Stage lights go off after Seoul orders shutdown

As the Seoul capital has gone into a partial lockdown and Korea has decided to raise distancing regulations for the metropolitan area, the lights have gone out at performing art stages and cinemas across the city. With the South Korean government announcing the Level 2.5 distancing, the second highest notch in the country’s five-tier COVID-19 scheme, performing arts venues will have to leave the two thirds of audience seats empty from Tuesday. The tight limitations on the audience capac

Dec. 6, 2020

Pianist Kim Sun-wook’s recital canceled due to pandemic

Kim Sun-wook’s piano recital scheduled for Monday at the Lotte Concert Hall in Jamsil, eastern Seoul, has been canceled. Classical music concert organizer Vincero said the decision to indefinitely postpone Kim’s recital was made soon after the Seoul city government announced Friday afternoon that stricter social distancing rules would be in effect from Saturday to Dec. 18. This is not the first time that a performance of Kim’s has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dec. 4, 2020

W400m budget created for project to support Asian artists’ K-pop training

The National Assembly on Wednesday passed a budget of 400 million won ($365,000) for the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism’s project to support Asian artists’ K-pop training. The amount is far less than the 1.5 billion won the Culture Ministry initially hoped for to conduct the project with six groups from three other Asian countries. “Since the budget has been slashed to 400 million won. we will have to adjust our initial plan and conduct a program with less than six g

Dec. 3, 2020

Pianist Sunwoo Yekwon to give virtual reality tour of Lotte Concert Hall

Pianist Sunwoo Yekwon is planning to show the public around the Lotte Concert Hall in virtual reality. The Lotte Foundation for Arts and LG Uplus, a major local telecom operator, joined hands to present a VR tour of the Lotte Concert Hall in Jamsil, eastern Seoul, featuring celebrated pianist Sunwoo Yekwon as the docent. In the first video, Sunwoo appears in the audience and looks around the venue, joined by a house manager. They walk around the vineyard-style classical music concert hall, bui

Dec. 2, 2020

Kim Sun-wook, Chung Kyung-wha duo to go onstage on Dec. 18

Pianist Kim Sun-wook will take the stage with violinist Chung Kyung-wha on Dec. 18 at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul. At the recital, the duo will present the complete Johannes Brahms violin sonatas. Chung is one of the first generation of classical musicians in Korea. She has released more than 33 recordings over the past 40 years. She is especially recognized for her repertoire of the three Brahms violin sonatas, having released a recording of the sonatas on EMI Classics with piani

Nov. 28, 2020

Musical delves into the dark side of ‘Black Mary Poppins’

Though inspired by the well-known “Mary Poppins” series, local original musical “Black Mary Poppins” tells a different story of the famous nanny with a magical, black umbrella. The story is loosely based on Australian novelist P. L. Travers’ “Mary Poppins” series, which has been made into numerous films. However, different from other films or drama adaptations, the musical is set in 1926 Germany, amid the impending rise of Nazism. Mary Poppins is giv

Nov. 27, 2020

Pianist Cho Seung-jin’s encore recital canceled

Concert pianist Cho Seung-jin’s encore recital in Seoul slated for Saturday has been canceled, due to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases. Cho, the winner of the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition, was to hold an in-person recital on Saturday at the Seoul Arts Center, following his monthlong 11-city tour across Korea. The recital, which was announced after the completion of the scheduled tour, was to have been streamed live online through Naver TV for pay, too. However, as the num

Nov. 25, 2020

BTS gets Grammy nod in another landmark feat

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korea's K-pop megastar BTS was nominated for the Grammy Award in best pop duo/group performance, becoming the first South Korean pop artist to be nominated for the US music award. The South Korean boy group was nominated for its latest hit single "Dynamite" in a virtual ceremony streamed live on Tuesday morning (US time). BTS was one of five nominated in the category, which included "Intentions" by Justin Bieber, featuring Quavo, "Rain On Me&q

Nov. 25, 2020

Sunwoo Yekwon shares his ‘Mozart soul’ through new album

Though more often associated with the names of Romantic composers -- Chopin, Schumann and Schubert, for example -- pianist Sunwoo Yekwon hopes to share the Mozart side of himself through a new album. Concert pianist Sunwoo Yekwon, 31, who rose to global stardom three years ago winning the gold medal at the 15th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, has released his first studio album under the Decca label. The 19-track album was recorded this summer in Neumarkt, Germany. Simply titl

Nov. 24, 2020

Rock star Yoon Do-hyun clarifies COVID-19 rumors about Daegu concert

Rock musician Yoon Do-hyun issued a statement Monday to clarify a rumor that some 500 attendees at his concert were required to be tested for COVID-19, following the virus infection of a concertgoer. A person who attended Yoon’s concert on Nov. 15 -- the last of his three concerts in Daegu -- tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. While a number of media outlets reported that some 500 concertgoers would have to be tested for COVID-19, Yoon’s agency Dee Company said the city&rsq

Nov. 23, 2020

Chamber music gets a push

While South Korea has decided to raise the social distancing level for the Greater Seoul area, the Lotte Concert Hall hopes to bring chamber music to its stage through its newly launched In House Artist Series. The Lotte Concert Hall in eastern Seoul, a major classical music concert venue, will kick off the program with recitals by the Korea Chamber Orchestra on Thursday and the Esme Quartet on Saturday. As the concert hall’s in-house artists for the 2020-2021 season, the two groups wil

Nov. 23, 2020

Cho Seung-jin recital goes pay-per-view

Concert pianist Cho Seung-jin’s recital in Seoul on Saturday will be streamed live to audiences at home for 10,000 won ($8.95). According to Credia, the organizers of the Cho’s month-long nationwide tour across Korea, Saturday’s recital at the Seoul Arts Center will be streamed live via its Naver TV channel. For the access to the streaming, users can donate 10,000 won through the “sponsorship feature” on Naver TV, a streaming platform operated by the local port

Nov. 22, 2020

BTS' new album 'BE' tops iTunes charts in 90 countries

K-pop sensation BTS has topped 90 regional iTunes charts with its latest album titled "Be," the band's agency said Saturday. Released the previous day, the band's fifth Korean-language studio album debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes Top Albums charts in 90 countries, including the United States and Britain, according to Bit Hit Entertainment. At the same time, the title track, "Life Goes On," ranked first on the iTunes Top Songs chart in 90 countries. Sales of the eight-track

Nov. 21, 2020

[Eye interview] ‘Peace and love is the best vaccine!’

At 72, Hahn Dae-soo is as exuberant as ever, his throaty laughter and irrepressible energy filling the studio. The “halbae,” a term of endearment for grandfathers in Korean, as he calls himself, is back in Korea after four years in New York. But he is no ordinary halbae: He came to record his 15th album, “Blue Skies, White Clouds,” which was released Nov. 14. “It is the pandemic, the desire to spread the word that it is not the time to sing about togetherness, t

Nov. 20, 2020

Despite pandemic, lights are on at Korea’s stages

In a year that has witnessed the COVID-19 pandemic disrupt lives and devastate economies around the world, Korea has sought innovations to meet the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The following is the first article of a four-part series on how Korea is creating a new normal during the pandemic, produced in partnership with The Korea Foundation -- Ed. While the performing arts scene is one of many industries hit by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in Korea, the stage lights are still

Nov. 19, 2020

Tech-savvy musical offers ride on DMZ ‘peace travel’

A new high-tech musical is to promote “peace travel” in the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. “Wonder Ticket,” organized by the KTO, will stream online from Nov. 28 to Dec. 31, promoting the travel industry in the DMZ. The story of the musical takes off at an abandoned steam locomotive -- which currently sits at Jangdan Station in Imjingak, located on the banks of Imjin River in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. The trai

Nov. 17, 2020

Pianist Cho Seung-jin to have finale recital in Seoul

Concert pianist Cho Seung-jin, 26, will wrap up his much-appreciated nationwide tour across Korea with an encore recital in Seoul on Nov. 28. The nationwide tour kicked off in Gwangju on Oct. 28 and was followed by more recitals in Daegu, Busan, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, and Seoul. It was to wrap up at Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on Nov. 9. However, as tickets sold out within a few minutes of their release, the organizers added more recitals in Seongnam and Suwon in Gyeonggi Prov

Nov. 16, 2020

[Herald Review] ‘Notre Dame de Paris’ performs to packed theater

The whole world watched the beloved Notre Dame Cathedral burn down last year, but the iconic cathedral is resurrected onstage in Korea every evening to the sound of music. The original French production of musical “Notre Dame de Paris” kicked off its Seoul run Tuesday at the Blue Square Interpark Hall near Itaewon, central Seoul.   The production got off to a bumpy start when 14 of its 30 staff members were confirmed with the COVID-19 infection upon their arrival in Korea in

Nov. 16, 2020

S. Korean moviegoers jump 55% on-month in Oct.

The number of moviegoers in South Korea jumped 55 percent in October from a month earlier thanks to sleeper hits and eased virus fears, a report showed Friday. A total of 4.63 million went to theaters last month, up 1.64 million, or 55 percent, from 2.99 million tallied in September, according to the monthly report by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). The on-month gain was led by the releases of mid-sized films, including the human drama "Pawn," which has attracted nearly 1.5 million

Nov. 13, 2020

Soprano says 20th century Korean songs best way to express her ‘free spirit’

Korean-language songs sung by a South Korean soprano will be presented around the world by the German classical music label Deutsche Grammophon. Soprano Park Hye-sang, also known as Hera Park, made her Deutsche Grammophon debut with the release of her new album, “I Am Hera,” Nov. 6. The album consists of 18 pieces hand-picked by Park. The album features two works of “gagok,” a traditional Korean music genre: “Like the Wind That Met With Lotus,” a poem by t

Nov. 11, 2020