Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
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[Herald Interview] ‘Hunminjeongeum’ oratorio sings of how Hangeul was created
Hunminjeongeum is the original name for Hangeul, the Korean writing system invented by King Sejong the Great in 1443, as well as the name of the official document that explains the reason for the creation of Hangeul and its usage. Now, the National Chorus of Korea attempts to present one of the most important inventions on the Korean Peninsula as a stage show. On May 31, the choral group, Klim Chamber Orchestra and Andong City Chorus will stage the oratorio at Seoul Arts Center on Tuesday.
May 30, 2022
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[Herald Review] Seoul Jazz Festival soothes with eclectic music
Seoul Jazz Festival, which ran from Friday to Sunday at the Olympic Park’s 88 Jandi Madang, in southeastern Seoul, was filled with the audience’s joy, love, freedom, happiness and laughter. With the return of the landmark annual outdoor jazz fest after a two-year break as South Korea scrapped most of its COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, the first day of the fest kicked off under a scorching sun. About 10,000 festivalgoers flocked to the venue, hanging out on picnic mats and c
May 29, 2022
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[Newsmaker] Song Kang-ho, prolific and versatile actor
Actor Song Kang-ho became the first Korean male actor to win an acting prize at the Cannes Film Festival, grabbing the award for best actor for his role as a “baby broker” in Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Broker” on Saturday. This marked the 55-year-old’s seventh invitation to the prestigious film festival, but it is the first title the veteran actor has won at Cannes. Song starred in several Cannes award-winning films, including Park Chan-wook&rsqu
May 29, 2022
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Director Park Chan-wook says films made for the big screen should be watched at theaters
South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook said during a press conference in Cannes, France, on Saturday (French time) that the future of cinema is tightly connected with that of movie theaters, which bring incomparable cinematic experience. "Our experience to entirely focus on a film and enjoy it along with many people at a movie theater is out of comparison," he said in a press conference after the closing ceremony of the 75th Cannes Film Festival. He won Best Director for his latest feature
May 29, 2022
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Seoul Jazz Festival kicks off after two-year COVID-19 hiatus
Seoul Jazz Festival, a landmark annual outdoor jazz fest, kicked off its three-day concert series on Friday. The in-person festival resumed after a two-year break as South Korea scrapped most of its COVID-19 social distancing restrictions. This year’s Seoul Jazz Festival took place at the Olympic Park’s 88 Jandi Madang in southern Seoul. While Friday’s performance was set to run from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., some of the audiences came as early as 8 a.m. to get in a line to re
May 27, 2022
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[Herald Interview] BTS a ‘wonderful musical companion’ : Big Hit Music producer Pdogg
K-pop has become one of the most popular music genres in the global music scene, thanks to local artists’ active promotion of their songs. Seven-piece boy band BTS is one of the biggest music sensations in K-pop history, dominating global music charts and awards with its megahits. “Butter,” “Spring Day,” “Blood, Sweat and Tears,” “Fake Love” and ”Dynamite” are but a few of BTS’ songs that are well recognized around the wor
May 26, 2022
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Pink Sweat$ counts on ‘big energy’ at first performance in Korea as Seoul Jazz Festival’s headliner
American R&B singer-songwriter Pink Sweat$, who is set to meet his fans in Korea for the first time, said that he expects to see some “big energy” from the audience. In a press conference held on Wednesday at InterContinental Seoul Coex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, the artist expressed his excitement for the upcoming Seoul Jazz Festival, which is set to run Friday to Sunday. The first thing the musician said as soon as he walked into the venue was “thank you” in K
May 25, 2022
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Ballet Festival Korea returns despite lack of funding
The 12th edition of Ballet Festival Korea will be held with 26 performances in June, the organizing committee said Tuesday, with Seoul Arts Center as the co-organizer. Under the theme of “Open Up the New Ordinary Days,” the festival will showcase old and new ballet productions by both established and emerging dancers from June 9-29. Some of the highlights include the opening performance, “Ahn Jung-geun, a Dance in the Heaven,” a 2015 production by M Ballet Company,
May 24, 2022
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Gurzenich Orchester Koln returns to Korea with Clara-Jumi Kang
Gurzenich Orchester Koln will be performing in South Korea for the first time in five years, this time with violinist Clara-Jumi Kang as the soloist, according to production company Vincero. Led by conductor Francois-Xavier Roth who has helmed the orchestra since 2015, the 195-year-old orchestra will perform at Seoul Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on July 8. Outside of Seoul, the team will bring the same program to Andong Culture and Arts Center in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province on July 7. Th
May 24, 2022
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[Herald Interview] Composer Paul Chihara on new viola concerto inspired by Arirang and Richard Yongjae O‘Neill
On Thursday and Friday, beloved violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill performed with his usual gusto for Korean audiences. Under the baton of music director and conductor Osmo Vanska, O’Neill and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra performed Sibelius’ Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63. What made these concerts particularly significant was his rendition of Paul Chihara’s “Concerto for Viola and Orchestra: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Hero.” The piece was uniq
May 24, 2022
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‘American Song Contest’ winner AleXa eager to introduce K-pop globally
Rising K-pop artist AleXa, who won NBC’s “American Song Contest,” said the K-pop genre itself seemed like a new genre in the US music scene and that she was eager to introduce this style of music to US audiences through her performance on the show. “(Winning the competition) feels like a dream. It does not seem real,” AleXa said during a press conference held in Seoul on Thursday upon her arrival in Korea. “I received a lot of public votes. I think it was bec
May 19, 2022
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[Herald Review] ‘Death Note’ offers a glimpse at future of musicals
Ever since “Death Note,” a Japanese manga series was first introduced to the world in 2003, it has been adapted for various mediums, including animation, film and TV drama. The story of a teenage genius, Light, with superpowers that allow him to kill with a notebook, was released as a musical in Japan in 2015 and soon thereafter a Korean version featuring K-pop superstar Kim Junsu, a former member of boy band TVXQ, became a huge hit in Korea. For the show’s third local re
May 18, 2022
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Lee Soo-young says making comeback after 13 years feels like ‘redebuting’
Veteran ballad singer Lee Soo-young is back with her 10th full-length album “Sory,” marking her new studio album release in nearly 13 years following “Dazzle,” which dropped in October 2009. In a press conference held in Seoul on Tuesday, ahead of the online release of the album at 6 p.m., the singer described her grand comeback as “making a debut for the second time,” with a quivering voice while shedding tears. “When I debuted at the age of 20, I w
May 17, 2022
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[Unveil] Rising indie group SURL wants to take rock back to the masses
Rock music is seen as a cult genre in Korea, according to SURL, with the wider public not knowing much about it. But as one of the groups scheduled to participate in Mnet’s next music survival program “Great Seoul Invasion,” a program aimed to discover Korea’s next generation of band groups, indie band Surl hopes to bridge the gap. “We want to break down that barrier. Hopefully, our next full-length album and Mnet’s upcoming band survival show will become an o
May 17, 2022
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Music in PyeongChang returns bigger and earlier
The 19th edition of Music in PyeongChang is set to take place earlier and will be bigger than before, the festival’s artistic director Son Yeol-eum said Monday. The iconic music festival will be held for 22 days from July 2 to 23 at various places in Gangwon Province under the theme of “Mask.” “Because of the masks during the pandemic, we were able to stay connected during a time of disconnection,” Son said. In ancient Greece, masks were synonymous with perso
May 17, 2022
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BTS extends winning streak with three Billboard Music Awards
K-pop sensation BTS took home three prizes at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs), marking the group‘s sixth consecutive year winning a trophy at the event. The septet’s wins -- top duo or group, top song sales artist and top selling song -- were announced by Billboard on social media on Sunday, ahead of the awards show that took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Since becoming the first-ever K-pop act to win a BBMA award in 2017 by snagging the top social arti
May 16, 2022
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[Herald Review] Beautiful Mint Life 2022 brings festival sing-alongs back to Seoul
With festival season back in full swing after many COVID-19 social distancing rules were removed earlier this spring, around 8,000 music fans flocked to Olympic Park’s 88 Jandi Madang in southeastern Seoul on Saturday, eager to enjoy long-awaited outdoor performances. Beautiful Mint Life 2022, an annual indie music festival, was special not only for attendees, but also the performers onstage. With audience sing-alongs and cheerful dances, the performances felt as though people had almost f
May 15, 2022
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Legendary pianist Pollini’s recitals in South Korea canceled due to health issues
The much-anticipated recitals in South Korea by Maurizio Pollini, considered one of the world’s leading pianists, have been canceled due to health reasons, the event organizer said on Thursday. Event organizer Mast Media cited chronic bronchitis as the reason for the 80-year-old musician’s abrupt cancellation of the recitals, titled “The Emperor of Piano: ‘Once in a Lifetime’” scheduled for May 19 and May 25 at the Seoul Arts Center. The company said that
May 12, 2022
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Over 70 years old and fangirling: Lim Young-woong leads evolution of trot fandom
At age 71, Kim Im-kyung is learning how to be a fangirl. At her three-room apartment in Seoul, Kim turned one whole room into a shrine dedicated to her idol -- Korean trot singer Lim Young-woong -- decorating it with his posters and a collection of fan merchandise like a light stick. To help Lim’s songs rank high on music charts, she plays his latest album through an online music streaming service all day long, despite personally owning five physical copies of it. She watches al
May 12, 2022
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Global pop artists to visit Korea as distancing rules drop
With South Korea’s COVID-19 social distancing rules lifted, big-name global pop artists are returning to the country. Norwegian singer-songwriter Jakob Ogawa will be the first pop artist to hold a concert after the government scrapped distancing restrictions. The musician will hold his solo concert “Jakob (fka Jakob Ogawa) Live in Seoul” at Rolling Hall in Mapo-gu, western Seoul on May 20. It will mark the artist’s first meeting with local fans. Icelandic iconic post-r
May 11, 2022