Idol group iKON member Ju-ne talked about what made him cry on the set of the music video for iKON’s new single, “Apology.”“The director asked me in a cut if I would be able to cry, but I couldn’t really do it,” he said during a group interview at a Seoul cafe on Monday.“I ended up thinking about my mom, and that made the tears come. I think it came out well in the music video, and I was happy,” he said. Ju-ne (YG Entertainment)Regarding the other members’ acting, Ju-ne said, “I didn’t get to se

Richard Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman” is not the typical operatic tale of love and remorse.Inspired by his own autobiography “Mein Leben,” Wagner adapted his 1839 stormy sail from Riga to London into a story of desperation, salvation and redemption through love.  Finland native Jukka Rasilainen practices his upcoming role of the Dutchman in the Korea National Opera’s new production “The Flying Dutchman.” (Korea National Opera)“The Flying Dutchman” is a three-act German opera that follows the ta

Cho Seong-jin's piano album (Universal Music)The first solo album of pianist Cho Seong-jin continued to fly off shelves Wednesday, reflecting Koreans’ feverish interest in the 21-year-old who won one of the classical music world’s greatest piano contests. According to Universal Music Korea, over 40,000 of the album‘s initial 50,000 copies pressed were sold in Korea in just four days following the album’s Nov. 6 release, prompting the company to place a second order for another 50,000. Locally, a

Lim Dong-hyek's new Chopin album (Warner Classics)Pianist Lim Dong-hyek’s recently released Chopin album is among the Editor’s Choice recordings this month at Gramophone magazine, a British publication considered a worldwide authority on classical music. Lim’s album, “Chopin Preludes, Op. 28, etc.,”  ranked among the 10 albums editor Martin Cullingford picked as the top classical releases of the month. The review largely favored Lim’s album over that of Chinese pianist Yundi Li, who also release

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It has been seven years since local piano phenom Lim Dong-hyek has released an album. Dubbed one of today’s most acclaimed Chopin interpreters, the 31-year-old pianist has eagerly returned to his Chopin roots in unveiling his new album, which was released Monday, dedicated to the 19th-century virtuoso’s later, more somber works.“With this music, I hope that people will listen and actually be saddened,” said Lim during a press conference at the Stradeum concert hall in Seoul on Tuesday. “If your

Genie Top 100 charts, with recommended song on top (Genie Official Website)  Another of Korea’s four major digital music providers has followed CJ E&M’s lead in removing “recommended” songs, amid controversy over the market distortions caused by such music curation services.KT Music said Tuesday it would remove recommended songs from its digital music service Genie within the year, and continue to discuss improvements for fairer digital music services.“If the music industry works together to cor

YG Entertainment announced Tuesday that Korean singer Psy will return to the music scene on Dec. 1, via a poster that was shared on the agency’s official blog. It has been three years and five months since he released his last album “Gangnam Style” in July 2012. “I’ll go back to my basics and come back with a new album,” said Psy at last year’s year-end concert. “Look forward to what song Psy will bring, (he has) worked diligently since his concert last year. He is expected to meet your expectat

Chinese piano prodigy Yundi Li’s recent Seoul performance has been making headlines -- not for an outstanding performance, but because of his tempo blunders and seemingly shameless attitude afterward. The 33-year-old pianist returned to Korea to play alongside the renowned Sydney Orchestra, which performed two shows on Oct. 30 and 31 at the Seoul Arts Center -- with Li performing as a soloist with the orchestra Friday and violinist Vadim Repin performing Saturday. Despite being referred to as a

Winner (YG Entertainment)Four popular K-pop boy bands are preparing for releases this month, signaling some formidable competition on the music charts. WINNER’s long-awaited album is due out this month after two more music videos for the album are recorded in Korea. The group’s agency, YG Entertainment, said earlier that WINNER had just returned from Sweden, where the band shot music videos for two tracks on the album.The five-member group’s return to the music scene overlaps with that of iKon,

Dependence on platforms, charts hindering new songs from reaching listeners

4Minute will become the first K-pop girl group to hold a fan meeting in South America. The group will hold fan meetings in Peru on Nov. 8, followed by Chile on Nov. 10 and Argentina on Nov. 12. The quintet, having a six-year history, is expecting to gather about 10,000 fans for the event. The members have been working on planning diverse segments, including performances of their hits, for the fan meetup.  (Cube Entertainment)“Performance requests from fans in South America have been pouring in.