1. Exhibition
David Hockney in Seoul
The exhibition of David Hockney has been held in the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) since March 22nd. David Hockney is a British artist who became famous for his artwork Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972), which was sold at the highest price of 90.3 million dollars and set an auction record for a living artist’s work at Christie’s in New York, last November. The artist is known as the master of contemporary art and has been loved by the public since the 1950s. Hockney left several artworks with a variety of topics, such as homosexuality, people, and landscapes. He especially gained fame through paintings of swimming pools and portraits.
Hockney’s innovative drawing methods of nowadays, using a tablet PC and smartphone, are also remarkable. This exhibition is the first Hockney private exhibition in Asia, co-hosted by the SeMA and the Tate Modern Gallery of Great Britain. The exhibition is divided into seven small parts which exhibit 133 of Hockney’s artworks that have been borrowed from eight external agencies including the Tate Modern Museum. Visitors can see Hockney’s representative works in chronological order, including A Bigger Splash and the Moving Focus series. The exhibition will be held until August 4th. It costs 15,000 won for adults admission. It opens at 10 a.m. but closes every Monday. Kingos can find out further information on the website.
2. Musical
Hope: The Book That Has Not Been Read and the Life That Has Not Been Read
The Korean musical, Hope, which was selected as the “2018 New Work of This Year” by the Arts Council Korea (ARKO), will be returning to the stage again. The musical describes the trial between the National Library of Israel and the 78-year-old old woman Eva Hope to determine the ownership of the unpublished manuscript of the master of contemporary literature, Joseph Klein. The storyline was based on the real case regarding the posthumous work of the famous author Franz Kafka. The musical Hope, however, just brought the large outline of that real event. The musical focuses on the main character, Eva Hope herself, and does not just concentrate on deciding who the proper owner of the manuscript is. The musical begins on a stage that seems like a law court and shows how the life of Eva Hope changed from eight to 78 years old by keeping the manuscript. The story begins as Hope and a lawyer testify, which makes the audience deeply immersed in the scene. Moreover, the unpublished work of Joseph Klein is personified as the man named K. Audiences are comforted by the messages of K to Eva Hope in the musical. The musical gained its popularity through the double casting of two famous musical actresses, Kim Sun-young and Cha Jiyeon, who play the role of Eva Hope. It will be held from March 28th to May 26th in the Yonkang Hall, Doosan Art Center. R-class seats cost 88,000 won and S-class seats cost 55,000 won but university students can get a 30% discount, which takes the cost down to 61,600 won for R-class seats and 38,500 won for S-class seats.
3. TV show
Produce X 101
The fourth season of the Produce 101 series, Produce X 101 aired from May 3rd. Produce 101 series is the Korean representative audition program which made the famous K-pop idol groups, I.O.I, Wanna One, and IZONE. Produce X 101 is the series has the goal of making Korean representative K-pop idol groups through the 100% pick of the viewers, the so-called National Producers. In particular, Produce X 101 aims to be the largest global project to challenge the Billboard Chart. Like Produce 101 Season 2, 101 male trainees join the program. As Wanna One, the male K-Pop group that debuted through the second season of the show, gained huge popularity, the fourth season got lots of attention even before it was broadcasted. On March 21st, the title song of this season X1-MA was performed and broadcasted at the Mnet music show M COUNTDOWN and gained over six million views within a week of its release. Producer Ahn Joonyoung directed the program in the same way as the previous series. Actor Lee Dong-wook participates in the show as the National Producer representative, and Lee Seok-hoon, Shin Yoo-mi, Cheetah, Kwon Jae-seung and Choi Youngjoon appear the show as trainers of the participants. As the number of trainees who are from the famous entertainment agencies and who already have debuted also participate, the show gains attention from the public.
4. Movie
Aladdin
The live-action remake version of the Disney movie, Aladdin, will be released on May 24th. The classic animation movie of the same title, which was released in 1992, gained huge popularity as it is still on the list of the most successful fantasy animations Top 10. The live-action movie is expected to have a similar storyline as the previous animation, in that the petty thief Aladdin coincidently meets the Genie of the lamp and starts a fantastic adventure with him. The famous Hollywood actor, Will Smith, plays the role of Genie of the Lamp, which became the center of the attention regarding this movie. Aladdin will be acted by the rookie, Mena Massoud, and British Actress Naomi Scott will also participate in the movie as Princess Jasmine. At the end of the official trailer, the Original Sound Track of Aladdin, A Whole New World is played, which reminds viewers of their childhood memories. In addition, the magnificent visual effects in the trailer increase the expectations for the full-version movie. For Kingos who want to experience adventure with Aladdin again, watching this movie will be a great choice.