Boston Symphony Orchestra to perform US premiere of Chin Un-suk’s new violin concerto

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is set to perform the much anticipated US premiere of award-winning composer Chin Un-suk’s Violin Concerto No. 2 “Shards of Silence” at Boston’s Symphony Hall on Thursday. Led by its music director and conductor Andris Nelsons, the BSO will perform “Shards of Silence” with violin soloist Leonidas Kavakos. Thursday’s program also includes US composer Charles Ives’ “The Unanswered Question” and French compos

PerformanceMarch 2, 2022

Aespa clinches three prizes at 19th Korean Music Awards

K-pop girl group aespa swept up three prizes at the 19th Korean Music Awards, achieving a milestone as the rookie group with the most number of prizes at the awards. At the annual music awards ceremony held at Nodeul Live House on Nodeul Island, central Seoul, Tuesday, the quartet took home the song of the year award for its megahit “Next Level,” which dropped May last year. “Next Level” also won the newly created best K-pop song category and the group took home rooki

PerformanceMarch 2, 2022

'The Batman' scores biggest opening of the year to date in South Korea

"The Batman" has set the best opening-day record for this year to date at the South Korean box office with more than 190,000 people, data showed Wednesday. The Hollywood action blockbuster sold 192,000 tickets, which is 74 percent of all tickets sold at movie theaters nationwide, on Tuesday and topped the box office the following day, according to the data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). Two blockbuster films released earlier this year -- "The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasur

FilmMarch 2, 2022

Photographs evoke nostalgia for travel

If you feel like traveling abroad, but have to wait a few more months for the pandemic to subside, a couple of photography exhibitions in town might help you quench your thirst for going abroad. The show “Accidentally Wes Anderson” at Groundseasaw Seongsu in Seoul is a photography exhibition created in collaboration with a global travel community named “Accidentally Wes Anderson,” founded in 2017. Some 300 photographs taken around the world take visitors to all parts

Arts & DesignMarch 1, 2022

Scandal-ridden Seo Yea-ji to return with tvN drama ‘Eve’

Actor Seo Yea-ji is to return to the small screen in tvN’s new series “Eve” with veteran actors Park Byung-eun, Yoo Sun and Lee Sang-yeop. Taking the role of Lee Ra-el, the mastermind behind a ferocious revenge plan for her dead father, Seo, 31, will be back in the public eye for the first time in almost a year. The actor went off the grid last year as controversies surrounding her surfaced one after another. Seo was accused of allegedly checking staffers’ phones regul

TelevisionMarch 1, 2022

‘Singer No. 33’ Kim Ki-tae wins season 2 of JTBC’s ‘Sing Again’

Kim Ki-tae, singer No. 33 on the second season of JTBC’s hit TV competition “Sing Again,” became the final winner Monday, bringing the three-month music competition to a close. Season 2 of “Sing Again,” which aired its first episode in December, drew attention by giving a second chance to 73 singers who had released albums in the past but failed to gain traction. With each contestant called by a number instead of a name, viewers’ curiosity about the singers&

TelevisionMarch 1, 2022

S. Korea opens new museum dedicated to history of govt.-in-exile

South Korea on Tuesday opened a Seoul museum memorializing its provisional government at the forefront of the country's independence fight against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. The launch of the National Memorial of the Korean Provisional Government coincided with the 103rd anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement, a watershed event that gave birth to the government-in-exile in Shanghai in 1919. Nestled on a hillside in central Seoul, the four-story museum displays photos, documents, vi

CultureMarch 1, 2022

Lee Sook-kyung aims to bring Gwangju Biennale to transnational realm next year

Lee Sook-kyung, artistic director of the 14th Gwangju Biennale, will bring a transnational perspective to South Korea’s largest biennale, while maintaining the spirit of Gwangju, a city where the legacy of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising is indelibly etched. Appointed in December as the artistic director for next year’s Gwangju Biennale, Lee is a senior curator of international art at the Tate Modern. “I will reconstruct the ‘spirit of Gwangju’ through a contemporary

Arts & DesignFeb. 28, 2022

'Squid Game' bags three trophies at SAG Awards

Netflix megahit drama series “Squid Game” won three awards at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards, held in Santa Monica, California, Sunday night. The series was nominated in four categories. Two actors -- Jung Ho-yeon and Lee Jung-jae -- won awards for their roles. This marked the second consecutive year of Korean actors winning at least one SAG award. Last year, veteran actor Youn Yuh-jung won for her role as a feisty grandmother in the film “Minari.” Jung, who play

TelevisionFeb. 28, 2022

Singer Kangnam becomes South Korean citizen

Japanese Korean singer and TV celebrity Kangnam, 34, has become a naturalized Korean citizen, he announced in a live broadcast on YouTube. In the live broadcast on Saturday, Kangnam said he completed his final naturalization interview on Friday, and opened the letter notifying him that he had passed the exam, live on camera. This was the singer’s third attempt at the naturalization exam, after declaring he intended to give up his Japanese citizenship in 2019. In the video, the singer a

TelevisionFeb. 28, 2022

Lee Jung-jae chosen as global ambassador for Fall-Winter Seoul Fashion Week

Actor Lee Jung-jae has been chosen as the global ambassador for the 2022 Fall-Winter Seoul Fashion Week, according to the show’s organizer, the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Lee will represent two local brands, Eenk and Caruso, and appear in a promotional YouTube video that is slated to be released Friday. The 2022 F/W Seoul Fashion Week will be held March 18-23 in an online-offline hybrid format. It will mark the first time in three years the fashion show will take place offline amid

Arts & DesignFeb. 28, 2022

Cho Seong-jin steps in for pro-Putin Russian pianist at Carnegie Hall

South Korean pianist Cho Seong-jin stepped in to replace Russian pianist Denis Matsuev, whose performances Friday at Carnegie Hall in New York were canceled following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Carnegie Hall announced Friday that Cho would join the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Canadian conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin for that evening’s program, performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Both Carnegie Hall and Vienna Philharmonic expressed their deep gr

PerformanceFeb. 28, 2022

Exhibition showcases how pandemic has reshaped mobility

The exhibition “To you: Move Toward Where You Are” at Arko Art Center in Seoul touches on how the pandemic has influenced the concept of mobility as the yearslong pandemic continues to reduce physical mobility in our daily lives. A total of eight emerging artists and collectives have joined the exhibition; half of those artists are in their 20s or early 30s. Most of the works were newly commissioned for the exhibition with an aim to offer more opportunities to talented young artis

Arts & DesignFeb. 28, 2022

[URGENT] Lee Jung-jae bags trophy at SAG Awards

Lee Jung-jae took home the best actor award at Screen Actors Guild Awards for his performance in Netflix’s global hit “Squid Game” on Monday. Lee was named the winner of the outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series award for playing debt-ridden divorcee Seong Gi-hun. Billy Crudup of Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show,” as well as Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin of HBO’s “Succession” were also nominated for the award.

FilmFeb. 28, 2022

Jung Ho-yeon of 'Squid Game' wins best actress at SAG Awards

South Korean actress Jung Ho-yeon won best actress at the US Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for her role in the survival drama "Squid Game." At the ceremony of the 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday (US time), Jung brought home the prize of Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. She beat Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon of "The Morning Show," Elisabeth Moss of "The Handmaid's Tale" and Sarah Snook of "Succession."

TelevisionFeb. 28, 2022

[URGENT] “Squid Game” Jung Ho-yeon wins SAG Award

Jung Ho-yeon, who played Sae-byeok in Netflix‘s global hit “Squid Game” won a Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series on Monday. Jung was nominated in the category along with Jennifer Aniston of “The Morning Show,” Elisabeth Moss of “The Handmaid‘s Tale,” Sarah Snook of “Succession” and Reese Witherspoon of “The Morning Show.”

FilmFeb. 28, 2022

'Squid Game' Lee Jung-jae wins best actor at SAG Awards

South Korean actor Lee Jung-jae has won best actor at the US Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for his role in the survival drama "Squid Game." At the televised ceremony of the 2022 SAG Awards on Sunday (US time), Lee was named the winner of Outstanding Performance By a Male Actor in a Drama Series, beating Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong of "Succession," and Billy Crudup of "The Morning Show." Lee took the role of Gi-hoon, a down-on-his-luck middle-aged m

TelevisionFeb. 28, 2022

'Juvenile Justice' debuts at No. 10 on global Netflix chart

The new South Korean TV series "Juvenile Justice" has made it into the top 10 rankings of Netflix shows two days after its release. According to data released by streaming analytics company FlixPatrol on Sunday (US time), the Netflix's Korean-language original, released Friday, placed 10th on its latest global chart for TV programs available on the streaming service. The 10-part Korean legal drama topped the popularity list in five countries, including Malaysia and Vietnam, and placed

TelevisionFeb. 28, 2022

'Squid Game' wins SAG Awards for best stunt ensemble

The hit South Korean TV series "Squid Game" has won an award at the US Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for best stunt ensemble. At the advanced announcement of the winners of the 2022 SAG Awards on Sunday (US time), "Squid Game" was awarded Outstanding Action Performance By a Stunt Ensemble in a TV series. The Korean-language Netflix original outdid "Cobra Kai," "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," "Loki" and "Mare of Easttown." It is

TelevisionFeb. 28, 2022

[Newsmaker] First Korean Culture Minister Lee O-young dies at 89

Lee O-young, who passed away on Saturday at 89 after a long battle with liver cancer, was Korea’s first culture minister and considered one of the foremost “intellectuals of this era” here. In 2017, Lee was diagnosed with liver cancer and underwent two surgeries. Since then, he had been refusing cancer treatment and continued writing books and conducting various interviews to share his insights. Recently, he published “Memento Mori” in January and “Where Ar

CultureFeb. 27, 2022