Musicals lead revenue recovery in performing arts

Despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the South Korean performing arts sector saw a steady recovery this year, data showed on Wednesday. In this month so far, revenue from theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances stood at 47.7 billion won ($40.21 million), surpassing the 40-billion-won mark for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System (KOPIS). The December reco

Dec. 30, 2021

World class pianists gear up for concerts in Korea next year

Local performance planning agency Mast Media has announced the lineup for its upcoming concerts in the next year. A total of 18 scheduled performances featuring globetrotting artists is expected to give hope to audiences. “The Great Pianists Series” will kick off with a show from Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman, which is scheduled to take place at Lotte Concert Hall on Feb. 14 and 15. The concert will mark Zimerman’s first performance in Korea in two years. Chinese pianist

Dec. 27, 2021

K-pop artists ring in Christmas with splendid performances at SBS Music Awards

K-pop singers have gathered at local broadcaster SBS’ year-end music show, making Christmas even more special for both music fans and viewers on Saturday. Under the theme of “Welcome,” this year’s SBS Music Awards took place at the Namdong Gymnasium, in Incheon. The show was broadcast live on its main channel at 6 p.m., while a live audience was invited to the venue. SHINee’s Key, ITZY’s Yuna and Boom hosted the show. For the opening stage, a total of 25 t

Dec. 26, 2021

Tongyeong music fest marks 20th edition with diversity

The Tongyeong International Music Festival, an annual classical music gala, will take place March 25 to April 3, under the theme of “Vision in Diversity.” Marking its 20th anniversary, the annual music festival aims to contemplate diversity. The festival held in the southern coastal city of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, will be directed by composer Chin Un-suk and feature classical to contemporary music. For the opening concert, Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska will lead t

Dec. 26, 2021

Looking ahead to Korea’s 2022 classical music season

Though the resurgence of coronavirus infections and the spread of the omicron variant have been threatening the industry, next year‘s lineup of classical music performances is already being announced, packed with concerts previously delayed due to the pandemic as well as big names returning to Korea after several years. The concert schedule announced by classical music production company Vincero comprises 15 performances between March 17 and Dec. 8. While most of the concerts are schedu

Dec. 23, 2021

Violinist Park Sueye’s ‘Journey Through a Century’ chosen as Gramophone’s Recordings of the Year

South Korean violinist Park Sueye’s album “Journey Through a Century” has been picked as one of UK magazine Gramophone‘s Recordings of the Year 2021, the artist’s agency MOC Production said on Thursday. The magazine announced the list of honorees through its annual Gramophone Digital Special published earlier this month, featuring all of this year’s Editor’s Choice albums, Recordings of the Month and the winners of the recording categories of the Gramop

Dec. 23, 2021

‘Joseon pop’ pioneer Seodo Band wins JTBC’s ‘Poongryu’

Seodo Band -- which describes itself as the creators of Joseon pop -- took home the top prize from the hit JTBC music competition show “Poongryu” on Tuesday, which included 100 million won ($83,880) in prize money. “Poongryu,” which premiered in September, captured viewers by introducing a variety of twists on traditional Korean music, or gugak, melding it with elements of other Western music genres such as R&B, K-pop, hip-hop music and even breaking. The six finali

Dec. 22, 2021

Musical ‘The Lion King’ to be delayed due to COVID-related travel problems

The opening of the musical version of “The Lion King” will be delayed, as performers and crew face difficulties in flying into Korea after several airlines abruptly canceled flights bound for the country, according to S&Co, the production company of the international tour. “Our performance team members’ entry (into Korea) has been delayed due to COVID-related travel problems,” S&Co said in a statement released Tuesday. The statement further read that thos

Dec. 22, 2021

[Herald Interview] Norah Jones aims to soothe COVID-19 blues with first Christmas album

Christmas is just around the corner, but the festive season is more low-key than many hoped for due to rising COVID-19 concerns around the world. To help soothe the COVID-19 blues, American singer-songwriter Norah Jones has released an unexpected gift -- a full-length Christmas album titled “I Dream of Christmas”. “This album did come out of the very long first year of the pandemic. I needed something to look forward to and a way to be creative that had a little joy baked into

Dec. 21, 2021

First female director’s failed journey a story of inspiration, says actor Lee So-yeon

A 30-something female filmmaker strives to make her first movie, a film about a widow; it’s a commercial failure and, ironically, she gets divorced shortly afterward. Although this trajectory of trial and failure feels common in modern society, now imagine this same story occurring in 1954, right after the Korean War. This is no fiction, but rather the real life of South Korea’s first female filmmaker, Park Nam-ok. The movie director’s story has been brought back to life in

Dec. 19, 2021

Musical ‘Frankenstein’ a hit among foreigners. What do they like about it?

On the first Saturday of December, it was another full house for the musical “Frankenstein” at Shinhan Card Hall, a space dedicated to musicals within Blue Square. In its fourth run, the Korean original musical written, composed and produced by Korean creators, has attracted roughly 500,000 people since its 2014 premiere. Among the theatergoers that day were several foreigners with limited understanding of Korean -- a newly dispatched US soldier and several English teachers, on

Dec. 15, 2021

‘Squid Game,’ ‘Parasite’ music director Jung Jae-il wins Chanel Next Prize

Music director Jung Jae-il of Netflix’s hit series “Squid Game” and Oscar-winning “Parasite“ was named as one of the 10 winners of the 2021 Chanel Next Prize, the high-end fashion house announced. On Tuesday, Chanel announced its newly-established international award winners who have supported innovations in art and culture. Jung was recognized for opening up a new genre that fuses traditional Korean music with the sounds of western instruments, the French Luxury b

Dec. 15, 2021

Audio therapy: Koreans turn to ambient music to relax, reduce stress

As the prolonged pandemic has continued to take a toll on people’s mental health, Koreans are increasingly turning to different sound genres to unwind. In Korea, Kokkiri and Mabo are two apps that are looking to tap into the market for ambient music. The apps have themes describing the user’s state of mind -- from anxiety, depression to anger and sleeplessness. There are subcategories of meditation sounds and auditory training sessions. To allow the users to keep track of the pla

Dec. 13, 2021

Online immersive K-pop performance venue opens in Seoul

A music studio tailored for online immersive performances opened in Seoul on Tuesday, aimed at reviving the pandemic-hit music industry and supporting digital content productions by local small and medium-sized agencies and musicians. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Creative Content Agency launched KOCCA Music Studio after remodeling the Olympic Park K-Art hall, located in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The new venue is tailored for online K-pop concerts, video productions and even vi

Dec. 7, 2021

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra unveils programs for upcoming season

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra has unveiled its schedule for the first half of 2022, with 15 concerts planned. SPO music director Osmo Vanska kicks off the season by taking the baton for Mozart‘s Requiem on Jan. 29 and 30. The music director, who has been leading the SPO since January 2020, will team up with violist Richard Yongjae O‘Neill on May 19 and 20. 　 In March and April, Vanska will collaborate with Augustin Hadelich, an Italian German American Grammy-winning classic

Dec. 6, 2021

Two Lotte Concert Hall artists-in-residence prepare challenging yet appealing concerts

Lotte Concert Hall, a major classical music concert venue in South Korea, on Monday unveiled two artists-in-residence and the programs they have designed. Pianist Shin Chang-young and cellist Mun Tae-guk will each present two concerts next year as its artists-in-residence. This is the second year that the concert hall is running the program. “The biggest attraction of the artist-in-residence program is that I can try more challenging things that I’ve been dreaming about. So I t

Dec. 6, 2021

Gina Alice Redlinger releases debut album

Gina Alice Redlinger’s marriage to superstar pianist Lang Lang has perhaps dominated the headlines more than her professional career as a pianist, though this may be set to change. On Thursday, the 27-year-old Korean German musician, who has trained as a pianist for 23 years, released her debut album, “Wonderworld,” produced by Universal Music. Featuring 30 pieces that cover a variety of genres, including classical, modern, traditional and even Korean children songs, the br

Dec. 6, 2021

18-day Live Club Day lights up Seoul’s indie stages after 2-year break

A longtime staple of Seoul’s indie scene, Live Club Day resumed Friday after a two-year hiatus, at CJ azit Gwangheungchang in Mapo-gu. Normally a monthly one-day event, the Live Club Day is being this time in a festival format running until Dec. 21. Over the three weeks, 32 bands will perform in concert halls and clubs in Hongdae, long the center of live indie music in Seoul. Singer-songwriters Park So-eun, Song Ye-rin and vocalist Lee Luli starred on the opening day. It was the first

Dec. 5, 2021

R&B singer Bumkey makes official debut in Japan with ‘Attraction’

R&B singer Bumkey made his Japan debut Wednesday with the release of the single “Attraction (Japanese Remix),” a collaboration with popular Japanese rapper Miyachi as a featured artist. The musician’s single was released on Japanese music streaming platforms at midnight, while it became available on local online music sites at noon. The new single is a remix version of “Attraction,” featuring Korean hip-hop act Dynamic Duo, which was released in August 2013. I

Dec. 1, 2021

Year-end indoor concert Countdown Fantasy returns amid pandemic

One of the country’s biggest indoor winter music concerts, Countdown Fantasy, will take place as a two-part, in-person event on Dec. 31 at Kintex in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, just northwest of Seoul. The year-end concert, last held in 2012, will feature 14 music acts across diverse genres such as indie, hip-hop and K-pop, according to Mint Paper, organizer of Countdown Fantasy. The lineup announced Friday includes K-pop boy band Ateez, singer-songwriter Jukjae, girl group Dreamcatcher an

Nov. 29, 2021