Korea Herald organizes golf tournament in support of Hangeul promotion
Held at Serenity Country Club in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, the event drew approximately 300 participants, including Sejong City Mayor Choi Min-ho, prominent business leaders, artists and professional golfers. Corporate sponsors included Yes24 and some 20 additional firms.
The tournament, organized in a shotgun format, featured 60 teams.
Kim Jong-cheon, the head of Mariee de el Wedding Convention, won first place, while Kim Chang-ryong, former Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency, placed second.
The golf tournament was followed by a banquet.
At the dinner event, tenor Yang Seung-ho and soprano Kim Jung-ah performed, as well as musical actor Lim Tae-kyung. Various prizes and raffle events were also offered to the golf tournament participants.
Following the dinner, a charity auction showcased donated works by contemporary sculptors Kwon Chi-gyu, Kim Kyung-min, Lee Wal-chong, 5311 and MeME.
A portion of event proceeds, including the auction, will go to support the expansion and enrichment of Sup Sogui Hosu, the world's first Korean language village, located within the Concordia Language Villages in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1999, the village offers immersive, 24-hour Korean language education.
The event also included the announcement of the 2025 Hangeul Run, scheduled for Hangeul Day on Oct. 9. Co-hosted by Herald Media Group and Sejong City, the marathon is expected to draw 10,000 participants. Courses will span symbolic distances of 10.9 kilometers — representing Hangeul Day — and 5.15 kilometers, in honor of King Sejong's birthday on May 15.
'We will create conditions for future generations around the world to communicate and form strong bonds through Hangeul,' said Herald Corp. Chairman Jung Won-ju during the event, adding, 'I hope today's event goes beyond being just a sports competition and becomes a gathering where we unite in pursuit of a greater goal.'
'Hangeul is not just a simple writing system, but a 'language of hope' that connects people and communities,' said Choi Jin-young, CEO and publisher of Herald Media Group.
'We will do our part as a seed in opening the future of a great Korea,' said Choi.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
![[Editorial] Take down hurdles](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fall-logos-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fkoreaherald.com.png&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Korea Herald
5 hours ago
- Korea Herald
[Editorial] Take down hurdles
Korean platforms shut out global fans with outdated rules while Korean culture surges The global success of 'KPop Demon Hunters,' an animated film released on Netflix in June, has provided an unexpected boost to Korea's soft power. The film, in which a fictional K-pop girl group battles demons with music-infused powers, has topped streaming charts in over 30 countries and propelled its soundtrack to second place on the Billboard 200. But perhaps more telling than the film's entertainment value is what it revealed about Korea's export potential and its limitations. While fans from Singapore to the Netherlands eagerly bought Korean goods tied to the movie's characters — from folk-art-inspired souvenirs to traditional accessories — the process of buying those products was anything but smooth. Korean cultural products may now command a powerful emotional pull globally, but the infrastructure for overseas consumers to access Korean products, especially through e-commerce, remains strikingly inadequate. According to the Bank of Korea, South Korea's cross-border e-commerce exports to individual consumers overseas — often referred to in Korea as 'reverse direct purchases' or 'yeok-jikgu' in Korean — totaled 1.6 trillion won ($1.1 billion) last year. It was just one-fifth the volume of inbound direct purchases by Korean consumers from overseas retailers. The data shows that Korea's e-commerce platforms have failed to capitalize on foreign demand despite the surging popularity of Korean entertainment, beauty and food. Much of the problem lies in unnecessary procedural bottlenecks. Most domestic platforms still require identity verification through a Korea-registered mobile number, even though no legal obligation mandates this. International consumers, even if motivated to purchase, are routinely blocked during the sign-up process. Those who clear that hurdle often encounter another at checkout, where many Korean sites do not accept international payment methods like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal or Alipay. The result is a highly restrictive system that effectively turns away willing customers. By contrast, major platforms like Amazon, AliExpress and Temu allow foreign users to register and pay with minimal friction. These companies conduct their own verification using standard card information or global e-wallets, lowering entry barriers while managing fraud risks internally. Chinese e-commerce platforms operating in South Korea have even integrated domestic systems such as Naver Pay to localize their offerings. Yet Korean platforms have been reluctant to reciprocate even as global demand for Korean goods rises. This hesitation reflects both rigid regulatory constraints and an outdated culture of risk aversion, especially around identity theft, fraud and payment disputes. But technological solutions already exist. Viable steps Korean retailers can take include integrating payment systems that are popular in target markets, adopting user-friendly authentication procedures and expanding their overseas fulfillment capabilities. The Korean government and regulators have a critical role to play. The Bank of Korea's recent recommendation — to simplify account verification, provide legal clarity around non-Korean sign-ups and actively embrace global payment tools — is a necessary starting point. More broadly, failure to liberalize South Korea's e-commerce model may deepen the structural imbalance in digital trade. As global commerce increasingly revolves around platforms rather than physical intermediaries, the country cannot afford to remain digitally insular. Ironically, the very appeal of "KPop Demon Hunters" — its seamless fusion of traditional Korean motifs with contemporary music and lively animation — highlights what the country does best: Marrying heritage and innovation in ways that resonate globally. But turning cultural capital into economic return will require an equally imaginative overhaul of Korea's digital marketplace. Nearly a decade after the so-called 'Cheon Song-yi coat' moment, when a Korean drama ignited global fashion interest and prompted calls for easier reverse purchases, progress has been woefully limited. The nation's major platforms still operate largely as if their only customers are local. That must change. With global attention now fixed on Korean products, the least the country can do is avoid shutting the door on K-culture's global rise.
Korea Herald
16 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Star street dancer Aiki finds new expression in musical debut ‘Frida'
Aiki is best known for her breakout on Mnet's 'Street Woman Fighter' and for her popularity as a TikTok influencer. Last month, she stepped onto an entirely new scene, making her musical debut in the original Korean production, 'Frida.' For the star dancer, who has long gravitated toward spaces 'where music, dance and song exist,' the stage itself is familiar. But embodying a completely different character was new territory — one she described as 'therapeutic.' 'I realized how limited I had been in expressing emotion,' she said during a group interview with reporters on Thursday. 'My (dance) performances were mostly about energy — focused on joy and projecting strength. But here, expressing the full spectrum of emotions, not only the positive ones, but anger and sorrow too, has been incredibly healing.' The training process, she said, also revealed a new side of herself. 'At first, I was embarrassed when I cried during rehearsals,' she recalled. 'As a dancer, crying often felt like weakness, like losing, you know? But here, tears felt like genuine emotions, and I learned to accept that. It made me want to express not just bright and positive feelings, but also darker emotions on stage in the future.' Now in its third run, 'Frida' traces the life of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, portraying how she transformed lifelong pain into art. The story unfolds as a play within a play, with Kahlo appearing as a guest on a late-night talk show. Aiki plays Refleja, the talk show host, and within the play's framing device, also takes on the role of Kahlo's complex lover Diego Rivera. At first, she said, juggling dancing, acting and delivering lines all at once felt awkward. But the role ultimately played to her strengths: her playful personality as the show host and her skills as a dancer. Her talents shine most in the standout number 'Hummingbird,' where each actor playing Diego performs their own specialty act. Aiki choreographed her own routine for the sequence, weaving together street dance locking, dance sport Latin steps and samba-based movements — earning nightly cheers from audiences. 'And I like to sprinkle in ad-libs, just to make sure each audience has a little extra fun that day,' she said. Yet, in other scenes, she deliberately reined herself in. 'I worked closely with the choreographer to find the right level of dance for the show, something that wouldn't steal the focus but would support Frida and complement the story,' she explained. Aiki's leap into musical theater also shifted how she views her identity. 'I think of myself as an artist, not just a dancer,' she said. 'I believe there's always a reason why I'm drawn to certain things, and I've never regretted following those instincts. This challenge feels like a gift — it's hard to unwrap, but it's worth it.' 'Frida' runs through Sept. 7 at Interpark Uniplex in Seoul's Daehangno district.
Korea Herald
19 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Agarmon: monster 'born at the moment of orgasm' questions birth, existence
Inaugural MMCA x LG OLED series exhibition shows Tzusoo's new works A mysterious translucent object with moss on it occupies the center of the Seoul Box at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. The object is placed on a 9-meter-tall stainless steel installation with an overhead lamp. The floor of the installation is covered with stones. The creature, named 'Agarmon 5,' is composed of agar and moss, and the 'Agarmon Incubator' controls water, humidity and lighting, creating an artificial environment to sustain the creature's life. Korean artist Tzusoo, who chose the life of an artist while deferring pregnancy and childbirth, questions the meaning of existence and life by creating and caring for the creature. After the exhibition ends, the artist will take care of it for as long as she can. ''Agarmon 5 will be taken care of somewhere even after the show. Agarmon 1, 3 and 4 are already being looked after,' the artist said on Thursday. 'But Agarmon 2 died as the environment was not suitable, and my dad, who took care of it, felt so sad and buried it in a mountain behind his house.' The exhibition 'MMCA×LG OLED Series 2025 — Tzusoo Agarmon Encyclopedia: Leaked Edition' is the inaugural exhibition of the annual MMCA x LG OLED series, a collaborative project supporting digital art. The selected artist's works will be shown at the Seoul Box, the central exhibition space at the state museum. 'Agarmon is a monster born at the moment of orgasm — moments when sexual energy bursts. We are living in a world where childbirth is no longer seen as a necessity, and those beings become nothing if they are not fertilized. So I discovered these entities and felt that I needed to protect them,' she said. A pair of digital installations, 'The Eight Spirits of Flesh — TAE' and 'The Eight Spirits of Flesh — GAN' — on display reveal the world around the Agarmon. The concept of 'The Eight Spirits of Flesh' was derived from the 'eight trigrams,' the fundamental symbols in Chinese philosophy and cosmology, according to the museum. 'They are spiritual creatures, not necessarily holy,' the artist said, looking at the moving images of creatures in the digital works. 'Those spiritual creatures might appear again in my works in the future. Now there are two screens here, one for each spiritual creature, but it is interesting for me to imagine how they could make different synergy with more screens.' The exhibition will run through Feb. 1, 2026.
