Culture minister vows to support pandemic-hit movie theaters

Hwang Hee, the minister of culture, sports and tourism, met with six executives of the top three local multiplex operators -- CGV, Lotte Cinema and Megabox -- at CGV Yongsan in central Seoul on Saturday, on the first day of the five-day Lunar New Year holiday. After a thorough quarantine inspection at the theater, he listened to the difficulties the movie operators are experiencing while doing business under the government’s stringent measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “S

Jan. 29, 2022

Bringing KBS Symphony Orchestra to world stage: Pietari Inkinen shares his vision

Pietari Inkinen, the 9th music director of the KBS Symphony Orchestra, said Wednesday that he hopes to take the helm of the orchestra’s development into a leading Asian orchestra. The 42-year-old conductor who officially kicked off his three-year term in January 2022 and has many plans in mind, ranging from more frequent concerts to a music academy for children. “During the upcoming seasons, I‘d like to increase the number of concerts held across the country, to go and meet

Jan. 26, 2022

KOCCA to present immersive music show featuring rappers from ‘Show Me the Money 10’

The Korea Creative Content Agency said Monday that it will stage an immersive music performance featuring 18 rappers from Mnet’s rap competition program “Show Me the Money 10.” As part of its performance series “On the K,” KOCCA will present “On the K x Show Me the Money 10 Festival” on its YouTube channel and Twitter at 10 p.m. on Thursday. The lineup will include the hit competition show’s winner Jo Gwang-il, and other contestants Since, Be&rs

Jan. 24, 2022

Grief of warfare sublimated with music and dance in ‘After War’

The Asia Culture Center’s international joint creation and production “After War” is to run at the ACC Theater from Jan. 27-30. With an attempt to study and promote the Asian characteristics of performing arts, the ACC international joint creation and production seeks to provide opportunities for performing artists and producers across the world to come together for exchange and research. “After War,” inspired by Bao Ninh’s “The Sorrow of War,”

Jan. 23, 2022

‘2022 Camping Music Festival’ to go ahead next month despite pandemic

A two-day music festival will bring together K-pop musicians like modern rock band Monni, Broccoli, You Too and indie singer-songwriter Yun DDan DDan next month to provide comfort to music fans who are exhausted from COVID-19, according to the festival’s organizer Thursday. “2022 Camping Music Festival” will take place at Nodeul Live House on Nodeul Island, central Seoul, on Feb. 26-27, according to ModernBoy Entertainment. Under the theme of “Musical Journey in Do

Jan. 20, 2022

Seoul Record Fair returns after 2 year hiatus amid pandemic

Seoul Record Fair (SRF), which was launched as the first vinyl record selling event in Korea a decade ago, is set to return this week despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic after a nearly two-year haitus, the SRF committee and fair’s operator Roundx2 announced on Wednesday. Although the fair will go offline, showcasing performances and selling records and music-related products, it is scheduled for one day only on Saturday this year due to the government’s strengthened COVID-19 mea

Jan. 19, 2022

New form of music concert to go on stage at Seoul Arts Center

A classical music concert that experiments to break out from conventional forms, “Beyond the Classic 2,” is to set the stage on Feb. 18, at the Seoul Arts Center by the Sam Philharmonic Orchestra, the organizer said on Monday. The concert aims to reach music fans weary from the long-lasting pandemic, to bring hopes and laughter throughout its 100-minute session, the organizer added. Various artists’ collaborative performances will be put together under the theme of “a c

Jan. 17, 2022

Four popular Korean dramas to be remade into musicals

Popular Korean TV series will return to the stage as musicals to meet the rising demand from fans who long to enjoy their favorite shows in diversified formats. The smash-hit rom-com "Crash Landing On You" (2019) with Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin in starring roles will come back in the form of a musical in September at COEX in southern Seoul. The 16-episode "Crash Landing On You," which aired simultaneously on the South Korean cable channel tvN and Netflix, is about star-crossed

Jan. 17, 2022

‘Captain Rock Day’ to take place online for three days in February

Korean rock musician Han Kyung-rock, a bassist in the legendary punk rock band Crying Nut, will celebrate his birthday with a three-day online concert next month. The musician will be hosting “2022 Captain Rock Day,” featuring 100 artists. The event will kick off on Feb. 9, but the exact time has yet to be set. “Captain Rock Day” is an annual event that gathers big-name artists who represent the indie music scene in Hongdae. As the event has grown in size, it has come

Jan. 14, 2022

Chung Myung-whun appointed KBS orchestra’s first honorary conductor

The KBS Symphony Orchestra appointed renowned South Korean conductor Chung Myung-whun as its first-ever conductor laureate, according to the orchestra on Thursdsay. Chung’s tenure began this month. Conductor laureate is an honorary position given to a conductor who has international repuation or contributed to the development of the orchestra. This is the first the KBS Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1956, has awarded the title. The news came days after Chung saved the orchestra&rsquo

Jan. 13, 2022

K-pop album sales surge 37% on-year in 2021 despite pandemic

The K-pop music industry saw a surge in accumulated album sales last year despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to top-tier artists such as BTS, EXO and aespa. According to a year-end report from the South Korean music chart tracker Gaon Chart on Wednesday, the nation’s top 400 albums sold 57.09 million copies in and out of the country in 2021, up by 36.9 percent from the previous year’s 41.71 million. After exceeding the 20 million mark for the first time in 2018, the

Jan. 13, 2022

Korean drama soundtracks booming as major medium of ‘Hallyu’

Although most countries have COVID-19-related travel restrictions, the worldwide popularity of Korean pop culture has continuously crossed borders, reaching new heights. Taking the baton from K-pop, songs featured in local dramas have newly become a major medium for the spread of “Hallyu,” or the Korean Wave. Korean soundtracks have recently been made with an eye on the charts with the soaring popularity of dramas. The use of mainstream popular singers like BTS members Jin and V, an

Jan. 11, 2022

‘Hadestown’ takes top prize at Korea Musical Awards

Broadway-born musical “Hadestown,” which made its first landing in Korea in September last year, was honored with the grand prize at the sixth Korea Musical Awards, hosted by the Korea Musical Theatre Association, on Monday. Korea Musical Awards are given annually to selected musicals among those that premiered over the previous year. For this year, the performance of “Hadestown” beat prominent fellow candidates such as “Who Lives in the Kuroi Mansion?” &ldq

Jan. 11, 2022

[Herald Review] Musicians from S. Korea, ASEAN harmonize through ‘Round in Korea’

The COVID-19 pandemic may restrict travel, but the power of music to connect and bring people together across borders was apparent Sunday night at the ASEAN-Korea Music Festival’s “Round in Korea.” The six-hour online festival featuring 15 musicians from Korea and nine of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was hosted by state-run broadcaster KBS and sponsored by Seoul‘s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund and the

Jan. 10, 2022

BTS, IU win top prizes at 36th Golden Disc Awards

BTS and IU won the top prizes Saturday at the 36th Golden Disc Awards, the annual South Korean event that honors achievements in the local music industry. BTS took home album of the year award at a ceremony at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome for its album “Be,” which was released in November 2020. It was the fifth consecutive year that the group won the top honor in the album category. The group also won three additional awards, including the Seezn most popular artist award, digita

Jan. 9, 2022

National Contemporary Dance Company to offer 8 programs for 2022

The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company will offer eight programs, ranging from new creations to its signature repertoire, this year. KNCDC’s first performance is set to kick off in April with “Writing Using,” which is created by renowned choreographer Ahn Ae-soon, KNCDC’s second artistic director, according to the state dance company Tuesday. The production will show the story of the feelings of the dancers’ bodies through dance. “Tiny, Round, Clu

Jan. 5, 2022

Chung Myung-whun to be named honorary music director of the KBS Symphony Orchestra

Renowned South Korean conductor Chung Myung-whun will reportedly be appointed as honorary music director of the KBS Symphony Orchestra, according to media reports on Wednesday. The news came days after Chung saved the orchestra’s Christmas Eve concert by leading the concert on behalf of Pietari Inkinen, the orchestra‘s music director who was unable to enter the country because of toughened self-quarantine rules. He also held the baton at concerts in December 2020 and August 2021 fo

Jan. 5, 2022

Violinist Kim Dong-hyun to kick off Kumho Art Hall’s 2022 season

Kumho Art Hall’s artist-in-residence violinist Kim Dong-hyun will kick off the new season at the concert hall Jan. 13 with the first of the Beautiful Thursday Concerts series. At the upcoming recital themed “22 degrees: Refreshing,” Kim will play Morzart’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 32 in B-flat Major, K. 454, Ysaye’s Sonata for Solo Violin No. 6 in E Major, Op. 27/6 and Hubay’s “Carmen -- Fantasie Brillante“ for Violin and Piano, Op.3/3.

Jan. 4, 2022

Chinese version of Korean musical 'Brothers Karamazov' to be staged at Shanghai Grand Theater

”The Brothers Karamazov,” an original musical produced by a South Korean production company, will hit a major theater in Shanghai in June, Orchard Musical Co. said Tuesday. The Korean musical is the first original musical licensed to take the stage at the Shanghai Grand Theater. “The Brothers Karamazov” is a small-budget musical that is based on Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel of the same title. The show premiered in 2018 in South Korea and has returned

Jan. 4, 2022

Despite recovery, performing arts sector remains cautious about 2022

South Korea’s performing arts sector grew almost 80 percent in terms of revenue in 2021, despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, but insiders said uncertainty still looms over the industry in 2022. In 2021, revenue from theatrical plays, musicals, classical concerts and other performances stood at 307 billion won ($258 million), jumping 78 percent from 172 billion won recorded in 2020, data from the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information System showed. The recovery was backed

Jan. 3, 2022