YG Entertainment will take legal action against the hacker who leaked private photos of singer-rapper G-Dragon to the public, the agency said Wednesday. “G-Dragon’s private account was hacked and he became the target of privacy infringement,” the agency said in a statement. “We will take this issue to investigators to find those responsible for the hack and anyone who spreads malicious rumors about the incident.”The leader of the popular boy band Big Bang had started a private Instagram account

PerformanceSept. 21, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) -- An elf school in Iceland. A hospital for falcons in the Middle East. A museum in Independence, Missouri, for artwork made from hair.These are the types of attractions featured on the Atlas Obscura website, a fan favorite among curiosity-seeking travelers. Now the site is bringing its geeky and magical world of wonders to the printed page. The new “Atlas Obscura” book offers a sampling of 700 of the website’s 10,000 curious attractions, from a pile of rocks in Butte, Montana, tha

BooksSept. 21, 2016

With a 12-year music career under its belt, experimental band Clazziquai Project is done trying to label its music.“It’s hard to categorize our music into one genre,” said vocalist Horan at a press showcase held at Understage in Hannam-dong, Seoul on Monday. “Instead, we are now more focused on showing the different colors of our group.”But this doesn’t mean that the trio -- consisting of vocalists Alex and Horan, and DJ Clazzi -- will stop experimenting with different sounds.  Returning to the

PerformanceSept. 20, 2016

GYEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province -- Over 60 historical sites in southeast Korea, including national treasures Bulguksa Temple and Cheomseongdae Observatory, were found to be damaged after a magnitude 5.8 earthquake shook the historical city of Gyeongju last Monday, followed by over 400 aftershocks -- the largest of which occurred Monday evening measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale. The Cultural Heritage Administration, the Gyeongju city government and a number of relevant organizations are scra

CultureSept. 20, 2016

Indie duo offonoff will be making its official debut this week.　Consisting of singer-songwriter Colde and producer 0channel, the group has gained a niche following with its previous digital mixtape releases. 　In line with its upcoming single “Bath,” the band released an introductory prologue by Korean poet Oh Eun and a teaser trailer on its official social media channels this week. 　“Offonoff aims to grow both musically and aesthetically,” said the group’s management agency HIGHGRND in a stateme

PerformanceSept. 20, 2016

K-pop boy band Monsta X is returning to the spotlight. 　The group released a teaser image for upcoming album “The Clan Part 2: Guilty” via its official social media channels Monday night. 　 The band debuted last year after participating on Mnet’s music competition show “No Mercy.” The seven-member act released its third mini album “The Clan Part 1: Lost,” featuring lead track “All In,” in May. The mini featured in the top five of Billboard’s World Albums chart for two weeks upon its release. 　Th

PerformanceSept. 20, 2016

BOSTON (AP) -- Luminaries from the film, music and writing worlds honored Tom Waits and folk singer John Prine for their songwriting at the Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Awards on Monday.Waits’ wife, Kathleen Brennan, also was honored. John Mellencamp, Elvis Costello and Roseanne Cash took turns performing renditions of the artists’ songs before a crowd of more than 500 people at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.Mellencamp opened the ceremony with an a cappella version of

PerformanceSept. 20, 2016

LONDON (AP) -- Luxury British fashion house Burberry unveiled its highly anticipated display at London Fashion Week on Monday, an opulent affair featuring frilly blouses, velvet blazers and silky pajama shirts -- for both men and women. Elsewhere, Christopher Kane and Erdem were among designers showing off their newest collections to the fashion pack before they jet off to Milan. Some highlights from day four of fashion week:Post-gender opulence at BurberrySoaring live orchestral music, opera si

Arts & DesignSept. 20, 2016

NAUCALPAN, Mexico (AP) -- Architect Javier Senosiain looks out over his sinuous snake’s nest of a building, which seems to writhe amid a green and tranquil vista on the very edge of Mexico City’s urban sprawl, and reflects on over 30 years of building egg- and cocoon-like dwellings that are quite literally out of the box.“When a child is born we put him an incubator, which is a box,” said Senosiain, 68. “Then we put him (in) a playpen. The child is placed in a succession of boxes throughout his

Arts & DesignSept. 20, 2016

MONTPELIER, Vermont (AP) -- Vermont in the 1970s was a hotbed for the counterculture, and the influx of young people had a lasting influence on the state’s politics, agriculture and food and offbeat culture.After two years of research, the Vermont Historical Society’s exhibit “Freaks, Radicals & Hippies: Counterculture in the 1970s in Vermont” opens at the Vermont History Center in Barre on Sept. 24.“We quickly realized it was more than just getting back to the land and living on a commune and h

CultureSept. 20, 2016

T.O.P of the popular K-pop boy band Big Bang said Monday he feels honored to curate a charity auction by one of the world’s largest brokers of collectibles. “I carefully chose each one of the items to be put on sale in this event together with Sotheby’s, keeping in close contact (with them) for more than one year,” the 29-year-old singer-rapper said during a news conference in Seoul to promote the event. “I feel really great and honored to be taking part in the event and for the confidence that

PerformanceSept. 19, 2016

The annual Seoul International Dance Festival will raise its curtains this week, kick-starting 22 days of classical and contemporary dance performances from across the globe. 　SIDance 2016 will be held from Sept. 24 to Oct. 15 at a number of venues, including the CJ Towol Theater of Seoul Arts Center, the Grand Theater and Small Theater of Sogang University Mary Hall and D-Cube Park in Sindorim D-Cube City.The upcoming festivities will include invited performances from around the world -- Portug

PerformanceSept. 19, 2016

The recent blockbuster “The Age of Shadows” attracted over 6 million moviegoers in the less than two weeks since it opened here, making it the seventh most-watched film of the year in Korea. 　Over 3.3 million people watched the film in theaters during the Chuseok holiday from Wednesday to Sunday, according to the Korean Film Council on Monday. 　Starring actors Gong Yoo and Song Kang-ho, the historical thriller follows a group of Korean independence fighters as they attempt to take back the count

FilmSept. 19, 2016

K-pop boy band Bangtan Boys, or BTS, is regaining momentum in Japan. 　After topping the weekly Oricon Singles Chart, BTS performed the hit track “Fire” from its second Japanese album “Youth” on NTV’s “Buzz Rhythm” last Friday, according to the group’s management agency Big Hit Entertainment on Monday.　Hosted by model Maggie and comedian Bakarhythm, “Buzz Rhythm” is a popular Japanese variety show that primarily features Japanese pop groups. K-pop girl group AOA performed on the show last year. 　

PerformanceSept. 19, 2016

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- “Game of Thrones” conquered the Emmy kingdom Sunday, honored as top drama for the second consecutive year and becoming the most honored prime-time TV series ever on a night of surprises and sharp political jabs.　 “Veep” repeated as best comedy series and its star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, won a record-breaking sixth Emmy as best comedy actress. Jeffrey Tambor’s trophy as top comedy actor for “Transparent” also was his second.　 But the top drama acting trophies were far from predi

TelevisionSept. 19, 2016