S. Korea joins Gothenburg Book Fair as guest of honor

South Korea on Thursday took part in the 2019 Gothenburg Book Fair as the guest of honor, providing the Nordic audience a rare glimpse into its literature and culture.The four-day annual book fair, the largest cultural event in Scandinavia, opened in Gothenburg, the second-largest city in Sweden, earlier in the day, with some 85,000 people from about 40 nations joining at an 11,000-square-meter exhibition center. This year's book fair presents three themes -- "South Korea-Guest of Honor,&qu

CultureSept. 26, 2019

Gugak orchestra to present works composed by foreigners

The Contemporary Gugak Orchestra will present gugak, traditional Korean music, composed by foreigners. The orchestra will hold its 98th regular presentation “Hidden Sides & Unique Beauty of Gugak” on Friday and Saturday at the National Gugak Center.  According to the project’s music director Kye Sung-won, the audience will be able to see the difference between foreign and Korean composers’ approach to gugak.“The title ‘Hidden Sides’ refers to h

PerformanceSept. 26, 2019

Italian directors, actors join list of BIFF guests

Organizers of the 24th annual Busan International Film Festival added more names to the list of international guests on Thursday for the upcoming event, including up-and-coming directors and actors from Italy.Francesco Di Leva and Adriano Pantaleo, two actors from “The Mayor of Rione Sanita,” will be making an appearance at the festival. The film, directed by Mario Martone and based on the 1960 play of the same name, was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 76th Venice Inte

FilmSept. 26, 2019

Busan film fest set to attract audiences with all sorts of delicacies

The 24th edition of Busan International Film Festival is ready to entertain local and overseas movie buffs with delicate flicks for 10 days in the middle of the fall season.This year's festival will take place from Oct. 3-12 at five cinemas, including the Busan Cinema Center, in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, featuring 303 films from 85 countries.Among the invitations, 120 films, including 97 feature-length movies, will be at BIFF for world premieres.Award-winning auteurs' new works a

FilmSept. 25, 2019

Music festivals coming this fall

While rock festivals cooled us down in the summer heat, autumn is the perfect time to appreciate other music genres. Starting this weekend, jazz and pop music festivals are set to take place around the country. Celebrating the beautiful fall weather, these outdoor festivals afford a chance to enjoy colorful foliage from a picnic mat, sipping wine with family and friends. Jazz at Seoul Forest  Seoul Forest, located in eastern Seoul, is a park that covers 1.16 million square meters. On Friday

PerformanceSept. 25, 2019

BTS video 'Blood Sweat & Tears' hits 500m YouTube views

BTS' 2016 music video "Blood Sweat & Tears" surpassed the YouTube milestone of 500 million views Wednesday, becoming the eighth BTS video do to so.The video for "Blood Sweat & Tears," the main track of the K-pop band's second full-length album, "Wings," hit the threshold Wednesday morning, nearly three years since its release in October 2016. It was the eighth BTS music video to pass the milestone. Other BTS videos that have achieved the feat include "D

PerformanceSept. 25, 2019

'Arthdal Chronicles' likely to have second season

The blockbuster TV fantasy series "Arthdal Chronicles" will likely come back with a second season despite its lower-than-expected viewership, its broadcaster tvN said Monday."We're positively considering making a second season," an official from tvN said. "The decision has not been finalized yet, but the possibility is high." Details of the second season's filming and airing date, staff and cast have not yet been decided, she noted."Arthdal Chronicles" is

TelevisionSept. 25, 2019

Intangible heritage of Thailand, Bhutan to be performed in Korea

Traditional mask dances of Thailand and Bhutan will be performed in Korea as part of a cultural exchange program, along with an international conference about the present and future of traditional mask dances in Asia.“Mask Performance in Asia,” hosted by the National Intangible Heritage Center, will be held at the NIHC complex in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, from Oct. 4-5.  The highlights of the event will be the performances of Khon from Thailand and Drametse Ngacham from Bhu

CultureSept. 24, 2019

Royal Danish Orchestra to visit in December, play with pianist Sunwoo Yekwon

As Denmark and South Korea celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the Royal Danish Orchestra is getting ready to play to a Korean audience for the first time at a concert featuring Danish conductor Thomas Sondergard and Korean pianist Sunwoo Yekwon. At the event, slated for Dec. 8 at the Seoul Arts Center, the orchestra will perform the preludes to Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s opera “Maskarade”; Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Conc

PerformanceSept. 24, 2019

Seoul Metropolitan Traditional Music Orchestra to stage new gugak compositions

The Seoul Metropolitan Traditional Music Orchestra will take the stage at the Sejong Center’s M Theater on Wednesday to presenting newly commissioned gugak works. The orchestra, led by conductor Park Ho-seong, has been aiming for creative ways to uphold Korea’s traditional music since its establishment in 1965 as the nation’s first traditional music orchestra.“As Korea’s first traditional music orchestra, we have prepared Wednesday’s presentation to encourage

PerformanceSept. 24, 2019

Asia's biggest K-pop awards MAMA to hit Nagoya, defying diplomatic row

Mnet Asian Music Awards, the biggest K-pop award event in Asia, has chosen Japan's Nagoya as the destination for its 2019 ceremony despite a deepening diplomatic row between Seoul and Tokyo.The 2019 MAMA is scheduled for Dec. 4 at the 30,000-seat Nagoya Dome, the organizer, CJ ENM, said Tuesday. For the past two years, MAMA was hosted as a three-day event in three Asian cities, including Hong Kong, but CJ ENM cut it down to a single-day event for 2019 amid ongoing political protests in Hong Kong

PerformanceSept. 24, 2019

Major work by abstract master Kim Whan-ki to be put up for auction in HK

A major dot painting by the late Korean abstract master Kim Whan-ki will be put up for auction in Hong Kong in November, an auction house said Monday, after another of his works set an auction record last year. One of Kim’s major works, “05-IV-71 #200,” titled “Universe,” will be part of the collection that will go on auction Nov. 23 at Christie’s Hong Kong, according to Christie’s Seoul branch. Measuring more than 2.5 meters in height and width, &l

Arts & DesignSept. 23, 2019

[Herald Design Forum 2019] Geomungo electrified

A Muto performance is not merely an unconventional combination of different art forms, but also an unusual spectacle. One of the band’s musicians plays the “geomungo” -- a Korean traditional string instrument -- with a violin bow, while another uses a modular synthesizer to create an exotic harmony with it. There are two large video panels that stand together and function like a folding screen, showing colorful visual works. Numerous laser lights create various geometrical patt

PerformanceSept. 23, 2019

[Herald Design Forum 2019] Not to be missed at Herald Design Week: ‘Art Night’ and 'Bro.Colle'

This year’s Herald Design Forum features evening party and design programs where people can listen to insider experience and information from design industry personnel, in addition to lectures delivered by preeminent experts in the design field during the day.Art Night “Art Night” is Herald Design Forum 2019’s evening event that brings together a speech, performance and party.Artist Bae Jae-hyuck will open Art Night with a speech on ecological issues that we face in the e

Arts & DesignSept. 23, 2019

Website about Goryeo Buddhist Paintings in US museums launched

A website carrying information about Buddhist paintings from the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) currently held at US museums has been launched.The digital catalogue, “Goryeo Buddhist Painting: A Closer Look,” launched by the Cultural Heritage Administration and the US-based Freer and Sackler Galleries, was revealed to the public Saturday. The website carries information about the 16 Goryeo paintings owned by eight museums in the US: Freer and Sackler Galleries (three), Metropolitan Museum

CultureSept. 23, 2019

[Herald Interview] Finding way home in ‘1945’

The Korea National Opera, led by 52-year-old director Koh Sun-woong, will take the stage Friday and Saturday at the Seoul Arts Center with the original opera “1945,” which depicts the lives of ordinary Koreans in 1945, after the peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonial rule.A celebrated figure in the theater scene here, Koh has led various productions, including plays, musicals and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympics. This will mark his second

PerformanceSept. 23, 2019

Busan's annual K-pop concert to kick off next month

The Busan OneAsia Festival, a major annual K-pop concert in the second-biggest South Korean city of Busan, will kick off next month with a star-studded lineup.The BOF 2019 will run from Oct. 19-25 at the outdoor stage of Busan's Hwamyung Park, Haeundae Beach and Busan Cinema Center at the city center, as well as other public areas in the port city, according to the organizer.     The festival's three main events -- K-pop Concert, Hip Hop Mash-up and Family Park Concert -- wil

PerformanceSept. 23, 2019

Emmys begin as 'Thrones' and 'Veep' seek final glory

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston opened the Emmy Awards on Sunday with a tribute to television's so-called golden era, as "Game of Thrones" and "Veep" take their final tilts at glory.Cranston appeared on stage after a comedy skit which saw a cartoon Homer Simpson introduced as "host" -- and quickly crushed by a falling piano."Television has never been bigger. Television has never mattered more. And television has never been this

TelevisionSept. 23, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Battle of Jangsari,’ average delivery, worthy tribute

Judging by the massive box office score, I’m in the minority when I say I hated “Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War” (2004). It had good acting, action and drama, but it was far too sappy and a bit too contrived -- not uncommon criticism for Korean films.“Battle of Jangsari” -- directed by Kwak Kyung-Taek and Kim Tae-Hoon -- is one that had the potential to be a great film, but fell short in delivery because of the problems it shares with “Taegukgi,” as we

FilmSept. 22, 2019

[Herald Review] ‘Lifetime companions’ grace stage with complete Brahms sonatas

INCHEON -- Violinist Chung Kyung-wha and pianist Kevin Kenner, who call each other “lifetime companion,” presented the complete Brahms violin sonatas on Thursday at Art Center Incheon. The duo performed the German composer-pianist’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, “Regen,” Op. 78; Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in A major, “Thun,” Op. 100; and Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108. The first sonata, often referred to

PerformanceSept. 22, 2019