Psy to hold year-end concert

Global K-pop sensation Psy has announced the dates and venue for his annual year-end concert.　Titled “All Night Stand 2016 -- Psadrenaline,” the concert will take place at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, Seoul, on Dec. 23 and 24 at 11:50 p.m.Now in its 13th year, Psy’s annual concert is known for its surprise guest appearances, flashy visuals and laser light shows.  The K-pop star, who released his seventh studio album “Chiljip Psy-da” last year, will perform a new, never-before-heard single a

PerformanceNov. 1, 2016

[Herald Design Forum 2016] ‘Simple, instinctive design drives trend’

The simple and instinctive design trend will continue in both consumer and enterprise information technology markets, said a Silicon Valley-based user interface design expert.“All of us are interacting with an ever-growing number of IT products in our daily lives. Dealing with dozens and dozens of them is overwhelming users. That is why it has become critical for IT companies to create devices and services to allow users to do everything possible in simple orders or instinctual demand,” said Bob

Arts & DesignNov. 1, 2016

Black Pink returns with a bang

Black Pink has done it again.　Back with its second EP “Square Two,” the rookie girl group topped both local and global music charts upon the mini album’s release Tuesday. “Playing with Fire,” one of two title tracks from the EP, dominated seven local music charts -- Olleh Music, Mnet, Bugs, Naver Music, Soribada, Monkey3 and Genie -- as of Tuesday morning. Ranked just below “Playing with Fire” is the other lead track “Stay,” which topped iTunes charts in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Thailand and

PerformanceNov. 1, 2016

Jeju’s women divers close to UNESCO listing

The culturally iconic “haenyeo,” or female divers, of Jeju Island will most likely be listed as Korea’s next Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration on Monday. “Currently Korea has 18 Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO listings, so if Jeju’s haenyeo becomes inscribed, then it will give the country its 19th cultural heritage listing,” said the government agency, adding that it is very confident of this happening. The Cu

CultureNov. 1, 2016

K-pop star maker predicts rise of EDM in 2017

It has been another big year for Korean hip-hop, with more talent entering the mainstream music scene this year. Hip-hop survival shows like “Show Me the Money” continued to be major boosters of the genre, even driving ordinary office workers to rent studios and try their hand at rapping. However, the trend could change next year, according to Brave Entertainment CEO and chief producer Kang Dong-cheol, who goes by the stage name Brave Brother. The 37-year-old star producer believes that electron

PerformanceNov. 1, 2016

Accepting award, Murakami warns against excluding outsiders

TOKYO (AP) - Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami warned against excluding outsiders and rewriting history as he accepted the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award.Murakami spoke Sunday in Odense, Denmark, the birthplace of Andersen, the 19th-century fairy-tale writer. His speech, titled “The Meaning of Shadows,” cited Andersen’s dark fantasy “The Shadow,” a story about a scholar who loses his shadow but is eventually taken over by it and killed.“No matter how high a wall we build to keep intrud

BooksNov. 1, 2016

‘Lohengrin,’ ‘Macbeth’ operas to hit Seoul stages

Local opera lovers will get the chance to see two vastly different operas this November -- Richard Wagner’s rarely staged “Lohengrin” and Giuseppe Verdi’s musical interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies “Macbeth.” Following on the heels of “Tosca” earlier this month, the National Korea Opera is gearing up to present its second production of the season -- the mystically romantic tale of “Lohengrin,” which is being staged for the first time in Korea in four decades. In 2013, the

PerformanceOct. 31, 2016

Twice’s new album continues to break records

After returning with one of the most anticipated albums of the season, Twice continues to set new records.　The group’s latest mini album “TWICEcoaster: LANE 1,” which topped major local music charts after its release on Oct. 24, has so far sold some 165,000 copies, according to Gaon Music Chart on Monday. To date, it is this year’s fastest-selling album from a K-pop girl group within a week. Twice’s second EP “Page Two,” just recently reached the 165,000 sales mark, six months after its release.

PerformanceOct. 31, 2016

Lee Byung-hun, Kim Woo-bin, Gang dong-won to star in upcoming action thriller

Some of the biggest names in Korean cinema are coming together in an upcoming production.　　Directed by filmmaker Jo Ui-seok, “Master” will feature heavyweights Lee Byung-hun, Kim Woo-bin, Gang dong-won, Oh Dal-su and others. Jo is best known for crime thriller “Cold Eyes” (2013), which was nominated for best cinematography at various international film festivals. 　Hollywood breakout actor Lee, who most recently starred in a remake of 1960s classic “The Magnificent Seven,” returns as businessman

FilmOct. 31, 2016

Culture Ministry to probe disputed projects

The Culture Ministry will review projects that were allegedly carried out under the influence of TV commercial film director Cha Eun-taek.The ministry, mired in controversy following allegations that President Park Geun-hye’s close confidante Choi Soon-sil and Cha were behind several ministry projects, announced Monday it would “thoroughly investigate” any illegalities or private gains that may have arisen over the course of the disputed projects.The statement followed the ministry’s previous st

CultureOct. 31, 2016

75 and loving it: Wonder Woman has complicated place in pop culture

This is an unparalleled time for women in American history.The polls are predicting the first female president. Narrowing the wage gap has become part of legislative agendas. Activists are battling against sexual assault and for abortion rights with a fervor not seen in decades and the glass ceiling is looking more fragile every day.It is also the 75th anniversary of Wonder Woman.Coincidence? Perhaps not.The creation of Dr. William Moulton Marston, a psychologist with broad-minded views on sexua

CultureOct. 31, 2016

Art star Basquiat showcased in Italy retrospective

MILAN (AFP) -- New York’s Eighties art scene is coming to Milan with a show dedicated to the late Haitian-American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose works now sell for phenomenal sums.From his child-like skull and crown paintings to his poetic and enigmatic anatomical depictions, the Museum of Culture in the north Italian city is holding a retrospective until February into the works of the art prodigy, who died from a drug overdose aged just 27.Born in 1960 in Brooklyn to a Haitian father and P

PerformanceOct. 31, 2016

Fuksas Cloud adds contemporary edge to Rome skyline

ROME (AFP) -- Rome’s biggest new building in half a century was inaugurated Saturday, two decades after architects Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas produced their groundbreaking design for the controversial and much-delayed project.Now that it is finally finished, the husband-and-wife team’s “Nuvola” -- a glass and steel box containing a cloud-like suspended interior -- looks set to join the Colosseum and the Pantheon among the Italian capital’s architectural landmarks.Its name is the Italian wor

Arts & DesignOct. 31, 2016

2NE1's CL launches her first North American tour in New York City

CL of South Korean girl group 2NE1 set out on her first-ever solo North America tour, her agency said on Sunday.The 25-year-old female rapper threw the first party of her "HELLO BI+CHES TOUR 2016" at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York on Saturday, US time, YG Entertainment said in a press release. (YG Entertainment)The K-pop artist will hold concerts in a total of nine cities in the US and Canada.The New York concert kicked off with an introductory video presentation of CL's personal history,

PerformanceOct. 31, 2016

Culture Ministry denies being ‘taken over’ by Choi, Cha

The Culture Ministry on Saturday refuted allegations that Choi Soon-sil, President Park Geun-hye’s confidante accused of influence peddling, had masterminded some of the ministry’s major projects.In a press statement, the ministry denied knowledge of the documents reported to have been in Choi’s possession. It also rebuffed suggestions that Cha Eun-taek, an ad film director and close acquaintance of Choi, had led many of the ministry’s key initiatives.Last Thursday, local daily Chosun Ilbo and c

CultureOct. 30, 2016