Journalist

Yoon Juhye
  • Museum Director Kim Myung-in Pledges National Script Research Institute
    Museum Director Kim Myung-in Pledges National Script Research Institute Kim Myung-in, director of the National Museum of World Writing Systems, on April 17 announced a new vision for the museum: “World cultures through writing systems, an open museum preparing for the future.” Speaking at a news briefing at the Korea Press Center, Kim said the museum will pursue the creation of a National Script Research Institute as a key driver, aiming to become a “global hub for writing-system culture” where exhibitions and research operate in tandem. He outlined major initiatives for the museum’s future growth. The proposed institute would be a specialized body to study writing systems broadly, from their origins to changes in the digital era. Through networks of researchers in Korea and abroad and an archive of global writing-system materials, the museum plans to move beyond an “exhibitions and education” focus and build a model that integrates professional research. Kim said the institute would also serve as a central platform to protect shared human heritage by systematically documenting and studying scripts at risk of disappearing. “We will work closely with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to push ahead with the institute step by step and establish the museum’s identity,” he said. To expand visitor experiences, the museum will strengthen its domestic and international exhibition lineup. It will open “Geulssi Shop” on May 1, highlighting the meaning and artistry of handwriting. In the second half of the year, it plans a special exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of Korean Braille, tentatively titled “Dots That Communicate — Hunmaengjeongeum.” The museum also plans to deepen global ties. In July, it will hold an exchange exhibition, “A King’s Dream, the Speech of All People,” at the Champollion World Writing Museum in France to mark the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France, highlighting the history of writing-system exchanges between the two countries. In May 2027, the museum plans a show tentatively titled “ASEAN Fairy Tales,” introducing scripts from Southeast Asian countries alongside traditional stories. In October 2027, it plans a more in-depth special exhibition tentatively titled “Great Exhibition of Chinese Characters.” The show, in cooperation with the Palace Museum in Beijing to mark the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and China, will examine the origins and development of Chinese characters, the formation of the broader Chinese-character cultural sphere, and their cultural influence and future significance through the modern era. The exhibitions are being planned as part of a “World Writing History Series,” with future special shows expected to cover additional scripts and civilizations, including the Latin alphabet (English) and kana (Japanese). 2026-04-17 11:42:19
  • Stage Review: Record of Bones Finds Humanity When Perfection Breaks
    Stage Review: 'Record of Bones' Finds Humanity When Perfection Breaks “I will do my utmost to see you on your final journey.” The central figure in the play 'Record of Bones' is a funeral director robot named Robis. His service is flawless. In the way he handles the dead, he shows a calm, craftsmanlike precision. His gestures are delicate, his gaze steady. Robis carries out standardized procedures without a fraction of error — no mistakes, no hesitation, no complaints. Within a fixed system, his work can seem like the ideal. What changes is the body before him: a man in his 80s, a woman in her 20s, a 9-year-old child. Different lives leave different “records” in bone. Robis reads them evenly. A twisted ankle, head trauma — such traces intersect with a family’s memories and become grief. But for Robis, death is an area he cannot interpret — until the death of his only friend, Momi, a cleaner at the funeral home. The production has been described as a story of a robot “more human than humans,” echoing the robots in the Korean original musical 'Maybe Happy Ending,' which found success on Broadway. The play asks why audiences sense humanity in machines like Robis. Momi is human — and incomplete. Unable to speak, he communicates in sign language. He is not orderly. He likes to stare at a wall because its patterns have no obvious logic. What looks like the same wall and the same butterfly to Robis appears as different shapes to Momi. Unlike a machine that can mimic warmth through empathy-coded language, humans are full of contradictions: jealousy, guilt that keeps them awake, and feelings they cannot always explain even to themselves. Each person carries a distinct pattern. That is why the audience feels something human when Robis, who always stood in the same spot in the cold morgue, suddenly runs out the front door. He does more than read the record of bones: he remembers that Momi disliked hot things, and he misses Momi’s smile. In that moment, Robis breaks from strict procedure and the frame built for him. Devotion, the play suggests, comes from sincere communication and time spent together — something Robis demonstrates as he sees his friend off on his final journey. The show runs through May 10 at the Jayu Small Theater in the Opera House at the Seoul Arts Center. 2026-04-17 10:13:10
  • South Korea Launches Copyright Protection Campaign for World Book and Copyright Day
    South Korea Launches Copyright Protection Campaign for World Book and Copyright Day The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Copyright Commission and the Korea Copyright Protection Agency said Thursday they will run a copyright protection campaign from April 17 to 30 ahead of World Book and Copyright Day on April 23. Events will be held online and in person, including talk concerts with writers and experts, advance promotion for a copyright awareness contest, and an on-site program at the National Library of Korea. Two talk concerts are scheduled for April 23. Writer Kim Gyeoul will meet readers at Kyobo Book Centre’s Gwanghwamun store under the theme “The future of books built through copyright protection.” Kim Seong-woo, identified as a doctor, will lecture at the Copyright Museum in Jinju, South Gyeongsang province, on “Artificial intelligence and copyright, literacy.” Ahead of the “copyright awareness contest” set for May, organizers will run an advance promotion event on the contest website from April 23 until entries open. Participants can register their intent to join and post comments about what they expect. This year’s contest will accept poems and essays promoting respect for and protection of copyright. Organizers plan to select 50 winning works and, in November, award prizes including the Prime Minister’s Award, the culture minister’s award, a special award from the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the Korea Copyright Commission chair’s award, along with total prize money worth 12.5 million won. Local communities and companies are also joining the campaign. One hundred bookstores nationwide, working with Kyobo Book Centre and the Korea Booksellers Association, will distribute 100,000 bookmarks from April 23 to 30 carrying the message, “A heart that loves books, a heart that respects copyright.” Kakao Corp. said it will run a World Book Day reading club through Kakao Brunch and spread messages encouraging respect for copyright. The National Library of Korea will hold a copyright quiz and a kiosk roulette event for visitors on April 23. Online, the commission and the protection agency will run four consecutive social media events: “Choose the correct passage” and “Fill in the blank” from April 17 to 23, followed by “Comment on the promotional video” and “Choose a character from a work” from April 23 to 30. * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-17 08:48:26
  • Woljeongsa abbot urges new path in AI era through Odaesan Buddhist masters
    Woljeongsa abbot urges new path in AI era through Odaesan Buddhist masters "We're in an era where established religions are bound to weaken, with people leaving religion and spirituality becoming secular and commercialized," Venerable Jeongnyeom said. "But if we reflect carefully on what came before, we can always open a new path." Jeongnyeom, 70, abbot of Woljeongsa Temple on Mount Odaesan in Gangwon Province, made the remarks at a press briefing on April 14 at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul for the publication of <Great Monks of Odaesan>. Saying most established religions are losing influence, he urged closer attention to the legacy of eminent monks. He said the public should be able to understand the monks' practice, ideas and the broad Buddhist culture of Odaesan. He described the series as a biographical project planned to prepare for the artificial intelligence era and to produce new cultural content that future generations can use easily. <Great Monks of Odaesan> compiles the lives and teachings of eight eminent monks who passed through Mount Odaesan over about 1,400 years, from the Silla period to modern times. The project totals 10 volumes: eight on individual monks, one general history volume and one reference volume. Three volumes have been released first, with the remaining seven to be published sequentially within the year. The series highlights figures including Jijang Yulsa, Beomil Guksa, Naong Seonsa, Tanheo Seonsa and Manhwa Seonsa, presenting continuity in the Korean Buddhist lineage centered on Odaesan. The project began with Jeongnyeom's idea. He has led efforts to systematically organize the monks' practice, thought and cultural legacy, but much of the work had accumulated mainly in academic papers, limiting access for general readers. Determined to finish his term as abbot well, Jeongnyeom approached publisher Minjoksa. He said he sought an unconventional format written in modern language so readers could engage with it more easily. The books are based on documented research but add about 20% fictional elements. Minjoksa asked writers to produce a format that even middle and high school students could understand, without leaning too heavily toward a novel or a conventional biography. Participating authors revised and supplemented drafts repeatedly before completing the volumes. Throughout the briefing, Jeongnyeom stressed what he called an "AI transformation," voicing concern about "a situation where machines become humanlike and humans become machine-like." He said society is facing a civilizational shift marked by a loss of meaning and confusion over values, and urged Korean Buddhism to renew its sense of purpose and serve as a source of wisdom in a time of transition. He also described the monks featured in the series as people who illuminated Odaesan and did their best to overcome turmoil in Korean society. Citing a sense of crisis over an approaching "AI tsunami," he said Buddhism, too, must move forward with new hope. Asked about reporters' questions related to the Buddhist order's election for its chief administrator, he emphasized leadership, calling for change, hope and unity. "In an uncertain era where change never stops, the most important quality of leadership today is to see the future and set direction," he said. "Many parts of the order's culture fall short in building the public's affection for Buddhism. A forward-looking design is important." 2026-04-16 14:45:18
  • MMCA to Open Hands-On Children’s Exhibition ‘Still, the Days We Tried’
    MMCA to Open Hands-On Children’s Exhibition ‘Still, the Days We Tried’ The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, said Wednesday it will open “Still, the Days We Tried” on April 17 at the MMCA Children’s Space on the second floor of the education wing at its Seoul museum. The MMCA Children’s Space is a family-focused area first introduced at the Seoul museum in 2025 to broaden children’s and family visitors’ museum experiences through participatory exhibitions and education grounded in contemporary art. The exhibition is presented with artist Yang Jung-uk, the 2024 winner of the museum’s flagship award, Artist of the Year. It features three new works and includes ongoing hands-on workshops designed to help visitors engage with the exhibition’s themes. The title reflects the idea that failure and repetition in the act of trying can lead to new attempts. The museum said the program is intended to help children experience experimentation in the creative process and view failure as a new possibility. Yang will show three new works: “Temporary Map” (2026), “A Small Person and an Even Smaller Person” (2026) and “Watching You” (2026). The museum said the works build on the artist’s view that it can be enough even without explicitly showing something, underscoring that the process itself has meaning. Children can look closely at the works to observe movement and structure and explore how they operate and what they mean. Three always-available workshops linked to the works will offer children a chance to make, try and learn through a range of materials and activities. The artist said he hopes children will focus on attitude and process rather than achievement and results. The museum said the programs can help children build self-efficacy and develop a more positive view of failure by experiencing the artist’s working methods and creative process. Related education programs will also run during the exhibition, including the regular “Museum Kids TokTok” for preschool and elementary school groups and the weekend “Museum Family TokTok” for families with children. Details are available on the MMCA website. Separately, the museum said it has traditionally closed only three days a year — Jan. 1 and the day of Lunar New Year and Chuseok — but will begin a pilot program in 2026 to add temporary closures for safety inspections as visitor numbers rise. It will close on the first Tuesday of June, September and December (6.2., 9.1., 12.1.). * This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-16 09:12:31
  • Park Jeonghye Named Chair of Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation
    Park Jeonghye Named Chair of Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation The Korea Heritage Service said it will appoint Park Jeonghye, a professor at the Academy of Korean Studies’ Graduate School of Korean Studies, as the fifth chair of the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, effective April 16. Her three-year term runs through April 15, 2029. Park has served as president of the Korean Society of Art History, a member of the National Institute of Korean History, dean of the Academy of Korean Studies’ Graduate School of Korean Studies, and chair of the Movable Cultural Heritage Subcommittee of the Cultural Heritage Administration’s Cultural Heritage Committee. The foundation, an affiliate of the Korea Heritage Service, was established in July 2012 to carry out comprehensive and systematic projects related to surveying and researching Korean cultural heritage held overseas, as well as its repatriation and use.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-04-16 09:04:54
  • New Books: Two Guides to Speaking With Confidence and Listening With Care
    New Books: Two Guides to Speaking With Confidence and Listening With Care The Language of Achievement: Calmly, Confidently=By Kim Seop, Apoint. “If your boss gives an unfair order, what would you do?” If that question freezes you, this book offers a way forward. It also speaks to everyday moments, such as when a partner suddenly texts, "Want to grab dinner?" and you feel tired, pressured and unsure how to respond. Kim asks readers to choose between simply talking and actually having a conversation. He argues that attitude matters more than sounding polished like a TV anchor. Clear diction and delivery are less important, he writes, than being able to state your thoughts plainly even if you stumble. He also points to the value of pausing to breathe when blindsided by a question and of reading the needs behind what someone says. The author’s resume is unusual: He passed a high-pressure interview at South Korea’s National Intelligence Service and a final interview at the BBC, which he says is hard to find even reviews of. He started as a YTN announcer, then worked as an NIS agent, and later as a reporter at MBC and the BBC. He now works as a PI consultant designing external communications for corporate CEOs. The book includes practical advice for job candidates, but it is not framed as a set of tricks for passing interviews or winning arguments. As its subtitle, "The power of my story to win someone’s heart," suggests, it emphasizes conviction, composure and room to think as the basis for trust and better relationships. Kim writes that people struggling with small talk, or treating negotiation as a fight to win, may find reason to reassess. He stresses listening as the starting point: "The power to open a closed heart begins with attentive listening," he writes, urging readers to listen closely, ask good questions and show empathy. The book’s editing is uneven, with typos such as "business sege" and an unnecessary symbol ([) where a period should be. "Technique alone can’t move anyone’s heart. Someone who truly speaks well is someone who can honestly put themselves out there. Don’t strain to speak like an announcer. It’s OK to be a bit rough. Speak in my voice, my intonation, my grain. The listener wants sincerity more than pronunciation." (p. 103) Listening With Love=By Park Su-in, Achimdal Park, a music scholar, ranges across the world of sound — classical music, melodies in subway stations, a father’s song from childhood memories, and the rhythmic cloth-beating her mother recalls — and views it through the lens of love. She writes that listening, or leaning in with the ear, is not meaningfully different from loving its object. Asked, "Why did we stop singing in the face of sorrow?" Park argues that song should continue even then. Through the sound of a grandmother’s cloth-beating remembered by her mother, she urges readers to notice what sounds surround them. She writes that readers may come to hear the world in finer detail while also discovering the self that listens, and to think about how love is cultivated. The essay collection includes sheet music to aid understanding and QR codes that link to excerpts of some of the pieces she mentions. "In the scenery of my childhood, sound was low and soft. The sounds between neighbors naturally seeped into one another, and they were both greetings and proof of existence. Now is a time when many things feel delicate, a time overly rigid, or a time of excessive consideration for one another. In crossing the threshold of that consideration, we easily bring in moral yardsticks. An age of tension has arrived, when even the small sounds that rarely intrude are hard to allow." (p. 60) 2026-04-15 16:48:18
  • 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