Though the COVID-19 pandemic continues to restrict many aspects of our lives, the local musical scene has been striving to bounce back. After the government relaxed the social distancing rules for performing arts venues in early February, local musical productions have been recording sell-outs with musical fans returning to theaters. According to the Korea Performing Arts Box Office Information...

While the main hall at Naejangsa, one of the country’s oldest Buddhist temples, burned down Friday in a suspected arson attack, a monk representing the temple denied the claim that there was a disagreement between the monks there. According to reports citing local police, the fire at Naejangsa in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, was reported Friday at 6:37 p.m., a few minutes after it is believe...

Tickets for the performances range from 10,000 won to 50,000 won. Reservations can be made at the Seoul Arts Center website or through Interpark. By Im Eun-byel ( silverstar@heraldcorp.com )

Jochiwon Spring Flower Festival The Jochiwon Spring Flower Festival will be held from April 1 to 11. The annual spring festival went online last year due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic. This year, the fesitval will be held both online and offline. The festival, usually held for three days, will be held over 11 days this year. Though the main festival area was the Jochiwon Station main street a...

The Broadway hit opened in 2005 in Korea at the National Theater of Korea. It was on the stage in Korea for nine seasons, attracting 700,000 audience members across 761 performances. This season, stage actors Ryu Jung-han, Cho Seung-woo and Hong Kwang-ho play Cervantes. The Seoul engagement of the show wrapped up Monday after a monthlong run. It will move to Daejeon from March 10 to 14. After t...

As last year’s festival was canceled due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organizers have planned a more flexible program to cope with the virus-plagued times. About 50 percent of the tickets will be sold for each performance, leaving an empty seat between every audience member. Under the Level 2 social distancing measures, performances will be held both offline and online. At Leve...

A series of claims accusing celebrities and sport stars of school violence is spreading like wildfire in Korea via social media. The claims, also being dubbed the “school #MeToo” movement, began with the controversy regarding volleyball athletes and twin sisters Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-yeong. After the Lee sisters admitted to the charges, accusations of school bullying by sport stars and celeb...

Following the epic win of “Parasite” last year, “Minari,” a film by a Korean American director, won for best foreign-language film at the Golden Globe Awards on Monday. A semi-autobiographical story by auteur Lee Isaac Chung, the film tells the story of a Korean American family seeking the American dream in rural Arkansas in the 1980s, featuring actors Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Youn Yuh-Jung and m...

When stringent social distancing scheme was imposed in March, September and December of 2020, the number of visitors to other cities and counties heavily dropped. Visitors to Daegu in March decreased by 57 percent, while North Gyeongsang Province saw a 44 percent decrease, along with Jeju Island which marked a 44 percent decrease in April, compared to the same period from the year before. The ci...

Set to move to Magok, western Seoul, in 2022, the LG Arts Center released the program for its last season in Gangnam, southern Seoul, Friday. The center’s annual program CoMPAS21 will feature more domestic acts, as visits by international artists and art troupes are limited by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Performances by foreign productions are to be available through screenings. Theater di...

Director Lee Joon-ik, a master of period films who directed “Dong-ju: The Portrait of a Poet,” “Anarchist from Colony” and more, is back with his latest work “The Book of Fish.” The film centers around the real-life character of Jeong Yak-jeon, the brother of scholar Jeong Yak-yong. Both brothers were leading scholars from the Joseon era. While living in exile on the remote southern Heuksan Isla...

Haeundae Light Festival The Haeundae Light Festival is being held across the Haeundae area in Busan. Light decorations have been installed at the iconic Haeundae Beach and Haeundae Market, creating a spectacular nighttime view. Outdoor events and hands-on experiences and activities, however, have all been canceled. The festival will continue until March 28. Jeju Canola Flower Festival Welcom...

“Due to the pandemic, ‘Wicked’ is closed around the world and Korea is the first country to bring the show back to the stage. There is a sense of pride in this,” said Ock Ju-hyun, who plays Elphaba in the musical. “I cannot forget meeting the audience on the first day of the performance. It was epic,” said the actor. It is Ock’s second time taking on the role since the show premiered in South Ko...

French original musical “Notre Dame de Paris” comes back to Korea once again this year, taking the stage from Nov. 17 to Dec. 5. The show enjoyed a successful run in Korea last year despite the pandemic. The center’s signature “Harry Potter” concerts are set to continue Oct. 15-17 with “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” “We are continuing to stream our performances. However, I think we...

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...