Korean hit films set to be remade in US, Spain

Korean movies have been increasingly drawing interest from global production studios and streaming platforms for local adaptations amid the rising presence of Korean content in the world's show business. "The Villainess," directed by Jeong Byeong-gil, is set to be adapted for television by Amazon Studios, according to Next Entertainment World (NEW), the movie's Korean distributor. Amazon Studios is behind hit TV series "The Wilds" through its Amazon Prime Video service and O

FilmAug. 19, 2021

Musical promotes peace in DMZ area

The musical “Wonder Ticket” is to take the stage near the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas in hopes of spreading a message of peace. The musical, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, will run from Sept. 17 to 26 at Pyeonghwa-Nuri Park in the Imjingak area, in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. The musical was inspired by an abandoned steam locomotive which sits at Jangdan Station in Imjingak, on the banks of Imjin River that

PerformanceAug. 18, 2021

Naver Webtoon to partner with BTS, DC Comics

Naver Webtoon is partnering with Korean entertainment powerhouse Hybe and DC Comics. “One of our plans for this year, named ‘Super Casting,’ is the collaboration with other leading companies in the entertainment industry. We are planning to build an interesting platform and universe with the artists, including BTS, allowing both readers and K-pop fans to enjoy the new contents,” said Naver Webtoon CEO Kim Jun-koo at a press conference Wednesday morning. “The part

CartoonAug. 18, 2021

[Herald Interview] ‘Finding balance between heritage and development’

　Soon after South Korea’s tidal flats were inscribed onto UNESCO’s world heritage list in July as “Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats,” the Cultural Heritage Administration announced its plan to submit an additional list of tidal flats for UNESCO to review in 2025. 　While the Culture Ministry’s romanization guidelines recommend the spelling “gaetbeol,” UNESCO’s spelling is consistent with past usage by heritage experts, according to the CHA. 　But the l

CultureAug. 18, 2021

Singer-actor Park Yoo-chun embroiled in dispute with his new agency

Disgraced former K-pop superstar Park Yoo-chun has been embroiled in a dispute over a double contract with his new agency. The singer and actor, who was also a member of K-pop group JYJ, announced his official retirement from show business after he was convicted of drug charges in 2019. Since last year, however, he has resumed his entertainment career, dropping a new album and holding fan meetings overseas. Recielo, which signed an exclusive contract with Park in January for his career resump

CultureAug. 18, 2021

Lee Young-chul to lead Korean Pavilion at upcoming Venice Biennale

Arts Council Korea on Tuesday announced that Lee Young-chul would serve as the artistic director of the Korean Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale. Lee is currently an art professor at Kaywon University of Art and Design. Born in 1957, Lee became the inaugural director of the Nam June Paik Art Center in 2008 and the chief curator of the second Gwangju Biennale in 1996. Arko also announced that media artist Kim Yun-chul had been chosen to work on the Korean Pavilion’s theme for the up

Arts & DesignAug. 18, 2021

MMCA collaborates with regional museums for upcoming exhibits

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea will present exhibitions in collaboration with regional museums in Suwon, Jeongeup and Jeju Island to allow more people to appreciate the art to strengthen research with regional institutes. The exhibition “Before the Wind” will kick off Thursday at the Suwon Museum of Art in Gyeonggi Province. It will present social participatory art through 189 works by 41 artists who touch on themes dealing with conflict between the two

Arts & DesignAug. 18, 2021

Arrival of Disney+ likely to stir up streaming service market in S. Korea

Netflix, which made its Korean market debut in 2015, has been enjoying the first mover's advantage in the country, with a leading 7.9 million monthly active users as of June. It has spent $700 million on South Korean projects, creating 80 Korean-language originals, like the megahit historical zombie thriller "Kingdom," over the past years. The US streamer underwent rapid growth throughout last year as the pandemic-fueled demand for stay-at-home activities. To strengthen its foothold

TelevisionAug. 18, 2021

‘Sinkhole,’ ‘Escape From Mogadishu’ conquer box office over Liberation Day weekend

Over the three-day Liberation Day weekend Aug. 14-16, South Korean films “Sinkhole” and “Escape From Mogadishu” conquered the local box office. Disaster comedy “Sinkhole,” directed by Kim Ji-hoon, was released Aug. 11 and took the No. 1 spot, attracting more than 740,000 viewers over the holiday weekend for a total to date of over 1.14 million. It passed the 1 million mark faster than any other film this year.　 “Sinkhole” is set at Chungwoon Vil

FilmAug. 17, 2021

Summer horror contents engulf Korean entertainment industry

As the sweltering summer days continue, the South Korean broadcast, cinema and music industries are turning to horror to send a chill down audiences’ spines. Mystery horror show “Da Vinci Note,” which digs into mysteries and supernatural phenomena followed by scientific explanations on tvN, premiered on Aug. 7. The first episode recorded 2.87 percent viewership, according to Nielsen Korea. It was the second-highest rated program on cable Saturday. Terrestrial broadcaster MB

CultureAug. 17, 2021

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra set for last season of 2021

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has shared its plans for the third and last season of the turbulent 2021. The SPO’s third season is to run from September to December. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and any possible disruptions, the orchestra divided the year into three, instead of releasing the program for the whole of 2021 at the end of last year. In the third season, there will be a total of 13 performances, consisting of 11 orchestral music presentations and two chamber music re

PerformanceAug. 17, 2021

ACC World Music Festival to highlight diversity

The ACC World Music Festival will be held at ACC Art Theater in Gwangju from Aug. 20 to 22, both online and offline. The three-day festival, hosted by the Asia Culture Center of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Asia Culture Institute, aims to encourage the audience to embrace various genres of music, from Korean traditional music to fado and tango. The festival, in its 12th edition this year, is to showcase 24 performances in genres such as pansori, jazz, tan

PerformanceAug. 17, 2021

[Herald Interview] ‘Arirang Peoples’ Diaspora’: Shedding light on families and friends around the world

Arirang is a Korean folk song cherished as the song of “han,” a mix of emotions similar to grief and resentment flowing through the hearts of Koreans. While Arirang is recognized today as a song that represents Korea, less is known of the Koreans who migrated overseas in modern times. “Arirang Peoples’ Diaspora” by author Hye-ok (the Korean-language edition of the book notes her name as Lee Hye-ok, following the Korean custom of women keeping their family name even

BooksAug. 17, 2021

'Sinkhole' surpasses 1m admissions at fastest pace of 2021

South Korean disaster comedy film "Sinkhole" has surpassed a cumulative 1 million admissions on the sixth day of its release, the fastest pace among homegrown flicks released this year, data showed Tuesday. The film, released last Wednesday, attracted 741,000 people over the Saturday-Monday Liberation Day holiday, bringing its combined total to 1.14 million, according to the data by the Korean Film Council. It topped the 1 million threshold on Sunday, becoming the eighth 2021 film to

FilmAug. 17, 2021

Yeon Sang-ho’s ‘Hellbound’ to screen at TIFF 2021

Director Yeon Sang-ho’s Netflix original series “Hellbound” will be screened at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival, Netflix announced in a press release Saturday. As the world’s largest public film festival, TIFF presents over 100 films in different sections based on genre, format and the status of the filmmaker. They include Contemporary World Cinema, TIFF Docs, Discovery, Midnight Madness, Primetime and Wavelengths. “Hellbound” has been selected

TelevisionAug. 16, 2021

[Herald Interview] Say Sue Me to start afresh after pandemic-forced break

When the Busan-based indie band Say Sue Me released their debut album “We’re Sobered Up” in 2014, they never expected the international attention they would get. “Byung-kyu, our guitarist, was already playing in a band and I was a huge fan of that band. Since there were not a lot of indie band fans in Busan, we naturally got to know each other,” Choi Sumi, the vocalist of Say Sue Me, told The Korea Herald in an online interview Wednesday. When Kim Byung-kyu was

PerformanceAug. 16, 2021

Kwon Ji-an presents ‘Just a Cake – Piece of Hope’ at Saatchi Gallery

Kwon Ji-an -- an artist and K-pop musician who is better known as Solbi in South Korea -- is presenting her painting series “Just a Cake – Piece of Hope” at Focus Art Fair London 2021 at the Saatchi Gallery in London. The show opened Friday at the Saatchi Gallery and will travel to London’s Fold Gallery and Fitzrovia Gallery, running through Sept. 4. The international art fair was launched in 2019 by the Paris-based art agency HongLee Company to introduce emerging an

Arts & DesignAug. 15, 2021

[Herald Interview] Lee Kwang-soo returns as relatable office worker in disaster comedy ‘Sinkhole’

Lee Kwang-soo, 36, returns to the big screen as a relatable young office worker in the disaster comedy “Sinkhole,” directed by Kim Ji-hoon. “Sinkhole” centers on the residents of Chungwoon Villa, one of the cheaper apartment buildings available in pricey Seoul. It took Dong-won (Kim Sung-kyun), an office worker, over 10 years to finally become a homeowner. Soon after moving in, Dong-won invites his co-workers over to his new place for a housewarming party. After the o

FilmAug. 15, 2021

Music playlists of Tokyo Olympics stars unveiled online

A week has passed since the close of the Tokyo Games, with Paris signaling to take over the Olympics legacy, but the enduring spirit of the athletes still remain in the hearts of many. To correspond to fans still treasuring the excitement and joy from the Olympics, the nation’s popular online music platform Melon released a series of the Tokyo Olympics heroes’ playlists on Friday. The playlist of Jun Woong-tae, who won bronze for the first time as a South Korean modern pentathlon

PerformanceAug. 15, 2021

[Herald Interview] DMZ reimagined as ‘ecotopia’ in new media art

A beautiful green landscape unfolds for three minutes at 8:21 p.m. every day on the country’s largest LED billboard, at Coex K-Pop Square in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. Whether they are waiting for a bus or walking down the street, people look up at the display and see the dense, lush forest appear in the city’s concrete jungle. The landscape is the Demilitarized Zone, a 250-kilometer strip of land that serves as a border between the two Koreas. The land has become an “ec

Arts & DesignAug. 15, 2021