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Traditional ‘Fanta-Stick’Seoul Fanta-Stick TheaterThroughout 2016 “Fanta-Stick” is performed daily at Seoul Fanta-Stick Theater on an open-ended run. The performance presents original representative Korean music, using traditional Korean instruments to create fusion gugak.Park Ji-hoon, Lee Seok-jae, Kwon Hyun-soo and Na Jung-suk play the main roles of Jangdan and Saemachi. The show also features Yang Ye-rim, Kim Jee, Kim Sae-jin, Yoon Sung-hwan, Kim Byung-soo and Shin Kwang-hee.Tickets cost 30,000 to 60,000 won. For more information, visit fanta-stick.co.kr or call (02) 3143-5959. ‘YOULL’Jeongdong TheaterThrough Dec. 31 “YOULL,” a dance performance mixed with drama, will be staged at Jeongdong Theater until the end of 2016.The performance will bring a wide range of traditional modes of expression together, including Korean dance, theater, music and martial arts. By applying the heroic fantasy genre to this production, Jeongdong Theater hopes to broaden its popular appeal. Actors Jeon Jin-hong, Lee Hyuk, Park Ji-yeon

Dec 8, 2016

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Classical Concerts ‘2016 The Little Singers of Paris Christmas Concert’Seoul Arts CenterDec. 17, 18 The only boys’ a cappella choir in the world, The Little Singers of Paris will have a Christmas concert tour in Korea.The choir had Europe and Asia tour this year, visiting diverse countries including Switzerland, Germany, Japan, China and Russia, and received wide acclaim from international audiences. For its concerts in Korea, the choir will perform classical music, French chanson, traditional songs from various countries, Christmas carols and popular musical numbers.Tickets cost from 33,000 to 110,000 won. For more information, visit sac.or.kr or call (02) 597-9870. ‘Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra: Beethoven’s Choral Symphony’Seoul Arts CenterDec. 28, 29 The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra will perform Beethoven’s famous 9th Symphony, “Choral” on Dec. 28 and 29.Since 2008, the orchestra has performed the Choral Symphony at every year-end. Through this piece, the orchestra aims to send the audience messages of peace

Dec 8, 2016

Seoul Design Festival promotes 'kidult' culture

Poster of Seoul Design FestivalBy Yun Suh-youngThe Seoul Design Festival, Korea’s largest design-related event, will open today under the theme of “Play with Design” at the COEX convention center in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, and will run through Sunday.The festival exhibits various projects of designers in collaboration with well-known brands, featuring over 180 brands and 600 designers.This year, entertainment products such as paper toys and character figure brands will participate in line with the expanding "kidult" culture. Participation from paper brands, living design brands, kids' brands and local and foreign designers' concept stores are also to be added to the pool of existing participants.The exhibition is divided into sections, such as Design Management, Designer Promotion, Designers' Lab, and Design Brand. The Design Management section offers space design with designers in collaboration with brands, such as Chevrolet and Common Ground. The Designer Promotion section offers personal branding exhibitions of 45 local designers. Designers' Lab offers col

Dec 6, 2016

Seoul Design Festival promotes 'kidult' culture

Spanish museum director shakes off resignation rumors

Bartomeu Mari, director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), speaks during apress conference commemorating his first year at the museum, Monday. / YonhapBy Kwon Mee-yooBartomeu Mari, the first foreign director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), disregards worries regarding not-so-satisfactory evaluations on his first year in the post.Mari, who led the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) before arriving in Seoul, spent a highly anticipated year at the MMCA as he was considered the right person to promote Korean art internationally based on a wide global network.However, there are concerns about Mari's petty success as his influences over the museum or its exhibits seem insignificant so far.Korean art magazine, Art Monthly, interviewed Mari for its December issue and the magazine's chief editor Lee Joon-hee said Mari lacks the responsibility to understand and decide about museum issues and administrative power to suggest a vision to lead the country's only national fine art museum. "Mari should voluntarily step down and return to his

Dec 5, 2016

Spanish museum director shakes off resignation rumors

Thespian celebrates 60 years of acting

Lee Soon-jae, right, stars as Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman.” / Yonhap 81-year-old Lee stars in 'Death of a Salesman'By Kwon Mee-yooVeteran actor Lee Soon-jae represents a living history of modern Korean entertainment, covering both the small and big screens as well as the stage. Still active, the 81-year-old actor celebrates the 60th anniversary of his debut before an audience in Arthur Miller’s "Death of a Salesman" starting later this month."I almost don't have the concept of counting the number of years. Acting is continuous work and when you take part in a long-running television series, a year passes by and you really don't celebrate anniversaries," Lee said at a press conference Monday. "I've been just acting for 60 years and people around me urged me to do this commemoration. I am grateful for all those involved in this memorial project."Lee first took the role of Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" in 1978 when he was in his 50s. "Maybe I didn't understand Willy fully back then. This production aims to be faithful to the original text," the

Dec 2, 2016

Opera 'Romeo and Juliet' commemorates Shakespeare

A scene from “Romeo et Juliette” / Courtesy of Korea National OperaBy Yun Suh-young“Romeo and Juliet,” one of Shakespeare's most popular tragedies, is best known for its play and movie versions. Its opera format is fairly unfamiliar and also rarely performed as a musical, despite the popularity of the story.The opera "Romeo et Juliette," which will be staged in Seoul Dec. 8 to 11, is the French version of the opera featuring music composed by Charles Gounod and script written by Jules Barbier and Michel Carre. The five-act opera debuted in the Theatre Lyrique in Paris on April 27, 1867.The 175-minute opera is brought to Korean stages for the second time, following its 2014 debut. It will be held at the Seoul Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.The opera is directed by Elijah Moshinsky who has helmed "Romeo et Juliette" since its 2014 debut. Moshinsky first worked with the Korea National Opera (KNO) on "Don Carlo" in 2013 and was asked to direct "Romeo et Juliette" the following year. This year's "Romeo et Juli

Dec 2, 2016

Opera 'Romeo and Juliet' commemorates Shakespeare

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Traditional ‘Fanta-Stick'Seoul Fanta-Stick TheaterThroughout 2016"Fanta-Stick" is performed daily at Seoul Fanta-Stick Theater on an open-ended run. The performance presents original representative Korean music, using traditional Korean instruments to create fusion gugak. Park Ji-hoon, Lee Seok-jae, Kwon Hyun-soo and Na Jung-suk play the main roles of Jangdan and Saemachi. The show also features Yang Ye-rim, Kim Jee, Kim Sae-jin, Yoon Sung-hwan, Kim Byung-soo and Shin Kwang-hee.Tickets cost 30,000 to 60,000 won. For more information, visit fanta-stick.co.kr or call (02) 3143-5959. ‘YOULL'Jeongdong TheaterUntil Dec. 31"YOULL," a dance performance mixed with drama, will be staged at Jeongdong Theater until the end of 2016.The performance will bring a wide range of traditional modes of expression together, including Korean dance, theater, music and martial arts. By applying the heroic fantasy genre to this production, Jeongdong Theater hopes to broaden its popular appeal. Actors Jeon Jin-hong, Lee Hyuk, Park Ji-yeon and Cho Haneul will play the main roles.Tickets c

Dec 1, 2016

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Classical Concert‘SAC 11am Concert'Seoul Arts Center*Until Dec. 8On every second Thursday of each month, an "11am Concert" will be performed at the Seoul Arts Center. Chong Park will host the shows with commentary, and coffee will be provided for free. With distinct soloists for each concert, the Korean Symphony Orchestra will perform at all of the concerts.Tickets cost 20,000 to 25,000 won. For more information, visit sac.or.kr or call (02) 580-1300. ‘Amadeus Live'Lotte Concert HallDec. 16, 2016"Amadeus," an Academy Award-winning film that portrays the life of Mozart, turns into a live concert. The concert is conducted by Neil Thomson and performed by the Seoul Tutti Ensemble and Seoul Motet Choir. In the show, audiences will be able to watch director's cut of the film Amadeus on a large HD screen, while listening to the orchestra and choir playing the famous works of Mozart live.Tickets cost from 30,000 to 120,000 won. For more information, visit ticket.interpark.com or call (02) 552-2505. ‘2016 The Little Singers of Paris Christmas Concert'Dec. 17, 18Se

Dec 1, 2016

Fornasetti Seoul exhibition opens door to Asia

  Fornasetti Exhibition / Courtesy of ArtmonBy Kim Jae-heun“Fornasetti: Practical Madness,” an exhibition featuring artwork by the late Italian artist Piero Fornasetti, is currently on display at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul. This is its first time being showcased in Asia following dates in Milan and Paris.The Fornasetti exhibition first came to the Triennale Design Museum in Milan in 2013 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fornasetti’s birth. It was successful enough to become a traveling exhibition that landed in Paris last year and in Seoul this month.Barnaba Fornasetti, the son of Piero Fornasetti, organized the special exhibition in Korea himself and brought 1,300 pieces from the Fornasetti archive in Milan. The show divides vast subjects of the Italian’s art collection into 15 sections in chronological order.The Fornasetti exhibition displays Piero’s work from the 1940s to his collaboration with Gio Ponti in the 1960s and his works up to his death in the 1980s. The exhibition also displays his son Barnaba’s modern colle

Nov 30, 2016

Fornasetti Seoul exhibition opens door to Asia

Kim Yong-ik explores uncanniness in modernism

Artist Kim Yong-ik / Courtesy of Kukje GalleryBy Kwon Mee-yooKorean artist Kim Yong-ik holds a special place in Korean modern art history. He made an early debut, blazing a trail out of traditional canvas, and pursued his own aesthetics throughout his career.Kim is a pupil of renowned Dansaekhwa artist Park Seo-bo who first discovered Kim's talents."When I was in university, I had this hunger for knowledge and read art magazines to satisfy such thirst. Back then, Korean art students all painted traditionally on canvases. I knew and understood what contemporary art required from what I read and it resulted in the Plane Object series which applies airbrush on cloth," Kim said in an interview with The Korea Times on Nov. 22.With full support from Park, Kim took part in the first Ecole de Seoul exhibit organized by Park at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the 13th Sao Paulo Art Biennial in Brazil in 1975."I was on the up and up. My works were favorably received by galleries and critics and I was able to hold overseas exhibitions, which was rare back then," the artis

Nov 29, 2016

Arts & Theater

Arts & Theater

Around Town 2

Around Town 1

Seoul Design Festival promotes 'kidult' culture

Spanish museum director shakes off resignation rumors

Thespian celebrates 60 years of acting

Opera 'Romeo and Juliet' commemorates Shakespeare

Around Town 2

Around Town 1

Fornasetti Seoul exhibition opens door to Asia

Kim Yong-ik explores uncanniness in modernism

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