WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Barbie has been many things in her life: A doctor. A paleontologist. An astronaut. A cheerleader. A race car driver. A candidate for the presidency of the United States.Now, on the threshold of her 55th birthday, the world’s most famous doll is stirring up a social media frenzy with her debut in Sports Illustrated’s 50th anniversary swimsuit edition.In a tie-in with toymaker Mattel, the top-selling U.S. sports weekly has cast the leggy ― if anatomically impossible ― all-Americ

CultureFeb. 16, 2014

This month has been filled with comeback releases including returns from B.A.P., Crayon Pop and Ga In, and there are more on the way. With two of the country’s most popular girl groups, Girls’ Generation and 2NE1, announcing the release of their new albums, the remaining two weeks of February look to be a battle-filled competition among those hoping to make a big comeback. Along with the K-pop powerhouses, popular boy band CNBlue as well as R&B vocal group Brown Eyed Soul and veteran singer-song

PerformanceFeb. 16, 2014

What makes luxury goods stand out among fashionable items? What makes a luxury a luxury?Chinese fashion columnist Wang Er Song says in his book “Luxury Attitude” that it is the buyers’ respect for the goods. “What makes a luxury a luxury is the abundant value it contains and people’s respect for that value, the stories behind it,” he writes.  WOOYOUNGMI, a Korea-based menswear brand, fulfills these conditions perfectly. Having started with a small boutique brand, Solid Homme, in 1988, designer W

Arts & DesignFeb. 14, 2014

Korean conglomerates are gearing up to nurture the future Louis Vuitton or Chanel, which will not only secure them with profits but also a luxurious corporate image and high social status. Hoping to become the next Bernard Arnault of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy or Francois Pinault of Kering, business tycoons and their heirs are vigorously buying up designer brands or nurturing future star designers. LVMH owns Louis Vuitton, Dior, Saint Laurent, Donna Karan and Celine, among others, while Kering

Arts & DesignFeb. 14, 2014

Classical music“Baroque-music concert”: Flutist Emmanuel Pahud and Berliner Barock Solisten will perform the works of Bach and Telemann, two of the most appreciated composers of the Baroque era, at Seoul Arts Center on Feb. 22. Pahud, who was named principal flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 22 some 20 years ago, is one of the top flute players in the world. Founded by members of the world-renowned Berlin Philharmonic in 1995, the Berliner Barock Solisten is an ensemble

CultureFeb. 14, 2014

The image of a petite, frail-looking woman, sitting for days inside a makeshift tent across the Chinese Embassy in protest against China’s forceful repatriation of North Korean defectors, is still vivid, even after nearly two years.Sitting at her office in Dongguk University in Seoul last month, Park Sun-young recalled how she, then a Liberty Forward Party legislator, started a hunger strike, almost on impulse. She had been receiving many desperate calls, day and night, asking her to help stop t

PeopleFeb. 14, 2014

 12 Years a Slave (U.S., U.K.)Opening Feb. 27In 1841, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free African-American New Yorker, is kidnapped by slavers in Washington, D.C., and sold into slavery in Louisiana. There, he is enslaved to work on farms in the South, after being renamed “Platt,” and becomes the property of a plantation owner (Benedict Cumberbatch). This film is an adaptation of the 1853 memoir of the same title by Northup, who was an educated carpenter, musician and a family man before

FilmFeb. 14, 2014

 Yoo Seung-woo shows maturity in Early 19Yoo Seung-woo “Early 19” (CJ E&M)Two years ago, young singer-songwriter Yoo seung-woo, then a 16-year-old high school student, impressed judges and viewers with his musicality and clear voice on singing audition program “Superstar K4.”The young prodigy has returned to the music scene with his second EP, “Early 19,” equipped with his signature acoustic sounds and singing.Yoo’s new album expresses his current state of mind and worries as he enters adulthood

PerformanceFeb. 14, 2014

“So” is how “That Awkward Moment” begins every “awkward moment.” As in “So, what are we doing here?” Or “So, where do you see this relationship going?”That’s the dating man’s lesson of “That Awkward Moment,” that “For girls, nothing good ever comes after ‘So.’” It’s a chatty romantic comedy in the modern mode ― rude, nude and crude ― with some funny, writerly riffs on relationships and how to avoid them.There are laughs, in the lead couple’s “meet cute” moment in a bar, when she (Imogen Poots) t

FilmFeb. 14, 2014

CAPE TOWN, South Africa ― I’m normally not a morning person. But by 5 a.m. on my first full day in Cape Town, the sun has risen high enough to peel back the curtain of night and reveal the majesty of Table Mountain. Sleep no longer interests me. I sip hot tea, nibble the chocolate truffle left during turndown service the night before, slide open the doors and take in the view. Behind me, television continues 24/7 commercial-free programming ― tributes, interviews and news about Nelson Mandela. T

TravelFeb. 14, 2014

MINNEAPOLIS ― The northern lights rise like glowing pillars and then unfurl to stretch across the night sky. They wave like a flag, shimmering green with purple at the fringes, below a tapestry of stars. Sometimes they transform nearly the whole sky into their dance floor, flitting north and south in hues from blue to yellow and even pink and red. The beauty is astounding; it’s almost surreal. Or so I’ve been told. The aurora borealis ― and its southern counterpart, the aurora australis ― starts

TravelFeb. 14, 2014

 Vodka-caviar pairing at Oakwood Premier Coex Center SeoulThe hotel offers premium caviar canapes paired with Absolut Vodka at the bar on the fifth floor until Feb. 28. The caviar canapes will be served with Russian traditional wheat pancake Blini which is eaten during Russian holiday Maslenitsa, known as Pancake Week. Three set menus, which all include the vodka and caviar canapes, are served during the promotion. The bronze set includes grilled sausages and hot dishes; the silver set includes

FoodFeb. 14, 2014

At Bua, a modern Thai restaurant that opened near Itaewon Station in November, one might blink twice at items like roti and nam prik num with fried pork. While both eats may not be as well known outside of Thailand as dishes like pad thai and som tam, Bua owner-chef Kim Yoo-ah says both are Thai staples, easily found throughout the country. “I wanted to introduce people here to new dishes,” Kim, 28, said, keen on showcasing dishes that might be novel to some diners in the city but are actually v

FoodFeb. 14, 2014