[Herald Interview] Seensee CEO Park Myung-sung on his 40 years of theatrical productions

It's summer of 2022 and South Korea is finally emerging from two years of social distancing restrictions and the performing arts are coming back to life.  At a musical theater at Blue Square, the seventh revival of “Aida” is now running. Meanwhile, nine household names whose combined acting careers amount to more than 422 years are gearing up for a monthlong performance of “Hamlet,” a large theater play set to kick off July 13 at the National Theater of Korea.

June 15, 2022

[Herald Review] Third revival of musical ‘Mata Hari’ sheds lights on woman’s struggle, survival

  Mata Hari, a notorious spy during World War I, has long been portrayed as an irresistible femme fatale, double-crossing both Germany and the Allies at the height of World War I. 　 The idea of an exotic dancer with powerful men wrapped around her finger and audiences at her feet involved in espionage has inspired novels, movies and even a game. 　 In 2016, just one year short of the 100th anniversary of her death, EMK, a South Korean musical production company, unveiled a musical adap

June 13, 2022

No Brain returns with first all-English EP ‘Big Mistake’ after 8-year hiatus

Legendary punk rock band No Brain returned with its long-awaited first all-English EP “Big Mistake” on Wednesday. The album was made in 2014 in the US, but it took about eight years to finally hit online music streaming platforms due to copyright and contract issues in the US, according to the band’s agency Roxta Muzik & Live. The five-track album starts with lead track “Uh-huh,” with rhythmical drum beats that build into heavy guitar riffs blended with the

June 8, 2022

[Herald Interview] Meet two forces of Aida: producer Tracey Corea and actor Jeon Na-young

  Associate director and choreographer of the musical “Aida” Tracey Corea and actor Jeon Na-young may be separated by a few decades in age, but their love for the Disney production bridges that gap. One takes the stage as Aida, the leading protagonist, while the other shines behind the scenes as the musical’s producer. Corea was part of the original team responsible for the birth of the musical when it first appeared on Broadway in 2000. Starting out as a choreographer in

June 8, 2022

Cellist Choi Ha-young wins prestigious Queen Elisabeth competition

Up-and-coming cellist Choi Ha-young has won the Queen Elisabeth Competition for the cello, becoming the first South Korean cellist to receive the top honor at one of the most demanding contests in the world. The 24-year-old cellist was announced as the winner of the competition at the awards ceremony in Brussels, Belgium, on Saturday after the final round of 12 contestants including three other South Korean cellists -- Mun Tae-guk, Yoon Sul and Jeong Woo-chan. The first prize came with a

June 6, 2022

Legendary band Songgolmae returns to rock on stage after 38 years

Iconic South Korean hard rock band Songgolmae is embarking on a nationwide tour this fall, Dream Maker Entertainment announced on Monday. Titled, “Yeolmang,” meaning “aspiration,” the tour will kick off in Seoul with two days of concerts, starting Sept. 11, at the Songpa Olympic Stadium in southern Seoul. The upcoming tour will be the long-awaited reunion of the band‘s two best-known members -- Bae Cheol-soo and Koo Chang-mo -- after some 38 years. The band, p

May 30, 2022

Violinist Yang In-mo becomes first Korean to win Sibelius competition

Violinist Yang In-mo became the first South Korean to win the top prize at the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition on Sunday, yet another crowning achievement for the Paganini competition winner. The top honor came with a cash prize of 30,000 euros ($32,000) and a loan of a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin made in 1772. In addition, the Sibelius family awarded Yang a prize of 2,000 euros for the best performance of Magnus Lindberg’s “Caprice.” “I’m

May 30, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘Hunminjeongeum’ oratorio sings of how Hangeul was created

Hunminjeongeum is the original name for Hangeul, the Korean writing system invented by King Sejong the Great in 1443, as well as the name of the official document that explains the reason for the creation of Hangeul and its usage. Now, the National Chorus of Korea attempts to present one of the most important inventions on the Korean Peninsula as a stage show. On May 31, the choral group, Klim Chamber Orchestra and Andong City Chorus will stage the oratorio at Seoul Arts Center on Tuesday.

May 30, 2022

[Herald Review] Seoul Jazz Festival soothes with eclectic music

Seoul Jazz Festival, which ran from Friday to Sunday at the Olympic Park’s 88 Jandi Madang, in southeastern Seoul, was filled with the audience’s joy, love, freedom, happiness and laughter. With the return of the landmark annual outdoor jazz fest after a two-year break as South Korea scrapped most of its COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, the first day of the fest kicked off under a scorching sun. About 10,000 festivalgoers flocked to the venue, hanging out on picnic mats and c

May 29, 2022

[Newsmaker] Song Kang-ho, prolific and versatile actor

Actor Song Kang-ho became the first Korean male actor to win an acting prize at the Cannes Film Festival, grabbing the award for best actor for his role as a “baby broker” in Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Broker” on Saturday. This marked the 55-year-old’s seventh invitation to the prestigious film festival, but it is the first title the veteran actor has won at Cannes. Song starred in several Cannes award-winning films, including Park Chan-wook&rsqu

May 29, 2022

Director Park Chan-wook says films made for the big screen should be watched at theaters

South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook said during a press conference in Cannes, France, on Saturday (French time) that the future of cinema is tightly connected with that of movie theaters, which bring incomparable cinematic experience. "Our experience to entirely focus on a film and enjoy it along with many people at a movie theater is out of comparison," he said in a press conference after the closing ceremony of the 75th Cannes Film Festival. He won Best Director for his latest feature

May 29, 2022

Seoul Jazz Festival kicks off after two-year COVID-19 hiatus

  Seoul Jazz Festival, a landmark annual outdoor jazz fest, kicked off its three-day concert series on Friday. The in-person festival resumed after a two-year break as South Korea scrapped most of its COVID-19 social distancing restrictions. This year’s Seoul Jazz Festival took place at the Olympic Park’s 88 Jandi Madang in southern Seoul. While Friday’s performance was set to run from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., some of the audiences came as early as 8 a.m. to get in a line to re

May 27, 2022

[Herald Interview] BTS a ‘wonderful musical companion’ : Big Hit Music producer Pdogg

K-pop has become one of the most popular music genres in the global music scene, thanks to local artists’ active promotion of their songs. Seven-piece boy band BTS is one of the biggest music sensations in K-pop history, dominating global music charts and awards with its megahits. “Butter,” “Spring Day,” “Blood, Sweat and Tears,” “Fake Love” and ”Dynamite” are but a few of BTS’ songs that are well recognized around the wor

May 26, 2022

Pink Sweat$ counts on ‘big energy’ at first performance in Korea as Seoul Jazz Festival’s headliner

American R&B singer-songwriter Pink Sweat$, who is set to meet his fans in Korea for the first time, said that he expects to see some “big energy” from the audience. In a press conference held on Wednesday at InterContinental Seoul Coex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, the artist expressed his excitement for the upcoming Seoul Jazz Festival, which is set to run Friday to Sunday. The first thing the musician said as soon as he walked into the venue was “thank you” in K

May 25, 2022

Ballet Festival Korea returns despite lack of funding

The 12th edition of Ballet Festival Korea will be held with 26 performances in June, the organizing committee said Tuesday, with Seoul Arts Center as the co-organizer. Under the theme of “Open Up the New Ordinary Days,” the festival will showcase old and new ballet productions by both established and emerging dancers from June 9-29. Some of the highlights include the opening performance, “Ahn Jung-geun, a Dance in the Heaven,” a 2015 production by M Ballet Company,

May 24, 2022

Gurzenich Orchester Koln returns to Korea with Clara-Jumi Kang

Gurzenich Orchester Koln will be performing in South Korea for the first time in five years, this time with violinist Clara-Jumi Kang as the soloist, according to production company Vincero. Led by conductor Francois-Xavier Roth who has helmed the orchestra since 2015, the 195-year-old orchestra will perform at Seoul Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on July 8. Outside of Seoul, the team will bring the same program to Andong Culture and Arts Center in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province on July 7. Th

May 24, 2022

[Herald Interview] Composer Paul Chihara on new viola concerto inspired by Arirang and Richard Yongjae O‘Neill

On Thursday and Friday, beloved violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill performed with his usual gusto for Korean audiences. Under the baton of music director and conductor Osmo Vanska, O’Neill and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra performed Sibelius’ Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63. What made these concerts particularly significant was his rendition of Paul Chihara’s “Concerto for Viola and Orchestra: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Hero.” The piece was uniq

May 24, 2022

‘American Song Contest’ winner AleXa eager to introduce K-pop globally

Rising K-pop artist AleXa, who won NBC’s “American Song Contest,” said the K-pop genre itself seemed like a new genre in the US music scene and that she was eager to introduce this style of music to US audiences through her performance on the show. “(Winning the competition) feels like a dream. It does not seem real,” AleXa said during a press conference held in Seoul on Thursday upon her arrival in Korea. “I received a lot of public votes. I think it was bec

May 19, 2022

[Herald Review] ‘Death Note’ offers a glimpse at future of musicals

Ever since “Death Note,” a Japanese manga series was first introduced to the world in 2003, it has been adapted for various mediums, including animation, film and TV drama. The story of a teenage genius, Light, with superpowers that allow him to kill with a notebook, was released as a musical in Japan in 2015 and soon thereafter a Korean version featuring K-pop superstar Kim Junsu, a former member of boy band TVXQ, became a huge hit in Korea. For the show’s third local re

May 18, 2022

Lee Soo-young says making comeback after 13 years feels like ‘redebuting’

Veteran ballad singer Lee Soo-young is back with her 10th full-length album “Sory,” marking her new studio album release in nearly 13 years following “Dazzle,” which dropped in October 2009. In a press conference held in Seoul on Tuesday, ahead of the online release of the album at 6 p.m., the singer described her grand comeback as “making a debut for the second time,” with a quivering voice while shedding tears. “When I debuted at the age of 20, I w

May 17, 2022