Most Popular
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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Naver will consider company benefits in deciding on selling Line shares: CEO
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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Violinist Park Sueye’s ‘Journey Through a Century’ chosen as Gramophone’s Recordings of the Year
South Korean violinist Park Sueye’s album “Journey Through a Century” has been picked as one of UK magazine Gramophone‘s Recordings of the Year 2021, the artist’s agency MOC Production said on Thursday. The magazine announced the list of honorees through its annual Gramophone Digital Special published earlier this month, featuring all of this year’s Editor’s Choice albums, Recordings of the Month and the winners of the recording categories of the Gramop
Dec. 23, 2021
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‘Joseon pop’ pioneer Seodo Band wins JTBC’s ‘Poongryu’
Seodo Band -- which describes itself as the creators of Joseon pop -- took home the top prize from the hit JTBC music competition show “Poongryu” on Tuesday, which included 100 million won ($83,880) in prize money. “Poongryu,” which premiered in September, captured viewers by introducing a variety of twists on traditional Korean music, or gugak, melding it with elements of other Western music genres such as R&B, K-pop, hip-hop music and even breaking. The six finali
Dec. 22, 2021
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Musical ‘The Lion King’ to be delayed due to COVID-related travel problems
The opening of the musical version of “The Lion King” will be delayed, as performers and crew face difficulties in flying into Korea after several airlines abruptly canceled flights bound for the country, according to S&Co, the production company of the international tour. “Our performance team members’ entry (into Korea) has been delayed due to COVID-related travel problems,” S&Co said in a statement released Tuesday. The statement further read that thos
Dec. 22, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Norah Jones aims to soothe COVID-19 blues with first Christmas album
Christmas is just around the corner, but the festive season is more low-key than many hoped for due to rising COVID-19 concerns around the world. To help soothe the COVID-19 blues, American singer-songwriter Norah Jones has released an unexpected gift -- a full-length Christmas album titled “I Dream of Christmas”. “This album did come out of the very long first year of the pandemic. I needed something to look forward to and a way to be creative that had a little joy baked into
Dec. 21, 2021
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First female director’s failed journey a story of inspiration, says actor Lee So-yeon
A 30-something female filmmaker strives to make her first movie, a film about a widow; it’s a commercial failure and, ironically, she gets divorced shortly afterward. Although this trajectory of trial and failure feels common in modern society, now imagine this same story occurring in 1954, right after the Korean War. This is no fiction, but rather the real life of South Korea’s first female filmmaker, Park Nam-ok. The movie director’s story has been brought back to life in
Dec. 19, 2021
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Musical ‘Frankenstein’ a hit among foreigners. What do they like about it?
On the first Saturday of December, it was another full house for the musical “Frankenstein” at Shinhan Card Hall, a space dedicated to musicals within Blue Square. In its fourth run, the Korean original musical written, composed and produced by Korean creators, has attracted roughly 500,000 people since its 2014 premiere. Among the theatergoers that day were several foreigners with limited understanding of Korean -- a newly dispatched US soldier and several English teachers, on
Dec. 15, 2021
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‘Squid Game,’ ‘Parasite’ music director Jung Jae-il wins Chanel Next Prize
Music director Jung Jae-il of Netflix’s hit series “Squid Game” and Oscar-winning “Parasite“ was named as one of the 10 winners of the 2021 Chanel Next Prize, the high-end fashion house announced. On Tuesday, Chanel announced its newly-established international award winners who have supported innovations in art and culture. Jung was recognized for opening up a new genre that fuses traditional Korean music with the sounds of western instruments, the French Luxury b
Dec. 15, 2021
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Audio therapy: Koreans turn to ambient music to relax, reduce stress
As the prolonged pandemic has continued to take a toll on people’s mental health, Koreans are increasingly turning to different sound genres to unwind. In Korea, Kokkiri and Mabo are two apps that are looking to tap into the market for ambient music. The apps have themes describing the user’s state of mind -- from anxiety, depression to anger and sleeplessness. There are subcategories of meditation sounds and auditory training sessions. To allow the users to keep track of the pla
Dec. 13, 2021
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Online immersive K-pop performance venue opens in Seoul
A music studio tailored for online immersive performances opened in Seoul on Tuesday, aimed at reviving the pandemic-hit music industry and supporting digital content productions by local small and medium-sized agencies and musicians. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Creative Content Agency launched KOCCA Music Studio after remodeling the Olympic Park K-Art hall, located in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The new venue is tailored for online K-pop concerts, video productions and even vi
Dec. 7, 2021
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Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra unveils programs for upcoming season
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has unveiled its schedule for the first half of 2022, with 15 concerts planned. SPO music director Osmo Vanska kicks off the season by taking the baton for Mozart‘s Requiem on Jan. 29 and 30. The music director, who has been leading the SPO since January 2020, will team up with violist Richard Yongjae O‘Neill on May 19 and 20. In March and April, Vanska will collaborate with Augustin Hadelich, an Italian German American Grammy-winning classic
Dec. 6, 2021
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Two Lotte Concert Hall artists-in-residence prepare challenging yet appealing concerts
Lotte Concert Hall, a major classical music concert venue in South Korea, on Monday unveiled two artists-in-residence and the programs they have designed. Pianist Shin Chang-young and cellist Mun Tae-guk will each present two concerts next year as its artists-in-residence. This is the second year that the concert hall is running the program. “The biggest attraction of the artist-in-residence program is that I can try more challenging things that I’ve been dreaming about. So I t
Dec. 6, 2021
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Gina Alice Redlinger releases debut album
Gina Alice Redlinger’s marriage to superstar pianist Lang Lang has perhaps dominated the headlines more than her professional career as a pianist, though this may be set to change. On Thursday, the 27-year-old Korean German musician, who has trained as a pianist for 23 years, released her debut album, “Wonderworld,” produced by Universal Music. Featuring 30 pieces that cover a variety of genres, including classical, modern, traditional and even Korean children songs, the br
Dec. 6, 2021
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18-day Live Club Day lights up Seoul’s indie stages after 2-year break
A longtime staple of Seoul’s indie scene, Live Club Day resumed Friday after a two-year hiatus, at CJ azit Gwangheungchang in Mapo-gu. Normally a monthly one-day event, the Live Club Day is being this time in a festival format running until Dec. 21. Over the three weeks, 32 bands will perform in concert halls and clubs in Hongdae, long the center of live indie music in Seoul. Singer-songwriters Park So-eun, Song Ye-rin and vocalist Lee Luli starred on the opening day. It was the first
Dec. 5, 2021
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R&B singer Bumkey makes official debut in Japan with ‘Attraction’
R&B singer Bumkey made his Japan debut Wednesday with the release of the single “Attraction (Japanese Remix),” a collaboration with popular Japanese rapper Miyachi as a featured artist. The musician’s single was released on Japanese music streaming platforms at midnight, while it became available on local online music sites at noon. The new single is a remix version of “Attraction,” featuring Korean hip-hop act Dynamic Duo, which was released in August 2013. I
Dec. 1, 2021
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Year-end indoor concert Countdown Fantasy returns amid pandemic
One of the country’s biggest indoor winter music concerts, Countdown Fantasy, will take place as a two-part, in-person event on Dec. 31 at Kintex in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, just northwest of Seoul. The year-end concert, last held in 2012, will feature 14 music acts across diverse genres such as indie, hip-hop and K-pop, according to Mint Paper, organizer of Countdown Fantasy. The lineup announced Friday includes K-pop boy band Ateez, singer-songwriter Jukjae, girl group Dreamcatcher an
Nov. 29, 2021
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Blue Square: Space behind Korea’s musical boom
In 2011, when a sprawling 29,492-square-meter, eight-story building opened its doors near Itaewon, Seoul’s vibrant nightlife district, not many could have imagined what was in store for Korea’s musical scene. Fast forward to a decade later, the building, Blue Square, has welcomed more than 10 million visitors coming to see 7,743 performances of 1,031 musicals, according to Interpark Group, which operates a major ticketing platform. Interpark built and runs the cultural complex, whi
Nov. 27, 2021
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‘Sing Again’ winner Lee Seung-yoon shares musical philosophy in first studio album
Singer-songwriter Lee Seung-yoon, the winner of JTBC competition “Sing Again,” released his first studio album, “Even If Things Fall Apart,” Wednesday, revealing his musical philosophy to fans and new listeners. “I would like to be a musician who delivers two messages -- ‘You’re unique in your own way’ and ‘You mean nothing in this vast world’ -- through my songs. ... And this album could be the pinnacle moment of my career into w
Nov. 24, 2021
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Russian conductor Gergiev to present power of music
Russian conductor Valery Gergiev is to present two unique performances Wednesday in Seoul, returning to the city for the first time in two years. “We were told only two or three weeks ago that we could visit South Korea and I’m thrilled that this performance can happen in the midst of the pandemic situation,” Gergiev, one of the world’s most celebrated conductors, told reporters in a press conference Tuesday. The 68-year-old energetic conductor will present two diff
Nov. 23, 2021
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[News Focus] Winning three awards at AMAs, BTS’ universe makes Army proud
BTS indeed is the biggest boy band in history. The seven-member boy band on Monday bagged three trophies at this year’s American Music Awards, including the top prize -- the artist of the year. The 49th Annual AMAs was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. “Four years ago, we gave this first-time-ever TV live performance at this stage, AMAs, it was ‘DNA,’ and we were too excited and nervous at the time. And it’s been a long and amazing ride since then, bu
Nov. 22, 2021
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BTS chosen Variety’s 2021 ‘Record of The Year’
K-pop superstar BTS’ “Butter” has been named as Variety’s 2021 record of the year, its agency Big Hit Music said Sunday. Influential US entertainment magazine Variety had announced the final list of honorees for its annual Hitmakers celebration Friday in the US, elaborating that the writers and producers -- “multi-hyphenate creatives/executives Jenna Andrews and Ron Perry, RM, Stephen Kirk, Alex Bilowitz and Rob Grimaldi” -- had crafted the perfect hit. The
Nov. 21, 2021