Visiting Korea for the first time, Bambang Prihadi, chairman of the Theater Committee at the Jakarta Arts Council, said he is leaving Korea with good memories and new inspiration. Prihadi participated in the “K-Fellowship,” an annual program organized by the Korean Culture and Information Service, which invites prominent cultural figures from overseas to experience Korean culture and network with Korean counterparts. As the artistic director and actor of his own theater company, Labo

People cope differently when society rapidly changes: Some ignore the changes and fall behind while others adapt and thrive. Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard,” set at the turn of the 20th century, contrasts the fate of the declining aristocracy with that of the rising middle class. Currently running at the National Theater Company of Korea until May 28, Chekhov’s final full-length play stars actor Baik Ji-won in the lead role under the direction of NTCK artistic direct

Amid the increasing use of AI translation and arising legal and ethical concerns, the Literature Translation Institute of Korea is set to host a symposium on AI translation that will explore the present and future state of this technology. The symposium, titled “The Current State of AI Translation and the Future of Literature Translation,” will take place at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul on May 26. “The most important aspect to consider was to be inclusive and involve

Entering the concert hall, the audience was immediately captivated by the sight of white confetti scattered and piled on the floor. “Slava’s Snowshow” running at the LG Arts Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul until May 21, has transformed a corner of Magok-dong in the middle of May. The mime show created and staged by Russian performance artist and clown Slava Polunin has toured over 100 cities around the world since its premiere in Russia in 1993. In Korea, the Russian troupe last pe

Young gugak artists will perform at the upcoming “Day Off” concert series, showing various charms of Korean traditional music set outdoors in Namsan Hanok Village. The three-day event will take place in the garden of Seoul's Namsan Gukakdang in Jung-gu, with performances scheduled twice daily at 12:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday. On Tuesday afternoon, four-person samulnori group Variety E-Seo will perform, bringing the sounds of the "kkwaenggwari," "j

Odong Neighborhood Park, located in Wolgok-dong and Jangwi-dong in Seongbuk-gu, northern Seoul, is a popular destination for local residents. Situated at the top of a 119-meter-high mountain called Wolgoksan, the park offers a gentle walking trail surrounded by a densely forested area. At the starting point of the trail, a unique building captures the eyes of visitors. Odong Book Shelter, which opened May 2, is one of seven "book shelters" that the Seoul Metropolitan Government operate

Greek contemporary theater director Dimitris Papaioannou is scheduled to premiere his latest project “Ink” in Asia at the National Theater of Korea’s Daloreum Theater from Friday to Sunday. Premiered at the Torinodanza Festival in Italy in September 2020, "Ink," a two-person performance, embarked on a world tour in January with some modifications and enhancements, and new music by Greek composer Kornilios Selamsis. Papaioannou, who describes the performance as one abo

The National Jeongdong Theater of Korea is set to open the season with “Chun-hyang: Bird with Broken Wings.” Initially scheduled for a 2022 premiere, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Chun-hyang” is a modern retelling of the 17th-century Korean folk tale which was orally handed down through the pansori “Chunhyangga.” It tells about the love story between Seong Chun-hyang, the daughter of a retired courtesan, and Yi Mong-ryong, the son of a noblem

The Universal Ballet’s iconic original repertoire “Sim Chung: A Legend from the Far East“ returns this week for the first time in four years. The piece is based on the classic Korean folktale of Sim Chung, who sacrifices herself to the King of the underwater world in a desperate attempt to have her blind father's sight restored. The neoclassical choreography is the work of UBC’s first artistic director, Adrienne Dellas. Since its premiere in 1986, “Sim Chung&rd

Seven Korean writers, including Bora Chung of “Cursed Bunny” and Bae Suah of “Untold Night and Day,” will participate in the Brisbane Writers Festival in Australia, which kicks off on Wednesday. The festival will run for five days until Sunday, with a total of 10 sessions scheduled for Korean writers, according to the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. South Korea is the Country of Focus for this year. Chung, who was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker P

The author of the 2000's national bestseller “The Children of Gwaengiburimal” has returned with yet another heartwarming novel about the lives of people neglected and marginalized in our society. South Korean children’s writer Kim Jung-mi’s “The Guardians of the Zelkova Tree” (tentative English title) hit the shelves on March 31, published by Dolbegae. Set in the fictional rural town of Daepo-eup, where more than half of the children living there are from

In 2021, a Moroccan detainee in his 30s was subjected to inhumane treatment at the Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center in Gyeonggi Province, where people facing deportation are held. Surveillance footage showed him on the floor with his feet and hands tied together behind his back, with his head covered. In her latest novel, “This is Your Country,” published by Munhak Dongne, novelist Lee U takes us inside these detention centers. The novel follows a first-person narrator, who rece

This weekend, along with the arrival of Children's Day and warmer weather, there are a variety of options on offer. Among the many choices, this week's "Well-curated Weekend" introduces a drone light show at the Han River, the "Museum of Innocence" and the Myeongdong Festival. 500 drone light show over Han River Seoul is set to light up the night sky with a spectacular drone show featuring over 500 drones this week. As part of the “Seoul Festa 2023” ce

Many Koreans may think of “sijo” as a thing of the past. Some may recall learning the sijo of “yangban,” or aristocrats of Joseon, in textbooks or know by heart Hwang Jin-yi’s famous sijo poems. Occasionally, sijo is recited in historical dramas. But the traditional Korean poetic form that emerged in the Goryeo period and flourished during the Joseon period is still being written today. A new collection of sijo poems has been published in Korean and English by Seoul

Since ChatGPT was first released in November 2022, many have expressed concerns, though some believe that creativity remains a uniquely human domain. Amid the flood of writing now out related to ChatGPT, a collection of short stories co-authored by the chatbot and seven sci-fi writers -- Kim Dal-young, Nappelganger, Shin Jo-ha, Oh So-young, Yoon Y. K., Jeon Yun-ho and Chae Kang D. -- hit the shelves last month. “Manifesto” published by Neofiction, an SF/mystery literature imprint of

The Seoul Metropolitan Dance Theatre is set to perform its iconic repertoire “Ilmu” at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts from May 25-28. Premiered in 2022, the performance directed by Jung Ku-ho, is a modern reinterpretation of a traditional dance inspired by Jongmyo Jeryeak, a royal ceremonial performance encompassing singing, music and dance that took place during ancestral rites held at Jongmyo Shrine. Tablets of Joseon kings and queens are preserved at the shrine. Jongmyo

Models walk on Jamsu Bridge over the Han River in Seoul, which was turned into a runway for the Louis Vuitton pre-fall fashion show on Saturday. The occasion marked the French luxury powerhouse’s first-ever fashion show for its pre-fall collection, designed by Nicolas Ghesquiere. Traffic was halted for 24 hours on the lower level of the bridge which was used as the runway. Hwang Dong-hyuk, director of Netflix's hit drama “Squid Game," participated in the show's scenogr

“A World Without Gyeong-wu” (working title) By Baek Ohn-yu Changbi Publishers In-soo sees ghosts floating like shadows in the corner of his room and every time he sees them, a bone-chilling cold seems to cling to his skin, even though it’s midsummer. He is still suffering from hallucinations and nightmares caused by “the accident” that happened with his gang when he ran away from home 12 years ago. One day, In-soo meets a boy named Yi-ho who extorts money from drive

“Aoi Garden” By Pyun Hye-young Moonji Publishing Pyun Hye-young, who went on to win the 2017 Shirley Jackson Award for her psychological thriller “The Hole,” has returned to her very first novel, “Aoi Garden.” She has revised her debut collection of nine short stories, which she published 18 years ago in 2005, and invites readers on a literary journey back to where she began. The title piece, “Aoi Garden,” evokes a more intense sense of horror as i

“You Can't Measure a Meter” By Yang Jee-ye Munhakdongne Publishing The Munhakdongne New Writer Award, a prestigious platform for outstanding new writers’ first full-length novels, released its 28th winning novel in late March. Past winners have included the International Booker shortlisted “Whale” by Cheon Myeong-kwan. The judges described the winning title “You Can't Measure a Meter” by Yang Jee-ye as “overwhelmingly interesting and inno