Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Yoo Jae-suk, Yoo Yeon-seok team up in 'Whenever Possible'
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Aging population to drive down Korea's housing prices from 2040: experts
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North Korea holds drills simulating nuclear counterattack against enemy
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Online immersive K-pop performance venue opens in Seoul
A music studio tailored for online immersive performances opened in Seoul on Tuesday, aimed at reviving the pandemic-hit music industry and supporting digital content productions by local small and medium-sized agencies and musicians. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Creative Content Agency launched KOCCA Music Studio after remodeling the Olympic Park K-Art hall, located in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The new venue is tailored for online K-pop concerts, video productions and even vi
Dec. 7, 2021
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Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra unveils programs for upcoming season
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has unveiled its schedule for the first half of 2022, with 15 concerts planned. SPO music director Osmo Vanska kicks off the season by taking the baton for Mozart‘s Requiem on Jan. 29 and 30. The music director, who has been leading the SPO since January 2020, will team up with violist Richard Yongjae O‘Neill on May 19 and 20. In March and April, Vanska will collaborate with Augustin Hadelich, an Italian German American Grammy-winning classic
Dec. 6, 2021
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Two Lotte Concert Hall artists-in-residence prepare challenging yet appealing concerts
Lotte Concert Hall, a major classical music concert venue in South Korea, on Monday unveiled two artists-in-residence and the programs they have designed. Pianist Shin Chang-young and cellist Mun Tae-guk will each present two concerts next year as its artists-in-residence. This is the second year that the concert hall is running the program. “The biggest attraction of the artist-in-residence program is that I can try more challenging things that I’ve been dreaming about. So I t
Dec. 6, 2021
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Gina Alice Redlinger releases debut album
Gina Alice Redlinger’s marriage to superstar pianist Lang Lang has perhaps dominated the headlines more than her professional career as a pianist, though this may be set to change. On Thursday, the 27-year-old Korean German musician, who has trained as a pianist for 23 years, released her debut album, “Wonderworld,” produced by Universal Music. Featuring 30 pieces that cover a variety of genres, including classical, modern, traditional and even Korean children songs, the br
Dec. 6, 2021
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18-day Live Club Day lights up Seoul’s indie stages after 2-year break
A longtime staple of Seoul’s indie scene, Live Club Day resumed Friday after a two-year hiatus, at CJ azit Gwangheungchang in Mapo-gu. Normally a monthly one-day event, the Live Club Day is being this time in a festival format running until Dec. 21. Over the three weeks, 32 bands will perform in concert halls and clubs in Hongdae, long the center of live indie music in Seoul. Singer-songwriters Park So-eun, Song Ye-rin and vocalist Lee Luli starred on the opening day. It was the first
Dec. 5, 2021
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R&B singer Bumkey makes official debut in Japan with ‘Attraction’
R&B singer Bumkey made his Japan debut Wednesday with the release of the single “Attraction (Japanese Remix),” a collaboration with popular Japanese rapper Miyachi as a featured artist. The musician’s single was released on Japanese music streaming platforms at midnight, while it became available on local online music sites at noon. The new single is a remix version of “Attraction,” featuring Korean hip-hop act Dynamic Duo, which was released in August 2013. I
Dec. 1, 2021
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Year-end indoor concert Countdown Fantasy returns amid pandemic
One of the country’s biggest indoor winter music concerts, Countdown Fantasy, will take place as a two-part, in-person event on Dec. 31 at Kintex in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, just northwest of Seoul. The year-end concert, last held in 2012, will feature 14 music acts across diverse genres such as indie, hip-hop and K-pop, according to Mint Paper, organizer of Countdown Fantasy. The lineup announced Friday includes K-pop boy band Ateez, singer-songwriter Jukjae, girl group Dreamcatcher an
Nov. 29, 2021
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Blue Square: Space behind Korea’s musical boom
In 2011, when a sprawling 29,492-square-meter, eight-story building opened its doors near Itaewon, Seoul’s vibrant nightlife district, not many could have imagined what was in store for Korea’s musical scene. Fast forward to a decade later, the building, Blue Square, has welcomed more than 10 million visitors coming to see 7,743 performances of 1,031 musicals, according to Interpark Group, which operates a major ticketing platform. Interpark built and runs the cultural complex, whi
Nov. 27, 2021
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‘Sing Again’ winner Lee Seung-yoon shares musical philosophy in first studio album
Singer-songwriter Lee Seung-yoon, the winner of JTBC competition “Sing Again,” released his first studio album, “Even If Things Fall Apart,” Wednesday, revealing his musical philosophy to fans and new listeners. “I would like to be a musician who delivers two messages -- ‘You’re unique in your own way’ and ‘You mean nothing in this vast world’ -- through my songs. ... And this album could be the pinnacle moment of my career into w
Nov. 24, 2021
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Russian conductor Gergiev to present power of music
Russian conductor Valery Gergiev is to present two unique performances Wednesday in Seoul, returning to the city for the first time in two years. “We were told only two or three weeks ago that we could visit South Korea and I’m thrilled that this performance can happen in the midst of the pandemic situation,” Gergiev, one of the world’s most celebrated conductors, told reporters in a press conference Tuesday. The 68-year-old energetic conductor will present two diff
Nov. 23, 2021
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[News Focus] Winning three awards at AMAs, BTS’ universe makes Army proud
BTS indeed is the biggest boy band in history. The seven-member boy band on Monday bagged three trophies at this year’s American Music Awards, including the top prize -- the artist of the year. The 49th Annual AMAs was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. “Four years ago, we gave this first-time-ever TV live performance at this stage, AMAs, it was ‘DNA,’ and we were too excited and nervous at the time. And it’s been a long and amazing ride since then, bu
Nov. 22, 2021
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BTS chosen Variety’s 2021 ‘Record of The Year’
K-pop superstar BTS’ “Butter” has been named as Variety’s 2021 record of the year, its agency Big Hit Music said Sunday. Influential US entertainment magazine Variety had announced the final list of honorees for its annual Hitmakers celebration Friday in the US, elaborating that the writers and producers -- “multi-hyphenate creatives/executives Jenna Andrews and Ron Perry, RM, Stephen Kirk, Alex Bilowitz and Rob Grimaldi” -- had crafted the perfect hit. The
Nov. 21, 2021
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Leenalchi to put on XR concert
Traditional Korean music-inspired band Leenalchi, which rose to stardom last year with its song “Tiger Is Coming,” is to hold an extended reality concert online. The concert, “Sugungga: Catch the Rabbit,” will be released on local mobile streaming platform Kakao TV on Nov. 30. Extended reality is an umbrella term that covers virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. The XR concert will revive scenes from the band’s album “Sugungga,” a
Nov. 20, 2021
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BTS' 'Dynamite' video passes 1.3 bln YouTube views
The music video for K-pop superband BTS' "Dynamite" has passed 1.3 billion views on YouTube, its management agency said Saturday. The video for the megahit single released in 2020 reached the milestone at 10:15 p.m. Friday, Big Hit Music said. It became the seven-member group's third music video to hit 1.3 billion YouTube views following "DNA" and "Boy with Luv." BTS has a total of 35 music videos with more than 100 million views on the global music sharing sit
Nov. 20, 2021
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Tenor John Noh’s album certified multi-platinum
Tenor John Noh, who appeared on cable channel JTBC’s audition show “Phantom Singer 3,” has received multi-platinum certification from the local recording industry. More than 20,000 physical copies of Noh’s latest album, “The Classic Album: NSQG,” have sold since its release in September under Warner Music Korea. According to Noh’s agency, Credia, the local recording industry gives multi-platinum certification to albums that sell more than 20,000 physic
Nov. 17, 2021
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Gergiev to go onstage in Korea
As Korea gradually opens it borders to foreign artists and acts, maestro Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Stradivarius Ensemble are to take to the stage here. The ensemble, led by the celebrated conductor Gergiev, is to go onstage at the Lotte Concerts Hall in eastern Seoul on Nov. 24 for two performances. Gergiev, one of the most sought-after conductors in the world, has been long affiliated with the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg. The Russian maestro is credited with raising the Ma
Nov. 16, 2021
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AleXa to hold first ever K-pop metaverse fan meeting
K-pop super rookie AleXa is set to hold a fan meeting on the metaverse on Nov. 21, her agency ZB Label announced Monday. The event marks the first such attempt in the K-pop industry, according to the agency. AleXa came to attention in 2016 through K-pop community website Soompi’s audition program, “Rising Legends.” AleXa appeared two year’s later on Mnet’s “Produce 48.” AleXa made her official debut in October 2019, with her first digital single &ld
Nov. 16, 2021
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US conductor wins top prize at inaugural KSO International Conducting Competition
US conductor Elias Peter Brown won the top prize at the first KSO International Conducting Competition organized by the Korean Symphony Orchestra. Brown, 26, clinched the win with his performance of Debussy’s “La Mer” (The Sea), L. 109, CD. 111 at the finals of the competition held Sunday at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul. A graduate of Yale University and the Royal Academy of Music in England, he won third place at the Khachaturian International Conducting Competit
Nov. 15, 2021
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SPO to go onstage with Chopin Competition winner
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra is to hold a concert with the winner of the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition, Bruce Liu. Liu, 24, the first prize winner of the competition which took place in Warsaw, Poland, in October, will go onstage with the Seoul-based orchestra on Nov. 27 at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul, under the baton of associate conductor Wilson Ng. The Canadian pianist will perform Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11. Other works on the prog
Nov. 14, 2021
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Joseon pop: Tradition gets makeover
Young musicians’ efforts to create new styles of traditional Korean music are finally bearing fruit with a new school of music winning over television audiences. While artists such as gender-bending singer Lee Hee-moon, and traditional Korean music-inspired avant-rock band Jambinai have paved the way for fusion music, Joseon pop is now breaking through with a more mainstream sound. A reference to the Joseon era (1392-1910), Joseon pop mixes traditional music, known as “gugak,&rd
Nov. 14, 2021