K-wave AI News

Hello and welcome to your AI guide to the latest cultural updates from Korea.

Here's our top story.

The National Heritage Service has downgraded the national heritage disaster warning level from "Serious" to "Alert."

The decision comes two weeks after the highest alert level was issued on March 25 in response to massive wildfires in the Gyeongsang region.

The agency explained that the immediate threat has been resolved as the fires have been fully contained in Ulsan and across the Gyeongsang provinces.

A total of 35 national heritage sites were damaged in the wildfires, including the thousand-year-old Gounsa Temple in Uiseong.

The National Museum of Korea ranked 8th in visitor numbers last year among museums and art galleries worldwide.

According to international art publication, 'The Art Newspaper,' the museum attracted nearly 3.8 million visitors in 2024.

This places the National Museum of Korea as the eighth most visited in the world among the institutions surveyed.

The Louvre in Paris topped the list with over 8.7 million visitors, followed by the Vatican Museums, the British Museum in London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The '46th Seonnong Daeje,' a traditional royal ritual to pray for a bountiful harvest, will take place next week in Seoul's Dongdaemun District.

Joseon kings symbolically plowed a field to underscore the importance of agriculture and shared beef soup with the people afterward — a custom believed to be the origin of 'seolleongtang,' a beloved Korean dish.

Festivities will kick off next Friday with a Korean traditional music concert at the 'Flower Garden of Knowledge' in Jeonnong-dong.

The main event will be held the following day, featuring ceremonial rites and a reenactment of a royal procession.

Around 300 participants, including international students, are expected to join the procession to Seonnongdan, a historic altar where kings once carried out the agricultural rituals.

That's all from me. Keep it tuned to the Kulture Wave.