‘Cats’ Seoul run extended to December

The international tour production of “Cats” will extend its Seoul run for a month. The West End musical opened Sept. 9 at the Charlotte Theater in eastern Seoul. Though initially slated to run until Nov. 8, the show will now close on Dec. 6. After the Seoul run, the musical will tour Korea, though details of that have yet to be finalized. Adjusting to the time of the novel coronavirus, the musical sold half of the 1,241 available seats. Cast members also wore masks featuring cat

Oct. 12, 2020

Refund Sisters repeat Ssak 3 success

Refund Sisters’s debut single “Don’t Touch Me,” released at 6 p.m., Saturday, swept major online music charts within the first 24 hours, topping both BTS’ “Dynamite” and Blackpink’s “Lovesick Girls” for the top spot. Refund Sisters is a quartet of singers with strong personalities brought together in MBC’s “Hangout with Yoo.” The group -- consisting of Lee Hyo-ri, Uhm Jung-hwa, girl group Mamamoo’s Hwasa and ra

Oct. 12, 2020

Which film will follow ‘Parasite’?

Thirteen Korean movies have applied to be selected as Korea’s entry for the Academy Award for best international feature film, according to the Korean Film Council on Monday. Since Director Bong Joon-ho won the Oscar for best international feature film for “Parasite” at the 92nd Academy Awards in February, movie industry insiders’ eyes are now on who will be selected to compete for the nomination next year. The selected film will be announced at the end of this month.

Oct. 12, 2020

For Yoo Ah-in, trust was key in playing character with no lines

Actor Yoo Ah-in said he put no extra effort into playing a character with no lines in the upcoming crime drama “Voice of Silence.” “There was no extra preparation for the character. I just tried to form a stronger trust in director Hong Eui-jung and actor Yoo Jae-myung,” Yoo Ah-in said Monday during an online press conference. Tae-in, Yoo Ah-in’s character in the movie, has the unusual job of disposing of corpses and cleaning up crime scenes for an organized crim

Oct. 12, 2020

[Herald Review] BTS and ARMYs virtually yet strongly connected in ‘Map of the Soul: ON:E’

Perhaps “Bang Bang Con: The Live,” the first virtual concert from global sensation BTS livestreamed in June, was only a prelude to the band’s second online gig “Map of the Soul: ON:E.” Eight times the scale of the June event, with an additional two massive stages, complete with up-to-date technologies like augmented reality and extended reality, the two-day run of “Map of the Soul: ON:E” kicked off on Saturday in Seoul. With the two online concer

Oct. 12, 2020

BLACKPINK's 1st full album hits No. 2 on Billboard in newmilestone for K-pop girl group

K-pop megastar BLACKPINK's first full-length album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard main album chart this week, setting a new record in the history of South Korean girl groups. "At No. 2 on the Billboard 200, BLACKPINK's debut full-length 'The Album' enters with 110,000 equivalent album units earned," Billboard reported Sunday (US time), one day before its chart will be updated. Of the total, 81,000 came from traditional album sales, while the remaining came from streaming and digi

Oct. 12, 2020

Family movie 'Pawn' tops 1m admissions on 11th day

"Pawn," a South Korean human drama about a debt collector and his new family, has topped 1 million admissions here, data showed Monday. The family movie attracted 1.07 million viewers Friday, passing the 1 million milestone in 11 days since its release on Sept. 29, according to the data compiled by the Korean Film Council. After debuting at No. 2 on its opening day, the film moved up to the top spot the next day and has since dominated the local box office. Its total viewers stood at

Oct. 12, 2020

Isang Yun Peace Foundation honors El Sistema founder

Celebrating the legacy of iconic composer Yun I-sang (1917-1995), the Isang Yun Peace Foundation honored Venezuelan conductor, pianist and economist Jose Antonio Abreu (1939-2018) with the 2020 Isang Yun Prize. Since 2007, the Isang Yun Peace Foundation has recognized musicians who carried on Yun’s legacy. According to the foundation, the prize celebrates artists who are actively involved in society and who have made contributions to “peace, reconciliation and harmony.” In 1

Oct. 11, 2020

[Photo News] BTS and ARMY in online concert

Kpop sensation BTS held its second online concert titled “BTS MAP OF THE SOUL ON:E” on Saturday amid the coronavirus pandemic.  The 120-minute show, packed with cutting-edge technology, featured the septet’s powerful group dances as well as performances highlighting individual members.  The virtual concert was broadcast through six different camera angles with one side of the screen showing BTS fans known as ARMY from around the world.  (Photos: Big Hit Ente

Oct. 11, 2020

Performing arts festival goes for-pay online

The 2020 Seoul Performing Arts Festival will be a contactless event, connecting with audiences at home via livestream. The SPAF, organized by the Korea Arts Management Service under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is an annual festival held in the Daehagno neighborhood in central Seoul. This year, however, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the event will be streamed online. It will be the first major performing arts festival here to adopt a paid online streaming model. The

Oct. 11, 2020

3 Wednesday-Thursday dramas kick off together

Three dramas from different broadcasting stations -- JTBC’s “Private Lives,” tvN’s “Tale of the Nine Tailed” and KBS’ “Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol” -- began last week, competing for Wednesday-Thursday viewership. The dramas all had online press conference Wednesday afternoon, before their first episodes, a presage of the head-on competition ahead. The viewership rating of the first two episodes showed tvN’s “Tale of the Nine Taile

Oct. 11, 2020

TWICE unveils track list for 2nd full-length album ahead of release this month

K-pop girl group TWICE's upcoming full-length album includes collaborations with popular musicians, such as Dua Lipa and Heize, its agency said Sunday. The nine-member group's second full-length album "Eyes Wide Open" features 13 songs, including "Behind the Mask" that was co-composed by British pop diva Dua Lipa. The lyrics for the track were written by South Korean singer-songwriter Heize, according to JYP Entertainment. The upcoming album also included "I Can't Sto

Oct. 11, 2020

BTS online concert: the best of an online gig, complete with ARMY

The new coronavirus has proven to be a longer-than-expected obstacle that has pushed the global music industry out of its comfort zone and into uncharted land where the heat and energy of live gigs no longer exist. But it couldn't stop BTS and its dedicated fan base ARMY from connecting and proving their strong bond during the K-pop superstars' latest online concert, held Saturday. BTS, the South Korean act that has made history with a Billboard No. 1 hit, "Dynamite," held its second

Oct. 11, 2020

Kim Hye-soo returns as police officer in ‘The Day I Died’

Actress Kim Hye-soo, who played an impressive police officer in the hit TV series “Signal,” is returning to the big screen as a cop in “The Day I Died.” “At first, I was aware of the fact that Hyun-soo is a police officer character (like Soo-hyun in Signal.) But for Hyun-soo, I could naturally focus more on portraying her emotions and less on her occupation,” Kim said during an online press briefing on Thursday. “I expect audiences will feel the same wa

Oct. 9, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Pawn (Korea) Opened Sept. 29 Family drama Directed by Kang Dae-kyu In 1993, Doo-seok (Sung Dong-il) and Jong-bae (Kim Hee-won) work as debt collectors in Incheon. They may look intimidating, but they are soft inside. One day, the two go to collect a debt from Myung-ja (Kim Yun-jin) who unexpectedly offers her 9-year-old daughter Seung-yi (Park So-yi, Ha Ji-won) as collateral. When Myung-ja is deported from Korea, the two collectors suddenly become Seung-yi’s guardians.   Greenland

Oct. 8, 2020

BTS-featuring 'Savage Love' remix sweeps iTunes charts

On top of the mega success of K-pop superstar BTS' "Dynamite," a song featuring the septet has also dominated iTunes charts around the world, the band's agency said Thursday. "Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat) (BTS Remix)," the latest version of hit song "Savage Love" by US pop singer Jason Derulo and New Zealand producer Jawsh 685, has topped iTunes Top Songs charts in 66 countries, according to Big Hit Entertainment. It also ranked No. 3 on the US version of the c

Oct. 8, 2020

Busan International Film Festival to begin Oct. 21

The 25th Busan International Film Festival, originally set to open Oct. 8, will be held Oct. 21-30 both offline and online, according to the festival organizers. “We will screen a total of 194 films, and 125 will be screened through our online channel,” a BIFF organizer told The Korea Herald on Wednesday. “There will not be any outdoor events, including opening and closing ceremonies, outdoor greetings and open talk sessions, which can gather crowds. Instead, we will focus

Oct. 7, 2020

Steve Aoki, Tom Bilyeu harness webtoon power with 'Neon Future'

When webtoon “Neon Future” debuted on Naver’s English webtoon platform Canvas on July 13, many noticed one of the character’s resemblance to DJ Steve Aoki and soon discovered that he was one of the authors of the webtoon.. “Neon Future,” co-written by Aoki, Tom Bilyeu and Jim Krueger, is a webtoon -- an online comic read vertically -- set 30 years in the future where advanced technology is illegal. It deals with the conflict between the Augmented, who have c

Oct. 7, 2020

After 60 years, pianist rediscovers Schumann

  It took him about 60 years to understand Robert Schumann (1810-1856). After all those years, concert pianist Paik Kun-woo finally gets the German Romantic composer. Paik will hold a Seoul recital in October followed by a nationwide tour marking the release of a new album last month dedicated to Schumann. “I now understand the life that Schumann lived, and with what thoughts he packed up and admitted himself to a psychiatric hospital,” Paik, 74, said during an online press

Oct. 7, 2020

BLACKPINK sets record album sales for K-pop girl group in 1st week

BLACKPINK has sold the most albums in the first week of an album release for a K-pop girl group, its agency said Wednesday. Sales of BLACKPINK's latest album "The Album" reached roughly 590,000 following the album's hard copy release Tuesday, YG Entertainment said, citing music sales tracker Hanteo Chart. The group's first full-length album, which includes the main track "Lovesick Girls," as well as prereleased hits "How You Like That" and "Ice Cream,"

Oct. 7, 2020