The Korea Times

Chung Myung-whun brings ‘Carmen’ to Korea Times spring concert

The Korea Times Spring Concert, Friday, featured maestro Chung Myung-whun and the KBS Symphony Orchestra at Seoul’s Lotte Concert Hall, presenting French composer Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen,” one of the most popular works among Korean audiences. Instead of a traditional staged opera, the performance presented a concert version, a format that places greater emphasis on the music rather than elaborate sets and staging. Premiered in Paris in 1875, “Carmen” is a tragic love story between the Romani woman Carmen and the soldier Don Jose, set in Seville, Spain. Unlike many operas centered on love and sacrifice, “Carmen” is driven by jealousy, desire and obsession, culminating in death. For this reason, it was initially criticized as vulgar and immoral. Over time, however, it came to be recognized as a masterpiece for its realistic portrayal of love as a clash between possession and personal freedom. “Carmen” is filled with melodies familiar to many in the audience. The 120-minute performance opened with the prelude and featured highlights including “Habanera,” “To

Apr 18, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Chung Myung-whun brings ‘Carmen’ to Korea Times spring concert

K-pop

BTS comeback brings cheers from fans worldwide

Fans from around the world, ranging from teenagers in Argentina to a housewife in Korea, gathered at Gwanghwamun Square, Saturday night, united by one sentiment: “It’s great to see BTS back together.” Tens of thousands of ARMY members screamed, chanted and waved purple light sticks throughout the 60-minute concert, “BTS COMEBACK LIVE: ARIRANG,” the group’s first live performance in three years and five months. “From the moment they said, ‘we’re back’ at the very beginning, I was already getting emotional. Seeing how well they prepared for their comeback show — it was really moving,” Bella Lai, 16, from Taiwan, told The Korea Times. Lai, who has followed the group for four years, also said: “All the ARMYs were chanting and singing together — the atmosphere was just amazing.” Ann, a fan from the Philippines, said, “The show was overwhelming. The scale, the energy, the music — everything made it unforgettable. We’re just happy to be here.” For Park Jee-yoon, a 49-year-old housewife from Korea, the struggle to secure tickets and the sacrifices she made t

Mar 22, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

BTS comeback brings cheers from fans worldwide

People & Events

Korea is cool, trendy country to Spaniards: cultural center chief

When Korea was named guest of honor at La Mar de Musicas, an annual music festival in the southern Spanish city of Cartagena, the Korean Cultural Center in Spain saw an opportunity to do more than play a few songs. It turned the stage into a window to Korean culture, drawing some 40,000 visitors and wide local media coverage. That effort helped earn the center a special recognition from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which recognized it alongside centers in Vietnam, Thailand, China and Japan at its annual gathering of representatives from roughly 40 Korean cultural centers worldwide. The Seoul meeting, held each year, gives center directors a chance to share experiences and learn from one another. Korean Cultural Center in Spain Director Shin Jae-kwang said the recognition reflected the work his center carried out over the past year. “For many Spaniards, Korea is seen as a cool and trendy country with much to offer. I feel honored to be part of introducing different aspects of Korean culture to Spanish audiences,” he said during an interview with The Korea Times Wednes

Mar 12, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Korea is cool, trendy country to Spaniards: cultural center chief

K-pop

Why K-pop labels are working with novelists, poets

K-pop's fictional universes are no longer confined to music videos and album teasers. From science fiction writers to bestselling poets, some of Korea's most respected literary voices are turning up inside idol group album packages — commissioned to write short stories, lyrics and narrative passages to accompany their releases, in one of the more unlikely creative collaborations the industry has seen. When boy band EXO released its eighth album, “REVERXE,” on Jan. 19, the group included a short story titled “EX-VISION,” written by novelist Lee Hee-joo, whose fictions such as “Holy Boy” (2021) and “Creamy(nal) Love” (2025) frequently draw on K-pop fan culture. The story places the members in everyday scenes — Sehun and Chanyeol preparing food, D.O. handling the music, Lay and Suho arriving with a custom-made cake — with references to symbols long associated with the group's lore, such as the tree of life, the red force and the full lunar eclipse. For Lee, the creative process was familiar but the audience was not. “When I work on my own novels, my personal style ma

Mar 11, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Why K-pop labels are working with novelists, poets

Books

Korean literature continues its global journey at London Book Fair

Renowned Korean writers, including novelist Gu Byeong-mo and award-winning children's book author Choi Yeon-ju, will be featured at this year’s London Book Fair, building on growing global interest in Korean literature. The Publication Industry Promotion Agency of Korea (KPIPA) will operate the Korean booth at the event, where 10 Korean publishers will promote their own titles and the agency will showcase 101 additional books entrusted to it for overseas rights promotion. The fair runs from Tuesday through Thursday (local time). Munhakdongne will seek international publication deals for Gu's novel "Cut Wound," published last year. The book follows a woman who can read people’s memories and emotions by touching their wounds. The story unfolds after she encounters a businessman who seeks to exploit her unusual ability. The novel is currently a bestseller in Korea and recently won both the Kim You Jeong Newcomer Literary Award and the Hahn Moo-sook Literary Prize. Choi Yeon-ju’s “Mo Story” (2023) depicts the journey of a kitten through a forest and the process of building courage

Mar 9, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Korean literature continues its global journey at London Book Fair

Travel & Food

4 places in Yeongwol to visit after watching ‘The King’s Warden’

Yeongwol, a quiet county of 36,000 people tucked into the mountains of Gangwon Province, was always there. Then the film "The King's Warden" hit 11 million admissions on Sunday, a little over a month after its Feb. 4 release, and suddenly everyone wants to see the place where a boy king spent his final days. The historical film follows Joseon’s sixth monarch, King Danjong (1441-57), who ascended the throne at age 12 and was later killed at 17 while in exile in this remote mountain town. Now the rest of Korea is paying attention. Local authorities report an average of 2,000 visitors a day since the film's release, rising to as many as 6,000 on weekends, with blogs and social media filling up with photos and reviews from those who made the trip. For those planning to follow, The Korea Times has compiled four destinations featured in the film that are worth visiting. Cheongnyeongpo Cheongnyeongpo, where Danjong was first exiled, is one of Yeongwol’s most historically significant sites. The young king stayed there only briefly before moving to nearby Gwanpungheon after flooding made the a

Mar 9, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

4 places in Yeongwol to visit after watching ‘The King’s Warden’

Arts & Theater

Actor Park Shin-yang explores inner world in new art exhibition

Since his debut in 1992, actor Park Shin-yang has spent decades inhabiting the lives of others on screen. Early in his career, he played a Buddhist monk in “Yuri” (1996), a mafia leader in “A Promise” (1998) and a divorced businessman in "Lovers in Paris" (2004). More recently, he appeared as a lawyer in the KBS drama series “My Lawyer, Mr. Jo” (2016). Offscreen, however, Park has long focused on understanding himself. Over the years, he read widely in psychology and philosophy, took courses and turned to painting as a way to explore his thoughts and emotions. Nearly four decades of introspection have culminated in an exhibition that opened at Sejong Museum of Art on Friday. Titled “The 4th Wall," the exhibition reflects Park’s attempt to bridge the distance between artist and viewers. In theater, the fourth wall refers to the invisible barrier separating actors from the audience. The exhibition features nearly 150 works with several recurring motifs. One of them is the apple. Park began painting apples after receiving one from a philosopher he deeply respected. “As time

Mar 6, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Actor Park Shin-yang explores inner world in new art exhibition

Books

1 year, 1 publisher, 9,000 books: AI-generated titles flood Korean shelves

For generations, Koreans have regarded books as the most reliable form of information. They're slower than social media, but more carefully made and more accountable. That basic trust is now under strain as generative artificial intelligence (AI) quietly fills bookstores and e-book platforms with nonfiction titles on self-help, money management and other popular topics, often with little transparency about who — or what — wrote them. The rapid spread of AI-generated books forces an uncomfortable question: When you pick up a book in Korea today, how sure can you be that a human mind stands behind it? Quantity over quality That question already has an answer visible on the shelves. In brick-and-mortar bookstores and libraries, readers are running into titles that feature tables of contents that look plausible at first glance, but open to pages with unnatural phrasing and uncanny images that bear little relation to the text. On online storefronts, the pattern becomes even clearer. Many covers have eerily similar artwork with auto-generated titles, and some small, unknown publishers are

Feb 26, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

1 year, 1 publisher, 9,000 books: AI-generated titles flood Korean shelves

Arts & Theater

Ballet revives independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun's sacrifice

Before Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun was executed in 1910 at Lushun Prison in Dalian, China, he said that when he heard news of Korea’s liberation from heaven, he would dance and cheer. More than a century later, a Seoul ballet company is trying to give him that dance. M Ballet Company is reviving “Ahn Jung-geun, a Dance in the Heaven” in commemoration of Korea’s Independence Movement Day, which falls on March 1. The production honors Ahn by depicting his life and sacrifices through dance, tracing the emotional toll the struggle for independence took on his family. “It can be tough subject matter for dance, but we’ve restaged this with nonstop action, eliminating any dull moments. It will be an ideal piece for families to enjoy together,” M Ballet Company director Yang Young-eun told The Korea Times during an interview in Seoul on Tuesday. After opening in the southwestern city of Gwangju earlier this month, the troupe will bring the ballet to Seoul on March 7 and 8, followed by a performance in Daegu on March 12. Ahn is best known for assassinating Ito Hirobum

Feb 25, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Ballet revives independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun's sacrifice

Korean Heritage

PHOTO Robot takes charge of royal palace patrol

A patrolling robot named Sullabot roams around Changdeok Palace in Seoul, Friday. According to the Korea Heritage Service, the pilot project is aimed at addressing blind spots in palace management. Sullabots will be used until March 9, after which authorities will decide whether to keep them permanently. The word "sulla" refers to soldiers patrolling the palace walls during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Yonhap

Feb 20, 2026By Kim Se-jeong

Kim Se-jeong

Read more