From League of Legends to Mariinsky, Sejong Center embraces diversity

In 2020, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts hopes to offer its audience cutting-edge stage art in a less rigid manner. The center released the program for its 2020 season Monday, featuring 54 shows and 393 performances. Innovative, low-barrier productions are what stand out most.“This year’s slogan is to ‘enjoy Sejong,’ meaning that everyone can enjoy more than just performances at the Sejong Center,” the center’s CEO Kim Sung-kyu said at a press event

Jan. 6, 2020

[Newsmaker] Bong Joon-ho’s 20-year film director career

Born in Daegu in 1969, Bong Joon-ho is believed to have inherited artistic sensibilities from his family. His father was a pioneering graphic designer and his maternal grandfather the well-known novelist Park Tae-won, who wrote such masterpieces as “A Day in the Life of Kubo the Novelist.” By the time he was 15 years old, Bong knew he wanted to be a filmmaker. Bong graduated from Yonsei University, having majored in sociology. During his college years, Bong made his first short

Jan. 6, 2020

Treasure to debut as first new boy band from YG in over 4 years

YG says the official debut of the revamped 12-piece boy band Treasure is on the way, marking the first boy band to debut from YG in over four years, since iKON in 2015.In a blog post on Monday, YG said the company is thankful for fans who have been waiting a long time, and added that new content is coming this month through multiple channels. Treasure consists of a dozen members who were put together after appearing on YG’s K-pop competition “Treasure Box,” which aired around a

Jan. 6, 2020

'Parasite’ wins Korea’s first Golden Globe

Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s satirical drama “Parasite” marked another milestone for Korean cinema when it became the first Korean film to win a major US film award.Bong’s “Parasite” won the award for best foreign language film at the Golden Globes ceremony, held Monday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.The film, which also won the top prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, has been on a global winning streak. Now, with its f

Jan. 6, 2020

Hollywood stars shine on Globes red carpet

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- Hollywood's brightest stars sparkled Sunday on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, the first showbiz awards gala of 2020.Under sunny skies, the best and brightest of film and television arrived at the Beverly Hilton in their finest for the ceremony, hosted by British comedian Ricky Gervais.Here is a look at some of the trends spotted on the red carpet:Black and white Tinseltown's A-list wants to make a good impression on the first major red carpet of the year, and how bette

Jan. 6, 2020

'Parasite' named best picture by US Nat'l Society of Film Critics

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's black comedy thriller "Parasite" has won the top honor from the US National Society of Film Critics.As the NSFC announced winners of its 54th annual voting meeting in New York on Sunday (US time), "Parasite" was named best picture and also took the best screenplay award.The Korean film received 44 votes for the top prize, outnumbering Greta Gerwig's "Little Women" with 27 votes and Quentin Tarantino's "Upon a Time in Hollywo

Jan. 6, 2020

BTS wins top prize at Golden Disc Awards for 3rd consecutive year

K-pop boy band BTS won the top prize in the album division at a prestigious annual music awards ceremony in South Korea on Sunday.BTS took home "Album of the Year" at the 34th Golden Disc Awards ceremony at Seoul's Gocheok Sky Dome. It marked the third straight year that the septet won the top prize in the album division. On Saturday, BTS also won best digital song in the digital song division.Winners are determined mostly by album sales and digital streaming, according to the organize

Jan. 6, 2020

Old stories to grace stage with new interpretations

The 2020 dance scene will be packed with productions that reinterpret well-known stories, offering fresh insights into time-honored tales. Eifman Ballet, led by Russian choreographer Boris Eifman, will perform “Beyond Sin” and “Anna Karenina” in May. Eifman is recognized for his reinterpretations of Russian novels with dramatic expression.“Beyond Sin” is a choreographic interpretation of Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov.” Eifman has disti

Jan. 5, 2020

[Newsmaker] K-pop chart manipulation resurfaces after SBS investigative program

The K-pop chart manipulation issue has once again come into the spotlight, following an SBS investigative journalism show that aired Saturday.The episode about the controversial issue caused an immediate stir on social media platforms and in search engine trends. On the latest episode of “Unanswered Questions,” industry insiders highlighted suspicions of music chart manipulation when a song, especially one by a relatively unknown musician, suddenly pops up on the charts without

Jan. 5, 2020

BLACKPINK's 'Kill This Love' video tops 700m YouTube views

The music video of K-pop girl band BLACKPINK's "Kill This Love" has hit the milestone of 700 million YouTube views.The video, released in April, surpassed the 700 million threshold late Saturday evening, according to the band's label, YG Entertainment, on Sunday. The new record makes BLACKPINK the first K-pop band with four music videos that racked up more than 700 million views. The others are "Ddu-du Ddu-du," "Boombayah," and "As If It's Your Last."Follo

Jan. 5, 2020

Queen, Green Day, MIKA to have concerts in Korea this year

World-renowned bands and musicians will visit South Korea this year to hold concerts for longing enthusiasts here.British rock band Queen is the most anticipated foreign artist visiting Korea in 2020.The “Super Concert 25 QUEEN” will take place at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on Jan. 18-19 as part of the band‘s “The Rhapsody Tour” that kicked off in June last year. It will be the second performance in South Korea by the British band after one during the Super S

Jan. 4, 2020

Biopic to look back on late rock legend Shin Hae-chul

Rockstar Shin Hae-chul’s agency has teamed up with a local film company to make a biopic about the late singer. On Thursday, local film production and distribution company Acemaker Movie Works announced the production of a movie in remembrance of singer Shin’s short, dramatic life. For the production, the company will team up with N.E.X.T United, an agency led by Shin’s wife. The agency currently holds the copyrights to Shin’s songs and the work of his band N.E.X.T. 

Jan. 3, 2020

Big Bang to make comeback at US music festival

Popular K-pop band Big Bang will make a much-awaited comeback to the stage at a US music festival this spring after its members completed their military duties, the group's agency said Friday.The act was invited to this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, in April, according to YG Entertainment. Big Bang will perform on April 10 and 17, along with other musicians, including Rage Against the Machine, Peggy Gou and Hatsune Miku.It is expected to be the f

Jan. 3, 2020

JYJ's Kim Jae-joong to tour six Asian cities

Singer Kim Jae-joong of JYJ will begin a six-city Asian tour later this month, his management agency said Friday.The three-month tour will kick off in Seoul on Jan. 18-19 at the Peace Hall of Kyunghee University and continue in Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and Macao, according to C-Jes Entertainment. Kim, a member of the Korean pop group JYJ, will release his first Korean-language album in four years, titled "Love Ballad," on Jan. 14.Debuting as an original member of boy band

Jan. 3, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Ashfall(Korea)Opened Dec. 19Drama, ActionDirected by Lee Hae-jun, Kim Byeong-seoPaektusan, the highest mountain on the Korean Peninsula and a dormant volcano, comes out of its slumber and undergoes the biggest eruption in recorded history. South Korean operative Capt. Jo In-chang (Ha Jung-woo) and North Korean spy Lee Jun-pyeong (Lee Byung-hun) are sent on a covert operation to save the peninsula.Forbidden Dream(Korea)Opened Dec. 26Drama, HistoryDirected by Hur Jin-hoThe legendary King Sejong (H

Jan. 3, 2020

[Weekender] [Herald Interview] Pushing boundaries of traditional music

For some bands, music is all about breaking stodgy old rules and creating new ones. However, for Black String, a traditional Korean music band, the revolution may be on a bigger scale. It wants to establish its own genre. Black String, founded in 2011, consists of four artists, three of them gugak performers. The group is led by string instrument geomungo virtuoso Heo Yoon-jeong with Lee Aram on daegeum (bamboo flute), Hwang Min-wang on janggu (hourglass-shaped drum) and Jean Oh on electric guit

Jan. 3, 2020

[Weekender] From tradition to innovation

Though gugak, traditional Korean music, is often considered an unchanging art form from the past, various gugak acts and institutions are working on revitalizing the genre to make it more relatable to today’s audiences.K-pop has taken the world by storm, but Korea’s traditional music is still underappreciated even among South Koreans, let along the wider global audience. Strong prejudices against gugak exist -- namely, that it is boring and difficult to listen to.Despite those negati

Jan. 3, 2020

National Theater of Korea brings British theater to big screen

The National Theater of Korea is to bring three highly regarded British plays to the big screen in February. The three pieces are “One Man, Two Guvnors,” “The Lehman Trilogy” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” The works were filmed live and will be shown at the Daloreum Theater Feb. 6-16. Their arrival in South Korea is part of National Theatre Live, organized by the Royal National Theatre in Britain to bring the best of British thea

Jan. 2, 2020

Ha Jung-woo to make horror debut with ‘The Closet’

While the last film of 2019 featuring Ha Jung-woo as the lead act, “Ashfall,” still tops box offices, the actor is making a swift return with the first horror movie of the year -- and also the first of his career.“As it’s my first attempt at the genre, acting surprised was the most difficult part of making the movie. You’ll be seeing me act with about 13 to 15 types of surprised faces in the film,” Ha said at a press event for “The Closet” on Thurs

Jan. 2, 2020

Super Junior's Hee-chul, TWICE's Momo in romantic relationship

Kim Hee-chul of boy band Super Junior and girl group TWICE's Japanese member Momo are in a romantic relationship, the artists' management agencies confirmed Thursday."After getting along as close colleagues of show business, the two have recently started liking and dating each other," Kim's agency, Label SJ, said. The relationship was also confirmed by JYP Entertainment, the talent agency of TWICE.The artists from some of South Korea's most loved idol bands make them one of the highest

Jan. 2, 2020