EXO gives fans an ‘overdose’

Jamsil Indoor Stadium was filled to the brim with deafening screams on Tuesday night as thousands of fans flocked to the arena to witness the 12 members of EXO in the group’s latest showcase. Around 8,000 young K-pop lovers attended the “EXO Comeback Show” to see their beloved K-pop idols perform live and hear the newest singles off EXO’s soon-to-be-released six-track EP “Overdose.” As soon as the members took to the stage with back-to-back performances of their hit tracks “Wolf” from their firs

April 16, 2014

Block B returns with new single, carnival concept

K-pop boy group Block B has come out with new single “Jackpot” and a wild, carnival-crazy music video. The single was released via Youtube, social media and local music websites on Tuesday.“Jackpot” is filled with electro hip-hop beats, rhythmic rapping and lively vocals. The song features an interesting mash-up of diverse sounds ranging from piano and brass to bass, children chanting and gunshots. The music video, reminiscent of Lewis Carroll’s famous children’s story “Alice in Wonderland,” pre

April 16, 2014

Gummy to return with new EP, concert

R&B singer Gummy is scheduled to release a new album and hold a solo concert in the coming months.Gummy, whose real name is Park Ji-yeon, will release a new EP in early May and stage a concert in June, according to her agency C-Jes Entertainment on Tuesday. The new EP will feature Gummy’s signature R&B style and explore various genres of music in line with the spring season, the agency said.The new record will also mark Gummy’s return to the local music scene four years after the release of her

April 16, 2014

Old lumber is trend for some of the best new homes

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina ― Reclaimed lumber is among the most environmentally friendly building materials because, as any 12-year-old can explain, recycling is good for us and the planet.The wood is beautiful. A floor of salvaged antique heart pine glows with the patina of decades, even centuries. Every piece of barn siding is uniquely weathered, which gives a one-of-a-kind appeal to walls and furniture.And, say Paul Atkinson of Southend Reclaimed and Jonathan Kauffman of Kauffman and Co., buye

CultureApril 16, 2014

Illinois Lottery app stirs up controversy

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois ― When Illinois launched its first-in-the-nation lottery app in January, Matthew Ruder quickly signed up so he could jockey for jackpots with just a tap of the finger on his smartphone.“It’s really easy to buy lottery tickets on the big draw days,” said Ruder, 40, of Pekin in central Illinois. “I can just log in to it, add some money to it, buy some tickets, and then I have them right there instead of stopping at the store. It just makes it easier sometimes.”State lottery o

CultureApril 16, 2014

Beloved in antiquity, Greece’s hot springs left untapped

THERMOPYLAE, Greece (AFP) ― Hercules used them to regain his strength after his legendary labors, Hippocrates lauded their beneficial properties and even a famous Roman general, Sulla, said he owed his health to them.Their praise was for hot springs, a medicinal resource known and appreciated in Greece since antiquity ― though regrettably less so nowadays.“Greece invented the therapeutic use of hot springs thousands of years before the birth of Jesus Christ,” says Zisis Aggelidis, a professor of

CultureApril 16, 2014

Book online for evening tours of royal palaces

Royal palaces in Seoul open at night only a few days a year, usually when the weather is cool and the scenery is beautiful. This spring, the government has altered its usual palace operating plans to invite more visitors. Still, if you want to walk around the old site in peaceful evening hours, you’d better book online, well in advance. According to the Cultural Heritage Administration, Changgyeonggung and Gyeongbokgung will remain open until 10 p.m. for 12 days from April 29 and April 30, respe

CultureApril 15, 2014

Big Day South to show off creative talent in Daegu

Two expat magazines and an expat record label are getting together for a creative festival on April 26 to show off creative talent in the southeast of Korea. Daegu’s (b)racket Magazine and I Like Many Records and Ulsan’s Angle Magazine are bringing together artists, musicians and other creative people for the Big Day South festival.“With the Big Day South festival, we want to showcase the creativity, talent and beauty outside of Seoul, to challenge the notion that in Korea, if something cannot b

Expat LivingApril 15, 2014

International marriage in Korea, part II: divorce

Here we continue our discussion of international marriage and divorce, focusing on divorce in time for Black Day.Only one thing could possibly be better than admitting that your relationship is irreparable, or going through the pleasure of dividing substantial assets with someone who no longer likes you while fighting over some tiny or not-so-tiny living things you made together. That is having all of this take place, at moderate to great expense, in a courtroom of unsympathetic onlookers.It’s t

Expat LivingApril 15, 2014

Dami Im to perform at ANZA Korea Ball

The Australia and New Zealand Association will be running its annual gala ball on May 3, with the theme of “A Night at the Opera House,” featuring a performance from last year’s “X-Factor Australia” winner, Dami Im.“We are thrilled to have secured Dami Im for the 2014 ANZA Korea Ball. She has captured the hearts of Australian audiences and there is no doubt she will do the same for our ball guests. She is truly amazing,” said Jana Kovar, president of ANZA Korea. Of South Korean descent, Im Dami

Expat LivingApril 15, 2014

3-D film reconstructs 18th-century Joseon fest

It took Crown Prince Sado (1735-1762) eight days to die of starvation after his father King Yeongjo ordered him to be confined in a cramped wooden rice chest. Sado’s son, who later became King Jeongjo, was only 10 when his father was killed by his grandfather. Exactly 33 years after Sado’s death, Jeongjo threw a grandiose festival in 1795, which lasted for eight days ― the same number of days his father spent alone locked in the wooden box.KBS Media’s latest 3-D documentary, “Uigwe, the 8-Day Fe

FilmApril 15, 2014

Sumi Jo sings Bach on new album, tour

Sumi Jo, one of the most beloved classical singers in Korea, has just released a new album with Deutsche Grammophon, “Only Bach.” The Grammy-winning soprano sings cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach and nothing else on her latest album, including well-known pieces like “Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Jesus, Joy of Man’s Desiring)” and “Ave Maria.”Bach cantatas are usually sung with a small orchestra, but Jo sings accompanied by only a guitar and a violin, adding a fresh appeal to the beloved songs. I

CultureApril 15, 2014

Matisse’s colorful cutouts go on show in London

LONDON (AP) ― A huge new Henri Matisse show in London is many things ― bold, colorful, exuberant. It’s also a great advertisement for the creativity of old age. The 130 works displayed at Tate Modern were created largely in the last decade of the French artist’s long life, when Matisse ― in a wheelchair, recovering from cancer and unable to paint as he once had ― used scissors and paper to create a series of big, bold and ambitious cutouts. The work of a man in his late 70s and 80s, they burst w

PerformanceApril 15, 2014

G.NA to release comeback single next week

K-pop singer G.NA is set to release a new single next week, according to her agency Cube Entertainment on Monday.The singer’s new digital single “Pretty Lingerie” will drop at noon on April 21.According to Cube, “Pretty Lingerie” features a fresh melody and lyrics that any woman who has been in love can empathize with. “G.NA, who has typically sung about confident women, seeks to portray women’s pure and candid attitudes this time through her new song,” the agency said.G.NA also released an eye-

April 15, 2014

Lady Gaga, YG Family to hold joint festival

Global superstar Lady Gaga will join some of YG Entertainment’s biggest acts including Psy, Big Bang, 2NE1 and the agency’s newest boy band Winner on the stage for a two-day joint music festival slated for Aug. 15 and 16 in Seoul. The “AIA Real Life: NOW Festival 2014” will mark Lady Gaga’s second performance in Korea after she electrified more than 45,000 fans two years ago with her 18-and-over show. It was the largest crowd at Jamsil Sports Complex Stadium since the legendary King of Pop Mich

April 15, 2014

[Herald Interview] Putting Korean culture in global limelight

This summer, a series of Korean concerts, plays and performances will be held in London, competing for the limelight at the city’s major arts festival ― the City of London Festival. Five or six other Korean performance groups will take the much-coveted stage at the famous Edinburgh Festival next year, continuing what Angella Kwon hopes to be “the Korean culture bash” at high-profile international arts festivals. “Hallyu, or the popularity of Korean culture overseas, is still a very tiny, tiny mo

CultureApril 14, 2014

ArtShow Busan to open Friday

ArtShow Busan, the port city’s largest art fair, will kick off on Friday at Bexco, showcasing more than 4,000 works of art by international artists represented by prestigious galleries.The art fair, in its third year, is attempting to cement its status as a notable art market in Asia by presenting the works of high-profile artists including Nam June Paik, Lee U-fan, Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and Julian Opie. Last year, 35,000 people visited the fair and sales reached 5.1 billion won ($4.9 millio

PerformanceApril 14, 2014

With $41.4 million, ‘Captain America’ holds off ‘Rio 2’

NEW YORK (AP) ― “Captain America” continued to flex its Marvel muscle at the global box office, as “The Winter Soldier” took in $41.4 million domestically and $60.6 million overseas. The strong second-week performance for the Walt Disney release in North America was enough to narrowly edge 20th Century Fox’s “Rio 2” in a springtime battle of sequels. The animated Amazon jungle tale “Rio 2” debuted with $39 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, almost exactly the opening weekend total of

FilmApril 14, 2014