Korea’s UNESCO cultural heritage through foreign eyes

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is launching a series of cultural heritage tours designed for foreign national content creators living in Korea. The program, which runs June to November, invites participants to explore Korea’s UNESCO-listed heritage sites through a two- or three-day trip and share their experiences globally through digital content. To raise global awareness of the value and excellence of Korean cultural heritage the MCST launched the program in 2014. This year, the s

May 23, 2025

Korean publishing sees steady growth in 2024, though translated works continue to decline

South Korea’s publishing industry recorded modest but steady growth in 2024, with 64,306 new titles registered with the Korean Publishers Association — a 2.3 percent increase from the 62,865 titles published in 2023. According to the KPA’s annual report, literature and social sciences remained the most active categories, producing 14,118 and 12,163 titles respectively. The number of active domestic publishing companies registered in the publisher/printer search system reached a record high of 81

May 22, 2025

Don't rain on my opera: Seoul to stage ‘The Magic Flute’ under the stars

What if it rains during an open-air opera performance? That’s the question for the organizers of the Seoul Metropolitan Opera’s outdoor production of Mozart’s "Die Zauberflote" (The Magic Flute), scheduled for June 1 and 2 at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul. With fingers crossed -- and some cautious optimism drawn from weather data -- they’re hoping the skies will stay clear, not just for comfort, but because they have a grand plan for transforming the city center into an open-air opera stag

May 21, 2025

Korea and France mark 140 years with new cultural cooperation agreement

South Korea and France are set to mark a milestone year in cultural exchanges. To celebrate the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations, Korean Culture Minister Yu In-chon and French Culture Minister Rachida Dati on Tuesday signed a Letter of Intention on Cultural Cooperation in Paris. The agreement is expected to usher in another year rich with cultural engagement, building on a landmark moment in 2015–16 when the Year of Korea-France Bilateral Exchange was held to commemor

May 21, 2025

'The First Great Show' reimagines origin of Korea's musical theater

Don’t take the title "The First Great Show" too seriously. The new musical by the Seoul Metropolitan Musical Theatre may be about the beginnings of Korean musical theater — loosely inspired by the real story of the Yegreen Troupe, Korea’s first private company founded in 1961 to pioneer original musicals — but the show itself doesn’t aim to be a reverent history lesson. After all, making a “great” show is hard for anyone — let alone the first-timers who were inventing the genre as they went. The

May 20, 2025

Chung Myung-whun on ‘my Italian story’ that leads to La Scala music director post

In a nutshell, what led to the appointment of Korean conductor Chung Myung-whun as the next music director of Teatro alla Scala — the first Asian and only the second non-Italian in its 247-year history — was love. Love for Verdi, for pasta, for Italy, and for La Scala itself. “It feels like getting married after loving each other for 36 years,” Chung, 72, told reporters at a press conference held Monday at Busan Concert Hall. Since 1989, he has conducted 84 opera performances and 141 concerts at

May 19, 2025

Chin Unsuk's second opera premiers in Hamburg

"Die dunkle Seite des Mondes,” the second opera by South Korean composer Unsuk Chin, premiered Sunday at the Hamburg State Opera in Germany under the baton of Kent Nagano. For her second opera, multiple award-winning composer Chin drew inspiration from the life and work of physicist Wolfgang Pauli — pioneer of quantum physics, Nobel Prize laureate and, for a time, a professor in Hamburg — and from his relationship with the psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. "Die dunkle Seite des Mondes,” or "The Dar

May 19, 2025

'Maybe Happy Ending’ clinches Drama League and Critics' Circle awards

In a landmark season for Korean theater on the international stage, “Maybe Happy Ending” added two more accolades on Friday to its growing list of honors at the 91st Annual Drama League Awards. The Broadway adaptation of the beloved South Korean musical won outstanding production of a musical, and director Michael Arden was awarded outstanding direction of a musical. The wins mark another significant milestone in the show's journey from intimate Seoul theaters to Broadway’s spotlight. Earlier th

May 18, 2025

'The Rising World,' Seoul's new opera blends myth, invention and global vision

In its first venture into producing an original opera, the Seoul Arts Center has partnered with an international creative team — and chosen English as the language of performance. “The Rising World: The Spirit of Water,” set to premiere in May, draws inspiration from Korea’s historical water clock and the country’s rich folklore surrounding water spirits. According to the creative team, the opera is not an adaptation of an existing tale, but a newly imagined story that weaves Korean cultural mot

May 18, 2025

Culture Ministry overhauls hiring process for national arts leadership

In a significant policy shift, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced a sweeping overhaul of how leaders of national arts organizations are selected. The ministry will replace the long-standing, opaque recommendation-based system with an open and publicly accountable recruitment process — an approach it describes as “radical.” “We’re introducing an open recruitment process for national arts organizations, which we believe is quite radical,” said First Vice Minister Yong Ho-seong d

May 15, 2025