The 25th edition of the Seoul International Dance Festival will feature 34 domestic and overseas dance companies from nine countries from Sept. 14, the organizer said Sunday. The SIDance festival, organized by the Seoul Section of the UNESCO International Dance Council, will take place at four locations in Seoul -- Seoul Arts Center, Sogang University, Seoul Namsan Guakdang and Oil Tank Culture Park -- for 19 days. The festival will kick off with “Hauntology” presented b

A group of star dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet, including Korean dancer Park Sae-eun, will take the stage on Thursday and Friday at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, reviving the historic company’s classic and modern repertoires in a gala show. 　 The occasion will mark Park’s first performance in Korea as an étoile, or star, of the Paris Opera Ballet. The 33-year-old ballerina was named étoile last year, becoming the first Asian to hold the coveted title in the 353-y

Musical “Mrs. Doubtfire,” based on the 1993 hit movie with the same title, will hit local theaters as the first licensed production of the Broadway show, according to its production companies, Sem Company and Studio Sunday. The Korea production will feature three actors for Daniel Hillard - versatile singer Im Chang-jung, comedian-turned actor Jung Sung-hwa and musical actor Yang Joon-mo. The plot unfolds around Daniel Hillard, a struggling, out-of-work voice actor, who is also a

The Quad, a public theater operated by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, opened in Daehagno on Wednesday, with a goal to revive the local arts scene hit by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and gentrification of the theater district. The Quad is a transformative black box theater that can accommodate as many as 258 seats and offer several types of stage settings, according to the SFAC, a Seoul-city funded nonprofit organization. It sits on the site of the former Dongsoong Art Center, w

Actor Kim Seon-ho on Wednesday publicly apologized over controversies involving his former girlfriend while making his first public appearance in about nine months. “I’m deeply sorry for bad news that has caused concerns to many people. I’ve looked back on my past times and reflected on my conduct,” he said while sobbing during a press conference for the play “Touching the Void.” “Many people have made efforts for this play since the spring. I’m

In the 1970s, a Korean woman with a college degree from a prestigious university would have a promising career in what she was passionate about. But it would be a brief career as she would typically quit upon getting married, thinking that’s what all other people did, and she would become a devoted wife, mom and daughter-in-law, just like most other women. Lim Hyang-hwa -- whose life followed a similar trajectory after she put aside her acting dreams for more than 40 years to take care

US composer asks BTS’ V to play a role in 'Jekyll & Hyde'

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

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

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

It's summer of 2022 and South Korea is finally emerging from two years of social distancing restrictions and the performing arts are coming back to life.  At a musical theater at Blue Square, the seventh revival of “Aida” is now running. Meanwhile, nine household names whose combined acting careers amount to more than 422 years are gearing up for a monthlong performance of “Hamlet,” a large theater play set to kick off July 13 at the National Theater of Korea.

  Mata Hari, a notorious spy during World War I, has long been portrayed as an irresistible femme fatale, double-crossing both Germany and the Allies at the height of World War I. 　 The idea of an exotic dancer with powerful men wrapped around her finger and audiences at her feet involved in espionage has inspired novels, movies and even a game. 　 In 2016, just one year short of the 100th anniversary of her death, EMK, a South Korean musical production company, unveiled a musical adap

  Associate director and choreographer of the musical “Aida” Tracey Corea and actor Jeon Na-young may be separated by a few decades in age, but their love for the Disney production bridges that gap. One takes the stage as Aida, the leading protagonist, while the other shines behind the scenes as the musical’s producer. Corea was part of the original team responsible for the birth of the musical when it first appeared on Broadway in 2000. Starting out as a choreographer in

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

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