Most Popular
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[AtoZ into Korean mind] Humor in Korea: Navigating the line between what's funny and not
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Yoon seeks rebound, taps 5-term lawmaker as chief of staff
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Medical standoff deepens as doctors reject new med school plan, talks
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[Herald Interview] Why Toss invited hackers to penetrate its system
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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S. Korean envoys convene to navigate strategy amid Middle East tensions
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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North Korea fires several short-range ballistic missiles into sea: JCS
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Samsung, SK hynix investors dump shares on Nvidia crash
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Dutch conductor named Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra music director
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has appointed Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden as its new music director. The orchestra announced Sunday that the Dutch conductor, 61, will begin his five-year tenure in January 2024. The search for the new music director began earlier this year as the current music director Osmo Vanska decided not to renew his contract, which ends at the end of the year. Vanska was appointed in January 2020. Guest conductors will be sought for the orchestra's 2023 performa
Sept. 4, 2022
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Lang Lang reinterprets Disney music in new album
As The Walt Disney Company celebrates 100 years, pianist Lang Lang is set to release “The Disney Book,” which contains 27 songs from the entertainment giant’s iconic films. Speaking to Korean reporters on Tuesday in an online interview, Lang Lang said the project took him several years as he and his production team tried to make sure the new arrangement would be on par with the music of great composers like Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and so on. “I always w
Aug. 31, 2022
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Chamber Orchestra of Europe, pianist Kim Sun-wook to take stage in November
Korean concert pianist Kim Sun-wook will join forces with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, this time led by conductor Kirill Karabits, to bring the 18th and 19th German and Austrian music to Korea in November. On Nov. 5, the London-based orchestra and Kim will perform Schubert Overture in the Italian Style, D.59, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 37, and Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4, Op. 90. It is an all-Beethoven program on Nov. 8 with Coriolan Overture Op. 62,Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 58
Aug. 29, 2022
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Jarasum Jazz Festival returns in full swing
After two pandemic-ridden years of online and scaled-back performances, the country‘s biggest jazz festival is set to return in October. The three-day Jarasum Jazz Festival will kick off on Oct. 1 on Jara Island, Gyeonggi Province, with 19 international performers and 13 Korean acts participating in the jazz-filled program. The 19th edition of the festival will open with singer Kim Hyun-chul, four-member keyboard band Hardpiano, jazz trio Winter To Spring and newcomers jazz vocalist Cho
Aug. 23, 2022
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Pianist Paik Kun-woo returns with music of Granados
Pianist Paik Kun-woo, who is known for focusing on one composer at a time, is set to bring the music of Spanish composer Enrique Granados to the stage. In an Oct. 8 recital at Seoul Arts Center, Paik will perform works by Granados, a composer who is not well-known in Korea. They include “Goyescas, Op. 11,” “Los Requiebros,” “Coloquio en la Reja,” “El Fandango de Candil,” “Quejas, o la Maja y el Ruisenor,” “El Amor y la Muerte:
Aug. 22, 2022
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[Feature] Enter stage right: Musical theatre holds opportunities for K-pop idols
Over the past few years, K-pop idols have been expanding their horizon through onstage debuts, with more singers entering the world of musical theatre, which was once considered an elitist realm only for the classically trained. The latest to make it on stage is Mamamoo‘s lead vocalist Solar, who made her debut in the titular role of “Mata Hari” in May. The cast included Chang-sub of boy band BTOB and rock band FT Island’s Lee Hong-ki, who played Armand, the mal
Aug. 22, 2022
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New LG Arts Center offers another chance to catch Cho Seong-jin, LSO in concert
Tickets for the performance by London Symphony Orchestra and pianist Cho Seong-jin at LG Arts Center on Oct. 13 will go on sale Sept. 1. The concert was originally planned as an invitation-only event, marking the reopening of LG Arts Center Seoul at its new location in Magok-dong, southwestern Seoul. In announcing the switch to making all of the theater’s seats available on its website Wednesday, the center said that all proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to support young art
Aug. 21, 2022
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Renowned ballet dancer Kim Ki-min to dazzle Seoul
World-class ballet dancer Kim Ki-min from Russia’s Mariinsky Ballet has returned for performances in Korea for the first time in four years. The principal dancer of the prestigious Russian ballet troupe will perform with 18 other dancers from international ballet companies at the “Ballet Supreme 2022” taking place at the National Theater in Seoul, from Thursday to Saturday. Current and former ballet dancers who are members of overseas companies such as the Royal Ballet of Eng
Aug. 17, 2022
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[Herald Interview] Boycold explores foolish romance on ‘Daft Love’
“Hey boy, it’s cold” -- Boycold’s producer tag isn’t subtle about who it represents, but it’s a guarantee of high production values. Boycold, whose real name is Jeong Seong-won, debuted in 2015 through “Boys to Men,” a track on rapper Crucial Star’s “Boyhood” EP. Zig-zagging between hip-hop and R&B, he’s a jack of all trades with a knack for soundscapes. The beatmaker now has a long list of hits under his belt. He m
Aug. 17, 2022
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National Chorus of Korea aims to reach global audience with first album
The National Chorus of Korea aims to reach global audiences with its first album and special concerts with US soloists. After releasing its first regular album, “Voices of Solace,” alongside high-budget music videos for the album in June, the 49-year-old national choral group is taking Korea’s old and new melodies to the stage with the 24-member American Soloists Ensemble this month. “I had a chance to conduct an all-Korean music concert in the US in 2019 and realized
Aug. 16, 2022
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[Herald Review] Billie Eilish’s dreamy voice blares through Seoul on Korean Liberation Day
It took four years for American pop star Billie Eilish to return to South Korea to perform onstage. Despite the rainy evening on Korean Liberation Day, a holiday that commemorates Korea’s independence from Japanese colonial rule 77 years ago, a whopping 20,000 fans flocked to enjoy her long-awaited return. “Hyundai Card Super Concert 26 Billie Eilish,” the singer-songwriter’s second concert in the country, took place at Gocheok Sky Dome. She held her first show on the s
Aug. 16, 2022
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Billie Eilish back in Seoul after 4 years for one-day concert
American pop star Billie Eilish returned to Seoul for a one-day concert on Monday, her second concert in Korea since the first four years ago. The event took place at 8 p.m. at Gocheok Sky Dome on Korean Liberation Day, a holiday that commemorates Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule 77 years ago. In 2018, she held the concert on the same day, Aug. 15, at the 2,000-seat Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul. The show was part of Eilish’s world tour for her second full-length
Aug. 15, 2022
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Jecheon International Music & Film Festival returns in full force with in-person events
Jecheon International Music & Film Festival, the only music-themed film festival in Korea, kicked off on Thursday at the Uirimji Stage of Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province. Returning to a full-scale format, the slogan of this year‘s six-day festival is “a tempo,” -- meaning “return to the original tempo” in music, signaling hopes for recovery from the pandemic. The festival opened with Polish screenwriter Bartosz Blaschke’s directorial debut “Son
Aug. 12, 2022
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Hyperound K-Fest 2022 to be held in Abu Dhabi next month
A Korean music festival in Abu Dhabi, dubbed “Hyperound K-Fest 2022,” will be held on Sept. 10 at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island, the largest indoor entertainment venue in the Middle East. Jointly hosted with the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism and Yas Island, the one-day festival aims to bring artists who continue to spread K-music around the globe. The star-studded list of artists slated to perform in the UAE are up-and-coming K-pop rookie boy band P1harmony, South
Aug. 11, 2022
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DMZ fantasy musical “Wonder Ticket” to be staged outdoors near N. Korea
What if a rusty train that had stopped its operation between the two Koreas for over 70 years can move back in time through a wish that transcends generations? The musical “Wonder Ticket” centers around such plot, with a young girl listening to her grandfather’s love story and reminiscing on his days before the division of the Korean Peninsula. The musical, which debuted in 2020 during the pandemic, is making its third run outdoors at the Pyeonghwa-Nuri Park in the Imjingak
Aug. 10, 2022
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Listen to classical concerts all summer long
A number of classical music festivals are set to take place through the month of August in Seoul. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Korea-China diplomatic relations, the Culture Ministry is holding a special concert, bringing together renowned classical musicians from Korea and China, at the Lotte Concert Hall on Aug. 24. Led by conductor Chung Chi-yong, the Korean Symphony Orchestra will open the stage with Dvorak’s Carnival Overture, Op. 92. Joined by Chinese vio
Aug. 8, 2022
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[Herald Review] Three Parks bring to life Victor Hugo’s lesser known ‘The Man Who Laughs’
French writer Victor Hugo’s 1869 novel, “The Man Who Laughs,” went onstage in South Korea as a musical in 2018. Best known for “Les Miserables” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame,” Hugo’s works have inspired many musical and film adaptations. Hugo’s lesser known “The Man Who Laughs” inspired the EMK Musical Company to create a musical version of the story and in its third production this year, the musical shows the power of
Aug. 3, 2022
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Marking 25th anniversary, SIDance 2022 to bring dancers to Seoul
The 25th edition of the Seoul International Dance Festival will feature 34 domestic and overseas dance companies from nine countries from Sept. 14, the organizer said Sunday. The SIDance festival, organized by the Seoul Section of the UNESCO International Dance Council, will take place at four locations in Seoul -- Seoul Arts Center, Sogang University, Seoul Namsan Guakdang and Oil Tank Culture Park -- for 19 days. The festival will kick off with “Hauntology” presented b
Aug. 1, 2022
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Kim Sun-wook to lead SPO in Gwanghwamun Square concert marking Liberation Day
Marking the 77th anniversary of Korea’s Liberation Day on Aug. 15., Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will hold a special concert at Gwanghwamun Square on Aug. 14. Pianist and conductor Kim Sun-wook lead the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in the concert hosted by the Seoul City. The World Vision Korea Children’s Choir and Forte di Quattro will join the orchestra onstage for the concert that starts at 7:30 p.m. The program consists of works by Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Dvorak, as well as pop
July 29, 2022
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[Feature] Caught between plagiarism and 'referencing'
Though renowned South Korean singer-songwriter You Hee-yul issued multiple apologies and has stepped down from the KBS music program “You Heeyul’s Sketchbook,” a heated debate over plagiarism claims is unlikely to die down anytime soon as more claims of plagiarism by K-pop artists surface. The controversy erupted in mid-June, when a post surfaced online claiming that You’s 2021 track “A Very Private Night” felt almost identical to Japanese composer Ryuichi S
July 26, 2022