The 2020 dance scene will be packed with productions that reinterpret well-known stories, offering fresh insights into time-honored tales. Eifman Ballet, led by Russian choreographer Boris Eifman, will perform “Beyond Sin” and “Anna Karenina” in May. Eifman is recognized for his reinterpretations of Russian novels with dramatic expression.“Beyond Sin” is a choreographic interpretation of Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov.” Eifman has disti

Performance Jan. 5, 2020

Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France (1)The sixth Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France will be held at the Petite France Park in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, until Feb. 29. The annual festival is inspired by the southern French town of Montpellier. In addition to beautiful lighting at night, another highlight is the 30-meter light tunnel installed next to a round structure modeled after asteroid B 612, home of the Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s book

Travel Jan. 3, 2020

For some bands, music is all about breaking stodgy old rules and creating new ones. However, for Black String, a traditional Korean music band, the revolution may be on a bigger scale. It wants to establish its own genre. Black String, founded in 2011, consists of four artists, three of them gugak performers. The group is led by string instrument geomungo virtuoso Heo Yoon-jeong with Lee Aram on daegeum (bamboo flute), Hwang Min-wang on janggu (hourglass-shaped drum) and Jean Oh on electric guit

Performance Jan. 3, 2020

Though gugak, traditional Korean music, is often considered an unchanging art form from the past, various gugak acts and institutions are working on revitalizing the genre to make it more relatable to today’s audiences.K-pop has taken the world by storm, but Korea’s traditional music is still underappreciated even among South Koreans, let along the wider global audience. Strong prejudices against gugak exist -- namely, that it is boring and difficult to listen to.Despite those negati

Performance Jan. 3, 2020

The National Theater of Korea is to bring three highly regarded British plays to the big screen in February. The three pieces are “One Man, Two Guvnors,” “The Lehman Trilogy” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” The works were filmed live and will be shown at the Daloreum Theater Feb. 6-16. Their arrival in South Korea is part of National Theatre Live, organized by the Royal National Theatre in Britain to bring the best of British thea

Performance Jan. 2, 2020

As 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of Ludwig Van Beethoven’s birth, various recitals and concerts are taking place across the world in remembrance of the great musician from the 18th century. Korea is of course no exception in paying tribute to Beethoven. The classical music scene has already been pumped and primed in anticipation, gearing up for a big celebration. Although Beethoven’s music has already been frequently played in musical presentations here, such instances have double

Performance Dec. 31, 2019

Comedian Park Na-rae wrapped up 2019 in triumph, winning the grand prize at the MBC Entertainment Awards. Park, 34, appreciated for her achievements on TV shows “I Live Alone,” and “Where Is My Home,” was awarded the top prize at a ceremony at the broadcasting station’s headquarters in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, Sunday.  “I honestly did not think that I deserved the prize, but as a human, I really wanted to receive it,” she said in her acceptance s

Television Dec. 30, 2019

Fans of classical music in Korea have a lot to look out for in 2020, as the stage will be packed with celebrated orchestras led by old masters and rising stars.For start, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra is set for a new beginning with its new maestro Osmo Vanska. The Finnish conductor begins his term at the SPO with inaugural concerts at the Lotte Concert hall Feb.14-15.  The Mahler and Sibelius specialist will be presenting Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor “Resurrection.&rdq

Performance Dec. 29, 2019

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is to visit South Korea for the first time, gracing the stage at the Seoul Arts Center Feb. 6-7.It will be the time-honored orchestra’s first visit to the country. A concert scheduled in 1960 as part of its Asian tour had to be canceled due to the April 19 Revolution.  On the first day, the orchestra will present Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra Sz. 116 BB. 123; Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24, K. 491; and Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloe Suite No

Performance Dec. 25, 2019

Though the musical “Big Fish” may seem to be from far away -- it is, after all, a story from the American South -- it is a tale of fatherhood with which audiences around the world can relate, the show’s scriptwriter said.The family musical is based on a 1998 novel of the same name written by Daniel Wallace. The novel was adapted into a film in 2003 starring Ewan McGregor. Screenwriter John August is the mastermind behind the film and the musical productions, having written the

Performance Dec. 24, 2019

With the Seoul Light Festival underway at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the Seoul Design Foundation hosted a forum Friday, discussing how art should evolve in the era of artificial intelligence. The state-funded design foundation is hosting the festival from Friday to Jan. 3, turning the outer walls of the DDP into a gigantic media facade. The projected media art is themed “Seoul Haemong,” inspired by the past, present and future of Seoul City and South Korea. “The DDP has

Arts & Design Dec. 20, 2019

Though the gayageum, a 12-string zither-like instrument, can be traced back to ancient times, it has evolved in different ways in North and South Korea, according to a gayageum player who has traversed the two Koreas to practice her art.Park Soon-a, 51, will be performing various gayageum solo pieces composed and played in North Korea at her solo recital “North Korea Gayageum,” to be held Friday and Saturday at Seoul Namsan Gukakdang.Park is an ethnic Korean from Japan, known as a &l

Performance Dec. 19, 2019

In his sunset years, a civil engineer-turned-photographer has been making his name at international photography competitions. Over the past five years, professional photographer Ryu Shin-woo, 76, has won 2,420 acceptances for 352 works in 466 competitions across 73 countries,  sponsored by the Federation Internationale de l’Art Photographique, also known as the International Federation of Photographic Art.  The federation, a nongovernmental organization recognized by UNESCO,

Arts & Design Dec. 18, 2019

The name Whitney Houston takes many straight back to the 1980s and ’90s. The US singer took the world by storm soon after her 1985 debut. Her first two studio albums, “Whitney Houston” and “Whitney” topped the Billboard charts for weeks. Enjoying a huge success in the music scene, the singer took a leap to the big screen, making her acting debut on the film “The Bodyguard” in 1992. She recorded six new songs, including the iconic track “I’ll

Performance Dec. 17, 2019

Musical “The Phantom of the Opera” is set in the iconic Paris Opera House in central Paris, also known as the Palais Garnier. Built in the late 19th century by Charles Garnier, the establishment is one of the city’s must-see spots to this day. A mysterious figure referred to as the phantom lives beneath the opera house, away from others. He wears a mask to hide his scarred face. He falls in love with young soprano Christine Daae. Christine comes to believe the phantom is her &l

Performance Dec. 15, 2019