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

Performance Feb. 23, 2021

Violinist Paik Jin-hee, daughter of actor Yoon Jeong-hee and pianist Paik Kun-woo, asked a Korean court to designate her as Yoon’s legal guardian in Korea last year, while she and her father were in conflict with her mother’s siblings over Yoon’s legal guardianship in France. According to news reports, Paik Jin-hee filed a case with the Seoul Family Court in October to be designated Yoon’s legal guardian in Korea. Yoon suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. The court

People Feb. 22, 2021

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

Performance Feb. 21, 2021

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

Performance Feb. 20, 2021

Lighting Festival at The Garden of Morning Calm The Garden of Morning Calm in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, is hosting its annual Lighting Festival until March 14. According to the Garden of Morning Calm, it is the first light festival in Korea to add lights to natural surroundings. The environment-friendly LED lights shine throughout the 330,000-square-meter garden. Admissions cost 9,500 won per adult, 7,000 won per middle and high school student, and 6,000 won per children.  Daegu Na

Travel Feb. 19, 2021

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

Performance Feb. 17, 2021

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

Performance Feb. 17, 2021

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

Performance Feb. 16, 2021

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

Performance Feb. 13, 2021

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

Performance Feb. 10, 2021

Despite the prevalence of digital scheduling applications, it seems that demand for paper diaries never dies out. In fact, the pastime of decorating journals -- “dakku” in Korean -- is more popular than ever. Dakku, an abbreviation for a Korean word for decorating, refers to the use of colorful tape, memo pads, stickers and other stationery products to adorn journals. Dakku has always been popular among schoolchildren, but recently the trend has spread to those in their 20s and 30

Culture Feb. 10, 2021

With pianist Paik Kun-woo and his wife Yoon Jeong-hee at the center of attention over accusations of Paik‘s neglect in the care of Yoon, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, Yoon’s siblings released an official statement Tuesday, acknowledging it was they who posted the petition on the Blue House website that accuses Paik and his daughter of neglecting Yoon. The siblings apologized for going public with family matters. “Paik kept his distance from his wife and her f

People Feb. 10, 2021

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

Performance Feb. 9, 2021

As musical productions return to the stage with the easing of social distancing rules for performing arts halls, shows featuring big names such as Ock Ju-hyun and Cho Seung-woo are sold out.  Of the first 25 performances in the Seoul run of “Wicked” from Feb. 12 to March 5, the shows featuring Ock and Jeong Seon-ah are already sold out. VIP tickets for shows featuring Ock, originally priced at 150,000 won ($134), are being resold illegally for up to 400,000 won on ticket res

Performance Feb. 8, 2021

Gugak, traditional Korean music, is having a moment, buoyed by a growing appreciation from a wider audience both in and out of Korea. While a new generation of gugak artists have been breathing new life into the centuries-old genre over the past few years, outreach to a broader audience had eluded them in a country where contemporary music, especially K-pop, dominates. Recently, however, gugak has caught the attention of a broader audience with a wider spectrum of traditional music. Video gi

Performance Feb. 8, 2021