Kim Bomsori at Wieniawski competition Korean violinist Kim Bomsori performs on stage at the Adam Mickiewicz University, during the fourth competition auditions of the 15th InternationalHenryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poznan, Poland, Friday. Kim won the second prize. / EPA-YonhapOct 23, 2016
Women's mag suspends print edition after 34 years The April issue of The Lady Kyunghyang / Courtesy of The Lady KyunghyangBy Kim Da-heeA monthly lifestyle magazine for women, The Lady Kyunghyang, has suspended its print edition. It made the announcement in its April issue.It comes after British newspaper The Independent said it would stop its printed version. The move reflects the crisis in the newspaper industry as circulations and advertising revenue decline.The Lady Kyunghyang has published 503 issues since 1982.“The world’s media market is changing due to several factors, including digital media and the convergence of media,” chief editor Shin Kyung-hee wrote in the April edition’s “Editor’s Letter” section. “The domestic magazine market is also in the center of the big changes. The Lady Kyunghyang will meet readers in a different format through realignment.”She said the magazine will focus more on online content to satisfy more readers, implying the closure of the print edition.According to the March issue of Magazine Journal, published by the Korea Magazine Association, theMar 29, 2016
CULTURE LINE Data on Korean authors now available in 35 countriesStarting today, it will be easier for overseas’ scholars to search and collect information on Korean writers and researchers.The National Library of Korea last year agreed to provide the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), a nonprofit, worldwide, computer library service and research organization, with data on some 22,000 Korean authors for inclusion in its Virtual International Authority File (VIAF), an international service designed to provide convenient access to the world’s major name authority files.Each author will be given his or her own International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI). The information is now available to 39 organizations across 35 countries.Other libraries that have signed agreements with the OCLC include the U.S. Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France and the National Library of Sweden, among others.‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ draws 1 million viewers in 3 days“Kung Fu Panda 3” has drawn more than 1 million viewers in three days, its distribJan 31, 2016
CULTURE LINE Maroon 5 postpones concert in DaeguAmerican pop-rock band Maroon 5 postponed its concert Sunday in Daegu to Thursday. The announcement was made just an hour and half prior to Sunday’s scheduled start time through the group’s official Twitter account.“We are very sorry to postpone tonight’s show in Daegu until THURSDAY 10 SEPTEMBER. All tickets will be honored,” the group tweeted at 5:30 p.m.The reason behind the postponement was a neck injury to lead vocalist Adam Levine, according to a hosting company official. However, Maroon 5 has decided to proceed with its concerts scheduled in Seoul on Monday and Wednesday.Levine posted a photo of himself wearing a neck brace on his Instagram mobile photo-sharing social networking service, right after Maroon 5 tweeted the news about rescheduling the concert on its official platform.The sudden postponement of the concert caused much criticism from fans as some of them flew to Daegu from Jeju-do just to attend the concert. The concert is re-scheduled for Thursday at 8 p.m. and a full refund will be given to those whoSep 7, 2015
CULTURE LINE Culture ministry to host K-pop festivalPsyThe Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization will host a summer K-pop festival to revitalize the inbound tourism market and give “hallyu,” or the Korean wave, a boost.The culture ministry said Monday the “2015 Summer K-POP Festival” will take place at Seoul City Hall Plaza today. The line-up for the concert, to start at 7 p.m., includes rapper Psy, boy bands Infinite, U-Kiss, Got7 and girl group Crayon Pop, among others. Seats will be reserved for tourists.Theme parks, cosmetics companies and production agencies will man promotional booths from 10 a.m., and concert pamphlets, travel brochures and discount coupons will be distributed.Tickets are available through the VisitKorea website and official social media channels of overseas KTO branches. These can then be exchanged for admission tickets at the international information booth on presenting a valid passport or photocopy.For more information, visit www.visitkorea.or.kr. Hangeul Museum to hold classes for foreignersThe NaAug 3, 2015
CULTURE LINE Hong Hei-kyung to return to Korean opera stageHong Hei-kyungLyric soprano Hong Hei-kyung will take the Korean operatic stage next month for the first time in 10 years.Hong is set to appear as Countess Rosina Almaviva in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s four-act opera “The Marriage of Figaro” at the Seoul Arts Center from May 8-10.The Korean singer gave a recital in Seoul last year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her Metropolitan Opera debut, but “Figaro” will mark her first operatic performance since her appearance in Giacomo Puccini’s “La Boheme” in 2005.Hong, 56 this year, was the first Korean to win at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1982, and in 1984 made her Met debut as Servilia in Mozart’s opera “La clemenza di Tito.” The Met has served as Hong’s main stage for the past 30 years.Baritone Ryan McKinny will take on the role of Count Almaviva, and rookie Lyubov Petrov the countess’ maid, Susanna. Bass Sim Ki-hwan will appear as Figaro, personal valet to the count. Kim Suk-hoon caApr 7, 2015
CULTURE LINE Keimyung Univ. to host Turkish spring festivalKeimyung University in Daegu will present the Nevruz Spring Festival at its Chopin Square and Haedam Hall, Saturday.Nevruz, also known as Nowruz, is a celebration of the arrival of spring on the March equinox, which falls on the first day of the year in the Persian calendar.Keimyung University will declare March 21 as the Day of Central Asia to boost exchanges between Korea and Central Asian countries.Hosted by the university's Center for Silk Road and Central Asia, the festival features exhibits introducing the culture of Central Asia, as well as various hands-on events and performances sampling culture from Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other places.Abdurrahman Sen, Istanbul’s culture and social executive director, will give a lecture on the festival's tradition, which is registered on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Mar 20, 2015By Kwon Mee-yoo
Localizing hallyu promotion strategies Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Kim Jong-deok, right, shakes hands with directors of Korean Cultural Centers abroad at a workshop at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in Seoul on March 12. / Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and TourismBy Kwon Mee-yooDiverse policies customized to different localities is the key to promote Korean culture, directors of Korean cultural centers (KCC) across the world said at a workshop hosted by the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) last week.Among the 28 KCCs and 13 culture and information officers spreading Korean art and culture across the globe under the supervision of the KOCIS, 18 KCC directors and 11 officials took part in last week's conference, sharing their experiences and seeking cooperation with related organizations such as the Korea Creative Content Agency.Among the cultural promoters of Korea, those stationed in Poland and Singapore were chosen to share their experiences.Kim Hyun-jun, director of the Korean Cultural Center in Poland, said Poland is a fast growing nation in Europe and the peoplMar 16, 2015
CULTURE LINE Kim Yon-jaKim Yon-ja to hold Seoul concert ‘Trot’ queen Kim Yon-ja, 56, will hold recitals at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on March 12 and 13 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her debut.Trot is the oldest form of Korean pop music developed in the years before and during Japanese occupation (1910-1945). It is the first time for Kim to hold recitals in Seoul as she has spent most of her career in Japan.She launched her 40th anniversary tour in her hometown of Gwangju in October 2014.She debuted in Korea in 1974 after winning a major national singing contest by Tongyang Broadcasting Company (TBC). Kim started her career in Japan in 1977.Kim’s 1981 megahit “Bouquet of Songs” lifted her into stardom.Kim’s latest Korean album “Amor Party” was released in 2013. Her next album will be released in the spring.She is one of the first South Korean singers ever to hold a concert in Pyongyang.In 2001, she visited Pyongyang at the invitation of the late Korean leader Kim Jong-il. She performed at a festival to celebrate the birthdMar 2, 2015By Kim Jae-heun
CULTURE LINE Preparations for Broadway version of ‘Frozen’ underway Preparations for a Broadway version of Disney’s “Frozen” are in full swing, according to the Daily Mail. The tabloid newspaper reported that Disney Theatrical is on the job, hoping to have it on the stage by 2017. “Disney Theatrical is working on a stage adaptation of the animated film Frozen,” said Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, in a statement. Schumacher added that EGOT-winning Broadway veteran Robert Lopez and Grammy-winning Kristen Anderson-Lopez will collaborate once more, and that Oscar winner Jennifer Lee, co-director and screenwriter of the film, will be working on the book of the stage version. He concluded, “No other staffing or dates have been announced.”“Frozen,” a 2013 3D computer-animated musical fantasy­comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures, set new box-office records in Korea. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Snow QuFeb 16, 2015
