Musicals to usher in the New Year

The year-end is a time for family, and visiting the local theater for a musical can please all generations.With 2018 just days away, here are some of the musicals you might want to check out to celebrate the New Year.Sister ActThe only English-language production on our list, this piece brings the 1990s comedy-classic movie to the stage. Packed with humor, disco and the soulful music of 1970s Philadelphia, the musical stars Dene Hill as the protagonist Delores Van Cartier, a nightclub singer who

Dec. 28, 2017

[Eye Plus] Season for ice skating

As the year’s end draws nearer, the festive season is in full swing. An ice skating rink is the splendid backdrop to Winter Wonderland. Families, friends and lovers of all ages don their skates and glide around the ice rink. Children are seen practicing their skating skills with dreams of becoming the next speed skater champion Lee Sang-hwa or figure skating queen Kim Yu-na. If you are looking to enjoy winter sports in the city, Lotte World Ice Rink is located inside the nation’s most popular th

Dec. 22, 2017

[Weekender] Celebrate Christmas early with private hotel parties

Christmas has become an expensive holiday for young people in Korea. Many restaurants dish out set course “Christmas Meals” at double usual prices. Lodgings are offered at exorbitant prices, amid a surge in demand. Clubs and bars are much the same, tacking on extra charges for Christmas tables. Even for those willing to fork out the money, all these are hard to come by, as rooms and tables are quickly booked.Amid skyrocketing prices, some women especially in their 20s and 30s are seeking out alt

Dec. 22, 2017

[PyeongChang 2018] Korea rolls out transit passes for foreign visitors

Time-limited transit passes for the upcoming 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics have been launched, the government announced Thursday.The passes, which the officials said are aimed at aiding those visiting Gangwon Province for the Winter Games, have been launched jointly by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea Tourism Organization and Visit Korea Committee.Three types of passes are available: two for foreign visitors and one for Koreans. PyeongChang Korail Pass can be used from Feb.

Dec. 21, 2017

Government awards promotion of Korean culture to outside world

Korean government on Tuesday awarded nine individuals for their contribution on promoting Korean culture to other countries.The state-run Korean Culture and Information Service announced this year’s winners for the annual award which included Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer for his commemorative work on Korean composer Yun I-sang (Isang Yun) in Germany. Yun, considered one of the most influential composers in modern Korea was born in Korean under Japanese colonization and made his later career in West G

Dec. 19, 2017

Record-breaking 8,000-member orchestra perform in Seoul

More than 8,000 musicians performed at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul Saturday to set the Guinness World Record for the biggest ever orchestra.The giant orchestra, consisting of amateur musicians from churches across the country, played a medley of Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance Marches, the South Korean national anthem and two hymns for seven minutes in total. With 8,076 musicians involved, an orchestra performance in Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul Saturday, trumped the previous biggest such performance i

Dec. 17, 2017

S. Korean town set to open annual ice-fishing festival on Jan. 6

More than a million visitors are expected to brave probable subzero weather Jan. 6 to take part in the opening of an ice-fishing festival in the South Korean town of Hwacheon near the border with North Korea, organizers said Thursday.Once touted by CNN as one of the "Seven Wonders of Winter,” the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival is scheduled to run through Jan. 28 on Hwacheon Stream in the mountainous town of the same name 120 kilometers northeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)As many as one million people

Dec. 14, 2017

[Herald Review] ‘Billy Elliot’ brings his fierce pirouette to Seoul stage

Billy Elliot danced back onto the Seoul stage this December with a bold opening performance on Dec. 7 that looks set to inspire Seoul audiences again. The Tony-winning West End hit about an aspiring ballerino from a British mining town had its first non-English speaking production in Korea in 2010, after sweeping North America and Australia.Billy Elliot’s return to Seoul, with an updated translation and a brand-new cast, has been hotly anticipated by local theatergoers for months. Its previous r

Dec. 13, 2017

Actor Park Bo-gum wins award for promoting Korean tourism

Actor Park Bo-gum was named the winner of the achievement award for promoting South Korea abroad during this year’s tourism awards ceremony, the organizers said Tuesday. The 24-year-old actor was announced this year’s winner of the prize at the 2017 Korea Tourism Awards co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Korea Tourism Organization, they said. Park Bo-gum (Yonhap)“Park contributed greatly to promoting the country abroad by successfully wrapping up fan meetings in ei

Dec. 12, 2017

A country of hats? Korea in eyes of 19th century German

When German merchant H.C. Eduard Meyer (1841-1926) was appointed an honorary consul to Joseon in the late 19th century, the country’s various hats were what fascinated him the most. According to the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, the German thought that Joseon (1392-1910) was the only country in the world that showed an individual’s social class via hats. Meyer went on to collect an array of hats along with numerous items of the time. Hats from 19th-century Korea. From left: g

Dec. 11, 2017

[Herald Interview] K-pop has sparked interest in Korean studies, but it’s not the end: Ross King

K-pop may have led to an increased interest in Korean among foreign students, but those seeking to study the language in higher level education still face huge obstacles, according to professor Ross King. 　King, a Canadian national who has been helming the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia since 2008, says that compared to nine years ago, “the base has expanded” for Korean studies abroad. The rise of K-pop has been a contributing factor, he says.“K-pop is definite

Dec. 10, 2017

[Eye] Scholar finds Korean identity in history

In an age where three-minute book excerpts on mobile phones pass as “reading,” Hahm Chai-bong, president of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, has boldly set about writing five volumes on the subject of Korean identity.As he elucidates in the preface to “Hanguk Saram Mandeulgi,” or “Becoming Korean,” Hahm’s translation of the book’s title, the multi-volume work stemmed from a personal quest for self-identity. Having spent much of his formative years abroad, he had been nagged by the question

Dec. 8, 2017

[Weekender] Where soju tastes sweet, and folks reminisce on yesteryear

In director Lee Jang-ho’s 1980 film “A Fine, Windy Day,” the pojangmacha is a place where members of Seoul’s growing underclass meet daily to talk about their pains, gains and fantasies over cheap food and soju.In a country notorious for its die-hard drinking, pojangmacha — meaning “covered wagon” in Korean and referring to a tented outdoor food stall — have been at the center of Korea’s after-work camaraderie. Thirty-seven years have passed since the release of movie that portrayed the country’

Dec. 8, 2017

[Weekender] The allure of pojangmacha

A foreign visitor to Korea may wonder what a brigade of what looks to be red tents may be doing lined up on the streets of Jongno-gu, Seoul. These pojangmacha, meaning a “covered wagon” in Korean, refers to makeshift eateries offering booze and food that have been a symbol of the common people here for generations.The origin of pojangmacha is unclear but many trace it back to the street vendors of the 1950s and ‘60s who would drag around their wheeled stalls, selling soju by the shot along with

Dec. 8, 2017

‘StarCraft’ pro gets ‘foot up’ on rival

A Korean professional “StarCraft” gamer got the upper foot, as it were, over his Chinese rival at a recent competition. Lim Hong-gyu, better known by his moniker “Larva,” battled Luo Xian on Monday in the final match of the Zotac Cup Masters playing “StarCraft Remastered” in Los Angeles, California. In the first game of the series, Lim purposely took one of his own characters out of the competition by making it dance, putting himself at a significant disadvantage. In the next game, he rested his

Dec. 7, 2017

[Herald Review] ‘Sister Act’ will lift you to hilarious new heights

Two and a half decades ago, a musical movie starring Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer who stumbles upon a murder scene and ends up in a place she does not belong -- a Catholic convent – hit the silver screen. The cast’s performance and music elevated the typical fish-out-of-water story, as it became a box office hit and generation-defining comedy.The musical adaptation of the film landed in Korea last week, bringing with it the humor, music and charm that made the original story so popular amo

Dec. 6, 2017

[Newsmaker] Singer’s 2011 expulsion from MBC sheds new light on blacklist scandal

The ongoing investigation into two previous governments‘ blacklist of cultural figures continues to unearth more dirt, with a recent revelation that Lee Myung-bak administration used one of its supporters as a scapegoat to hide its wrong-doings.A 2011 document of the National Intelligence Service, revealed recently by Kyunghyang Shinmun, a local daily, showed that MBC’s sacking of singer Kim Heung-gook that year was part of the conservative administration’s plan to extract left-leaning entertain

Dec. 5, 2017

Annual craft fair to look at value of artistry in digital era

An annual fair to showcase Korea's best craftsmanship will cast light on the smartness and convenience of traditional handiworks and the wisdom of artisans, the organizers said Monday.The craft trend fair titled "Smart X Craft," hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and run by the Korea Craft & Design Foundation, entered its 12th year to promote the country's distinct handiworks and elegant artistry that have been passed down for generations.The value of handiwork hasn't faded ev

Dec. 4, 2017

Social media, a double-edged sword for celebrities

BTS, the latest hotshot K-pop group, recently topped 10 million followers on Twitter, marking the first time a K-pop group had reached that many number of followers. It was also another milestone for the boy band that has used social media to its advantage.While always a powerhouse back home, it was nabbing the top social artist award at the Billboard Music Awards that propelled Bangtan Boys to international fame. BTS’ use of social media has worked to its benefit, but social media has also thru

Dec. 3, 2017

‘Sister Act’ opens in Seoul, wrapping up Asia tour

The US production of the musical “Sister Act” has landed in Seoul, the final destination of its Asia tour that commenced in May.The Korean segment of the tour premiered Saturday in front of a sell-out crowd at Blue Square in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and will run through Jan. 21, 2018.Based on the 1992 hit comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg, the plot revolves around the singer Delores who witnesses a murder and takes refuge in a convent.While the plot may sound dark, the show is actually a light-hear

Nov. 30, 2017