Recovering from an illness last year, Korean novelist and essayist Kim Hoon, 74, pondered about the rest of his life. One thing he realized was that he could no longer put off writing about independence activist An Jung-geun (1879-1910), which had been on his mind since his college days. “I was busy making ends meet. And more importantly, I didn’t dare write about him,” Kim told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday.   Struck by a desperate feeling of

  French writer Victor Hugo’s 1869 novel, “The Man Who Laughs,” went onstage in South Korea as a musical in 2018. Best known for “Les Miserables” and “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame,” Hugo’s works have inspired many musical and film adaptations. Hugo’s lesser known “The Man Who Laughs” inspired the EMK Musical Company to create a musical version of the story and in its third production this year, the musical shows the power of

  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

A seminar that will shed light on Korea’s diaspora literature is scheduled to take place Friday, its organizer, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, said on Monday. The offline seminar, titled “2022 Korean Literature in Diaspora and Anthropogeography,” will take place at LTIK’s headquarters in southeast Seoul. Co-hosted by The International Association for Literature of Korean Residents Abroad, this seminar aims to reflect the growing interest in Korean li

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 former presidential office site Cheong Wa Dae will be transformed into a cultural complex, while a fund worth 4.8 trillion won ($3.66 billion) aimed at supporting Korean content will be set up. In the first policy briefing to President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday, Culture Minister Park Bo-gyoon outlined the ministry’s priorities, including converting Cheng Wa Dae into a cultural landmark and measures to support the country’s cultural industry. With the principle of preserving

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

Conductor Kim Eun Sun started her role as music director of the San Francisco Opera last August, becoming the first woman ever to lead the opera company, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year. The descriptors first female and sometimes first Asian also follow as she makes history throughout her career. Those labels don’t register while she’s in rehearsals and concerts, she said. But it is when she’s outside those rehearsal rooms and concert halls that she real

A three-month music festival in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas is set to kick off July 24, the festival organizer said Wednesday. The Peace and Life Zone Festival this year will host about 20 performances and other events, beginning with an opening concert at Jejin Station located inside the civilian-controlled area within the DMZ, in Goseong, Gangwon Province, featuring the event’s artistic director and pianist Im Mi-jung, clarinetist Kim Han and the Seoul Virtuosi

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

From barrier-free shows to an orchestra conducted by a robot, the National Theater of Korea on Tuesday unveiled more than 60 productions, old and new, for the upcoming season. The National Repertory Season 2022-2023 consists of a total of 61 productions, including 26 premieres and 10 repertoires by national arts groups in theater, traditional drama, dance and orchestra. The new season, from Aug. 31 to June 30, 2023, kicks off with National Changgeuk Company of Korea’s “Rabbit&r

  Cho Seong-jin, one of South Korea’s most sought-after pianists, will perform the complete the Chopin Piano Concertos outdoors, his management Credia said Tuesday. The concert, which was originally scheduled for last year but had to be delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will take place at Yonsei University‘s Amphitheater at 7:30 pm on Aug. 31. Kremerata Baltica, a 25-year-old chamber orchestra consisting of musicians from Baltic countries founded by violinist Gideon Kr

Justin John Harvey, who made his big screen debut in “The Witch: Part 2. The Other One,” directed by hit maker Park Hoon-jung, is determined to succeed. In fact, the 31-year-old actor said his will to succeed comes from his love of cinema and acting, making him singularly motivated. Although his fellow actors may also covet success, he believes that few can compare when it comes to his dedication to developing his Korean skills in the hopes of becoming a headlining actor, Harvey

Gonjiam Music Festival, an event to dedicated to flutes, is coming back on July 17 after two years of pandemic-related hiatus, its organizer said on Monday. From July 17 to 21, the festival offers two concerts and master classes in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, with participation of musicians from Europe, Japan and Korea. For a concert on July 17, themed cinema, Orchestra The Original conducted by Adriel Kim will perform a familiar repertoire that an audience of all ages can enjoy including