Actor to return to stage after COVID-19 quarantine

Actor Cha Ji-yeon is to return to the musical stage after a positive test for COVID-19 forced her into quarantine. “Cha tested negative for the virus on Wednesday and checked out of the residential treatment center,” her agency, C- JeS Entertainment, announced Thursday. “She will carry on with the schedules for musicals ‘Red Book’ and ‘Gwanghwamun Sonata,’ while complying with the government’s social distancing rules.” The veteran actor w

PerformanceJuly 15, 2021

Nam June Paik Art Center remembers legacy of video art pioneer

Nam June Paik Art Center, the only art center dedicated to the video art pioneer, is showcasing two special exhibitions to help understand Paik’s philosophy when he was part of Fluxus -- an avant-garde art movement in the 1950s that challenged conventional art -- and how his legacy lives on today. The art center, located in Gyeonggi Province, kicked off “Open Codes: Networked Commons” this month in collaboration with ZKM Karlsruhe, a media art museum in Germany. The exhibitio

Arts & DesignJuly 15, 2021

S. Korea opens hospitality house for Tokyo Olympics online due to coronavirus pandemic

South Korea opened an online hospitality house for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics amid on-site restrictions stemming from the new coronavirus pandemic, sports authorities said Thursday. The online Team Korea House (www.teamkoreahouse.com) will welcome visitors from Thursday to Aug. 8, to share news on Korean athletes' performances as well as information about Seoul during the Summer Olympics, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. &q

CultureJuly 15, 2021

National Theater of Korea set for 2021/2022 season

Though the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has been threatening the local performing arts scene, the National Theater of Korea is gearing up for a new beginning with its 2021-22 season. The theater announced the 2021-22 season program, which includes a total of 56 works slated to run from Sept. 1 to June 30. Most of the works will be presented at the newly renovated Haeoreum Grand Theater, which is to officially open in September. The season will kick off with the National Orchestra of

PerformanceJuly 14, 2021

Korean music YouTubers attempt to popularize classical music

Classical music is not often a popular choice nowadays among the younger generation, but Korean classical music YouTube channels are hoping to shatter the stereotype of being boring for the general public. From using variety show and vlog formats to doing covers, a growing number of YouTubers are creating diverse, fun and easy content while using classical music-related elements. “Towmoo” is one of the leading classical music YouTube channels that focuses on creating entertaining

PerformanceJuly 14, 2021

[Newsmaker] Govt. plan on 'Lee Kun-hee museum' draws debate on location, purpose

The government's plan to build a museum dedicated to late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee's massive art collection has stirred a debate among art circles as well as local governments that were vying to attract the facility. Last week, the culture ministry unveiled a plan to build the museum by 2026 or 2027 at two potential locations in central Seoul -- in Jongno and Yongsan wards. The announcement came roughly two months after Lee's family announced the donation of around 23,000 art pieces, includ

Arts & DesignJuly 14, 2021

Korean-Thai horror 'The Medium' hits No. 1 in ticket presales

The Korean-Thai horror project "The Medium" topped the advance box-office sales in South Korea, raising hopes for a larger-than-expected success despite a surge in novel coronavirus infections, data showed Wednesday. The film, revolving around a family experiencing a shamanistic spiritual inheritance in a rural region of Thailand, recorded over 110,000 presold tickets as of 9 a.m., according to data from the Korean Film Council. It hit the local theaters earlier in the day. It accoun

FilmJuly 14, 2021

[Herald Interview] Sculptor Yi Hwan-kwon casts light on vanity of things with shadows

Sculptor Yi Hwan-kwon’s works easily catch people’s attention. His signature sculptures, made using 3D scanning techniques, create distorted illusions that provoke curiosity and are readily recognized by many people. While he has gained much popularity with his iconic sculptures, it hit him one day that he was finding it difficult to put his works into words. He then became skeptical about his own work. “Over the past several years, I strived to search for something. I don

Arts & DesignJuly 13, 2021

Korean folk rock legend to perform at New York’s Lincoln Center

Singer and songwriter Hahn Dae-soo will be performing at Lincoln Center’s “You Are Here” to celebrate the reopening of the center after COVID-19 swept through the US. The Korean Cultural Center New York, a Culture Ministry affiliate, was asked by Lincoln Center to recommend Korean artists for the reopening performance. Hahn Dae-soo, considered a Korean folk rock legend, was one of the artists on the list. “Hahn is an artist who truly understands New York City’s p

CultureJuly 13, 2021

Original Korean musical ‘The Devil’ set to tour in China

“The Devil,” an original Korean musical, has made its way onto the Chinese musical scene as a licensed production. According to co-producers of the musical, Page1 and R&D Works, “The Devil” -- known by the title “Rock Faust” in China -- is set for a 10-city tour across China starting July 23. The musical will be staged in Beijing, Ningbo and Suzhou, among others. The musical had its Chinese premiere at the Shanghai Grand Theatre from May 24-31, with s

PerformanceJuly 13, 2021

Surging COVID-19 infections disrupt S. Korean entertainment scene

The South Korean entertainment scene is suffering a setback in the production of TV shows as the fourth wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic sweeps nearly every sector of the country. Last week, global media giant Netflix suspended the production of its original series "The Bride Of Black" for two weeks as actress Cha Ji-yeon tested positive for the virus. Her case also affected the stage musicals "Red Book" and "Gwanghwamun Sonata," as the actress is currently

TelevisionJuly 13, 2021

BIFAN screens XR films at Incheon Airport

The 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival is screening extended reality (XR) content through its program “Beyond Reality” at Incheon Airport. The program kicked off on July 1 as part of the 25th BIFAN and will continue until Sunday. XR is an umbrella term that is used to indicate all different kinds of real-and-virtual combined environments, encompassing augmented reality, mixed reality and virtual reality. “XR content are works that are difficult to describe

FilmJuly 12, 2021

New committee to be formed to select Korean Pavilion curator for Venice Biennale 2022

The Arts Council Korea has announced that a new committee will be formed for the selection of the curator of the Korean Pavilion for the upcoming Venice Biennale after the previous committee resigned en masse over controversy surrounding alleged conflicts of interest in the screening process. "The selection committee members have decided to quit their positions in pursuit of fairness. It seems they felt pressured about the issue,” an official from the council told The Korea Herald

Arts & DesignJuly 12, 2021

V&A Museum to highlight Korean wave

Responding to the worldwide popularity of Korean pop culture, Britain’s Victoria and Albert Museum will hold an exhibition titled “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” as part of its program for 2022-23, the museum announced Monday. According to V&A Museum, the exhibition seeks to showcase the global phenomenon from the rise of hallyu in the late 1990s to its popularity across the globe. “Hallyu, The Korean Wave” will spotlight hallyu’s making, dynamism, vitality an

Arts & DesignJuly 12, 2021

Star actor Lee Byung-hun donates W100m won to children's hospital on his birthday

Star actor Lee Byung-hun donated 100 million won (US$87,200) to a children's hospital in Seoul on his birthday Monday, according to his agency. The donation, delivered to the children's hospital of Asan Medical Center in southern Seoul, will be used to relieve the financial burdens of young patients and their families and help them continue necessary medical care, said BH Entertainment. "I wish to deliver a little comfort and support to children in a lengthy fight against sickness, and th

FilmJuly 12, 2021

2 star musicians to perform with project orchestra

Two celebrated concert pianists are to take to the stage with a project orchestra consisting of young musicians, one with the baton in hand and the other playing the piano.  Pianist Kim Sun-wook will lead the Solasian Youth Orchestra for the upcoming performances in Daegu on Aug. 12 and in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, on Aug. 13. The program includes Glinkas’ overture for the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila,” Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466

PerformanceJuly 12, 2021

[Herald Interview] Author Yun Ko-eun sees her Dagger-winning ‘The Disaster Tourist’ as being genre fluid

Contrary to the typically mysterious, keen and dark image of crime fiction writers, not a hint of grimness could be found in the appearance of Yun Ko-eun, 42, the winner of this year’s CWA Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger, who appears bright, positive and full of energy. The CWA Daggers, established in 1955 by the Crime Writers’ Association, are presented as awards for the best in crime writing in 11 categories, including fiction and nonfiction. Yun is the first Asian to be recog

BooksJuly 12, 2021

'Black Widow' tops 1m admissions in first week of release

Marvel Studios' latest movie "Black Widow" smashed the weekend box office in South Korea, surpassing a cumulative 1 million admissions in its first week of release, despite a new wave of coronavirus infections, data showed Monday. The superhero blockbuster attracted 984,000 people over the Friday-Sunday period, bringing its combined total to 1.36 million, according to the data from the Korean Film Council. It became the sixth title released in 2021 to top the 1 million threshold, fol

FilmJuly 12, 2021

[Graphic News] The 74th Cannes Film Festival in numbers

FilmJuly 12, 2021

As Korea goes into semi-lockdown, culture scene scrambles to survive

With social distancing measures in the greater Seoul area raised to the highest in the revised four-tier system from Monday, most musicals have been rescheduled to continue performing while complying with the semi-lockdown rule. Under the Level 4 social distancing in force for two weeks starting Monday, performing arts venues must close at 10 p.m. and the number of audience members for each performance is limited to a maximum of 5,000 with every other seat left vacant, allowing for a group of

CultureJuly 11, 2021