Most Popular
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
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‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
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Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
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Seoul International Music Festival hopes to be ‘Amusement Park’ of classical music
The 13th Seoul International Music Festival, one of the major annual classical music festivals held every autumn in Korea, will take place in October under the title “Amusement Park.” The festival will take place across Seoul, including the Seoul Arts Center and the Lotte Concert Hall, Oct. 23-30, hoping to offer joy and comfort to classical music audiences hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the global music scene continues to struggle amid the virus crisis, this year’s S
Sept. 7, 2021
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Live jazz returns to Seoul Forest in October as Seoul Forest Jazz Festival goes in-person
The 5th Seoul Forest Jazz Festival will take place in-person on Oct. 16-17. The festival, launched in 2017, is held annually at Seoul Forest, featuring leading jazz musicians as well as pop acts. On Monday, organizers Page Turner announced the festival schedule, with the lineup to be released Wednesday. Last year, the festival was held as a hybrid event. Under the theme “Silent Picnic,” it allowed some 100 people to attend the event in person, offering them wireless headsets to
Sept. 6, 2021
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2 Korean pianists win prizes at Busoni Competition
Korean pianists Park Jae-hong and Kim Do-hyun won prizes at the 63rd Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition, taking first and second places, respectively. The biennial Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition, organized by the Ferruccio Busoni -- Gustav Mahler Foundation, wrapped up Friday, announcing the three winners among 33 semifinalists. For this year’s hybrid competition held in Bolzano, Italy, a total of 506 pianists went through online screening. Thirty-thre
Sept. 5, 2021
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Classical music expands horizons
Hoping to appeal to a wider range of audiences, the local classical music scene has been engaging in more barrier-breaking opportunities. Though classical music performances are often associated with formal attire, rigid expressions and stiff audiences, more artists and institutions are trying to embrace the latest trends with an aim to open the genre to wider audiences. Classical music festival Hic et Nunc! -- hosted by the Sejong Soloists string ensemble -- has hopped on the “metave
Sept. 2, 2021
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Conductor seeks new stage with video games
Though orchestral music performances are often associated with big names such as Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Schubert or Mahler, the keywords for conductor Chin Sol’s performances strike a different note: League of Legends, StarCraft, World of Warcraft and more. Chin, 34, wears many hats. She is the exclusive conductor of the Daegu MBC Symphony Orchestra, principal conductor of the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts Symphony Orchestra and the Seoul Student Philharmonic Orche
Aug. 31, 2021
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Winners of Queen Elisabeth Competition to perform in Korea
Two winners of the 2021 Queen Elisabeth Competition are to hold performances across Korea starting next month. French pianist Jonathan Fournel and Japanese pianist Keigo Mukawa who took the first and the third place in this year’s competition, respectively, will kick off their schedule at the 2021 PLZ Festival held in Goseong, Gangwon Province, on Sept. 8. They will also hold recitals in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, on Sept. 10 and in Gwangju on Sept. 12. Fournel will presen
Aug. 30, 2021
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Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival to go online again
The Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival will be held online again this year as the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to be contained. According to the festival organizers Thursday, the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival 2021 will take place Oct. 9-10 as an online event, free of charge. In 2020, the festival went online for the first time since its launch in 2006, gathering a total of around 780,000 viewers. The primary lineup released Thursday consists of leading rock acts here suc
Aug. 28, 2021
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[Eye interview] 'The stage is to die for'
What does a pianist who travels the world on concert tours do when the world goes into a lockdown? You go on an emotional roller coaster, refocus and record your first studio album. That is what pianist Sunwoo Yekwon did. “I was going through the same mental stages as other people,” said Sunwoo Yekwon in an interview with The Korea Herald on Aug. 17 at the Universal Music office in Seoul. “In the beginning, I was quite hopeful, hoping that things will get better soon,&rdquo
Aug. 28, 2021
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Cho Seong-jin releases new Chopin album
Concert pianist Cho Seong-jin, the first Korean to win the International Chopin Piano Competition, released his second Frederic Chopin album Friday. The new album, released under the Deutsche Grammophon label, features Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21. On the album, Cho is accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra led by the Italian maestro Gianandrea Noseda. Though Cho has performed the work on multiple occasions, including a performance at the BBC Proms in 2018, it
Aug. 27, 2021
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Stage musicals embrace Korean traditional music to meet diversified demand
South Korea's stage musicals have joined hands with gukak, or Korean traditional music, to meet the rising demand of Korean people for diversified cross-genre shows. Musical "Pan" has been gaining more-than-expected popularity since it premiered in July at Jeongdong Theater, a state-run venue that stages traditional performing arts. Set in the late 19th century of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), the show tells the story of Dalsu, a nobleman who wants to become the best storyteller in
Aug. 26, 2021
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Ballet dancers to present own works
Korean National Ballet dancers are to present their own choreographed works through the “KNB Movement Series 6” show this weekend. The KNB is to go onstage on Saturday and Sunday at the Seoul Arts Center, presenting original works choreographed by its members, including principal dancer Park Seul-ki’s “Imagine,” principal dancer Shin Seung-won’s “Harmonia,” soloist Kang Hyo-hyung’s “Mannequin’s Story,” soloist Bae Min-so
Aug. 24, 2021
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Artist collaborations are latest web entertainment
Web-based entertainment programs featuring the inner workings of collaboration projects between artists have emerged as a new trend in the Korean music industry. In early August, KQ Entertainment announced that its K-pop boy band Ateez was working with veteran singer Kim Jong-kook on a duet summer song. The agency also hinted that the collaboration would not be limited to music. “Starting Aug. 11, fans can see how Ateez’s new song with Kim Jong-kook is being produced in the real
Aug. 23, 2021
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After 18 months of preparation, ‘Billy Elliot’ ready for stage
Four Billies are ready to take to the stage after a 1 1/2 years of training in ballet, tap dance, acrobatics, acting and more. The musical, based on a hit 2000 film of the same name, is set in northern England during the 1984-85 miner’s strike. Working-class boy Billy discovers his passion and talent for ballet and pursues his dream. Elton John composed the score and Lee Hall, who wrote the film’s screenplay, wrote the book and lyrics. A licensed version of the musical &ldquo
Aug. 23, 2021
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Rock star Yoon Do-hyun looks back on life through musical
Rock musician Yoon Do-hyun has been able to reminisce about the old days while starring in the musical “Gwanghwamun Sonata.” The musical, produced by CJ ENM, tells the story of middle-aged musician Myungwoo. In a coma on his deathbed, Myungwoo travels back to his past in the ‘80s and ‘90s, guided by Weolha. Yoon plays the title role of Myungwoo along with stage actors Um Ki-joon and Kang Pil-seok. “Myungwoo is a composer who is crazy about music. I can relate
Aug. 22, 2021
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KBS orchestra to go onstage with Chung Myung-whun, Garrick Ohlsson
The KBS Symphony Orchestra is to hold the concert, “Pictures at an Exhibition,” at the Seoul Arts Center on Thursday, joined by maestro Chung Myung-whun and pianist Garrick Ohlsson. At the upcoming concert, the orchestra will present Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54 and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Ohlsson, the winner of the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition, went onstage with the KBS Symphony Orchestra in September 2019,
Aug. 22, 2021
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Violinist searches for ‘Spiritual Reflections’
Violinist Stephen Kim is to hold a recital on Sunday at the Seoul Arts Center, opening the 2021 Hic et Nunc! music festival organized by the string ensemble Sejong Soloists. The Korean American violinist, 26, won the third prize at the 2019 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition. It is his first solo recital in Korea. “The title of the recital is ‘Spiritual Reflection.’ I wanted to create a program consisting of -- of course something that I enjoy playing -- but
Aug. 19, 2021
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Musical promotes peace in DMZ area
The musical “Wonder Ticket” is to take the stage near the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas in hopes of spreading a message of peace. The musical, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, will run from Sept. 17 to 26 at Pyeonghwa-Nuri Park in the Imjingak area, in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. The musical was inspired by an abandoned steam locomotive which sits at Jangdan Station in Imjingak, on the banks of Imjin River that
Aug. 18, 2021
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Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra set for last season of 2021
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has shared its plans for the third and last season of the turbulent 2021. The SPO’s third season is to run from September to December. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and any possible disruptions, the orchestra divided the year into three, instead of releasing the program for the whole of 2021 at the end of last year. In the third season, there will be a total of 13 performances, consisting of 11 orchestral music presentations and two chamber music re
Aug. 17, 2021
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ACC World Music Festival to highlight diversity
The ACC World Music Festival will be held at ACC Art Theater in Gwangju from Aug. 20 to 22, both online and offline. The three-day festival, hosted by the Asia Culture Center of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Asia Culture Institute, aims to encourage the audience to embrace various genres of music, from Korean traditional music to fado and tango. The festival, in its 12th edition this year, is to showcase 24 performances in genres such as pansori, jazz, tan
Aug. 17, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Say Sue Me to start afresh after pandemic-forced break
When the Busan-based indie band Say Sue Me released their debut album “We’re Sobered Up” in 2014, they never expected the international attention they would get. “Byung-kyu, our guitarist, was already playing in a band and I was a huge fan of that band. Since there were not a lot of indie band fans in Busan, we naturally got to know each other,” Choi Sumi, the vocalist of Say Sue Me, told The Korea Herald in an online interview Wednesday. When Kim Byung-kyu was
Aug. 16, 2021