The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister YU In Chon, MCST) will inaugurate the new year with the “2024 New Year’s Concert” slated for January 9 (Tue) at 7:00 p.m. in the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall.

The 2024 New Year’s Concert promises captivating performances, showcasing the vibrancy and significance of Korean culture and artistic prowess on the global stage. Notably, the “New Year’s Concert Festival Orchestra” makes its debut, uniting 12 major symphony orchestras nationwide, including the KBS Symphony Orchestra, Korean National Symphony Orchestra, and city and provincial orchestras from Gwacheon, Gwangju, Gimcheon, Bucheon, Suwon, Ulsan, Wonju, Incheon, Jeonju, and Jeju. Esteemed singers pivotal to the success of K-classical will work together for this one-of-a-kind event.

LEE Seung-won, the main guest conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, will lead the New Year’s Concert Festival Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, 4th movement, marking the commencement of the New Year’s Concert. Following this, SHIN Chang-yong, a rising star in K-classical and the first Korean to win the 2018 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, will enchant the audience with Chopin’s Grande Polonaise Brillante In E flat Major, Op. 22.

Korea’s vocal powerhouse ranges from solo performances to choir

At the 2024 New Year’s Concert, the diverse vocal talents of Korea will showcased. Korea is a vocal powerhouse with a track record of triumphs in international competitions and performances in renowned opera houses worldwide, including Europe, the birthplace of opera. Samuel Yoon, a bass-baritone, mesmerized opera enthusiasts as the title character in “Der fliegende Holländer,” the opening production of the Bayreuth Festival in 2012. Soprano PARK Hye-sang, who became the first Asian soprano to sign an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in 2020, and baritone YANG Joon-mo, winner of the ARD International Music Competition in Germany and performer at the Semperoper Dresden, will present well-known opera arias and musical pieces.

The allure of K-content unveiled through orchestra performances

K-drama and K-pop, which have captured the hearts of the world, will also take center stage at the 2024 New Year’s Concert. The orchestra will perform music from the drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” and the song Feel My Rhythm by K-pop sensation Red Velvet. The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s rendition of Feel My Rhythm on the SM Classics YouTube channel in July 2022 was groundbreaking during its release as a new attempt to cross genres, amassing 3.34 million views.

Just as K-culture boasts its narrative, the 2024 New Year’s Concert concludes with a song embodying life’s joys and sorrows through captivating lyrics. The National Chorus of Korea and vocal performance group I MAESTRI will enchant with songs such as BYUN Jin-seop’s We Need Our Love, SONG Gil-ja’s poetry, and IM Geung-su’s composition “As if spring comes across the river.”

Enjoy the New Year’s Concert through online live streaming and television broadcast (January 14)

Witness the magic of the concert in real time both at the venue and in ordinary settings through online live streaming on YouTube, Naver TV, Digital Stage, and KBS Plus. In addition, seven cultural and media centers in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Gangwon will be screening it simultaneously using the Seoul Arts Center’s “SAC on Screen” service.[1]

Moreover, on Sunday, January 14, at 5:40 p.m., the 2024 New Year’s Concert will be televised nationwide for 80 minutes on KBS 1TV.