Ultra Korea 2024 kicks off along with other must-see events

This year's Ultra Music Festival, or Ultra Korea 2024, is taking place not at Olympic Park in eastern Seoul but at Incheon's luxury hotel and resort Paradise City.

ULTRA KOREA 2024 Paradise City

Afrojack performs during the Ultra Music Festival on March 24, 2024, at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami. [AP/YONHAP]

June 7 – 9: This year's Ultra Music Festival, or Ultra Korea 2024, is taking place not at Olympic Park in southern Seoul but at Incheon's luxury hotel and resort Paradise City.

This year marks the 10th edition of the annual outdoor electronic music festival.

The lineup includes around 100 acts, including Swedish House Mafia, Alesso, Armin van Buuren, Afrojack and deadmau5. The festival will feature graffiti art performances by virtual artists Chica Dania, Maxi Bagnasco and PEZ.

A three-day combo ticket costs 360,000 won ($263.60) while a day ticket is priced at 150,000 won.

The ticket zone begins operation from 11:30 a.m. on all three days and the shows begin from noon.

From Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 or 2, take a shuttle bus or monorail to the event. CHICAGOD-Cube Arts Center

The Korean production of Broadway's hit musical ″Chicago″ begins its run on June 7 at the D-Cube Arts Center in Sindorim, western Seoul. [SEENSEE COMPANY]

June 7 – Sept. 29:Broadway’s hit musical “Chicago” is now one of the most sought-after musicals for Koreans as well. Last year, Koreans got to see the Broadway production of the show here and this year, the Korean production is making a return.

The musical is based on the 1926 play of the same name by journalist Maurine Dallas Watkins about the actual criminals and crimes she reported on in Chicago.

The musical revolves around Roxie Hart, an ambitious chorus girl, who murders her lover.

Actors Choi Jung-won, Yoon Gong-joo and Jeong Sun-ah will alternate Velma Kelly, while IVY, Tiffany Young and Min Kyung-ah play Roxie Hart. Actors Park Gun-hyung and Choi Jae-rim will alternate Billy Flynn.

Tickets range from 80,000 won to 160,000 won.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on weekdays and at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on weekends. There are no shows on Mondays.

Sindorim Station, lines No. 1 and 2, exit 1 or 5

INITNational Theater of Korea, Haeoreum Grand TheaterThrough June 9: The Korea National Contemporary Dance Company (KNCDC) is presenting a new work called “Init.” This piece is the first work for the company’s artistic director Kim Sung-yong in his project Dance Makes Asia become the Universe (DMAU), which he initiated recently in the hopes of expanding the exchanges of dances between Asian countries.

According to the company, “Init” has been choreographed with paradoxical keywords like “complexity in simplicity,” “depth in repetition” and “coexistence of the unconscious and the conscious.” The choreography is based on “Process Init,” a choreographic method devised by Kim.

The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets range from 20,000 won to 60,000 won.

Dongguk University Station, line No. 3, exit 6

PAIK KUN-WOO AND MOZARTSeoul Arts Center, Concert Hall

Pianist Paik Kun-woo [UNIVERSAL MUSIC KOREA]

June 11:Korean pianist Paik Kun-woo is currently touring the country with his latest album "Mozart: Piano Works 1” and is stopping at the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul on June 11. His new album is the first part in the 78-year-old pianist's Mozart trilogy project. Paik has never before recorded Mozart in his 68-year career.

The album is comprised of Mozart’s compositions like "Fantasia in D Minor, K. 397," "Rondo in D Major, K. 485" and "Piano Sonata No. 12 in F Major, K. 332,” and the pieces are included in the recital.

After Paik's performance at the Seoul Arts Center, he'll be traveling to Incheon on June 15 and Haman in South Gyeongsang on June 21. He'll have another performance on Nov. 20 at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in central Seoul. Tickets range from 50,000 won to 120,000 won.

The performance begins at 7:30 p.m.

Nambu Bus Terminal Station, line No. 3, exit 5 ORCHESTRE DE CHAMBRE DE PARIS WITH SUNWOO YEKWON Lotte Concert HallJune 12: Pianist Sunwoo Yekwon will be accompanying Orchestre de Chambre de Paris for a concert at Lotte Concert Hall in June. Sunwoo rose to international stardom after winning the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2017. The French chamber orchestra will be visiting Korea with Russian maetro Maxim Emelyanchev. He is currently the chief conductor of Il Pomo d'Oro.

The program includes Mozart's "'Don Giovanni’ Overture,” Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58,” and "Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 'Eroica.'”

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets range from 40,000 won to 150,000 won.

Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 1 or 2

DEAR EVAN HANSENChungmu Art CenterThrough June 23:The Korean production of the Broadway hit musical "Dear Evan Hansen” is currently underway at the Chungmu Art Center in central Seoul. The musical follows the titular Evan, an anxious high school student who gets caught up in a snowballing lie while trying to console the grieving family of a classmate who committed suicide.

Three actors alternate the role of Evan: Park Kang-hyun, Lim Kyu-hyung and Kim Sung-kyu.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Fridays, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturdays and at 3 p.m. on Sundays. There are no shows on Mondays.

Tickets range from 70,000 won to 160,000 won.

Sindang Station, line No. 6, exit 9

HEDWIGCharlotte Theater Through June 23: A dynamic mix of rock music and monologue, this eight-time Tony-nominated musical follows the life of a band called The Angry Inch. The Korean production of the musical premiered in 2005.

The story revolves around a boy named Hansel living in East Germany in 1988.

One day, a U.S. lieutenant proposes to marry Hansel if he changes his gender to female. Hansel eventually decides to adopt the name Hedwig and undergoes a sex change operation, but it fails. He flies to Kansas only to find that he has been dumped. Undeterred, Hedwig starts wearing wigs and makeup, forms a band called The Angry Inch and becomes a rock star.

The Korean production of this musical features musical performers Jo Jung-suk, Yu Yeon-seok and Jeon Dong-seok, who alternate the main role.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays; at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on weekends; and at 3 p.m. on public holidays. There are no shows on Mondays.

Tickets range from 80,000 won to 150,000 won.

Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 3

HANS ZIMMER FILM MUSIC ENCORE CONCERT Lotte Concert HallJune 30:German film composer and music producer Hans Zimmer’s renowned film scores will be performed by maestro Kim Jae-won and the WE Philharmonic Orchestra. This upcoming concert is an encore, following the success of the same concert that was performed in January.

Some of Zimmer’s most famous pieces will be performed, including “First Step” from “Interstellar”; “Time” from “Inception”; the main theme from “The Dark Knight”; “Circle of Life” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” from “The Lion King”; “Maestro” from “The Holiday”; and “Tennessee” and “There You’ll Be” from “Pearl Harbor,” and others.

The performance begins at 5 p.m.

Tickets range from 50,000 won to 130,000 won.

Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 1 or 2

JANOS STARKER 100th ANNIVERSARY CELLO FESTIVALLotte Concert HallJuly 3 – 5:The Lotte Cultural Foundation will host a festival commemorating the 100th anniversary of Janos Starker's birth, together with the Japan Cello Association and Suntory Hall. Starker, born in Budapest, was one of the 20th century’s most renowned cellists. The New York Times’ obituary of him in 2013 described him as a cellist “whose restrained onstage elegance was amply matched by the cyclone of scotch, cigarettes and opinion that animated his offstage life.”

This festival, which will take place both in Korea and Japan, is a collaborative work between Starker’s students Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, a world renowned Japanese cellist and the president of the Suntory Hall, and Korean cellist Yang Sung-won.

On July 3, Bach’s “Complete Cello Suites” will be played by Tsuyoshi and Yang, as well as cellists Martina Schucan, Mark Kosower, Marc Coppey and Ole Akahoshi.

July 4 will be the day of the “Sonatas and Cello Ensemble,” which will fill the program with pieces including Popper’s “Suite for Two Cellos, Op. 16,” Beethoven’s “Cello Sonata No. 4 in C Major, Op. 102-1” and Brahms’ “Hungarian dances” No. 1, 3 and 5. On July 5, a gala concert will be organized, with pieces including Haydn’s “Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major” and Schumann’s “Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129.”

The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. on all three days.

Tickets range from 30,000 won to 150,000 won.

Jamsil Station, line No. 2, exit 1 or 2

*Most tickets are available at ticket.interpark.com/global or by calling 1544-1555

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]