They counted themselves out. Deutsche Oper Berlin did not

Kim Geon, Choi Young and Roh Min-hyung have a lot in common. All three stand over 180 centimeters and all three are around 30. All three are classical singers — Kim a baritone, Roh and Choi basses. And all three, at some point, concluded they were not good enough. Kim graduated from Seoul National University without having sung a paid operatic role. Studying abroad was the assumed next step, but when he added up rent, utilities and a phone bill in a foreign city, he could not see how to make it

2026-07-30 15:55:41:00

Seoul draws 8.3M of Korea's record 10.7M foreign visitors in H1

Tourist arrivals to Korea surpassed 10.71 million in the first half of this year, an all-time high. Seoul alone accounted for 8.32 million — about 78 percent of the national total — underscoring the city's outsized role in the country's tourism boom. Spending on foreign credit cards topped 10 trillion won in the first half for the first time. According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Wednesday, nationwide arrivals from January to June rose

2026-07-29 17:50:00:00

Who really built hallyu?

A government-backed K-culture festival has revived a question that follows Korean pop culture abroad: how much of it was the government's doing? The question was put to the organizers of Fanomenon on Monday. The 11-day festival of concerts, fandom awards and industry exhibitions, set for December 2027, will be staged by Korea's four biggest music agencies — JYP Entertainment, Hybe, SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment — with state support, under the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exc

2026-07-28 15:37:26:00

Korea eyes global fandom leadership with 11-day 'Fanomenon,' launching in 2027

An 11-day K-culture festival built around fandoms will debut in December 2027. The Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, co-chaired by Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young and JYP Entertainment founder J.Y. Park released its plan for the event, called Fanomenon, on Monday. "The winner is not the artist but the artist's fans, and the artist accepts on their behalf," said Park, who is steering the event. Fanomenon, also combining awards, concerts and other events, will run Dec. 2 to 12, 2

2026-07-27 19:00:31:00

Korea to hold fandom awards Fanomenon starting in Dec. 2027

An 11-day K-culture festival built around K-pop concerts and an awards show centered on fandom will debut in December 2027. The Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, co-chaired by Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young and JYP Entertainment founder J.Y. Park, released its plan for the event, called Fanomenon, on Monday. The festival runs Dec. 2 to 12, 2027, opening with a gala on the first night. It will be split between Seoul Arena in Changdong, northern Seoul, which is due for completio

2026-07-27 13:30:00:00

Tiffany Young has done everything in K-pop. Building a musical from scratch still scares her

Over nearly two decades, Tiffany Young has performed as a member of Girls' Generation, its sub-unit TaeTiSeo, and as a soloist. She has mastered the three-minute pop stage and made her own music. In 2011, she made her foray into musical theater with "Fame," then established herself as a stage actor, appearing in "Chicago" for two seasons in 2021 and 2024. But stepping into an original production made her nervous, she said during an interview on Tuesday. That production is "Yumi's Cells," a new m

2026-07-25 16:00:00:00

Korea creates W150b fund to finance big-budget K-content

South Korea is launching a 150 billion won ($101 million) content fund to finance large-scale culture projects — a capacity its existing, smaller culture funds have lacked. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Financial Services Commission on Wednesday opened applications for managers to run the K-Culture Value-up Fund, which will invest across the K-culture industry and in AI-driven content and technology. The fund will draw 50 billion won in government money from the Culture M

2026-07-22 15:15:45:00

World-class festivals, orchestras, soloists fill Seoul's concert halls in H2

Seoul's classical calendar for the second half of the year begins in earnest with the 2026 Seoul Arts Center's International Music Festival, which runs Aug. 18 to 23 at the Seoul Arts Center under the theme "Pack Your Summer with Classics." Conductor Lee Seungwon and the SAC Festival Orchestra bookend the six-day event, opening with an all-Ravel program alongside pianist Kevin Chen — who drew wide attention at the 2025 Chopin Competition — and closing with an all-Shostakovich night featuring cel

2026-07-21 14:36:56:00

In year after World Heritage listing, Ulsan's ancient petroglyphs spent 37 days underwater

The ancient Petroglyphs along Ulsan's Bangucheon Stream, which marked one year as an officially listed UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 12, face unresolved conservation problems, a government report has found. The National Treasure Bangudae Petroglyphs in Daegok-ri, Ulju, were submerged for more than a month last summer, while the nearby Cheonjeon-ri Inscriptions and Petroglyphs, also a National Treasure, were found to be at risk of damage from weathering, according to the "2025 Monitoring Rep

2026-07-17 16:48:37:00

Music in PyeongChang cancels cellist Pagano's performances amid post-competition tour dispute

Music in PyeongChang announced on Thursday that Italian cellist Ettore Pagano, who had been scheduled to perform in the festival on July 30 and 31, may not be joining as planned, adding that affected ticket holders will be offered refunds. According to the Korean festival, it concluded a formal engagement contract with Pagano on April 13 for the two concerts. Pagano subsequently won First Prize in the cello category of the Queen Elisabeth Competition on May 30. The dispute arose days later. The

2026-07-17 14:16:49:00