A creature of habit

Writer Bae Su-ah is prone to carsickness and cannot travel to Seoul for the interview, I am told. So on the Friday afternoon before the long Chuseok holiday, I get on a bus to Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, for an hourlong ride, hoping that I can keep my nausea in check.Bae works at home and does not feel comfortable doing an interview there, so she has picked out a cafe to meet at. Upon arrival, I find it has been the venue for several previous interviews, recognizing the particular blinds from phot

CultureSept. 26, 2014

Calendar

ROYAL MUSIC AT NIGHT ― Musicians practice Jongmyo Jeryeak, the UNESCO-listed royal ancestral ritual music, at Jongmyo, a Confucian shrine for Joseon kings and queens in Seoul, on Thursday. The grandiose royal music will be performed at night from Sept. 26-28. (Yonhap)Classical musicChung Myung-whun piano recital: Maestro Chung Myung-whun will hold his first recital tour of Korea as a pianist, not as a conductor as he is widely known now, starting in Changwon on Oct. 5. He will play in Daegu on

CultureSept. 26, 2014

Eyelike: alt-J returns with beautiful, baffling LP

alt-J returns with beautiful, baffling LPalt-J“This Is All Yours” (Atlantic)The new album from alt-J isn’t supposed to exist. Nobody, we’re told, wants to hear this kind of stuff anymore. The album ― and especially this artsy kind of album ― is dead.Yet here is “This Is All Yours”: weird, complex, goofy, sublime, baffling and completely unlike anything else out so far this year. You might say the album has arrived just in time, spicing up a bland year with something of a puzzle for listeners who

PerformanceSept. 26, 2014

Box Office

Scarlet Innocence (Korea)Opening Oct.2Romance, Thriller. Directed by Yim Pil-sungAdapted from the classic Korean tale “The Story of Simcheong,” “Scarlet Innocence” begins with Hak-kyu (Jung Woo-sung), a young, charming literature professor, who was embroiled in a sex scandal and had to move to the countryside from Seoul until the matter was settled. It is in the country where he encounters 20-year-old Deok-yi (Esom), an innocent girl working at an amusement park. They fall madly for each other,

FilmSept. 26, 2014

Gross and funny ‘Boxtrolls’ is animated film of the year

There’s something about stop motion 3D animation ― the not-quite-real textures of skin and hair, the quite real cloth and metal, the subtle gloomy lighting effects ― that says “spooky.”All the best animated films with a hint of Halloween have been stop motion animation or digital efforts that duplicate that hand-molded model look ― “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Coraline.”“The Boxtrolls” is from Laika, the studio that made “ParaNorman” and “Coraline.” This adaptation of an Alan Snow novel (“

FilmSept. 26, 2014

Learning how to survive a plane crash

LONDON (AP) ― They raced down the slide, one by one, like children at a playground. At the bottom, smartphone photos were snapped and high fives exchanged. The frequent fliers were all smiling and laughing ― and quietly hoping to never use an evacuation slide again. Doing so would mean their plane had just crashed. The slide demonstration was part of a half-day safety course that encourages passengers to be aware of their surroundings and familiarize themselves with what happens in an emergency.

TravelSept. 26, 2014

Cycling France’s Loire Valley

CHAUMONT-SUR-LOIRE, France (AP) ― There are hundreds of kilometers of bike trails through the chateaux towns of the Loire Valley ― and that’s what tripped us up. We’d been trying to cycle the 27 kilometers from Chenonceaux to Chaumont, but kept getting lost. We even asked directions from a passing motorist who was certain she knew which way the bike route went, then sent us to the wrong town. Now we were at a Y-intersection on the outskirts of Chaumont, facing two green-and-white bike path signs

TravelSept. 26, 2014

Stumptown coffee and pancakes in Seoul

The Pancake Epidemic, a creative agency in California, launched its first South Korean flagship cafe near Seoul’s Apgujeong-dong on Sept. 19. A division of the Los Angeles-based marketing agency StreetVirus, The Pancake Epidemic started out as an invitation-only gathering spot. “Private brunches were held every Friday,” said The Pancake Epidemic Seoul general manager Tony Lee, explaining that the original folks in California kept their caffeinated get-togethers exclusive.  The Pancake Epidemic S

FoodSept. 26, 2014

Around the hotels

‘Discover Korea’ promotion at Grand Hyatt IncheonGrand Hyatt Incheon’s Restaurant 8 presents Korean cuisine until Oct. 31 in celebration of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. The “Discover Korea” promotion menu includes pancake rolls, seasonal green salad, snow crab meat salad with yuja dressing, Korean beef tartar, sweet pumpkin porridge, assorted Korean pancake and Jedong beef stew. For dessert, seasonal fruit, rice punch, Korean crackers and rice cakes will be offered. The promotion offers a veget

FoodSept. 26, 2014

Kongnamul bap (soybean sprouts rice bowl)

Kongnamul bap (soybean sprouts rice bowl) (Korean Bapsang)Kongnamul bap is basically rice cooked with kongnamul (soybean sprouts). Simply add soybean sprouts to your rice, and cook the rice the same way you normally do, using a little less water because the sprouts will release liquid. The rice soaks up the nutty flavor of the soybean sprouts as it cooks. It’s also very common to add slightly seasoned beef or pork, giving it another layer of flavor, and making it a more substantial dish. Another

FoodSept. 26, 2014

As album sales fall, veteran artists rise

More than 50 years into her recording career, Barbra Streisand has broken her own record. At 72, the superstar is the first artist to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s chart of best-selling albums in six consecutive decades. “Partners,” a collection of duets pairing her with noted male singers, sold 196,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan ― also giving Streisand the best sales week of any female artist this year. In addition to being the latest in the icon’s long string of acco

PerformanceSept. 26, 2014

Lee Min-ho returning to the mic next month

One of the country’s top hallyu stars, Lee Min-ho, has made his way back to the recording studio and will soon drop a new album. According to an announcement by Starhaus Entertainment on Friday, the hearthrob is scheduled to release his second full-length album titled “Song for You,” sometime next month. “With this album, his outlook is no longer on debuting as a singer, rather we consider this as something for the fans,” said the company. After his leading role as Gu Jun-pyo in the hit 2009 dra

Sept. 26, 2014

Bernhard Schlink wins Park Kyung-ni Literary Prize

German novelist Bernhard Schlink has been picked as this year’s recipient of the Park Kyung-ni Literary Prize, the award’s organizers said Wednesday. The 70-year-old writer is best known for his award-winning 1995 novel “The Reader,” which was also adapted into an eponymous screenplay, and “Homecoming” in 2006. His works shed light on the postwar generation’s view of Nazism through a strong narrative structure, the award organizer, the Toji Foundation of Culture, said in a press statement. Bernh

PeopleSept. 25, 2014

‘Romeo and Juliet’ taken to new level in opera

Tragedy, absolute obsession with love and the feeling that love is worth dying for. This sums up the theme of the Korea National Opera’s upcoming production of Charles Gounod’s operatic adaptation of the Shakespearean love story, “Romeo and Juliet,” to be staged at Seoul Arts Center next month. Directing it is Briton Elijah Moshinsky, who says he “loves Shakespeare” and has worked on many of his plays. “Shakespeare is all about feelings and destiny,” said the director, who works with top opera h

PerformanceSept. 25, 2014

Maestro pursuing own music

After more than three illustrious decades as an orchestra conductor, maestro Chung Myung-whun is putting down his baton and making his way back to his musical roots ― the piano. Not for good, though. Chung, artistic director of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and arguably one of the country’s most respected classical music figures, will hold a nationwide solo piano recital tour for the first time in his career. “The responsibility of being a conductor, in charge of a 100-person orchestra, is far di

PerformanceSept. 25, 2014

Former trader quits Playboy to open own Korean restaurant

Judy Joo is missing Playboy. The Morgan Stanley trader-turned-chef has quit the London club to open a restaurant and recalls the fun she had over three years, cooking for celebrities from Justin Bieber to Kate Moss. “Talk about a massive fun factor with the brand, and the stories I walked away from there,” Joo says. “It was incredible, hanging out in the Playboy Mansion in L.A. and looking after tons of rappers and footballers. ‘‘And I miss the bunnies. I love those girls. Who doesn’t love being

FoodSept. 25, 2014

iKON to open Big Bang’s Japan concert tour

A screen capture from “Mix & Match,” showing hopefuls of the upcoming boy group iKON on Mnet. (YouTube)YG Entertainment’s new boy group iKON will open Big Bang’s Japan concert tour in November, the agency said Thursday. The announcement draws attention as four members of the seven-member group have not yet been decided. The three confirmed members are B.I., Bobby and Kim Jin-hwan from the survival boy band reality program “WIN: Who Is Next.” Fans in Osaka, Beijing and Seoul will vote in October

Sept. 25, 2014