Film star Lee Byung-hun has been given the title of publicity ambassador for the 38th conference of the Association of Film Commissioners International to be held in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2.An official news conference announcing Lee’s participation in this year’s AFCI Cineposium conference will take place Sept. 4.Commissions, producers, investors and professionals in the field of film from all over the world are expected to participate in the September gather

Aug. 28, 2013

Korean and expat musicians will gather to perform at a CLASH charity event Friday in aid of women and children affected by war.CLASH is regular event that brings together Korean and expat musicians in both rock and hip-hop four times a year to raise money for marginalized people. This event is in aid of the Nabi Fund, which was created by two victims of Japanese military sexual slavery, Kim Bok-dong and Gil Won-ok, in coordination with the Korean Council for the Women Drafted into Military Sexua

Expat LivingAug. 27, 2013

The family of an American teacher with a rare brain disease is working to take him home so that he can continue treatment.Sean Jones, an assistant teacher based in Gyeonggi Province, was hospitalized in May with encephalitis NMDA, an auto-immune disease that attacks the brain.But treatment has been stopped and, although the U.S. Embassy had arranged for a doctor to fly with him on Sept. 4 to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he will be entitled to state support for his medical care, the hospital will

Expat LivingAug. 27, 2013

British artists Jake and Dinos Chapman, brothers as well as artists, make their artworks as horrific and awful as possible. They paint the faces of wealthy men in 19th century portraits, making them look decomposed with the deformed image revealing rotting veins and muscles underneath the skin. The portraits bought at an auction by the artists were redone to point out how futile their wealth and life has become as their paintings, once a symbol of wealth, ended up for sale. The portrait is the l

PerformanceAug. 27, 2013

The Palmandaejangyeong, or Tripitaka Koreana as it is known in English, was made entirely on the southern island of Namhae rather than Ganghwado Island, as previously thought, a group of scholars said Tuesday. The groundbreaking study is expected to lead to further research into the 800-year-old Buddhist canon enlisted on the UNESCO Memory of the World register. According to Park Sang-guk, director of the Korea Cultural Heritage Institute, the wooden printing blocks appear to have been made at a

CultureAug. 27, 2013

About 250 Korean Buddhists have traveled to India to receive teaching from the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama for three days, it was reported Tuesday. According to international media outlets, the three-day teaching started on Sunday upon request from Korean devotees. The talks covered included Tsongkhapa’s “Concise Treatises on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment“ and were held at the main temple in Dharamshala, India, the Dalai Lama’s home and the site of the Tibetan government-in-exi

CultureAug. 27, 2013

Imagine a night filled with thumping house music, a creative theme, spectacular theatrics, high-flying acrobatics, mesmerizing lights and special effects, explosive fireworks and tens of thousands of music lovers gathering to dance the night away. This is “Sensation,” an annual one-day, all-night indoor dance party event, and it is returning to Seoul.The Sensation event is difficult to describe and capture all in one breath as it combines so many different elements of music and theater to create

PerformanceAug. 27, 2013

Korea TV and Radio Writers Association chairperson Lee Kum-lim has seen it all. The 65-year-old veteran writer witnessed the boom of the local drama industry from its relatively nascent beginnings in the 1980s to its current formidable status as the vanguard of the Korean Wave in the 21st century. Now, as the jury chair for the 8th Seoul International Drama Awards, Lee has gained further global perspective on the role that Korean dramas are playing in the overseas market as well. “Koreans love d

TelevisionAug. 27, 2013

2PM member Junho will be appearing in the movie “Hyeopnyeo,” directed by Park Heung-shik, alongside Korean film stars Lee Byung-hun, Chun Do-yeon and Kim Go-eun. A specific role for the boy band member has not been revealed yet, but the production team announced that official filming for the movie will begin in September. This will not be the first time Junho has made an on-screen appearance. He made his film debut playing the role of the host of a music show in horror flick “White: The Melody o

Aug. 27, 2013

Actress and model Park Han-byul has denied rumors that she has broken up with singer Se7en, her boyfriend of 11 years, and that she is currently dating baseball player Ryu Hyun-jin.On Tuesday morning the actress’ agency, JF Entertainment, released a statement dispelling rumors of a breakup with Se7en and firmly denied that the actress was dating the L.A. Dodgers’ star pitcher.“Park Han-byul is still dating Se7en and the rumor of her dating Ryu Hyun-jin is just something from the tabloids,” a rep

Aug. 27, 2013

Korean-American singer John Park recently held a joint performance with American pop duo Swan Dive in the middle of a traditional Korean market in Incheon for the recording of TV channel MBC Music’s “Picnic Live Sound, Landscape.” Nashville-based Swan Dive, which appeared at a rock festival in Korea, made a special performance for the show, which aired Monday night. The production team for “Picnic Live Sound, Landscape” wanted to arrange for an artist to perform with the duo and decided to invit

Aug. 27, 2013

HELSINKI ― You wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it: More than 100 young Finns, mostly teenage girls, were dancing to the latest K-pop tunes at the Gloria Culture Center in the Finnish capital city of Helsinki on the evening of Aug. 10. The dance hall with a large stage was filled with people dressed in Seoul street fashion dancing to the songs of SHINee, GD&TOP and 2NE1 at the “Annyeong (Hello) Party.” The blondes and brunettes with fair skin sang along and even mimicked the sophisticated raps

Aug. 27, 2013

American artist Jin Meyerson is holding a solo exhibition titled “Endless Frontier” from Aug. 28 to Oct. 6 at Hakgojae Gallery in Sogyeok-dong, central Seoul.The artist takes images from the media, particularly magazines, television and the Internet, and then distorts them by stretching them out, reducing them, layering and recoloring them. His digital experimentation using a computer combined with the traditional hands-on technique of oil painting creates complex, multidimensional pieces. The f

PerformanceAug. 26, 2013

The local hip-hop scene has been explosive this past week with disses flying in every direction as several popular rap stars decided to carry out their feuds publicly, and with some pretty harsh verses. It all started two weeks ago with the release of the hip-hop track “Control,” by American rap artists Big Sean, featuring Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica. The single basically called out a handful of the new rappers in the U.S. music industry, such as Wale, Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky and D

PerformanceAug. 26, 2013