Psy to honor Korean rock legend Shin Hae-chul in new album

Psy will dedicate a song on his upcoming album to the late Korean rock legend Shin Hae-chul, whom the “Gangnam Style” star was particularly close to, and Kim Jun-su of K-pop boy band JYJ will participate in the song. Psy revealed Wednesday night on Naver’s V app that the song was written “in memory of Shin Hae-chul.” Psy (YG Entertainment) “It’s a collection of the many things (Shin) used to tell me when we drank together,” said Psy. “It’s a song with a very sad personal story. It was difficult

Nov. 26, 2015

A family legacy in photography

Lim Seok-je, born in 1918, was one of the first professional photographers in Korea. He shot local life and landscapes with a candid, yet subjective perspective that earned him recognition as a first-generation fine art photographer.  His nephew Lim In-sik, two years younger than him, documented war scenes as a military photographer during the Korean War (1950-1953) and worked as the country’s first aerial photographer. He opened a photo news agency in 1952 and Korea’s first photo gallery in Seo

Nov. 24, 2015

Suzy used to be street dancer

Singer and actress Suzy said that before she joined JYP Entertainment, she used to perform on the streets as part of a dance crew.According to the Miss A member, she did it to show her parents how much she really loved to perform. Suzy (JYP Entertainment)“I had to convince my parents (to let me be a singer),” she said in an interview at a cafe in Seoul Monday. “They thought that more than singing and dancing, I was attracted to the glamour.”Suzy said that she walked by a dance crew performing on

Nov. 23, 2015

Cho Seong-jin, Chung Myung-whun and SPO to perform Chopin in July

Pianist Cho Seong-jin will join the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Chung Myung-whun to perform Chopin in a Seoul concert next year in a widely anticipated union of Korea’s classical music icons. At the concert, to be held at Seoul Arts Center on July 15, the pianist who shot to local fame after being crowned as the first Korean to win the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition will be performing Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. The performance

Nov. 23, 2015

Korea's rising stars of classical music

This year saw worldwide accolades of unprecedented proportions for classical music artists from Korea.From the first Koreans to win the top prizes at the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition and Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, to the first Asian to take home the crown at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition, 2015 has cast a light on local classical scene talent like never before. Cho Seong-jinAs the newest classical music icon in Korea, Cho Seong-jin has forever cem

Nov. 23, 2015

‘Man of autumn’ at the peak of his powers

Setting off for an interview with singer Choi Baek-ho on a windy late October day, with dry, fallen leaves swirling about my feet, I thought, “What a perfect day for a meeting with Choi.” “Please don’t leave in autumn, but, if you must, please leave in the white winter,” goes a line in Choi’s first hit song from the late 1970s, and he has been known as the quintessential man of autumn ever since. I met Choi at Musistance, an underground music space ― literally underground as it is located in a c

Nov. 20, 2015

CL to release Korean single this week

(YG Entertainment)　YG Entertainment said Wednesday that 2NE1’s CL would release her solo track “Hello Bitches” on Saturday.  The release is rather unexpected as CL has been preparing for her solo debut in the U.S., signing a contract with Scooter Braun’s SB Projects. She also took part in Skrillex’s “Dirty Vibe” and Diplo’s “Doctor Pepper.” The 24-year-old entered the international spotlight when she performed at the music festival “Mad Decent Block Party” with global artists. 　“Hello Bitches” w

Nov. 18, 2015

Dansaekhwa master gets posthumous gallery exhibition

Dansaekhwa, the Korean genre of monochrome painting, is enjoying rising popularity in the global art market. But only a few dansaekhwa artists are still alive to see their works finally get global recognition. Many of the artists, who mostly produced work from the 1960s to 1980s, have passed away. Those who are still around are mostly in their 80s. Nevertheless, their masterpieces have made dansaekhwa perhaps the fastest growing art movement in the global art world.An ongoing exhibition at Kukje

Nov. 17, 2015

Tate Modern chief advises Korea to open up to foreign museum directors

Korea should be open to accepting foreign museum directors if it wants to expand its global presence in art amid growing competition with China, Japan and India, according to Chris Dercon, the director of London’s Tate Modern. Dercon spoke on Korea’s possible appointment of a foreign director to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, one of the hottest issues in the country’s art circle. “I think it’s very important to open up,” said Dercon, at the reception after the awards ceremon

Nov. 17, 2015

[Herald Interview] iKON upgrades with ‘Apology’

It‘s difficult to think of YG Entertainment’s latest boy band iKON as just another rookie group.After topping the charts with their warm-up single “My Type” released Sept. 15, they enjoyed another hit with hip-hop track “Rhythm Ta” on their debut half-album released Oct. 1. Now they’ve hit No. 1 again with the single “Apology,” released Monday. Even before coming out with their first full album, the group already had a debut concert at the Gymnastics Arena in Olympic Park, a venue usually reserv

Nov. 17, 2015

Floating over the DMZ

Four kilometers wide and 240 kilometers long, the Demilitarized Zone serves as a buffer between North and South Korea, which technically remain at war. Heavily fortified with landmines and barbed wire, the strip of land is guarded by millions of soldiers and entrenched artilleries on both sides. The decades-old military tensions, consequently, have made the DMZ one of the world’s best-preserved sanctuaries for thousands of natural species. South Korean artist Choi Jae-eun believes this rich ecos

Nov. 16, 2015

Kim Soo-hyun among most influential figures in Chinese showbiz

Iconic hallyu star Kim Soo-hyun ranked among the five most influential figures in Chinese show business, according to a survey conducted by a Chinese broadcaster.  Kim Soo-hyun (Yonhap)The survey put together five categories: media attention, influence on the public, reputation, frequency of media exposure and overall impact.　Kim, who shot to stardom through mega-hit SBS drama series “My Love from the Star,” making millions of female hearts flutter in the process, sets trends in whatever he wear

Nov. 16, 2015

April returns as fivesome on Nov. 25

K-pop girl group April, downsized from a sextet after Somin left the group, will return to the music scene with five members on Nov. 25, its agency DSP Media said Monday.  (DSP Media)The agency uploaded a teaser video via its official YouTube channel, with April’s logo under a pink background. The forthcoming album’s title will be “Boing Boing.”Former member Somin recently withdrew from the group. “Somin will move on with her new life, leaving April. She has been mulling over the future of her c

Nov. 16, 2015

What Big Bang means to iKON

YG’s new boy group iKON spoke about what labelmate Big Bang means to them.As the newest boy group from YG Entertainment, iKON faces the big task of continuing in Big Bang’s footsteps while differentiating themselves at the same time. iKON (YG Entertainment)“They’ve given us a lot of help since ‘WIN,’ and they’re our idols to a certain extent,” said leader B.I in a group interview at a Seoul cafe on Monday. “WIN” refers to the survival TV program “WIN: Who is Next,” where the team’s members went

Nov. 16, 2015

Bobby and B.I say they‘re perfect pair

Bobby and B.I of idol group iKON say that they make the best duo.“We’re a duo who really care for and like each other,” Bobby said during a group interview in Seoul Monday, talking about the two iKON rappers’ single “Anthem.”“At the end of the song, there are lyrics that talk about how great we are together, like ‘Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun Fat.’ We hope fans will really hear those lyrics.”Other lyrics compare the duo to “cabbage and radish” and “beer and chicken.”B.I and Bobby (YG Entertainment

Nov. 16, 2015

What made Ju-ne cry on ‘Apology’ set

Idol group iKON member Ju-ne talked about what made him cry on the set of the music video for iKON’s new single, “Apology.”“The director asked me in a cut if I would be able to cry, but I couldn’t really do it,” he said during a group interview at a Seoul cafe on Monday.“I ended up thinking about my mom, and that made the tears come. I think it came out well in the music video, and I was happy,” he said. Ju-ne (YG Entertainment)Regarding the other members’ acting, Ju-ne said, “I didn’t get to se

Nov. 16, 2015

Veteran baritone to retackle Wagner’s ‘Flying Dutchman’

Richard Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman” is not the typical operatic tale of love and remorse.Inspired by his own autobiography “Mein Leben,” Wagner adapted his 1839 stormy sail from Riga to London into a story of desperation, salvation and redemption through love.  Finland native Jukka Rasilainen practices his upcoming role of the Dutchman in the Korea National Opera’s new production “The Flying Dutchman.” (Korea National Opera)“The Flying Dutchman” is a three-act German opera that follows the ta

Nov. 15, 2015

Nigerian artist Otobong Nkanga wins Yanghyun art prize

Nigerian artist Otobong Nkanga received the eighth Yanghyun Prize at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul on Thursday. “I am happy to be here, honored and extremely overwhelmed to receive this prize. And I am very proud to represent my continent and my country Nigeria,” said Nkanga at the award ceremony. “It’s an amazing thing to imagine that my work is recognized in Korea, on the other side in the Eastern part of the world.”  Artist Otobong NkangaNkanga, the first African-born artist to receiv

Nov. 12, 2015