K-pop’s next big thing?

A fresh wave of artists will burst onto the K-pop scene this year, as each record label is looking to add some spice of its own to the already-saturated industry. All rookies are hoping to be the next EXO, but only a few will survive, much less rise to the top. In the cutthroat world of K-pop, it’s said that the fate of newcomers is determined within the first three weeks of their debut. Here’s a look at some of the new groups or solo artists in the K-pop pipeline. Girl groupsSonamoo, a seven-me

PerformanceJan. 18, 2015

Cuban art in spotlight amid U.S. detente

HAVANA (AFP) ― In Juan Roberto Diago’s studio at his remodeled 1920s house, five Americans scrutinized the Cuban artist’s work, wearing baseball caps and sunglasses.“That’s a piece I bought last time I was here,” said Robert Penta, a 33-year old attorney, pointing at a red and brown canvas leaning against the wall.It’s the second time in as many months that this group from Louisville, Kentucky, has traveled to Cuba on a special art license.They wasted no time following the historic rapprochement

PerformanceJan. 18, 2015

Jacqueline Onassis notes, photos sold for $28,400

MIAMI (AP) ― A few dozen pieces of personal correspondence by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, along with photographs of the former first lady in Palm Beach, sold at a Florida auction Saturday for a total of $28,400.The items up for bidding at Palm Beach Modern Auctions included Onassis’ handwritten notes to interior designer Richard Keith Langham and Bill Hamilton, then the design director at Carolina Herrera.Onassis corresponded with both men about clothes and furnishings she was buying from the mi

CultureJan. 18, 2015

[Herald Interview] Starsailor reunites, returns to Korea for ‘5 Nights’

Hyundai Card’s ongoing Culture Project series kicked off the year with 5 Nights, Seoul’s first large-scale concert event of the year.A weeklong festival of live music, the company’s latest culture project promised rock-lovers five nights of performances. Originally scheduled to perform were Avenged Sevenfold, followed by Bastille, Starsailor, Rudimental and 22-year-old Icelandic folk singer-songwriter Asgeir, who wrapped up the festival with his solo show on Saturday.However, the “five nights” s

PerformanceJan. 18, 2015

Houston’s estate criticizes Lifetime for movie on singer

PASADENA, California (AP) ― Whitney Houston’s family says the singer’s fans should “brace themselves for the worst” if they watch Lifetime’s television movie about the late singer that premiered Saturday.Pat Houston, president of the singer’s estate and her sister-in-law, issued a critical statement about the movie on Houston’s website on the eve of the movie’s airing. She said the movie was done without the family’s blessing and against the wishes of her mother.“If you watch this movie, watch i

FilmJan. 18, 2015

[Weekender] Office theme prevails on TV

Up until recently, the mundane white-collar world was never at the center of attention on the small screen, even in a country known as the hardest-working nation.More often than not, the office cubicle served merely as a backdrop for a Cinderella story between a large conglomerate’s young, handsome heir and an ordinary female office worker. But now, viewers are more than eager to watch and sympathize with the average Joe or Jane as they struggle to survive in the office ― even if the show lacks

TelevisionJan. 16, 2015

‘My dream not yet fulfilled’

On a beautiful autumn evening 17 years ago, Song Seung-hwan watched the stage curtain rise with mixed feelings ― excitement and relief that it was finally up and worry and anxiety about how the audience would react. The show he conceived, produced and was about to present was nothing like the theater plays or musicals that were being staged in Korea at the time. With no spoken dialogue and no well-known actors, “Nanta” had plenty of downside risks, yet it was his biggest and most ambitious theat

CultureJan. 16, 2015

Calendar

FestivalsMount Taebaeksan Snow Festival: This festival invites tourists to the winter wonderland of Taebaek in Gangwon Province. Mount Taebaeksan, well-known for its beautiful snow-covered trees, has been the venue for the annual winter festival. The festival, which runs from Jan. 23 to Feb. 1, will feature an ice sculpture exhibition, travel photo display and Korean winter folk plays. The festival will hold a winter trekking competition on Feb. 1 on two mountain courses (9.3 and 8.7 kilometers)

CultureJan. 16, 2015

Sweet, clever and cuddly, ‘Paddington’ is just right

Paddington Bear. How well we know him. He’s cuddly, he’s loyal, he’s sensitive. He’s well-traveled ― but loves to stay home, too. And he can whip up a mean homemade marmalade. As Mom would say, what’s not to love? And one can say precisely the same of the engaging new “Paddington,” written and directed by Paul King and based of course on the famous 1958 book by Michael Bond. It doesn’t try to be too clever. Or too sweet. Or too dark, for that matter, though there’s plenty of mischief, thanks to

FilmJan. 16, 2015

Eyelike: D’Angelo’s ‘Black Messiah’ plays to message of rising up

D’Angelo’s ‘Black Messiah’ plays to message of rising upD’Angelo and The Vanguard“Black Messiah”(RCA Records)The phrase “long-awaited album” gets tossed around quite a bit. But “Black Messiah,” D’Angelo’s follow-up to 2000’s “Voodoo,” comes after a 14-year wait.And the album arrives as demonstrators across the nation demand change after the recent slayings of unarmed black men by police in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York.The album title is about people rising up, D’Angelo said, and his songs --

PerformanceJan. 16, 2015

Box Office

Gangnam 1970 (Korea)Opening Jan. 21Action, Drama. Directed by Yoo HaThe final installment of director Yoo Ha’s “street series” trilogy, this noir action flick is set against the backdrop of an exploding real estate market in Seoul’s Gangnam district in the 1970s, a turbulent era under the dictatorship of military strongman Park Chung-hee. When two childhood friends, Kim Jong-dae (Lee Min-ho) and Baek Yong-ki (Kim Rae-won), are forced to become enemies, misunderstanding, revenge and conspiracy en

FilmJan. 16, 2015

New, stricter rating system for hotels

Korean hotels will be reviewed under a new, stricter rating system on par with international standards, the Korea Tourism Organization said. According to the state-run tourism organization, the new hotel rating system is based on a scale of 1-5 stars, not the national flowers currently in use. Since 1971, Korean hotels had been reviewed under the mugunghwa flower-based system that ranks hotels into five categories based on points received, but was not strictly comparable to the international fiv

TravelJan. 16, 2015

Huge luxury suite on ship will run $5,000 a person per night

The living room from a one-of-a-kind luxury suite on the cruise line’s forthcoming ship, the Seven Seas Explorer, which is expected to debut in the summer of 2016 (AP/Regent Seven Seas Cruises)NEW YORK (AP) ― A new luxury cruise ship debuting in 2016 will have one of the largest and most expensive suites ever offered at sea. Regent Seven Seas will charge $5,000 a night, per person, for a luxury suite the size of a house ― with 360 square meters) of space ― onboard its new Regent Seven Seas Explo

TravelJan. 16, 2015

Sand dunes, camels and clay castles in Moroccan desert

ERG CHEBBI, Morocco (AP) ― The bright black silhouettes of our three-camel caravan shone against a tall sand dune like a background drawing of the Three Kings in a Nativity scene. While Georgie, as I had nicknamed my blonde dromedary camel, plodded through this remote corner of Morocco at the edge of the Sahara Desert, I was transfixed by our reflection ― because it was well past sunset and there was no moon. With the complete lack of artificial lights, the vault of stars was bright enough to ca

TravelJan. 16, 2015

Lobster rolls near Garosu-gil

Lobster Shack, one of the latest additions to a growing number of Seoul-based establishments specializing in lobster rolls, aims to lure foodies with its traditional and original takes on that winning combination of lobster meat in a bun.The 36-seat restaurant opened in December near Seoul’s Garosu-gil, a half-underground affair outfitted with colorful wooden buoys and a cute model lighthouse. For Lobster Shack co-owner and baker Aiden Kim, specializing in the famed roll, which first appeared in

FoodJan. 16, 2015

Grilled Syrian cheese sandwich: Breakfast reinvented

I find it nearly impossible to escape from food. The subject pops up everywhere ― in advertisements, in unexpected places and in conversations. Forever tempted, always hungry, New Year’s resolutions supremely challenged.Recently, even a predawn airport trip left me eager to cook (and eat): The taxicab driver spoke passionately of the food his Syrian family relishes daily. Dark and bitterly cold outside, the driver had me at “grilled breakfast sandwich.” My mouth watered and my brain raced to abs

FoodJan. 16, 2015

Around the Hotels

Wine-pairing meal at Park Hyatt Seoul Park Hyatt Seoul will present a six-course Italian meal paired with Napa Valley Duckhorn wine on Jan. 24. The dinner will be prepared by three Italian chefs from Park Hyatt Seoul and other Hyatt-brand hotels. The set menu will start with Tongyang oyster seasoned with basil oil and Decoy Sonoma County Chardonnay (2012), and will continue with panzanella (a Tuscan salad of bread and tomatoes with olive oil) with big-eyed tuna carpaccio that will be served with

FoodJan. 16, 2015

‘Birdman,’ ‘Budapest’ top Oscar nominations with 9 each

“Birdman.” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)Two extravagant comedies, “Birdman” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” dominated nominations for the 87th annual Academy Awards with nine nods each, while “Boyhood” remained the widely acknowledged front-runner. The three films were nominated for best picture on Thursday along with “Whiplash,” “The Theory of Everything,” “The Imitation Game,” “American Sniper” and “Selma.” The eight films, mostly more modestly sized movies dwarfed by Hollywood’s stampede of bigg

FilmJan. 16, 2015