[2022 top culture news] Korean wave reaches dizzying new heights

Director Park Chan-wook, left, and actor Song Kang-ho participate in a Q&A session with reporters after winning the Best Director award for "Decision to Leave" and Best Actor award for "Broker," respectively, at the 75th Cannes Film Festival in France, May 28. Yonhap

By Kim Rahn

An expanded global presence ― this may best describe Korea's culture and art scene in 2022, as a wider sphere of cultural fields has been in the international spotlight.

These achievements were embodied in the many firsts and accolades bestowed at internationally acclaimed cultural festivals, including Korea's and Asia's first win at the Emmy Awards with "Squid Game," a Korean actor's first Cannes prize, dozens of awards in literature and classical music, the opening of a renowned art fair and new waves in K-pop and K-dramas.

Here are the top eight news stories in art and culture that have made the headlines in 2022.

Korean cinema rides high

Auteur Park Chan-wook won the Best Director prize at the 75th Cannes Film Festival in May for his romance noir "Decision to Leave," becoming the second Korean director to win the award.

It was his first directorial prize at Cannes although he had previously won the Grand Prix for the 2003 thriller "Oldboy" and the Jury Prize for the 2009 horror drama "Thirst."

"Decision to Leave" was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Golden Globe Awards and Critics' Choice Awards.

At Cannes, veteran actor Song Kang-ho won the Best Actor prize for his role in "Broker," led by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. He was the first Korean male actor to clinch a Cannes award.

K-pop boy band BTS / Courtesy of Big Hit Music

BTS, as group and as individuals

BTS has continued to write its illustrious history as an outstanding K-pop group in many ways. It got Grammy nominations for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023, received a big win at the American Music Awards for the fifth year in a row, won prizes at the Billboard Music Awards for the sixth consecutive year and achieved several other outstanding feats.

In June, the K-pop superstar group surprised the world by announcing the halting of group activities and instead choosing to focus on individual endeavors. The decision was made because members of the group will have to carry out their mandatory military service in the coming years. Enlistment began on Dec. 13 for BTS' eldest member, Jin.

The members have since made several solo endeavors, so far successfully: J-Hope, Jin and RM released solo albums, which all garnered good responses for their quality; Jin appeared in a dozen entertainment programs; RM has been emceeing on an educational-entertainment TV show; and Jungkook participated in the official soundtrack for the Qatar World Cup and performed at the opening ceremony.

Actor Lee Jung-jae, left, and director Hwang Dong-hyuk of Netflix series "Squid Game" pose after winning awards for Outstanding Lead Actor and Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series, respectively, during the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, Sept. 12. AFP-Yonhap

'Squid Game' rocks global entertainment industry

The global frenzy over Netflix's original series "Squid Game" (2021) has continued through 2022, in the form of winning major awards.

The dystopian thriller bagged six prizes at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Lead Actor, Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series, Guest Actress, Stunt Performance, Production Design and Visual Effects.

Those successes set multiple records in the Korean and global entertainment industry, as Lee Jung-jae was the first Asian and Korean and the first non-English performer to win the Outstanding Lead Actor prize. As a result of the international recognition, Lee was cast for the upcoming Star Wars series "The Acolyte," to be made available on Disney+.

O Yeong-su, also the first Korean actor ever to do so, notched a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role on Television.

K-pop girl groups IVE, left, and NewJeans / Courtesy of Starship Entertainment, ADOR

2022 top sports newsFrom Djokovic deportation to Messi magic

2022-12-23 14:44 | Sports

2022 top finance and biz newsKey rate hikes increase household debt burden

2022-12-21 10:49 | Companies

Girl power in K-pop scene

The so-called fourth generation of girl groups, which debuted from 2020 to 2022, have swept major music streaming charts and album sales worldwide, breaking the common perception that girl groups are less lucrative than boy groups and that their fans are less loyal.

NewJeans from ADOR, a label under HYBE, took No. 1 spots on major local streaming platforms immediately after debuting in August with its self-titled album. Its tracks "Attention" and "Hype Boy" saw 100 million streams on Spotify, and "Cookie" was listed as one of the Best Songs of 2022 by The New York Times.

IVE's "LOVE DIVE," a mini-album and its title song released in April about six months after its debut, and the following single "After LIKE" in August, also topped streaming charts and still remain high on the charts. "After LIKE" also made it onto Spotify's Top 50-Global chart.

Le Sserafim from Source Music, another label under HYBE, and aespa from SM Entertainment have also brought new vitality with fresh concepts and high album sales.

Visitors look at Korean abstract master Kim Whanki's painting, "Tranquility 5-IV-73 #310," at Kukje Gallery's booth during Frieze Seoul at COEX in southern Seoul, Sept. 2. Yonhap

Seoul: Asia's new art hub

Artists, gallery officials and collectors gathered in Seoul in September as the prestigious global platform for modern and contemporary art, Frieze Art Fair, landed in the nation's capital.

Seoul was the first Asian host of the Frieze, following Los Angeles, New York and London. Over 110 worldwide galleries from more than 20 countries participated in the Seoul edition, drawing some 70,000 art enthusiasts and posting estimated sales of 600 billion won ($460 million).

The hosting of Frieze demonstrated Korea's rise as an art hub in Asia, following the notable growth of the domestic art market amid high public interest in art sales and collecting. Other major art fairs here have posted large increases in sales in recent years, sometimes twofold growth in just one year.

Actress Park Eun-bin in a scene from ENA series "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" / Courtesy of ENA

Extraordinary success of 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo'

The hit of the series "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" was one of the most extraordinary surprises this year because not many expected the drama to be such a success ― especially because it came from a lesser-known cable network and lacked top-level stars, and the main character in the drama was on the autism spectrum.

However, the drama attracted huge attention ― globally as well, topping Netflix's viewership chart of non-English TV shows for seven consecutive weeks. The drama's lead actress Park Eun-bin rose to international stardom as well as other lead and supporting actors, and the series was nominated as Best Foreign Language Series for the upcoming Critics Choice Awards.

It also brought various issues to the fore, such as a big hackberry tree attaining a natural monument status after appearing in the drama, a jump in sales of clothes and accessories that the actors wore in the drama, public attention regarding the protection of whales, a greater understanding of people with autism and plenty more.

The covers of English editions of Park Sang-young's "Love in the Big City," left, and Chung Bora's "Cursed Bunny" / Courtesy of Tilted Axis Press, Honford Star

Korean literature in spotlight

More and more Korean literary works have been gaining global attention after getting translated into English and other languages.

The novels of two Korean authors ― Chung Bora's "Cursed Bunny" and Park Sang-young's "Love in the Big City" ― were included in the longlist of the International Booker Prize, one of the world's most prestigious literary awards. Chung's work advanced to the shortlist of six, although it did not win the prize.

Picture book author and illustrator Lee Suzy became the first Korean illustrator to win the Hans Christian Andersen Award for her contribution to children's books. Author and illustrator Baek Hee-na's "Moon Pops" also won the Honor Book prize at the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards.

Pianist Lim Yun-chan performs during the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas, June 18. Courtesy of Van Cliburn Foundation

New generation emerges in classical music

Korean classical musicians have made headlines with accolades at prestigious competitions.

Pianist Lim Yun-chan, 18, notched the top prize at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition as the youngest winner of the 60-year-old U.S. contest.

Cellist Choi Ha-young, 24, won the Queen Elisabeth Competition, which is said to be one of the three most prestigious classical music competitions, as the first Korean winner in the cello category since its creation in 2017. Violinist Yang In-mo, 27, also became the first Korean to win the XII International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, while pianist Lee Hyuk, 22, received the top prize at the Long-Thibaud International Competition along with Japanese pianist Masaya Kamei. Lee was the second Korean to win the contest in the piano category following Lim Dong-hyek in 2001.