Singer Lee Seung-chul to perform at U.N. conference in Gyeongju

Singer Lee Seung-chul has been appointed the promotional ambassador for the 66th U.N. DPI/NGO Conference, the world’s largest event for nongovernmental organizations.　“Lee Seung-chul has been selected due to the sincerity he has showed through his consistent charity work,” an organizer of the conference said at the ceremony for his appointment on Thursday morning at the Korea Press Center in Seoul.　Lee gave funds to build schools in the Central African country Chad from 2010 to 2015, visiting th

PerformanceApril 7, 2016

Cookbook, a long journey into Korean-American food

“Koreatown: A Cookbook” (Clarkson Potter, $30) is a cookbook, yes, but chef Deuki Hong and journalist Matt Rodbard go further than recipes, distilling two years of research, interviews and dining across the United States into what they write is “a candid and uncompromised snapshot of what it‘s like to eat and drink in Korean-American communities today.”　“For me, coming as a Korean-American, there’s a sense of pride,” said Hong, who along with Rodbard met me at Dancen, a small Korean grill restau

FoodApril 7, 2016

Gucci to unify sexes in one catwalk show

MILAN (AFP) -- Gucci is taking its recent embrace of androgynous looks to its natural conclusion by combining its womenswear and menswear collections into unified catwalk shows from next year.　The move, which could herald the end of the current system of separate menswear and womenswear weeks in the style capitals of the world, is the latest bold step by Alessandro Michele, the creative director credited with putting Gucci back at the top of the fashion tree.　It was announced by Gucci President

Arts & DesignApril 7, 2016

Arts fest Big Day South makes Gwangju foray

 Annual audiovisual festival Big Day South is gearing up for its first show in Gwangju this month, with a collection of music, visual and performing arts. Run by art magazine Angle, the festival seeks to bring together expat and Korean artists in the south of the country. Angle founder and Big Day South organizer Philip Brett said that holding the festival’s third outing in Gwangju was a chance to broaden out.“The previous two were in Daegu and Ulsan, so they are quite close together. So I thoug

Expat LivingApril 6, 2016

ANZA Korea ball to feature Kylie tribute

The Australia and New Zealand Association of Korea will hold its annual charity ball this month, featuring a tribute group to international pop icon Kylie Minogue.Also known as “Kylie’s favorite Kylie,” 100% KYLIE will perform in Seoul for the first time for the charity ball, with a spectacular stage show complete with classic Kylie hits and a whole lot of feathers and sparkles.This year’s “focus charity” is the Mubeopjeongsa House of Youth in Yongin, also known as “Big Mama’s House.”  100% KYLI

Expat LivingApril 6, 2016

Starbucks Korea receives award for equal opportunity employment

Lee Seock-koo, head of Starbucks Korea, has received a presidential medal for the coffee chain’s efforts to provide equal workplace opportunities for people with disabilities, the company said Wednesday.The CEO was given the award at an annual convention to promote employment of the disabled. It was organized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the state-run Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled.Starbucks Korea CEO Lee Seock-koo (right) receives a presidential medal from Labor Ministe

PeopleApril 6, 2016

Korean shamanic ritual documented in photography

Rare photographs that offer a glimpse of shamanic rituals and ceremonies in Korea are currently on view at the National Folk Museum of Korea. The exhibition features some 100 photographs, taken by the late Kim Soo-nam, a photojournalist who devoted more than 30 years to documenting scenes of shamanic rituals in Korea and other Asian countries. The photos reveal scenes of 22 major shamanic rituals that were or have long been practiced in Korea. The photos were culled from a vast archive of some 1

CultureApril 6, 2016

'Produce 101' winners release ‘Crush’

I.O.I, the final 11-member girl group from Mnet’s recently concluded music competition show “Produce 101,” dropped their first single, “Crush,” Tuesday.　“Crush,” written by Ryan Jhun, was performed by 22 competitors of the audition show for the final match that aired April 1. This time, the song was recorded by the 11 winners who will debut as I.O.I, said CJ E&M.　The song features a melody that is easy to sing along to and powerful choreography that matches the group’s concept.  A screen capture

PerformanceApril 6, 2016

JYP ‘Still Alive'

Singer and producer Park Jin-young is out to prove his relevancy. He will be releasing a digital single “Still Alive” on April 10, JYP Entertainment announced Tuesday.　“Still Alive,” which was written by Park, reflects the singer’s perpetual enthusiasm with its uplifting rhythm and melody, added the agency.　The singer also released a teaser video on YouTube on Tuesday.A screen capture of singer and producer Park Jin-young‘s “Still Alive” teaser video (JYP Entertainment)　In the video, the singer

PerformanceApril 6, 2016

Suede, Two Door Cinema Club to play at Pentaport Rock Fest

Rock bands Suede and Two Door Cinema Club will be performing at this year’s Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival, announced the festival’s organizer Yescomm Entertainment in a second lineup list released Wednesday.      　English alternative band Suede released its seventh album “Nothing Thoughts” earlier this year, while Irish indie rock band Two Door Cinema, whose second album “Beacon” in 2012 topped the Irish Albums Chart, has gained international popularity for its electro pop rock.  British rock

PerformanceApril 6, 2016

Technicolor stores Hollywood history in a bottle

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- A Technicolor scientist surrounded by the latest virtual reality technology inspects a vial containing a few droplets of water -- and 1 million copies of an old movie encoded into DNA.　The company has come a long way since the Hollywood golden age, when the world gazed in awe at the lush palette of “The Wizard of Oz” and “Gone with the Wind” provided by its three-strip cameras.　Now celebrating its centenary year, Technicolor’s laboratories are at the cutting edge of the scie

FilmApril 6, 2016

[Herald review] One woman's jealousy in 'Love, Lies'

Like the faces of its heroines, “Love, Lies” is a meticulously made-up movie. The picturesque streets of 1940s Seoul are recreated down to minute detail, and pastel hanbok -- traditional Korean costumes -- daintily embroidered with lace and floral patterns often fill the screen. It is undoubtedly no coincidence that the movie’s local release date is set for early April, when cherry blossoms are in bloom around the country. Every scene and every line of dialogue seems scrupulously arranged for a

FilmApril 6, 2016

Spain in Our Hearts’ tells the American story of the Spanish civil war

“Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939”　By Adam Hochschild　Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (464 pages, $30)　The Spanish civil war, which ran from 1936 to 1939, is most notable to historians for how it foreshadowed the horrors of World War II.　Yet few distant conflicts are so burned into our culture and consciousness.　Ernest Hemingway, who covered the war, made it the setting of “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “the best goddamn book” he ever wrote. George Orwell, who fought in i

BooksApril 6, 2016