[Herald Review] Novel follows gamer Kansas teen to Korea

(Tuttle)For the many Korean young adults who have come to dub Korea “Hell Joseon” for its intense competition and bleak opportunities, it would be hard to imagine their country as a fantasyland.But in Lawrence Tabak’s novel “In Real Life” -- which might be described as a Judy Blume book for game geeks in the digital age -- Korea is the place where 16-year-old Seth Gordon imagines his wildest dreams will come true. An American teen obsessed with gaming and living in Kansas, Seth hopes to one day

BooksOct. 29, 2015

Melbourne Cup lunch to support education fund

The Australia New Zealand Association, Korea will hold its annual Melbourne Cup Charity Luncheon on Tuesday in aid of education for a local children’s home.The event will include a four-course meal at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, alongside live coverage of Australia’s most famous horse race.“It’s called the race that stops the nation and literally most people in Australia do stop to watch this three- or four-minute horse race, so we’re a part of that,” said ANZA welfare coordinator Cathy McQ

Expat LivingOct. 28, 2015

Abstract exhibition to kick off series of expat art shows

Expat artist Michael Corra will hold a solo exhibition in Seoul from Nov. 4, kicking off a series of shows by expat artists at the venue.The show, titled “At Angles With Each Other,” features abstract images that incorporate a variety of media, including wood, fabric and concrete. Corra works and reworks these materials to create awkward and thought-provoking arrangements in which they form interesting visual relationships with each other.  “I Can’t Understand the Lyrics but I Love This Song” by

Expat LivingOct. 28, 2015

Indians in Korea to celebrate Diwali festival with a ‘bang’

IndiansInKorea will hold an event next month to mark the Indian festival of Diwali.The Diwali Dhamaka will run at the Suwon campus of Sungkyunkwan University as part of IIK’s annual celebrations.Diwali, the festival of lights, is the biggest holiday in India, and it is celebrated by many of the country’s faiths. It falls on Nov. 11 this year. The “Wedding Fiesta” performance from last year’s IndiansInKorea Diwali celebrations. IIKThe Dhamaka from the event’s name translates literally as “bang,”

Expat LivingOct. 28, 2015

‘Ars Nova’ to feature Wu Wei on the sheng

Wu Wei, a renowned soloist of the traditional Chinese mouth-organ sheng, will hit the stage Friday night as part of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s two-day “Ars Nova” contemporary music concert series. The 4,000-year-old woodwind folk instrument is a rare sight in today’s music scene, with an equally rare-sounding instrumental pitch to match. “The sounds of the sheng are very mysterious and the skills it takes to play this instrument are not something that can easily be explained,” said SPO compo

PerformanceOct. 28, 2015

German orchestras to usher in the autumn

Staatskapelle Dresden orchestra’s guest conductor Chung Myung-whun (Matthias Creutziger)Following a number of world-class ensembles that have graced the Seoul stage this year, the month of November promises to be a much-welcomed continuation of some of the classical music world’s best.  The Seoul Arts Center is gearing up to play host to three of Germany’s oldest and celebrated orchestras -- the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.

PerformanceOct. 28, 2015

Choi Si-won hits 5mn Twitter followers

Super Junior member Choi Si-won has racked up more than 5 million Twitter followers five years after making his debut on the micro-blogging site. Choi, who is expanding his singing and acting career worldwide, has amassed 5,001,170 followers as of Tuesday morning, according to the website.Super Junior‘s Choi Si-won (OSEN)Choi has been had the highest number of followers among Korean Twitter users since December 2011. The “Sorry Sorry” singer has been focusing on his acting career lately, with fo

Oct. 28, 2015

Olle echoes Santiago trail

JEJUDO ISLAND -- What is it about hiking and backpacking on a long trail that is so alluring?There have been movies like “The Way” and “Wild” that tell the stories of characters trekking long distances to their destination.Like in the movies, it is physically painful and challenging while on smooth, rocky, sandy and uphill roads.But at the end, people can gain a sense of accomplishment, and most importantly, let go of sorrow, clear their minds and start anew like those characters endeavoring alo

TravelOct. 28, 2015

[Newsmaker] Pianist Cho, Korea's newest classical music icon

Cho Seong-jin, the winner of the Chopin piano competition, is a new classical music icon in Korea, setting recording history even before the release of his first solo album. 　The 21-year-old pianist’s upcoming album – a live recording of his performances at the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Poland – was the top seller across all music genres at Kyobo Bookstore, the country’s largest book seller, as of 3 p.m. Tuesday -- a feat that no other classical musician has come ev

CultureOct. 27, 2015

[Newmaker] Cho Seong-jin, Korea’s new classical music icon

Pianist Cho Seong-jin (EPA-Yonhap)Cho Seong-jin, the winner of the Chopin piano competition, is a new classical music icon in Korea, setting recording history even before the release of his first solo album. The 21-year-old pianist’s upcoming album – a live recording of his performances at the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Poland – was the top seller across all music genres at Kyobo Bookstore, the country’s largest book seller, as of 3 p.m. Tuesday -- a feat that no oth

PerformanceOct. 27, 2015

Chun Kyung-ja’s death reveals bizarre family feud

Family members of artist Chun Kyung-ja, whose death this past summer was revealed by media last week, said Tuesday they learned about her death from a Korean bank only a few days before the news broke.  “I learned on Oct. 19 about my mother’s passing from a staff member of a Korean bank, who called to ask for the approval (from a family member) required to close my mother’s bank account,” said Sumita Kim, the third of Chun’s four children at a press conference in Seoul. Kim is an artist herself

PerformanceOct. 27, 2015

BTOB Sungjae ‘confident’ about portraying one-sided love

Boy group BTOB member and actor Yook Sung-jae said that he’s “confident about playing someone in unrequited love.”At a press conference for his current drama “The Village: Achiara’s Secret,” Tuesday at the SBS Ilsan Production Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Yook was asked how he felt about his character’s subtle romantic feelings for the character played by Moon Geun-young. Yook plays a police officer named Woo-jae, while Moon plays a teacher named So-yun.“My fans tell me that I’m an actor

TelevisionOct. 27, 2015

‘Achiara’ actors clueless of plot

Cast members of the SBS mystery drama “The Village: Achiara’s Secret” said that they are just as clueless about the show’s ending as the viewers.The drama focuses on a small village called Achiara, which seems peaceful and uneventful until the body of a young woman is suddenly discovered -- and the dark secrets of the villagers are exposed one by one through the search for the murderer. Cast of "The Village: Achiara's Secret" (SBS)The cast members sat down for a press conference Tuesday at the S

TelevisionOct. 27, 2015

Can you trust the K-pop charts?

This is the first in a two-part series examining issues pertaining to Korea’s digital music industry. – Ed. 　Ever wondered why K-pop has so many chart-topping debuts or new releases? How trustworthy do you think the K-pop charts are? According to some industry insiders and experts, the online charts are prone to manipulation. Melon charts (Melon official website screenshot)A major issue with the charts today is “hoarding,” efforts allegedly coordinated by fans or brokers to push certain songs up

PerformanceOct. 27, 2015

Publisher halts sale of book by Nobel economics winner over mistranslations

Sales of the Korean-language edition of “The Great Escape,” written by Angus Deaton, this year’s winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, have been halted due to “changes that are not approved by the author.” Princeton University Press, the book’s original publisher in the U.S., requested the Korean publisher Hankyung BP discontinue sales, citing “changes (in the Korean edition) that do not accurately reflect the original work.”A new edition -- which will be “independently reviewed, to accurately

BooksOct. 27, 2015