SISTAR’s Bora takes selfie with Park Hye-jin

 K-pop girl group SISTAR member Bora has revealed a selfie taken with actor Park Hye-jin.On the official SISTAR Twitter page, Bora posted, “Did you catch today’s episode of ‘Doctor Stranger’? First time shooting scenes with Hye-jin oppa! Wonder if I’ll see him again…”The picture showed Bora and Park standing very close to each other and smiling. The two are both acting in the SBS drama “Doctor Stranger.”Park is playing the role of renowned cardiothoracic surgeon Han Jae-jun and Bora plays Lee Ch

May 21, 2014

SNSD’s Taeyeon reveals photo after removing wisdom teeth

(Taeyeon's Instagram)Girls’ Generation leader Taeyeon published a selfie on Instagram on Monday with the caption: “I removed my last wisdom teeth. I have no wisdom teeth now. Good-bye, my teeth, we had a great time together.”(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)

May 21, 2014

Shin Min-a, Park Hae-il share limelight at ”Gyeongju“ press conference

Actress Shin Min-a and actor Park Hae-il attend the press conference of their film “Gyeongju” at the Starcity branch of Lotte Cinema in eastern Seoul on Wednesday.  Shin Min-a (left) and Park Hae-il. (Yonhap)(Yonhap)

May 21, 2014

SNSD’s Sunny does ‘meokbang’ on radio program

(Sunny's FM Date official Twitter account)Sunny, a member of K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation, also known as SNSD, posed for a photo while indulging in fried chicken on an MBC radio program.“Meokbang” is a Korean slang term used to describe scenes in which celebrities eat food on TV.The photo was uploaded to the official Twitter account of MBC’s FM4U program “Sunny’s FM Date,” with Sunny pouting at the camera and holding a piece of chicken with a pair of chopsticks.“I didn’t mean it, but this

May 21, 2014

Park Shin-hye poses in feminine outfits

Actress Park Shin-hye posed for InStyle magazine in Manhattan. In the pictures, the actress is wearing a variety of clothes, including long dresses and fashionable suits, showing off her feminine side. By Cho Han-na, Intern reporter (hnncho@heraldcorp.com)(Phot Credit: InStyle)

May 21, 2014

Love triangle foreboded, Park Hae-jin burns with jealousy

Park Hae-jin silently burns with jealousy of his rival Lee Jong-suk in the SBS medical drama “Doctor Stranger” as he witnesses his trophy girlfriend Kang So-ra tend to drunken Lee. (SBS)In the sixth episode, aired on Tuesday, cold-hearted elite doctor Han Jae-joon (played by Park) accidently eavesdrops on his girlfriend and the hospital chief’s daughter, Oh Soo-hyun (played by Kang), telling Park Hoon (played by Lee) to move on from the memories of his deceased girlfriend and wipe the tears off

May 21, 2014

Son Dambi shows off sexy tan in Bali

Korean pop singer Son Dambi showed off her tanned skin and sexy figure in Bali through InStyle magazine. With her captivating summer makeup, tanned skin and healthy body, she looks stunning. By Cho Han-na, Intern reporter (hnncho@heraldcorp.com)[Photo credit: InStyle]

May 21, 2014

2NE1’s Sandara Park shows off muscular belly

(Sandara's Instagram)Sandara Park, a member of K-pop girl group 2NE1, stretches her arms up towards the sky, flaunting her muscular belly in a photo posted Monday on her Instagram page. She said in the caption, “It is summer now!” The photo was taken by CL, another member of the group.(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)

May 21, 2014

Fly to the Sky single hits No.1, Brian cries

Fly to the Sky’s Brian Joo said Tuesday that he cried when he heard that their first single in five years hit No. 1 on the charts.“I prayed, then cried as soon as I got up and heard the news,” Joo said during the showcase for their ninth album, “CONTINUUM,” at Olympic Park in southeastern Seoul. Fly to the Sky (H2media)The veteran duo’s latest single “You You You” topped nine music charts within an hour of its release. The recent comeback marks the first time that the two members have reunited s

May 21, 2014

Infinite marks its return with showcases in East Asia

K-pop boy band Infinite released its new EP album “Season 2,” kicking off with a showcase in Tokyo on Monday.According to Infinite’s management company, Woollim Entertainment, the six members came to the stage for　the “Infinite 1.2.3 Showcase” to mark the release of their second EP after a three-year hiatus.(Woollim Entertainment)“Our large-scale comeback showcase in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan successfully kicked off in Tokyo,” a management company official said.The showcase began at 6:30 p.m

May 21, 2014

Paul McCartney‘s Seoul concert likely to be canceled

 Pop legend Paul McCartney’s first concert in Korea may be called off due to health problems, according to news reports Wednesday.(Yonhap)“McCartney’s condition is not getting better as was expected. The concert may be canceled,” Yonhap quoted an unnamed concert management company’s official as saying. The 71-year-old Beatles guitarist had been schedule to perform next Wednesday at the 20th Hyundai Card Super Concert in Seoul. The company will make a decision later in the day whether to change t

PerformanceMay 21, 2014

[Newsmaker] K-pop legend Seo Taiji to return

K-pop legend Seo Taiji will be making a comeback to the local music scene with a new album and a series of concerts after signing with concert organizer Show21, an affiliate of entertainment agency Wellmade Yedang.Seo is slated to release his ninth studio album this fall and team up with Wellmade Yedang to organize a nationwide concert tour, beginning with a performance in Seoul, the entertainment agency said Monday. Seo Taiji Company ― known for successfully launching large-scale music events i

PerformanceMay 20, 2014

Bowing photography exhibition looks at mechanics of tradition

Westerners face a lot of unfamiliar forms of etiquette when they come to Korea, but the most familiar, and perhaps the hardest to get used to, is the subject of a new exhibition in Gwangju.Martyn Thompson’s collection of photographs and sculptures looks at the Korean bow, depicting it in stages to expose the details of the action.The photographs show figures performing traditional full bows in stages, each stage superimposed on top of the others. The overall effect gives the impression of a mech

Expat LivingMay 20, 2014

‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ gets feminine, physical take

Summer is slowly slipping across the city, and the Seoul Shakespeare Company’s sultry take on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is ready to usher her in.In the well-known tale, four amorous young Athenians free themselves from the stale city streets and head for the forest in pursuit of true love. But they encounter much more than their hearts originally desired as they enter the realm of the fairies in this sexy and subversive production directed by Seoul National University drama professor Raymond S

Expat LivingMay 20, 2014

Nanny estate? Expat starts cheese-making goat farm

With a surging interest in artisan food, a desire for the simple life and a common hankering for hard-to-get foods from home, a few expats here might daydream about running a farm. For most, it stays that way.But former university teacher Doug Huffer took the plunge. Now he spends his days cutting growth from nearby hedges and riverbanks to feed to Stella, Sarah and Bianca and the rest of his small milk herd.The goats’ Italian names are a hint at the farm’s origins. Huffer’s wife went to school

Expat LivingMay 20, 2014

A rare look at North Korean architecture

In Pyongyang, there are none of the narrow alleys that are commonly found in old cities. Instead, streets are up to 50 meters wide, lined with buildings with perfect symmetry. They are among major features of socialist architecture. Architecture in North Korea is little known to the world. North Korean architects have been out of the spotlight, as they are not considered as individual, independent artists, but workers who follow “Kim Jong-il’s Architectural Theory,” a set of architecture guideli

Arts & DesignMay 20, 2014

‘Madam Ong’ recast as active independent woman

The National Changguek Theater of Korea is presenting “Madame Ong” next month as the third performance of its seven-part changgeuk series in an effort to bring the beauty and uniqueness of traditional Korean performance to the public. Changgeuk is a form of Korean traditional opera, performed as a play in pansori (Korean folk narrative) style. While pansori is performed by a solo singer, changgeuk involves many actors and vocalists, percussion music, and engaging plotlines to fit large theaters

PerformanceMay 20, 2014

Carell surprise, British biopic lead race for Cannes gold

CANNES, France (AFP) ― A Hollywood wrestling drama, a British biopic of an iconic artist and an intimate Turkish look at a troubled marriage led the pack on Tuesday for the top prize at Cannes. Halfway through the competition, critics cheered for a few stand-out pictures among 18 contenders vying for the coveted Palme d’Or in what they called a surprise-filled year at the world’s premier film festival. An international critics’ poll in British film magazine Screen had Mike Leigh’s “Mr. Turner” a

FilmMay 20, 2014

Once ignored, iron Buddha gets new status

The National Museum of Korea’s revamped Unified Silla section, which opens to the public Tuesday, displays an undisputed new star: a larger-than-life Buddha statue made of cast iron. Placed in a spacious room right in the middle of the hall, the statue overwhelms visitors with its mystic beauty and half-smile. The exquisiteness of this artifact, which dates back to the late eighth or early ninth century, however, went unnoticed until recently.  Iron seated Buddha (National Museum of Korea)“This

CultureMay 20, 2014