MOSCOW (AFP) ― Ousted Bolshoi ballet star Nikolai Tsiskaridze said in graphic court testimony Monday that deep personal rivalries were behind the vicious acid attack against the troupe’s venerable artistic director.One of Russia’s most cherished cultural institutions has been riven by controversy ever since an assailant splashed a mixture of urine and acid in the face of Sergei Filin outside his Moscow apartment block on Jan. 17.The assault nearly blinded the 43-year-old former dancer while fuel

PerformanceNov. 26, 2013

Just a year after the first Seoul run of the popular Broadway musical “Wicked” ― performed by an Australian cast ― Korea celebrated the opening of the first Korean-language rendition of the show last week, starring local big-name stars as the two beloved witches.Sunday’s show was greeted with tumultuous applause and a standing ovation at the Charlotte Theater in Jamsil, Seoul. The audience repeatedly cheered as actresses Oak Joo-hyun and Kim Bo-kyung took their bows. “Wicked,” which is marking i

PerformanceNov. 26, 2013

This year alone, the Korean film industry has made leaps and bounds in its attempts to capture a more global audience with Korean-directed, English-speaking international films such as “Stoker,” “The Last Stand” and “Snowpiercer.” Last week, the 2013 Dicon International Content Conference ― hosted by the Korea Creative Contents Agency ― conducted the “Korean Americans in Hollywood Mentor Seminar,” in which a number of Hollywood executives and U.S. entertainment industry leaders gathered to share

Nov. 26, 2013

K-pop superstars TVXQ will be performing at Japan’s Tokyo Dome for the third year in a row. They are scheduled to hold a total of 26 performances for their “2014 Japan Live Tour.”It is the first time foreign artists are holding a concert at Tokyo Dome for three years in succession. TVXQ was also the first foreign group to ever hold a concert at the Tokyo Dome.The duo will kick off the tour at Yokohama Arena on April 22 and move on to 11 different cities in Japan, ending in Osaka Dome on June 18.

Nov. 26, 2013

Singer and comedian Park Myung-soo will join rap duo Dynamic Duo on the stage at “Countdown Seoul,” a music festival that will kick off on Dec. 31 in Times Square, Yeongdeungpo. The line-up includes Dynamic Duo, Norazo, Jay Park, IDIOTAPE, Rhythm Power, Squatters and more. Park Myung-soo will be performing as a DJ under the name Great Park. “Artists with both skill and popularity will be performing,” a staff member of the festival stated, adding, “We are working to organize a memorable end-of-th

Nov. 26, 2013

Boy band SHINee is heading to Shanghai to hold the “SHINee Festival Tour,” a concert that will commemorate the group’s 5-year anniversary. On top of preparations for the performances, the group is also preparing a special stage for the concert, which will take place on Nov. 30 in Shanghai Gymnasium. “We are paying a lot of attention to the lighting and musical aspects of the stage,” a representative stated, adding, “We are checking even the smallest detail to make a perfect performance that fans

Nov. 26, 2013

Thorough research, good maintenance and promotion of returned cultural assets are as important as the repatriation of these treasures, said the chief of the state organization in charge of gathering Korean assets held overseas. It is also crucial to forge ties with the owners of the items in order to induce more people to return valuable Korean items to the country in the future, said Ahn Hwi-joon, chairman of the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, on Monday.“There are many valuable c

CultureNov. 25, 2013

A group exhibition of young Korean and Chinese artists opened at Songzhuang Art Center in Beijing Saturday, showcasing artwork in diverse mediums and dealing with various topics in contemporary art. The exhibition, held by city-run museums in Seoul and Beijing, presents photographs, installations, video works and drawings by 10 Korean and Chinese artists in their mid-30s to early 40s whose works shed light on their engagement with reality and the society in which they live.“The exhibition aims t

PerformanceNov. 25, 2013

The popular cutesy and energetic girl group Crayon Pop, which took the concept of bobbing around in athletic gear and helmets to a whole new level, is once again finding themselves under netizen fire as a new photo has emerged online raising the question of whether or not Crayon Pop copied its concept from a J-pop girl group. Earlier this August a number of netizens brought to light the strikingly similar stage costuming concept of Crayon Pop and Japanese girl group Momoiro Clover Z. Side-by-sid

PerformanceNov. 25, 2013

Korean animator Yeon Sang-ho’s latest film “The Fake” won Best Animated Film Award at Festival Internacional de Cide de Gijon, an annual international film festival held in Gijon, Spain.The film, the second feature-length work by Yeon, is a powerful tale of truth and deception, taking place in a rural Korean town on the verge of being flooded. It competed against 10 films in the section, and shared the prize with American animator Bill Plympton’s “Cheatin.”The movie’s plot develops as the villag

FilmNov. 25, 2013

PeopleNov. 25, 2013

Retired Lt. Gen. Chae Myung-shin, who served as first commander of the Republic of Korea forces in Vietnam (ROKFV) during the Vietnam War, died of chronic illness on Monday. He was 87.He graduated from the Korea Military Academy in 1949 and entered the Korean War in 1950 as a second lieutenant. Chae was appointed as the first ROKFV commanding officer in 1965 and led the Korean troops in the Vietnam War until 1969. He is known for adopting tough tactics against Vietnamese guerrillas.He retired as

PeopleNov. 25, 2013