Aretha Franklin celebrates birthday with Denzel

NEW YORK (AP) ― The fellas love Aretha Franklin: Denzel Washington helped the Queen of Soul celebrate her 72nd birthday in style, and Andre 3000 and Babyface are working on new music for the icon. Franklin held an exclusive and small party Saturday in New York City for her birthday, which is on Tuesday. Washington entered the Ritz-Carlton Hotel quietly, though the crowd got excited after realizing it was the Oscar winner under a baseball cap. Franklin thanked the actor for attending. Just hours

PerformanceMarch 24, 2014

Embracing the alien spaceship

The alien spaceship that landed smack in the middle of Seoul opened its doors on Friday with much fanfare. And judging by the crowd that flocked to the cavernous belly of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza on the first two days of its opening ― more than 58,000 visitors on Friday and 168,000 on Saturday, according to its overseer the Seoul Design Foundation ― the latest Seoul landmark, often ridiculed as a “spaceship,” may win over the skeptics who argue that the “monstrous building” costing some 500 b

CultureMarch 23, 2014

Menswear designers on quest to establish brand identity

A week of fashion showcases for the 2014 fall and winter season began with menswear collections on Friday and Saturday at Seoul Fashion Week. This year, designers and crowds of fashionistas gathered at the newly opened futuristic Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park. Menswear designers mixed fashion with art, attempting to find better fabric and colors to represent their identities. Designer Kimseoryong of the eponymous brand based his collection upon his journey to define the identity for his colle

Arts & DesignMarch 23, 2014

Music and the sea

Tongyeong International Music Festival opens Friday at a brand new concert hall that embodies just what this year’s festival is all about ― the sea and great music. Nestled on a hill overlooking the sea, the Tongyeong Concert Hall mixes the two in a way that the festival’s organizers hope will inspire artists as well as audiences. “The theme of this year’s festival is ‘seascapes,’” the Tongyeong International Music Festival Foundation said in a press announcement. “It is our hope that the magnif

PerformanceMarch 23, 2014

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West on Vogue cover

NEW YORK (AP) ― Kanye West’s campaign to get fiancee Kim Kardashian on the cover of Vogue magazine has finally paid off. They appear in a photo by Annie Leibovitz on the April issue. The photo shows Kardashian wearing a white wedding-style dress with West’s arms around her. She posted it on her official Twitter and Instagram accounts saying: “This is such a dream come true!!!” West wrote “Thank you (at)voguemagazine” on his Twitter account.West had said he believed Kardashian is cover-worthy. In

PeopleMarch 23, 2014

[Band Uprising] Winterplay pioneers jazz-pop genre in Korea and abroad

As the Korean music market is beginning to receive more international recognition, the local band scene is looking to rise up and represent the next generation of Korean music. This is the fourth installment of a series of interviews with Korean rock, acoustic and alternative bands. ― Ed. On the surface, musicians Lee Ju-han and Moon Hae-won seem like the most unlikely of bandmates.As the son of a Korean diplomat, 48-year-old Lee spent much of his life abroad, more accustomed to speaking English

PerformanceMarch 23, 2014

[Weekender] Korean musicals evolve

Last year, the Broadway musical “Kinky Boots,” co-produced by Korean entertainment company CJ E&M, won a total of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Leading Man.The company, which has been investing in West End and Broadway musicals such as “The Bodyguard” and “Big Fish,” invested $1 million in “Kinky Boots,” becoming the sixth-largest investor in the production. It was the first time that a musical co-produced by a Korean company received such honors. “I guess

PerformanceMarch 21, 2014

[Weekender] For better or worse? K-pop stars flood the stage

While Broadway is certainly no stranger to shows led by big-time Hollywood talent, the trend of Korean musicals casting K-pop stars has gotten to the point where it’s now almost routine in a large production. The inclusion of K-pop stars not only helps sell shows, it has become an almost unspoken policy that any non-Broadway musical that wants to hit it big should include a popular K-pop star in its cast.  Whether it’s Girls’ Generation’s Jessica in “Legally Blonde,” 2PM’s Jun.K and SHINee’s Key

PerformanceMarch 21, 2014

[Weekender] Global blockbusters in store for Korean audience

This year will see a rush of hit musicals in Korea following the footsteps of successful foreign-licensed shows such as “Wicked,” “Three Musketeers” and “Elisabeth.”Starting with “Le Roi Soleil” next month, popular musicals such as “Marie Antoinette” and film-turned-musicals “Priscilla” and “Once” are lined up for Korean fans.  “Le Roi Soleil,” scheduled for Blue Square in April and May, will feature Shin Sung-rok, from the recently ended smash hit TV drama “My Love from the Star” as Louis XIV.

PerformanceMarch 21, 2014

[Weekender] ‘It’s time for global K-musical’

Korean musical producers should go global with universal themes, storylines, characters and crew, according to the managing director of CJ E&M, the country’s leading cultural corporation. “You have to be quite sensible when talking about musical productions. It is business after all and it needs to generate profits,” Lauren Park, head of live entertainment at CJ E&M, told The Korea Herald. The company is said to have accounted for 30-35 percent of the 300 billion won Korean market for musicals i

PerformanceMarch 21, 2014

Brilliant young man who made classical music sexy

Inside of the case that houses violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill’s 18th century Matteo Goffriller ex-Trampler wrapped up in an orange-and-white horse pattern Hermes scarf are several photographs placed in a row.They are pictures of his father at various stages of his life and Toby Saks, a dear friend who passed away, O’Neill explains. “I did not mean it to be a memorial,” he says with a smile; yet, whenever he opens the lid, there they are ― his loved ones who are no longer here.O’Neill, 35, who h

PerformanceMarch 21, 2014

Calendar

Pop music“Travis Live in Seoul”: Scottish rock band Travis is returning to Korea with its first solo concert in Seoul in five years. Led by Fran Healy on vocals, Travis first formed in the early ’90s in Glasgow and made a name for itself as one of the most well-respected acts from the U.K. Although Travis has always seemed to float below the radar, without having joined the ranks of the most iconic rock bands, the rockers are still often credited with having influenced British bands such as Cold

CultureMarch 21, 2014

Eyelike: 4minute returns with new EP, ‘4minute World’

4minute returns with new EP, ‘4minute World’4minute“4minute World”(Universal Music)K-pop girl group 4minute returned to the local music scene with its fifth EP “4minute World” on Monday, premiering the music video of the title track “Whatcha Doin’ Today?” in which the five girls party in wild and odd settings.Though 4minute definitely establishes its own style throughout the album, some parts of the album are disappointing, lacking in originality and depth. The slower, melodic tracks better reve

PerformanceMarch 21, 2014

Box Office: Han Gong-ju, Stories We Tell, Moster

Han Gong-ju (Korea)Opening April 17Drama. Directed by Lee Su-jin. Han Gong-ju is a 17-year-old girl who starts a new life in a new school, leaving everything behind in her hometown. She makes new friends and begins to sing again, which she gave up after going through a traumatic event in the past. But everything changes when the parents of her old classmates visit Gong-ju out of the blue. The debut feature by director Lee Su-jin won numerous awards from international film festivals, including Ro

FilmMarch 21, 2014

Jake Gyllenhaal doubles down in ‘Enemy’

Movie doubles seem to be multiplying at an alarming rate. At last fall’s Toronto International Film Festival both “Enemy” and “The Double” grappled with what happens when you confront your doppelganger, and the idea appeared again in several films at the Sundance Film Festival.With their enigmatic explorations of identity and persona, these recent films seem to be grappling with the human issues of the online age.“Enemy,” opening in theaters Friday and already available on VOD, also has its own

FilmMarch 21, 2014

Finding history at colorful Kaymoor in West Virginia’s New River Gorge

FAYETTEVILLE, West Virginia ― My first on-land visit to historic Kaymoor was before trails existed.Friend David Arnold led me on a killer bushwhacking hike in the 300-meter-deep New River Gorge 30 years ago to get to the old coal camp and take photographs of the mining equipment and infrastructure.It was one of the most visible old mining communities along the New River. There was a large coal operation from 1900 to 1962 at what was called Kaymoor No. 1 mine.Its headhouse near the entrances to t

TravelMarch 21, 2014