Most Popular
-
1
Seoul chastises predatory pricing claims over Czech nuclear export deal
-
2
3 suspects apprehended for selling celebrity deepfake porn: police
-
3
Xiaomi takes 2nd spot after Samsung in August smartphone sales
-
4
[Herald Interview] Kim Woo-bin grew to appreciate ‘unseen’ heroes with ‘Officer Black Belt’
-
5
Hybe acquires US PR agency
-
6
Heavy rain, strong winds to lash Korea this weekend
-
7
Yoon, Fiala seek wider range of cooperation beyond nuclear energy
-
8
'Music Bank' team demands apology from Real Madrid for cancellation of Madrid concert
-
9
Car crashes into restaurant; 1 dead, 5 injured
-
10
[Exclusive] [Herald Interview] MBK incapable of running Korea Zinc’s Australia business: Aussie renewable energy CEO
-
Sejong Center’s 2021 season to open with renewed hopes
Though constrained by the COVID-19 crisis for the past year, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, one of the leading performing arts venues in South Korea, is gearing up for its 2021 season with renewed hopes. The Sejong Center in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, is to present 56 performances and seven exhibitions this year. “Until the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarter calls for the shutdown of performing theaters, the Sejong Center will remain open. If the audi
Feb. 23, 2021
-
[Herald Review] 25-year-old ‘Last Empress’ returns with more color
The original Korean-language musical “Last Empress” opened its curtains in Seoul earlier this month. The musical, which had its premiere in 1995, shows the life of 19th-century Empress Myeongseong, who was assassinated by Japanese agents in the years before Japan annexed the Korean Peninsula. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its premiere, the show went through some major changes to appeal to modern audiences. The musical, which originally featured only musical numbers withou
Feb. 21, 2021
-
NTCK to stream ‘Scapin,’ premiere of new ‘Hamlet’
The National Theater Company of Korea is to stream barrier-free play “Scapin” and the premiere of newly-produced “Hamlet” online. Play “Scapin” will be streamed Friday and Saturday. “Scapin,” based on “The Rogueries of Scapin” written by French playwright Moliere, had its Korean premiere with the theater company in 2019. The play is led by Scapin, a cunning, deceitful servant who plays the other characters off against each ot
Feb. 20, 2021
-
KOMCA copyright fee hike angers local streaming services
Local over-the-top media services gathered at Yeouido, Seoul, Tuesday to express their anger at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s approval in December of an increase in the music copyright fee levied on local streaming services. Watcha, Tving and Wavve formed the OTT Music Copyright Committee in July after the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA) attempted to increase the music copyright fee. KOMCA proposed to the Culture Ministry in July an increase in the copyright f
Feb. 17, 2021
-
[Herald Review] Green-skinned witch makes ‘Wicked’ return
The Wicked Witch of the West has returned to Seoul, with the musical “Wicked” officially opening its Seoul run on Tuesday. Inspired by the classic “The Wizard of the Oz,” and based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba, the wicked green witch of the west, and Glinda, the good white witch. Featuring musical divas Ock Joo-hyun and Jeong Seon-ah, and
Feb. 17, 2021
-
Gender-bending casting opens up new opportunities for actors, dramas
In recent years, gender-bending casting, where actors are cast for roles regardless of their gender, has come under the spotlight for its fresh take on the traditionally male-oriented performing arts scene. Gender-bending casting, more often referred to as gender-free casting in Korea, is about giving actors opportunities to perform regardless of their gender. Veteran stage actor Kim Seong-nyeo is to take the role of Faust in the National Theater of Korea’s upcoming play “Faus
Feb. 17, 2021
-
Spotify Korea hopes to push personalized music discoveries
With Spotify’s new launch into Korea, the music streaming platform hopes it can spearhead change in how Koreans listen to and discover music with more personalized curations. In an interview with The Korea Herald, Managing Director of Spotify Korea David Park said he hopes users can find joy from discovering new music through the platform’s curating algorithm, instead of relying solely on music chart rankings. “It’s been only a week since we launched the platform and w
Feb. 16, 2021
-
National Gugak Center member confirmed with COVID-19
A dancer at the National Gugak Center has been confirmed with novel coronavirus infection. The person tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, along with her family, including her husband and two children. She had previously tested negative on Feb. 8, but her husband tested positive. Prior to the COVID-19 test, the dancer went onstage at the center in southern Seoul on Feb. 6 for a weekly performance show. Sixty-eight members from the Court Music Orchestra, Folk Music Group and Dance Theate
Feb. 16, 2021
-
Lunar New Year's theater attendance plunges amid pandemic
Lingering concerns over COVID-19 kept South Korean people from going to cinemas during the Lunar New Year holiday, but recently eased social distancing is expected to brighten prospects for the virus-hit film industry, box office data showed Monday. The number of moviegoers reached a total of 707,000 during the four-day lunar New Year holiday weekend that began on Thursday, according to the data from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). It is just one seventh of more than 4.9 million attendees tal
Feb. 15, 2021
-
Spotify set for uphill battle in S. Korea
Spotify Technology SA, which opened its service in South Korea early this month, is expected to face fierce competition in the music streaming market currently dominated by local players. While the Swedish company is one of the top audio streaming services in the world, with 345 million users across 93 markets, it is up against established homegrown services in South Korea -- the sixth-largest music market in the world -- such as tech giant Kakao Corp.'s Melon, Genie Music under telecom operato
Feb. 14, 2021
-
K-pop rookies take over Japanese music charts
Despite the trade war between Korea and Japan and restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, up-and-coming K-pop acts are enjoying a strong presence in the Japanese entertainment industry, topping the local music charts. While hit K-pop groups such as Twice and IZ*ONE have already risen to major stardom in Japan, more K-pop groups are making their way in Japan, releasing Japanese-language albums targeted to the wider public. Big Hit Entertainment’s TXT, also known as Tomorrow
Feb. 13, 2021
-
Rock stars to hold 17-hour online concert
Rock musician Han Kyung-rock, a bassist in the legendary punk rock band Crying Nut, is celebrating his birthday Thursday with a 17-hour virtual concert. Han will be hosting “2021 Kyungrockjeol in the House,” which starts Thursday at noon and features 83 music acts. The lineup includes rock bands Crying Nut, No Brain, Galaxy Express, Broccoli You Too, Romantic Punch and Jannabi, along with hip-hop singer Jay Park, singer Seonwoo Jung A, Glen Matlock from the Sex Pistols, Japanese p
Feb. 10, 2021
-
KNO to present gala shows to support opera singers
The Korea National Opera will start the 2021 season with a series of gala concerts to offer opportunities to local opera singers hit by the COVID-19 pandemic to perform. Though it has been customary for the state-funded opera troupe to begin the year with full-act operas, the 2021 season will begin with five gala concerts across Korea from March to May, taking into consideration the unstable pandemic situation in different regions of the country. Also, the gala concerts can support local op
Feb. 9, 2021
-
Head of Spotify Korea hopes to grow local music industry pie, rather than split it
Spotify aims to grow the Korean music industry pie, rather than taking rivals’ share, the company’s Korea chief said Monday. Speaking at an online press conference held a week after the launch of its services in Korea, Spotify Korea Managing Director David Park introduced two services -- Spotify for Artists and Spotify Podcast -- that can help local content creators to grow. Spotify for Artists is a service that connects artists with their fans. Once the artist is registered t
Feb. 8, 2021
-
Musicals return to sold-out theaters
As musical productions return to the stage with the easing of social distancing rules for performing arts halls, shows featuring big names such as Ock Ju-hyun and Cho Seung-woo are sold out. Of the first 25 performances in the Seoul run of “Wicked” from Feb. 12 to March 5, the shows featuring Ock and Jeong Seon-ah are already sold out. VIP tickets for shows featuring Ock, originally priced at 150,000 won ($134), are being resold illegally for up to 400,000 won on ticket res
Feb. 8, 2021
-
[Feature] Traditional music made hip
Gugak, traditional Korean music, is having a moment, buoyed by a growing appreciation from a wider audience both in and out of Korea. While a new generation of gugak artists have been breathing new life into the centuries-old genre over the past few years, outreach to a broader audience had eluded them in a country where contemporary music, especially K-pop, dominates. Recently, however, gugak has caught the attention of a broader audience with a wider spectrum of traditional music. Video gi
Feb. 8, 2021
-
Lim brothers to go onstage for first duo piano recital
Pianist brothers Lim Dong-hyek and Lim Dong-min are to hold a duo recital at the Seoul Arts Center on March 3 as part of their nationwide tour across Korea. The tour will kick off in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province on Feb. 20, followed by Daegu, Busan, Incheon, Jeju Island and Gwangju. The Seoul recital is held as part of the special gala concert ahead of the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition. The first half will feature works by Chopin, while the piano duo will perform after
Feb. 6, 2021
-
4 dance works by Matthew Bourne to be streamed in March
The LG Arts Center will stream four never-before-seen works in Korea by celebrated choreographer Matthew Bourne. The four pieces created by Bourne -- “The Red Shoes,” “The Car Man,” “Cinderella” and “Romeo and Juliet” -- will be streamed in March, the arts center announced Tuesday. Bourne’s dance company New Adventures was to perform “The Red Shoes” in Korea last year at the LG Arts Center, but was later canceled due to the CO
Feb. 3, 2021
-
Spotify begins service in Korea without IU’s songs
The world’s largest music streaming platform Spotify on Tuesday announced the official launch of its service in Korea. “We’re looking forward to working even closer with the entire Korean music industry to uncover more artists and connect them with fans in Korea and the world, while also continuously working on providing an ever-improving, unrivaled listening experience to Korean listeners,” Alex Norstrom, Spotify’s chief freemium business officer, said in a state
Feb. 2, 2021
-
Musicals return to stage as social distancing measures are eased
The local culture scene is gearing up for a rebound, after the government announced eased social distancing rules, with a middle-seat vacancy restriction relaxed at performing art venues and cinemas. On Sunday, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism informed local production companies and cinemas that two seats must be left vacant between each party or a seat should be left empty between each audience member under the Level 2.5 social distancing rules. The government initially required t
Feb. 1, 2021