[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Lighting Festival at The Garden of Morning Calm The Garden of Morning Calm in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, is hosting its annual Lighting Festival until March 14. According to the Garden of Morning Calm, it is the first light festival in Korea to add lights to natural surroundings. The environment-friendly LED lights shine throughout the 330,000-square-meter garden. Admissions cost 9,500 won per adult, 7,000 won per middle and high school student, and 6,000 won per children.  Daegu Na

TravelFeb. 19, 2021

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and Packages

InterContinental launches collaboration with artist Jackson Shim InterContinental Seoul Coex in Samseong-dong offers the “Gallery in the Room with Jackson Shim” package, where guests can appreciate the artwork of the rising pop artist in their own rooms. Business suites will showcase five artworks worth about 30 million won, along with Jackson Shim’s hand-drawn paintings on guest room windows. The guests will also receive poster books and T-shirts decorated with the artist&r

FoodFeb. 19, 2021

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

New Year Blues (Korea) Opened Feb. 10 Romance, Comedy Directed by Hong Ji-young Four couples go through their own various struggles during seven days before New Year’s Day. Paralympic athlete trainer Hyo-young (Yoo In-na), who wants to get divorced, asks for a week of personal protection from police officer Ji-ho (Kim Kang-woo), who has been divorced for four years. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (UK) Reopened Feb. 10 Action, Fantasy Directed by Mike Newell Harry Potter (Daniel Ra

FilmFeb. 19, 2021

Shor in Seoul: The rise of an unusual composer

Composer Alexey Shor may be considered an enigma of sorts, a composer whose relatively late emergence onto the landscape of classical music has been marked by performances of his works at some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and by renowned artists from across the world. This year will see further performances of Shor’s works in locations around the world. Described as neo-romantic and neo-classical, Shor’s works present a penchant for traditional harmony and co

CultureFeb. 18, 2021

Big Hit, Universal Music Group to launch new K-pop boy band in US

Big Hit Entertainment and Universal Music Group announced Thursday plans for a Los Angeles-based joint venture between UMG’s Geffen Records and Bit Hit Ent for the launch of a new global K-pop band in the US. The members of the new boy group will be chosen through a global audition that will air in the US in 2022. Big Hit Entertainment created K-pop group BTS while UMG is one of the biggest music companies in the world, with top artists such as Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Maroon 5. In th

EntertainmentFeb. 18, 2021

KOMCA copyright fee hike angers local streaming services

Local over-the-top media services gathered at Yeouido, Seoul, Tuesday to express their anger at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s approval in December of an increase in the music copyright fee levied on local streaming services. Watcha, Tving and Wavve formed the OTT Music Copyright Committee in July after the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) attempted to increase the music copyright fee. KOMCA proposed to the Culture Ministry in July an increase in the copyright f

PerformanceFeb. 17, 2021

Musical ‘Lost Face 1895’ to be screened in 40 CGV cinemas

“Lost Face 1895,” a musical performance film, will soon be coming to 40 CGV cinemas across the country starting Feb. 24. The film is created and distributed by the Seoul Performing Arts Company under the Culture Ministry. “Abroad, a number of musical performances were recorded to be made into films, such as the UK National Theater’s NT Live and the US Metropolitan Opera Live. But this has not been tried much in Korea,” SPAC President Yoo Hee-sung said during a pr

FilmFeb. 17, 2021

Two Korean indie films to compete at Berlin Film Festival

Two Korean independent films -- “Fighter” directed by Jero Yun and “Short Vacation” directed by Kwon Min-pyo and Seo Han-sol -- have been chosen to compete at the 71st Berlin Film Festival. According to the distributor Indiestory for “Fighter”, the movie was invited to compete in the Generation 14plus category at the Berlinale. “Fighter” which is set to be released here in March, depicts the story of a woman Jin-ah (Lim Seong-mi) who finds the

FilmFeb. 17, 2021

[Herald Review] Green-skinned witch makes ‘Wicked’ return

The Wicked Witch of the West has returned to Seoul, with the musical “Wicked” officially opening its Seoul run on Tuesday. Inspired by the classic “The Wizard of the Oz,” and based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba, the wicked green witch of the west, and Glinda, the good white witch. Featuring musical divas Ock Joo-hyun and Jeong Seon-ah, and

PerformanceFeb. 17, 2021

Gender-bending casting opens up new opportunities for actors, dramas

In recent years, gender-bending casting, where actors are cast for roles regardless of their gender, has come under the spotlight for its fresh take on the traditionally male-oriented performing arts scene. Gender-bending casting, more often referred to as gender-free casting in Korea, is about giving actors opportunities to perform regardless of their gender. Veteran stage actor Kim Seong-nyeo is to take the role of Faust in the National Theater of Korea’s upcoming play “Faus

PerformanceFeb. 17, 2021

Hongdae’s Walking Street looks for new street performers

As the harsh winter season is gradually coming to an end, fresh spots are opening up on the street corners of Hongdae, Seoul, for those who can sing, dance and are ready to perform in front of crowds this coming spring. The Mapo-gu district office’s tourism department said Monday it will begin recruiting artists for the event, “2021 Hongdae Culture Tour - To Hongdae, to culture, and to tourism,” to be held at the Walking Street in the popular district. 　 The categories for th

CultureFeb. 17, 2021

Spotify Korea hopes to push personalized music discoveries

With Spotify’s new launch into Korea, the music streaming platform hopes it can spearhead change in how Koreans listen to and discover music with more personalized curations. In an interview with The Korea Herald, Managing Director of Spotify Korea David Park said he hopes users can find joy from discovering new music through the platform’s curating algorithm, instead of relying solely on music chart rankings. “It’s been only a week since we launched the platform and w

PerformanceFeb. 16, 2021

'Night in Paradise' skips theaters to release on Netflix in April

“Night in Paradise” by director Park Hoon-jung is set to be released on Netflix on April 9. In announcing the release date Tuesday, Netflix said the film would be available to stream in 190 countries. Starring actors Eom Tae-goo, Cha Seung-won and Jeon Yeo-been, the film depicts a story of a man who becomes a target of an organized crime group and a woman who sees no hope in life. Actor Lee Ki-young and Park Ho-san also star in Park’s new crime film. “Night in Paradis

FilmFeb. 16, 2021

Culture Ministry to use ‘hanji’ for award certificates

Starting this year, award certificates presented by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will be on “hanji,” Korea’s traditional paper handmade from mulberry trees. The purpose is to support the nation’s hanji industry, which is suffering from a lack of demand despite its competitive quality, the ministry announced. The ministry stated on Tuesday that they had established a hanji consultative body in October 2020, with the participation of both central and local

CultureFeb. 16, 2021

National Gugak Center member confirmed with COVID-19

A dancer at the National Gugak Center has been confirmed with novel coronavirus infection. The person tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, along with her family, including her husband and two children. She had previously tested negative on Feb. 8, but her husband tested positive. Prior to the COVID-19 test, the dancer went onstage at the center in southern Seoul on Feb. 6 for a weekly performance show. Sixty-eight members from the Court Music Orchestra, Folk Music Group and Dance Theate

PerformanceFeb. 16, 2021

‘Sing Again’ top 3 reflect on their audition experience

Winner Lee Seung-yoon, runner-up Jeong Hong-il and third-place contestant Lee Mu-jin of JTBC’s audition program “Sing Again” shared their thoughts on going from nameless singers to famous singers during an online press conference Tuesday. “Sing Again,” which aired its final episode Feb. 7, captured the audience by giving a second chance to 71 singers who had released albums in the past but never attained popularity. The producer’s strategy hit the mark: The s

TelevisionFeb. 16, 2021

Song Joong-ki as antihero in tvN drama ‘Vincenzo’

Actor Song Joong-ki is returning to the small screen as a lawyer and an Italian mafia consigliere in the tvN drama “Vincenzo” this Saturday. “Vincenzo” centers on the story of an antihero named Vincenzo Cassano, who fights against the villains of society with veteran lawyer Hong Cha-young, played by actress Jeon Yeo-been. Vincenzo takes on villains who have escaped the clutches of the law by being more evil than the criminals. “I don’t think I’m alone

TelevisionFeb. 15, 2021

New Culture Minister floats rapid virus test to support industry

Visiting theaters in Daehangno Sunday, new Culture Minister Hwang Hee suggested testing audiences with rapid coronavirus tests, as part of measures to prop up the hard-hit sector. Hwang suggested establishing two temporary centers in the art neighborhood for rapid polymerase chain reaction testing, which is currently under review by authorities. If the audiences can be tested right before using the facilities, the theaters would be able to operate without the one-seat-apart social distancing r

CultureFeb. 15, 2021

Hong Sang-soo to compete at Berlinale with ‘Introduction’

Award-winning director Hong Sang-soo’s 25th feature film, “Introduction,” will be part of the competition section at the 71st Berlin Film Festival. “We are delighted to welcome one of the most ingenious writers in the film industry again. Director Hong Sang-soo’s work presents great joy and challenge to the audience,” Berlin Film Festival Executive Chairman Carlo Umberto Chatrian said in a statement. “Director Hong’s work deepens the understandi

FilmFeb. 15, 2021

SBS draws fire for editing out gay kisses from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

“Bohemian Rhapsody” reached the highest viewership share of all movies shown on TV during the Seollal holidays, but terrestrial broadcaster SBS faced criticism for deleting the film’s homosexual scenes. With gatherings restricted due to COVID-19, the broadcasters paid special attention to their movie selections to capture viewers stuck at home. SBS aired “Bohemian Rhapsody” at 8:40 p.m. on Saturday and it worked -- the movie drew 3.4 percent of viewers aged 20-49

TelevisionFeb. 15, 2021