Hic et Nunc! Musical Festival, an annual event founded and backed by Sejong Soloists, is returning with a program filled with premieres and innovations. From Aug. 16 to Sept. 2, Hic et Nunc, meaning "here and now” in Latin, will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Sejong Soloists, founded by renowned Juilliard professor of violin Kang Hyo, by showcasing unique programs and world-renowned musicians who have been part of the Sejong Soloists. Since its foundation in 1994, the ensembl

Culture July 8, 2024

“Your Lie in April,” a musical based on Japanese manga series of the same title and an original score by Broadway composer Frank Wildhorn, opened in Seoul last week, winning over younger audiences with the story of a piano prodigy who loses his ability to hear the piano after his mother's death and his experiences after he meets violinist Kaori Miyazono. The story written by Naoshi Arakawa delves into themes of trauma, healing, and the power of music. The Korean version, produce

Culture July 8, 2024

Vintage cafe in timeworn Haebangchon Perched on the steep slopes of Seoul's Namsan, Haebangchon is a neighborhood where the past seems to exist alongside the present. Narrow uphill roads wind through a cluttered landscape where pedestrians and buses jostle for space, beneath the canopy of tangled power lines and weathered buildings. Tucked away in maze-like alleyways lies Tajagi, a cafe that embodies the neighborhood’s vintage charm. Its name, meaning "typewriter" in Korean,

Culture July 5, 2024

Acclaimed Italian director Nanni Moretti’s latest film, “A Brighter Tomorrow,” which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, features a Korean-Italian interpreter. The character is not just an interpreter of languages, but also a link across cultures, introducing for instance how to drink soju. Though it’s a small role, for pianist Yoo Sun Hee, who is expanding her artistic horizons by venturing into acting with this role, it signifies what she

Culture July 3, 2024

Conductor Chung Myung-whun might lead the KBS Symphony Orchestra as the next music director. Discussions with Chung are in the final stages, an orchestra official told The Korea Herald on Monday. It would be Chung's first time leading a Korean orchestra after nine years. Since stepping down from his positions as director of both the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in 2015, Chung has not held a directorial role. Instead, he has been conducting vario

Performance July 1, 2024

NEW YORK -- The official opening of the Korean Center in New York on Thursday marks a significant milestone, years after the land for a larger center was purchased in 2009. It also coincides with Korean culture enjoying the global spotlight. The center houses the Korean Cultural Center, the Korea Tourism Organization, the Korea Creative Content Agency and the King Sejong Institute. After Los Angeles, Shanghai, Tokyo, Beijing and Paris, it is the sixth such place where institutions promoting Ko

Culture June 27, 2024

The Credia Park Concert, the first full-scale outdoor classical music concert launched in Korea in 2010, returns in September after five years, running from Sept. 6 to 8 at the Olympic Park 88 Garden in southeastern Seoul. The concert on Sept. 6, titled "Forest of Music," features pianist Yuhki Kuramoto, violinist Danny Koo and Fortena, a group of four tenors along with Korea Coop Orchestra led by Kim Sung-zin. On the second day of the Park Concert, "Disney in Concert” will

Culture June 27, 2024

Eighteen new King Sejong Institutes will officially open in 15 countries next year, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and King Sejong Institute Foundation announced Monday. With the new additions, Korean language and culture classes will now be offered at 256 locations in 88 countries worldwide. This year, 97 institutions from 40 countries applied to be selected to host King Sejong Institutes, demonstrating enthusiasm for learning Korean and marking the highest competition ratio of 5.4

Culture June 24, 2024

DAGEU - The Daegu International Musical Festival opened its 18th edition Friday, with the Korean premiere of “Holidays,” a French jukebox musical based on Madonna's hit songs, at Daegu Opera House. “We invited ‘Holidays’ as the opening performance because Madonna is truly a legendary pop star and the musical based on her music would resonate deeply with Korean audience,” Bae Sung-hyuck, executive director of the DIMF, told reporters during a press confere

Culture June 23, 2024

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra is set to hold two performances titled "Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky with Ray Chen” next week at Lotte Concert Hall, under the baton of Vasily Petrenko, the music director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Both concerts will commence with Weber's "Euryanthe" Overture before featuring Taiwanese violinist Ray Chen who will perform Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor on June 28 and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major,

Culture June 20, 2024

Musicals are at the center of attention this week as two major events bring together domestic and international musical production companies, performers, experts and investors in Seoul and Daegu. On Tuesday, the K-Musical Market, an annual event launched in 2021 to promote Korean original musicals internationally, kicked off with a forum on the latest trends in musical markets in Asia. The event serves as a platform for participants to share information on overseas expansion, local developme

Culture June 19, 2024

Recognizing the content industry as the country’s next growth engine, South Korea on Tuesday unveiled a series of strategies to support the content industry, including opening up policy funds to global capital. For the next five years, the government plans to inject funds totaling 3.4 trillion won ($2.5 billion), which includes 2.4 trillion won for the cultural account of the Fund of Funds, which pursues both profitability and public interest, and 1 trillion won for the K-Content and Media

Culture June 18, 2024

South Korea aims to enhance the entire experience for foreign tourists, from streamlining entry procedures to providing diverse tourist programs, the government announced Monday. The measures aim to address the slow recovery of tourism revenue -- the amount that inbound visitors pay for goods and services in the country -- despite the fast rebound of the number of tourists. According to the Korea Tourism Organization Thursday, the number of foreign tourists visiting the country stood at 4.86 m

Culture June 17, 2024

Music in PyeongChang, an annual music festival held in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, will take place under the theme of "Ludwig!" from July 24 to Aug. 3, the festival's artistic director, Yang Sung-won, announced Tuesday. Expressing his goal to create a program that can have the last impact on young visitors as the fourth artistic director of the 21-year-old festival, Yang said that this year the music festival aims to offer a "spiritual link" to Beethoven, by showc

Culture June 11, 2024

Kicking off his much-anticipated recital tour in South Korea, pianist Lim Yunchan on Friday dispersed any concerns about his change in repertoire only about six weeks ago. He was originally supposed to perform Chopin’s Etudes, from his debut album with Decca, along with Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words in E major, Op. 19-1, and Songs Without Words in D major, Op. 85-4, followed by Tchaikovsky's "The Seasons," Op. 37b. With the release of the album in April, many of h

Culture June 9, 2024