‘Barefoot diva’ celebrates 30 years of singing

Singer Lee Eun-mee is celebrating the 30th anniversary of her debut with a nationwide concert tour and the release of an album.The 53-year-old debuted in 1989 as a guest singer of band Sinchon Blues. Three years later, she began a solo career and has since released more than 10 albums. In 1993, she took her shoes off onstage “to be free.” She has since been performing barefooted, earning the nickname of “barefoot diva.” Two tracks from her upcoming album were prerele

Nov. 7, 2019

BTS becomes 1st K-pop act to spend 1 year on Billboard 200

International K-pop sensation BTS has become the first act from South Korea to spend a year on the Billboard 200, setting a record in a career already full of many.The group's "Love Yourself: Answer" reentered Billboard's main albums chart at No. 165 on Monday.According to Billboard, the album has now spent 52, non-consecutive weeks on the chart, making it the first K-pop album to be on the Billboard 200 for a full year.Citing Nielsen Music, Billboard said the album has also sold 1.1 m

Nov. 7, 2019

Experimental play ‘Human Fuga’ looks at 1980 Gwangju massacre

A “fuga” -- Italian for fugue -- is a musical composition that introduces two or more themes in the beginning that recur throughout the piece.In the play “Human Fuga,” which began its run Wednesday at the Namsan Arts Center in central Seoul, the themes are the painful memories, scars and ill health of the victims of the 1980 Gwangju massacre, the dictatorial government’s response to the Gwangju Democratic Uprising.Theater troupe Tuida’s production takes its le

Nov. 6, 2019

[Herald Review] Let your hair down with ‘La Fresque’

Contemporary ballet “La Fresque” is surreal and dreamy, featuring barefooted dancers carrying out explosive and exuberant movements.Led by legendary French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, Ballet Preljocaj is touring Korea with “La Fresque.” It performed at the LG Arts Center in southern Seoul over the weekend.The performance began in complete darkness. The soundtrack created by Nicolas Godin -- half of the groundbreaking French electronic music duo Air -- evoked a myster

Nov. 5, 2019

SM Entertainment joins hands with US entertainment agency

South Korea's biggest music label SM Entertainment has joined hands with a US entertainment giant to support its artists' global activities, the Korean company said Tuesday.SM Entertainment, home to NCT 127, SuperM and EXO, said it signed a deal with the US-based Creative Artists Agency, or CAA, in Los Angeles on Oct. 17 (US time).CAA is the biggest sports and entertainment agency in the United States, representing Beyonce, Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey. Under the partnership, CAA and SM Entert

Nov. 5, 2019

[ASEAN-Korea summit] Concert to promote South Korea-ASEAN ties through music

Ahead of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit, a celebratory concert will be held in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. As culture is a valuable asset that helps nations build bridges, various cultural events are set to take place before the summit such as a fashion show, a K-beauty festival and food demonstrations. One of these events is the music festival “ASEAN Fantasia,” which will be held Nov. 24 in Changwon. The aim of the concert is to promote harmony between South Korea

Nov. 4, 2019

BTS captures two prizes at MTV Europe Music Awards for 2nd year in a row

South Korean boy group BTS has won three trophies at this year's MTV Europe Music Awards, the group's agency said Monday.The seven-member band received the Best Group, Best Live and Biggest Fans awards during the ceremony held in Seville, Spain, on Sunday (local time), Big Hit Entertainment said. But BTS did not attend the awards ceremony.Last year, BTS took the two titles of Best Group and Biggest Fans.Founded in 1994, the MTV Europe Music Awards honor the most popular pop songs and music video

Nov. 4, 2019

BTS' 'Boy With Luv' hits 600m YouTube views

The music video of K-pop super band BTS' "Boy With Luv" has surpassed 600 million YouTube views.The video of the band's main song on the "Map of the Soul: Persona" album released in April, achieved the feat Sunday evening, about seven months after it went on sale, according to the band's agency Big Hit Entertainment. It is the fourth music video of BTS with over 600 million YouTube hits, following "DNA," "Fire" and "Fake Love."Its music vide

Nov. 4, 2019

TIMF announces 2019 pianist winners

The Tongyeong International Music Foundation announced the winners of the 2019 Isang Yun Competition on Saturday, with pianist Lim Yun-chan taking the top honors.The annual competition, held in homage to the late contemporary music composer Yun I-sang, alternates annually among cello, piano and violin. This year’s competition was for pianists, with violinists slated to compete next year. After a final round in the competition Saturday, Lim was announced as the first prize winner, foll

Nov. 3, 2019

CNBLUE's Jung Yong-hwa discharged from military

Jung Yong-hwa, a member of K-pop boy band CNBLUE, was discharged from the military Sunday after fulfilling nearly two years of mandatory service. He thanked his fans and expressed hope that he would return to his job as early as possible during a special fan event at a community service center in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province. Some 1,000 Korean and foreign fans from various Asian countries like China, Japan and the Philippines gathered to greet the singer. "I feel both relieved and sad,"

Nov. 3, 2019

Roaring K-pop boom reverses fate of declining CDs and other tangible albums

The roaring K-pop boom in South Korea is reviving the fate of perishing CD music and other physical music record formats.Since the early 2000s, compact disc as a music distribution format has been increasingly replaced by other digital storage and distribution formats such as internet streaming. Reversing the decline, however, sales of physical albums -- mostly CDs but also tapes, LPs and Kihno -- have registered dramatic growth over the past few years since 2014 in South Korea.In 2017, the comb

Nov. 1, 2019

BTS joins lineup of 2019 MAMA in Nagoya

K-pop supergroup BTS has joined the lineup of the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards scheduled for December in Japan's Nagoya, the music channel said Thursday.Mnet Japan disclosed the news through its Twitter account as it released information on ticket sales.The 2019 MAMA is scheduled to be a one-day event on Dec. 4 at the 30,000-seat Nagoya Dome.BTS has taken home the top MAMA prize for three years in a row through last year.Besides BTS, the 2019 MAMA lineup also includes GOT7, Monsta X, SEVENTEEN,

Oct. 31, 2019

Philadelphia Orchestra and Cho Seong-jin to perform in Seoul

The Philadelphia Orchestra is to go on the stage at the Seoul Arts Center on Nov. 10, under the baton of the music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin and featuring pianist Cho Seong-jin. The highly acclaimed orchestra, which had been led by Eugene Ormandy for some 40 years, is counted in artistic stature among the Big Five orchestras in the US, along with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra.The program for Nov. 10 features Rachmaninoff’s Piano Co

Oct. 31, 2019

For modern ballet master, flick of hair can be dance movement

Ballet Preljocaj, a dance company led by legendary French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, is in Korea with “La Fresque,” also known as “The Painting on the Wall.” The company will perform the 2016 modern ballet piece that takes its motif from an old Chinese tale at the LG Arts Center in southern Seoul from Friday to Sunday, followed by more performances in Busan and Daejeon.  The story revolves around a man who visits an old temple and falls in love with a long-hair

Oct. 31, 2019

BLACKPINK's 'As If It's Your Last' tops 700m YouTube views

The music video of K-pop girl band BLACKPINK's "As If It's Your Last" hit the milestone of 700 million YouTube views Thursday.The music video, released in June 2017, surpassed the 700 million threshold early Thursday morning, according to the band's label, YG Entertainment.  The feat made "As If It's Your Last" the four-piece girl band's third music video to achieve the 700-million-view record, following "Ddu-du Ddu-du" and "Boombaya," making BLACKPIN

Oct. 31, 2019

Arts Center Incheon celebrates first anniversary

Arts Center Incheon in Songdo International City will celebrate its one-year anniversary on Nov. 16. Since opening last year, the center’s concert hall -- a mix of shoebox and vineyard styles -- has been praised for its exceptional acoustics.  The center was originally envisioned to house a concert hall, a museum and an opera house. But only the concert hall has been completed. While the center has secured land for construction, its plans have not been finalized due to financial issue

Oct. 30, 2019

With tears and sweat, BTS wraps up globe-trotting concert tour in home country

Tears and sweat wrapped up K-pop superband BTS' year-long world concert tour in the capital of their home country on Tuesday. The famous home ARMY's fan chant consecutively naming the seven BTS members brought to a close BTS' "Love Yourself" world tour at the thundering Olympic Stadium in southern Seoul, 14 months after the same chant launched the band from here onto the forefront of the world music scene.The finale edition of the three days of concerts officially capped the band's hea

Oct. 30, 2019

BTS brings historic world tour to close with finale in Seoul

K-pop superband BTS' more than one-year-long globe-trotting concert journey will come to a successful close Tuesday with the finale show in Seoul, the capital of the septet's home country.The final edition of BTS' three-day concerts in Seoul, set for Tuesday evening at Seoul Olympic Stadium, caps the sensational "Love Yourself" world tour and its extension, "Love Yourself: Speak Yourself." The concert tour kicked off in Seoul in August 2018 to promote the band's career-making

Oct. 29, 2019

Camarata Chamber Singers win national choir award

The Camarata Chamber Singers won the “Best of the Best” Presidential Award at the 23rd National Choral Competition in Daejeon.The multicultural choir was among 40 that entered Saturday’s national choral competition, the only amateur competition recognized with a presidential award. Sixteen choirs made it to the final, where they each sang twice, with at least one Korean song. The Chamber Singers sang “Nyon Nyon” by Jake Runestad, and Aeo-rang, based on a North Korea

Oct. 29, 2019

With special event zones for fans, BTS concerts evolve into ARMY festival

A package of outdoor activities and fan services will be awaiting excited fans at Jamsil Sports Complex in southern Seoul when global superband BTS throws the finale of its world tour this week. The septet is poised to finally wrap up the much-acclaimed "Love Yourself: Speak Yourself" tour in the capital of its home country on Tuesday.The first two of a series of three concerts took place at the complex's Seoul Olympic Stadium over the weekend, entertaining 88,000 fans in total. On Tue

Oct. 28, 2019