Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Putting modern spin on 'pansori'

Lee Ja-ram, second from left, a young artist generating interest for her contemporary interpretation of “pansori,” the traditional narrative song genre, practices with bandmates at a studio at the Doosan Art Center in Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Kwon Mee-yooBy Kwon Mee-yooLee Ja-ram is called a prodigy of "pansori," a traditional narrative song performed by a singer and drummer. While the form is centuries old, the 35-year-old never shies away from pushing its boundaries.Lee, who surprised the world with her pansori rendition of Bertolt Brecht classics, is back at it again. This time she is the artistic director and composer behind a pansori re-imagining of the short stories of author Chu Yo-sup.The show, titled "Chu Yo-sup's Ugly Woman/Murder" will be staged at Doosan Art Center's Space 111 later this week. Based on two separate stories, it is highly anticipated because it brings a modern edge not only to pansori but also Korean literature.The stars of the show will be pansori singers Lee Seung-hee, who is featured in the story “Murder” and Kim So-jin,

Feb 18, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Reaching new dramatic heights

Kim Yun-cheol, new artistic director of the National Theater Company of Korea, speaks during a press conference at Theater Pan in Seogye-dong, central Seoul, Monday. / YonhapNational drama company director talks international relevanceBy Kwon Mee-yooWhen the Park Geun-hye government named Kim Yun-cheol as artistic director of the National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK) earlier this month, officials probably did not think they’d made a controversial hire. But the appointment irked some thespians, who claimed Kim was the wrong man because he was a critic, not an artist.That might be an unfair assessment of the 65-year-old, who was an actor and director before a vocal cord injury forced him to pursue a career as a drama theorist and critic.But Kim isn’t going out of his way to talk about his younger days, apparently because he sees no need to be apologetic.In an introductory news conference in Seoul, Monday, Kim said he firmly believes his experience as a critic will help him steer NTCK, which has a reputation for being earnest but unimaginative in its efforts to connect wi

Feb 17, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Generating buzz

In left photo, Lim Jin-woong, auditioning for Svec in the Korean production of the musical “Once,” plays drums, accompanied by the show’s musical supervisor Martin Lowe’s piano in a rehearsal room of D-Cube Arts Center in Seoul earlier this month.  /  Courtesy of Seensee CompanyMusical journey of ‘Once’ comes to Korea in DecemberKang Su-jung plays the accordion during her audition. Director John TiffanyBy Kwon Mee-yooIf you walked into the D-Cube Arts Center in Seoul last week, you may have thought you’d walked onto the set of Superstar K or another idol competition show.Scores of talented musicians were there, performing before evaluators, such as one woman with bobbed-hair playing an accordion as red as her scarf.But they weren’t playing for a chance to be judged by the likes of Park Jin-young or Simon Cowell. No, they were hoping to be selected to star in the Korean version of the hit Broadway musical “Once.”“Once” — based on the 2006 film of the same name — is coming to Korea i

Feb 16, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Start flutist to lead all-Barque concrt

Emmanuel Pahud has served as principal flutist with the Berlin Philharmonic since 1992. / Courtesy of Seoul Arts CenterBy Do Je-haeThe Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) has a long tradition of promoting chamber music. The top German orchestra has more than 30 chamber music groups, many of them gaining recognition for their international tours and recordings.The BPO has made regular trips to Korea in the last few years, but its chamber music groups have rarely played here. The Berlin Barock Solisten, specializing in the music of the 17th and 18th centuries, will give a concert at Seoul Arts Center on Feb. 22. The concert will be one of the few times that Seoul Arts Center stages an all-Baroque program.The program is designed to cater to flute lovers, as longtime BPO principal flute Emmanuel Pahud will be the soloist. The EMI Classics star is among the most respected woodwind soloists of his generation, joining the BPO as a principal player when he was only 22 years old. At the time of his appointment in 1992, he was the orchestra's youngest principal. Former Berlin Philharmonic

Feb 14, 2014By Do Je-hae

Around Town 1

Classical Concerts‘The Magic Flute’Seongnam Arts Center*Feb. 15The Mozart opera “The Magic Flute” will be staged at the Seongnam Arts Center on Feb. 15. Tickets cost 15,000 to 25,000 won. For more information, call (02) 2232-1148 or visit www.imwbk.com.Lim Dong-hyekSeoul Arts Center*Feb. 18Pianist Lim Dong-hyek will hold a piano recital at the Seoul Arts Center on Feb. 18. Lim will play Debussy’s “Clair de lune,” Bach’s “Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major BWV 564” and Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata No. 14 Moonlight.” Tickets cost 30,000 to 100,000 won. For more information, call 1577-5266 or visit www.sac.or.kr. ScenTrio ConcertSeoul Arts Center*March 10 ScenTrio, comprised of violinist Shin Eun-ryoung, cellist Kim Young-eun and pianist Son Young-kyung, will perform at the Seoul Arts Center on March 10. They will play Mozart’s “Piano Trio No. 6 KV. 548,” Lalo’s “Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello” and Mendelssohn’s “Piano Trio in C Minor, Op. 7.” Ti

Feb 13, 2014By Baek Byung-yeul

Around Town 2

Clubs The OctagonNonhyeon Near the New Hilltop Hotel in Nonhyeon, this club is notable for its stylish interior and elite clientele. The venue offers a club stage, lounge bar and dining area to satisfy any night out after work or on the weekend. Near exit 4 of Hakdong Station on subway line 7. For more information, call (02) 516-8847. Club VolumeItaewon Offering a venue for specially-themed weekly events and world-class DJs, Club Volume is located in the Crown Hotel near Noksapyeong Station. Club Volume was listed by Time magazine among the “10 things to do in 24 hours in Seoul.” For more information, call 1544-2635. Once in a Blue MoonApgujeong Once in a Blue Moon is one of the best known and well established jazz clubs in the city. It features live jazz sets from two different bands every night, usually starting at 7:30 p.m. It is located between the Hakdong intersection and Galleria department store in the posh district of Apgujeong. For more information, call (02) 549-5490 or visit www.onceinabluemoon.co.kr. Club AnswerCheongdam&nbsp

Feb 13, 2014By Baek Byung-yeul

Veteran actress shows her range in 'Fairy'

Kim Song-nyo shines in the monodrama, “A Fairy in the Wall.” / Courtesy of Myeongdong TheaterBy Kwon Mee-yoo Kim Song-nyo is one of the greatest actors of her generation and certainly among the most versatile. Making her first stage appearance at the age of five, she has become perhaps the country’s most important performer in traditional plays such as “madangnori” (outdoor play, song and dance) and “changgeuk” (pre-modern form of opera) and an influential figure in modern drama.The 63-year-old’s talents were on full display in the one-woman show, “A Fairy in the Wall,” which she will perform through Sunday at Myeongdong Theater in Seoul.Kim says the new play felt like a summary of her four-decade career. To audiences, it is an opportunity to watch her unique stage talents.The play requires her to portray 32 different characters in 135 minutes, beginning with a five-year-old girl who chats about her belief in fairies to her frustrated mother and eventually a man who spends 40 years living in a wall to protect his family

Feb 12, 2014By Kwon Mee-yoo

Veteran actress shows her range in 'Fairy'

'Lost Garden' emerges as sleeper hit

“The Lost Garden,” a musical adaptation of the Oscar Wilde short story “The Selfish Giant,” runs through Feb. 16 at Poeun Art Hall in Yongin, south of Seoul. / Courtesy of Yongin Cultural FoundationFrench actor Collet shines in Oscar Wilde musicalFrench actor Jerome Collet plays the Giant in “The Lost Garden”By Baek Byung-yeulThere are critics who lament that Korea’s boom in musical theater has come at the cost of creativity. The imported, big-budget extravaganzas that dictate the market have reduced local playwrights to translators, actors to puppets, and killed any room for experimentation, they say. But every now and then, a more interesting, unexpected work will come out of nowhere and become a sleeper hit. The latest such success is "The Lost Garden," Soh June-young’s theatrical adaptation of an Oscar Wilde short story, "The Selfish Giant," which has been holding its own in the early-year theater scene headlined by "Mamma Mia!" "Carmen" and "Wicked."Just two weeks into its staging, The Lost Garden has sold more than 11,000 tic

Feb 7, 2014

Around Town 2

ClubsThe OctagonNonhyeon Near the New Hilltop Hotel in Nonhyeon, this club is notable for its stylish interior and elite clientele. The venue offers a club stage, lounge bar and dining area to satisfy any night out after work or on the weekend. Near exit 4 of Hakdong Station on subway line 7. For more information, call (02) 516-8847.Club VolumeItaewon Offering a venue for specially-themed weekly events and world-class DJs, Club Volume is located in the Crown Hotel near Noksapyeong Station. Club Volume was listed by Time magazine among the “10 things to do in 24 hours in Seoul.” For more information, call 1544-2635.Once in a Blue MoonApgujeong Once in a Blue Moon is one of the best known and well established jazz clubs in the city. It features live jazz sets from two different bands every night, usually starting at 7:30 p.m. It is located between the Hakdong intersection and Galleria department stores in the posh district of Apgujeong. For more information, call (02) 549-5490 or visit www.onceinabluemoon.co.kr.Club AnswerCheongdam Club Answer, chosen as one of the five hot

Feb 6, 2014By Baek Byung-yeul

Around Town 1

Classical Concerts‘Botticelli Guitar Quartet vs Guitar Group Fiesta’Seoul Arts Center*Feb. 13Classical guitarist groups Fiesta and Botticelli will perform together at the Seoul Arts Center on Feb. 13. Tickets cost 30,000 won. For more information, call (02) 737-0708 or visit www.sac.or.kr.Chen Hye-young Seoul Arts Center*Feb. 13Award-winning violinist Chen Hye-young will perform at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul. The violinist will play Beethoven’s “Sonata for Piano and Violin no.1 in D major op. 12 no.1,” Ravel’s “Sonata for Violin and Piano” and Vladigerov’s “VARDAR.” Tickets cost 10,000 won. For more information, call (02) 586-0945 or visit www.sac.or.kr.‘The Magic Flute’Seongnam Arts Center*Feb. 15The Mozart opera “The Magic Flute” will be staged at the Seongnam Arts Center on Feb. 15. Tickets cost 15,000 to 25,000 won. For more information, call (02) 2232-1148 or visit www.imwbk.com.Lim Dong-hyekSeoul Arts Center*Feb. 18Pianist Lim Dong-hyek will hold a piano recital at the Seoul A

Feb 6, 2014By Baek Byung-yeul

Arts & Theater

Arts & Theater

Putting modern spin on 'pansori'

Reaching new dramatic heights

Generating buzz

Start flutist to lead all-Barque concrt

Around Town 1

Around Town 2

Veteran actress shows her range in 'Fairy'

'Lost Garden' emerges as sleeper hit

Around Town 2

Around Town 1

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