Twelve years after TV drama "Dream High," featuring Kim Soo-hyun and Bae Suzy, gained enormous popularity with the story of six high school students aspiring to be superstars, a new musical attempts to continue their story. Musical "Dream High" is based on the TV series and used some songs from the original soundtrack, but the story shows the story of the main characters 10 years later. Song Sam-song (played by Kim in the TV series) returns to Kiran Arts High School to find

Culture May 19, 2023

Global streaming platform Netflix's decision to invest $2.5 billion in Korea over the next four years is both an opportunity and a reason for concern, said Park Bo-gyoon, South Korea's minister for Culture, Sports and Tourism, on Tuesday. The former journalist with 40 years of experience discussed the matter with reporters during a press conference held to mark his first anniversary in the office as the minister. “We’re mulling ways to maximize the opportunities while min

Culture May 17, 2023

Beethoven's beloved Symphony No. 9 has found itself at the center of controversy in South Korea in recent weeks. Earlier this month, a Korean-language version of Beethoven's masterpiece was performed for the first time at the Seoul Arts Center on May 7. The performance was led by conductor Koo Ja-bom, who said the symphony was the reason he became a conductor, but that he had refrained from conducting it due to his immense reverence for the piece. Koo, who dedicated two years to transl

Performance May 17, 2023

Renowned French organist Olivier Latry will bring French organ music to South Korea for his first concert here in six years. While Latry has been to his wife and organist Lee Shin-young’s home country of Korea multiple times on private visits over the past several years, this trip will feature his musical talents at the forefront. For the concert next week, he has chosen music from Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, Camille Saint-Saens, Cesar Franck and Charles-Marie Widor. In an e-mail intervie

Culture May 12, 2023

Culture May 12, 2023

Bring along your dogs and enjoy the pet-themed exhibition "A Companion of Paws" with your furry friend. The Korea Manhwa Museum is hosting a special in-door exhibition where pet owners (and non-pet owners alike) can enjoy art projects with their beloved companions. May is known as “Family Month” in Korea, and it is filled with family-oriented events, including Children’s Day and Parent’s Day. Hoping to promote the message that pets are also precious members of t

Culture May 12, 2023

Equipped with top-quality sound, Bucheon Art Center is ready to open its doors to the public on May 19, almost two decades after the initial plan for the construction of an art hall in the city of Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, was passed. “Bucheon's long-awaited dream has finally become a reality,” Bucheon Mayor Cho Yong-eek told reporters on Thursday at BAC’s concert hall. "I'm happy to announce the opening of the Bucheon Art Center, Bucheon's landmark, that

Culture May 11, 2023

Incorrect English signs have been a bugbear for public offices for a long time, but a language center in the Southeast of the country is taking aim at signs in foreign languages and characters that are difficult for the general public to understand. For example, in a public parking lot at a traditional market in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, information is provided in English in large black letters while the Korean is provided as a supplement, printed on paper and posted on the wall. To

Culture May 11, 2023

Sitting outside in a cold and windy night on an uncomfortable plastic chair for 100 minutes might be challenging, but witnessing a musical centered on King Sejong the Great with the majestic hall, Geunjeongjeon, National Treasure No. 233, as the backdrop at Gyeongbokgung truly felt like a privilege. At 7:30 p.m. on May 2, night had already fallen and the show began by illuminating a spotlight on a pansori performer who introduced the historical background of the story. As pansori singer Lee Bong

Culture May 10, 2023

Renowned American violinist Joshua Bell will make his debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra with two very special "old fashioned violin pieces" as he returns to Korea in May for the first time in five years to meet his favorite audience in the world. The 55-year-old chose Vieuxtemps’s Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor, Op. 37, a piece not frequently performed over the past 40 years, he explained in an email interview with The Korea Herald. Chausson’s Poeme for Violi

Performance May 10, 2023

Musical actress Choi Jung-won made her debut as Donna in "Mamma Mia!" on Jan. 18, 2007 -- the beginning of a remarkable journey that is 16 years in the running, encompassing more than 1,033 performances. Choi holds the record for the longest stint as Donna and has the second highest number of total performances in the role. Nowadays, the 53-year-old proudly identifies herself as "Choi Jung-won, born to play Donna," a statement that few would challenge. However, it wasn't

Performance May 8, 2023

People often overlook the fact that even the most talented musicians are still human beings, and we tend to remember only their most notable accomplishments. The naming of classical music pieces labeled with vital information such as the form, key and chronological order in which they were composed is not enough to convey the stories behind their masterpieces. Only those with a great curiosity and the willingness to explore beyond these labels will ever discover the stories of their creation.

Performance May 3, 2023

Producer and playwright Oh Se-hyeok's musical, "The Brothers Karamazov," based on the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, ended its run at the Shanghai Grand Theater on April 16. By coincidence, on the same day, the Korean version of the same musical, which premiered in 2018, happened to be midway through its fourth run in Daehagno, Seoul. Set in 19th-century Russia, the musical covers the conflict between the children of Fyodor Karamazov: the abandoned sons of his f

Performance May 3, 2023

South Korean musical theater producer OD Company has announced plans to create at least three original works, as it aims to expand to Broadway and beyond. Led by CEO and chief producer Shin Chun-soo, the company is working on two musicals -- "The Great Gatsby," based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel of the same title, and "Il Tenore," a story about three college students who fall in love with opera in the 1930s. "For genuine success in the global market, it is essen

Performance May 2, 2023

On a warm spring day, foreign exchange students at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies gathered in their traditional costumes and held up their respective country flags to introduce their cultures during the 17th Culture Expo event hosted by the Korean Language and Culture Education Institute at HUFS in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, on Friday. Students operated booths introducing regional cultures, and conducted traditional music and dance performances.

Culture April 28, 2023