Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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[Graphic News] S. Korean content industry exports hit all-time high in 2021
South Korea’s exports of cultural content hit an all-time high of $12.4 billion in 2021, boosted by the global boom of Korean pop culture, a government report showed. According to a 2021 research study on the cultural content industry released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the industry’s exports increased 4.4 percent to $12.45 billion in 2021 from $11.92 billion in 2020. The content industry is an umbrella term for organizations that produce copyrighted works availa
Jan. 16, 2023
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11-year-old cellist wins 1st prize in junior Tchaikovsky
Eleven-year-old Korean cellist Kim Jung-a won the first prize in the cello section at the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Russia, according to Korea National University of Arts on Thursday. Kim competed against seven other cellists in the final round, which was held at the Grand Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic on Monday. A total of 128 contestants from 14 countries participated in the piano, violin and cello categories this year. The finalists performed
Jan. 13, 2023
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[Herald Review] Thriller play ‘Misery’ keeps audience on edge of seats
Outside the window, it is raining heavily as lightning cracks. In the dreary atmosphere, Annie Wilkes barges into the room, her face distorted in anger, she screams, “Misery cannot be dead! How could you? You murdered her!” Unable to control her rage, Annie almost swings a chair at Paul Sheldon, unable to move due to leg injuries. Then suddenly in a surprisingly soft voice, she whispers: “Try to experience what pain is. Don’t even dream that someone will come and save you
Jan. 12, 2023
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Korean production of 'The Phantom of the Opera' to return after 13 years
The Korean production of the musical “The Phantom of the Opera” is returning for the first time in 13 years. The third Korean-language revival after the 2001 and 2009 runs, the latest production is set to premiere in Busan and will feature headlining actor Cho Seung-woo, musical actor Jeon Dong-suk and baritone Julian Kim as the Phantom. Sohn Ji-soo and Song Eun-hye will take the role of Christine. The Busan performances will kick off at Dream Theatre, a venue dedicated to musicals
Jan. 9, 2023
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Woodstock festival to land in Korea for first time
The legendary Woodstock festival is coming to Korea with the theme of "freedom, peace and love." The festival will be held from July 29 to 30, at the Hantangang River Geopark complex, in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province in memory of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice agreement, SGC Entertainment announced Friday. The company said it has signed an official copyright agreement with the Woodstock Music and Art Fair to host the three-day festival in Korea. Launched in 1969 in Bet
Jan. 8, 2023
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Musical industry made dramatic comeback in 2022
Rebounding from two years of pandemic-related difficulties, South Korea's performing arts industry came back last year stronger than ever, backed by record ticket sales in musicals. According to the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System, which collects and analyzes ticket sales data, the total number of ticket sales for performing arts reached 545.2 billion won ($429 million) as of Dec. 28. Out of 545.2 billion won, 76.2 percent (415.5 billion won) was attributed to ticket sal
Jan. 3, 2023
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Korea National Contemporary Dance Company unveils its program for next season
Korea National Contemporary Dance Company will continue to explore the art of dance in 2023 with experimental programs for the next season. “20▲△” (Twenty Triangle Triangle) which premiered in 2021 will return to the stage in February as the first program of the season. Directed by choreographer Song Joo-won, the performance was part of the “Dance and Technology Project” which incorporated VR as well as the audience into a dance. In June, “Cascade Passage” wil
Jan. 1, 2023
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Top orchestras with Korean musicians highlight classical music calendar in 2023
As most of the world returns to pre-pandemic normalcy, the coming year is expected to bring in worldwide talents and provide many occasions to showcase collaboration between Korean musicians and renowned orchestras. As early as March, the 475-year-old German orchestra Staatskapelle Dresden, with its principal guest conductor Chung Myung-whun, will hit the stage of the Seoul Art Center. On March 5, featuring Korean pianist Cho Seong-jin, the orchestra will perform a Tchaikovsky piano concerto a
Dec. 29, 2022
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New SPO music director will lead opening concert with Brahms
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra's incoming music director Jaap van Zweden, will lead the opening concert of 2023 with his signature repertoire, Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68, at the Lotte Concert Hall, on Jan. 12 and 13. Van Zweden will lead the SPO six months earlier than originally scheduled. The Dutch conductor was scheduled to conduct regular SPO concerts in July, November and December in 2023. The Brahms' masterpiece took the German composer 21 years to complete
Dec. 25, 2022
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In a sign of recovery, SAC New Year's Eve Concert returns
The Seoul Arts Center’s New Year’s Eve concert is scheduled to return Dec. 31, the first time that the concert that marks the end of the year for many classical music lovers will be back on the stage since the last three years prior. Conductor Hong Seok-won, the artistic director of the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra, will lead the Korean National Symphony Orchestra for the SAC’s year-end concert, an annual tradition that started in 1994. Joining onstage are pianist Shin Chang-yong
Dec. 21, 2022
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Acclaimed soloists to perform with KBS Symphony Orchestra next year
KBS Symphony Orchestra and music director Pietari Inkinen unveiled a new program for the 2023 season with a list full of acclaimed soloists. The piano is at the forefront with half of the 12 regular concerts in the next season featuring internationally renowned pianists, including Van Cliburn Piano Competition-winning pianist Sunwoo Ye-kwon, Pascal Roge, Alexei Volodin and Queen Elisabeth Competition-winning Anna Vinnitskaya, Alice Sara Ott and Fazil Say. Violinist virtuoso Gidon Kremer, Japanes
Dec. 20, 2022
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‘Organ Odyssey’: Concert explores pipe organ inside and out
The “Organ Odyssey” -- an annual flagship concert series exploring the sounds and mechanisms of a pipe organ -- is set for the last concert of the year at 11 a.m., Wednesday at the Lotte Concert Hall, Songpa-gu, southeastern Seoul. For the special Christmas-themed concert, pianist and organist Cho Jae-hyuck, who also played in the 2017 edition, will perform signature music pieces for the organ, such as those by Bach and Dupre, highlighting the various tones of the instrument. Tenor K
Dec. 19, 2022
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[Herald Review] Kim Sun-wook gives form to fire
What do you do when, just hours before you are about to leave the country, you get a phone call asking if you could conduct a choral symphony in just one week? Pianist and conductor Kim Sun-wook, receiving such a call from Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra on his way to Incheon Airport on Dec. 7, asked for some time to think it over -- until he arrived at the airport. “In those 30-40 minutes, I probably did the most thinking ever in my 34-year life,” said Kim during a press meeting on Tue
Dec. 18, 2022
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Intangible Cultural Heritage holder Ahn Sook-sun to perform ‘Chunhyangga’ pansori
Celebrated gugak musician Ahn Sook-sun is scheduled to perform pansori “Chunhyangga” at the National Theater of Korea, in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Dec. 31. The best-known pansori “Chunhyangga” tells a love tale between Chun-hyang, daughter of a courtesan, and Yi Mong-ryong, son of a magistrate. Ahn and four other pansori singers will perform the entire "Chunhyangga," which will take about 210 minutes. Coming on stage as the third pansori singer, Ahn will perform
Dec. 16, 2022
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Two Korean winners of Queen Elisabeth Competition to perform in Belgium
Two Korean winners of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition will perform a special recital in Belgium on Saturday. Violinist Lim Ji-young, winner of the competition in 2015, and cellist Choi Ha-young, this year's winner, will take the stage at Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp, Belgium, according to the Korean Cultural Center in Brussels. Both took the highest honors at one of the most prestigious competitions for up-and-coming classical musicians. Held in Brussels, it alternates each y
Dec. 15, 2022
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[Herald Interview] Nah Youn-sun presents her own 'Waking World'
Jazz vocalist Nah Youn-sun spent her first ever free year feeling anxious. As the pandemic persisted with no end in sight, the situation understandably became very daunting for a performer who hit the stage at least 100 times a year. Considering her new circumstances, she thought she might have to find a new occupation. “I felt isolated on an island, especially since the musicians I had worked with in the past 10 years were all foreigners. I was contemplating whether I should change jobs a
Dec. 13, 2022
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167-year-old orchestra with young masters at the fore to perform in Korea
A 167-year-old historic French orchestra is set to perform in Korea this month with two young music masters at the fore. The Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, based in Strasbourg -- a French city on the border with on Germany -- will perform a repertoire that shows the musical connection between France and Russia, its music director Aziz Shokhakimov told reporters on Thursday. The orchestra will perform Bizet’s Carmen Suite No.1, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.2 and Mussorgsky&rsqu
Dec. 13, 2022
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Which 'Nutcracker' to see this Christmas season?
The iconic ballet “The Nutcracker” returns for year-end magic on the stage this month. This year, one of the most beloved and widely performed classical ballets celebrates its 130th anniversary, first premiering at the Mariinsky Theater in Russia in 1892. Based on the children’s story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” (1816) by German writer Ernst Hofmann, the heroine receives a nutcracker as a Christmas gift from her godfather. On Christmas Eve, she falls asleep
Dec. 12, 2022
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[Herald Review] Jazz vocalist Woong San and musicians share message for environment
A jazz concert calling for action to save the environment took place on Nodeul Island, in Yongsan, central Seoul, Wednesday evening. Eleven jazz vocalists teamed up for the Seoul Green Art Festival, which is part of the Green Jazz Movement, led by Woong San. As a major jazz vocalist in the local and international scene for decades, the artist also serves as chair of the Korea Jazz Association. Opening the performance at Live House, Woong San said, “The project started when I thought &lsquo
Dec. 8, 2022
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With new all-Korean crossover album, Sumi Jo shows relentless energy
In releasing an all-Korean crossover album “In Love: Korean Love Poem,” internationally acclaimed soprano Sumi Jo said Tuesday that she hopes that the genre of Korean art songs, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, can be enjoyed more globally like K-pop. “Korean art songs were introduced a century ago, but people still find Korean art songs difficult. I paid a lot of attention to the singing method and arrangement and poured all my passion, soul and time into it
Dec. 6, 2022