TIMF to take place, reflecting on ‘Changing Reality’

The 2021 Tongyeong International Music Festival will take place from March 26 to April 4, presenting 23 performances under the title of “Changing Reality.” The annual music festival held in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province commemorates the iconic Korean composer Yun I-sang. It features classical music to contemporary music, inviting performances from domestic and overseas artists and orchestras. For the opening concert on March 26, Venezuelan conductor Christian Vasquez will

March 2, 2021

Spotify suspends music streaming service of K-pop provided by Kakao M

Global streaming giant Spotify Technology SA on Monday suspended the streaming service of K-pop tracks licensed by Kakao M on its global platform as their license deal has expired, officials said. The move has prevented global K-pop fans from listening to songs of major South Korean artists, including IU and Apink, through Spotify. The Swedish company said it has failed to reach an agreement on a new license deal with Kakao M, South Korea's top music distributor, despite efforts to clinch a co

March 1, 2021

Kang Eun-kyung ends her term as CEO of SPO

Kang Eun-kyung stepped down from her role as president of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra on Sunday, after a three-year tenure. After the Seoul mayoral by-election, which will take place on April 7, a seven-member committee tasked with appointing a new head will be formed. The committee consists of two recommended by the Seoul city government, two by SPO’s board of directors and three by the Seoul Metropolitan Council. The new CEO of the orchestra is expected to be appointed before the

Feb. 28, 2021

LG Arts Center announces program for its last season in Gangnam

Set to move to Magok, western Seoul, in 2022, the LG Arts Center released the program for its last season in Gangnam, southern Seoul, Friday. The center’s annual program CoMPAS21 will feature more domestic acts, as visits by international artists and art troupes are limited by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Performances by foreign productions are to be available through screenings. Theater director Yang Jung-ung, who staged the opening ceremony for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic

Feb. 26, 2021

[Eye interview] Swift as a flying fish, Leenalchi breaks new ground

You know you’ve made it when you hear your songs everywhere you turn. When you are signed up with major advertisers, including Samsung Electronics for their latest phone commercial, you know you are at the top of your game. Band Leenalchi finds itself in just that position. Launched in May 2019, the seven-piece band took the country by storm when tourism promotion videos featuring the band’s music and the Ambiguous Dance Company went viral last summer and there has been no looking b

Feb. 26, 2021

Green witch works her magic in Korea

After months of shutdown, the local performing arts scene has finally begun to return to a new normal. The comeback is led by a green-skinned witch, riding on a broomstick. The musical “Wicked” opened this month at Blue Square in Itaewon, central Seoul. Though still affected by the government’s social distancing rules, which require that every other seat be left vacant, the show is recording sellouts. Based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and T

Feb. 25, 2021

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