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Chopin Competition winner Eric Lu to perform in Seoul with KBS Symphony Orchestra
Eric Lu, winner of the 2025 Chopin International Piano Competition, will meet Korean audiences for the first time since his victory in a special collaboration with the KBS Symphony Orchestra and Grammy-winning conductor Leonard Slatkin. The concert, titled “1905 and the Hope for Tomorrow,” will take place at 8 p.m. on Nov. 21 at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul. The Chopin Competition's 17-member jury, on Tuesday, named Lu the winner among 11 finalists. Born in the US to a Taiwanese father and a Chin
Oct. 22, 2025 -
National Museum of Korea suffers budget woes despite record visits
The National Museum of Korea's budget for acquiring artifacts has been frozen for the past decade despite the institution ranking among the world's most-visited museums, government data showed. According to data obtained by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Min Hyung-bae and made public Tuesday, the museum's acquisition budget has remained virtually unchanged since 2015, when it was set at 3.98 billion won ($2.8 million). Even after minimal adjustments, the acquisition budget continued to hover
Oct. 22, 2025 -
Get ready for Huntrix dolls, ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ boardgame and more from Mattel, Hasbro
Netflix said Tuesday it has signed a licensing agreement with toy giants Mattel and Hasbro to turn its blockbuster animated movie “Kpop Demon Hunters” into a global toy line. The partnership will produce dolls, action figures, collectibles, games and role-playing products based on the hit film, which follows a female K-pop trio that performs at massive concerts while battling otherworldly forces. The first products are slated for release in 2026. Mattel, known for its Barbie franchise, will manu
Oct. 22, 2025 -
Korea Drama Festival to make global debut in Brazil next year
The Korea Drama Festival, the country’s first festival dedicated to Korean TV dramas, is set to make its international debut in Sao Paulo next year. The announcement follows a visit by the Sao Paulo International Cultural Exchange Delegation to this year’s Korea Drama Festival in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, in early October. According to the Korea Drama Festival Organizing Committee, the expansion aims to foster deeper cultural collaboration and strengthen K-content exchanges between Korea
Oct. 22, 2025 -
'No Other Choice,' 'The Ugly' lead Blue Dragon Film Awards nominations
Park Chan-wook's satirical thriller "No Other Choice" swept up 12 nominations to lead the field for the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards, with Yeon Sang-ho's experimental microbudget whodunit "The Ugly" close behind with 10 nods, as South Korea's premier film awards announced their nominees Tuesday. The nominations, determined through a combination of expert panel voting Oct.1-19 and online audience participation Oct. 2-19, set up a competitive race across 15 categories. The Blue Dragon Film Awards,
Oct. 22, 2025 -
Oasis heats up chilly night with timeless anthems
Even before Oasis struck its first chord Tuesday night, Daehwa Station on Subway Line No. 3 was packed with fans snaking through the platforms, all eager to reach Goyang Sports Complex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, for the legendary British rock band's long-awaited concert. At 8 p.m. sharp, the venue screens flickered to life. "Welcome, this is not a drill," the opening video declared. Then came the words every fan had waited to hear: "The great wait is over. This is happening. This is it." As f
Oct. 22, 2025 -
Korean artists' recipes for broken hearts in Bukhara’s first biennial
BUKHARA, Uzbekistan — The ancient Silk Road city of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, is hosting its inaugural international art event, the Bukhara Biennial, under the theme “Recipe for Broken Hearts.” The mandate for all 200 participants from 39 countries — to create new commissions exclusively on Uzbek soil in collaboration with local artisans — has fostered a powerful dialogue between global contemporary art and Central Asia’s storied craft traditions. Among the more than 70 works born of these collaborat
Oct. 21, 2025 -
Mise-en-scene Shorts Film Festival returns, showcases Korea’s emerging filmmakers
The 21st Mise-en-scene Shorts Film Festival, long regarded as a launching pad for some of South Korea’s most celebrated filmmakers, ended its four-day run Monday, spotlighting the latest and most inventive short films from the country’s emerging directors. Founded in 2002, the festival has been Korea’s premier short film showcase, launching directors such as Jang Jae-hyun ("Exhuma," "The Priests"), Um Tae-hwa ("Concrete Utopia"), and Na Hong-jin ("The Yellow Sea," "The Wailing"). After pausing i
Oct. 21, 2025 -
Why veteran pansori singer Lee Ja-ram takes on one-woman battle in 'Prima Facie'
Before stepping into the light, Lee Ja-ram repeats a single line to herself in the dark: “I am Tessa Jane Ensler. I am Tessa Jane Ensler.” For Lee — a veteran pansori singer with more than three decades of experience, who also wears many hats as a musical performer, writer, director and actor — this moment is an unfamiliar challenge: a one-woman play. The 46-year-old performer is hardly new to standing alone onstage. In pansori, a singer commands the space singlehandedly, accompanied only by a g
Oct. 21, 2025 -
Tourists in Korea are skipping iconic dishes to eat what locals eat every day
Overseas tourists in South Korea continue to move away from traditional Korean restaurants and toward quick, everyday food. A report released Monday by the Korea Tourism Organization confirms that convenience store snacks, coffee, waffles and fast food now account for a significant and growing share of food-related spending by tourists. Based on foreign-issued credit card transactions from 2018 through July 2025, the fastest-growing categories were ice cream (up 35 percent annually), convenience
Oct. 20, 2025 -
Cheomseongdae observatory lights up with star-themed media facade for APEC summit
GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — Cheomseongdae Observatory, one of Asia’s oldest surviving astronomical observatories and a symbol of Silla-era astronomy, has been transformed into a nighttime spectacle ahead of the 2025 APEC summit. On Monday, the Korea Heritage Service and the city of Gyeongju launched a special projection mapping show titled “Time of the Stars” at the observatory’s exterior. The media facade will be presented nightly through Nov. 1, coinciding with the APEC summit. The o
Oct. 20, 2025 -
Between fear, fascination: Lee Jin-joon explores memory in age of AI
Being in between always comes with a sense of unease. Sometimes it feels like going through a dark tunnel and telling yourself, “Hang in there, light will come.” Media artist Lee Jin-joon regards the times we are living in as such a state: People are experiencing the overwhelming technology of artificial intelligence. After this period, the artist said, we will enter an era of the post-AI where the AI is deeply integrated into society as a foundational infrastructure. “What terrifies me is not l
Oct. 20, 2025 -
From earth, wind and fire, 'Mimesis' reconnects Korean dance with nature
Wielding long swords, the dancers leap and roll across the stage. They strike the floor, spin and slice through the air as the sharp metallic clang of the kkwaenggwari, a small Korean gong, grows faster and louder. The sound of metal fills the air, each note cutting more sharply as steel flashes under the lights. In the final moment, the dancers soar upward and drive their blades straight into the ground, like lightning striking the earth. The scene is from "Janggeommu," or "Long Sword Dance" --
Oct. 20, 2025 -
LA Phil, NDR Elbphilharmonie to offer time-tested harmony this week
In what some critics have dubbed a “war of the orchestras,” October has brought a rare convergence of star conductors to Seoul. Last week, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Edward Gardner, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Lio Kuokman, each brought Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. Both orchestras joined forces with Korea’s top pianists: Son Yeol-eum with the London Philharmonic and Sunwoo Yekwon with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, turning the week into a celebration of Kor
Oct. 20, 2025 -
Ancient Silla commander’s remains, gilt-bronze crown fragments unveiled
GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — For the first time, remains of a male military commander from the Silla Kingdom (57 BC-AD 935), along with fragments from his gilt-bronze crown, body armor and helmet have been found in a significant breakthrough in the study of the ancient Korean kingdom. The artifacts were discovered in the first outer coffin tomb, dating back to the 4th and 5th centuries, beneath a royal burial mound in Hwangnam-dong, Gyeongju. The excavation, led by the Korea Heritage Se
Oct. 20, 2025