Recognizing the content industry as the country’s next growth engine, South Korea on Tuesday unveiled a series of strategies to support the content industry, including opening up policy funds to global capital. For the next five years, the government plans to inject funds totaling 3.4 trillion won ($2.5 billion), which includes 2.4 trillion won for the cultural account of the Fund of Funds, which pursues both profitability and public interest, and 1 trillion won for the K-Content and Media

Culture June 18, 2024

South Korea aims to enhance the entire experience for foreign tourists, from streamlining entry procedures to providing diverse tourist programs, the government announced Monday. The measures aim to address the slow recovery of tourism revenue -- the amount that inbound visitors pay for goods and services in the country -- despite the fast rebound of the number of tourists. According to the Korea Tourism Organization Thursday, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country stood at 4.86 m

Culture June 17, 2024

Music in PyeongChang, an annual music festival held in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, will take place under the theme of "Ludwig!" from July 24 to Aug. 3, the festival's artistic director, Yang Sung-won, announced Tuesday. Expressing his goal to create a program that can have the last impact on young visitors as the fourth artistic director of the 21-year-old festival, Yang said that this year the music festival aims to offer a "spiritual link" to Beethoven, by showc

Culture June 11, 2024

Kicking off his much-anticipated recital tour in South Korea, pianist Lim Yunchan on Friday dispersed any concerns about his change in repertoire only about six weeks ago. He was originally supposed to perform Chopin’s Etudes, from his debut album with Decca, along with Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words in E major, Op. 19-1, and Songs Without Words in D major, Op. 85-4, followed by Tchaikovsky's "The Seasons," Op. 37b. With the release of the album in April, many of h

Culture June 9, 2024

DAEJEON -- At Innovate Korea 2024 on Wednesday, jointly hosted by Herald Media Group, Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) and the National Research Council of Science and Technology, celebrated soprano Sumi Jo sang “Dome Epais (The Flower Song),” a duet song from Leo Delibes’ opera Lakme. Her duet partner was an artificial intelligence-generated voice modeled on her own voice. As Jo performed “Lascia ch'io pianga,” AI technology analyze

Culture June 7, 2024

The 10th Gyechon Classic Festival concluded Sunday with the final concert featuring the Gyeonggi Philharmonic led by pianist-turned-conductor Kim Sun-wook and pianist Cho Seong-jin. The last performance of the three-day festival began right after a half-hour rain delay. The orchestra and star pianist Cho performed Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 35 in front of 7,000 spectators. For the encore, Kim and Cho joined forces to perform Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5, whi

Performance June 4, 2024

Seoul Metropolitan Opera will present “Cavalleria Rusticana,” its second outdoor performance following last year’s successful “Carmen.” From June 11 to 12, the city opera company will stage the 80-minute opera by Italian composer Pietro Mascagni at Gwanghwamun Square, chosen for its short length and familiar music. "This will appeal to audiences who are not familiar with opera but (still) want to experience an opera. We hope this encourages people to see an ope

Culture June 4, 2024

The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra is making its debut in South Korea this month. The resident orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, founded in 1883, the same year the Metropolitan Opera House opened, is s currently under the direction of Yannick Nezet-Seguin, who has been leading the orchestra as the music director since the 2018-19 season. Throughout its history, the orchestra has been led by renowned conductors such as Arturo Toscanini, Gustav Mahler, Bruno Walter and James Levine,

Culture June 3, 2024

Gnocchi Bar turns into summer fruit market Gnocchi Bar, a restaurant specializing in gnocchi in Hannam-dong, central Seoul that opened in 2018, has introduced a new seasonal menu, turning the store into a summer fruit market. Under the new theme, the restaurant is decorated with lemons, oranges, dragon fruit and pottery. The new menu includes light brunch choices including: strawberry burrata salad, corn basil soup, sweet potato gnocchi and gno-bokki, which is gnocchi served like tteokbokki. The

Culture May 31, 2024

The South Korean government is adopting a new four-year plan aimed at enhancing Korea's perception abroad. The comprehensive plan considers the rapid advances in digital technology as well as the country's world standing, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Tuesday. The ministry will implement three major strategies with 11 key initiatives from 2024 to 2027. Central to these strategies is the integration of messages directed overseas, making Korea-related informatio

Culture May 28, 2024

The Korea National Opera, together with the Korean National Symphony Orchestra and the National Chorus of Korea, will embark on their first joint international tour to showcase the Korean opera “Tcheo Yong.” The three national music organizations will bring the opera to Paris, Germany and Austria in June in the form of a concert opera, featuring selected major scenes such as "A Warning : The Song of Lamentation for the Kingdom" from Act 1 and "The Song of the Buddhis

Culture May 27, 2024

A free pansori workshop invites foreign residents in Seoul to immerse themselves in the traditional Korean art of the narrative singing art. Titled the 2024 Ojakgyo Bridge Project: Today’s Small Pansori Class, it is part of Seoul Municipal City’s initiative to support the discovery and succession of traditional culture and organized by the World Pansori Association. In addition to providing educational value, the project aims to foster cultural exchange and deeper understanding of Ko

Culture May 27, 2024

South Korea boasts talented content creators, but despite the increasing demand for Korean cultural products, policy measures have proven ineffective. This was the assessment made by the Culture Ministry, which established the International Cultural Affairs and Public Relations Office in February to enhance Korea's cultural presence and influence on the global stage, ensuring that the country's cultural policies and initiatives are on par with its growing global cultural footprint. On

Culture May 23, 2024

The Korean National Opera is set to premier "Die tote Stadt" at the Opera Theater of the Seoul Arts Center from Thursday to Sunday. Based on Georges Rodenbach's novel "Bruges-la-Morte," the opera was composed by Erich Korngold at the age of 23 and premiered in 1920. The KNO explained the Korean premiere of "Die tote Stadt" is known for its extreme difficulty, demanding high notes and stamina from singers. The role of Paul requires sustained singing with high B

Culture May 22, 2024

The musical “Spring, Again,” produced by the Seoul Metropolitan Musical Theatre, holds significant meaning for its actors, most of whom are women in midlife. It’s a rare production that features women in their 50s as its main characters. In developing the piece, the creative team observed their conversation during workshops and incorporated it into the work, making it a devised theater. As a result, the story is a familiar one to both the actors and the audience, the four actor

Culture May 21, 2024