With tickets to classical music concerts typically around 100,000 won ($85), and sometimes triple that for big-name performers, prices have been a major barrier to widening the audience for classical music.To lower that barrier, organizations hold concerts for free or at a relatively affordable price, sponsored by the government or companies. These outreach concerts often feature pieces with a wide appeal and recognition, even among people unfamiliar with classical musicConcerts move out of conc

Joe Hahn of US rock band Linkin Park is holding a photo exhibition titled “Carry On” in Korea, in which he will be showcasing memorable moments.“Carry On” is a collection of photos that Hahn took during the band’s most recent world tour “One More Light” in 2017. Around 70 photos capture the moments that band members connect with fans on stage.  Prior to the official exhibition, the Korean-American musician held a pop-up event on Thursday at culture

Summer treats at Grand Hyatt Seoul 　Grand Hyatt Seoul presents summer desserts to beat the heat.Mango coconut bingsu and green tea bingsu are being offered at 38,000 won. They can be ordered at lounge cafe Gallery and all-day buffet restaurant Terrace. The hotel’s bakery Deli presents homemade soft-serve vanilla and chocolate ice cream, with 15 different toppings available at 500 won each. Ice cream served in a cone costs 4,500 won and 9,500 won in a cup. For more information, call Grand H

With 26 restaurants boasting highly coveted Michelin stars, Seoul’s fine dining scene is definitely on the rise. Streets in posh neighborhoods of Seoul are dotted with eateries serving cuisines from around the world. By comparison, the restaurant scene in hotels seems to have lost its luster. Up until the 2000s, hotel restaurants were where one headed here for the upscale, fine-dining experience. But today, star chefs at independent restaurants are the trendsetters leading the fine-dining

Ice cream and eating healthy have never quite gone hand in hand. But some alternative brands are trying to bridge the seemingly opposite ideas, producing low-calorie ice cream. 　Among them is Halo Top, an ice cream brand based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2012, it boasts a “better for you” ice cream.  Created by two former lawyers interested in healthy lifestyles, a pint of Halo Top’s ice cream has 285 to 330 calories, one-fourth that of typical ice cream product

Sol Beach Hotel & Resort is running a surfing school program, allowing guests to learn surfing and riding a paddle board at the private beaches of the properties. Resorts in Yangyang and Samcheok are running the programs until the end of September. Participants will take 60- or 90-minute lessons, including safety instructions.  In the peak season of July and August, six classes will be held every day, and there will be lessons four times a day in September.At the Yangyang resort, surfi

BTS has successfully completed the Japanese leg of its tour. Following its tour of the Americas and Europe, BTS performed for 210,000 fans in Japan as part of its “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” tour. The band held concerts in Osaka from July 6-7 and in Shizuoka on Saturday and Sunday.  The seven members performed “Dionysus,” “Not Today,” “Interlude: Wings,” solo tracks and the Japanese version of “Boy With Luv,” released July 3. T

Twenty-five years since the release of Disney’s “The Lion King,” the story of Simba and his journey to his rightful place on the throne has entertained fans through various media -- from a smash-hit Broadway musical to animated series like “The Lion King’s Timon & Pumbaa” and “The Lion Guard.”The animated classic can arguably be said to have influenced superhero films too, with many seeing traces of it in the 2018 film “Black Panther,&rdq

Charging summer energy at Millennium Seoul HiltonMillennium Seoul Hilton’s Chinese restaurant presents a summer meal course.Taipan offers a seven-course meal featuring summer health and vitality foods. The meal will start off with a special seafood appetizer with caviar, followed by turtle soup with ginseng and Chinese matrimony vine. The soup will be followed by stir-fried chicken and neungi mushrooms, and then live freshwater eel with garlic and chili sauce. Diners will be served st

Pianist Im Sung-mi took the stage for the 711th edition of “The House Concert” at Daehangno, central Seoul, on Monday. “The House Concert” is a small-scale music project run by artistic director Park Chang-soo. Seated on the floor of the venue, concertgoers are able to experience music in a different way, feeling the vibrations of the wooden floor. “It reminds me of the Bargemusic hall in New York, for which my late husband Bae Ik-hwan had long been an artistic dire

For foodies familiar with Seoul’s fine dining scene, it has long been a mystery that Ryunique does not yet have a Michelin star. It seems like the contemporary fine dining restaurant has every quality it needs to be awarded the much-coveted star. But its name has not made the list for the past three years. Led by chef Ryu Tae-hwan, the fine dining restaurant in Sinsa-dong, southern Seoul, studies the arts of French and Japanese cuisine while incorporating a Korean flavor and using local pr

Pianist Kevin Kenner believes humor can improve people’s lives, even more than aspirin. Kenner, who is in South Korea for his second solo recital in the country, titled “Humoresque,” will perform at the Seoul Arts Center on Thursday and at the U-Square Culture Center in Gwangju on Friday. The California-born pianist won the top prize at the 1990 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. The same year, he also won a medal at the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competitio

Though the tvN drama series “Arthdal Chronicles” has left viewers with many questions to ponder, one thing is for sure. It hopes do better in the final third of its 18-episode run. Two-thirds of the series has aired so far, leaving six episodes for fans to look forward to. Those episodes will air in September, after the new drama “Hotel Del Luna” finishes its run. The unusual schedule gave rise to rumors that tvN might be thinking of extending the drama for a second seaso

Pianist Son Yeol-eum is set to make her BBC Proms debut later this month. Son is to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 15 in B flat major with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Omer Meir Wellber on July 23 at London’s Royal Albert Hall. BBC Proms, hosted by the British public service broadcaster, is an eight-week summer music festival founded in 1895. Orchestral concerts mainly take place at the Royal Albert Hall, while chamber music concerts take place at Cadogan Ha

It seems like the “Bohemian Rhapsody” phenomenon may never die out, evidenced by the concerts, shows and even a Seoul art exhibition paying tribute to Queen and the band’s legendary frontman Freddie Mercury.Piling onto the onslaught of Queen-mania here, the exhibition “Bohemian Rhapsody: The Queen Exhibition” is to take place at Ara Art Center in Insa-dong, central Seoul, from Sunday to Oct. 6. The exhibition has been officially approved by Queen Productions. 

White House adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump turned heads during her recent visit to South Korea by wearing a dress designed by a Korean designer.Trump, known as a fashion enthusiast, arrived in Korea with US President Donald Trump last Saturday. During a forum held Sunday to discuss gender role issues at Grand Hyatt Seoul, she sported an ivory coat-style dress.  The dress was designed by designer Jong Go-en who leads her namesake label Goen.J. The creation was a part of the 2019 Re

Korean bingsu with Danish flair at Grand InterContinental Seoul ParnasIn celebration of its 30th anniversary, Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas presents bingsu in collaboration with Danish porcelain brand Royal Copenhagen.Retro Mugwort Bingsu will be served in an exquisite bowl from Royal Copenhagen until the end of August. The bingsu comes with mugwort jelly, mugwort-flavored fresh chocolate, mugwort-flavored condensed milk, injeolmi rice cake, adzuki beans and granola on top.Those who order

Sports stars often say they never expected to become such big players. This is easy to believe from Sruong Pheavy, the Cambodian-born Korean billiards star. She had absolutely no reason to believe she would become the women’s three-cushion champion in South Korea: She had never grabbed a cue before coming here.Pheavy, 29, came to Korea about 10 years ago to marry her husband, Kim Man-sik. Kim, twice her age, runs a small printing shop in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Like so many c

Though she does not have a restaurant, there are still nearly 1 million diners who enjoy Gabriela Kook’s food around the globe. 　More widely known as Kook Gabie, or Gabie Kook, Kook, 30, is a content creator, who shares her life via YouTube. Her videos have diverse subjects from lifestyle to beauty, but she is most well-known for her recipe videos. “Everything led me to cooking and eating,” Kook said during an interview held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Wednesday as a part of th

Korean singer Lee Hee-moon sometimes goes onstage in gender-bending attire. Wearing a curly wig and high heels, Lee commands the stage, backed by a rock band.The music, however, is inspired by traditional Korean music. 　Though gugak -- Korean traditional music -- singers are usually associated with an old-fashioned image, Lee sets himself apart with his music, manner and appearance. The Korea Herald met with the 44-year-old singer for an interview at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Wednesday. He was a