From a struggling bedroom musician to a festival headliner — this is the story of singer-songwriter Lee Seung-yoon. After a decade-long struggle as an indie musician singing in underground clubs, busking on Seoul streets and recording music at home, Lee had a breakthrough when he won the top prize on JTBC’s audition program “Sing Again” season 1 in 2021. The show, which started airing during the COVID-19 lockdown, became a huge hit as viewers wondered how such talented musicians could have been

Every family has its own lore. Older family members recall a person or incident related to the family that they have heard about from their elders. Although details are often lacking, these stories are passed down from one generation to the next as a crucial part of the family’s shared history. Retold enough times, they acquire the status of family lore. For years, Diana Kang had dismissed a tall tale repeated at big family gatherings as mere family lore. For as long as she could remember, the r

For Korean Canadian film director Lee Min-sook, the COVID pandemic was the big push behind her documentary “There Are No Words,” a deeply personal and political film. “There Are No Words” is Lee’s ninth film in a career that spans 25 years. The film appears to be a departure from her previous works that have dealt with issues such as migrant farmers in Canada and city politics. “It’s taken me a while to approach this story because it’s the central story of my life,” Lee said during an interview

SINGAPORE — The entrance to the exhibition tucked away on Level 4 of the sprawling National Gallery Singapore is closed, its doors covered in what appears to be red tape printed with the exhibition title: “Passion is Volcanic: Desire in Southeast Asian Art.” It is an effective marketing ploy; when something is prohibited, people often desire it more. As you open the door to the museum’s first-ever age-restricted exhibition (rated 18), a guide gives you a cursory look to check if you are eligible

SINGAPORE — Art and fun ruled at this year’s Singapore International Festival of Arts, which ended its 16-day run at the Festival Village and various venues across the city on Saturday. Titled “Legacy” with a tagline “Let’s Play,” this year’s edition of the annual festival organized by Arts House Group saw productions from home and abroad entertaining audiences with everything from comedy and lightworks to dance and drama. Commissioned by SIFA, “Makan Culture,” by playwright Jo Tan and director

Actor Lee Hye-young is on the floor stretching, as is the rest of the cast of the National Theater Company of Korea’s production of Henrik Ibsen's “Hedda Gabler,” preparing for a run-through of the play Thursday at the National Theater of Korea in Jangchung-dong, Seoul. “Hedda Gabler,” directed by the NTCK Artistic Director and CEO Park Jung-hee, is to be staged at the Drama Center Theater in Singapore from May 28-30, as part of this year’s Singapore International Festival of Arts. In a fitted l

National Theater Company of Korea’s 2025 runaway hit, “Hedda Gabler,” is touring overseas for the first time at the Singapore International Festival of Arts 2026, which kicks off Friday. The contemporary reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s play — helmed by the company’s artistic director Park Jung-hee and featuring veteran actor Lee Hye-young, who reprised the role of Hedda Tesman after playing it in 2012 — performed to a sold-out audience for all 22 shows at the Myeongdong Theater in Seoul in May 202

Heading this year’s Gwangju Biennale is, in a way, a homecoming for Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen. Back in 2020, Ho was commissioned to create a piece for the 13th Gwangju Biennale GB Commission, marking the 40th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, whose spirit is commemorated in the biennale. Ho’s commission, a two-channel video entitled “The 49th Hexagram” (2020), explores the history of uprisings that took place on the Korean Peninsula in the last century through animation created

Ten 19th-century landscape painting scrolls known collectively as "Chilbosan" ("Seven Jeweled Mountain") in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City will undergo conservation and be remounted in their original format as a 10-panel folding screen at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul. Announced early last week, the two-year project is the latest instance of cooperation between the US museum and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, an affiliate of the state-run

This is one of a series of interviews in which Kim Hoo-ran, editor-at-large at The Korea Herald, speaks with leaders, trailblazers, unsung heroes and both well- and lesser-known figures who share the stories of their lives and their visions for a better world — Ed. In today’s increasingly specialized work environment, many may question the relevance of a liberal arts education which focuses on critical thinking, intellectual curiosity and effective communication over training in specialized skil

Architect and urban planner Dominique Perrault is widely known for redefining public space with the concept of "groundscape." Perrault came to international recognition in 1989 at the age of 36 after winning the competition for the National Library of France in Paris, a landmark project that exemplifies his approach to spatial concepts. Rather than asserting a monumental presence, the building’s iconic design emphasizes voids, horizontality and the integration of the landscape, allowing architec

Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was appointed director of the General Affairs Department of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea during the Ninth Party Congress that concluded Feb. 25, North Korea’s state news agency confirmed on Feb. 28. Her previously known official post was that of vice director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, a post she held starting in the spring of 2014. With much of the workings of North Korea’s pa

This is one of a series of interviews in which Kim Hoo-ran, editor-at-large at The Korea Herald, speaks with leaders, trailblazers, unsung heroes and both well- and lesser-known figures who share the stories of their lives and their visions for a better world — Ed. An Asian character’s dark hair grows at an unrealistic speed, like blinds being pulled down. When people press their palms together and bow in greeting the Asian woman and when people touch her hair, it grows, spilling onto the floor.

This is one of a series of interviews in which Kim Hoo-ran, editor-at-large at The Korea Herald, speaks with leaders, trailblazers, unsung heroes, and both well- and lesser-known figures who share the stories of their lives and their visions for a better world — Ed. If you felt the weather this winter was erratic — unseasonably warm days followed by deep freeze — you would not be wrong. While the average temperature in January was minus 1.6 degrees Celsius, the coldest average January temperatur