Sungshin fetes opening of fashion design major at Chinese university

Sungshin Women’s University celebrated the opening of a fashion design major modeled after the curriculum in Heibei University of Science and Technology with a joint fashion show at the Chinese school. The Chinese university created the department this month under the Chinese government’s policy to help universities introduce advanced curricula and pedagogies of foreign universities.The Korean university also opened a similar program for an art design major at Sandong Youth University of Politic

PeopleSept. 26, 2013

Park Kyung-ni literary prize goes to Robinson

American author Marilynne Robinson has been announced as this year’s recipient of the third annual Park Kyung-ni literary prize. Robinson, 69, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and essayist best known for her award-winning novels “Housekeeping,” “Gilead” and “Home.” “Gilead,” which is a story based on the fictional autobiography of the Reverend John Ames, landed the author a Pulitzer Prize award for fiction in 2005. “We wanted to award one of American literature’s most talented writers who ha

PeopleSept. 26, 2013

Lebanese envoy disputes news of car accident

The Lebanese ambassador to South Korea stated that news reports about a car accident he had on Wednesday morning were blown out of proportion, saying that the matter has been “handled privately and adequately.”Yonhap News reported Wednesday that Lebanese Ambassador to South Korea Jad El-Hassan was suspected by the Yongsan Police of speeding away in his car after rear-ending another vehicle while at a traffic intersection at around 10 a.m. in the Itaewon district of Seoul. The car was driven by a

PeopleSept. 26, 2013

Male nudes take center stage in Paris

PARIS (AFP) ― The male nude took center stage in Paris on Tuesday as a controversial exhibition celebrating the masculine form went on show at the celebrated Musee d’Orsay.Juxtaposing traditional painting and sculptures with contemporary homoerotic photography, a museum better known for its impressionist masterpieces has brought together more than 200 pieces in a collection designed to stimulate and amuse in equal measure.“It is an exhibition that doesn’t take itself too seriously,” Guy Cogeval,

PerformanceSept. 26, 2013

Joseon musical instruments return from U.S. after 120 years

In 1893, 10 Joseon-era musicians of Joseon (1392-1910) traveled to Chicago on a special mission. King Gojong (1863-1907), aware of the country’s declining prospects due to foreign pressures, sent a group of musicians and craftsmen to join the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition 1893 to promote Joseon as a dignified independent country. At the global event, in which 47 countries participated, traditional housing, women’s accessories, attire and chinaware from Joseon were showcased. The musicians

CultureSept. 26, 2013

Samantha Geimer, out from the shadow of Polanski case

In 2009, Samantha Geimer was watching the daytime talk show “The View” from her then-home in Hawaii when the panel took up the topic of her encounter at age 13 with director Roman Polanski. Polanski had just been arrested in Switzerland, more than three decades after the day in 1977 that changed both their lives.“It wasn’t rape-rape,” co-host Whoopi Goldberg said, setting off a firestorm of criticism. In fact, it was “rape-rape” by nearly any definition except the charge to which Polanski pleade

BooksSept. 26, 2013

Talking to Nicholson Baker about ‘Traveling Sprinkler’

Nicholson Baker never meant to write a sequel to “The Anthologist.” And yet, he explains by phone from his home in Maine, the narrator of that 2010 novel, a poet named Paul Chowder, kept demanding to be heard.“It was more a refusal,” Baker notes, “a refusal on Paul’s part to be overlooked. I was writing a different book, in my own voice, and I kept slipping into his voice. At a certain point, I just gave in.”Baker’s new novel, “Traveling Sprinkler” (Blue Rider), picks up Paul’s story a few years

BooksSept. 26, 2013

A ghostbusting mystery

Help for the HauntedBy John Searles (William Morrow)The title of John Searles’ captivating third thriller, “Help for the Haunted,” refers to the headline of a personal ad run by the late Sylvester Mason when he and his wife set up shop as Christian ghostbusters. In the years preceding their shooting in a church ― a scene that opens the book ― the couple became well-known due to a muckraking book by a local reporter.The events surrounding her parents’ murder are narrated by Sylvie, 14, now in the

BooksSept. 26, 2013

The Ephron sisters, united by words

 Sister Mother Husband Dog: EtcBy Delia Ephron(Blue Rider)When filmmaker and writer Nora Ephron was in the hospital last year undergoing treatment for leukemia, she sent her younger sister, Delia Ephron, a bouquet of flowers ― not just any flowers, but “two-dozen gorgeous plump peach roses in full bloom,” as Delia recalls in her new essay collection, “Sister Mother Husband Dog: Etc.”The gesture was thoughtful, but it was also, according to Ephron, “a heartbreaking way to have a bit of control” ―

BooksSept. 26, 2013

S. Korean literary legend Choi In-ho dies

Popular South Korean novelist Choi In-ho died of cancer on Wednesday at the age of 68. He started his career by winning a competition sponsored by the local daily Hanguk Ilbo in 1963 with his short novel "Through a Wall Hole."   He wrote a number of bestsellers since the 1970s, including "Whale Hunting," "Winter Wanderer" and "Deep Blue Night," with many of them used as originals for movies and TV dramas. (Yonhap News)

PeopleSept. 25, 2013

Bas relief statue of Buddha, Tripitaka Koreana blocks shown to the public

HAPCHEON, South Gyeongsang Province ― The smile of Buddha on a rock cliff in Mount Gayasan in South Gyeongsang Province opened to the public on Wednesday, the first time in 1,200 years. The “Maaebul,” a 7.5-meter-tall Buddha image carved into a large granite boulder, is situated about 2.7 kilometers from Haeinsa Temple in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province, and has been used as a prayer site among monks since its creation during the Silla Kingdom (B.C. 57-A.D. 935). According to Buddhist art tr

CultureSept. 25, 2013

Yoel Levi hopes to patch up, enhance KBS Symphony Orchestra

After being left vacant for nearly a year, the post of music director for the KBS Symphony Orchestra has been taken up by maestro Yoel Levi. Born in Romania but raised in Israel, Levi, with his rich international experience including the U.S. and Europe, is said to be the perfect fit for the orchestra, which aims at becoming the best in Asia. Levi has performed with the orchestra five times as a guest conductor in the past 16 years. And he will be leading the “Masterpiece Series III” concert on

PerformanceSept. 25, 2013

City museum opens northern Seoul branch

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has opened a new museum in the northern part of the city, an area long considered to have been excluded from the capital’s main cultural events. The northern Seoul branch of the Seoul Museum of Art opened to the public on Tuesday with the goal of bringing cultural benefits to residents.“The new museum will focus on showing the public that it has its basis in the local community,” said Kim Hong-hee, director of the Seoul Museum of Art. The SeMA has two other bran

PerformanceSept. 25, 2013

2013 MacArthur ‘genius grant’ winners unveiled

CHICAGO (AP) ― The old man couldn’t control his diabetes, no matter how closely he followed his doctor’s instructions. A nurse visited him to find out why the insulin wasn’t working, only to watch the nearly blind man inadvertently inject himself with a syringe filled with nothing but air.It sounds simple to track a patient outside of office visits. But the Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation found the idea genius.Jeffrey Brenner, a doctor and founder of the organization

CultureSept. 25, 2013

Upcoming K-pop releases to usher in fall season

October is set to be a star-studded month with a long list of K-pop acts who have announced their return to the scene with the release of new albums or EPs. Some of next month’s highly anticipated releases include K-pop idols IU, T-ara, Nine Muses and Kim Jae-joong of JYJ. However, the list doesn’t end there: Other scheduled K-pop releases include new beats from groups such as Block B, Boys Republic, Monday Kids and others. Superstar rapper Psy previously stated that his upcoming studio album wa

PerformanceSept. 25, 2013

Air Force pilot trainees set safety record for flying

Pilot trainees of the 213th Flying Training Squadron of the 3rd Training Wing have set a record of 200,000 hours of accident-free flying, the Air Force said. The record was set Tuesday when squadron leader Lt. Col. Kim Joong-soo, 39, and student pilot 1st Lt. Lee Jin-seon, 24, safely landed a KT-1 Korean training aircraft during a practice mission.No member of the squadron has had an accident in flying since Aug. 30, 1983, during which time they clocked up 200,000 hours of flight time.  No other

PeopleSept. 25, 2013