EXO, CNBLUE sweep Golden Disk Awards

CNBLUE. (FNC Entertainment)K-pop boy band EXO claimed the top prize on the second day of the 29th Golden Disk Awards in Beijing on Thursday. The 10-member group snatched the Album of the Year award, deemed the greatest honor of the day, for the second consecutive year with its album “Overdose.” This year’s Golden Disk Awards recognized both digital and physical album releases on the two-day event. Big Bang member Taeyang snagged the Digital Single of the Year award with his solo track “Eyes, Nos

Jan. 16, 2015

Jang Geun-suk drops out of TV show after tax evasion report

Jang Geun-suk is leaving tvN’s popular reality program “Three Meals a Day,” a day after it was revealed that he was caught evading taxes amounting to nearly 10 billion won ($9.27 million). TvN announced Jang’s departure late Thursday, adding that the actor had decided to drop out. “The time is not right,” the press release said, “for Jang to appear in the show, considering public sentiment.”  Actor Jang Geun-suk. (Yonhap)The channel will edit out pre-filmed scenes starring the actor. The show’s

TelevisionJan. 16, 2015

Millet works reveal turning point in art

Four masterpieces of Jean-Francois Millet depicting farmers and shepherds will be on view in Seoul for the first time. The touring exhibition, entitled “Millet, Barbizon and Fontainebleau,” started in Boston and stopped through Japan before arriving in Seoul on Jan. 23 with 64 paintings, including major works of Millet and his contemporaries of the Barbizon School, the critical art movement that acted as a bridge realism and impressionism. The exhibition will showcase major works of Millet, most

PerformanceJan. 15, 2015

Makers of ‘Big Hero 6’ trumpet film’s Korean connections

Hoping to ride on the mega success of “Frozen” in Korea, the creative team behind Disney’s new animation film “Big Hero 6” touted the upcoming movie’s many connections to Korea.In a news conference in Seoul on Wednesday, the film’s producer Roy Conli said that Korea was the most “exciting market in the world right now.” “The 3-D and 4-D technology in (Korean) theaters is amazing. I think the theme of the film ― kids who use science to tackle problems ― will really appeal to the Korean audience.”

FilmJan. 15, 2015

‘Interview’ star Park glad to switch gears with TV comedy

Randall Park. (AP-Yonhap)PASADENA, California (AP) ― “The Interview” actor Randall Park says he’s glad the film was finally released and he’s ready to move on to his next role as a suburban dad in an ABC sitcom. Park, who played North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the movie at the center of the Sony hacking incident, was asked at a Television Critics Association meeting Wednesday if he feared any personal fallout. “I was never worried for my safety or getting hacked during that process,” he said.

FilmJan. 15, 2015

Lee Byung-hun blackmailers get jail terms

The singer and model who attempted to blackmail actor Lee Byung-hun have been sentenced to jail terms.On Thursday, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced model Lee Ji-yeon to a 14-month jail term and 21-year-old girl group GLAM member Kim Dae-hee to one year in jail. The court deemed that Lee and Kim attempted to blackmail Lee Byung-hun for the sum of 5 billion won ($4.6 million) to make financial gains. The court also said Lee’s continued claims of having been romantically involved with Lee

FilmJan. 15, 2015

Taeyang, BEAST stand out at Golden Disc Awards

TaeyangTaeyang, a member of boy band Big Bang, won the grand prize at the 29th Golden Disc Awards in Beijing on Wednesday.He snagged the Digital Single of the Year, regarded as the top honor of the day, with his mega-hit solo track “Eyes, Nose, Lips.” K-pop boy band BEAST was another winner of the day, capturing three honors ― Main Award, Popularity Award and the Best Male Performance Award. Another Popularity Award went to long-standing girl group Girls’ Generation. The Main Award for the 10 di

PerformanceJan. 15, 2015

MTV Iggy: Yoon Mi-rae is a diamond

Yoon Mi-rae. (Feel Ghood Music)Local female rap sensation Yoon Mi-rae was recognized as the Korean hip-hop scene’s “diamond in the rough” by U.S. music publication MTV Iggy.MTV Iggy recently published an interview feature on Yoon, who is best known as a member of hip-hop trio MFBTY and for being the wife of Korean hip-hop legend Tiger JK ― widely referred to as the godfather Korean hip-hop. “She continues to be one of Korea’s toughest emcees, and is one of a handful of female rappers outside of

Jan. 15, 2015

YG to establish K-pop cluster outside Seoul

YG family. (YG Entertainment)YG Entertainment, which recently became the nation’s top K-pop entertainment agency, is expanding its empire with its latest music endeavor ― a “YG Global K-pop Cluster” project.On Thursday, YG officials revealed that the company would sign a YG Global K-pop Cluster establishment agreement with the city government of Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province.The agency is slated to build a large-scale concert stadium in the city as well as five other small concert venues, an Asia

Jan. 15, 2015

Asian sacred texts, German classics form new collection

“Olje Classics,” a book series offering Asian and Western classics at an affordable price, recently printed its 13th installment. Published by local nonprofit organization Olje Foundation, the four-volume series includes two sacred texts of Taoism, “The Zhuangzi” and “The Liezi” ― which are titled after Chinese philosophers ― the Hindu scripture “The Bhagavad Gita” and the German classic novel “The Sorrow of Young Werther” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. “The Zhuangzi,” which dates back to the la

BooksJan. 15, 2015

‘First Bad Man’ tells of surreal self absorption

The First Bad Man By Miranda July (Scribner)The first sentence of Miranda July’s debut novel, “The First Bad Man,” suggests the almost surreal self-absorption of its problematic narrator: “I drove to the doctor’s office as if I was starring in a movie Phillip was watching.” Cheryl ― 43, single and childless ― has a crush on Phillip, a rich, aging hippie who sits on the board of the Los Angeles nonprofit where she works and lusts after a 16-year-old girl. She’s on her way to the doctor ― actually

BooksJan. 15, 2015

‘Unquiet Dead’ is outstanding debut

The Unquiet Dead By Ausma Zehanat Khan (Minotaur Books) War atrocities reverberate for generations, affecting those who fought on the battlefield and the civilian victims who were collateral damage. Ausma Zehanat Khan’s gripping first novel tackles questions of identity, culture, revenge and war horrors in a strong police procedural. Using the massacre of Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995 during the Bosnian war as a backstory, Khan is careful not to overwhelm “The Unquiet Dead” with issues or politi

BooksJan. 15, 2015

‘The Girl on the Train’ has realistic plot

The Girl on the TrainBy Paula Hawkins(Riverhead Books)How many times have you been on a train and wondered about the people who live near the tracks and leave their curtains open so that passersby can watch them?That voyeuristic view of lives as seen from a distance echoes the themes of obsession, isolation and loneliness explored in “The Girl on the Train.” British journalist Paula Hawkins deftly imbues her debut psychological thriller with inventive twists and a shocking denouement.Rachel Wats

BooksJan. 15, 2015

Edith Pearlman has a fine eye for the intimate in ‘Honeydew’

“Honeydew”By Edith Pearlman (Little, Brown and Co.)Edith Pearlman’s fiction is all about the ways we touch each other ― albeit not in the manner we expect. Sure, there are lovers in her stories: husbands and wives, young women and their feckless boyfriends, girls experiencing the first taste of something we might recognize as desire. The connection to which I’m referring, though, is different, involving a kind of witness, a space in which a secret is exposed.“The dialogue began in a confidential

BooksJan. 15, 2015

Handmade St. John’s Bible unique opportunity, challenge

In our image-bombarded world, one-of-a-kind creations are hard to find. Paintings and sculptures, maybe. But digital media ― smartphones, e-readers, tablets ― have made the world of words an infinitely expanding universe.Vashon Island bookmaker, artist and calligrapher Suzanne Moore has been swimming against this tide for most of her career. She makes manuscripts, lettering them by hand, illustrating them and then turning them over to her husband and an assistant to bind. Collectors buy them. So

BooksJan. 15, 2015

[Herald Interview] Mastering both sides of the camera

Actor Ha Jung-woo has done an ample amount of diverse, interesting films during his acting career spanning a decade. From a ruthless serial killer in “The Chaser” (2008) and a hopeless romantic novelist in “Love Fiction” (2012), to the most recent, a butcher-turned-bandit in “Kundo: Age of the Rampant” (2014), he has become a household name in the local film industry, characterized by his unique, down-to-earth flair.Seemingly at the peak of his acting career, the 36-year-old recently took anothe

FilmJan. 14, 2015

30 years on, ‘Back to the Future’ vehicle locked in legal battle

NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) ― As “Back to the Future” celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, there’s a legal tussle over the futuristic car that provided the guts for the flying time machine used by Michael J. Fox in the classic 1985 film.Maverick automaker John DeLorean’s eponymous creation costarred in the 1985 movie as it transported Marty McFly back to the 1950s to engineer his parents’ meeting ― and, in a 1989 sequel, to a 2015 world that featured flying skateboards, automated dog-walkers a

FilmJan. 14, 2015

Kim Soo-hyun, Jun Ji-hyun on course for jackpot year

Actor Kim Soo-hyun and actress Jun Ji-hyun are set for another massively profitable year in 2015, propelled by their hit drama “My Love from the Star.”According to advertising and entertainment industry sources, Jun and Kim’s combined earnings from advertising are likely to break the 50 billion won ($46.2 million) mark for the second consecutive year. Last year, Jun and Kim earned an estimated 20 billion won and 30 billion won, respectively, from advertising and endorsement fees. Jun Ji-hyun (le

TelevisionJan. 14, 2015