Most Popular
-
1
Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
-
2
Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
-
3
[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
-
4
40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
-
5
[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
-
6
N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
-
7
Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
-
8
From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
-
9
Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
-
10
Defense chiefs of US, Australia, Japan decry NK-Russia military cooperation
-
Kang Sue-jin: ‘This will be my last performance in Korea’
Inarguably one of Korea’s most adorned artistic treasures, ballerina Kang Sue-jin will soon hang up her ballet slippers after her final production of “Onegin” with the Stuttgart Ballet.“This will be my last performance in Korea,” said Kang, 48, in a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday.“Following the shows in Korea, I will take the stage again next year to perform ‘Onegin’ once more in Stuttgart and then I will retire,” she added. Stuttgart Ballet artistic director Reid Anderson (from left t
Nov. 5, 2015
-
Brown Eyed Girls goes back to the basics
“Basic” is girl group Brown Eyed Girls’ sixth studio-length album, and their first in nearly two and a half years. Bringing all the members together at Mystic Entertainment’s label Apop and coming right on time for the group’s 10th anniversary, the album was carefully crafted in order to express what the members felt were at their “basic core.”“The album started with the question, ‘What is BEG’s basic?’” said rapper Miryo at a press showcase held at the Hyundai Card Understage in Seoul on Wednes
Nov. 4, 2015
-
Pianist Lim Dong-hyek wants Chopin to evoke tears
It has been seven years since local piano phenom Lim Dong-hyek has released an album. Dubbed one of today’s most acclaimed Chopin interpreters, the 31-year-old pianist has eagerly returned to his Chopin roots in unveiling his new album, which was released Monday, dedicated to the 19th-century virtuoso’s later, more somber works.“With this music, I hope that people will listen and actually be saddened,” said Lim during a press conference at the Stradeum concert hall in Seoul on Tuesday. “If your
Nov. 4, 2015
-
Genie joins charts’ move to ditch ‘recommended’ songs
Genie Top 100 charts, with recommended song on top (Genie Official Website) Another of Korea’s four major digital music providers has followed CJ E&M’s lead in removing “recommended” songs, amid controversy over the market distortions caused by such music curation services.KT Music said Tuesday it would remove recommended songs from its digital music service Genie within the year, and continue to discuss improvements for fairer digital music services.“If the music industry works together to cor
Nov. 3, 2015
-
Psy gears up to return Dec. 1
YG Entertainment announced Tuesday that Korean singer Psy will return to the music scene on Dec. 1, via a poster that was shared on the agency’s official blog. It has been three years and five months since he released his last album “Gangnam Style” in July 2012. “I’ll go back to my basics and come back with a new album,” said Psy at last year’s year-end concert. “Look forward to what song Psy will bring, (he has) worked diligently since his concert last year. He is expected to meet your expectat
Nov. 3, 2015
-
[Herald Interview] Korean artist Yang Haegue holds first solo museum show in China
BEIJING -- Artist Yang Haegue is one of the most visible Korean artists in the international art scene nowadays. Her works were exhibited at major Western art institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art and Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Modern Museum in Sweden, Vienna Biennale and Lyon Biennale -- all within this year. She opened her first museum show in China on Oct. 30, bringing some 36 major works spanning from 1994 to the present, at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beiji
Nov. 2, 2015
-
Pianist Yundi flubs Seoul performance, angers local fans
Chinese piano prodigy Yundi Li’s recent Seoul performance has been making headlines -- not for an outstanding performance, but because of his tempo blunders and seemingly shameless attitude afterward. The 33-year-old pianist returned to Korea to play alongside the renowned Sydney Orchestra, which performed two shows on Oct. 30 and 31 at the Seoul Arts Center -- with Li performing as a soloist with the orchestra Friday and violinist Vadim Repin performing Saturday. Despite being referred to as a
Nov. 2, 2015
-
K-pop boy bands to go head-to-head on music charts
Winner (YG Entertainment)Four popular K-pop boy bands are preparing for releases this month, signaling some formidable competition on the music charts. WINNER’s long-awaited album is due out this month after two more music videos for the album are recorded in Korea. The group’s agency, YG Entertainment, said earlier that WINNER had just returned from Sweden, where the band shot music videos for two tracks on the album.The five-member group’s return to the music scene overlaps with that of iKon,
Nov. 1, 2015
-
Royal birthday celebration relived after 220 years
Brought back to life after 220 years, the lavish royal birthday celebration of a Joseon-era crown princess was recreated at the Changgyeonggung Palace in Seoul on Friday and Saturday. The National Gugak Center performed a grand reenactment of one of the country’s most illustrious royal birthday celebrations ever recorded in the history books -- the eight-day festival that King Jeongjo hosted for the 60th birthday of his mother, Hyegyeonggung, the Lady Hong. The one-hour reenactment gave audience
Nov. 1, 2015
-
Is the Korean digital music market pushing out artists?
This is the second in a two-part series examining Korea’s digital music industry. – Ed. If it’s hard to name more than a few Korean artists who are currently active and not idol stars, K-pop ballad singers or TV discoveries, it’s not because they don’t exist.“There are only two genres in today’s Korean music,” said Shin Dae-chul, head of the Barun Music Cooperative, at a forum in Seoul. “Idol music, non-idol music. The rest is meaningless. ... (The current digital music system) has naturally pus
Oct. 29, 2015
-
4Minute to hold fan meetings in South America
4Minute will become the first K-pop girl group to hold a fan meeting in South America. The group will hold fan meetings in Peru on Nov. 8, followed by Chile on Nov. 10 and Argentina on Nov. 12. The quintet, having a six-year history, is expecting to gather about 10,000 fans for the event. The members have been working on planning diverse segments, including performances of their hits, for the fan meetup. (Cube Entertainment)“Performance requests from fans in South America have been pouring in.
Oct. 29, 2015
-
[Herald Review] ‘La Bayadere’ starts slow, ends strong
Set against the imaginative backdrop of exotic India, the Universal Ballet’s latest production of “La Bayadere” pays homage to the 19th-century tale of two people’s eternal vows that ends in tragedy. The nearly three-hour-long “La Bayadere,” or the “The Temple Dancer,” follows the story of the alluring lower caste temple dancer Nikiya and her unflinching love for a young, royal warrior named Solor. Sharing her deep love and affection, Solor vows to the gods his eternal devotion to her. Scene fr
Oct. 29, 2015
-
‘Ars Nova’ to feature Wu Wei on the sheng
Wu Wei, a renowned soloist of the traditional Chinese mouth-organ sheng, will hit the stage Friday night as part of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s two-day “Ars Nova” contemporary music concert series. The 4,000-year-old woodwind folk instrument is a rare sight in today’s music scene, with an equally rare-sounding instrumental pitch to match. “The sounds of the sheng are very mysterious and the skills it takes to play this instrument are not something that can easily be explained,” said SPO compo
Oct. 28, 2015
-
German orchestras to usher in the autumn
Staatskapelle Dresden orchestra’s guest conductor Chung Myung-whun (Matthias Creutziger)Following a number of world-class ensembles that have graced the Seoul stage this year, the month of November promises to be a much-welcomed continuation of some of the classical music world’s best. The Seoul Arts Center is gearing up to play host to three of Germany’s oldest and celebrated orchestras -- the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.
Oct. 28, 2015
-
[Newmaker] Cho Seong-jin, Korea’s new classical music icon
Pianist Cho Seong-jin (EPA-Yonhap)Cho Seong-jin, the winner of the Chopin piano competition, is a new classical music icon in Korea, setting recording history even before the release of his first solo album. The 21-year-old pianist’s upcoming album – a live recording of his performances at the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Poland – was the top seller across all music genres at Kyobo Bookstore, the country’s largest book seller, as of 3 p.m. Tuesday -- a feat that no oth
Oct. 27, 2015
-
Chun Kyung-ja’s death reveals bizarre family feud
Family members of artist Chun Kyung-ja, whose death this past summer was revealed by media last week, said Tuesday they learned about her death from a Korean bank only a few days before the news broke. “I learned on Oct. 19 about my mother’s passing from a staff member of a Korean bank, who called to ask for the approval (from a family member) required to close my mother’s bank account,” said Sumita Kim, the third of Chun’s four children at a press conference in Seoul. Kim is an artist herself
Oct. 27, 2015
-
Can you trust the K-pop charts?
This is the first in a two-part series examining issues pertaining to Korea’s digital music industry. – Ed. Ever wondered why K-pop has so many chart-topping debuts or new releases? How trustworthy do you think the K-pop charts are? According to some industry insiders and experts, the online charts are prone to manipulation. Melon charts (Melon official website screenshot)A major issue with the charts today is “hoarding,” efforts allegedly coordinated by fans or brokers to push certain songs up
Oct. 27, 2015
-
Spaniard makes national museum chief short list
A former Spanish museum director is among the three contenders short-listed to head the state-run National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, a local daily reported Monday.Chosun Ilbo revealed that Bartomeu Mari, former director of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, has made it to the final list along with two other Koreans.If selected, Mari will be the first foreigner to be director of the public art museum in Korea. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (
Oct. 26, 2015
-
[Herald Review] Well-deserved standing ovation for ‘Notre Dame de Paris’
Celebrating a decade since its first Korean premiere in 2005, the French cast of the famed novel-turned-musical, “Notre Dame de Paris,” has returned to Seoul, doling out unforgettably stellar performances of song, dance and even some acrobatics. Not to be confused with the Disney remake, the musical production is based on the eponymous novel by Victor Hugo, with music by Riccardo Cocciante. Without delving too much into spoiler territory, the musical’s storyline is actual
Oct. 25, 2015
-
[Newsmaker]Artist Chun's life, death shrouded in mystery
Artist Chun Kyung-ja, whose death in the past summer was revealed to the public Thursday, was a female cultural icon in Korea’s male-dominated art society. According to the Seoul Museum of Art, Chun died on Aug. 6 in New York, where she had lived since 1998. The artist, who was 91, reportedly had a cerebral hemorrhage in 2003 and had suffered from poor health since then. “It was reported to me that Chun’s daughter visited the museum on Aug. 20, carrying the remains of her mother,” Kim Hong-hee,
Oct. 22, 2015