Sungnyemun, or the South Gate from the Joseon era (1392-1910), will be unveiled to the public on Saturday after 63 months of restoration. A lavish ceremony is planned to mark the return of the National Treasure No.1 in central Seoul. The restoration was the fruit of around 35,000 people’s dedication, from the selection of the best wood and stone to adhering to the most traditional method possible.The Cultural Heritage Administration said it reinforced fireproofing and the fire alarm system since

April 30, 2013

A singer looks into the camera, singing his heart out. The audience is reduced to tears and gives rapturous applause. Still, one of the seven singers must go home. If this sounds all too familiar, it should be. It is part of the MBC hit show “I Am a Singer,” where seven contenders compete to become the “best singer in the nation” ― except now, it is aired in China with a Chinese cast, targeting the Chinese audience.  The show, which began airing here in early 2011, caught the attention of broad

April 30, 2013

Sungnyemun is back.After five years and three months of restoration costing 25 billion won ($22.5 million), the National Treasure No. 1, which served as the South Gate of the capital city during the Joseon era (1392-1910), will be open to the public May 5, the Cultural Heritage Administration said Monday. On Saturday, a grand celebration stretching all the way from Sungnyemun to Gwanghwamun Plaza in central Seoul will be held from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., marking the restoration of the gate that was se

April 29, 2013

With his bushy gray hair and Issey Miyake pleated shirts, he seemed more like an ascetic onstage than a musician. But on May 6 Latvian cellist Mischa Maisky will perform his all-time favorite, Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by Johann Sebastian Bach. Sans pianist Martha Argerich ― one of his lifelong musical partners and who was to perform Beethoven, Schubert and Stravinsky with him in Korea but cancelled last week due to a health condition ― Maisky is to feature Bach’s Cello Suite Nos. 1, 3 and

April 29, 2013

Yes, South Korea is the most wired country in the world, but the preconceived stereotypes of Buddhist monks living in ascetic, rustic conditions nevertheless do not blend well with smartphones. Yet monks are chatting and texting, and spreading Buddhist teachings, on cell phones everywhere from Dongguk University in the heart of Seoul to the sandy courtyards of mountain hermitages.“This is not an age of happiness but an age of exhaustion and difficulty. But a single text message can give you stre

April 28, 2013

“So, we are now going to take pictures with a snake. It doesn’t bite and it’s not scary at all!” Kim Dong-ok, a zookeeper at Seoul Children’s Grand Park Zoo, said Monday morning in a classroom inside the tropical animal zone. She was talking to about 50 children from a nearby kindergarten who had come to the park and zoo on a field trip. Slightly anxious and excited, the children let Kim wrap a Burmese python around their necks. While even some teachers, evidently scared, refused the animal, man

April 26, 2013

Korean musical “Caffeine” marked the grand opening of Amuse Musical Theatre, a performance hall dedicated to musicals in Tokyo, on Thursday. Eight to nine Korean musicals will be presented each year there, paving the way for Korean performance arts to advance into the Japanese market.“Caffeine” is a romantic comedy from Daehagno, the cradle of small-stage theaters in Seoul, that has been widely popular among people in their 20s and 30s. It tells the love story of an ordinary couple who accidenta

April 26, 2013

“The queen of violin” Anne-Sophie Mutter will be in Korea on June 14 with a troupe of her protgs to show off the essence of violin virtuosity. From the very classic of classical music to contemporary, the German native is expected to demonstrate once again her “strictly classical but original and careful” bowing. At the June 14 concert at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, Mutter and her 14 protgs selected from the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation will perform Sebastian Currier’s “Ring tones,” Men

April 24, 2013

Leading Korean comic artist Huh Young-man put a price tag on his work, which he said was rejected by both established newspapers and online portals. With nowhere to go to publish his work in a commercially viable way, he opted to sell his comic series directly to readers via a newly launched mobile platform amid a flurry of conflicting reactions about his move on social networks. Huh, 66, is widely deemed the godfather of comics here as he has produced more than 100 comic book series including h

April 24, 2013

The subculture of K-pop fandoms giving expensive gifts to their favorite stars, so-called “jogong,” is becoming more common, raising concerns among the general public about how much is too much. “Jogong” is a Korean word for a gift that colonies pay as a tribute to their ruling states. In Korean fan culture, however, the word is widely used for a present fans give to their favorite stars. Some hardcore fans jokingly consider themselves the “weaker ones” who are to pay jogong to an “upper person”

April 24, 2013

Ceramic artist Choi Jae-hun is holding his 10th solo exhibition from Wednesday to April 30 at Kyung-In Museum of Fine Art in Seoul. The exhibition showcases moon jars created by an exclusive method the artist developed over years, which involves collecting and scraping clay, molding it into a moon jar and then plopping the jar in terra alba, a white soil powder. The final product is white slip ceramic ware, or buncheong, in natural silhouettes with random cracks that are the features of Choi’s p

April 23, 2013

Throughout May until early June, the Korea National Opera and four private opera companies are staging three signature works of Verdi and two Korean operas at Seoul Arts Center as part of the fourth Korea Opera Festival. Aimed at enhancing the overall quality and the public’s appreciation of opera, which is widely perceived to be limited to a specific demographic, the organizers are gearing up to offer familiar yet fresh repertoires.“It is not an easy job to stage an opera since it is a comprehe

April 23, 2013

Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently became a topic of heated discussion online after a picture of his handshake with President Park Geun-hye was released by media.Park and Gates held a meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Monday and discussed various topics including alternative energy sources, nuclear reactors and Seoul’s drive for economic growth.Controversy arose from an unexpected element of their meeting; their handshake. As Gates shook Park’s hand, he had the other hand in

April 23, 2013

Playing basketball, going swimming, dancing to his favorite music, or just walking up a flight of stairs is not what an average 12-year-old boy would call “his dream.” But for Luka, doing such simple everyday activity is possible only in his imagination. He is suffering from a muscular dystrophy, a degenerative disease that deprives his ability to move his body over time.Right now, the only parts of his limbs that he can move at his will are his fingers, which allow him to control the joystick o

April 22, 2013

As the name would suggest, Wanderer Trio has been wandering around the world to refine their repertoire of chamber ensemble music for the past 25 years. Inspired by the lives of Schubert and some German romanticist composers, the members have been concentrating in the life and soul of the love and pain leading to a constant search for something special in chamber music. “The great thing about piano trio pieces is that the composers were usually great pianists and they knew what exactly they were

April 21, 2013