How France fell for Chirac's indigenous art museum

PARIS (AFP) - It opened late and millions over budget amid sneering that it was an “ill-judged disaster” that bordered on being racist.And the man who drove the project -- former president Jacques Chirac -- was widely written off by detractors as lowbrow, more interested in beer and sumo wrestling than the intellect.But a decade on, the Musee du quai Branly, the Paris museum dedicated to the indigenous art and cultures of Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas, is being hailed as a massive popul

PerformanceJune 22, 2016

'Our Young Man' defies trope of gay male model life

“Our Young Man” 　By Edmund White　Bloomsbury USA (304 pages, $26)　Esteemed novelist and memoirist Edmund White’s latest book, “Our Young Man,” centers on the aptly named Guy, a gay French model living in New York City.　The novel follows Guy’s life in the modeling industry from France to Manhattan, through hedonist parties and relationships with older, and then younger, men. Guy is blessed with almost unnatural good looks. Even when he ceases to be a young man, Guy remains exquisitely handsome, ab

Life&CultureJune 22, 2016

Son remembers his father who may have inspired 'Mockingbird'

“My Father & Atticus Finch”　By Joseph Madison Beck　W.W. Norton (218 pages, $25.95)　“To Kill a Mockingbird” has inspired readers and critics for decades. But what inspired Harper Lee to write her novel? Joseph Madison Beck suggests he may have the answer.　In this fast-moving memoir, Beck recounts how his father, a small-town lawyer, was thrown into the 1938 trial of a Northern black man accused of raping a local white woman in a southern Alabama town. His taking the case puts everything he loves

Life&CultureJune 22, 2016

Book investigates why Koreans are the way they are

“K-Style: Living the Korean Way of Life”　By Choi Jung-wha　Designhouse (30,000 won, $26)  　Professor and interpreter Choi Jung-wha introduces Korean lifestyle to English-speaking audiences in her latest book.　Divided into four chapters -- spring, summer, autumn and winter -- the book traces what it is to live a distinctly “Korean” life in modern times, following both significant events that take place each season and everyday joys like watching “meokbang,” or broadcasts of people eating food, on

Life&CultureJune 22, 2016

'Frozen' coming to new books, Lego animated shorts

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Disney is letting “Frozen” go in new directions.　The company says Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff and Sven from the blockbuster 2013 animated film will appear in both new books from Random House and an animated short film series from the Lego Group.　 The eight-book series “Frozen Northern Lights” will revolve around the characters attempting to restore the aurora borealis with a new troll protagonist named Little Rock. 　  This image released by Disney Publishing shows the cover of

BooksJune 22, 2016

Anne Tyler tames Shakespeare's 'Shrew'

Last fall Hogarth Press published the first in a series of novels by contemporary writers reimagining Shakespeare's plays on the 400th anniversary of his death. So far we’ve had Jeanette Winterson’s “The Gap of Time: The Winter’s Tale Retold” and Howard Jacobson’s “Shylock is My Name,” an interpretation of “The Merchant of Venice.” 　Now Anne Tyler has written a charming and witty adaptation of “The Taming of the Shrew,” moving it to Baltimore, where many of her novels are set, and dialing down S

BooksJune 22, 2016

Smithsonian to host 1st major US Quran exhibition

WASHINGTON (AP) --The Quran, revered by Muslims, is the centerpiece of a first-of-its-kind exhibition in the United States as the Smithsonian displays exquisitely decorated manuscripts from one of the top Quran collections.The Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery announced Tuesday that “The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts” will bring 48 manuscripts and folios from the museum in Istanbul together with manuscripts from the collection of the Sackler and F

CultureJune 22, 2016

Ancient sarcophagus covers returned to Egypt

CAIRO (AP) -- Two ancient Egyptian sarcophagus covers have been delivered to Cairo’s Egyptian Museum after they surfaced at an auction in Israel.Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anani says the colorful wooden covers, decorated with hieroglyphics and illustrations, were recovered after they went on sale in 2012 and arrived at the museum Tuesday following cooperation between the two countries and Interpol. Egyptian antiquities officials uncrate a sarcophagus cover on its arrival to the Egyptian Muse

CultureJune 22, 2016

Netflix set-top box launches in Seoul

A set-top box specially designed to accommodate Netflix programs was launched Tuesday by cable and Internet service provider D’Live.Dubbed “D’Live Plus,” the new product supports up to 1,080 pixels of resolution.  (D'Live)Its remote control has a central button that immediately takes users to browse Netflix. The set-top box also has a mirroring function that allows users to display their smartphone photos and videos on the TV screen.“D’Live Plus” is priced at 150,000 won ($130).By Lim Jeong-yeo

TelevisionJune 22, 2016

Actress Kim Min-hee, director Hong Sang-soo having affair

Actress Kim Min-hee of “The Handmaiden” and Cannes award-winning film director Hong Sang-soo, who is married with one daughter, are having an affair, local media reported Tuesday.According to reports, the two apparently met last year while filming “Right Now, Wrong Then,” which was directed by Hong and starred Kim as the female lead, and they have since been involved in an affair. The film opened in theaters last September.Since then, Hong and Kim have worked together on two yet to be released w

FilmJune 21, 2016

Why is Korean art market vulnerable to forgery?

Artist Lee U-fan will finally have a look at the paintings that the National Forensic Service confirmed as counterfeits of his works next Monday. 　“We can’t conclude whether the paintings are forged or not since we haven’t seen them,” said Lee’s attorney Choi Soon-yong in a phone call with The Korea Herald.　Choi said Lee will then decide on when and how he will press charges against the art forgers -- there are suspected to be several art forgers -- and gallerists, who are accused of distributin

PerformanceJune 21, 2016

[Herald Interview] Soprano Kim Eun-kyung discusses homage to childhood

Once again tackling nonclassical operatic repertoires, Baekseok Arts University professor and soprano Kim Eun-kyung has returned to the music scene with “Beautiful Season,” a homage to the sounds of her childhood.   　The album, which was released on June 9, comes more than four years after her first studio album “The Letters,” which featured operatic renditions of Korean song-poems. 　Veering away from the stereotypical opera album that features modern interpretations of classical scores by maste

PerformanceJune 21, 2016

[Hallyu Power] What it takes to be a K-pop fan

Following four sexual assault claims last week against Park Yoo-chun of boy band JYJ, a group of his fans announced that they will stop supporting the once-beloved celebrity. 　The fans, who were members of a popular online community said in a statement that they felt “deep disappointment and outrage” toward Park, adding that he had “betrayed the trust of 13 years and devoted support.” 　“We will strictly boycott all content or activities related to him,” the statement added. The fans said they wo

PeopleJune 21, 2016

Weibo celebrates Jung Yong-hwa’s birthday

Jung Yong-hwa of rock band CNBLUE received an exceptional birthday present from Chinese social network service Weibo, the artist’s agency FNC Entertainment announced Tuesday.　Weibo has been holding a monthlong event to celebrate Jung’s June 22 birthday, starting with “My Student Jung Yong-hwa” on June 6. During the event period, Weibo users have been teaching Chinese language and culture to Jung.　On June 12, Weibo also launched a Jung Yong-hwa online birthday sticker designed by the singer, with

PerformanceJune 21, 2016

Sistar's 'I Like That' dominates music charts

K-pop quartet Sistar is dominating domestic music charts with new song “I Like That.”　　By Tuesday morning, “I Like That,” the lead track from the group’s fourth EP “Mol-a-ae,” had topped eight major local charts -- MelOn, Mnet, Olleh Music, Naver Music, Bugs, Genie, Soribada and Monkey 3 -- within nine hours of its release. K-pop quartet Sistar (Starship Entertainment)　The new song, the second collaboration between the quartet and producing team Black-eyed Pilseung, depicts the story of a woman

PerformanceJune 21, 2016