Pianist Im Sung-mi honored to ‘breathe with audience’

Pianist Im Sung-mi took the stage for the 711th edition of “The House Concert” at Daehangno, central Seoul, on Monday. “The House Concert” is a small-scale music project run by artistic director Park Chang-soo. Seated on the floor of the venue, concertgoers are able to experience music in a different way, feeling the vibrations of the wooden floor. “It reminds me of the Bargemusic hall in New York, for which my late husband Bae Ik-hwan had long been an artistic dire

PerformanceJuly 11, 2019

[Herald Interview] Chef goes on shining without star

For foodies familiar with Seoul’s fine dining scene, it has long been a mystery that Ryunique does not yet have a Michelin star. It seems like the contemporary fine dining restaurant has every quality it needs to be awarded the much-coveted star. But its name has not made the list for the past three years. Led by chef Ryu Tae-hwan, the fine dining restaurant in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, studies the arts of French and Japanese cuisine while incorporating a Korean flavor and using local pr

Life&CultureJuly 11, 2019

What to do in Gwangju: Cultural events on swimming championships’ sidelines

Gwangju is considered the center of culture and tourism in the Jeolla region, the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula. While the so-called “City of Light” is illuminated July 12-28 for the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships, a number of cultural events have been scheduled to coincide with the sports event. Visitors will have plenty of chances to experience traditional music, dance, street performances, art and food.The year-round Gwangju Fringe Festival is going on at May 1

CultureJuly 11, 2019

BTS' 'IDOL' music video hits 500 m YouTube views

The music video of K-pop super band BTS' hit song "IDOL" surpassed 500 million YouTube views Thursday, the band's fifth music video to accomplish the feat.The hypnotic music video off the band's previous album "Love Yourself: Answer," released in August last year, hit the milestone early Thursday morning, according to Big Hit Entertainment. BTS shortly released another version of the "IDOL" music video, featuring iconic American female rapper Nicki Minaj. The second

PerformanceJuly 11, 2019

[Graphic News] Games led sharp growth in Korea‘s cultural exports in 2017

　South Korea’s exports of cultural goods jumped about 47 percent year-on-year in 2017, led by games, K-pop and publishing, an official survey showed.　The combined overseas sales in nine culture and entertainment sectors reached about $8.81 billion, up 46.7 percent from the previous year, according to the annual content industry statistics published by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The figure compares with the country‘s overall export growth that year of 15.8 percent.　T

CultureJuly 10, 2019

[Herald Interview] Pianist Kevin Kenner explores humor in classical music

Pianist Kevin Kenner believes humor can improve people’s lives, even more than aspirin. Kenner, who is in South Korea for his second solo recital in the country, titled “Humoresque,” will perform at the Seoul Arts Center on Thursday and at the U-Square Culture Center in Gwangju on Friday. The California-born pianist won the top prize at the 1990 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. The same year, he also won a medal at the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competitio

PerformanceJuly 10, 2019

Marcos Morau to unveil new work in Seoul

Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau will introduce his new work July 19-20 at the Seoul Arts Center.The latest contemporary dance piece by the young artistic director of La Veronal is produced in collaboration with the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company, led by Ahn Sang-soo. In the piece, titled “Ssang Ssang,” Morau combines his dance company’s style with elements of traditional Korean culture.For example, Morau uses gat, Korean traditional hats made of bamboo and horseh

PerformanceJuly 10, 2019

Actor arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting, molesting his agency's employees

Actor Kang Ji-hwan has been arrested without a warrant on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman and molesting another, both employees of his agency, police said Wednesday.The Gwangju Police Station took the 41-year-old actor into custody at his residence in the city of Gwangju, just south of Seoul, around 10:50 p.m. Tuesday.  Kang was suspected of sexually abusing the women while they were sleeping in a room of his house following a drinking session with them. The three of them were drin

EntertainmentJuly 10, 2019

Nam June Paik Art Center looks at ecosystems, up close

A tree welcomes visitors to the Nam June Paik Art Center’s latest exhibition, but it doesn’t produce any oxygen. Paik’s “Apple Tree,” made using 33 TV monitors, emits only electronic images. Exhibition “Ecological Sense” at Nam June Paik Art Center questions how we should perceive our current ecological system. The museum also noted that the exhibition aims to make the audience more sensitive to the changes in our ecological system.It features works by 1

Arts & DesignJuly 9, 2019

[Herald Review] What’s ahead for ‘Arthdal Chronicles’?

Though the tvN drama series “Arthdal Chronicles” has left viewers with many questions to ponder, one thing is for sure. It hopes do better in the final third of its 18-episode run. Two-thirds of the series has aired so far, leaving six episodes for fans to look forward to. Those episodes will air in September, after the new drama “Hotel Del Luna” finishes its run. The unusual schedule gave rise to rumors that tvN might be thinking of extending the drama for a second seaso

TelevisionJuly 9, 2019

Big Hit, Netmarble team up on new music-streaming platform

Big Hit Entertainment, the mastermind behind global sensation BTS, and the nation’s No. 1 mobile game developer, Netmarble, have joined hands to launch a brand-new music-streaming platform, multiple sources said Tuesday.Even though the new platform may not be solely dedicated to BTS, sources say, the septet is highly likely to release some new songs exclusively for the platform. “The two firms have started development work as a venture project. The platform is targeting global users

PerformanceJuly 9, 2019

BTS becomes highest-charting foreign artist in Japan with new Japanese single

Super group BTS topped Japan's Oricon weekly singles chart this week with its latest Japanese single "Lights/Boy With Luv," garnering the highest weekly score for any foreign artist in the Japanese music market, the band's management agency said Tuesday.The three-track single, dropped in Japan on July 3, earned some 621,000 sales points to finish atop the Oricon weekly singles chart for the week of July 1-7, according to Big Hit Entertainment.   It was the most points a singl

PerformanceJuly 9, 2019

Young artists take on human body

Our bodies are constantly changing, often in ways we are unaware of. You look at pictures of yourself taken years earlier, and you can see changes you did not notice as they were happening.Chang Seo-young and Hwang Sue-yon are two women artists in their 30s whose works, which make close observations of bodies, are on show at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Young Korean Artists 2019 exhibition.While Chang, 36, and Hwang, 38, both deal with the body, their approaches are

Arts & DesignJuly 8, 2019

Culture minister vows support for gaming market

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang-woo on Monday said the ministry will continue to support growth of the local gaming market while preparing measures related to the World Health Organization’s recent move to classify gaming addiction as a disease.Speaking at a press conference marking his 100th day in office, Park called the gaming market a “fast-growing export market.” “I promised the gaming industry in May that I would remove the monthly restriction for

CultureJuly 8, 2019

Pianist Son Yeol-eum to make BBC Proms debut

Pianist Son Yeol-eum is set to make her BBC Proms debut later this month. Son is to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 15 in B flat major with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Omer Meir Wellber on July 23 at London’s Royal Albert Hall. BBC Proms, hosted by the British public service broadcaster, is an eight-week summer music festival founded in 1895. Orchestral concerts mainly take place at the Royal Albert Hall, while chamber music concerts take place at Cadogan Ha

PerformanceJuly 8, 2019

[Herald Interview] Bucheon film fest winner presents personal mental horror

Shotgun blasts rip through the tranquil scene of a coffeehouse to open “Daniel Isn’t Real,” a psychological horror film that recently debuted at the genre-focused Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. The portrayal is horrific in its intensity and brevity, cutting away quickly and returning moments later with police tape up and haphazard sheets unable to contain the crimson carnage draining down the floor. From the other side of the tape, an 8-year-old Luke who has jus

FilmJuly 7, 2019

Why paint flowers in 2019?

The still-life painting genre may not hold much appeal for contemporary artists, since it does not leave much room for new discoveries. Flower paintings might be seen as especially outmoded. But in an art scene dominated by conceptual art, local painter Kim Sung-yoon’s focus on flowers is as bold as it is refreshing. “Many expressed worries when I said I wanted to paint flowers, but I think flower paintings are still a good means to communicate with the viewers,” Kim said durin

Arts & DesignJuly 7, 2019

Song Hye-kyo makes first appearance after divorce announcement

Actress Song Hye-kyo made her first official public appearance on Saturday, about a week after her husband, Song Joong-ki, announced that he had filed for divorce. On July 6 the actress attended an event in Sanya, on the Chinese island of Hainan, to promote South Korean cosmetic brand Sulwhasoo.Photos of her at the event immediately went viral as Harper’s Bazaar Hong Kong shared them on its Instagram page.The pending divorce between the two was announced June 27 through Song Joong-ki&rsquo

PeopleJuly 7, 2019

2019 IYF World Culture Camp kicks off in Busan

The 2019 IYF World Culture Camp, the largest cultural camp for undergrads worldwide, kicked off over the weekend in the southern port city Busan, with an aim to offer character education and exposure to Korean culture. Inviting some 4,000 participants from about 60 countries, the annual event offers a wide variety of programs this year, including performances by distinguished musicians, lectures, visits to tourist attractions, and academic sessions.“A strong mindset capable of overcoming d

CultureJuly 7, 2019

BIGBANG's T.O.P released from military service

T.O.P of South Korean boy band BIGBANG was released Saturday from his alternative military service, which had turns and twists due to a marijuana conviction. BIGBANG's main rapper, whose real name is Choi Seung-hyun, started his two-year mandatory military service as a conscripted police officer in February 2017. But the 32-year-old was kicked out of the police four months later after he was discovered to have smoked marijuana multiple times in 2016.  In July 2017, T.O.P was found guilty of

EntertainmentJuly 7, 2019