Meanwhile, the National Museum of Korea also announced it has 152 metal type blocks assumed to be Gapinja. The museum was able to make the assumption based on books donated by the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee and the late Song Sung-moon, the author of the Sung Moon Comprehensive English Grammar book. The books were printed with the Gapinja metal type. The National Museum of Korea’s metal ty...

Korean pianist Lee Hyuk failed to win a trophy at the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition. Lee, 21, who was one of 12 finalists, did not make the list of awardees announced by the Polish Chopin Institute on Thursday. The competition, held every five years, was postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, more than 500 pianists signed up for the competition and some 87 co...

The LG Arts Center is gearing up to begin a new chapter in the district of Magok, western Seoul. The art center, managed by LG’s nonprofit organization the LG Yonam Cultural Foundation, is to move to the Magok area in October 2022, joining the LG Group’s R&D complex LG Science Park. In July, the center wrapped up its era in Yeoksam, Gangnam -- where it had been situated for some 20 years since ...

With South Korea soon to embrace a return to normal by “living with COVID-19,” many newlyweds are ready to go abroad for their honeymoons. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began early last year, honeymooners in Korea have been flocking to the southern holiday destination Jeju Island or the southern coastal region of Namhae in South Gyeongsang Province, taking advantage of package deals at luxury hote...

Pianist Rudolf Buchbinder says he always finds new joy in Beethoven, who is a revolution unto himself. Beethoven specialist Buchbinder, 74, went onstage at the Seoul Arts Center on Tuesday, presenting five beloved Beethoven sonata pieces, including No. 8 “Pathetique,” No. 14 “Moonlight” and No. 21 “Waldstein.” He will have more recitals here throughout the week. “I never get tired of Beethoven....

Dancer Kim Su-jeong, a member of the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company in Israel, will present “Infection” and “Querencia” at the Seoul Arts Center on Oct. 27. For the festival, dancer Kwon Hyuk has teamed up with Singaporean dancer Adele Goh, for “A Time Within Time.” The recorded performance will be screened at the Seoul Arts Center on Oct. 29. Meanwhile, Spanish dancer Lali Ayguade is to vi...

Korean pianist Lee Hyuk, 21, is among the12 finalists of the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition, taking place in Warsaw, Poland. The Chopin Competition, organized by the Polish Chopin Institute, had its first edition in 1927. Previous winners of the prestigious competition for musicians include big names in classical music, such as Martha Argerich and Krystian Zimerman. In 2015, pianist...

The Korea National Ballet is to present “Jewels,” choreographed by George Balanchine. The state ballet company will take to the stage with the 1967 ballet for the first time at the Seoul Arts Center from Oct. 20-24. Ballet legend Balanchine, recognized for his neoclassical style, created the work for the New York City Ballet of which he was the artistic director, inspired by the artistry of luxu...

At the upcoming performance, Sung will take the baton for Tan Dun’s new trombone concerto work, “Three Muses in Video Game,” written for the orchestra and principal trombonist Jorgen van Rijen. “I may not be able to interpret the work as precisely as Tan Dun who wrote the concerto. But there could be this synergy between the orchestra and me as it is the premiere of a new work,” Sung said. Othe...

Though clarinet is often placed toward the back of the stage during orchestral performances, clarinetist Kim Han, 25, has been bringing the wind instrument into the spotlight. Over the past few weeks, Kim has been performing in Korea, going onstage for an orchestral performance and solo recitals here. “After I won the second prize at the ARD International Music Competition 2019, there were some...

Daniel Cho, a 27-year-old Korean American violinist, has been appointed as concertmaster at the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra. String ensemble Sejong Soloists announced Wednesday that Cho had been selected as the concertmaster of the orchestra through an audition attended by the orchestra members and conductor Kent Nagano. The orchestra based in Hamburg, Germany was founded in 1828. Naga...

The Vienna Philharmonic and maestro Riccardo Muti are to take the stage in Korea as part of the orchestra’s Asian tour, which includes Japan and China. The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts announced Tuesday the orchestra is to go onstage at the theater on Nov. 14, led by the Italian maestro Muti. Prior to the concerts in Korea, the orchestra will tour across Japan from Nov. 3 to 12. After ...

The French stage director thinks that the Korean audiences may be able to relate strongly to the opera production, as Koreans also share the history of oppression during the Japanese occupation of Korea. “The Korean audience will recognize something of their past,” Bernard said. “I worked with the chorus members, they told me they are thinking about their past. I think the audience will connect,...

The Universal Ballet Company is to stage “Giselle” at the Seoul Arts Center from Oct. 29-31. The classic ballet is one of the most well-known and widely performed works of the Romantic era. Adolphe Adam wrote the music. Most performances of “Giselle” use the choreography staged by ballet legend Marius Petipa. It tells the story of a young peasant girl named Giselle. She falls in love with Albre...

The local culture scene has continued to protest the nomination of Ahn Ho-sang as the new head of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. Some artists and art groups held a protest Thursday in front of the art center in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, calling for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to withdraw the nomination of Ahn as the new CEO of the city-funded art center, citing the blacklist scandal. ...