A romantic comedy opera for Valentine’s Day

As February approaches, a rom-com opera is set to go on stage, armed with charm and humor. A local production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Cosi fan Tutte” will be staged at the Sejong Center for Performing Arts on Feb. 11-12, just in time for Valentine’s Day, starring the country’s young, up-and-coming opera singers. Composed by Mozart at the height of his fame and first performed in 1790, “Cosi fan Tutte” is a tale of two young soldiers who are goaded by a gentleman into a wager regarding thei

PerformanceJan. 27, 2014

Cuaron wins DGA for ‘Gravity,’ gains Oscar edge

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Alfonso Cuaron was awarded the top film honor from the Directors Guild of America for “Gravity” on Saturday night, giving the lost-in-space saga an edge on the journey to the Academy Awards. In the recent bustle of Hollywood honors, “Gravity,” David O. Russell’s con caper “American Hustle” and Steve McQueen’s historical epic “12 Years a Slave” had been competing in the tightest three-way Oscar race in years. But Cuaron’s film now has the upper hand for the best-picture and dir

FilmJan. 27, 2014

Shinhwa to hold 16th anniversary show minus Andy

Shinhwa, the country’s longest-running K-pop boy band, will hold its 16th anniversary concert in March. However, because of the illegal gambling scandal that continues to plague member Andy, it was announced that he will not be joining the other five members for their yearly anniversary show. Last year, Andy ― along with a handful of local television celebrities including Tony An of H.O.T, Lee Soo-geun and Tak Jae-hoon ― was placed under investigation for participating in illegal online sports g

PerformanceJan. 27, 2014

Ga-in goes explicit with new single

Brown Eyed Girls member Ga-in has made her solo act return with the prerelease single “Fxxk U,” featuring rapper Bumkey, from her soon-to-be-released third EP album “Truth or Dare.” Ga-in first piqued fans’ attention after releasing an erotic teaser of the “Fxxk U” music video, showing the singer’s silhouette behind a steamy shower curtain with a man who was later revealed to be actor Joo Ji-hoon. The sexy 19+ R&B track was released at midnight Tuesday and marks the singer’s solo return, followi

PerformanceJan. 27, 2014

Big Bang to release new album this summer

After returning from its six-city, 16-concert Japan Dome Tour where the five hallyu stars of Big Bang performed in front of 770,000 Japanese fans, leader G-Dragon announced the group’s plans to release a new album. The group recently held three performances at Seoul Olympic Park’s Gymnastics Stadium from Friday to Sunday, drawing in around 36,000 local fans. On the final night of the “2014 BIGBANG +α IN SEOUL” concert series, G-Dragon announced to the audience that the group is working on its ne

PerformanceJan. 27, 2014

Lee Min-ho and Park Shin-hye are an item: Chinese media

Rumors resurfaced Sunday that Lee Min-ho and Park Shin-hye, who costarred in SBS’ hit drama “The Heirs,” are a couple. A slew of Chinese media outlets said that the two stars had been secretly dating for two months, but did not provide solid evidence or details. The agencies of the two stars flatly denied the reports as “nonsense.”　 “The news circulating in China is absolutely groundless. The media outlets have not offered any grounds or comments of the sources to underpin their rep

TelevisionJan. 27, 2014

Fingers, miniature sets, and one’s greatest loves on screen

Belgian choreographer and dancer Michele Anne De Mey has been with her partner, filmmaker Jaco Van Dormael, for the past 13 years, raising four children together. Their highly ambitious, interdisciplinary performance “Kiss & Cry,” set for its Seoul premiere in March, is the couple’s first professional collaboration together. The result is an emotional account of one’s past, especially ex-lovers, which combines miniature sets, “finger dance,” film, text and theater. The title of the show was take

FilmJan. 26, 2014

Mulberry paper products showcased at Paperworld

Korean mulberry paper and everyday products that use it are on view at Paperworld, an international trade fair for paper and stationery, in Frankfurt, Germany. Forty-three kinds of Korean mulberry paper, hand-made by Korean artisans, are on display. Two products using the paper have been selected as the highlights of the trade fair’s Asia Design Excellence exhibition, organized by the German Design Council. Korean mulberry paper, called “hanji” in Korean, was widely used for brushwork calligraph

Arts & DesignJan. 26, 2014

‘Mr. Chow’ comes home with Hong Kong exhibition

HONG KONG (AFP) ― Best known as a celebrity restaurateur whose 1960s mission to change Western attitudes to Chinese food has lasted nearly 50 years, Michael Chow is also a trained painter who, until recently, had not picked up his brushes for decades.Mr. Chow restaurants became glamorous centers for Swinging London, New York’s disco days and today’s Hollywood and art world elite. The man behind them has unveiled his first solo exhibition in Asia, a show he says reflects his complicated relations

PerformanceJan. 26, 2014

Veterans give stage time to new rappers

For aspiring rappers in a country dominated by K-pop, finding a stage to perform on is a daunting task. Most hip-hop shows only book established artists and, with the Internet as the main resource, it’s hard to build a big enough fan base to become established.However, a few established names in the underground scene are giving this elusive opportunity to new rappers.For first-generation artist MC Meta, one half of group Garion, this takes the form of an open mic. Every Sunday at the P-Bro Sound

PerformanceJan. 26, 2014

‘Snowpiercer’ to get special screening at Berlinale

Bong Joon-ho’s dystopian sci-fi thriller “Snowpiercer” has been officially invited to this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, according to the film’s producer CJ Entertainment.The film, which is also Bong’s English language debut, will get special gala screenings at the festival’s “Forum” sidebar from Feb. 7 to 8. The International Forum of New Cinema of Berlinale, “Forum” in short, is dedicated to featuring experimental works as well as historically significant films. Kim Tae-yong’s “La

FilmJan. 26, 2014

New and old stars vie, or team up, for Grammys glory

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Music’s top stars gather Sunday for the Grammys, with artists ranging from the Beatles and veteran rapper Jay-Z to French electro duo Daft Punk and newcomers like New Zealand’s Lorde up for honors.Rapper Kendrick Lamar, pop diva Taylor Swift, chart-topper Justin Timberlake and Seattle hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are also among those vying for prizes at music’s version of the Oscars in Los Angeles.The show will also feature some eye-popping collaborations, including ro

PerformanceJan. 26, 2014

K-pop artists bask in different popularity by region

K-pop artists have established different popularity turfs in different countries, a global survey conducted by CJ E&M showed.According to the poll results released Friday, the most popular K-pop artist globally turned out to be the girl group f(x) who won the highest percentage of votes at 16.4 percent, thanks to their Chinese fandom. K-pop boy band Shinhwa won 15.1 percent and SS501 leader Kim Hyun-joong 9.3 percent, placing them second and third, followed by boy bands EXO and SHINee. EXO won t

Jan. 26, 2014

[Weekender] Redefining meaning of Seollal

Tens of thousands of Koreans will hit the road Thursday, the official start of the Lunar New Year holidays, to head for their hometowns to spend time with parents and relatives. Among them will be Lee Yeon-ju, a 42-year-old housewife living in Seoul. As always, her family will spend the first two days of the holidays with her husband’s parents in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. What is usually a three-hour drive could easily turn into a tedious five- to six-hour journey, but that is not what Lee dr

CultureJan. 24, 2014

[Weekender] Rice-cake soup remains Seollal staple

Tteokguk, that steaming bowl of hot broth studded with slices of white rice cake, is a classic Seollal staple. “In Korea, placing a bowl of tteokguk on the ancestral table for rites on Lunar New Year’s morning is tradition,” said Dadam executive chef Jeong Jae-deok. Even at Dadam, a Korean fine dining restaurant located in Seoul’s Cheongdam-dong, Jeong makes a point of serving rice cake soup on both New Year’s Day and Seollal in lieu of the customary porridge that accompanies meals. The symbolic

FoodJan. 24, 2014