‘Ride Along’ rolls into top spot at U.S. box office

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― “Ride Along” arrived in first place at the weekend box office. The Universal buddy cop comedy featuring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube debuted with $41.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The strong opening for “Ride Along” marks the biggest debut for a film released during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend and puts it on track to top the $40.1 million record set by the 2008 monster movie “Cloverfield” for the biggest opening of January. “It certainly appear

FilmJan. 20, 2014

[Photo News] Kumho asiana meets Vietnamese vice premier

PeopleJan. 20, 2014

Lee Hyo-ri to debut as producer with new album for SPICA

Sexy diva Lee Hyo-ri is to make her debut as a producer with a new album for the girl group SPICA. “Lee coached the styling the members and visited the studio set to film the music video for the song. Her husband Lee Sang-soon also took part as a session guitarist,” said an official from SPICA’s agency B2M Entertainment.Lee starred with the rookie girl group on cable channel On Style on a program training them how to become “real stars.” The senior singer has earlier worked collaboratively on SP

PerformanceJan. 20, 2014

‘Dad, Where Are We Going?’ season 2 to kick off with new members

The new celebrity family lineup for the second season of MBC’s reality show “Dad! Where Are We Going?” was officially revealed at the end of the episode aired on Sunday.This Sunday’s episode showed the co-hosts of the show -- five celebrity fathers and their children -- wrapping up their series with an overnight trip to Jeju island. The new faces include rapper and TV host Kim Jin-pyo, actor Ryu-jin and former soccer star Ahn Jung-hwan and their sons. Three fathers from season one -- Sung Dong-i

TelevisionJan. 20, 2014

Roh nostalgia shakes up box office

Choi Yoon-jeong, an office worker in her 20s, has never considered herself someone who is “interested in politics.” The Seoulite, who enjoys keeping up with the latest fashion trends and watching musicals, however, left the theater in tears after watching “The Attorney,” a film based on a national security case in which Roh Moo-hyun, who was later elected president, defends the accused.“I think I was just really angry at the injustice portrayed in the film,” Choi told The Korea Herald. “I think

FilmJan. 19, 2014

Legendary media artist Nam June Paik remembered

Legendary media artist Nam June Paik’s life and work will be memorialized in an event at Nam June Paik Art Center Saturday. The center will mark the eighth anniversary of his death with a contemporary media art performance and an exhibition tour. The center is a museum dedicated to exhibiting his works and researching his art world, and has previously held memorials with art performances that illustrate his lasting influence. This year’s event will showcase an audiovisual performance by Korean s

PerformanceJan. 19, 2014

YG Entertainment to launch family world tour

Officials at YG Entertainment, home to some of the nation’s most popular K-pop acts, have announced that it will be launching the “YG Family 2014 World Tour” in April. The tour will include YG’s biggest acts, including world star Psy, Big Bang, 2NE1, hip-hop trio Epik High, the newly debuted Lee Hi and idol boy band Winner, and will take the artists to various locations in Japan, China and Korea. The tour will kick off in Japan at the Osaka Kyocera Dome for a two-day performance on April 12 and

PerformanceJan. 19, 2014

Kara to make comeback this year

Following the recent news of Kara members Nicole and Ji-young’s decisions to leave the popular K-pop girl group, representatives of the girls’ agency DSP Media announced that despite their departure, which is shrinking the five-member act into a trio, Kara will in fact continue on as a group. Although nothing has been decided on whether or not the agency will look for replacements, an official of DSP publicly stated that the remaining three members will focus on their individual activities durin

PerformanceJan. 19, 2014

TVXQ’s ‘Tense’ No. 2 on World Albums chart

Ten-year K-pop idol veterans TVXQ have landed the No. 2 spot on the U.S. Billboard’s World Albums chart this week with the duo’s seventh Korean studio album “Tense.” “Tense” was dropped on Jan. 6, more than a year after the duo’s chart topping “Catch Me” album.The album was released in commemoration of TVXQ’s 10th Anniversary, which fell on Dec. 26 and was ranked on the iTunes Top 10 Charts in nine countries including Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Hong Kon

PerformanceJan. 19, 2014

[Photo News] Online consolations to Sichuan quake victims

PeopleJan. 19, 2014

[Photo News] Global outreah

PeopleJan. 19, 2014

Calendar

 DanceA scene from “Full Moon” (LG Arts Center)“Full Moon” by Pina Bausch: It’s been almost five years since Germany’s legendary choreographer Pina Bausch died, but her works are still as popular as ever. Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal is returning to Seoul this year with her 2006 work “Vollmond (Full Moon).” The troupe last performed in Korea in 2010. The dance is well-known for using a giant rock and deep water that take up a large part of the stage, while its themes include the celebration of

PerformanceJan. 17, 2014

Boxoffice: Miss Granny, Oldboy, Blue is the Warmest Color

Miss Granny (Korea)Opening Jan. 22Comedy. Drama. Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk. Oh Mal-soon (Na Moon-hee), a 70-something grandmother, lives with her son and his family. She is controlling and shameless, and has a difficult relationship with her depressed daughter-in-law. She is proud of her son, a university professor, and the fact that she managed to raise him by herself against all odds. One day, Mal-soon’s daughter-in-law gets hospitalized after suddenly collapsing, and doctors strongly advise

PerformanceJan. 17, 2014

Eyelike: Girl’s Day has ‘Something’ to offer

 Girl’s Day has ‘Something’ to offerGirl’s Day “Everyday 3”(LOEN Entertainment)Since the release of its new EP, Girl’s Day has been the talk of the town in the K-pop scene for its bold and seductive dance moves and outfits that accompany their new song, “Something.” The group has indeed shed its cutesy image with its new song, successfully situating itself at the forefront of the long line of “sexy” girl groups in the Korean music industry.Even with all the attention about the dance moves aside,

PerformanceJan. 17, 2014

‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ is pitch-perfect

The latest character to be fed into the Coen brothers’ metaphorical wood chipper is a 1960s Greenwich Village folk singer. Yet their bleak, bittersweet comedy of frustration, “Inside Llewyn Davis,” is surprisingly empathetic toward its embattled title character. To a rare degree, the Coens encourage our emotional identification with Llewyn. He’s a gifted, pompous, sensitive, arrogant, sympathetic cad, played without a false note by Oscar Isaac.Sure, Llewyn endures an avalanche of abuse, most of

PerformanceJan. 17, 2014

A spell in Japan’s ‘Hells’

At its best, travel involves stepping out of one’s comfort zone, and one way to do this in Japan is to step into a comfort zone ― a hot spring facility, or as they’re known locally, onsen. My previous visits to Japan were lacking in cultural immersion, so this time I decided to concentrate my short stay in the city of Beppu, arguably the world’s first hot spring tourist town.Attracting sore and stressed-out visitors since the Edo Period, the Beppu-Oita area has the highest volume of outflowing h

TravelJan. 17, 2014

New meets old in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH ― I’ve never been to a city that loves itself more than Pittsburgh.This is not a criticism. After three days, I also loved Pittsburgh, a quaint, pretty city with interesting people doing interesting things, and a healthy dash of Old World, working-class charm.But ― and this is where Pittsburgh won me over ― it is not a city impressed with itself.New York, San Francisco and Portland, Ore., are wonderful cities that can’t resist preening when passing mirrors to remind themselves just ho

TravelJan. 17, 2014