Lifestyle - The Korea Times

'American Idiot' to hit Seoul in September

After a successful run in the U.S., rock musical "American Idiot’’ is ready to arrive on Korean shores./  Courtesy of John Daughtry and OD Musical CompanyBy Kwon Mee-yoo“American Idiot,” a punk rock musical featuring the music of the band Green Day, will come to Korea in September.Based on the band’s seventh studio album with the same title, “American Idiot” is full of the raw energy and angst of a disaffected generation. The album itself was envisioned as a rock opera by vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong, and the musical is faithful to both the music and concept.Michael Mayer, the famed director of “Spring Awakening,” expanded the narrative of the rock opera in cooperation with the band. The show won a cult fan base among rock music lovers and theater fans alike.The musical revolves around three discontented young men living in a fictional suburban town. Johnny, also known as “Jesus of Suburbia,” and his friends Will and Tunny seek to escape suburbia and find the freedom and excitement of the big city.However, the yo

Jun 28, 2013By Kwon Mee-yoo

'American Idiot' to hit Seoul in September

Early Joseon painting auctioned in Seoul

The “Sakyamuni Platform Painting,” thought to have been painted in 1592 by an unnamed artist, was auctioned for 830 million won ($721,400) at Seoul Auction in central Seoul, Wednesday. / YonhapBy Baek Byung-yeulA rare Buddhist art work, taken from the peninsula during the Japanese invasion of Korea in the late 16th Century, was auctioned this week.  The “Sakyamuni Platform Painting,” thought to have been painted in 1592 by an unnamed artist, was purchased Wednesday for 830 million won ($721,400) at Seoul Auction in central Seoul.The purchase of the artwork “has great meaning because this is the first time it has appeared in public since it was made, right before the war occurred in 1592, and taken to Japan,” a representative from the auction house said in a statement.“Before it went public today, there had been only one painting left that was produced in the early period of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) portraying a meeting of Sakyamuni and his disciples in Korea.”Also Wednesday, “Immortals,” a ten-panel screen paintin

Jun 27, 2013

Early Joseon painting auctioned in Seoul

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 VolumeItaewonOffering 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 MoonApgujeongOnce 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 the Galleria department stores in the posh district of Apgujeong. For more information, call (02) 549-5490 or visit www.onceinabluemoon.co.kr. Club AnswerCheongdamClub Answer,

Jun 27, 2013By Baek Byung-yeul

Around Town 1

Classical Concerts ‘L’Elisir d’Amore’Sejong Center for the Performing Arts*July 5Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti’s 1832 opera “L’Elisir d’Amore,” known in the English-speaking world as “The Elixir of Love,” will be performed at the Sejong Center in Seoul on July 5. Tenor Jeong Neung-hwa will play the role of Nemorino, while soprano Kim Seong-eun has been cast as Adina. Tickets cost 20,000 to 30,000 won. For more information, call (02) 399-1111 or visit www.interpark.com. The Secret of Mozart & RossiniD-Cube Arts CenterJuly 4The Korea Festival Ensemble is preparing a celebration of the music of Rossini and Mozart. They will perform some of the most famous work of the iconic composers, including Rossini’s “Sonata No. 3 in C major” and Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik No. 13 in G major.” Located near exit 1 of Sindorim Station, subway lines 1 and 2. Tickets cost 10,000 to 30,000 won. For more information, call (02) 577-1987 or visit www.d3art.co.kr. Royal Philharmo

Jun 27, 2013By Baek Byung-yeul

Snappier side of Chekhov

Actress Park Jung-ja plays Vasili Svietlovidoff in Anton Chekhov’s “Swan Song,” which is staged as part of “14 in Chekhov” at Project Box Seeya in Seoul through July 7. / Courtesy of Project Box SeeyaA group of veteran actors present Russian playwright's lesser-known one-act playsBy Kwon Mee-yoo  There is more to Anton Chekhov than “The Seagull,” “The Cherry Orchard” and “Uncle Vanya.” This is what a group of Korean actors are trying to illustrate as they stage the lesser-known one-act plays of the Russian playwright that are as witty, thoughtful and biting as his longer ones.The “14 in Chekhov” performance at the Project Box Seeya theater in Dongbinggo-dong, Seoul, brings together 14 veteran actors performing the Chekhov plays of “On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco,” “Swan Song,” “A Marriage Proposal,” “The Bear,” and “Misery.”Directing the plays is Oh Kyung-taek, who previously staged Chekhov works such as “The Seagull,” &ldq

Jun 24, 2013By Kwon Mee-yoo

Simcheong, Broadway style

Kim Hye-young’s “Sunfish” was performed at the Daegu International Musical Festival last week. / Courtesy of Daegu International Musical FestivalNew York-based composer gives Korean folktale a modern twist By Kwon Mee-yoo The story of “Simcheong,” revolving around a girl and her single-minded devotion to her blind father, is considered by some to be the most “Korean” of all Korean folktales.So a few eyebrows were raised when New York-based composer Kim Hye-young began her efforts to produce a modern, Broadway-style musical from the medieval Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) story that sways widely between melancholy, humor and fantasy.After nine years of anticipation, Kim’s “Sunfish” finally arrived on Korean shores, being performed at the Daegu International Musical Festival, which continues through July 8.“Sunfish” was originally first staged in 2004 as Kim’s graduation project at New York University’s Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.Kim, who composed the music, has since been coll

Jun 23, 2013

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 the Galleria department stores in the posh district of Apgujeong. For more information, call (02) 549-5490 or visit www.onceinabluemoon.co.kr. Club AnswerCheongdam

Jun 20, 2013By Baek Byung-yeul

Around Town 1

Classical Concerts Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Charles Dutoit   Seoul Arts Center*June 29-30 The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit, will perform in Seoul. Formed in 1964 by Sir Thomas Beecham, the British orchestra company has a notable history, having performed under prominent conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Rudolf Kempe, Andre Previn and Daniele Gatti. The orchestra will play Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides Overture,” Chopin’s “Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor,” Debussy’s “La Mer” and Ravel’s “Daphnis & Chloe Suite No.2” on the first day of their two concerts. They will perform Weber’s “Euryanthe Overture,” Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E minor” and Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique” on the second day. Tickets cost 50,000 to 250,000 won. For more information, call (02) 751-9606 or visit www.sac.or.kr. Ditto FestivalSeoul Arts Center and LG Arts CenterThrough June 30 The annual Ditto Festi

Jun 20, 2013By Baek Byung-yeul

Seoul searching

Fahrettin Orenli’s installation “The Project THE CITY SeOUL” highlights his works displayed at the Corner Art Space in southern Seoul./  Courtesy of Corner Art SpaceArtists juxtapose subtly differing images of a sprawling metropolisBy Kwon Mee-yoo Seoul, a bustling cosmopolitan city that never sleeps, is increasingly a source of artistic inspiration.This is nowhere more evident than in the city’s own art galleries that allow visitors to discover the many aspects of this sprawling metropolis caught by the eyes of artists here and abroad.Korean artist Roh Choong-hyun is exhibiting 25 of his landscape paintings of Seoul at the Kukje Gallery in central Seoul under a theme he titled ``Prosaic Landscape.’’The main objects of Roh’s paintings are the areas near the Han River, perhaps the city’s most significant gift, which flows through an urban forest mixed with state-of-the-art skyscrapers and aging apartments stacked like egg cartons.Roh’s paintings also breathe a sense of dreaminess into mundane locations such as convenience

Jun 19, 2013

Why so serious?

Yoon Young-suk, left, playing Sir Galahad, sings “The Song That Goes Like This” with Shin Eui-jung, the Lady of the Lake, in the musical “Spamalot.” The musical runs through Sept. 1 at Yonkang Hall of Doosan Art Center in central Seoul. / Courtesy of OD Musical Company'Spamalot' offers hilarious commentary on Korea's showbiz, politicsBy Kwon Mee-yooWhat’s the safest way to fill the seats in today’s cut-throat market for musical theater? The blunt but honest answer is hiring pop stars and television personalities, regardless of their ability to speak a line or sing a note.Sir Robin, a character from the imported musical "Spamalot,’’ even sings as much."If you want to hit the jackpot, cast a celebrity. It doesn't matter if he cannot sing well as long as he has appeared on television,’’ the cautious and tentative Round Table knight chirps during a performance at the Yonkang Hall of the Doosan Art Center in central Seoul.In the original version of the show, the song was called "You Won’t Succeed on Broadway,’’

Jun 18, 2013

Arts & Theater

Arts & Theater

'American Idiot' to hit Seoul in September

Early Joseon painting auctioned in Seoul

Around Town 2

Around Town 1

Snappier side of Chekhov

Simcheong, Broadway style

Around Town 2

Around Town 1

Seoul searching

Why so serious?

Most Read in Lifestyle