The barrel-aged cocktail trend has yet to really take off in South Korea, but that did not deter bar B28 co-owner Mike Soldner from teaming up with major drinks business Diageo Korea to put them on the menu of B28’s new Seoul outlet.According to Soldner, the barrel-aged cocktails should be ready within several months.Essentially cocktails that are concocted and then put in small wooden barrels and aged for around six weeks, barrel-aged cocktails are, according to Soldner, “incredibly smooth.”“Ba

CultureJune 19, 2013

Today’s fashion lines are blurry, and it’s not my old 60-plus-year-old eyes that are the problem. No, I see the confusion among many of my fellow baby boomers when it comes to what fashion look is right for our age.Is the line between what is “too young to wear” fading? Have the rules that our moms once held about how to dress for our age group vanished? Are we mystified about how to dress when the media typically only shows fashion ideas more appropriate for a 20-year-old? Yes to all.Blame it o

CultureJune 19, 2013

The increased local popularity of single malt whisky is no industry secret. Since major drinks business Diageo Korea started importing single malt whisky in 2006, the niche market has seen a boom. According to brand manager Ma Hyung-min, sales of Diageo’s single malt whiskies have exceeded double-digit growth every year. The portfolio has expanded from just one to more than 20 single malt whiskies now. Single malt is even weathering the economic downturn. Diageo’s single malt whisky saw a 16 per

FoodJune 19, 2013

Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” is one of the most familiar classical music pieces here ― it is the default ringback tone for mobile phone users and one of the most frequently suggested pieces for novices. As such, it has lost freshness for many people due to its overexposure. But in Tuesday’s Academy of Ancient Music’s concert, the Italian composer’s 292-year-old piece was reincarnated into a more classical yet somehow softer, vibrant, light-hearted and romantic serenade to the changing seasons. T

CultureJune 19, 2013

Famed Korean director Kim Ki-duk and teacher-turned-filmmaker Shin Su-won are struggling against the state’s film-rating system after being given restricted ratings for their latest works. Earlier this week, filmmakers asked the Korea Media Rating Board to lift the ban on the screening of director Kim’s upcoming film which deals with incest. They also asked the agency’s director, Park Sunny, to resign from her position.The filmmakers’ public call came after Kim’s film, titled “Moebius,” received

FilmJune 19, 2013

In paintings by artist Moon Ji-yeon, what you see on the surface of the canvas is not all there is. You will need an LED lighting to bring out the hidden image in the back ― a desolate urban landscape, characterized by a jumble of utility pole cables, transforms into a forest where a deer runs under the shining sun. That’s the complete image when two contrasting scenes merge with the lighting. Behind such exploration of blending painting with other mediums is Moon, 34, who is showcasing 20 of hi

CultureJune 19, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) ― Following crowdfunding campaigns from “Veronica Mars’’ and Zach Braff, James Franco is seeking to raise $500,000 to bankroll a trilogy of movies.Franco on Monday night started a campaign on IndieGogo, a crowd-funding site that allows people to keep the money they raise even if the project doesn’t come to fruition. Franco isn’t trying to direct the films; he is raising money so that a collection of young filmmakers can adapt his 2011 short story collection, “Palo Alto.’’Franco ple

FilmJune 19, 2013

It’s been a long time coming for hip-hop crew Bulhandang. While the crew technically formed last year, the group has been working on its latest album, released June 12, for about three years. But just sticking together is a feat, considering the group is made up of 21 rappers, DJs and producers ― most of whom have been in Korean hip-hop since its start.“We’ve known each other for over eight to 15 years,” said rapper MC Meta in an interview with The Korea Herald last week. MC Meta is currently fe

PerformanceJune 19, 2013

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s top air carrier, said Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Boeing Co. to buy 11 fuel-efficient aircraft as part of its efforts to modernize its fleet and better deal with environmental issues.Korean Air said five B747-8I and six B777-300ER passenger jets will be gradually delivered from 2016 onwards if the purchase is completed through further negotiations with Boeing.The MOU was signed between Cho Won-tae, an executive vice preside

PeopleJune 19, 2013

Korean football star Park Ji-sung, who plays for Queens Park Rangers in the English league, was spotted enjoying a date with SBS announcer Kim Min-ji on Tuesday night.Sports Seoul, a local sports daily, ran 10 photographs of their date on its website Wednesday. The photos show Park and Kim together at Hangang Riverside Park. In one of them, they are sitting on a bench side by side and watching the FIFA World Cup qualifier between Korea and Iran on a mobile phone together.Kim’s mother, Oh Myung-h

PeopleJune 19, 2013

A growing number of Korean films are borrowing storylines from webtoons -- and “Killer Toon” is bringing the simple webtoon-based movie genre to a new level. The film, directed by Kim Yong-geun, takes a webtoon itself as the key motif. In the movie, Jiyoon, a horror webtoon artist played by Lee Si-young, submits her manuscript to an editor, barely meeting the deadline. What‘s scary is that Jiyoon’s episodes involve the editor‘s private. Then, a murder takes place. Detective Kicheol, played by Eo

FilmJune 19, 2013

Singer Lee Hyori has attempted to play with her image a bit in the music video for “Going Crazy,” from her fifth album “Monochrome.”The music video, unveiled Wednesday, features a male version of Lee, looking very handsome with a mustache and dressed head to toe in a man’s outfit. Having transformed herself into a “Miss Korea” and then a “Bad Girl,” now she appears as a bad boy flirting with a handful of pinup girls who are the actual candidates from modeling-based reality show “Korea’s Next Top

PerformanceJune 19, 2013

“Nanjung Ilgi,” or “War Diary,” by 16th-century naval hero Yi Sun-shin, and archives of Korea’s Saemaul Movement in the 1960s have been listed to the UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, the Cultural Heritage Administration said Wednesday. Their inclusion brings the total number of South Korea’s heritage items on the UNESCO list to 11, the highest for an Asian country. The decision was made during the 11th session of the International Advisory Committee that opened in Gwangju on Tuesday when t

CultureJune 19, 2013

KBS TV announcer Chung Se-jin, 39, will marry a man 10 years her junior. The former presenter of KBS primetime news show “9 O’clock News,” Chung reportedly sent out wedding invitations to her colleagues earlier last week. The groom-to-be is a fellow Yonsei University alumnus and currently works at a commercial bank in downtown Seoul, sources said. Chung, who found fandom for her intelligent and modest news reading, will wed at a cathedral in Seoul on June 21. Chung’s former colleague, former KBS

June 18, 2013

Five-member boy band FTISLAND will sing the closing song of animated film “Toriko,” which will hit cinemas in Japan on July 27, the entertainers’ agency said Thursday. The song “Shiawa Seoli” will be released as the group’s 11th Japanese single cover on July 24. “Toriko” is based on a comic with same name released through Shonen Jump magazine since 2008. It follows the journey of Toriko, a gourmand, in search of the best ingredients around the world. The comic book was made into a TV animation f

June 18, 2013

Aiming to take tourists “from Seoul to Korea,” the K-shuttle is the nation’s only foreigner-only tour bus designed to encourage visitors to venture beyond the city limits of Seoul and experience all the splendors that Korea has to offer. It is estimated that 60 percent of tourists who visit Korea remain in Seoul without ever traveling outside the city limits. Supported in part by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by the local offices of U.S. Travel, the K-shuttle tour bus was estab

June 18, 2013