K-wave AI News

Hello and welcome to your AI guide to the latest cultural updates from Korea. Here's our top story.

Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young has pledged to expand support for Korean artists and eliminate blind spots in assistance so that they can fully showcase their talents and reach global audiences. He made the remarks on Tuesday at a roundtable organized to hear from performing artists across all fields, including traditional Korean music, theater, and dance. Participants included Koh Sun-woong, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Theatre, and Kim Yong-geol, dance professor at the Korea National University of Arts.

Among the requests made were stronger funding for arts education and more cross-disciplinary collaboration centered on production theaters.

More than 1.3 million foreign tourists visited Seoul in July, hitting the highest monthly figure on record.

According to the Seoul city government, the number was up over 23% from a year earlier and over 18% from 2019, before the outbreak of COVID-19.

Officials attributed the growth to diverse cultural experiences, Seoul's safe and smart digital infrastructure, and its blend of tradition and modernity.

They added that the explosive popularity of the animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" has also fueled the rise in international visitors.

Kukje Gallery has opened a solo exhibition by Korean-Colombian-American artist Gala Porras-Kim, titled "Conditions for Holding a Natural Form."

The exhibition presents two groups of drawings that explore the ways human-constructed categories are applied to naturally occurring and organic forms.

Highlights include the drawing series "Signal," where moisture and droplets build up on her work, creating patterns that reflect the weather, seasons, and even visitors' movements.

Her new series, "Suseok," features meticulous colored-pencil drawings of traditional stones that explore conditions shaped by human perceptual habits and aesthetic traditions.

Based in London and Los Angeles, Porras-Kim investigates how artifacts and objects are collected, perceived, and interpreted within institutional contexts.

The exhibition runs through October 26, and entry is free of charge.

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