Cho Yong-pil, who is widely known in Korea as “Gawang” -- the king of singing or pop music -- will hold his first live concerts in Seoul in about four years next month, the concert’s organizer announced Monday. “2022 Cho Yong-pil Concert” will be held on Nov. 26-27 and Dec. 3-4 at KSPO Dome in Olympic Park in southern Seoul, according to Insight Entertainment. This will mark the legendary singer’s first in-person concerts in Seoul since his last national con

Moving to western Seoul after 22 years in the affluent Gangnam district, LG Arts Center made a grand reopening on Thursday at its new Magok venue with a special concert by the London Symphony Orchestra, led by Simon Rattle, with Korean pianist Cho Seong-jin. Cho, the first Korean to win first prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2015, took the stage with the maestro and orchestra for the audience who filled the 1,335-seat multipurpose LG Signature Hall to perform Ra

Vocalist and guitarist Kim Jong-jin aims to cheer people up from COVID-19 with remastered LP, cassette tape

Since in-person festivals and concerts resumed after a two-year pandemic break, big-name global pop artists have returned to South Korea to meet local fans. American singer-songwriter Alec Benjamin is gearing up to please local listeners’ ears once again by throwing a concert in Seoul next month. While the upcoming event will mark the Arizona-bred musician’s third time visiting the country, he still could not hide his excitement. “South Korea is my favorite place on the earth.

Kim Chang-wan says Sanullim's music lives on through fans, younger generations

2022 Muse On Day, an indoor music festival, will take place on upcoming weekends starting this Saturday at Watcha Hall in Mapo-gu, western Seoul. The festival is making a return after a two-year break as South Korea continues to lift its COVID-19 social distancing restrictions. Organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency and terrestrial broadcaster MBC, the annual music festival offers an opportunity for rookie artists to take the stage and perform live in front of music fans. Ten musicians

Dramatic drum rolls, electric guitar riffs and flashing lights built an electric atmosphere at KBS Arena Thursday night ahead of Australian singer-songwriter and rapper The Kid LAROI bursting onto the stage. As the crowd roared, the singer jumped onstage with a beaming smile on his face. The 90-minute set jumped back and forth through the musician’s three-year musical journey, switching from an upbeat ballad to several unreleased tracks, showing off what it felt like to return to pre-pande

A live performance recording of Beethoven’s “Emperor Concerto” by Lim Yun-chan, the youngest winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, will be released in November, Universal Music announced Tuesday. Lim will take the stage with the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Hong Seo-kwon, on Saturday at Tongyeong Concert Hall to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, known as the "Emperor Concerto." The album, to

On July 13, 2011, South Korean flutist Choi Na-kyung, also known as Jasmine Choi, played at a recital for the celebration of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s re-election. There she met people she considered to be truly selfless, people who live their lives for the purpose of tackling famine, climate change, improving women's rights and other pressing global issues. Unexpectedly, the joyful event made her depressed for months. “I love music so much, but I couldn’t help

The new president of the Seoul Arts Center on Thursday unveiled plans to focus on “pure art," such as opera and ballet, as the organization seeks to return to its original goals. Chang Hyoung-joon, who was appointed in June as the 17th president of South Korea’s top art complex by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "The Opera Theater, which was built as an opera and ballet theater, will regain its original position by presenting pure art works centered on op

The 9th edition of K-Music Festival, hosted by the Korean Cultural Centre UK, is set to bring an experience beyond K-pop with a lineup of artists that use traditional Korean music to find new sounds during the eight-week event. K-Music 2022 will kick off Oct. 5 with a joint concert by Dal:um and ReMidas at the Barbican Centre in London. Dal:um, a musical duo featuring gayageum player Ha Su-yean and geomungo player Hwang Hye-young, made their London debut at the Purcell Room last year. This time,

The National Gugak Center, a state-supported organization that aims to foster Korean traditional music, is set to perform a set of cantatas featuring Korea’s "Jongmyo Jeryeak" and "Arirang." The concert, conducted by Lee Yong-tak, the artistic director of the Contemporary Gugak Orchestra, will present a harmonious sound created by 123 performers. The first part, which will run for 45 minutes, will premiere a new rearrangement of "Jongmyo Jeryeak" by Suwon Un

Evgeni Koroliov, Alim Beisembayev, Andras Schiff, Francois-Frederic Guy, Igor Levit and Eric Lu. These are pianists who are set to perform in South Korea later this year, offering a wide-ranging repertoire by Bach, Beethoven and Chopin, among others. Russian pianist Evgeni Koroliov, known as a specialist in the Bach keyboard repertoire, will take the stage with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday for an all-Bach concert. The program consists of Bach Concerto for 3 Harpsichords in D mino

Seoul Metropolitan Opera will stage Charles Gounod’s French opera “Romeo et Juliette” at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul, from Thursday to Sunday. Inspired by Hector Berlioz’s dramatic symphony of the same title, Gounod wrote the opera based on Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet." The opera premiered at Theatre Lyrique in Paris in 1867. The troupe is set to perform the tragic love story of a son and daughter from two rival fam

The Korean National Symphony Orchestra is embarking on a European tour for the first time under its new name. Known as the Korean Symphony Orchestra until March this year, it added "National" to its name to reflect that it is supported by the national budget. The tour will visit three countries in Europe, celebrating the 130th anniversary of the establishment of the Korea-Austria relationship, the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the Korea Culture Center in Poland and newly foun