Articles by Park Ga-young
Park Ga-young
gypark@heraldcorp.com-
Pianist Paik Kun-woo's search for musical freedom brings us 'Goyescas'
Pianist Paik Kun-woo saw Alicia de Larrocha performing Granados’ “Goyescas” when he was in New York as a student. That was likely a concert on Dec. 7, 1967, that took place at Carnegie Hall to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Granados. Even now he remembers vividly how deeply impressed he was by the performance and how the music filled the hall with warmth on a chilly night, thinking that he wanted to play it himself someday. That “someday” came half
Performance Sept. 21, 2022
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Bursting with local flavor, “Mrs. Doubtfire” hits the spot
The previews of the musical adaptation of “Mrs. Doubtfire” opened on Broadway at an unfortunate time -- on March 9, 2020 -- right as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in New York. Like most theaters and productions around the world, it only ran three performances before going on an uncertain hiatus. The previews returned in October last year, but had to close again in January. In May, the show was closed again, just one month after reopening, due to the spread of the omicron vibran
Performance Sept. 14, 2022
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Celebrating 45 years after New York debut, violinist Lee Sung-ju to perform Mozart
Violinist Lee Sung-ju is set to celebrate the 45th anniversary of her New York debut with an all-Mozart concert. Lee made her New York debut in 1977 at Kaufmann Concert Hall as a winner of "Young Concert Artists." She went to the US at the age of 13 to study at the Julliard School, where she studied under Ivan Galamian and Dorothy Delay. For the upcoming concert, titled “Mozart Revolution,” Lee will go on stage with violist Kim Sang-jin and Camerata Antiqua Seoul,
Latest News Sept. 14, 2022
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Lang Lang reinterprets Disney music in new album
As The Walt Disney Company celebrates 100 years, pianist Lang Lang is set to release “The Disney Book,” which contains 27 songs from the entertainment giant’s iconic films. Speaking to Korean reporters on Tuesday in an online interview, Lang Lang said the project took him several years as he and his production team tried to make sure the new arrangement would be on par with the music of great composers like Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and so on. “I always w
Performance Aug. 31, 2022
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Culture Ministry seeks W6.7t for next year, including W12.8b for Cheong Wa Dae project
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday said it is seeking 6.7 trillion won ($4.9 billion) for next year’s budget. Next year’s budget is a 9.3 percent cut from this year‘s, and stands in contrast to a 5.2 percent hike in the national budget proposed for the next year. An official at the ministry explained that some 450 billion won was transferred to local projects as part of the National Balanced Development Special Account for next year. Additionally, ther
Culture Aug. 30, 2022
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Chamber Orchestra of Europe, pianist Kim Sun-wook to take stage in November
Korean concert pianist Kim Sun-wook will join forces with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, this time led by conductor Kirill Karabits, to bring the 18th and 19th German and Austrian music to Korea in November. On Nov. 5, the London-based orchestra and Kim will perform Schubert Overture in the Italian Style, D.59, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 37, and Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4, Op. 90. It is an all-Beethoven program on Nov. 8 with Coriolan Overture Op. 62,Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 58
Performance Aug. 29, 2022
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UK journalist asks: What is the Korea we refuse to see?
As individuals, we often see ourselves through the lens of others, giving careful consideration to how we are viewed. However, as a country of such individuals, we may not see or refuse to acknowledge the reality of our social and cultural dynamics until someone -- likely an outsider with an insider’s view -- points it out. A recent book by Raphael Rashid, a Seoul-based freelance journalist from the UK, does just that. In his book “The Korea We Refuse to See,” written in K
Books Aug. 29, 2022
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[Weekender] Sleep-deprived Korea
Whether chasing a lifestyle of low sleep and high output or due to the sleep deprivation synonymous with parenthood, many South Koreans are sleep-deprived. For Kim Yu-ri, a nurse in her 30s with two children, sleep has long been a luxury. Raising a 3-year-old and 1-year-old while commuting two hours daily from home in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to Jamsil in Seoul, her days are already overpacked. “I think seven hours of sleep at night is what I really need, but it never seems to be a po
Technology Aug. 27, 2022
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Pianist Paik Kun-woo returns with music of Granados
Pianist Paik Kun-woo, who is known for focusing on one composer at a time, is set to bring the music of Spanish composer Enrique Granados to the stage. In an Oct. 8 recital at Seoul Arts Center, Paik will perform works by Granados, a composer who is not well-known in Korea. They include “Goyescas, Op. 11,” “Los Requiebros,” “Coloquio en la Reja,” “El Fandango de Candil,” “Quejas, o la Maja y el Ruisenor,” “El Amor y la Muerte:
Performance Aug. 22, 2022
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National Chorus of Korea aims to reach global audience with first album
The National Chorus of Korea aims to reach global audiences with its first album and special concerts with US soloists. After releasing its first regular album, “Voices of Solace,” alongside high-budget music videos for the album in June, the 49-year-old national choral group is taking Korea’s old and new melodies to the stage with the 24-member American Soloists Ensemble this month. “I had a chance to conduct an all-Korean music concert in the US in 2019 and realized
Performance Aug. 16, 2022
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K-musicals have a myriad of challenges to benefit from explosive potential
Compared to Broadway and the West End, which have become synonymous with musicals, South Korea’s musical industry remains small and stagnant at about 400 billion won ($307 million) a year. However, experts here said that Asia’s fourth-largest economy has developed musicals with its own distinct characters and hosts a unique audience and holds great potential, but only if it overcomes a myriad of challenges. “The popularity other K-cultural products enjoy and the potential of
Culture Aug. 13, 2022
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20 years on, K-webtoons have become first movers
In August 2002, the online portal site Daum created a category called “Webtoon” on its platform. Following Daum, South Korea’s largest online portal and search engine Naver launched a similar platform in 2005. Twenty years after their conception, webtoons have become a veritable industry of their own. South Korean webtoons have emerged as a strong multiuse source that create enormous economic value not only in Korea, but also globally. Domestically, it raked in 1.053 trillion
Cartoon Aug. 13, 2022
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[Herald Interview] Min-jin Lee hopes to make all readers Korean
Korean American writer Min-jin Lee, 53, spent some 30-odd years writing her second novel “Pachinko.” She interviewed numerous people in Korea, Japan and other places around the world for this book. Her quest for accuracy and authenticity even led her to abandon a previous draft in 2007 called “Motherland” which was nearly a full-length book. “It was a terrible book … it was really boring and even my husband said it was really boring. I didn’t want t
Books Aug. 8, 2022
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Kim Hoon's 'Harbin' looks at independence fighther An Jung-geun
Recovering from an illness last year, Korean novelist and essayist Kim Hoon, 74, pondered about the rest of his life. One thing he realized was that he could no longer put off writing about independence activist An Jung-geun (1879-1910), which had been on his mind since his college days. “I was busy making ends meet. And more importantly, I didn’t dare write about him,” Kim told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday. Struck by a desperate feeling of
Books Aug. 4, 2022
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[Herald Review] Three Parks bring to life Victor Hugo’s lesser known ‘The Man Who Laughs’
French writer Victor Hugo’s 1869 novel, “The Man Who Laughs,” went onstage in South Korea as a musical in 2018. Best known for “Les Miserables” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame,” Hugo’s works have inspired many musical and film adaptations. Hugo’s lesser known “The Man Who Laughs” inspired the EMK Musical Company to create a musical version of the story and in its third production this year, the musical shows the power of
Performance Aug. 3, 2022
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