Image credit: MurphyMade | Inside a one-room apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, Oliver lives a happily quiet life, listening to jazz records and caring for his favorite plant. But what else is there to do when you’re a Helperbot 3, a robot that has long been retired and considered obsolete? When his fellow Helperbot neighbor Claire asks to borrow his charger, what starts as an awkward encounter leads to… Read More

Join us for an engaging discussion with Peter Kahng, an expert on the intersection of global art markets and contemporary Korean art. As a lecturer at Stanford University specializing in "Global Art Markets in Asia," Peter Kahng will provide a unique perspective on the thriving contemporary art scene in Korea. Explore how Korean art movements, including the influential Dansaekhwa, have garnered international acclaim and how contemporary Korean artists are making… Read More

Korean Couture: Generations of Revolution is a compelling exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art about the history and transformative legacy of Korean fashion, presenting garments ranging from excavated 17th-century aristocratic garments to contemporary Korean couture by leading and emerging designers, including André Kim (1935–2010); Lie Sang Bong (b. 1954); Lee Chung Chung (b. 1978), for LIE; Lee Jean Youn (b. 1978); and Shin Kyu Yong (b. 1988) and Park… Read More

Image Credit: © MFA BOSTON | Today, South Korea is a cultural superpower—a global trendsetter producing award-winning films like Parasite, riveting dramas like Squid Game, and chart-topping music by K-pop groups such as BTS and BLACKPINK. But behind the country’s meteoric rise to the world stage, a phenomenon known as the Korean Wave, or hallyu, is the story of remarkable resilience and innovation. Just a century ago, Korea was in… Read More

IMAGE CREDIT: Docu+ Zero Waste is a timely documentary film that explores the current recycling efforts in South Korea through the personal stories of six changemakers. These individuals are advocates for a circular economy who fight against the ongoing plastic waste pollution crisis in the country which has been aggravated by the recent global pandemic. To better understand how so many recyclables end up in our ocean and landfill, director… Read More

"Weirdly wonderful and wonderfully weird."— Kirkus Reviews In the first short-story collection of hers to be translated into and published in English, South Korean author Yun Ko-eun conjures up slightly off-kilter worlds tucked away in the corners of everyday life. Table for One is bursting with images that toe the line between realism and the fantastic, comedy and an element of the surreal, interwoven with the hopelessness and loneliness that… Read More

The world is captivated by Korean culture. This fascination and popular interest, once focused on K-drama and K-pop, have now extended into fashion, food, fine art, classical and various genres of music. So much so that various institutions are pondering the question: what is the secret of Korea’s cultural success? To answer this question, Korea’s Ambassador for Cultural Cooperation Sohn Jie-ae, a former CNN Seoul correspondent, explores the basic values… Read More

Bringing together a wealth of primary sources and with contributions from leading experts, Dress History of Korea presents the most recent approaches to the interpretation of dress and fashion of Korea. Through close analysis of visual, written, and material sources—some newly excavated or recently re-discovered in global museums—the book reveals how dress and adornment evolved from the period of state formation to the modern era. As in other cultures, modern… Read More

K-pop, K-fashion, K-drama, K-beauty: over the past decade, K-style has exploded onto the global scene. What is behind this phenomenon? Where does K-style go from here? In Make, Break, Remix: The Rise of K-style, author and communications consultant Fiona Bae makes no attempt to define or categorize the movement, instead celebrating the eclectic and multifaceted nature of K-style and its home city of Seoul. Photo by less_TAEKYUN KIM K-pop, K-fashion,… Read More

Seoul, South Korea makes Beverly Hills look like a one-stoplight town when it comes to the beauty rat race, and it’s getting more intense every year. Elise Hu spent four years in South Korea as NPR’s bureau chief, and during her tenure there, the K-beauty industry tripled to become a $10 billion industry. South Korea is home to more than 7,500 cosmetic and skincare manufacturers, and K-beauty has staked its… Read More