Poster of the 16th Busan Sea Festival(Busan Culture and Tourism FestivalOrganizing Committee)“Busan Sea Festival”: The Busan Sea Festival will be held from Aug. 1-9 at locations including Haeundae Beach, Gwangalli Beach, Song-do Beach and Songjeong Beach, as well as at various places in the city of Busan. It is Korea’s largest sea festival, and is a liaison of Busan International Rock Festival,

A scene from “Jack the Ripper.” (mmusical company)“Jack the Ripper”: With a story based on the unsolved murder case in London in 1888, this popular musical is on its third run in Seoul. The star-studded cast includes Ahn Jae-wook, Lee Ji-hoon, Eom Gi-jun and Super Junior’s Seong-min in the role of Daniel, Shin Seong-woo and Lee Geon-myeong for the role of Jack and Yu Jun-sang for the role of Ander

Yoon Hyun-min (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)Baseball player-turned-actor takes main role in musical ‘Spring Awakening’For someone who used to swing a bat for 11 years, Yoon Hyun-min seemed surprisingly soft and delicate. The image of Melchior, the character he plays in the musical “Spring Awakening” which started its second round here in June, came out as he talked. “If the first Melchior was ra

Music director-TV celeb to show her acting talent for first time in 20 years with musical ‘Next to Normal’It was difficult to recall charismatic conductor Kolleen Park seeing her on a musical stage ― looking somewhat frail and vulnerable, her voice even trembled slightly as she led the song “You don’t know” in front of the press on Monday at Doosan Art Center in Yeonji-dong, central Seoul. Park, a

Yoon Young-dal, CEO of Crown-Haitai Confectionary, received the 20th Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award on Monday at the Shilla Hotel’s Dynasty Hall in central Seoul. The foundation recognized Yoon’s contributions to developing and promoting the Korean traditional music “gugak” worldwide and his efforts to discover and foster young gugak musicians. “Since sometime ago, we have tended to

  Five significant copies among 297 returned Uigwe shown to mediaThe National Museum of Korea on Monday revealed five significant copies of the total of 297 retrieved ancient royal books, known as “Uigwe,” to the media for the first time since their return from France earlier this year.Korea retrieved the royal documents ― which contain both text and hand-drawn illustrations of significant royal r

Exhibitions“Pilgrim”: Hollywood actor Richard Gere is holding a photo exhibition in Seoul. The show is composed of 64 photographs taken by the actor, capturing Tibet, its people and community, as well as 24 photos by 24 artists including Annie Leibovitz, Jerry Uelsmann and Steve Meisel. Gere has established and is running The Gere Foundation to aid those suffering because of wars and natural disas

Works based on hits by folk singer Yang Hee-eun, ’90s K-pop group DJ DOC and today’s hottest bands make fans nostalgicOld songs have the power to bring back memories and fans of the time period back together. Targeting this fact, so-called “jukebox musicals” dedicate their entire shows to a single artist or a band’s hit songs. “Mama Mia,” based on Swedish pop band ABBA’s hits, and “We Will Rock Yo

Changdeokgung and its legacy featured by national museumAmong the five grand palaces that were built by the kings of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), “Changdeokgung,” or Changdeok Palace, was favored by many members of the royal family. The literal meaning of the palace, “Palace of Flourishing Virtue,” is reflected in Changdeokgung’s architecture and scenery, where the buildings are harmoniously bl

For audience expecting a circus, ‘Rain’ leaves something to be desiredIf hair-raising acrobatics, lions jumping through hoops on fire and ultra-flexible girls folding themselves like paperclips is your idea of a good show, “Rain” is not what you are looking for. Canadian troupe Cirque Eloize’s “Rain” is such a new type of show that calling it a circus would be to ignore most of its essence. Though

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― The red and black leather jacket worn by Michael Jackson in his “Thriller” video went under the hammer for $1.8 million on Sunday, a day after the second anniversary of the pop icon’s death.The jacket, which fetched several times its estimate of between $200,000 and $400,000, has “Love Michael Jackson” written on the sleeve, and a dedication in the lining to his long-time costu

Color photographs donated by former U.S. dental officer show unknown side of Korean WarKids are playing with water, men and women sing and dance, and markets are filled with people and energy.These color photographs, taken by former U.S. dental officer Charles J. Burstone in Busan during the Korean War, are rather hard to believe. Filled with ordinary joys and peaceful moments, these photographs s

Exhibitions“The American Art: Masterpieces of Everyday Life from the Whitney Museum of American Art”: To present an overall view of U.S. contemporary art of the early 20th century, the National Museum of Contemporary Art is exhibiting 87 artworks from the Whitney Museum of American Art’s major collections. It will feature diverse media, from paintings, photos to installations by 47 U.S. artists in

Installation view of Lee U-fan’s “Dialogue” at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (Kukje Gallery/Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation)The first retrospective exhibition in the U.S. on South Korean artist Lee U-fan opened on Friday at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Titled “Lee Ufan: Marking Infinity,” the exhibition looks back on the artist’s career of almost half a century by presenting 9