Most Popular
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Over 80,000 millionaires, 20 billionaires in Seoul: report
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Yoon apologizes over first lady’s Dior bag scandal, but accuses special probe attempt as political maneuvering
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Korean battery makers heave sigh of relief over 2-year IRA reprieve
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Young Korean doctors seek plan B: cosmetic dermatology or overseas
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South Korea open to Indonesian proposal to cut KF-21 payments
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Girl hanging on bridge, police trying to rescue her both fall off; rescued immediately
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Korea forecast to overtake Taiwan in chip production by 2032: report
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Coupang earnings hit hard by losses from ailing Farfetch
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Time, profit pressures work against originality
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Why femicide and dating violence are growing issues in S. Korea
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Legendary pianist Pollini’s recitals in South Korea canceled due to health issues
The much-anticipated recitals in South Korea by Maurizio Pollini, considered one of the world’s leading pianists, have been canceled due to health reasons, the event organizer said on Thursday. Event organizer Mast Media cited chronic bronchitis as the reason for the 80-year-old musician’s abrupt cancellation of the recitals, titled “The Emperor of Piano: ‘Once in a Lifetime’” scheduled for May 19 and May 25 at the Seoul Arts Center. The company said that
May 12, 2022
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Over 70 years old and fangirling: Lim Young-woong leads evolution of trot fandom
At age 71, Kim Im-kyung is learning how to be a fangirl. At her three-room apartment in Seoul, Kim turned one whole room into a shrine dedicated to her idol -- Korean trot singer Lim Young-woong -- decorating it with his posters and a collection of fan merchandise like a light stick. To help Lim’s songs rank high on music charts, she plays his latest album through an online music streaming service all day long, despite personally owning five physical copies of it. She watches al
May 12, 2022
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Global pop artists to visit Korea as distancing rules drop
With South Korea’s COVID-19 social distancing rules lifted, big-name global pop artists are returning to the country. Norwegian singer-songwriter Jakob Ogawa will be the first pop artist to hold a concert after the government scrapped distancing restrictions. The musician will hold his solo concert “Jakob (fka Jakob Ogawa) Live in Seoul” at Rolling Hall in Mapo-gu, western Seoul on May 20. It will mark the artist’s first meeting with local fans. Icelandic iconic post-r
May 11, 2022
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Two Grammy-winning string soloists to perform with orchestras in Seoul
Two Grammy-winning artists, violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill and violinist Hilary Hahn, are scheduled to perform in South Korea in the coming weeks. O’Neill will join the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra for two concerts on May 19 and 20 at the Lotte Concert Hall in Songpa-gu, Seoul, marking the first time in 15 years for the US-based violist to perform with the orchestra. During the 90-minute concert, O’Neill will premiere Paul Chihara’s “Concerto for Viola an
May 10, 2022
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World DJ Festival to return to physical stage in August
As South Korea scrapped most COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, the World DJ Festival, an annual outdoor electronic music festival, will return to the physical stage in August at Auxiliary Stadium in Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul. This year’s festival will be held for three consecutive days starting Aug. 11 and is expected to be the biggest in-person event since the pandemic, accommodating around 70,000 to 80,000 people, according to festival organizer BEPCTangent Creative on Tues
May 10, 2022
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[Herald Interview] Nomadic soprano Park Hye-sang finds sanctuary in music
For the last four years, Park Hye-sang, an emerging South Korean soprano, has lived as a cultural nomad, bouncing between New York, Berlin and Seoul to further her career as an opera singer. The first four months of this year alone were a whirlwind of concerts and long-haul flights for Park. In January, she was in New York to perform Pamina in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” with the Metropolitan Opera and in Prague for an Opera Gala with Prague Philharmonia. From there, she hop
May 9, 2022
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Star-studded lineup marks return of Beautiful Mint Life
Beautiful Mint Life 2022, an annual outdoor indie music festival, will take place from Friday through Sunday at the Olympic Park’s 88 Jandi Madang in southeastern Seoul. This year’s Beautiful Mint Life was originally planned as a two-day event, but additional performances have been scheduled for Friday on huge demand for stage performances amid the eased quarantine measures. The tickets for Saturday and Sunday sold out in just five minutes, according to the festival organizer Mint
May 9, 2022
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Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival returns to the stage
Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival will be held in person this summer as the country takes steps to return to normalcy after more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rock festival will be held from Aug. 5 to 7, with performances from some 50 musicians and collectives from home and abroad at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park in Incheon. While the music festival mainly covers rock and electronic music, musicians who perform other genres such as alternative pop bands, indie bands and K-pop
May 5, 2022
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Traditional Korean musicians protest potential new music curriculum
A total of 12 Intangible Cultural Heritage Masters and dozens of educators gathered Wednesday in southeast Seoul to protest a newly proposed school curriculum, calling it a “massacre of gugak.” Gugak refers to Korean traditional music in Korean. Led by Lee Young-hee, 83, Intangible Cultural Heritage Master of Gayageum Sanjo and Byeongchang, the group condemned an ongoing research project led by the Ministry of Education to revamp school music curriculum. “We have devoted
May 4, 2022
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[Herald Interview] Woongsan dreams of reviving ‘golden days of jazz’ in Korea
Jazz was first introduced to Korea when the country’s first jazz act, Korean Jazz Band, began performing in 1926. The first-generation Korean jazz musicians learned the music from the US Eighth Army band, which was assigned to the country to provide music in support of the thousands of US service members stationed in the country in the 1950s. Although jazz has existed in Korea for a little under a century, it remains a niche genre, especially compared to more mainstream forms of music, li
May 4, 2022
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Performing arts scene sees sharp rise in revenue after lifting of distancing rules
The South Korean performing arts scene has experienced a sharp rise in revenue thanks to the lifting of nearly all social distancing rules, like gathering limits, about two weeks ago, industry data showed Wednesday. The combined revenue of 2,051 theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances reached 17.3 billion won ($13.7 million) from April 18 to Sunday, according to the data by the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System. The numbers more than trebled from 3
May 4, 2022
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Korean National Symphony Orchestra announces changes commensurate with its new name
From introducing forgotten female composers to crossing over beyond classical music into K-culture, the Korean National Symphony Orchestra unveiled plans to impress its name on the minds of music lovers at home and abroad. The orchestra’s artistic director David Reiland introduced various artistic plans and initiatives to reporters during a press conference at Seoul Arts Center on Tuesday. Reiland plans to help discover forgotten female composers, a continuation of a project with Franc
May 3, 2022
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[Exclusive] Tiger JK eyes return with new digital single as early as June
Korean hip-hop legend Tiger JK is gearing up for the release of a new digital single sometime in June, an industry source told The Korea Herald on Tuesday. “Tiger JK has completed recording and is going to start mastering the record and film a music video for the upcoming song,” the source said. It will likely to mark the musician’s return to music nearly nine months after the release of “Love Peace Movement,” the remix of “Love Peace” which dropped
May 3, 2022
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[Herald Review] 2022 Seoul Jazz Festa provides musical healing to COVID weary
People thirsty for stage performances flocked to Nodeul Island, central Seoul on Saturday, seeking to find comfort in jazz music in line with the South Korean government’s “phased return to normal” scheme. It was a perfect day to enjoy jazz music outdoors in spring weather, with the gentle breeze scattering flower petals. Marking the UNESCO-designated International Jazz Day, the 2022 Seoul Jazz Festa drew roughly 750 music fans who showed their excitement over the return of lon
May 1, 2022
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K-pop singer Soyou returns with first EP ‘Day&Night’ after 13 months
K-pop singer Soyou returned to the stage with her first mini-album “Day&Night” Wednesday, following her last single “Good Night My Love,” which was released in March last year. “Since ‘Day&Night’ is my first mini-album, I have a deep affection for it. I tried to fill up with various genres of songs,” Soyou said during a press showcase event held in Seoul on Wednesday, ahead of the EP’s online release at 6 p.m. “Day&Night&
April 27, 2022
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Viviz first K-pop girl group on Grammy’s ‘Global Spin’
Girl group Viviz will be taking the virtual stage on the Grammy’s digital performance series titled “Global Spin,” according to the trio’s agency Big Planet Made Entertainment on Tuesday. The act will be the first K-pop girl group to perform on the music show. Viviz will showcase “Bop Bop!” from its first mini-album “Beam of Prism,” released in February. The prerecorded performance will show the trio in black hanbok -- Korea’s traditional co
April 26, 2022
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With its third revival, ‘City of Light’ eyes global stage
The “City of Light,” known as “Gwangju” in Korean, is back for the third time since it first took the stage in 2020. This time, the musical aims to reach a global audience to deliver a story of resistance and the democratic movement when it gives a preview on Broadway later this year, the musical’s production team said last week. “‘City of Light’ was created as part of an initiative to popularize the iconic protest song ‘March for the Be
April 25, 2022
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[Herald Interview] Orchestre National de Metz hopes to share pure joy, inspiration through French classical music
Orchestre National de Metz, one of the 12 French national orchestras, will embark on a five-city tour of Korea this week in Daegu, becoming the first foreign orchestra to perform in the country this year and signaling a return to normalcy in international concert tours. “It took a long process of nearly three years for (Metz) orchestra to tour Korea because of the COVID-19 crisis. It is really an honor and joy to see this tour coming to conclusion,” Orchestre National de Metz&rsquo
April 25, 2022
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Seoul Jazz Festival unveils star-studded lineup for in-person concerts
With the landmark Seoul Jazz Festival resuming in-person this year after a three-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the lineup of stars for this year’s festival has been unveiled. The 14th Seoul Jazz festival will be held over three days outdoors, starting May 27 at the Olympic Park’s 88 Jandi Madang in southern Seoul, according to the festival’s organizer Private Curve. It is set to feature a number of big-name artists who will come to Korea for the first time, officia
April 21, 2022
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World-class pianists head to Korea after COVID-19 restrictions lifted
Several world-class pianists are poised to perform in Korea in the coming months, as the country returns to normalcy with most of the social distancing measures removed. The list of acclaimed pianists coming to Korea includes many familiar names, such as Maurizio Pollini, Yuja Wang and Rudolf Buchbinder. Legendary pianist Maurizio Pollini, 80, will take the stage twice in May in what would be his first recital in Korea. Also making a debut in the country is Yuja Wang, a Chinese pianist kn
April 20, 2022