Culture News Roundup

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Up next is our culture news roundup. We begin with a look at the biggest classical music concert in Asia held in Gangwon-do Province. This and more coming up.

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Lights sparkling like stars adorn a midsummer night in Daegwallyeong. The classical music playing at the concert hall mesmerizes passers-by. The concert featured classical music of various genres with the performers including a youth choir from Latvia and pianist Sohn Yeol-eum. The Pyeongchang Dagwallyeong Music festival offers an opportunity to appreciate classical music performed by talented musicians from around the world.

[Soundbite] Kim Kyung-ah(Spectator) : "It's great to have this opportunity to enjoy music performed by renowned musicians every evening without having to travel far."

Classical music resonates on the slopes of Daegwallyeong, which is located 700 meters above the sea on the refreshing east coast of Korea. The improvised performances staged in the scenic environment offer audiences a moment of cool reflection. The wild flowers and sheep grazing on mountain slopes create an natural environment. The 13th Pyeongchang Daegwallyeong Music Festival underscored the beauty of midsummer nights in Gangwon-do Province. The enchanting voices of five young singers tug on listeners' heart strings. Combining pop and opera music, the performance is staged against the background of cartoon images explaining the opera's storyline. It's an opera webtoon based on the Italian opera "Love Potion" and featuring a Chinese background. The Chinese travel agency CTS has agreed to sponsor all the concerts in China in recognition of the opera webtoon's originality.

[Soundbite] CTS Staff : "Opera webtoon is a very innovative genre. Young Chinese audiences will be impressed by the young Korean musicians."

The young musicians will tour more than one hundred colleges in China over one year. Web novels read on smartphones are also gaining popularity. The popular web drama "Moonlight Drawn By Clouds," which is about young people from the Joseon era, has been viewed more than 50 million times and was even adapted into a TV show. Another popular web novel that has been published as a series over 10 years, grossing over six million U.S. dollars, was reproduced as a webtoon and is currently being developed into a game.

[Soundbite] Nam Hee-seong(Web Novel Writer) : "To me as a writer, it would be very exciting to see my web novel being produced into a webtoon or a game so that more people can enjoy."

This year more than 20 web novels are being developed into TV shows, games and movies. The secret to their charm lies in their light yet fun subjects, colloquial writing style and dynamic plots. Web novels have emerged as promising cultural products that have unlimited potential for recreation.