Retired freighter transformed into rest spot for museum visitors

A retired cargo ship that operated between Mokpo and Jejudo Island for 35 years has become an architecture installation that serves as a summertime shelter in the courtyard of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. The installation “Temp’L” by Shinslab Architecture, led by architect duo Shin Hyung-chul and Claire Shin, is the winning design project of this year’s Young Architects Program. The Korean edition of the program, launched by the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1

PerformanceJuly 7, 2016

'Captain Fantastic’ features a Swiss Family Robinson of today

CANNES, France (AP) - In “Captain Fantastic,” Viggo Mortensen plays one of the all-time great movie dads. Holed away in a remote Pacific Northwest teepee, he’s raising six children like a bookish, yoga-practicing Swiss Family Robinson. The children, well-behaved and smart, are equally adept at skinning a deer and reading “The Brothers Karamazov” by the campfire. They pine after boning knives like most kids do iPhones.“Captain Fantastic,” a hit on the festival circuit, has resonated with audience

FilmJuly 7, 2016

UNESCO set to expand World Heritage list at Istanbul meeting

PARIS (AFP) -- U.N. cultural agency UNESCO will gather in Istanbul on Sunday to review candidates to join its prestigious World Heritage List, ranging from 350-million-year old fossils to works by Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier.After the June 28 attack on Istanbul’s airport that claimed 45 lives, security has been stepped up for the 11-day World Heritage Committee meeting -- the panel’s 40th.Though no one claimed responsibility for the attack, Ankara has pointed the finger of blame at the I

CultureJuly 7, 2016

Guide to visiting Rio for the Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- With the Olympics just a few weeks away, Brazil faces a litany of problems: an economy in freefall, the Zika virus and a political crisis with an impeached president. But for those brave -- or foolhardy -- enough to make the trip, Rio de Janeiro is a city rich with potential rewards. Broadcasters have already deemed the city’s backdrop for the Summer Games the most telegenic ever. But no matter how good this teeming seaside metropolis -- where the urban jungle and the lite

TravelJuly 7, 2016

Le Cordon Bleu-Sookmyung brings taste of Thai to Korea

With the popularity of Thai food on the rise, Le Cordon Bleu-Sookmyung Academy is hosting “Thai Cuisine Week” from July 11 to 16 to promote authentic Thai gastronomy in Korea.The week-long lecture series will educate and provide participants with opportunities to prepare and try Thai recipes. From globally recognized dishes, such as pad Thai (stir-fried rice noodles), som tam (green papaya salad) and tom yum goong (hot and sour soup with shrimp), to the intricacies of fruit carving and arrangeme

FoodJuly 7, 2016

Veritas releases first album

Veritas, a Christian music group of Kwangshin University, has released its first full-length album “Psalm 95.” Famed veteran singer Yoon Bock-hee, who debuted in 1967 and was one of the first Korean singers to perform abroad in Vietnam and the U.S., has expressed her strong support for the album. Yoon praised the album, describing the tracks as “God’s will” and a “hymn of youth’s grace that will awaken all the spirits of Korea and the world.”“Psalm 95” contains 11 songs that depict each of the g

PeopleJuly 7, 2016

Super Junior's Kangin summarily indicted over drunk driving

Kangin, a member of K-pop boy band Super Junior, has been summarily indicted on charges of causing a traffic accident while under the influence of alcohol, prosecutors said Thursday.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said the 31-year-old is suspected of running away after crashing into a street lamp in southern Seoul while driving intoxicated in late May.Prosecutors said they summarily indicted him, seeking 7 million won ($6,000) in fines. Kangin already has a record of drunk driving

EntertainmentJuly 7, 2016

Yoo Jae-suk to be recreated in wax, 1st for Korean TV show host

Korea's popular comedian and show host Yoo Jae-suk will be the latest celebrity of the country to have a wax sculpture made of himself, a PR firm said Wednesday.Grevin Seoul Museum will make a lifesize wax figure of Yoo to celebrate its first anniversary, according to PR company Hahm Shout. (Yonhap)The museum's selection committee, Grevin Academy, consisting of various experts in the culture and entertainment industries, chooses a celebrity based on a star's "public recognition, preference and c

EntertainmentJuly 6, 2016

Lee Byung-hun collects Star Asia Award at New York film fest

Korean Lee Byung-hun received the Star Asia Award at the 15th New York Asian Film Festival, his agency said Wednesday.Recognized for his contribution to Asian films and Hollywood productions, Lee was one of the award's three recipients along with Hong Kong's Miriam Yeung and John Lloyd Cruz of the Philippines. (Yonhap)Lee picked up the award at the ceremony that preceded the New York premiere of his latest work, Korean political thriller "Inside Men," at the Lincoln Center. After the screening,

FilmJuly 6, 2016

Filmmaker: 'Run Off,' distinctive sequel to 2009 box office hit

KM Culture Co., the studio behind the 2009 box office success "Take Off" about the national ski jumping team, returned to the local film market with a sequel. The forthcoming sports drama flick follows the formation of Korea's first-ever national female ice hockey team and its unlikely challenge for a medal in the 2003 Asian Winter Games in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The director of "Run Off," Kim Jong-hyun, said on Wednesday that he felt no extra pressure due to the preceding film's popularity w

FilmJuly 6, 2016

Philip Onho Lee captures daily grind of immigrant life in U.S.

“Olympic Boulevard” Philip Onho Lee (Translated by John Cha)Seoul Selection (12,000 won, $10)Philip Onho Lee’s “Olympic Boulevard,” published last month, details the daily joys and sorrows of immigrant life in the U.S. in the ’80s and ’90s.It features a series of vignettes about the life of a first-generation immigrant navigating through the ups and downs of adjusting to a new life in a new country.The story is told from the perspective of Myung Tay, who opens up a dry cleaning store in Los Ange

BooksJuly 6, 2016

Nothing disappointing about ‘The Loney’

“The Loney” By Andrew Michael HurleyHoughton Mifflin Harcourt (294 pages, $25)A menacing presence inhabits the Loney, the locals’ name for Britain’s north Lancashire coastline.A small group of Catholic faithful have traveled to the rain-battered seacoast from London on an Easter pilgrimage to visit a fabled shrine in hopes of a miracle cure for one of the travelers. The young man is simple-minded and cannot speak, but he has a pure heart and a deep love for his younger brother, our narrator.As E

BooksJuly 6, 2016

Actor Joo Jin-mo denies dating rumors with Chinese actress

Korean actor Joo Jin-mo dismissed rumors that he is in romantic relationship with Chinese actress Zhang Li, the South Korean celebrity's management agency said on Wednesday. "The two have become close since they worked on the same television series, but they are just friends, not lovers," said an official from Joo's agency, Fantagio Corp."The photographs published by Chinese local press show the two attending a group event, accompanied by the manager and many others."The denial came on the same

EntertainmentJuly 6, 2016

Batik reinterpreted with digital technology

An unusual exhibition of batik-meets-digital was held June 30 at the Art and Technology Expression Center, Seoul Institute of the Arts in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.“Batik: Accumulation of Time – Meeting the soul of Indonesia’s traditional arts,” explored the textile design method of Batik, which dates back to the 5th century. It is still popular in its home country, and is a UNESCO-designated cultural heritage.  SIA, a prominent arts college that strives to make traditional art come alive for pre

PerformanceJuly 6, 2016