Proenza Schouler bids New York goodbye

Carolina Herrera called it her “white shirt” moment, a celebration of her favorite garment. And the Proenza Schouler label said adieu to New York Fashion Week for now, as it prepares to show in Paris. Some of Monday’s highlights at New York Fashion Week:Carolina Herrera: Loving the white shirt  Fashion collection from Oscar de la Renta is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, on Monday. (AP-Yonhap)Few women rock a white blouse like Carolina Herrera – it’s her personal signature garment. But t

Arts & DesignFeb. 14, 2017

Brexit satire draws big laughs at Berlin fest

An uproarious British satire shot during the Brexit referendum drew big laughs at the Berlin film festival Monday, with Sally Potter using a stellar cast for “a light and loving look” at a “broken England.” From left: British actor Timothy Spall, US actress Patricia Clarkson, Irish actor Cillian Murphy, British director Sally Potter, Swiss actor Bruno Ganz and British actress Kristin Scott Thomas pose during the photo call for “The Party” during the 67th annual Berlin Film Festival, in Berlin, G

FilmFeb. 14, 2017

Riding high, Beyonce fails to break Grammy curse

Is Beyonce too edgy for the music industry? Or do the Grammy Awards suffer from an underlying racial bias? The superstar’s failure to win top prizes is vexing her many admirers -- among them the night’s big winner Adele.Beyonce had led the Grammy nominations with nine for “Lemonade,” her most daring album to date, which she crafted as a celebration of the resilience of African-American women. Beyonce appears backstage with her awards for best music video for “Formation” and best urban contempora

PerformanceFeb. 14, 2017

Playboy magazine brings back naked women

Naked women are back in Playboy magazine, ending a year-old ban on the nudity that made the magazine famous. This image released by Playboy shows Playmate Elizabeth Elam on the cover of the March-April 2017 issue of the magazine. (AP-Yonhap)Playboy celebrated the reversal on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag (hash)NakedIsNormal.The about-face came Monday with the release of Playboy‘s March-April issue. The 63-year-old magazine had banished naked women from its print edition because it felt t

CultureFeb. 14, 2017

Image of Turkish assassin wins World Press Photo award

Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilici won the 2017 World Press Photo competition Monday, with jurors and colleagues lauding his courage and composure in capturing his image of a gun-wielding off-duty Turkish policeman standing over the body of Russia’s ambassador, whom he had just fatally shot.  Associated Press photographer and 2017 World Press Photo Contest winner Burhan Ozbilici (right) is interviewed by Lars Boering, managing director of the World Press Photo Foundation in front of h

CultureFeb. 14, 2017

'Good Manager' maintains lead, 'Hwarang' rebounds on TV chart

The late night office comedy "Good Manager" maintained its lead on a benchmark TV popularity chart, while the idol-studded period show "Hwarang" recouped losses, data showed Tuesday. (KBS)"Good Manager," the KBS 2TV show starring Namkoong Min, scored 241.8 points on the Content Power Index, staying as the No. 1 TV program during the Jan. 30-Feb. 5 period.CPI, developed by entertainment company CJ E&M and Nielsen Korea, measures the popularity of TV shows based on the number of views of related n

TelevisionFeb. 14, 2017

‘Single Rider’ posters show cheery So-hee, teary Lee Byung-hun

New posters for the upcoming film “A Single Rider” starring Lee Byung-hun, Gong Hyo-jin and Ahn So-hee were revealed by its distributor Warner Bros. Korea on Sunday.　The new poster shows a teary-eyed Lee Byung-hun portraying Kang Jae-hoon, a bankrupt stock firm manager, who loses everything after investing in an insolvent bond. In the film, Kang leaves for Australia, where his wife, Soo-jin, played by Gong Hyo-jin, is preparing to move onto a new life. Unable to approach her, Kang disappears.　Th

FilmFeb. 13, 2017

Mobster and cop find themselves behind bars in ‘Prison’

Han Suk-kyu and Kim Rae-won share a common hobby -- fishing. Talking about their teamwork on the upcoming film “Prison” in an interview released by Showbox, the film’s distributor, Monday, the two actors said they bonded over fishing.“We’ve talked a lot about life and acting while fishing together over the years,” said Han. “We always wondered when we would be able to work together,” said Kim. Han Suk-kyu (left) and Kim Rae-won star in “Prison.” (Showbox)“What I lacked, Kim made up for, and what

FilmFeb. 13, 2017

BTS releases new album, storms music charts

South Korean idol group BTS (Bangtan Boys) released its new album "Wings: You Never Walk Alone" on Monday, topping all major streaming charts with its title song. (Big Hit Entertainment)"Spring Day," the title track of the new album, soared to No. 1 on all eight major music streaming services, including Melon, Mnet, Olleh Music and Genie, after the album's release. Other numbers from the album also ranked high on many charts.Melon, South Korea's largest music streaming service, even had a tempor

PerformanceFeb. 13, 2017

Actor Park Bo-gum greeted by 4,000 fans in Thailand

Park Bo-gum, the star of 2016 South Korean TV series "Love in the Moonlight," has met about 4,000 fans in Thailand as part of his tour of Asian countries to repay international fans for their love and support, his agency said Monday. (Yonhap)"I was surprised to see so many fans gathered at the airport when I arrived at a late hour," Park was quoted as saying by Blossom Entertainment during the fan meeting Saturday. "I appreciate your passion, but I hope you return home early. Still, I can feel t

TelevisionFeb. 13, 2017

Korean politicians open up on entertainment TV

As the unofficial election season looms, presidential hopefuls are reaching out to younger voters by showing a more genial side of themselves on TV talk shows.Korean politicians have traditionally adopted a formal, scripted approach in their public appearances, but began appearing on nonnews entertainment programs during the 2012 election. Then-presidential candidates Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in went on the talk show “Healing Camp, Aren’t You Happy,” chatting in a relaxed setting about their p

TelevisionFeb. 13, 2017

Adele sweeps Grammys Awards with 5 wins, Bowie wins 4

Even though Adele flubbed one of her live performances at the Grammys, she walked away the belle of the ball: She took home all five awards she was nominated for Sunday night, including album, record and song of the year.She beat Beyonce in the top three categories with her comeback album "25," and repeated her accomplishments from 2012, when the British star also won album, song and record of the year at the Grammys. She’s the first artist in Grammy history to sweep the top three categories twi

PerformanceFeb. 13, 2017

Margaret Atwood says Trump win boosted sales of her dystopian classic

Canada‘s best-known writer Margaret Atwood said it was largely worries about women’s issues after the US election that made her book “The Handmaid’s Tale” the latest dystopian novel to shoot back up best-seller lists.The book, about a theocratic dictatorship in the United States where women are forced to bear children for the ruling class, topped Amazon’s best-seller list earlier last week.In an interview during Cuba‘s international book fair, where Canada is guest of honor, Atwood said sales of

BooksFeb. 13, 2017

LA tower ridiculed as ‘$1 million jukebox’ may get face-lift

For 40 years, Joseph Young festooned public buildings, open spaces and private places across his adopted city of Los Angeles with dozens of brilliant, colorful mosaics, larger-than-life murals and towering sculptures.But the work the artist hoped he would be best remembered for was the Triforium. And he was, but for all the wrong reasons. From left: Tanner Blackman, Claire Evans, Jona Bechtolt and Tom Carroll, members of the Triforium project, pose with Joseph L. Young’s Triforium, a “polyphonop

PerformanceFeb. 13, 2017

T-ara’s Ji-yeon shelves album release amid reignited bullying controversy

T-ara’s Ji-yeon will postpone the release of her second solo album, her agency said Monday, after an internet posting by a self-proclaimed former staff member of the agency reignited a years-old bullying dispute.MBK Entertainment told local media that Ji-yeon’s album release has been put on hold “in order to avoid a misunderstanding about a certain member (of T-ara) leaving the band.”  Ji-yeon of T-ara (MBK Entertainment)“(The delay) is not 100 percent due to the controversy, but we do not want

PerformanceFeb. 13, 2017

Lawmaker’s son quits rap show amid prostitution allegations

The high school son of a lawmaker has pulled out of a rap auditioning show after being accused of attempting to solicit sex for money, a local cable channel said Monday.Chang Yong-jun -- son of Rep. Chang Je-won of the Bareun Party -- recently told producers of “High School Rapper” that he wants to leave the show, which aired its first episode on Friday, according to Mnet. All remaining footage of Chang will be edited out of the show, producers added. This screen capture shows Chang Yong-jun app

PerformanceFeb. 13, 2017