Theater

“On an Azure Day”: Director Go Seon-woong’s award-sweeping play about the 1980 Gwangju democratization movement is back for a second run ― just in time for the 32nd anniversary of the historical event on May 18. The show premiered last year and won the grand prize and best play at last year’s National Theater Awards. It tells a story of middle-aged Buddhist monk Yeosan, who participated in the uprising and was brutally tortured by the authorities upon his arrest. At the time, he testified against some of his closest friends, including the younger brother of his then-girlfriend, to escape the torture and beatings. After being released from jail, Yeosan could not forgive himself for betraying his colleagues for his own survival, and suffered a mental breakdown. The show, which kicked off on April 21, runs until May 20 at Namsan Arts Center’s drama center in Yejang-dong, central Seoul. Tickets range from 15,000 won to 25,000 won. For more information, call (02) 758-2150 or visit http://www.nsartscenter.or.kr.

“Wicked”: Popular Broadway musical “Wicked” is being performed in Korea for the first time. The musical is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” which is a parallel novel of the classic “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” It tells the story of two witches in the Land of Oz ― green-skinned Elphaba and beautiful Glinda. The upcoming show is an Australian production, with actresses Jemma Rix and Suzie Mathers taking the leading roles. The show is also a part of the Australian team’s first Asian tour, which kicked off in Singapore in December last year. The show runs May 31-June 30 at Blue Square in Hannam-dong, Seoul. Tickets range from 50,000 won to 160,000 won. For tickets and information, call 1577-3363.

“Catch Me If You Can”: “Catch Me If You Can,” a successful 2002 U.S. comedy-drama movie is being staged as a musical in Seoul. The plot is based on the real-life story of Frank Abagnale Jr., one of the most famous impostors of the modern times. The movie’s Broadway musical adaptation was made in 2011, and its Seoul run features some of the most celebrated Korean musical stars as well as K-pop idols. Musical and TV actor Um Ki-joon shares his role as Abagnale with singer Kim Jeong-hoon, popular boy band Super Junior member Kyuhyun and SHINee member Key. Girls’ Generation member Sunny and singer Dana share the role of Abagnale’s love interest, Brenda. The musical runs at Blue Square’s Samsung Card Hall in Seoul until June 10. Tickets range from 60,000 won to 130,000 won. For more information, call (02) 764-7857-9 or visit www.catchmeifyoucan.co.kr.

“Elisabeth”: After welcoming the local adaptations of Czech musical “Hamlet” and London’s West End musical “Zorro“ recently, Korea’s theater scene is seeing the arrival of another European show, this time about the real-life 19th-century legendary Austrian Empress Elisabeth (1837-1898). Starring former girl group FIN.K.L. member-turned-musical actress Ok Ju-hyun, actor Song Chang-ui and K-pop group JYJ member and rising musical star Kim Jun-su, the musical portrays the life and death of the beautiful yet unhappy empress constantly seduced by the spirit of death. “Elisabeth” runs at Blue Square Samsung Electronics Hall in Seoul from Feb. 9 to May 13. For tickets and information, call (02) 6391-6333 or visit www.musicalelisabeth.com

Classical Music

“Chung Kyung-wha’s recital of Bach’s sonatas and partitas”: Violinist Chung Kyung-wha will play J.S. Bach’s sonatas and partitas at her four recitals to be held all at Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul. She will play Bach’s works on solo violin on May 15, 22, 31 and June 4. For the first two parts of the recital series, she will play Bach Sonata for Solo Violin No.1 in G Minor, Partita for Solo Violin No.1 in B Minor and Sonata for Solo Violin No.2 in A Minor. Tickets are 70,000 won and 100,000 won. Only 400 seats are available for each recital. For more information, call (02) 518-7343 or visit www.cmikorea.co.kr.

“Salon Concert Namsan”: A small concert for gugak or traditional Korean music will be held every Monday and Tuesday evening at Seoul Namsan Traditional Theater near Mount Nam, central Seoul, starting on April 9 to July 31. Featuring the country’s famous gugak musicians, the concert will take place in a hanok room, a part of the theater that fits only 20 audience members. The concert is a reenactment of Joseon’s pungnyu culture or the cultural events appreciated by Joseon’s high society. The audience will get the chance to talk to gugak musicians while drinking tea after the concert. Tickets are 50,000 won. For more information, call (02) 2261-0511~2 or visit sngad.sejongpac.or.kr.

“The Borodin Quartet Recital”: The Borodin Quartet, one of the greatest string quartets founded in 1945 in the former Soviet Union, holds its first recital in Korea at Goyang Aramnuri’s Haydn Hall on May 4. The quartet is one of the world’s oldest string quartets. For over 67 years, the Borodin Quartet has built and maintained its reputation for performing Beethoven and Shostakovich. In this concert, the quartet will perform Beethoven’s “Grosse Fugue” Op. 133, Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 33-36 and Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 3 “QuartettSatz” in B flat. For more information, call 1577-7766. Tickets range from 20,000-70,000 won.

“Korea Opera Festival”: The country’s five leading opera companies will hold a month-long festival in May at the Seoul Arts Center. From May 11 to 13, New Seoul Opera Company will stage Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” followed by Nuova Opera’s “The Tale of Hoffmann,” a French opera by Jacques Offenbach, from May 18-20. Grand Opera plans to stage Puccini’s “Tosca,” featuring opera singers from La Scala, a world- renowned opera house in Milan. Seoul Opera Company will perform Verdi’s “La Traviata” from June 1-3 while the Korea National Opera will wrap up the festival with its own creations. Tickets for the Korea Opera Festival range from 10,000 won to 150,000 won. For more information, call (02) 586-5285.


Pop Music

“Lee So-ra Concert -- Fifth Spring”: Korean singer Lee So-ra performs for a month-long run at Sogong University’s Mary Hall in Seoul starting on May 4. The concerts, to be held every Thursday through Sunday, except for the first and last week of the month, run through May 28. The singer, who has been holding concerts every spring since 2007, will sing songs from her new album to be released after the concert. Tickets are 77,000 won. For more information, call 1544-1555.

“My ... Daehwa (Conversation)”: Insooni, a versatile Korean vocalist, turns to the world of classical music with renowned guitarist Denis Sungho Janssens performs a tango opera, “Maria de Buenos Aires,” by Piazzolla and a classic Bizet opera, “Habanera.” Her title songs like “Father,” “Dream of a Goose” and “Hypnosis” are rearranged for the performance, while Janssens is to play his solo pieces including “Korean Mountain,” his own composition in tribute to Korean film “Strokes of Fire (2001).” The two will give seven concerts in Korea starting March 30 at Pohang Art Center in Pohang, followed by Gwangju Art Center on April 20, Incheon Art Center on April 17 and at Daegu Art Center on May 1. The tour continues on May 2 at Ulsan Art Center, LG Arts Center in Seoul on May 30 and Busan Art Center on June 7. Tickets range from 50,000 won to 200,000 won. For more information, call (02) 749-8821.

“Lady Gaga’s The Born This Way Ball”: U.S. pop diva Lady Gaga kicks off her “The Born This Way Ball” world tour at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, one of the biggest sports and concert venues in Korea, on April 27. The concert will be “the first-ever pop electro opera” and is the first full-fledged concert in Seoul by Gaga. Lady Gaga chose Seoul because she likes her enthusiastic and passionate Korean fans and thinks that they will best interact with her shocking performance. The 25-year-old star will perform her latest album “Born This Way” and also music from “The Fame” and “The Fame Monster” albums. Tickets range from 55,000 won to 125,000 won. For ticket reservations, visit privia.hyundaicard.com or ticket.interpark.com.

“Uijeongbu International Music Theater Festival”: The 11th Uijeongbu International Music Theater Festival kicks off at various theaters in the city on May 5-20, featuring soprano Jo Sumi and K-pop couple Tiger JK and Yoon Mi-rae. Jo will perform at Uijeongbu Arts Center on May 15, while the hip-hop duo plans to perform at the festival’s finale at the UAC’s outdoor theater on May 20. The festival opens with non-verbal theater production “PLECS” by a Spanish theater group Enfila’t at UAC on May 5 and ends with another Spanish production titled “Sing Sing Sing” by theater company Divinas. Other foreign productions include “Loop the Loop”by Australian theater company Onyx Production, and “Nuova Baberia Carloni” performed by Theatro Necessario from Italy. Renowned ballet choreographer Seo Mi-sook will introduce her own ballet production titled “Hymne a l’Amour” about French singer and cultural icon Edith Piaf on May 10-12 at UAC. For more information call (031) 828-5892 or visit www.umtf.or.kr



 Exhibitions

“A&C Art Fair Seoul 2012”: Hosted by monthly art magazine Art & Criticism, the annual art fair introduces over 1,200 works by about 250 artists. Unlike other art fairs, which are usually gallery-oriented, this fair is strictly artist-focused. Each artist has his own booth, and is present to explain, promote and sell their work during the fair’s five-day run. Artists on exhibition range from renowned South Korean artists such as Paik Nam-june, Kim Hyung-geun and Choi Jong-tae to unfamiliar foreign artists like Singaporean Chinkok Tan and Canadian Jim Bourke. As the booths are directly run by the artists, it will be a rare opportunity to talk with them and learn first-hand about their backgrounds and art worlds. It runs through May 1 at SETEC in Daechi-dong. For more information, call (02) 2231-4459 or visit www.sinwonart.co.kr. 

“Nine Dwarves”: Kukje Gallery presents a solo exhibition of Paul McCarthy, a U.S. multimedia artist who garnered critical attention for his stunningly diverse variety of materials and a radically experimental approach to art. This exhibition is comprised of nine sculptures and one aluminum sculpture, including pieces from the artist’s famous White Snow series which reveal his social satire and wry sense of humor. The exhibition runs through May 12 at Kukje Gallery in Sogyeok-dong, central Seoul. For more information, call (02) 735-8449 or visit www.kukjegallery.com.

“Working with Nature”: What could have ended up in the trash or at best at a hardware store turns into art -- extremely delicate art, even -- when touched by Lee Jae-hyo’s fingertips. The South Korean artist is holding a retrospective exhibition at Sunkok Art Museum in central Seoul. The exhibits range from drawings he did while attending Hongik University to his latest installation works composed of sliced nails, stones and wood. The exhibition runs through May 27 at Sungkok Art Museum in central Seoul. Tickets range from 4,000 won to 5,000 won. The museum is closed on Monday. For more information, call (02) 737-7650 or visit www.sungkokmuseum.com.

“Dansaekhwa: Korean Monochrome Painting”: Korea’s monochrome paintings from the 1970s to the present will be highlighted in what is the largest such exhibition here. It will introduce about 150 artworks by 17 early monochrome artists including several representative monochrome artists such as Kim Hwan-ki, Quac In-sik, Park Seo-bo and Lee U-fan and 14 late monochrome artists including Lee Kang-so and Moon Beom. The exhibition runs through May 13 at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. For more information, call (02) 2188-6114 or visit www.moca.go.kr.

“Home within Home”: Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art is showcasing 43 of Suh Do Ho’s representative home-themed installations, sculptures, drawings and videos at his solo exhibition. Home seems to be a never-ending source of inspiration for the artist who is still living a nomadic life, dividing time among Seoul, New York and London. The museum’s choice of Suh for the opening exhibition this year is not surprising as he has stood out in the past decade as one of the most internationally acclaimed and active South Korean artists. The exhibition runs through June 3. Tickets range from 7,000 won to 13,000 won. For more information, call (02) 2014-6900 or visit www.leeum.org.

“Song for Nobody”: Bae Young-whan’s solo exhibition at Plateau in Taepyeongro, central Seoul, looks back on the last 15 years of his artistic career. The artist, who represented Korea at the 2005 Venice Art Biennale, filled the 43-square-meter exhibition space with 26 works that share the same theme, but are very diverse in genre and materials. His chandelier work “Insomnia -- Song of Dionysos” which appeared in director Im Sang-soo’s 2008 movie “The Housemaid,” is on show. The exhibition runs through May 20. Tickets range from 1,000 won to 3,000 won. For more information, call 1577-7595 or visit www.plateau.or.kr.


Dance

“Journey to Dance 2012”: The Korean Arts Centre hosts “Journey to Dance 2012,” a dance festival in which 21 South Korean companies are participating. Kicked off on April 7, the festival runs for 20 weeks. Participating companies include Korea Flamenco Company which will showcase “Noche de Flamenco” and SuperB Dance Theatre with “Empty Room.” The performance runs through Aug. 19 at Theater Sungkyun in Myeongryun-dong, central Seoul. For more information, call (02) 747-5035 or visit cafe.naver.com/sktheater/106.

“Lee Cheol-jin’s Tuesday Buddhist Dance”: Theater Sungkyun, a theater dedicated to Korean traditional arts, is holding Lee Cheol-jin’s Buddhist dance performance. Lee dances solo for 40 minutes to the dynamic choreography of the Korean traditional dance. It is held as an open run at Theater Sungkyun in Myeongryun-dong, central Seoul, every Tuesday at 7 p.m. Admission is 20,000 won. For more information, call (02) 747-5035 or visit cafe.naver.com/sktheater/106.

“The Lady of the Camellias”: Renowned South Korean ballerina Kang Su-jin, a principal dancer in Germany’s Stuttgart Ballet, and her dance company will showcase in Korea with “The Lady of the Camelias” from June 16-17 at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul. The ballet, based on Alexandre Dumas’ novel, is choreographed by John Neumeier and features music by Chopin. Ticket sales opened on March 15. Tickets range in price from 50,000 won to 250,000 won. For more information, call 1577-5266 or visit www.clubbalcony.com.

“Miso”: Translated as “beautiful smile,” this musical offers a compact presentation of everything Korean culture first-timers could wish for. It blends ten different kinds of traditional dances, five traditional games and a wedding ritual into the storyline based on a well-known folktale, “The Tale of Chunhyang.” There are very few spoken lines throughout the performance, making it ideal for audiences of diverse nationalities. “Miso” is showing as an open run at Chongdong Theater in Jeong-dong, central Seoul. Tickets range from 30,000 won to 50,000 won. For more information, call (02) 751-1500 or visit www.koreamiso.com.

Festivals 

“Hadong Wild Tea Cultural Festival”: The annual Wild Tea Cultural Festival will take place from May 2-6 at Korea’s very first tea cultivation sites in Hadong-gun, South Gyeongsang Province. Throughout the festival period, visitors will have a chance to participate in various hands-on experience programs including green tea leaf picking, tea making, tea footbath and tea etiquette contest. On the evening of May 4, there a grand tea party will be thrown, accompanied by diverse traditional performances. Participants can take home the tea they picked and made during the event. For more information, visit festival.hadong.go.kr. 

“Ulsan Whale Festival”: Ulsan, a coastal city in South Gyeongsang Province known for whale-watching and maritime commerce, will hold its 18th annual Whale Festival through April 29. Under the title “City of Life, Dreams of Whale,” the festival is composed of an original whale-themed musical as well as other performances such as a reenactment of prehistoric whale fishing. Visitors will also have a chance to experience ancient fishing village culture at the model prehistoric village and sample liquors using whale-shaped glasses at the Sulgorae Square. The festival will take place in the Taehwa River and Jangsaengpo Ocean Park area. For more information, visit www.ulsanwhale.com.

“Cheongsando Slow Walk Festival”: Cheongsando Island, the slow city site in South Jeolla Province, holds its annual Slow Walk Festival in the month of April, featuring the main walk course along the Cheongsando slow road stretching more than 42 kilometers. Participants who collect over a certain number of stamps during their walk will receive a commemoration badge, and those who finish get a completion certificate. Programs such as seashell crafts, traditional fishing net building and local specialty sampling are also offered at the festival. The festival will run through April 30 at Cheongsando slow road in Wando-gun South Jeolla Province. For more information, visit www.slowcitywando.com.

“2012 Jisan Valley Rock Festival”: World-famous rock bands Radiohead and The Stone Roses will visit Korea in July to participate in the 2012 Jisan Valley Rock Festival. Radiohead have released eight full-length albums since their debut in 1993 and their hit “Creep.” The Stone Roses were a pioneering alternative rock group that rose to prominence in the late-1980s. The rock festival is scheduled to take place from July 27th through July 29th at Jisan Forest Resort in Icheon City, Gyeonggi Province from July 27-29. For more information, visit valleryrockfestival.mnet.com.