Despite being founded 50 years ago to promote Korea’s national brand, Korean Culture and Information Service is far from a household name within Korea, though it intends to change that this year. The organization plans to push for greater cultural exchange with Korea‘s partner nations, according to Park Jung-youl, the director of the KOCIS, who took the helm in September 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of Hallyu. A veteran government official, Park told the Korea He

People Jan. 7, 2022

The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company will offer eight programs, ranging from new creations to its signature repertoire, this year. KNCDC’s first performance is set to kick off in April with “Writing Using,” which is created by renowned choreographer Ahn Ae-soon, KNCDC’s second artistic director, according to the state dance company Tuesday. The production will show the story of the feelings of the dancers’ bodies through dance. “Tiny, Round, Clu

Performance Jan. 5, 2022

Renowned South Korean conductor Chung Myung-whun will reportedly be appointed as honorary music director of the KBS Symphony Orchestra, according to media reports on Wednesday. The news came days after Chung saved the orchestra’s Christmas Eve concert by leading the concert on behalf of Pietari Inkinen, the orchestra‘s music director who was unable to enter the country because of toughened self-quarantine rules. He also held the baton at concerts in December 2020 and August 2021 fo

Performance Jan. 5, 2022

Kumho Art Hall’s artist-in-residence violinist Kim Dong-hyun will kick off the new season at the concert hall Jan. 13 with the first of the Beautiful Thursday Concerts series. At the upcoming recital themed “22 degrees: Refreshing,” Kim will play Morzart’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 32 in B-flat Major, K. 454, Ysaye’s Sonata for Solo Violin No. 6 in E Major, Op. 27/6 and Hubay’s “Carmen -- Fantasie Brillante“ for Violin and Piano, Op.3/3.

Performance Jan. 4, 2022

”The Brothers Karamazov,” an original musical produced by a South Korean production company, will hit a major theater in Shanghai in June, Orchard Musical Co. said Tuesday. The Korean musical is the first original musical licensed to take the stage at the Shanghai Grand Theater. “The Brothers Karamazov” is a small-budget musical that is based on Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel of the same title. The show premiered in 2018 in South Korea and has returned

Performance Jan. 4, 2022

South Korea’s performing arts sector grew almost 80 percent in terms of revenue in 2021, despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, but insiders said uncertainty still looms over the industry in 2022. In 2021, revenue from theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances stood at 307 billion won ($258 million), jumping 78 percent from 172 billion won recorded in 2020, data from the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System showed. The recovery was backed

Performance Jan. 3, 2022

Despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the South Korean performing arts sector saw a steady recovery this year, data showed on Wednesday. In this month so far, revenue from theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances stood at 47.7 billion won ($40.21 million), surpassing the 40-billion-won mark for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS). The December reco

Performance Dec. 30, 2021

During the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent social distancing measures, musical producer Eom Hong-hyeon may well have been depressed. The CEO of EMK Musical Company, although previously upbeat and outgoing, recalled spending many of his days in despair. This wasn’t without good reason. Just before the pandemic hit, Eom had been planning to launch an office in the US, having been left frustrated and disappointed after meeting renowned musical producers in the

Culture Dec. 20, 2021

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

Performance Dec. 19, 2021

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

Performance Dec. 15, 2021

A team behind the translation of “Yi Sang: Selected Works” received a literary translation award from the US-based Modern Literature Association, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea said Monday. This is the first time the award has been given for a work of Korean literature, according to LTI Korea, which sponsored the book‘s translation and publication. Jack Jung, a visiting assistant professor of English at Davidson College, Sawako Nakayasu, an assistant profes

Books Dec. 13, 2021

  The Literature Translation Institute of Korea on Tuesday awarded 13 translators for excellence in the translation of Korean literature into foreign languages, with the top prize going to Park In-won for her German translation of Kim Young-ha’s 2013 bestselling novel “Diary of a Murderer.” Park, a German literature professor at Ewha Womans University, won the top prize and 20 million won ($16,900) in prize money for her translation of the novella into “Aufzeich

Books Dec. 7, 2021

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

Performance Dec. 6, 2021

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

Performance Dec. 6, 2021

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

Performance Dec. 6, 2021