean children’s publishing. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-13 09:36:16
  • NongHyup Bank Joins K-Content Loan Interest Support, Completing Six-Bank Network
    NongHyup Bank Joins K-Content Loan Interest Support, Completing Six-Bank Network The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency said Monday they signed a business agreement with NongHyup Bank on April 10 to expand an interest-subsidy program for cultural content companies, together with the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and the Korea Technology Finance Corp. Under the “content company interest-subsidy support” program, the government covers up to 2.5 percentage points of loan interest for small and midsize content firms that struggle to raise production funding. The agreement allows companies to secure financing more smoothly by using an “agreement guarantee” issued by the guarantee institutions and receiving interest support. The five participating organizations said they will cooperate for the next three years, each using its own expertise. The culture ministry will provide policy funding, and KOCCA will form a consultative body among the partners and oversee the program’s overall implementation. The Korea Credit Guarantee Fund and the Korea Technology Finance Corp. will issue dedicated agreement guarantees for content companies. NongHyup Bank will provide loans to eligible firms at rates 2.5 percentage points below standard rates. The program targets small and midsize cultural content companies that receive the agreement guarantee, and the funds are to be used for K-content production and distribution. The ministry and KOCCA said the deal completes a nationwide content-finance support network with participation from the country’s six major commercial banks. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-13 09:30:14
  • Veteran Actors Shin Goo, Park Geun-hyung Back Youth Theater Project in Seoul
    Veteran Actors Shin Goo, Park Geun-hyung Back Youth Theater Project in Seoul "Theater is about people, and it’s our story," said 90-year-old actor Shin Goo, speaking April 7 to young actors gathered at Daehangno Arts Theater in Seoul. He described theater as work that expresses what happens in relationships and stressed that the expression "must be honest." Without that, he said, the effort becomes meaningless, urging the actors to keep making strong work. That day, 30 young actors in the Theater Tomorrow Project presented key scenes from three original productions: "Tandem," "The Birth of a Queen" and "Firdaus." The works were developed through training, creation and collaboration within the project. The productions are scheduled to meet audiences April 24-26 at Arko Dream Field Theater, and tickets sold out as soon as sales opened. The Theater Tomorrow Project began after veteran theater artists Shin Goo and Park Geun-hyung, 86, joined forces to pass on stage experience and know-how to younger performers. The two donated proceeds to the Arts Council Korea, known as ARKO, from a special benefit performance of the play "Waiting for Godot" in March last year, helping create the Theater Tomorrow Fund. The project then moved into full operation. In early January, organizers held an open call and auditions and selected 30 young actors from 1,000 applicants. The group studied Park’s acting philosophy and stage experience through his master class, then went through directing workshops, actor training, creation and rehearsals before preparing to take the stage this month. Park said "Waiting for Godot," which he performed with Shin, drew enough love to sell out nationwide and made them feel they should do something more. He said the project now seems to have produced a small first result and asked ARKO to help ensure it continues rather than ending as a one-time effort. To keep supporting the project, the two veteran actors plan to appear in the play "The Merchant of Venice" in July, continuing their donations. A separate audition will be held for the 30 project participants, and selected actors will perform in "The Merchant of Venice" alongside Shin and Park. After watching the young actors, Shin said it felt like going back 60 years. "I was so flustered at my first performance that I can’t even remember how I got through it," he said. He added he was grateful younger performers now have a better environment for taking the stage than his generation did. Park said the present looks hopeful compared with a time when he felt they were searching for a path without light. But he warned that pursuing the work requires accepting financial hardship, adding, "Welcome to the hard road." Young artists said the project helped them grow. Actor Ahn Seung-gyun, who took part in "Tandem," said he came to realize "nothing can be done alone" and that the process of questioning, clashing and building the work together was a joy. Actor Ryu Ji-o, who appears in "The Birth of a Queen," said the key lesson was that people matter. "I realized again that theater is made by rubbing shoulders with people," Ryu said. "I was happy to meet friends who share the same dream and to work closely with them." * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-13 00:04:26
  • National Theater Company, LG Arts Center to Stage Rival Takes on Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya in May
    National Theater Company, LG Arts Center to Stage Rival Takes on Chekhov’s 'Uncle Vanya' in May Two big-budget productions based on Anton Chekhov’s play “Uncle Vanya” will go head-to-head on Seoul stages in May, with the National Theater Company of Korea and LG Arts Center each unveiling a new version. The source material is the same, but the two productions signal different approaches, starting with their titles. According to the theater community, the National Theater Company of Korea will present “Banya Ajae,” while LG Arts Center will stage “Uncle Vanya.” Both will be mounted in large venues with more than 1,000 seats, a rare “major production” matchup in Korean theater. Their runs overlap: “Banya Ajae” is scheduled for May 22-31, and “Uncle Vanya” for May 7-31. In “Banya Ajae,” Cho Seong-ha plays Vanya (Park I-bo), and Shim Eun-kyung plays Sonya (Seo Eun-hee). In LG Arts Center’s “Uncle Vanya,” Lee Seo-jin plays Vanya and Go Ah-sung plays Sonya. The split in naming — “ajae,” a colloquial term akin to “middle-aged guy,” versus “uncle” — reflects how the directors view the character. “Banya Ajae” director Cho Kwang-hwa said he saw himself in Vanya, while Son Sang-gyu, who leads “Uncle Vanya,” said the character reminded him of his father. Cho was born in 1965 and Son in 1977, a difference that may shape their perspectives. Cho has said he once preferred works with solemn, lofty ideas and disliked Chekhov’s focus on ordinary people. As he grew older, he said, his view changed. Through Vanya, he began thinking of “the uncles around us now,” and Chekhov’s everyday life felt like his own story. He emphasized the term “ajae,” aiming for a Korean-inflected adaptation that audiences can relate to without barriers and find comfort in. Son said Vanya’s grumbling sense of duty — and the anger that finally breaks through — overlapped with his image of his father. He said that helped inform his casting of Lee, whose public persona includes complaining while still seeing tasks through to the end. At a recent production presentation, Son said, “My father worked late and retired. Because he had to support the family, he used to say, ‘I’ve never even been able to take a trip,’” adding, “Who can casually judge a life like that?” Son said he wondered whether people, like trees accepted as they are, could at least be more generous about their own lives. Son said he focused on the relationship between Uncle Vanya and his niece Sonya, choosing “uncle” rather than “mister” for the title. An LG Arts Center official said the production would aim for universality while delivering a modern, minimalist mise-en-scene. Some in the theater world are also framing the pairing as a contest between experience and novelty. Cho is known as a veteran director who has worked across musicals and plays. Son is a newer director who debuted with the 2024 play “The Lives of Others,” and “Uncle Vanya” will be his first production in a large theater.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-13 00:03:17
  • Seo Seung-man Named CEO of National Jeongdong Theater
    Seo Seung-man Named CEO of National Jeongdong Theater The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Seo Seung-man was appointed CEO of the National Jeongdong Theater foundation, effective April 10. His term is three years. Seo is a performing arts and content planner with experience in broadcasting, stage production and theater operations, the ministry said. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in theater, film and visual media at Kookmin University and a doctorate in public administration. His past roles include head of the theater troupe Sangsan Naneum, head of the small theater Sangsan Naneum Theater, president of the Korea Safety Culture Association, publicity committee chair of the Korean Association for Public Management, and a public relations ambassador for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. He has directed productions including the madangnori works “Ondal-a, Pyeonggang-a” and “Ppaengpa-jeon,” and the musicals “Nono Story” and “Tunnel.” The National Jeongdong Theater foundation was established in 1997 to promote the restoration ideal of Wongaksa, described as Korea’s first modern-style theater, and to produce and stage traditional performing arts while expanding exchanges at home and abroad. More recently, it has presented works rooted in Jeongdong-gil’s modern cultural heritage — including traditional performance, theater and musicals — contributing to tourism in central Seoul. Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young said he expects Seo to strengthen the theater’s role as a tourism asset in the Jeongdong-gil area and to play a key role in promoting high-quality performances to audiences worldwide.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-10 14:12:15