Seoul beckons local and global esports fans with esports-friendly attractions during the annual League of Legends World Championship, which began its 41-day run on Tuesday. While 22 teams have begun the journey to the Summoner’s Cup, LoL enthusiasts can enjoy esports experiences not limited to just watching the matches. League of Legends, or LoL, is one of the most popular multiplayer online battle arena games. Held at Korean tourism publicity center HiKR Ground in Jung-gu, central Seoul,

Culture Oct. 10, 2023

Travel and food often go hand-in-hand, with travel inevitably leading to the sampling of local specialties. The fall season is a great time to combine travel and dining in South Korea, as the abundance of fresh and seasonal produce creates especially tasty dishes. For the month of October, the Korea Tourism Organization recommends a selection of tourist destinations that will not only create great memories with their unique attractions, but also offer a chance to taste some popular Korean dishes

Travel Oct. 7, 2023

Cable channel tvN's reality show "Unexpected Business" is scheduled to return on a bigger scale with shooting overseas for its third season. The upcoming reality show revolves around the two beloved Korean actors, Cha Tae-hyun and Zo In-sung, as supermarket owners, meeting up and talking with the customers. Unlike in the previous seasons, in which Cha and Zo took over stores in remote areas in South Korea, “Unexpected Business 3" was shot in the seaside town of Monterey

Television Oct. 6, 2023

Global streaming service Netflix has announced the release of “Daily Dose of Sunshine," a heartwarming new drama, in early November. Adapted from a 2017 webtoon series of the same title by author Lee Ra-ha, the show presents the story of a young nurse named Jung Da-eun, who is moved from an internal medicine department to a psychiatric clinic. Based on the author’s real-life experiences, the series shows how Da-eun adapts to the new job, unfamiliar patients and work environment

Television Oct. 6, 2023

DIY accessories at Dongdaemun Shopping Complex The Dongdaemun Shopping Complex, a six-story wholesale shopping center where you'll find everything you need for jewelry- and craft making, is enjoying new-found fame among young people. The shops on the fifth floor specialize in beading and jewelry-making supplies, from wires, plastic chains, gems, buttons to plush balls and even cartoon character keyrings. The price is the mall's main draw. With a single 10,000 won bill, you can buy all

Culture Oct. 6, 2023

Gangneung Coffee Festival The Gangneung Coffee Festival is held every year to promote coffee culture and celebrate Gangneung’s growth as a leading coffee hub in Korea. The coastal city in Gangwon Province is known as the city of coffee and is home to a number of legendary baristas in Korea. This year’s festival, slated to be held Oct. 12-15 at the Gangneung Ice Arena and Gyeongpo Lake Square, has invited big names from the local coffee scene for talks and seminars. Barista competitio

Travel Oct. 6, 2023

Wavve announced Wednesday that its upcoming mystery thriller, “The Deal” is scheduled to be released in some 200 countries, including South Korea, Taiwan and more. Domestically, “The Deal” will be released on Wavve. Overseas, Taiwan-based streaming platform FriDay and global streaming service Rakuten Viki will offer the eight-part crime thriller. Adapted from a popular 2021-webtoon series of the same title by author Woonam20, the show tells the story of a reunion betw

Television Oct. 5, 2023

Veteran actor Kim Nam-gil, 43, remembers his debut Netflix series, “Song of the Bandits,” as a project full of never-before-seen challenges in his 24-year acting career. From handling rifles to weathering the elements in sandstorm scenes, Kim said almost every aspect in shooting the show was new to him, especially as not many Korean films and dramas have been inspired by the Western genre. Kim explained that he spent a lot of time getting used to an unfamiliar weapon, the Winchester

Television Oct. 4, 2023

“The Korean Wave in a Post-Pandemic World” By Shin Geon-cheol, Mark Whitaker Springer Since the late 1990s, South Korean pop culture has gained popularity overseas, with music, TV dramas and films becoming major exports to other Asian countries. The spread of Korean culture has continued, expanding beyond Asia. The term Hallyu, or Korean Wave, was first introduced in China in 1999 to describe the influx of Korean cultural products to the country. The Korean Wave is now defined by t

Books Oct. 3, 2023

The annual League of Legends World Championship will begin its 41-day run at LoL Park, the stadium for LoL Champions Korea, in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. A total of eight esports teams -- including PSG Talon of Taiwan, GAM Esports of Vietnam, Detonation FocusMe of Japan, Loud of Brazil and more, will compete in a double elimination tournament at the Play-In Stage. Sixteen teams -- two qualifying teams from the Play-In Stage and 14 prequalified teams -- join the Swiss Stage, a noneliminating tou

Culture Oct. 1, 2023

Tving released Thursday footages of K-pop artists who participated in this year’s MTV Video Music Awards. MTV VMAs 2023, which was held at Prudential Center in New Jersey on Sept. 12, are one of the four major US music shows -- along with the Billboard Music Awards, Grammy Awards and American Music Awards, honoring the biggest music videos and artists. The show featured two of the popular K-pop boy groups Tomorrow X Together and Stray Kids’ live performances, singing their latest sin

Television Sept. 28, 2023

Different styles of Korean action series are being released during the six-day Chuseok holiday this week. Disney+, the flagship streaming service of US media giant Walt Disney Co, showcased a new crime thriller “The Worst of Evil” on Wednesday. The 12-part series tells the story of the biggest drug ring in Northeast Asia and its boss, Jung Ki-cheol, played by “Squid Game” star Wi Ha-jun. Co-starring actor Ji Chang-wook takes the role of an undercover police officer, who i

Television Sept. 28, 2023

For countless South Korean actors, getting a role on a local broadcaster's TV drama series was a ticket to stardom. However, this notion is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, as local TV channels like SBS, MBC and KBS now compete with a slew of streaming platforms and changed viewing habits. Weekly television program schedules, typically filled with multiple drama series up until a number of years ago, is now filled with reality shows and pilot programs. Among local braodcasters, SBS has

Television Sept. 26, 2023

TvN recently confirmed the launch of “Wise Resident Life” (unofficial translation) -- a new spinoff of its hit 2020 medical drama “Hospital Playlist” -- starring rising actor Go Youn-jung. The upcoming series will offer the medical stories of doctors and professors in Jongno branch of Yulje Hospital, the setting for the original "Hospital Playlist." Go, 27, who garnered both local and global drama fans’ interest with “Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shad

Television Sept. 22, 2023

Korea Creative Content Agency announced on Thursday that it will host a special venue to promote Korean comics and webtoon IP at the upcoming New York Comic Con, starting from Oct. 12 to 15. NYCC, which is set to be held at Javits Center, New York City, is considered the biggest comic and pop culture event on the US East Coast drawing comics creators, gaming stars, top anime and celebrities. Poised to raise the profile of Korean webtoons in the US, KOCCA is scheduled to run “The House of K

Culture Sept. 22, 2023