A local entertainment agency on Friday terminated its contract with singer-songwriter MoonMoon after it was revealed he was convicted of a spycam crime.  MoonMoon (Yonhap)The official statement released by MoonMoon‘s former agency, House of Music, came right after a local news report revealed the previous charge against the singer. According to the local news report, MoonMoon was charged for secretly filming in a public bathroom in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, in August 2016. He was then sentenced to a tw

Changwon Sculpture Biennale this year will attempt to make sculptures more relatable to the audience. Under the title of “The Balance of Non-Sculpting,” Changwon’s sculpture festival features sculptures and installation works by some 70 artists from 13 countries. The biennale runs from Sept. 4 to Oct. 14.“In the past, sculpture parks put a distance between the viewers and sculptures, forcing and obligating viewers to revere the artworks like shrines,” said Youn Bum-mo, artistic director and chai

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s new CEO Kang Eun-kyung said that the orchestra is considering six candidates for the position of artistic director, raising the possibility that the once embattled orchestra may be able to appoint a new artistic leader by the end of the year.  Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra CEO Kang Eun-kyung speaks at a press conference at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul on Wednesday. (Yonhap)“The orchestra has recently initiated discussions over a six-candidate l

Korean contemporary dancer and choreographer Ahn Eun-me will premiere her interpretation of North Korean dance in Seoul next month.Under the title of “North Korea Dance by Eun-me Ahn,” Ahn reimagines traditional Korean dance, in particular that of North Korea. Korean contemporary dancer Ahn Eun-me rehearses “North Korea Dance by Eun-me Ahn” at the Korea National University of Arts on May 14. (Korean Traditional Performing Arts Foundation)“I hope this work offers us opportunities to rethink what

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer‘s solo exhibition at Amorepacific Museum of Art is an exhibition that brings tangible technologies to the fore. From his early works to his latest, Hemmer plays with various technologies, such as surveillance systems, voice recognition, fingerprint scanner and algorithms to allow the viewers to more easily relate to the technologies that have already become ubiquitous.Numerous technologies have already become part of our language, and there is nothing new about his works, He

BTS’ third full-length album “‘Love Yourself: Tear” was shipped out earlier than scheduled due to a mistake by the US-based shipping company.  BTS (Big Hit Entertainment)According to BTS‘ agency company Big Hit Entertainment, American commerce company Amazon made a shipping mistake with BTS‘ new album scheduled to be released at 6 p.m. local time, Friday. The case was found as individual fans started to upload images of the boy band‘s physical album on their social media pages saying that they s

Mina of the girl group Gugudan has joined the cast of the upcoming TV drama series “Gyeryong Fairy Tale.” Gugudan member Mina (Jellyfish Entertainment)Based on a well-known webtoon of the same title, “Gyeryong Fairy Tale” is a series that revolves around seonnyeo -- women who appear in Korean folklore and who live in heaven. In the series, actress Moon Chae-won plays a seonnyeo who tries to find her husband. Mina will play the daughter of the seonnyeo. In the story, the daughter reunites with he

Network broadcaster MBC on Wednesday said the producers of a controversial episode of its entertainment show “Omniscient” had no intention of offending the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster with the use of news footage of the accident.The committee formed on May 9 to conduct an internal audit over the entertainment show’s use of news clips and a word regarding the Sewol ferry disaster made the announcement during a press conference held at the network’s headquarters located in Sangam-dong, wes

The 2018 Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music will continue to highlight various chamber music pieces, including those that are less well known.Starting Tuesday, the Seoul-based chamber music festival will run until May 27, featuring a total of 16 concerts at venues including Seoul Arts Center, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and the preserved traditional Korean house of former President Yun Bo-sun in Anguk-dong. Violinist and the artistic director of the SSF Kang Dong-suk speaks during

Ha Ji-won has agreed to become a full-time cast member of a new tvN sci-fi series, according to her agency on Friday. Ha Ji-won (Yonhap)TvN’s new sci-fi reality show is designed to bring viewers information regarding Mars. The cast will visit the Mars Desert Research Station in the US state of Utah to film in June. The station offers a simulated Mars environment and space missions for Earth-based research. Girl group Gugudan’s Kim Se-jung and well-known celebrity explorer of “Law of the Jungle”

The 19th Jeonju International Film Festival announced a total of 12 awards across five categories, in a closing ceremony held in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, Wednesday. The grand prize for the international competition and Korean competition went to Marcelo Martinessi’s “The Heiresses” and Jung Hyung-suk’s “The Land of Seong-hye,” respectively. Kwon Ye-ji’s “Dong-a” grabbed the grand prize in the Korean Competition for Shorts section, which saw 21 short films compete. (Jeonju IFF)“The Heiresse

The annual Seoul Jazz Festival returns from May 19-20 with a lineup of musicians from Korea and abroad, at Olympic Park in eastern Seoul.Wind instruments take center stage this year with the presence of several internationally acclaimed wind instrumentalists, including Cuban-American jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, American solo trumpeter Chris Botti, American funk and soul jazz saxophonist Maceo Parker and American saxophonist and bandleader Branford Marsalis.In addition to the top names in win

The Corea Image Communications Institute is organizing the second “Korea Through the Lens, Video & Photography” contest.  (CICI)This year’s contest focuses on Korea’s alleys and food. The contest is open to all non-Korean nationals who live in Korea and foreigners who have visited the country. Koreans are also invited to submit their works. Photo and video submissions are being accepted until July 16.A total of 10 selected works will be presented at the Culture Communication Forum slated to take

The Deoksugung branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary, located inside the Joseon palace of Deoksugung, is perhaps one of the most suitable places to house Korea’s modern art. A picture of the the Yi Royal Family Museum, which in 1998 became the MMCA's Deoksugung branch (MMCA)Deoksugung, where Joseon-period architecture stands alongside two Neoclassical buildings built during the short-lived Daehan Empire, encapsulates the turbulent history of early 20th century Korea.The MMCA’s

Korean violinist Lee Ji-yoon has been granted lifetime tenure as concertmaster of Staatskapelle Berlin, officials of a local cultural foundation said Wednesday.  Violinist Lee Ji-yoon (Lee's official website)Founded in 1570, Staatskapelle Berlin has been led by numerous internationally acclaimed conductors including Wilhelm Furtwangler and Herbert von Karajan, who was succeeded by Daniel Barenboim in 1992.Officials from the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation confirmed Wednesday that the Berlin-bas

The last time the Scottish Ballet performed in Seoul was in 1992 as part of the cultural entourage accompanying Prince Charles and Princess Diana.After more than a quarter of century, Scottish Ballet, led by artistic director Christopher Hampson, will perform its adaptation of the Brothers Grimm tale “Hansel and Gretel” at the LG Arts Center from May 23 to May 27. Scottish Ballet's "Hansel and Gretel" (LG Arts Center)The Glasgow-based ballet company’s “Hansel and Gretel,” which premiered in 2013

Seoul Museum of Art aims to offer platforms where the public, artists and experts can actively engage on the same footing in the 2018 Seoul Mediacity Biennale, which is slated to kick off on Sept. 6 and run through Nov. 18.“Instead of the museum talking to the public about the exhibition topic, the relation has to be bilateral. In preparing the biennale, we had to think about the ways in which we do not silence or overwhelm the public,” emphasized Hong Gi-bin, a political economist and one of si

”White Chrysanthemum“By Mary Lynn BrachtChatto & Windus Books (320 pages, $18.11)One of the victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery passed away Monday at 97. Choi Duk-nye‘s death brings the number of known surviving victims to 28. So far this year, four victims of Japan‘s wartime sexual slavery, including Choi, have passed away. The generation of wartime victims will soon all be gone, as will the people who carry the memories of suffering under Japanese occupation. After one generation and ano

How much do we know about Asia? “How Little You Know About Me,” currently running at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, sets out to remind us how little we know about the diverse voices that have remained unnoticed or forgotten in the narrative of the mainstream history of Asia.Fifteen artists and artist groups working in different regions across Asia are participating in the museum’s first Asia Project for this year. “The exhibition is a research-based exhibition. When i

The doctor who performed a lipoma removal procedure on actress Han Ye-seul apologized for the botched operation in an interview uploaded to YouTube, Saturday.Dr. Lee Ji-hyun of the Cha Medical Center in Gangnam admitted to damaging skin from the inside while he was removing the lipoma.A lipoma is a noncancerous tumor of fat tissue beneath the skin. Han Ye-seul (Instagram)“It’s easier to remove the tumor if surgery is done right around the lipoma. But considering that she is an actress, I suggest