Two Francophone Baroque music ensembles will go onstage here this month. One of the groups, Les Arts Florissants, is a French ensemble founded in 1979 by William Christie. It is credited with efforts to revive 17th to mid-18th century European music. Christie, a conductor and harpsichordist, is often referred to as “a pioneer in the rediscovery of Baroque music” in France, introducing lesser-known French Baroque music pieces. On Oct. 17, the ensemble will present Handel’s

GAPYEONG, Gyeonggi Province -- The Jarasum International Jazz Festival took place from Friday to Sunday on Jarasum in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province.The event, launched in 2004, is one of the most successful music festivals here. Hosted on a once-abandoned island, it has garnered a total of 2 million attendees over the years.  On Friday, with the sun glaring, the 16th edition of the annual festival kicked off, featuring 121 artists, 15 overseas acts and eight local acts. Gugak-inspired ja

Suite escape at Park Hyatt SeoulPark Hyatt Seoul presents a suite room promotion, offering a 15 percent saving on regular suite rates with a complimentary bottle of red wine. A Park Suites room, featuring separated bed room and living room areas, will be offered at a starting price of 420,750 won. Guests will have free access to the hotel’s sauna, swimming pool and fitness facilities. The deal is available for bookings made until Nov. 14 for stays until Dec. 13. Reservations are available

Short-form video sharing app TikTok stresses it can be a powerful tool in promoting the ongoing K-pop trend around the world. On Thursday, TikTok officials took to the podium for at the 2019 Seoul International Music Fair held at Coex in southern Seoul to give a presentation titled “The New Kid on the New Music Block: TikTok.”The Chinese app, launched in 2016, is available in 150 countries in 75 languages, and bills itself as a music discovery app, allowing “TikTokers” (T

Saemoonan Church, the oldest Presbyterian church in the country, was recognized with the Architecture MasterPrize, a prestigious architectural award given by the Farmani Group. The new church building in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, was listed under the award’s Cultural Architecture category, announced Thursday.  The award introduced it as the “Mother Church” of Korea, referring to the history of it being the first organized church in the nation. Saemoonan Church was establ

The new general manager of Millennium Hilton Seoul was surprised by strong demand for staycations here. German-born Felix Busch, who joined the Hilton group 17 years ago, took the post here in August following stints in Edinburgh, London, Sydney and Nagoya, among others. “It is very popular for Koreans to escape for one night. Although they may live in Seoul, they check into a hotel in Seoul to have a night away from home. I think this is slightly unique to Seoul,” Busch told The Kor

Fashion designer Jung Ku-ho has stepped down as executive director of Seoul Fashion Week after four years at the helm of the country’s largest fashion event.Taking his place is Jeon Mi-kyeong, a former editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar Korea with more than 25 years of experience in the fashion magazine industry. She will head Seoul Fashion Week with the Seoul Design Foundation for two years. The 2020 spring-summer Seoul Fashion Week -- the first edition led by Jeon -- is slated to t

Over the weekend, jazz music took over Seoul Forest, a park in eastern Seoul. The third Seoul Forest Jazz Festival took place Saturday and Sunday, and one of the highlights was a performance by the legendary jazz vocalist Park Sung-yeon. Park paved the way for jazz musicians in South Korea with Janus, the first jazz-only club in the country.    At 76, Park appeared onstage in a wheelchair but her voice was as powerful as ever, with soulful touches that gave the songs a sorrowful y

The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Korea announced a recent jump in the number of Koreans visiting the country, saying it aims to attract 2 million Korean tourists by the end of the year.“Last year, we were able to achieve 1.6 million (Korean) tourists. Because of that we aim to work for 2 million Korean tourists this year of 2019. By the end of 2019, in December, I will be proud to say we achieved 2 million. I look forward to that,” Ambassador Noe Albano Wong, who too

Fiery seafood at JW Marriott DongdaemunJW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul’s all-day dining restaurant Tavolo 24 presents the Taste of Sea promotion featuring Sichuan-style seafood favorites. The menu includes cold dishes made with fan mussels, sea squirts, abalone, white sea snails, clams, squid and conch, flown in fresh from China. There are also hot dishes including steamed scallops, snow crab and blue crab, Sichuan specialty mala crawfish, crispy deep-fried sea cucumber and eel, and Hu

The Contemporary Gugak Orchestra will present gugak, traditional Korean music, composed by foreigners. The orchestra will hold its 98th regular presentation “Hidden Sides & Unique Beauty of Gugak” on Friday and Saturday at the National Gugak Center.  According to the project’s music director Kye Sung-won, the audience will be able to see the difference between foreign and Korean composers’ approach to gugak.“The title ‘Hidden Sides’ refers to h

While rock festivals cooled us down in the summer heat, autumn is the perfect time to appreciate other music genres. Starting this weekend, jazz and pop music festivals are set to take place around the country. Celebrating the beautiful fall weather, these outdoor festivals afford a chance to enjoy colorful foliage from a picnic mat, sipping wine with family and friends. Jazz at Seoul Forest  Seoul Forest, located in eastern Seoul, is a park that covers 1.16 million square meters. On Friday

As Denmark and South Korea celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the Royal Danish Orchestra is getting ready to play to a Korean audience for the first time at a concert featuring Danish conductor Thomas Sondergard and Korean pianist Sunwoo Yekwon. At the event, slated for Dec. 8 at the Seoul Arts Center, the orchestra will perform the preludes to Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s opera “Maskarade”; Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Conc

The Seoul Metropolitan Traditional Music Orchestra will take the stage at the Sejong Center’s M Theater on Wednesday to presenting newly commissioned gugak works. The orchestra, led by conductor Park Ho-seong, has been aiming for creative ways to uphold Korea’s traditional music since its establishment in 1965 as the nation’s first traditional music orchestra.“As Korea’s first traditional music orchestra, we have prepared Wednesday’s presentation to encourage

The Korea National Opera, led by 52-year-old director Koh Sun-woong, will take the stage Friday and Saturday at the Seoul Arts Center with the original opera “1945,” which depicts the lives of ordinary Koreans in 1945, after the peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonial rule.A celebrated figure in the theater scene here, Koh has led various productions, including plays, musicals and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympics. This will mark his second

INCHEON -- Violinist Chung Kyung-wha and pianist Kevin Kenner, who call each other “lifetime companion,” presented the complete Brahms violin sonatas on Thursday at Art Center Incheon. The duo performed the German composer-pianist’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 in G major, “Regen,” Op. 78; Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in A major, “Thun,” Op. 100; and Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108. The first sonata, often referred to

Fiery seafood at JW Marriott DongdaemunJW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul’s all-day dining restaurant Tavolo 24 presents the Taste of Sea promotion featuring Sichuan-style seafood favorites. The menu includes cold dishes crafted from fan mussels, sea squirts, abalone, white sea snails, clams, squid and conch flown in fresh from China, plus hot dishes including steamed scallops, snow crab and blue crab, as well as Sichuan specialty mala crawfish, crispy deep-fried sea cucumber and eel, and

The 2019 Seoul International Music Fair, also known as MU:CON, will take place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 at Coex in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul. Seventy-four acts will participate in the event, hosted by the Korea Creative Content Agency, including rock bands Daybreak and South Club, girl group Laboum, rhythm-and-blues singers Sam Kim and Suran, known for her collaboration with BTS’ Suga, pop singer Sunwoojunga, and boy band JBJ. “I thought of myself as someone who has ears open to chec

The Lotte Foundation for Arts is to launch the International Organ Competition of Korea next year. The foundation and the Korean Association of Organists will co-host the annual competition to recognize talented young organists around the world.  The Lotte Concert Hall, located in Jamsil, eastern Seoul, is home to a grand pipe organ, composed of almost 5,000 pipes installed across three floors. Built by the Austrian company Rieger, it took three years to design and install and cost 2.5 bil

The Mayfield Hotel in Gangseo-gu, western Seoul, is to host the Dionysos Wine Fair at its outdoor gardens Sept. 21-22.The biannual event, held every spring and fall, allows wine aficionados to taste 150 varieties of wine, paired with barbecue plates, caprese salad with burrata cheese and Iberico jamon (Iberian ham) with melon.  A wine concierge service will be offered along with discounts on wine purchases. Pop-jazz band Get Alright will take the stage.Winners of the best dresser award -- o