Most Popular
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Court refuses injunction on medical school expansion
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Why Korean crime stories typically feature nameless, faceless perpetrators
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Debate on 'no-seniors zones' heats up
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S. Korea, Cambodia forge strategic partnership
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Rare mid-May heavy snow warning issued over mountainous areas of Gangwon
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Is NewJeans headed for a long 'break'?
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[KH Explains] Hyundai-backed Motional’s struggles deepen as Tesla eyes August robotaxi debut
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Police raid popera singer Kim Ho-joong's house over hit-and-run suspicions
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New Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office chief vows full-fledged probe into first lady
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Trump may like to 'solve' N. Korean nuclear problem if reelected: ex-official
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Pianists make their way to podium
After months of perseverance, pianist Sunwook Kim finally made his formal debut as a conductor Tuesday, following in the footsteps of the great maestros before him. Amid a heavy snowfall that hit the greater Seoul area, Kim took the baton at Lotte Concert Hall, leading the KBS Symphony Orchestra. Kim’s concert with the KBS Symphony Orchestra was initially set to be held in December, but was postponed to January due to the spike in the number of coronavirus cases across Korea. The postp
Jan. 13, 2021
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Korea Musical Awards recognizes ‘Marie Curie’ with four awards
Musical “Marie Curie” won four awards at the Korea Musical Awards held Monday, recognized as an outstanding original Korean musical production. Presented by the Korea Musical Theater Association, the annual awards ceremony, the largest of its kind in Korea, was held at the Blue Square culture complex in Seoul. Featuring star stage actor Ock Ju-hyun, “Marie Curie” won the grand prize, as well as awards for best director, best script, and best music composition. It had
Jan. 12, 2021
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Gamut of classical music in store for 2021
Though the COVID-19 pandemic crisis is yet to be resolved, the classical music scene is filled with high hopes for 2021, waiting to welcome audiences back to concert halls. Pianist Kim Sun-wook kicked the year off with a solo recital Monday. Initially slated for March 2020, the recital had been postponed three times due to surges of COVID-19 cases. On Tuesday, Kim will go on the stage with the KBS Symphony Orchestra, making his conducting debut, followed by a recital with celebrated veteran
Jan. 11, 2021
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Performing arts expands beyond stage
With the COVID-19 pandemic requiring a paradigm shift for survival, the local performing arts scene is striving to produce shows fit for the screen beyond just the stage. In the earlier stages of the pandemic, the performing arts scene tried to stay connected with audiences at home by streaming performances online. Limitations existed, however, as the productions were originally created for the stage, not mobile devices or TVs. Nevertheless, as the pandemic has been with us for nearly a year
Jan. 9, 2021
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Top Korean artists reach over 10.6b streams on Spotify in 2020
Korea’s top 10 most streamed artists on Spotify chalked up a total of 10.6 billion streams on the platform in 2020, the popular streaming service announced on Thursday in its yearly wrap up. Boy band BTS was the most streamed Korean artist globally, followed by Blackpink, Twice, Stray Kids and Red Velvet, according to Spotify’s 2020 Wrapped data. BTS also took the top spot in the category of the most-streamed global group in 2020. 2020 Wrapped, which compiles data from Jan. 1 t
Jan. 9, 2021
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Number of daily moviegoers hits new record low amid movie drought from pandemic
The number of daily moviegoers plunged to a fresh record low this week, as new releases have been affected by the latest coronavirus resurgence in winter, data showed Friday. According to the data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), 14,000-16,000 people went to theaters daily this week, down from last week's 34,000-60,000. In particular, only 14,518 attendees were recorded Monday, hitting an all-time low since KOFIC began to compile official box office data in 2004. It renewed the previous r
Jan. 8, 2021
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Shows go on at Daehangno small theaters
Though 2021 has begun with a gloomy outlook for the theater scene amid prolonged social distancing rules, small musical productions in the theater district of Daehangno are continuing their run, even recording sold-out performances. With the government’s social distancing scheme requiring performing arts venues to leave two-thirds of audience seats empty, several big musical productions have halted their runs, citing financial issues. Some smaller musical productions in Daehangno, cent
Jan. 7, 2021
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Clarinetist Kim Han to go ‘On Air’ at Kumho Art Hall
Clarinetist Kim Han hopes to show off the charms of the clarinet through a series of four recitals slated to take place at the Kumho Art Hall as its artist-in-residence for this year. Each year, the art hall, run by the Kumho Art Cultural Foundation, selects a classical musician under the age of 30 in the early stages of their career to provide an opportunity for the musician to further develop by offering a performance venue. The 25-year-old clarinetist will present four recitals at the con
Jan. 4, 2021
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Performing art scene in hope of 2021
While the year of 2020 was a disastrous year for everyone, the performing arts scene hopes regain its footing this year. Last year, musical productions were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, canceling or postponing shows due to the middle seat vacancy rule according to the authorities’ social distancing scheme. On Dec. 30, the musical scene has launched an association of Korean musical production companies, consisting of major musical production agencies such as Seensee Company, Clip
Jan. 3, 2021
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COVID-19 decimates theaters, Netflix takes over
Coming in at 226 million, the number of theatergoers in Korea in 2019 was a record high. Five movies surpassed 10 million ticket sales and the main concern was the monopolization of screens by CJ and Disney (mainly Marvel) movies. A PwC report predicted in 2019 that the number of theatergoers would increase at an average of 4% per annum for the global movie market until 2023. That all changed with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, making 2020 a year that the movie industry would rather forg
Jan. 1, 2021
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[Herald Interview] Opera in times of COVID-19
Like most people now, conductor Sebastian Lang Lessing’s plans for the festive period have been thwarted. The 54-year-old conductor stayed in Korea for more than three months to lead two operas with the Korea National Opera. The German-born conductor, who has led the Hamburg State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin and other orchestras around the world, has been maintaining a close relationship with Korea‘s state opera company since 2018, taking the baton for operas “Manon&rdq
Dec. 26, 2020
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[Feature] Hot to trot: Singers reign supreme on Korean small screen
The year of 2020 was the year of trot music, especially on the small screen. Trot music, which is thought to have grown out of Japanese Enka in the early 20th century, developed in its own style over the years to become a favorite of older generations. But in recent years, trot has been broadening its fan base, attracting new fans, including those from younger age groups. The latest wave of popularity began with trot singer Song Ga-in, who was crowned “Ms. Trot” in a smash hit T
Dec. 23, 2020
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Spotify to launch in Korea in first half of 2021
The world’s largest music streaming platform Spotify on Friday announced that it would officially launch its service in South Korea in the first half of 2021. “We are excited about our upcoming launch in South Korea, a market recognized as an epicenter for music, culture and tech innovation,” Alex Norstrom, chief freemium business officer of Spotify, said in a statement. According to Spotify, South Korea -- the sixth-largest music market globally -- is an important market
Dec. 18, 2020
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Celebrate New Year with Europe’s finest orchestras at local cinemas
Though the COVID-19 pandemic limits us from going to New Year celebration concerts, local cinema franchise Megabox will screen the recordings of the New Year celebration concerts by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, according to its announcement Tuesday. The 90-minute recording of the Berlin Philarmonicker, one of the most prestigious orchestras in the world, holding its New Year’s Eve concert under the baton of chief conductor Kirill Petrenko, will be
Dec. 15, 2020
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SPO comes up with 4-month plan for 2021
Though it is customary for an orchestra to release the upcoming year’s program in December, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra shared its schedule for only the first four months of 2021 in concern of possible interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The SPO, which went through a difficult year like many other art troupes and institutions around the world, is looking forward to a better 2021 with a total of 13 performances, consisting of 11 orchestral music presentations and two chamb
Dec. 14, 2020
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Third wave of coronavirus sweeps stages
Though the performing arts scene is at its year-end peak season, the outlook is gloomy as the third and so far worst wave of COVID-19 is underway. Local authorities have announced the Level 2.5 social distancing measures here, requiring performing arts venues to leave two-thirds of their seats empty. State- and city-funded art troupes based in Seoul have completely halted their operations under governmental orders. The Korea National Ballet canceled its year-end signature performances of &l
Dec. 14, 2020
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Dismissal of KNB’s ballet dancer caught in legal dispute
The Korea National Ballet’s firing of a member earlier this year for traveling abroad during the home-quarantine period has come to the center of a legal dispute, as the state labor committee viewed it to be an “unfair dismissal.” According to the performing arts scene on Monday, the National Labor Relations Commission officially acknowledged that the national ballet troupe’s dismissal of Na in March was unfair. The labor committee viewed that Na had the responsibili
Dec. 14, 2020
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Kim Sun-wook’s performances rescheduled for January
Concert pianist Kim Sun-wook’s duet recital with violinist Chung Kyung-wha in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, will take place as scheduled Dec. 20, although Kim’s other engagements for December were postponed due to the resurgence of COVID-19. According to classical music show agency Vincero on Wednesday, three of Kim’s December performances have been rescheduled for January, after stricter social distancing measures came into force for Seoul. Under the revised schedule, Kim&r
Dec. 12, 2020
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KNB cancels plans for ‘Nutcracker’
The Korea National Ballet canceled its “The Nutcracker” show slated for the Christmas holidays, following the recent resurgence of COVID-19 infection cases here. The national ballet troupe announced Friday that the iconic performance of “The Nutcracker” in December would have to be fully canceled due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. The ballet troupe was to hold the performances at the Seoul Arts Center from Dec. 19-30, leaving two-thirds of seats empty under the gov
Dec. 11, 2020
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Broadway actors of Korean heritage to connect via YouTube
While the iconic Broadway remains shut down until at least May, Broadway stage actors with Korean backgrounds will connect with international audiences at home via YouTube. The Korean Culture Center New York, affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, announced it will host the year-end musical gala concert “Farewell 2020,” featuring Korean or Korean-American stage actors working on Broadway through its official YouTube channel on Dec. 17. The concert wi
Dec. 10, 2020