The Gwangju Performance Project will begin staging their summer production of Neil Simon’s “Rumors” next weekend.The farcical comedy explores the chaos unleashed after the Deputy Mayor attempts to shoot himself minutes before his 10th wedding anniversary dinner. The play will be the first staged by the Gwangju Performance Project since its original founders left Korea earlier this year, passing the company into the hands of current president Anna Volle. According Volle, who will also direct the

Expat LivingJuly 8, 2014

Seoul Shakespeare Company will present “The Player’s Play,” a production of monologues and music, this Saturday in Haebangchon. A departure from the company’s full-length performances of Shakespeare’s most famous productions, such as “Hamlet” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Player’s Play” will include snippets of scenes and musical passages from Shakespearean classics. “The Tempest,” “Henry V,” “Julius Caesar,” “Macbeth” and “King Lear” are among the plays from which the short pieces will

Expat LivingJuly 8, 2014

The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande is coming to Korea next week for a concert through which the nearly century-old ensemble hopes to revive its past glory. The concert, to be held on July 15 at Seoul Arts Center, will be the Geneva-based orchestra’s first performance in Korea in 23 years. It also comes two months after the ensemble’s counterpart in German-speaking Switzerland, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, delivered a roof-raising performance in its first concert in Seoul on the same stage in April

PerformanceJuly 8, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Terry Notary is Hollywood’s human shape-shifter. In a blink, he can become an elf, an ape or almost any other moving creature. An expert in motion-capture performance, he specializes in bringing nonhuman characters to life on screen. He’s played goblins in “The Hobbit,” a Who in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and a winged, dragon-like banshee in “Avatar.” In “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” opening Friday, Notary plays more than 100 primates. He also taught the film’s stars

FilmJuly 8, 2014

For 17 years, Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival has focused on showcasing genre films, mostly horror, thriller and sci-fi movies. But the 2014 edition seeks to make progress in a new direction, including more films from other genres under the theme of “Love, Fantasy and Adventure.” A total of 210 films ― 123 features and 87 shorts ― from 48 countries will be screened during the 11-day festival, which kicks off July 17 in Bucheon, just west of Seoul.  A total of 131 films will get debu

FilmJuly 8, 2014

K-pop powerhouse Super Junior is preparing to embark on yet another world tour, which will include Lee Teuk, starting in September, according to an announcement by SM Entertainment. Lee is expected to return to the limelight in full swing for the first time since he enlisted in the army to fulfill his mandatory military service in 2012. The K-pop star is scheduled to be discharged and return home on July 29. Kicking off the group’s upcoming “Super Show 6” world tour, the members will hold two co

July 8, 2014

Idol group Crayon Pop’s agency, Chrome Entertainment, signed an official label contract with Sony Music Entertainment Korea on Monday. As a label under Sony Music Entertainment Korea, Chrome Entertainment can discover and sign artists to produce music.The two corporations have previously formed license and strategic partnerships, which led to the debuts of four Chrome artists under Sony Music: Crayon Pop, K-Much, Bob Girls and Zan Zan. With the label contract, Chrome Entertainment is now recogni

July 8, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) ― Madonna has spent a little time living in the judicial world. The pop superstar turned up for jury duty Monday at a Manhattan state courthouse, quickly getting dismissed. She had gotten excused from a jury service date in May. This time, she was finished within two hours and wasn’t questioned for any case, spending the wait in a clerk’s office instead of in the sprawling juror waiting room. State court system spokesman David Bookstaver said officials cut Madonna loose because the

PerformanceJuly 8, 2014

Veteran K-pop idol group g.o.d. unveiled its much-anticipated LP “Chapter 8” on Tuesday, officially marking the return of the five original members and their reunion after being apart for 12 years.Immediately upon its release, the new album swept the nation’s music charts. Title track “Story of Our Lives (feat. Megan Lee)” became the No. 1 song and several others made the top 10 list on major music websites such as Melon, Bugs Music, Naver Music and more. “Chapter 8” was released in commemoratio

July 8, 2014

Shin Hye-sung, main vocalist of Korea’s longest running K-pop boy group, Shinhwa, is to reunite with ballad singer Lyn six years after their first duet in 2008.Lyn participated in Shin’s project album “He Said... She Said...” which amplified Shin’s true talent as a vocalist. Since the duo has been keeping in tune for many years, the upcoming album is to capture more soulful and expressive vocals.The song, “Once Again #1 Buen Camino” will be a rearrangement of “Buen Camino.” The full orchestra bo

July 8, 2014

Super Junior member Choi Si-won rescued a stray dog from the roadside in the rain, Chinese news agencies reported on Monday.According to news reports, Choi stopped the car and ran to save the dog without an umbrella. Following the rescue, Choi posted a photo of the dog on Twitter.  (Weibo / Twitter)“I met a new friend in the heavy rain, I gave her the name ‘Lost,’” the celebrity wrote.Various news outlets complimented his selfless action, saying “Super Junior’s Choi Si-won touched people’s heart

July 8, 2014

K-pop girl group Secret is to release its fifth EP this summer. The four members will reunite in August, eight months after the release of their latest single “I Do I Do” in December.  (TS Entertainment)The details have yet to be disclosed, but the title track on the new album will be an “addictive” song that can show the feminine and sensual side of Secret, according to the group’s agency TS Entertainment.Meanwhile, the members have been actively pursuing solo activities. Two members -- Sunhwa

July 8, 2014

The latest album of veteran K-pop group g.o.d. dominated local charts just hours after its release online Tuesday, proving its steadfast popularity despite a nine-year-long hiatus. Shortly after the release at midnight, the song “Stories We’ve Lived” from the band’s long-awaited eighth studio album “Chapter 8” topped local music streaming charts, including Melon, Olleh Music, Mnet, Naver Music and Daum Music.Other tracks such as “Sky Blue Promise” and “5+4+1+5=15” were also ranked No. 1 on Monke

July 8, 2014

South Korean brother-sister duo Akdong Musician talked about their impoverished upbringing in Mongolia in a television program on Monday.  (SBS) “After my parents said that they couldn’t afford to send us to school, we gave up on school and started homeschooling,” the duo said on SBS show “Healing Camp.”  “We don’t have friends and we have never worn school uniforms because we didn’t go to school.”  Bot

July 8, 2014

World-famous Chinese actress Tang Wei and her fiance Kim Tae-yong, South Korean film director, were sighted together in front of an apartment building in Beijing, Chinese media outlets reported Tuesday. Tang and Kim have stayed in the Chinese capital since the two announced they would wed this fall on July 2. They allegedly met with Tang’s parents to pay their respects. The Asian celebrity couple stepped out of an apartment building near Beijing Chaoyang Park late Monday night. They were holding

July 8, 2014

Super Junior member Eunhyuk has revealed a photo taken with K-pop girl band f(x).“Wow, I saw f(x)! (They) even took a photo with me! So nice. So pretty. Can’t breathe. Oh, oh” Eunhyuk wrote on his Twitter as the photo showed five members of f(x) in sparkly stage outfits and Eunhyuk posing.Following the photo of the group and Eunhyuk, he went on to take pictures with individual members, showing his tight bond with f(x), which is under the same management company as Super Junior.Eunhyuk visited th

July 8, 2014

Korean singer IU gave up on college because her high school grades were below average, she said Monday on television program Healing Camp. “My mentor told me that it is very easy to get into Seoul National University but there were no colleges available with my grades,” she said. “I don’t think I liked school that much. I was just waiting for freedom from school.” IU began working as a singer during high school, she added as another factor. The program hosts good-naturedly told her that it was a

July 8, 2014