The annual Seoul Jazz Festival returns from May 19-20 with a lineup of musicians from Korea and abroad, at Olympic Park in eastern Seoul.Wind instruments take center stage this year with the presence of several internationally acclaimed wind instrumentalists, including Cuban-American jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, American solo trumpeter Chris Botti, American funk and soul jazz saxophonist Maceo Parker and American saxophonist and bandleader Branford Marsalis.In addition to the top names in win

Performance May 10, 2018

The Corea Image Communications Institute is organizing the second “Korea Through the Lens, Video & Photography” contest.  (CICI)This year’s contest focuses on Korea’s alleys and food. The contest is open to all non-Korean nationals who live in Korea and foreigners who have visited the country. Koreans are also invited to submit their works. Photo and video submissions are being accepted until July 16.A total of 10 selected works will be presented at the Culture Communication Forum slated to take

Culture May 7, 2018

The Deoksugung branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary, located inside the Joseon palace of Deoksugung, is perhaps one of the most suitable places to house Korea’s modern art. A picture of the the Yi Royal Family Museum, which in 1998 became the MMCA's Deoksugung branch (MMCA)Deoksugung, where Joseon-period architecture stands alongside two Neoclassical buildings built during the short-lived Daehan Empire, encapsulates the turbulent history of early 20th century Korea.The MMCA’s

Arts & Design May 7, 2018

Korean violinist Lee Ji-yoon has been granted lifetime tenure as concertmaster of Staatskapelle Berlin, officials of a local cultural foundation said Wednesday.  Violinist Lee Ji-yoon (Lee's official website)Founded in 1570, Staatskapelle Berlin has been led by numerous internationally acclaimed conductors including Wilhelm Furtwangler and Herbert von Karajan, who was succeeded by Daniel Barenboim in 1992.Officials from the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation confirmed Wednesday that the Berlin-bas

Performance May 2, 2018

The last time the Scottish Ballet performed in Seoul was in 1992 as part of the cultural entourage accompanying Prince Charles and Princess Diana.After more than a quarter of century, Scottish Ballet, led by artistic director Christopher Hampson, will perform its adaptation of the Brothers Grimm tale “Hansel and Gretel” at the LG Arts Center from May 23 to May 27. Scottish Ballet's "Hansel and Gretel" (LG Arts Center)The Glasgow-based ballet company’s “Hansel and Gretel,” which premiered in 2013

Performance May 1, 2018

Seoul Museum of Art aims to offer platforms where the public, artists and experts can actively engage on the same footing in the 2018 Seoul Mediacity Biennale, which is slated to kick off on Sept. 6 and run through Nov. 18.“Instead of the museum talking to the public about the exhibition topic, the relation has to be bilateral. In preparing the biennale, we had to think about the ways in which we do not silence or overwhelm the public,” emphasized Hong Gi-bin, a political economist and one of si

Arts & Design April 30, 2018

”White Chrysanthemum“By Mary Lynn BrachtChatto & Windus Books (320 pages, $18.11)One of the victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery passed away Monday at 97. Choi Duk-nye‘s death brings the number of known surviving victims to 28. So far this year, four victims of Japan‘s wartime sexual slavery, including Choi, have passed away. The generation of wartime victims will soon all be gone, as will the people who carry the memories of suffering under Japanese occupation. After one generation and ano

Books April 25, 2018

How much do we know about Asia? “How Little You Know About Me,” currently running at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, sets out to remind us how little we know about the diverse voices that have remained unnoticed or forgotten in the narrative of the mainstream history of Asia.Fifteen artists and artist groups working in different regions across Asia are participating in the museum’s first Asia Project for this year. “The exhibition is a research-based exhibition. When i

Arts & Design April 23, 2018

The doctor who performed a lipoma removal procedure on actress Han Ye-seul apologized for the botched operation in an interview uploaded to YouTube, Saturday.Dr. Lee Ji-hyun of the Cha Medical Center in Gangnam admitted to damaging skin from the inside while he was removing the lipoma.A lipoma is a noncancerous tumor of fat tissue beneath the skin. Han Ye-seul (Instagram)“It’s easier to remove the tumor if surgery is done right around the lipoma. But considering that she is an actress, I suggest

Television April 22, 2018

Pianist and artistic director of Great Mountains Music Festival, Son Yeol-eum is dedicating her latest album to her late mentor Sir Neville Marriner. Simply titled “Mozart,” the album due to be released Friday, includes a recording of Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K.467 by the young pianist and the venerated conductor. It is the first and the last recording the two have done together.Pianist Son and Marriner first met in April 2016, when she performed with Marriner and the Academy of

Performance April 17, 2018

The Korea Herald interviewed Jane and Louise Wilson by e-mail. Following is an excerpt of the exchanges.The Korea Herald: What kind of project are you currently working on? Jane and Louise Wilson: We‘re here on Gapado Island to research a new photographic, film and sculpture project that will lead us to create a new installation and at the moment we have a working title “Undoings.” The work will inevitably represent an extension of our working practice already but we hope to eventually show the

Culture April 16, 2018

Gapado is a small island located between Jeju Island and southernmost islet of Marado, known for its idyllic pastoral scenery and annual green barley festival, which attracts some 60,000 visitors.  Gapado (Hyundai Card)Over the years, the island’s population has been in decline, as young people leave in search of jobs. In the 1970s, the island had a population of more than 1,000; today that figure is down to 170, with only about 120 people actually living there, most of them making a living in f

Culture April 16, 2018

Go Hyun-jung on Thursday made her first public appearance since stepping down from “Return,” in the middle of production, in February.The actress left her lead role in “Return,” apparently due to conflicts with staff members. She had not made a public appearances since. She did not attend the preview of “Winter Guest Scarier Than a Tiger,” in which she plays the female lead role.  Go Hyun-jung (Yonhap)During a fan meeting held in Seoul on Thursday to promote the film “Winter Guest Scarier Than a

Television April 13, 2018

In their search for their means of expression, artists sometimes turn to materials to which they are culturally familiar or emotionally attached to. For sculptor Chung Hyun, that material is debris from abandoned traditional Korean buildings.  An installation view of “Untitled” by sculptor Chung Hyun on the first floor of Kumho Museum of Art (Kumho Museum of Art)At his solo exhibition at Kumho Museum of Art in Seoul, Chung, who is well known for his exhibition “The Standing Man” -- a group of 47

Arts & Design April 12, 2018

Tate Modern is planning an exhibition featuring Korea‘s internationally acclaimed video artist Paik Nam-June next year.Tate Modern will kick off its Paik Nam-June exhibition during the second half of next year, a local media report said Sunday, citing Tate director Maria Balshaw. The exhibition will later tour several cities in East Asia. The exhibition will be curated by Lee Sook-kyung, Senior Research Curator at Tate Research Center and Curator of Tate‘s Asia Pacific Acquisitions Committee --

Arts & Design April 9, 2018