Film about Korea’s last princess to open in Japan

A Korean period drama film tracing the life of the Korean empire‘s last princess, Deokhye, will be released in Japan on June 24, Lotte Entertainment said Friday. Son Ye-jin stars in “The Last Princess.” (Lotte Entertainment)“It is very rare for a film set during the Japanese occupation of Korea to be released in Japan,” according to an official at Lotte Entertainment, the film’s local distributor. “It will be shown in some 20 to 30 theaters throughout Japan.” Titled “The Last Princess,” the film

FilmJune 9, 2017

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Filipino cuisine at Millennium Seoul HiltonThe Millennium Seoul Hilton’s flagship buffet restaurant Cafe 395 will introduce Phlippine cuisine prepared by Filipina celebrity chef Michelle Adrilliana until June 13. Adrilliana is renowned in the Philippines for her culinary prowess, working as chef, restaurant consultant as well as ambassador of Filipino cuisine around the world. Adrilliana visited Guangzhou, Sydney and Doha prior to coming to Seoul.Alongside a live cooking station offering beef, s

FoodJune 9, 2017

South Africa: land of stunning natural wonders, unique cultural blend

DURBAN/CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- South Africa is a faraway land, especially for those on the other side of the world in East Asia. Once there, however, the breathtaking scenery of South Africa instills a newfound appreciation for Mother Nature.　Located at the tip of the African continent, South Africa often sits low down the list for Korean travelers -- a place to explore after having conquered other popular destinations around the world.However, the country boasts a vast array of stunning natu

TravelJune 9, 2017

[Eye] Shooting for the future

Next year’s PyeongChang Winter Olympics will have the South Korean men’s hockey national team pitted against the best teams in the world, including top-ranked Canada, Czech Republic and Switzerland. But coach Jim Paek says the team’s goal is not to just show up, but to compete with the best as equals.“We’d like to win every game. That’s what we’re preparing for: To beat Canada, to beat Czech, to beat Switzerland and move on to the next round,” he said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “You

TravelJune 9, 2017

Astro makes Billboard charts again

Boy band Astro has entered the Billboard music charts again with its fourth EP “Dream Part 1,” coming in at No. 6 on the World Album charts as of Friday, the group’s label Fantagio Music announced. 　Astro made the Billboard World Album charts last year with its first and second EPs “Spring Up” and “Summer Vibes.” 　 Astro’s fourth EP is listed on the Billboard World Albums chart. (Billboard)With the listing of its recent EP, released May 29, the six-member band which debuted in 2015 features alon

PerformanceJune 9, 2017

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

The Villainess(Korea)Opened June 8Action. Directed by Jung Byung-gilAfter losing her father as a child, Sook-hee (Kim Ok-vin) is raised and trained to be a ruthless killer by a group of lethal gangsters. She becomes pregnant after marrying gangster boss and mentor Joong-sang (Shin Ha-kyun), only to be captured and recruited by the Korea Intelligence Agency to work as a spy. Sook-hee undergoes yet another fierce training process to be reborn with a new identity, and a desire for vengeance. Wonder

FilmJune 9, 2017

Lee Min-ho's DMZ wild life documentary to start next week

"DMZ, the Wild," MBC TV's documentary series hosted by star actor Lee Min-ho, will begin airing next week, the network said Friday. (Yonhap)The three-part series on the wild life inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a four-kilometer-wide area that separates the two Koreas, will begin next Monday at 11:10 p.m. for a three-week broadcast.Lee accompanied the production team in the DMZ throughout filming, seeing for himself rare animals, such as otters, yellow boas and ocelots, inhabiting the area u

TelevisionJune 9, 2017

G-Dragon’s new album reigns on iTunes charts worldwide

Big Bang member G-Dragon’s self-titled solo album “Kwon Ji Yong” is reigning over iTunes album charts around the world, setting a new record in the Korean music scene.  (YG Entertainment)The album, which was released Thursday with the lead track “Untitled,” has topped the iTunes album chart in 39 countries including the US, Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Ukraine, Colombia, Finland and Thailand, as of Friday morning.G-Dragon now holds the record for simultaneously topping the most iTunes album charts

PerformanceJune 9, 2017

[Movie Review] ‘My Cousin Rachel’ is juicy, gothic melodrama

Director Roger Michell has tackled many different genres in his long career, including romantic comedies, dramas and thrillers. “My Cousin Rachel” offers the chance to sink his teeth into a juicy, gothic romantic melodrama, based on a 1951 novel by Daphne Du Maurier. The story was adapted to the silver screen in 1952 with Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton in the lead roles, and now Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin tackle the story of passion and paranoia. In this tale, impetuous, distrustful ma

FilmJune 9, 2017

[Movie Review] ‘The Mummy’ can’t quite wrap things up

There is so much riding on “The Mummy,” far more than its skeletal shoulders should have to withstand. The studio behind the summer horror-adventure flick, Universal, is kicking off its “Dark Universe,” with the film, its answer to the Marvel or DC cinematic universes. So they’re dusting off the familiar names that have graced cinemas for nearly a century now, like “Bride of Frankenstein” and “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” Those, and other monsters, were popularized in the 1930s with the Val

FilmJune 9, 2017

G-Dragon drops new solo album ‘Kwon Ji Yong’

G-Dragon of Big Bang returned with a new solo album Thursday evening, amid ongoing controversy surrounding bandmate T.O.P, who has been indicted on allegations of marijuana use. T.O.P regained consciousness late Thursday afternoon after being hospitalized Tuesday for an apparent drug overdose. (YG Entertainment)The lead track for G-Dragon’s latest album, titled “Kwon Ji Yong,” the artist’s real name, has been changed to “Untitled,” a slow-tempo piano ballad about love, from the previously announ

PerformanceJune 8, 2017

YG apologizes over T.O.P’s marijuana controversy

YG Entertainment issued an official apology Thursday amid ongoing controversy over Big Bang member T.O.P’s marijuana use. The statement came two days after the rapper was hospitalized at Ewha Womans University Medical Center for drug overdose Tuesday.  (Yonhap)It read: “We bow our heads and sincerely apologize to those who were hurt and disappointed by the recent shameful happenings surrounding T.O.P. As the hospital confirmed at the media conference recently, after the rapper was found unconsci

PerformanceJune 8, 2017

Time-loop film ‘A Day’ repeats same accident in different ways

The upcoming mystery drama “A Day” is about people who wake up to find themselves locked in what seems to be an eternal time loop.“It’s a painful day that you hope will end but never ends,” said director Jo Sun-ho (“Killer Toon,” 2013) at the film’s press screening in Seoul Wednesday.“It’s a day where you have to watch your loved one die over and over again, where someone has to kill over and over again.”The film has been invited to screen at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, set

FilmJune 8, 2017

Chungha debuts solo with summer single ‘Why Don’t You Know’

Chungha, formerly of the since disbanded project girl group I.O.I, took to the stage alone to show she is all set to perform solo. The 21-year-old made her solo debut with her first album “Hands on Me,” featuring the lead track “Why Don’t You Know,” released Wednesday. While she feels emptiness without her former I.O.I bandmates, most of whom have gone on to form other girl groups, Chungha said she decided to buck the trend and pursue her own musical endeavors.  Chungha performs at a press showc

PerformanceJune 8, 2017

‘Battleship Island’ sold to 113 countries

The upcoming historical film “The Battleship Island” starring Song Joong-ki has been sold to 113 countries, its distributor CJ Entertainment said Thursday.The film has been sold to North American countries as well as France, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, among others, following its promotion at the European Film Market in February. “(The film) is a war film, prison film and escape film,” said Cyril Burkel, acquisitions executive at French distributor Metropolit

FilmJune 8, 2017

Cho Na-yon to join SICAF with ‘Susurrus’

US-based Korean animator Cho Na-yon’s “Susurrus” has been selected for the upcoming 21st Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival slated for July 26-30. “Susurrus” was the 23-year-old artist’s thesis work for her bachelor’s degree in film and animation at the Rhode Island School of Design where she graduated with honors.  Cho Na-yonThe film, which is less than five minutes in length, is one of Cho’s most representative works. “I once came across a dead man lying in his own pool of bloo

CultureJune 8, 2017

T.O.P still ‘unconscious’: medical staff

T.O.P, a member of Big Bang, remains “unconscious” and is likely to recover in a week, medical staff said at a press conference on Wednesday. The clarification by physicians in charge of the Korean rapper came after a flurry of conflicting reports about the singer‘s condition flooded the local media. T.O.P had been taken to hospital for alleged drug overuse on Tuesday.  (Yonhap)“When T.O.P was brought into the hospital he was in a state of stupor and deep drowsiness and only responded to very st

PerformanceJune 7, 2017

Clones, aliens, dystopia: Korean dramas go sci-fi

Genre dramas featuring increasingly supernatural elements, long seen as lacking mainstream appeal, are flooding Korean television recently. 　Time slip has now become a staple device in both mystery thrillers -- last year’s hit tvN series “Signal” revolved around walkie-talkies that connected its users to the future -- and even in romantic comedies such as tvN’s “Tomorrow With You,” where the male lead was a time traveler. KBS’ “Hit the Top,” which began airing Friday, focuses on a K-pop idol sin

TelevisionJune 7, 2017

T.O.P’s mother expresses distrust in police reports

T.O.P’s family is disputing police reports that said the star is “asleep” under the influence of drugs he took. On Wednesday morning, T.O.P’s mother teared up in front of the reporters gathered at Ewha Womans University Medical Center in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, where T.O.P is hospitalized. She told the reporters, “My son is in bad shape. It’s as if he is dying. Police told the media that he’s drowsy from sleeping pills but that’s misinforming the public.”(Yonhap)“He was brought to the hospital unco

June 7, 2017

Kim Hyun-joong storms Japan’s daily Oricon chart with ‘re:wind’

Singer-actor Kim Hyun-joong’s album “re:wind,” released in Japan on Tuesday, has topped the daily Oricon chart, Japan’s largest music chart. The album secured the No. 1 spot on the chart and sold 21,377 copies on the first day of its release. It was his first album since he completed his compulsory military service in February. Singer-actor Kim Hyun-joong (Universal Music Japan)Prior to its release, the singer dropped a teaser clip for the album through Universal Music Japan’s YouTube channel. B

PerformanceJune 7, 2017