The Contemporary Gugak Orchestra will present gugak, traditional Korean music, composed by foreigners. The orchestra will hold its 98th regular presentation “Hidden Sides & Unique Beauty of Gugak” on Friday and Saturday at the National Gugak Center.  According to the project’s music director Kye Sung-won, the audience will be able to see the difference between foreign and Korean composers’ approach to gugak.“The title ‘Hidden Sides’ refers to h

Performance Sept. 26, 2019

While rock festivals cooled us down in the summer heat, autumn is the perfect time to appreciate other music genres. Starting this weekend, jazz and pop music festivals are set to take place around the country. Celebrating the beautiful fall weather, these outdoor festivals afford a chance to enjoy colorful foliage from a picnic mat, sipping wine with family and friends. Jazz at Seoul Forest  Seoul Forest, located in eastern Seoul, is a park that covers 1.16 million square meters. On Friday

Performance Sept. 25, 2019

As Denmark and South Korea celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the Royal Danish Orchestra is getting ready to play to a Korean audience for the first time at a concert featuring Danish conductor Thomas Sondergard and Korean pianist Sunwoo Yekwon. At the event, slated for Dec. 8 at the Seoul Arts Center, the orchestra will perform the preludes to Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s opera “Maskarade”; Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Conc

Performance Sept. 24, 2019

The Seoul Metropolitan Traditional Music Orchestra will take the stage at the Sejong Center’s M Theater on Wednesday to presenting newly commissioned gugak works. The orchestra, led by conductor Park Ho-seong, has been aiming for creative ways to uphold Korea’s traditional music since its establishment in 1965 as the nation’s first traditional music orchestra.“As Korea’s first traditional music orchestra, we have prepared Wednesday’s presentation to encourage

Performance Sept. 24, 2019

The Korea National Opera, led by 52-year-old director Koh Sun-woong, will take the stage Friday and Saturday at the Seoul Arts Center with the original opera “1945,” which depicts the lives of ordinary Koreans in 1945, after the peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonial rule.A celebrated figure in the theater scene here, Koh has led various productions, including plays, musicals and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympics. This will mark his second

Performance Sept. 23, 2019

INCHEON -- Violinist Chung Kyung-wha and pianist Kevin Kenner, who call each other “lifetime companion,” presented the complete Brahms violin sonatas on Thursday at Art Center Incheon. The duo performed the German composer-pianist’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, “Regen,” Op. 78; Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in A major, “Thun,” Op. 100; and Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108. The first sonata, often referred to

Performance Sept. 22, 2019

Fiery seafood at JW Marriott DongdaemunJW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul’s all-day dining restaurant Tavolo 24 presents the Taste of Sea promotion featuring Sichuan-style seafood favorites. The menu includes cold dishes crafted from fan mussels, sea squirts, abalone, white sea snails, clams, squid and conch flown in fresh from China, plus hot dishes including steamed scallops, snow crab and blue crab, as well as Sichuan specialty mala crawfish, crispy deep-fried sea cucumber and eel, and

Food Sept. 20, 2019

The 2019 Seoul International Music Fair, also known as MU:CON, will take place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 at Coex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. Seventy-four acts will participate in the event, hosted by the Korea Creative Content Agency, including rock bands Daybreak and South Club, girl group Laboum, rhythm-and-blues singers Sam Kim and Suran, known for her collaboration with BTS’ Suga, pop singer Sunwoojunga, and boy band JBJ. “I thought of myself as someone who has ears open to chec

Performance Sept. 19, 2019

The Lotte Foundation for Arts is to launch the International Organ Competition of Korea next year. The foundation and the Korean Association of Organists will co-host the annual competition to recognize talented young organists around the world.  The Lotte Concert Hall, located in Jamsil, eastern Seoul, is home to a grand pipe organ, composed of almost 5,000 pipes installed across three floors. Built by the Austrian company Rieger, it took three years to design and install and cost 2.5 bil

Performance Sept. 18, 2019

The Mayfield Hotel in Gangseo-gu, western Seoul, is to host the Dionysos Wine Fair at its outdoor gardens Sept. 21-22.The biannual event, held every spring and fall, allows wine aficionados to taste 150 varieties of wine, paired with barbecue plates, caprese salad with burrata cheese and Iberico jamon (Iberian ham) with melon.  A wine concierge service will be offered along with discounts on wine purchases. Pop-jazz band Get Alright will take the stage.Winners of the best dresser award -- o

Food Sept. 18, 2019

Heinz Holliger and Kaija Saariaho have won the 2019 Isang Yun International Composition Award, the Isang Yun Peace Foundation announced Tuesday, which marked the anniversary of Yun’s birth. The foundation launched the annual award in 2007 to support and recognize composers, continuing Yun’s musical legacy. However, the event was halted in 2014 due to difficulties faced by the foundation’s management. After a six-year hiatus, the award resumed this year.  Heinz Holliger is

Performance Sept. 17, 2019

The 2019 Seoul International Writers’ Festival is to take place at Dongdaemun Design Plaza from Oct. 5-13.  Launched in 2006, the previously biennial event goes annual from this year. Along with the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, which has run the event from the beginning, the Seoul Design Foundation and Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture are co-hosting the event.“I personally think that this is the new first year for the festival,” said Kim Sa-in, head of L

Culture Sept. 17, 2019

JEJU ISLAND -- Jeju Island, a popular travel destination both for South Koreans and foreigners, has seen a surge of tourists in recent years. Accessible by an 80-minute flight from Seoul, around 15.4 million tourists visit the island each year. In fact, the Seoul-Jeju route is one of the most active flight routes anywhere in the world. As a result, Jeju residents are struggling with the drawbacks of excessive tourism. Gentrification is a serious problem on the island, where the amount of tr

Travel Sept. 16, 2019

In today’s fashion scene, heels are getting lower and lower. But that doesn’t mean they’re going out of style. Rather, there’s more room to experiment with lower and thicker heels.Yie Sun-yuul, head of Yuul Yie, is all about experimenting with heels. The heels are what reflect Yuul Yie’s design philosophy.  They’re inspired by coral reefs, stones on the street, cubes or even the Arabic alphabet. Yet the overall figures are simple, consisting of circles, t

Arts & Design Sept. 15, 2019

Autumn arrives at Grand Hilton Seoul Grand Hilton Seoul presents Happy Fallidays package for fall.The deal offers one-night stay at a mountain-view room, two glasses of fruit tea and a breakfast for two. Guests can choose the tea flavor, ranging from citron, grapefruit to Jeju hallabong.The deal also offers executive lounge benefits for happy hour, dessert bar, free rental of Cellreturn LED face masks and Nintendo Switch. Access to the indoor pool and fitness facility are complimentary.The packa

Food Sept. 11, 2019