[Up & Coming] Idiotape constantly seeking fresh fun

Artists of all genres often fall into the trap of taking themselves too seriously.Electronic band Idiotape is not one of those artists.“Describe our music? It’s music for women, the grown-up kind,” joked drummer DR with a wiggle of his eyebrows as Idiotape began a conversation with The Korea Herald at a cafe in Seoul. Perhaps a joke is the only way to answer a question about how to describe Idiotape’s unusual music. The three-member band consists of two DJs (Dguru and Zeze) and a drummer (DR), b

PerformanceJune 7, 2015

Overseas concerts sold out for top K-pop boy groups

Two of K-pop’s biggest acts, Big Bang and Beast, held sold-out concerts in China and Taiwan over the weekend.Big Bang hit the stage at the Beijing MasterCard Center on June 5 and 6 on their “MADE” tour. The 25-song set list included past hits like “Tonight” and “Bad Boy,” as well as “Loser” and “Bae Bae” from their “M” EP and “Bang Bang Bang” and “We Like 2 Party,” the two songs from their most recent “A” EP released a week ago. Beijing was the first city to see “Bang Bang Bang” performed live o

PerformanceJune 7, 2015

Song Kang-ho, Jeon Do-yeon named best actors in survey

A survey of 10,447 moviegoers conducted by Maxmovie on May 11 and 12 showed that actors Song Kang-ho and Jeon Do-yeon were considered the best actors by Korean audiences.In the male category, Song Kang-ho (known for films like 2013’s “Snowpiercer”) was followed by Choi Min-sik (“Oldboy” from 2003) and Ha Jung-woo (2013’s “The Berlin File”). In the female category, Jeon Do-yeon, whose movie “The Shameless” was recently screened at the Cannes Film Festival‘s Un Certain Regard section, was closely

FilmJune 7, 2015

Expect most out of nature in Uljin

ULJIN COUNTY, North Gyeongsang Province ― Roughly a four-hour drive from the bustling city center of Seoul lies the peaceful, coastal county of Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province.Known to locals as the snow crab capital of the peninsula, the area has a well-established reputation of having some of the freshest and most affordable raw fish restaurants in the country. However, aside from its delectable sashimi selection, Uljin is also an ideal blend of coast side splendor and vast mountain ranges ―

TravelJune 6, 2015

Eyelike: Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, Gloriana, The Mike + Ruthy Band

Nelson, Haggard uninspired on 4th collaborative discWillie Nelson and Merle Haggard“Django and Jimmie”(Sony Legacy)The two grand old men of country music, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, are among the last living ties to an era when giants like Ernest Tubb and Bob Wills filled honky tonks. Nelson is 82 and Haggard is 78, and while their warm voices show some mileage, their range of expression remains remarkable, and their phrasing often is impeccable.On their fourth album together, “Django and

PerformanceJune 5, 2015

[Weekender] Soft or crusty ― bread that Koreans fall for

A hot, steamy bowl of rice was long considered an irreplaceable staple in Korean breakfast. “You manage a day with the power of rice,” Korean moms would tell their kids, encouraging them to finish their meal. This centuries-old, typical morning scene is changing rapidly now. Bread, which arrived in Korea through Japan only in the 19th century, is fast emerging as a tasty and convenient alternative to rice. At a Seoul branch of French bakery Gontran Cherrier, croissants and champagne with walnuts

FoodJune 5, 2015

Box Office

Perfect Proposal (Korea)Opened June 4Romance. Directed by Yoon Jae-guJi-yeon (Lim Soo-jung) is a woman at the end of her rope. Having been betrayed by her friend, she is pursued by loan sharks when she meets Seong-yeol (Yoo Yeon-seok), an assistant to the head of a powerful casino group. Seong-yeol suggests that Ji-yeon captivate the group’s president and become a real-life Cinderella, offering her help in exchange for half her inheritance if she succeeds. Ji-yeon is drawn to Seong-yeol’s perfec

FilmJune 5, 2015

[Weekender] Korea’s oldest bakery boasts red bean buns

At around 12:40 p.m., people started lining up in front of Lee Sung Dang Bakery’s modest-size branch inside a department store in Jamsil, southern Seoul. The reason for the wait is the bakery’s signature red bean buns which come out at 1 p.m.“The line isn’t too bad today,” said Lee Yoon-mi, a customer in her 50s carrying five red bean buns and five vegetable buns on her tray. “I am just glad that I don’t have to go all the way to Gunsan to taste this treat.”Lee Sung Dang, the oldest bakery in Ko

FoodJune 5, 2015

Travel Bits

Caribbean Bay to unveil ‘Mega Storm’ Caribbean Bay, the world’s largest indoor/outdoor water park, is getting set to introduce the world’s largest funnel water slide -- Mega Storm.The new attraction is only the second of its kind in the world, following Yas Waterworld’s Dawwama ride in Abu Dhabi. Caribbean Bay’s Mega Storm measures 355 meters, roughly 1.5 times bigger than the Dawwama. The large-scale inner tube waterslide will take riders through an exhilarating series of heart-stopping quick d

TravelJune 5, 2015

[Weekender] Born and ‘bread’ in Daejeon

Despite the vast demand for additional chains in other, more populated areas like Seoul and even abroad, Sungsimdang stubbornly refuses to expand beyond its three local stores, which have now become Daejeon landmarks. “We want to be unique to the Daejeon area and provide a flavor that people can only taste when visiting here,” said Kim Kang-eun, head of public relations at Sungsimdang. That flavor is the reason foodies and tourists from all over the nation have flocked to the Eunhaeng-dong area

FoodJune 5, 2015

[Weekender] More bakeries on the map

OPS Bakery, BusanOPS’s signature menu is the hagwonjeon, which in Korean means “pastry for hagwon,” or after-school lessons. The idea was to create a simple, hearty snack that Korean children could gobble down with a glass of milk before heading to an evening of grueling studies. Made with eggs and honey from Gyeongju’s Mount Tohamsan, the sweet, spongy cake embodies a typical Korean mother’s caring for her child, said OPS.Another specialty of the bakery is the pollack roe baguette, which combin

FoodJune 5, 2015

[Weekender] PNB choco pies an icon of Jeonju

During the recent Jeonju International Film Festival, everyone who visited Jeonju seemed to have the same souvenir in mind: a box of bakery PNB’s famous choco pies. The bakery’s bright orange shopping bags were ubiquitous around its branches, and hourlong lines snaked around corners.PNB (also known as Pungnyeon Jegwa) first opened in 1951 in Jungang-dong, Jeonju, and has been passed down through three generations. Instead of choosing to continuously change and expand its offerings, the bakery ha

FoodJune 5, 2015

Around the Hotels

Summer Splash  at Grand Hyatt IncheonGrand Hyatt Incheon has launched its new “Grand Summer Splash Package,” available from July 17 to Aug. 31. Guests who book the package before July 7 will enjoy a 55,000 won ($50) discount. The package‘s “Fun” option, priced at 235,000 won, includes a one-night stay, breakfast for two, free access to the Grand Play World program and a souvenir. Guests can also enjoy the hotel’s three swimming pools, complimentary access to the fitness center and a free shuttle

TravelJune 5, 2015

[Weekender] Street pastries that are uniquely Korean

Street food is an intrinsic part of Korean society, and where there are cups of dried squid, heated silk worm larvae and bowls of spicy rice cakes, there are also pastries that are uniquely Korean.Walk down almost any bustling shopping district or high-time nightlife area and street food vendors selling various types of pastry and cake snacks are an inevitable find; whether it’s the ever-so popular “boongabbang” ― a red bean paste-filled sweet pastry shaped like a fish ― or the sweet-eggy goodne

FoodJune 5, 2015

[Weekender] The rise of ‘indie’ bakery

“Indie,” the word that Joo Eun-suk, who runs a bakery called Mill in Seochon, uses to describe the growing number of small-scale, artisanal bakeries in Seoul, aptly captures the independent spirits of these bakers. These artisans seem to see dough as a canvas, to be nurtured with natural starters and the right blend of quality flour to achieve a unique blueprint of texture, flavor and aroma that represents their idea of good bread, be it the ephemeral brioche at Mill, the chewy and crisp-edged c

FoodJune 5, 2015

[Herald Interview] ‘Rediscover your passion’

It was a dream come true for Yang Ji-hoon, a 1990s a cappella singer, producer and songwriter, to come back, produce and sing pop music for the public after almost two decades away.He now wants to share his experience of rediscovering his artistic passion with people who long for a life in arts and entertainment. Yang seeks to pass on his know-how through books and songs in what he calls the JihoonOwl’s Project, which is also the name of his independent band.“I have about 10 projects in mind I w

PerformanceJune 4, 2015

[Herald Review] ‘Helios’ is only lukewarm

Terrorism, nuclear weapons, a stellar pan-Asian cast and a hefty $26 million budget ― “Helios” has all the right ingredients for a pulsating Hong Kong action thriller, but ends up amounting to much less than the sum of its parts.The film is undoubtedly an ambitious endeavor, touching upon big issues like the inefficacy of international diplomacy and Hong Kong’s precarious position vis-a-vis mainland China. It attempts to bring together the action blockbuster and the noir by interweaving high-spe

FilmJune 4, 2015

New film searches for ‘Beauty Inside’

“Beauty is only skin deep, and it is the beauty inside that matters.”The upcoming film “The Beauty Inside” challenges itself to reinvent this time-old statement in a fresh, intriguing way on the big screen.Directed by the visual artist and advertisement director Zong Baik (who goes simply by Baik), the film is about a woman named Yi-soo (Han Hyo-joo) who develops a romance with a man (Woo-jin) whose appearance changes every morning. Each morning, he may wake up as a man, a woman, young or old, o

FilmJune 4, 2015

9 Muses to release new album in July

Korean girl group 9 Muses will release a new album in early July, Star Empire Entertainment said Thursday.“(The girls) finished the new album jacket photo shoot,” said the agency. “The upcoming album will maximize summer’s seasonal characteristics and 9 Muses’ nickname ‘model-dolls.’” 9 Muses (Star Empire Entertainment)The girl group has gone through a series of member changes since its debut in 2010. It now has only eight members. The members earned their nickname because of their average heigh

June 4, 2015

World of chef Corey Lee captured in debut book ‘Benu’

Korean-American chef Corey Lee, the mastermind behind the three Michelin-starred restaurant Benu in San Francisco, has packed his debut book, “Benu,” to the brim. “It’s ultimately a cookbook first, but also a book that was trying to communicate the inspiration behind the restaurant and meditation on the menu,” he said.The book is stunning, a big, white hardcover with over 250 pages of recipes, essays, and breathtaking photography.  Corey Lee, chef and patron of Benu. (Phaidon 2015, www.phaidon.c

BooksJune 4, 2015