Brand New Music wraps up 2015 with family concert

 Home to heavyweight hip-hop names like Verbal Jint and San E, hip-hop and rhythm and blues label Brand New Music has set itself apart from big K-pop production agencies with its free-spirited style.So perhaps it should come as no surprise the agency’s annual year-end concert “Brand New Year” held Saturday at the KBS Sports World in Seoul was more of a club party than a concert. Security was minimal and the standing crowd was nearly within arm’s reach of the stage. Audience members roamed around

PerformanceDec. 14, 2015

New MMCA director attempts to allay censorship concerns

Bartomeu Mari, the new director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, tried to play down a censorship controversy that erupted over his decision earlier this year to drop an exhibition at the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, which he headed at the time, during his first press conference as the head of MMCA in Seoul on Monday.“I am against all sorts of censorship, and I stand for freedom of expression,” said Mari, announcing his plans for the museum during his three-y

CultureDec. 14, 2015

Veteran hip-hop duo Jinusean packs stage for exclusive concert

Indulging in reminiscence with 2000s megahits like “Phone Number,” veteran hip-hop duo Jinusean raised the curtain for the first exclusive concert in their 18-year history Sunday at the Olympic Hall in Olympic Park, Seoul.　As fans brimmed with expectation, the concert “Jinusean Bomb” kicked off with a witty video clip of Jinu and Sean explaining the group’s long history, parodying the epic U.S. film from 1994, “Forrest Gump.”　 Hip-hop duo Jinusean’s concert “Jinusean Bomb” held at Olympic Hall,

Dec. 14, 2015

Biggest-ever Rubens collection at National Museum

A special exhibition titled “Rubens and Other Masters” at the National Museum of Korea is showcasing for the first time in Korea a collection of pieces from the Liechtenstein Museum, including major works by the acclaimed 17th century artist Rubens.The collection includes some 120 paintings, sculptures, crafts and tapestries from the Renaissance, Baroque and Biedermeier eras, carefully curated and brought in from one of the largest royal museums in Europe.   “Portrait of Clara Serena Rubens” by

PerformanceDec. 14, 2015

Top 3 places to avoid during Christmas in Seoul

With Christmas just around the corner, people are wondering where and how to spend some quality holiday time with their loved ones. Some of you may get some ideas from Korean dramas in which couples watch the ball drop at a hotel party or walk on streets aglow with the Christmas spirit.But try that in real life, and there’s a good chance that you won’t be able to recover by the New Year, getting shoved and bumped by the huge crowds. So, if you happen to be in Seoul during the holiday season, for

TravelDec. 14, 2015

[Herald Interview] ‘I’m survivor, not victim’

In Park Yeon-mi’s defection from North Korea, she encountered a South Korean pastor. The compassionate minister had told the then-teenage girl, who had just escaped the clutches of one of the most secluded and oppressive regimes in the world, that she deserved a “second chance.” “What second chance? I’m not a criminal. It was not my choice to be born in North Korea,” she told The Korea Herald in an interview after giving a speech last month at an international forum in Bangkok.The conversation w

PeopleDec. 13, 2015

[Herald Review] Frankenstein’ musical grim, but totally worth it

The musical rendition of one of the world’s most recognized horror tales, “Frankenstein” is guaranteed to send chills down the spine this bleak winter.Returning to the stage after premiering last year, the musical version of Frankenstein is one of few original Korean productions. Although based on Mary Shelley’s 19th century novel of the same title, the Wang Yong Beom Production’s musical adds new characters and plot twists to the classic monster tale.  Reportedly costing some 4.5 billion won ($

PerformanceDec. 13, 2015

Culture Ministry to sponsor Korean art exhibition at Met

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will fund Korean art exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from 2016 to 2018, the museum has announced. The ministry and the Met signed a memorandum of understanding last Thursday for a three-year partnership to support exhibitions and programs related to Korean art and culture at the museum.  Thomas Campbell, director and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (left), and Oh Seung-je, director of the Korean Cultural Service of New Y

CultureDec. 13, 2015

Tongyeong recognized for its rich music offerings

Tongyeong, a southeastern port city long known as the hometown of numerous artists, may soon rise to international prominence following its designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Music on Friday night.　Tongyeong is the first city in Korea, second in Asia after Japan’s Hamamatsu and 10th worldwide to join the Music category of the international organization’s Creative Cities Network. Tongyeong has rich musical offerings, including its traditional mask dance Ogwangdae and the annual Tongyeong In

CultureDec. 13, 2015

Weekend Box Office Guide: Dec. 12-13

Heading to the movies this weekend? The Korea Herald provides a guide to what's playing on the big screen.Legend (U.K.)Opened Dec. 10　Action. Directed by Brian Helgeland　Tom Hardy plays Ronald and Reggie Kray, identical twin gangsters who ruled the East End of London during the 1960s. “Legend” shows how the two brothers built their criminal empire, touching upon their internal struggles as well as their run from the detective Nipper Read (Christopher Eccleston).　Timing (Korea)Opened Dec. 10　Anim

FilmDec. 11, 2015

Around the hotels

Verove appointed Hyatt Regency Jeju GMHyatt Regency Jeju announced the appointment of Patrick Verove as its new general manager. Verove will be in charge of the hotel’s operations and management, bringing with him a wealth of experience in the hotel industry.Before joining Hyatt Regency Jeju, he spent more than five years as the manager of Grand Hyatt Incheon. Verove started his career in 1989 at Grand Hyatt Melbourne, beginning his 27-year relationship with Hyatt. “I am committed to continuing

FoodDec. 11, 2015

Comfort food to soothe the winter-weary soul

Christine Cho, a Korean-American expat in Seoul, has been eating and cooking her way around the world the last 16 years as a private chef. -- Ed.Winter is upon us, and what better way to begin The Palate, a new column that celebrates food culture here in Seoul and beyond, than with a warming visit to the 76-year-old gomtang restaurant Hadongkwan.One of the most iconic eateries in the capital, Hadongkwan made its name with a long-history of making one single dish: gomtang, a thinly sliced beef so

FoodDec. 11, 2015

Travel bits

Record tourists to GermanyThe German National Tourist Board said that it had a record number of days inbound tourists stayed in Germany as of the end of the third quarter.Statistics show a total of 62 million overnight stays at accommodation facilities of at least 10 beds from January-September, up about 5.3 percent from a year ago. In 2014, Koreans stayed in Germany for an average of 500,000 days, and the number is expected to grow to 600,000 days in 2020, the German tourism board noted.Germany

TravelDec. 11, 2015

[Herald Interview] Kim Jo-han continues cooking-up music with ‘no MSG’

At a time when rhythm and blues music was virtually nonexistent in the Korean music scene, Solid, the now-defunct vocal trio of Korean-American singers, became one of the pioneering forces of Korean soul with its debut in 1993.  Former Solid members Kim Jo-han, Jeong Jae-Yoon and Lee Joon, whose debut album was aptly titled “Give Me a Chance,” are, to this day, still regaled as among the country’s most influential figures in introducing the R&B genre to Korean listeners. Solid was short-lived. T

PerformanceDec. 11, 2015

History of food exchanges between Korea and Japan

Tonkatsu once enjoyed the status of today’s dry-aged steak -- some 35 years ago in Korea. In the 1980s, the deep-fried breaded pork cutlet, now one of the most common and popular dishes among Koreans, was only available at Seoul’s top western restaurants. Italiano, a restaurant in Jeong-dong, Seoul, used to serve tonkatsu on a big white ceramic plate with kimchi and “danmuji,” yellow pickled radish. Despite the restaurant’s Italian name, tonkatsu, an import from Japan, was its best-known dish, a

CultureDec. 10, 2015

Evaluating Korean Pavilion at Venice 2015

The Korean Pavilion at this year’s 56th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale attracted over 360,000 visitors May 6 and Nov. 22, more than double the figure from the previous art edition in 2013.Its site-specific seven-channel video installation without any dialogue that portrayed a possible life in the future drew interest from viewers and critics.At a symposium Wednesday at Artist’s House in Jongno-gu, Seoul, held to evaluate the results of this year’s exhibition, everyone seemed

PerformanceDec. 10, 2015

JYJ's Kim Jae-joong to hold hologram concert

Kim Jae-joong of pop trio JYJ will be performing a concert via hologram, recorded before his current stint in the military service, in Tokyo on Feb. 9-10, in celebration of the release of his latest album also slated for February.  The concert will be “a gift to his fans,” giving them an opportunity to see Kim, who began his mandatory military service in March, virtually during his absence, his agency C-jeS Entertainment in a statement.  Promotional poster for Kim Jae-joong’s Feb. 9-10 hologram

PerformanceDec. 10, 2015

Actress Park Shin-hye sets Weibo record

Park Shin-hye has set the record for the greatest number of followers for a Korean actress on Weibo, a Chinese microblogging site, garnering 10 million followers on her account as of Wednesday.Since her debut on TV drama “Stairway to Heaven,” Park has accrued explosive popularity abroad as her other TV dramas, including “You’re Beautiful,” “The Heirs” and “Pinocchio,” became massive hits in Chinese-speaking countries. Actress Park Shin-hye (S.A.L.T. Entertainment)“Park’s liveliness, hard-working

TelevisionDec. 10, 2015

Economist Jang tackles inequality in new ‘Capitalism in Korea’ series

Why We Should Be Angryby Jang Ha-sung(Heybooks)　Jang Ha-sung, who is widely known in the fields of corporate governance and shareholder activism, tackles one of the most urgent problems rising in Korea – inequality.The Korean economy, which rose from rags to riches at a remarkable pace, now faces the fallout from the quick rise where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer as the country’s fully adopts capitalism.The root of the problem is the widening income gap between empl

BooksDec. 10, 2015

Abrams to tell new space tale in ‘The Force Awakens’

The latest “Star Wars,” which will hit theaters Dec. 17 in Korea, will introduce an entirely new story with fresh characters colliding and bonding emotionally with old characters like Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, who appeared in the original trilogy. J.J. Abrams (right) poses for a photo with actors from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ahead of a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. From left: Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, and John Boyega. (Yonhap)J.J. Abrams, the director of the new space saga,

FilmDec. 10, 2015