[Herald Interview] Monte-Carlo Ballet's minimalist ‘Romeo and Juliet’ from Maillot

The Monte-Carlo Ballet Company, led by the artistic director and choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot, is set to present “Romeo and Juliet” at the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-gu from Friday to Sunday. This is the Monaco-based ballet company’s first performance in Korea since their 2019 rendition of “Cinderella.” Maillot reimagines Shakespeare’s literary masterpiece through the flashbacks experienced by the distraught Friar Laurence as he reflects on how the t

Oct. 11, 2023

Four days of jazz festivities take over Jara Island

GAPYEONG, Gyeonggi Province -- South Korea’s biggest jazz festival completed its four-day run on Monday with a total of 42 acts from around the world. The Jarasum International Jazz Festival, which started in 2004, takes place in October every year on Jara Island, a river island in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province -- some 40 minutes from Seoul by the ITX Cheongchun High Speed Train. This year, more than 30,000 music lovers attended the paid areas of the festival, the event organizer said. The 2

Oct. 9, 2023

[Herald Interview] Singer-songwriter Lee Min-hwi on bringing big questions into music

Singer-songwriter Lee Min-hwi's serene acoustic music and soft melodies disguise a cynical edge. "Your tongue and ears were never yours" she says on her first album "Borrowed Tongue." Lee's lyrics -- delivered in a whispering tone, sometimes like reciting poetry -- are the part of songwriting she finds most time-consuming. "Once I sat down to work on my music, many questions pop up in my head, and usually they lead to one question," Lee told The Korea He

Oct. 9, 2023

SPAF kicks off with boundary-breaking performances

The Seoul Performing Arts Festival, celebrating its 23rd year, kicks off Friday and runs until Oct. 29 in various venues across Seoul, including the National Theater of Korea, the National Jeongdong Theater of Korea, the ARKO & Daehakro Arts Theater and Yohangza Theater. Nineteen Korean and international productions are set to deliver messages that transcend the boundaries of art and technology, as well as those between nations and regions. "We will introduce works that challenge conven

Oct. 6, 2023

S. Korean breakdancers eye gold at Asian Games

South Korean breakdance competitors are eyeing the top stop for the Asian Games' first-ever breakdancing competitions, the preliminary round of which kicked off Friday. Two male and two female dancers Kim Heon-woo, Kim Hong-yul, Jeon Ji-ye and Kwon Seong-hui will represent Korea at the dance battle at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. They are stars in the breakdancing world, better known by their stage names -- Wing, Hong 10, Freshbella and Starry, respectively. Two golds are up for

Oct. 6, 2023

Zandari Festa kicks off with local, foreign indie bands

Zandari Festa, an indie rock festival launched in 2012, kicks off Thursday for a three-day run. This year's festival will feature up-and-coming indie bands as well as well-established musicians, including Galaxy Express, Band Nam, Leenalchi, Teresa in the Moon and the Royston Club. The lineup comprises 35 acts from South Korea, the US, France, the UK, China and the Philippines. Performances will take place at four live music venues in Seoul's Hongdae area -- Musinsa Garage, Veloso Hong

Oct. 4, 2023

Jarasum Jazz Fest to kick off Friday

The Jarasum International Jazz Festival kicks off Friday on the small river island of Jaraseom in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, for a four-day run. The festival is to open Friday with performances by Yejurang, a trio of a pianist and two vocalists, and Breath of 8, which consists of eight saxophonists, a pianist, a drummer and a bassist. South Korean ska band Kingston Rudieska and the Ju Hyun Mi Project -- vocalist Ju Hyun-mi and jazz musician Phil Yoon -- will also perform Friday. Admission to F

Oct. 4, 2023

Live music festival Block Party to return to Haebangchon

“Tiger is Coming” band Leenalchi will join more than 100 performers in Haebangchon this weekend as 10 venues in the area open for a cultural festival. Showcase music festival Block Party will return for a second year Saturday and Sunday with more stages and a wider variety of performances. Music will still be at the heart of the event, with alternative pop band Leenalchi being joined Saturday by the hard rock sounds of Galaxy Express and Drinking Boys and Girls Choir, as well as Ja

Oct. 3, 2023

Maestro Bychkov to debut in Korea with all-Dvorak program

Semyon Bychkov, a Soviet-born conductor who denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is set to make his Korean debut in October, leading the Czech Philharmonic for an all-Dvorak program. The program -- Dvorak’s "Carnival Overture," Op.92, Piano Concerto in G minor, Op.33, and Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op.70 -- is more of a practical choice as it includes pieces that are being performed during their regular season in Prague, where they will perform Dvorak’s three symphoni

Sept. 30, 2023

[From the Scene] Whimsical circus workshop offers fun workout

If you've ever wanted to juggle, spin plates or soar through the air like a circus sensation, then the "Circus Playground" workshop was the place to be last weekend. As part of LG Arts Center Seoul's fall season education programs, the one-day workshop, co-organized by the circus education experts at "Jumpers," provided an exciting experience for beginners of all ages, including the young-at-heart adults. The morning session catered to adventure-seeking adults, whil

Sept. 27, 2023

Seoul streets transform to open stage for Seoul Street Arts Festival

Seoul's streets are to become a festive outdoor venue for various street arts, circus performances, dance, multidisciplinary shows and art installations this weekend. The outdoor performing arts festival organized by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, known as the Seoul Street Arts Festival, kicks off Friday at Seoul Plaza, along with a Chuseok full moon viewing event. The opening performance, “Full Moon,” starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday, featuring artists from this year&rsqu

Sept. 27, 2023

[Herald Review] ‘Carmen’ redefines iconic femme fatale as stalking victim

Breaking away from the traditional portrayal of the iconic femme fatale, Carmen, Seoul Metropolitan Theatre's theatrical rendition of the classic character meets audiences with the haunting specter of dating violence. Seoul Metropolitan Theatre Artistic Director Koh Sun-woong undertook the adaptation of “Carmen” to reevaluate the character in a new light and to deliver a powerful message: Obsession is not love. Based on Prosper Merimee's 1845 novella and Bizet's opera

Sept. 26, 2023

Orchestra composed of players with visual impairment to perform Oct. 4

The Hyegwang Blind Orchestra, composed of individuals with visual impairments, is gearing up for a special performance titled “International Music Concert with Hyegwang Blind Orchestra” on Oct. 4. The orchestra has continued its musical journey for 15 years since the Incheon Hyegwang School for the Blind established a wind instrument program for high-schoolers in 2008. Currently, the ensemble includes members from various backgrounds, such as massage therapists, teachers, rehab worke

Sept. 26, 2023

Benois de la Danse winner Kang Mi-sun comes back with 'Don Quixote'

This year’s Benois de la Danse winner, Kang Mi-sun, is set to perform the classic ballet “Don Quixote” at the Seoul Arts Center’s Opera Theater next month. Kang, a principal dancer at Universal Ballet in Seoul, clinched the top prize at the prestigious Benois de la Danse, an esteemed annual ballet competition held in Moscow. Kang is the fifth Korean national to win the prize. The upcoming performance is Kang's return to the stage with a full-length production at the

Sept. 25, 2023

Shimcheong-ga returns as changgeuk for Chuseok

The National Changgeuk Company of Korea, which recently premiered its modern take on traditional changgeuk performances in “Jeong-nyeon” and “The Merchants of Venice,” returns with a traditional Korean pansori, “Shimcheong-ga” for the Chuseok holiday. The production is based on the classic Korean pansori and folktale of Sim Cheong, a young girl who makes a selfless sacrifice to the king of the underwater world in a desperate attempt to restore her blind father

Sept. 24, 2023

[Herald Interview] Behind the scenes of Jongmyo Jeryeak with singers who breathe life into royal ceremony

Just as a conductor raises the baton in a Western classical orchestra, the “jipbak,” or the person playing the “bak” -- a wooden clapper used in Korean court and ritual music -- signals the beginning of the performance. Then the “chuk,’ a green box-drum that also signals the start of a royal ceremony, is struck nine times. Dressed in navy blue uniforms, the dancers in formation move gracefully and deliberately, with precise movements. As the musicians start to

Sept. 20, 2023

Munich Philharmonic to offer seven all-Beethoven concerts with top Korean musicians

The Munich Philharmonic, a renowned German orchestra founded in 1893, will make a Korea-only tour in late November to take the stage seven times, featuring Korea’s most-sought after musicians. During their tour, which will be conducted by Korean maestro Chung Myung-whun, they will perform all-Beethoven programs in Daegu, Daejeon, Gyeonggi Province’s Gwangju and Seoul from Nov. 24 to Dec. 1. The orchestra will take the stage with pianist Lim Yun-chan four times, performing Beethoven&r

Sept. 18, 2023

MODAFE explores artistic universe of modern dance

A festival of modern dance returns. The 2023 International Modern Dance Festival (MODAFE), the country’s longest-running festival for modern and contemporary dance, is gearing up to celebrate its 42nd anniversary this year. The festival runs from Wednesday to Oct. 15, at the National Theater of Korea’s Haeoreum Theater and ARKO Arts Theater in Seoul. Under the banner of MODAFE Universe, which alludes to the distinctive artistic views crafted by choreographers and dancers, this year&#

Sept. 18, 2023

Asia Culture Center to present play by Korean, Vietnamese producers

The Asia Culture Center in Gwangju is to present a play titled “Ben Khong Chong” ("Wharf of Widows"), a collaboration between South Korean and Vietnamese producers, on Saturday and Sunday. The Korea Association of Performing Arts Producers and the Vietnam National Drama Theater showcased some 60 minutes of the play in 2022, as part of an ACC project aimed at promoting international cultural exchanges. This year the play returns with its all-Vietnamese cast, along with an ad

Sept. 17, 2023

Inaugural traditional music orchestra festival to kick off in October

Eight Korean traditional music orchestras from across the country will come together for a gugak festival next month. The inaugural “Korean Traditional Music Orchestra Festival” is to kick off ahead of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the first Korean traditional music orchestra, the Seoul Metropolitan Traditional Orchestra, which was officially established in March 1965. The festival aims to become an annual event. While there are many forms of K-culture that are thriving, tr

Sept. 17, 2023