The international tour production of “Cats” will extend its Seoul run for a month. The West End musical opened Sept. 9 at the Charlotte Theater in eastern Seoul. Though initially slated to run until Nov. 8, the show will now close on Dec. 6. After the Seoul run, the musical will tour Korea, though details of that have yet to be finalized. Adjusting to the time of the novel coronavirus, the mus...

Thirteen Korean movies have applied to be selected as Korea’s entry for the Academy Award for best international feature film, according to the Korean Film Council on Monday. Since Director Bong Joon-ho won the Oscar for best international feature film for “Parasite” at the 92nd Academy Awards in February, movie industry insiders’ eyes are now on who will be selected to compete for the nominatio...

Ahn Eun Me Company, led by inconic dancer Ahn will present show “I am Twenty Years Old.” The show will be recorded on stage and at other sites at the theater, too. “It is unfortunate that the SPAF cannot welcome an in-person audience. This, however, may be a new attempt and an opportunity to bring the process from performance production to online screening as part of the whole festival,” an offi...

Pawn (Korea) Opened Sept. 29 Family drama Directed by Kang Dae-kyu In 1993, Doo-seok (Sung Dong-il) and Jong-bae (Kim Hee-won) work as debt collectors in Incheon. They may look intimidating, but they are soft inside. One day, the two go to collect a debt from Myung-ja (Kim Yun-jin) who unexpectedly offers her 9-year-old daughter Seung-yi (Park So-yi, Ha Ji-won) as collateral. When Myung-ja i...

The 25th Busan International Film Festival, originally set to open Oct. 8, will be held Oct. 21-30 both offline and online, according to the festival organizers. “We will screen a total of 194 films, and 125 will be screened through our online channel,” a BIFF organizer told The Korea Herald on Wednesday. “There will not be any outdoor events, including opening and closing ceremonies, outdoor g...

Comedy crime film “Collectosr” is ready to steal moviegoers’ hearts with its original story about tomb robbery. “As the first Korean film about tomb robbery, we will present new visuals that the audience has never seen before,” director Park Jung-bae said during an online press briefing Tuesday. “Collectors” is Park’s debut feature. “Collectors” introduces three robbers. Kang Dong-goo, played...

The two-day online screening of musical “Mozart!” gathered 15,000 paid audience members in Korea over the Chuseok holiday. EMK Musical Company, the production company behind the hit musical, offered a paid online stream of its hit musical “Mozart!” on Saturday and Sunday via Naver V Live, a local video streaming platform. A total of 15,000 people purchased online tickets for the musical screeni...

Though state-run culture facilities reopened Monday, uncertainties regarding the COVID-19 pandemic remain. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Friday that 23 museums and libraries and 11 government-run performing arts venues would reopen Monday after a monthlong shutdown. Despite them reopening, however, the performing arts sector continues to struggle. The Art Council Korea,,...

Adjusting to the turbulent times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, an online-only musical will be launched in November. In the past few months, it has become the norm for musical production companies to stream their shows online, as in-person performances have been barred with tight restrictions to restrain the spread of COVID-19. Though the musical industry has been trying to establish a for-pa...

The Korean National Ballet will perform “Le Corsaire,” also known as “The Pirate,” Nov. 4-8 at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul. The troupe was to perform “Romeo et Juliette,” choreographed by the iconic ballet dancer Jean-Christophe Maillot, in November, with the original production team visiting South Korea to direct the choreography. However, the ballet company canceled the show to av...

A circus to be held in Seoul in the era of COVID-19 will involve cars instead of circus tents. The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture will host the Seoul Circus Festival from Friday to Oct. 11 at Oil Tank Culture Park in Mapo, western Seoul. The event, normally held in May every year, was postponed twice due to the nationwide spread of the new coronavirus. To guard against the further spread...

Ahn Joo-won became the first Korean male principal dancer of American Ballet Theater. ABT recently announced promotions for six soloists, elevating them to the role of principal dancer. Ahn was promoted to principal dancer a year after being promoted as a soloist in September 2019. Ahn was a student at the Korea National University of Arts in Seoul when he was invited to join the company in 201...

With physical shows canceled, arts companies seek new revenue source

As the show began, cast members dressed up as cats appeared from the back of the auditorium, roaming through the audience. For safety reasons, the characters wore masks featuring catlike makeup. After going onstage, they removed the masks and began to sing. “Cats,” created by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh, tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles. On the night of the ...

London-based contemporary dance company Rambert and celebrated Belgian choreographer-filmmaker Wim Vandekeybus have joined hands to present a socially distanced dance performance fit for the COVID-19 pandemic era. Their new dance production “Draw From Within” will be livestreamed for audiences around the world, from London to Seoul. In the show, around 20 Rambert dancers will dance against the b...