K-pop singers to hold their first solo concerts in July

Vocal group Noel will hold its first Japanese concert “Melody in Tokyo” at the La Foret Museum Roppongi on Saturday, some 11 years after their debut. The event was organized upon requests of their Japanese fans, the group’s agency ITM Entertainment said through a press release Friday. Noel is a four-member male vocal group debuted in 2002 with their first album “Despite Holding On.” Since then they had a number of hits songs including “Proposal,” “Even Painful” and “It Was All You.”  The group h

July 5, 2013

Embassy gives sneak preview of Aussie artist David Hart’s exhibition

Iconic Australian artist David Hart’s highly collectable masterworks and fine art reproductions were on display last week at the Australian Embassy, giving viewers a taste of his upcoming exhibition in September. For Hart, Korea was “the perfect place to launch the David Hart brand internationally” due to its strong economic and cultural platform and its commitment to the arts.  “I would have loved to be there with you all today but I’m here in the studio working hard on my Korea exhibition,” Ha

July 4, 2013

Spanish modernism in spotlight this summer

Spanish modern art is being showcased in Korea extensively, featuring modern masters such as Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro and Salvador Dali and other famous contemporary artists. Two separate art exhibitions offer a comprehensive overview of Picasso’s artistic world at the Incheon Culture and Arts Center, and modern and contemporary Spanish artists at Seongnam Arts Center, shedding light on their works, which have made great contributions to modern and contemporary art in the 20th and 21st centuries

July 4, 2013

Brown Eyed Soul’s Naul holds art exhibit in Japan

Naul, a member of the popular R&B group Brown Eyed Soul, is stepping beyond his voice and showing off the full extent of his artistic abilities by holding a special exhibition of his paintings at the Gallery Kaze in Osaka, Japan.The two-person exhibition, for which Naul is joined by fellow Korean artist Noh Jun, will run until July 17. The R&B singer previously held a solo exhibition in Seoul in 2006, titled “drawing 05” with the theme of “Plant the Sweet Things.” The Osaka show includes portrai

July 4, 2013

JYJ‘s Kim to prevail in musical scenes for the second half

“Scarlet Pimpernel,” “High School Musical,” “Elizabeth,” “Chicago,” and many more are set to raise their curtains on South Korea’s musical stages in the latter half of 2013.In a bid to forecast which musicals and actors would advance, The Herald Business, a sister paper of The Korea Herald, conducted a 10-day survey from June 21-30 about the upcoming musicals on 1,891 members of Interpark’s Play DB, a performance arts Web portal.Kim Jun-soo, a member of music group JYJ, dominated the charts.Out

July 4, 2013

With money and fame, Takashi Murakami has it all

Takashi Murakami is famous for his Japanese anime-inspired artworks and celebrated characters, which appeal to not only an Asian audience, but to the international art scene as well: His works often sell for millions of dollars at auctions. His artworks represent an example of combining fine arts with commercialism as they are regularly featured in popular culture. His collaboration with the luxury brand Louis Vuitton produced the famous monogrammed bags. With Kanye West, he created an animated

July 3, 2013

Seo Taiji and Boys chosen as K-pop icons

K-pop experts chose Seo Taiji and Boys as the top K-pop icons Tuesday. The selection was a part of cable channel Mnet’s project show called “Legend 100-Artist.” The show invites 50 music professors, critics and professional musicians every month and selects the most influential Korean musicians in certain category. July’s edition sought to decide on the leading K-pop icons. “Seo Taiji and Boys influenced Korean pop culture greatly enough to divide our past 100 years of history into the times bef

July 3, 2013

Psy dominates K-pop chart on YouTube in first half

South Korean singer Psy topped the K-pop traffic rankings on YouTube in the first half of this year, snatching more than 400 million views. Psy’s “Gentleman” music video, unveiled on April 2, garnered 456 million hits as of July 2, helped by his previous blockbuster track, “Gangnam Style.” YouTube sensation Psy previously won the Top Streaming Song Video at a Billboard Music Awards ceremony.Trailing behind were top girl group Girls’ Generation, whose “I Got A Boy” and “Dancing Queen” continued t

July 3, 2013

Korean musicals venture overseas

Hallyu has mostly revolved around K-pop, Korean dramas and Korean cinema, but its influence is expanding to the performing arts in Korea’s neighboring countries. Among many theater genres, the country’s local musicals are beginning to enjoy popularity in Japan and China ― becoming the latest hallyu trend in Asia. Last year, major Korean entertainment company CJ E&M announced that a total of eight Korean musicals would be performed in Tokyo’s affluent Roppongi district. Collaborating with promine

July 2, 2013

Art lovers can now visit New York’s Met every day

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Art lovers can now visit New York’s famed Metropolitan museum every day of the week after the management dropped a policy of being closed on Mondays.The Met, which welcomed a record-breaking 6.28 million visitors last year, had closed its doors on Mondays for more than 40 years.“Art is a 7-day-a-week passion, and we want the Met to be accessible whenever visitors have the urge to experience this great museum,” Met director Thomas Campbell said in a statement.The change announced

July 2, 2013

Music Bank to run international K-pop chart this week

Music Bank, a weekly pop-ranking show on state-run broadcaster KBS, will dedicate this Friday’s edition to hallyu, or Korean pop culture fever. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of KBS World, the satellite broadcasting division of the broadcaster, “Music Bank World K-Chart!” will unveil who is the most popular K-pop star overseas. The short list includes Psy with “Gentleman,” SNSD’s “I Got a Boy,” SHINee’s “Dream Girl,” INFINITE’s “Man In Love” and 2PM’s “Come Back When You Hear This Song.”

July 2, 2013

Tony An joins list of this year’s old-school comebacks

Former H.O.T. idol star Tony An is joining the list of veteran stars working their way back into today’s dynamic music scene. Representatives of An’s agency TN Entertainment announced that the star is releasing his newest EP “I’m Tony An” Wednesday. This is the first album he has released in more than two years since his previous EP “Top Star” in 2011. An’s new four-track album includes the electro-heavy lead track “Until Here…” and features the members of Big Bang and Se7en. “An is currently ab

July 2, 2013

MBC to abolish its college music competition

South Korean broadcast network MBC said on Tuesday it will discontinue its time-honored college music competition, citing its declining viewer ratings. “College Musicians Festival” started in 1977 and has been deemed the representative program through which amateur musicians often made a high-profile debut thanks to the national broadcast network’s influence. MBC said the program’s popularity and the viewer ratings were relatively low compared to the high production cost. The network said that i

July 2, 2013

Granddaughter puts Picasso muse nudes on display

CANNES, France (AFP) ― As a child, Pablo Picasso’s granddaughter Marina often found herself shut out of his sumptuous Cannes villa “La Californie.” Four decades after his death, the gates of the house she inherited, along with thousands of his art works, are always promptly opened to visitors.“Living in this house, unconsciously perhaps it’s a way of recapturing lost time in a place where we were once excluded,” says Marina, who for many years struggled to accept “an inheritance given without lo

July 1, 2013

‘JYJ Membership Week’ attracts 17,000 participants

The four-day “JYJ Membership Week” wrapped up Sunday with about 17,000 fans of the trio gathering to share their affection for the boy band.“The event was intended to bring fans of JYJ closer to the singers and we have managed to pull it off,” Back Chang-ju, CEO of JYJ’s agency C-JeS Entertainment, said in a press release. The agency said about 4,000 fans from Japan flew in to see the trio.The event at SETEC in southern Seoul consisted of three sections highlighting the members’ artistic talents

July 1, 2013