A new original musical created to be presented online rather than put on stage is set for release later this month. While it has become the norm for performing arts production companies to stream their shows online during the pandemic, musicals created for the screen remain a novel idea. Produced by EMK Entertainment, affiliated with major musical production company EMK Musical Company, the mus...

South Korean movie theaters are rolling up their sleeves to receive more film buffs as the 2-meter distancing rule in theaters is set to be lifted under the new five-tier scheme next week. Last week, the South Korean government announced a detailed set of social distancing and stay-in-place mandates to improve antivirus measures and clarify business restrictions in a tailored fashion. It came a...

The performing art scene and the movie industry, which have been hit hard by the audience distancing measures, are expected to make some recovery under the new scheme. The new social distancing system mandates five stages of social distancing and classifies performing art theaters and cinemas into “regular” sites. The new system goes into effect Saturday. At Level 1, the lowest level of the fiv...

Though 2020 has brought unprecedented changes to the performing arts scene, including the world of ballet, “The Nutcracker” will wrap up the year as it does every year. The holiday tradition of enjoying Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece “The Nutcracker” in the Christmas season will continue despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Universal Ballet will go onstage with “The Nutcracker” Dec. 18-30 at t...

The annual dance festival’s only in-person event brings together ritual dance, ballet and contemporary dance all on one stage

Adjusting to the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul will stream short-form plays under the Play Clips project. The Seoul Arts Center is to launch Play Clips as a part of its Sac on Screen project which brings performing arts to the virtual stage through online screening. Play Clips will introduce plays, divided into five- to six-minute-long videos. The art c...

Multiplex cinema chain CGV announced Thursday that it would close seven of its branches, including the Daehangno location in Seoul, due to the financial burden of COVID-19. The announcement came just three days after CGV decided to reduce the number of branches by 30 percent due to COVID-19 losses on Monday. The company announced that 35-40 branches of the current 119 branches will close within ...

Actors rise to the challenge of performing onstage during pandemic

Original musical by Koh Sun-woong pays tribute to Gwangju Democratic Uprising

The international tour production of “Cats” will extend its Seoul run for a month. The West End musical opened Sept. 9 at the Charlotte Theater in eastern Seoul. Though initially slated to run until Nov. 8, the show will now close on Dec. 6. After the Seoul run, the musical will tour Korea, though details of that have yet to be finalized. Adjusting to the time of the novel coronavirus, the mus...

Thirteen Korean movies have applied to be selected as Korea’s entry for the Academy Award for best international feature film, according to the Korean Film Council on Monday. Since Director Bong Joon-ho won the Oscar for best international feature film for “Parasite” at the 92nd Academy Awards in February, movie industry insiders’ eyes are now on who will be selected to compete for the nominatio...

Ahn Eun Me Company, led by inconic dancer Ahn will present show “I am Twenty Years Old.” The show will be recorded on stage and at other sites at the theater, too. “It is unfortunate that the SPAF cannot welcome an in-person audience. This, however, may be a new attempt and an opportunity to bring the process from performance production to online screening as part of the whole festival,” an offi...

Pawn (Korea) Opened Sept. 29 Family drama Directed by Kang Dae-kyu In 1993, Doo-seok (Sung Dong-il) and Jong-bae (Kim Hee-won) work as debt collectors in Incheon. They may look intimidating, but they are soft inside. One day, the two go to collect a debt from Myung-ja (Kim Yun-jin) who unexpectedly offers her 9-year-old daughter Seung-yi (Park So-yi, Ha Ji-won) as collateral. When Myung-ja i...

The 25th Busan International Film Festival, originally set to open Oct. 8, will be held Oct. 21-30 both offline and online, according to the festival organizers. “We will screen a total of 194 films, and 125 will be screened through our online channel,” a BIFF organizer told The Korea Herald on Wednesday. “There will not be any outdoor events, including opening and closing ceremonies, outdoor g...

Comedy crime film “Collectosr” is ready to steal moviegoers’ hearts with its original story about tomb robbery. “As the first Korean film about tomb robbery, we will present new visuals that the audience has never seen before,” director Park Jung-bae said during an online press briefing Tuesday. “Collectors” is Park’s debut feature. “Collectors” introduces three robbers. Kang Dong-goo, played...