Kim Ki-duk accusers cleared of false accusation

An actress and producers of a TV show that accused filmmaker Kim Ki-duk of sexual assault have been cleared on charges of false accusations, which had been filed by Kim himself.Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Thursday that it has decided not to indict on charges of false accusations the actress who publicly claimed that Kim had coerced her into a sex scene and slapped her, or the producers of MBC’s investigative journalism show “PD Notebook” that aired her claims. Kim had admitte

CultureJan. 3, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Ulsan Grand Park Light Festival This year’s Ulsan Grand Park Light Festival features five different themes under “Draw the Light Dream” until Jan. 27.The highlight of the festival is the 11-meter star structure in front of the Rose Garden Fountain, where a multimedia light show will be displayed. Admission fees are 2,000 won for adults, 1,000 won for teenagers and 500 won for children. Senior citizens 65 years old and above can enter for free, though ID is required. It is open to visitors of all

TravelJan. 3, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Aquaman(US)Opened Dec. 19Action, Adventure, Fantasy Directed by James WanHalf-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) struggles with his identity while his father still misses his wife, former Atlantian queen Atlanna. Arthur keeps turning down the request by Mera (Amber Heard) and Vulko (Willem Dafoe) to challenge his half brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), for the throne of Atlantis, but he is forced to take action when Orm plans to wage a war on humanity.Take Point(Korea)Opened Dec. 26Act

FilmJan. 3, 2019

[K-talk] Jimin’s solo ‘Promise’ hits 13m streams within 3 days

The first self-composed song from Jimin of boy band BTS, “Promise” was streamed over 13 million times in its first two days and 20 hours since release, the quickest pace among any solo efforts from the bandmates.When the song was released Monday via global music platform SoundCloud, the site was momentarily paralyzed with users rushing to stream the track.  (BTS official blog)“Promise” not only topped the New Hot chart and Top 50 chart of SoundCloud, but regional music charts including for the U

PerformanceJan. 3, 2019

Culture Minister says more foreign visitors a major goal for 2019

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-hwan on Wednesday said one of the biggest goals for this year is to boost the number of foreigners visiting Korea to 18 million, the highest-ever total.“It may be a burden (to attract 18 million foreigners), but we will take the responsibility of pursuing this,” Do said in his New Year’s address. “Officials have said that such goals have been set under the premise that inter-Korea relations will continue to improve and more group tourists will visi

CultureJan. 2, 2019

Daniel Henney donates W200m to charity

Korean-American actor Daniel Henney has donated a total of 200 million won ($178,000) to the Community Chest of Korea. His donation exceeds the 100 million won needed to qualify to become a member of the Honor Society of the charity organization.  (Daniel Henney Instagram)The Community Chest said Henney’s contributions will be delivered to the Purme Foundation, Seungil Hope Foundation, Pearl S. Buck Foundation and Plan Korea to help people in need.“I hope my donation will help formulate a philan

FilmJan. 2, 2019

[Exclusive] Terrence Howard to launch audition program in Korea

Lucious Lyon of the popular drama series “Empire” will reincarnate in South Korea in April, when leading man Terrence Howard launches a TV audition program here to seek fresh acting talent. Visiting his fiancee and ex-wife Mira Pak’s country for the first time, Howard met with The Korea Herald to share his plans for the spring. “My wife was looking at me and saying, ‘My God. Half of the talent that you’ve seen in most of these shows don’t compare to the amount of heart and talent that I find in

FilmJan. 2, 2019

[K-talk] Wanna One’s Yoon Ji-sung to star in ‘The Days’

Yoon Ji-sung, leader of the recently disbanded Wanna One, will star in the musical “The Days,” which will be staged in Seoul from Feb. 22.According to Insight Entertainment representing the musical on Wednesday, Yoon will take the role of Kang Moo-young, a witty, free-spirited soul who works for the secret service. “I’m grateful to get such an opportunity after my activities end as a member of Wanna One,” said Yoon. “I’ve always had a desire to appear in a musical. I’ll show a new side of myself

PerformanceJan. 2, 2019

Maestro Chung Myung-whun welcomes new year in Venice

Maestro Chung Myung-whun kicked off 2019 by conducting “New Year’s Concert 2019” in Venice, Italy. The annual concert, in its 16th edition, was performed four times from Saturday to Tuesday at the historic Teatro La Fenice, also known as the La Fenice opera house. Chung led the venue’s previous New Year’s concert, too.  Maestro Chung Myung-whun (Teatro La Fenice)The first part of the concert was exclusively orchestral, with the performance of Beethoven Symphony No. 7. The second half was dedicat

PerformanceJan. 2, 2019

[K-talk] Hwang Chi-yeul to release 2nd album in 12 years

Singer Hwang Chi-yeul will return with a new album on Jan. 21.The upcoming record will be his second album since his debut in 2007 with the album “Five Senses.” Representing the singer, How Entertainment said Wednesday, “The album will feature Hwang’s unique yet sentimental voice.” (Yonhap)Hwang released the EP “Be Myself” in April last year. The 36-year-old singer rose to stardom in 2015 after nearly a decade in obscurity. Since then, Hwang has established himself as one of the hottest K-pop so

PerformanceJan. 2, 2019

Culture complexes curate interest, taste and lifestyle

In recent years, the term “culture complex” has often been seen on social media. Postings showing people spending time at these spaces are shared often, attached with hashtags that read “culture life,” “leisure time” and “relaxation.”Culture complexes have risen as popular city destinations for young Seoulites. Buildings housing exhibition halls, cafes, restaurants and design shops bill themselves as culture complexes. According to last year’s “Where to Live,” a book by Yoo Hyun-joon, an archite

CultureJan. 1, 2019

High-profile Korean YouTuber switches to Twitch

YouTube star Na Dong-hyun, better known as “Great Library,” began streaming his shows on Twitch on Monday, steering many of his fans to the game-streaming platform.Na, who has some 1.9 million YouTube subscribers, is one of the most recognizable names on YouTube in Korea. However, he announced Sunday that his platform of choice for live streaming will be Twitch. 　 (Screenshot from YouTube)“Using the YouTube live platform for two years, I experienced many troubles. There were some features that d

TelevisionJan. 1, 2019

EXO’s Kai and Black Pink’s Jennie reportedly dating

There might be a new power couple in K-pop on the horizon as reports have revealed EXO’s Kai and Black Pink’s Jennie are dating.The singers, from two of K-pop’s most popular groups, were seen walking while holding hands in a park in Mapo-gu in Seoul, Dispatch reported Tuesday morning.(Yonhap)Pictures obtained by the media outlet show the two going for a drive around Sangam-dong before having a stroll at Haneul Park where the two were seen layered up in a coat and a scarf to brace for the cold.Th

PerformanceJan. 1, 2019

[Herald Review] YB Band wraps up ‘Momentum’ tour in Seoul with unwavering rock spirit

Wrapping up a whirlwind of a year with ear-splitting rock sound, over 4,000 concertgoers at YB Band’s Seoul concert either let go of their bygone days or brought up long-buried emotions with the band’s thought-provoking songs and stories. If there’s any reason why people chose the veteran rock band over younger and trendier musicians for their year-end concert, it’s probably the band’s masterful onstage tricks that it has crafted for over two decades and its ever-developing musicality. And YB Ba

PerformanceDec. 31, 2018

[Herald Interview] Korean duo seeks to spread happiness through singing

YouTube is full of videos of cover songs, but not all amateur artists win over viewers. Coed duo Darlim&Hamabal however, was special from the start. When the two debuted on YouTube in December 2017, many saw their potential and predicted the duo would succeed.Darlim&Hamabal soon grew to become one of the most distinguished artists in Korea’s YouTube scene, garnering more than 184,000 viewers in a year. The team also made a name for itself among global music fans by singing J-pop and popular movi

PerformanceDec. 31, 2018

Culture Ministry apologizes for blacklist, gets blasted for insincerity

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Monday issued another apology for the blacklisting of cultural figures under past administrations, but the press conference was mired by complaints from participating artists that the ministry lacked the resolve to prevent a repeat.Culture Minister Do Jong-hwan, speaking at a press conference in Seoul on the topic of its year-end report, confirmed that penalties would be imposed against 131 officials involved in the blacklisting scandal -- 68 from t

CultureDec. 31, 2018

Lawmaker praises San E’s ‘Feminist’ in rant about gender inequality

Lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung voiced his concerns over the growing sentiment that young men are being subjected to “reverse discrimination,” and urged his online followers to listen to rapper San E’s “Feminist” to better understand their struggle.The member of the minor conservative Bareunmirae Party took to Facebook on Sunday and praised San E’s song, saying society continues to tell young men that they are “oppressing women,” which he said creates antagonism. In a lengthy post, the lawmaker also said

TelevisionDec. 31, 2018

So Ji-sub wins top prize at MBC Drama Awards

Once considered just another pretty face, So Ji-sub has effectively solidified his position as one of the top actors on the small screen, notching his first top acting award from one of the three network television broadcasters in Korea.So won the grand prize at the annual MBC Drama Awards held Sunday at the MBC Media Center in Sangam-dong, western Seoul. The honor was for his performance in the MBC drama “My Secret Terrius,” which aired between Sept. 27 and Nov. 15 and peaked with a 10.5 percen

TelevisionDec. 31, 2018

Looking ahead to Korea’s 2019 classical music season

The 2019 classical music season is a promising one, with numerous stars and prestigious orchestras set to perform in South Korea. Here’s a taste of what lies ahead.  The London Philharmonic Orchestra (Vincero)Star pianists play Rachmaninoff in JanuaryKorea’s 2018 classical music scene opened with pianist Cho Seong-jin’s first-ever nationwide tour. The date on the calendar has changed, but again it is Cho who will be raising the curtain. Cho will perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D M

PerformanceDec. 31, 2018

‘Running Man’ star Lee Kwang-soo dating actress Lee Sun-bin

Reports that model and actor Lee Kwang-soo is in a relationship with actress Lee Sun-bin have been confirmed by the two celebrities’ agencies.Lee Kwang-soo’s agency, Kingkong by Starship, said on Monday that “Lee Kwang-soo and Lee Sun-bin have been dating for five months after meeting each other on the ‘Running Man’ TV show.” (Yonhap)Representing Lee Sun-bin, Imagine Asia has also confirmed their relationship.The two first met in September 2016 when they were filming the SBS TV program “Running

TelevisionDec. 31, 2018