PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon -- As a child, Son Yeol-eum, the virtuoso pianist hailing from Wonju, a city in the scenic Gangwon Province, was very shy. So shy that she would choose to walk down small alleys rather than large streets. As the spotlight on her grew, as did the pressure of being a promising pianist, she was reluctant to embrace fame. She remembers asking her mom why they couldn’t be mutually exclusive -- playing the instrument she loved without all of the extra attention. Fast forwar

Performance July 6, 2022

The Montreal Symphony Orchestra will present a “passionate repertoire” during its visit to South Korea this week, the orchestra’s new conductor and musical director Rafael Payare said Tuesday.　 The orchestra’s first overseas tour under the direction of the 42-year-old Venezuelan conductor consists of four concerts: Tuesday’s concert with South Korean concert pianist Sunwoo Yekwon, the winner of the 15th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, at Lotte Conce

Performance July 5, 2022

Park Bo-gyoon, the new minister of culture, tourism and sports, said BTS‘s military service depends on public opinion and Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential office, could be turned into a cultural complex. Park, who came into office 50 days ago, met with reporters for the first time and shared his position on current issues such as a possible military exemption for K-pop stars and Cheong Wa Dae’s future. 　 Calling military service a solemn obligation, he acknowledged BTS&lsquo

Culture July 4, 2022

Kim Dae-jin, 58, took the reins of the Korea National University of Arts, known as K-Arts, only 10 months ago, but his history with the school goes back to 1994, when he became a professor two years after the school opened. K-Arts, the country’s top arts school, was founded in 1992 with a mission to provide high-quality education so that students would not have to go abroad seeking great teachers and top-class training. Fast forward to 2022, the school is seeing the fruits of its labor

Performance July 4, 2022

PYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- The 19th edition of Music in Pyeongchang, an orchestral event in Gangwon Province, finally kicked off Saturday with an opening concert that mixes modern and classical music pieces. The first half of the opening concert began with Frederic Rzewski’s “To The Earth,” performed by percussionist Matthew Ernster. The percussion session that accompanied a poem recitation was followed by George Crumb’s “Voice of the Whale” for Th

Performance July 3, 2022

  Less than two weeks after becoming the youngest winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Lim Yun-chan stood before South Korean press Thursday and said he sees little change in his musical life. “Nothing has changed since I won the competition. My piano skills haven’t improved overnight just because I won. I will continue making more effort,” Lim, 18, told reporters at a press conference held on the Seocho Campus of the Korea National University of

Performance June 30, 2022

Beautiful Mind, a cultural and diplomatic charity organization, and audio equipment brand KEF last week signed an agreement to promote culture and arts for people with disabilities. The agreement covers cooperation in music education for children with disabilities and adolescents from low-income families as well as their orchestra activities, Beautiful Mind said in a statement. The agreement includes KEF’s sponsorship of wireless hi-fi speakers and wireless earphones to Beautiful Mind.

Performance June 29, 2022

There was one common element at four different theaters across South Korea on Thursday night. They all staged the music of American composer Frank Wildhorn, the great mind behind musicals “The Man Who Laughs,” “Death Note,” “Mata Hari” and “Jekyll & Hyde.” “That’s 7,000-8,000 people every single night listening to my music … all I can say is that I’m the luckiest guy,” Wildhorn said in an interview with local re

Performance June 28, 2022

DAEGU -- The iconic Daegu International Musical Festival kicked off Friday, returning in full blast for the first time in three years. The opening event took place at Kolon Bandstand Stage, joined by generation-spanning musical actors as well as aspiring students, including Nam Kyeong-ju, Choi Jung-won, Michael Lee, Park Gun-hyung and Kim So-hyang.  This year’s iteration brought back foreign musicals, also for the first time in three years. The Slovakian version of “Turand

Performance June 26, 2022

A musical that highlights the charm of taekwondo, Korea’s traditional martial arts, has recently been unveiled at Theater Yong at the National Museum of Korea. With a mixed group of musical actors and actual taekwondo athletes, “Taekwon, Fly Up!” offers a dynamic 70 minutes for all ages. The musical revolves around the story of a high school taekwondo team that used to be famous for its high ranking. But after several years of underperforming, their school decides to give th

Performance June 24, 2022

On Sunday, Lim Yun-chan, 18, received the Gold Medal at the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The news arrived two weeks after cellist Choi Ha-young won the Queen Elisabeth competition and three weeks after violinist Yang In-mo became the first Korean winner of the Sibelius Violin Competition, making it an inspiring time for Koreans. But the phenomenon didn’t start in 2022. Last year, Korean pianists Park Jae-hong won first place at the Busoni International Piano Comp

Performance June 24, 2022

  LG Arts Center Seoul is set to open Oct. 13 with a special concert by the London Symphony Orchestra, led by Simon Rattle and Korean pianist Cho Seong-jin. The 41,631-square-meter complex in southwestern Seoul, which cost 255.6 billion won ($198 million), has taken 4 1/2 years to complete. Designed by celebrated Japanese architect Tadao Ando, it is the second large performing arts center by the architect, after the Shanghai Poly Grand Theatre. “I wanted to create one-of-a-kin

Culture June 21, 2022

The latest album by South Korean soprano Im Sun-hae is unlike most of her previous releases. Betraying her love for musicals, “The Man I Love” is a pleasant picnic away from her career as a soprano, according to the performer. “I‘ve always loved all genres of musical performance. I will always be a classical singer at heart because once you fall in love with classical music, you never give it up completely. But I often felt a need to explore different genres and diver

Performance June 20, 2022

Lim Yun-chan, an 18-year-old South Korean pianist, became the winner of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas, the organizer announced Saturday. Lim, the youngest to win the competition’s gold medal, also took home two additional awards: the audience award and the best performance of a new work. Lim also won a cash prize of $100,000 for the gold medal and $7,500 for the special awards. For the next three years, he will also get substantial man

Performance June 19, 2022

The Blue Man Group, a nonverbal stage show that blends art, technology, music and comedy, finally returns to South Korea after a pandemic-induced delay, marking their first time back since 2008. The show “that is not meant to be taken too seriously” will provide a pleasure and fun to Korean audiences as the three bald and blue characters with a special vision explore the world without words. The Blue Man Group features three bald and blue characters, a result of an hourlong make

Performance June 16, 2022