South Korean ballet dancer Jeon Min-chul, 20, is set to join the world-renowned Mariinsky Ballet in Russia. Jeon is the second Korean dancer to become part of the prestigious company, following its principal dancer Kim Ki-min, 32. According to media reports, Jeon recently passed an audition in Russia and is scheduled to join the Mariinsky Ballet as a soloist in February next year. Jeon who graduated from Sunhwa Arts Middle School and Sunhwa Arts High School, is currently a third-year student at

As a long-awaited summer break approaches, families and children can look forward to a rich array of performances designed for all ages in the months of July and August. From children's theater, dance dramas and puppet shows to interactive plays where the audience becomes part of the show, a diverse selection of international guest performances and Korean productions are available. Kids and family festival at Seoul Arts Center The Seoul Arts Center is set to host a summer festival for chi

Indian actor Anupam Tripathi, known for his role in the global phenomenon "Squid Game," is set to perform onstage at the Sejong Arts Center's Sejong S Theater on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. Tripathi will be starring in KimOki Saturnballad's "Love in Saturn," a jazz concert incorporated with short drama scenes. The concert is the opening program of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts' summer festival series, "Sync Next," which aims

The 2024 Seoul International Book Fair, the first edition to be held without government subsidies, wrapped up its five-day event with resounding success on June 30. “We deeply apologize to the readers who experienced inconveniences during the weekend due to the large crowds,” the Korean Publishers Association, the fair's organizer, posted on Instagram on the final day of the fair. According to the KPA, approximately 150,000 visitors attended the fair over its five-day run from J

Classical masterpieces by renowned Arab poets from the pre-Islamic period have been translated into Korean in a new Saudi-published volume. As part of efforts to bridge Korean and Arab cultures, Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, also known as Ithra, unveiled the Korean edition of "The Mu'allaqat for Millennials” at the Seoul International Book Fair, where Saudi Arabia was celebrated as this year’s guest of honor. The launch was organized in partne

The man is very good at his “job” -- crafting simple, elegant and effective solutions for “restructuring.” Not so obvious or messy, certainly nothing anyone would ever suspect as murder. The natural deaths he plans have always gone well: a medicine swapped here, a mechanism jammed there. But when his next assignment turns out to be someone he not only knows but cares about, he begins to question the role he plays in the vast, anonymous Company. This is the gripping plot o

Ballerina Park Sae-eun, the first Asian dancer to obtain the prestigious title of etoile, or principal dancer, at the Paris Opera Ballet, will head to Korea with her colleagues to perform the "Paris Opera Ballet Etoile Gala 2024” from July 20 to 24 at the Seoul Arts Center's Opera Theater in Seoul. The lineup includes six etoiles -- Park, Leonore Baulac, Valentine Colasante, Hannah O'Neil, Paul Marque and Guillaume Diop -- alongside four other members of the Paris Opera Ball

Award-winning radio drama "Steady Eyes" by South Korean writer Kwon Hyuk-in, who also goes by her English name, Michaela Kwon, is available for streaming on the BBC World Service. The winning piece of the 28th International Radio Playwriting Competition, hosted biennially by BBC World Service and the British Council, premiered on June 16. The competition was held last October in two categories: English as a First Language and English as a Second Language. This is the first time a Korea

The very existence of literature is evidence of liberation and freedom, according to Booker-winning Omani novelist Jokha Alharthi. "Literature transcends nations and cultures. By reading literature, humans can broaden their horizons and expand their experiential knowledge. They can experience another world," said Alharthi, who won the Man Booker International Prize in 2019 for her novel "Sayyidat al-Qamar," published in English as "Celestial Bodies." Alharthi is the

Bestselling author and Grammy-nominated singer Michelle Zauner fondly recalled her mother’s words that if she lived in Korea for a year she could be fluent in the language. The author of the 2021 memoir “Crying in H Mart” Zauner is now following her late mother’s advice, living the “life of a humble Korean student”: She is documenting her yearlong immersion in learning Korean for her upcoming book. Six months into the process, she’s currently studying at

Jose Cuervo pop-up store If you are with friends and family at Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, southwest Seoul, this weekend, stop by the shopping complex’s latest pop-up store, featuring tequila brand Jose Cuervo. Located on the first floor of Lotte World Tower, the Jose Cuervo pop-up store offers a gastronomic experience for visitors to take a sneak peek into Mexican culture and its famous tequila. The pop-up store invites visitors on a tour of the world’s oldest tequila distiller

Acclaimed graphic novelist Keum Suk Gendry-Kim urged readers not to stop at the title, as she introduced her latest book, "My Friend Kim Jong-un." Gendry-Kim attended a Korea-France dialogue at the 2024 Seoul International Book Fair, which kicked off Wednesday at Coex, Seoul, with French graphic novelist Lea Murawiec. "I know some people may stop reading because of the title, but this book actually carries a message of peace," Gendry-Kim said. The graphic novel, which will be

Son Woong-jung, director of the SON Soccer Academy and father of South Korea national soccer team captain Son Heung-min, attended the Seoul International Book Fair on Wednesday for a book signing event. Earlier in the day, news broke that Son and two coaches at his soccer academy had been accused of verbally and physically abusing a youth athlete, according to the police. Son appeared as scheduled at the Munhakdonge Publishing's booth in Coex around 3 p.m. As Son arrived at the signing even

In Simon Stone’s Korean take on Anton Chekhov’s classic “The Cherry Orchard,” the world-renowned director shifts the setting to contemporary Seoul. Here, aristocratic siblings Lyuba Ranevsky and Leonid Gayev have become heirs to a crumbling chaebol family named Do-young (Jeon Do-yeon) and Jae-young (Son Sang-gyu). The Song family business is on the brink of bankruptcy, but Jae-young is inept and Do-young is in denial. Enter Hwang Doo-sik (Park Hae-soo), a modern incarnati

In a contemporary Korean adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s tragicomedy “The Cherry Orchard,” directed by Simon Stone, Cannes-winning actress Jeon Do-yeon takes on the role of Song Do-young, a reinterpretation of Lyuba Ranevsky. Acclaimed Australian director Stone has transported Chekhov’s narrative into 2024 South Korea, mirroring the original’s portrayal of a decaying aristocracy amidst societal upheaval. Clad in a trench coat, pink tracksuit and sneakers, the "tr

The National Dance Company of Korea is set to present alternating performances of "Sinsun" and "Mongyudowonmu" from Thursday to Sunday at the National Theater of Korea's Daloreum Theater. "Sinsun" will be performed on Thursday and Saturday, while "Mongyudowonmu" will be performed on Friday and Sunday. Having originally premiered as a double bill in 2022, both productions have been expanded into 60-minute performances. "Sinsun" portrays the p

The iconic summer "gugak," or traditional Korean music, festival "Yeowoorak" is back from July 4 to 27, marking its 15th edition. Derived from the Korean phrase "Here is our music," Yeowoorak is the National Theater of Korea's flagship summer festival, showcasing musicians who explore and experiment with gugak. Since its inception in 2010, the festival has attracted over 77,000 people to the National Theater of Korea on Namsan. In the previous editions, Yeowoor

Ahead of the 74th anniversary of the Korean War, a new song cycle has been published to commemorate the fallen spirits and lingering pain of the war. Hahn Myung-hee, the lyricist behind the beloved Korean art song "Bimok" (Wooden Epitaph), has compiled a series of poems inspired by the Korean War and the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas into a poignant collection titled “Thus the DMZ Speaks: A Song Cycle in Memory of the Korean War Dead.” “Bimok” (19

The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company is on an international tour with "Jungle," which premiered in October as the curtain raiser at the International Modern Dance Festival. The company is performing "Jungle" at Theatre 13 in Paris on Sunday and Monday, as part of the 2024 Korea Season organized by the Culture Ministry to coincide with the 2024 Paris Olympics, which kicks off July 26. Choreographed by Kim Sung-yong, the company's director and artistic director, &

In celebration of her 60th anniversary of entering the convent, beloved poet and nun Lee Hae-in has released a collection of short essays titled "Precious Treasures" (a direct translation of the Korean title). "Having lived in the convent for 60 years, I thought it might be forgiven now to reveal the notebooks I kept. I wanted to share my personal stories with readers,” said Lee during a press conference at the Franciscan Education Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday. Havin