'Turandot' musical debuts in Seoul after 6 years

Giacomo Puccini’s three-act Italian opera “Turandot” has been given new life as a Korean-language musical.　Since its premiere as part of the Daegu International Musical Festival in 2010, producer Yoo Hei-sung’s musical rendition of “Turandot” has toured across China, in Dongguan, Ningbo, Hangzhou and other cities. Now, six years since its premiere, the opera-turned-musical has finally made its way to the Seoul stage.Scene from the Korean musical rendition of the popular Puccini opera, “Turandot.

PerformanceFeb. 22, 2016

Beatles songs set to stream in Korea

The music of legendary rock band the Beatles will be available on streaming music services in Korea from Feb. 29, Universal Music Korea announced Monday.　The label said that 307 tracks from the group’s 17 albums will be made available on 10 Korean online and mobile music streaming services, including MelOn, Naver Music, Ginie, Bugs, Mnet, Soribada and Kakao Music.The Beatles (Universal Music Korea)　The original 13 studio albums -- including the group’s debut album “Please Please Me” released in

PerformanceFeb. 22, 2016

[Foreigners Who Loved Korea 12] Chen Guofu, the bridge of the Korean Independence Movement

In Korea’s turbulent path toward independence and nation building, there were foreign nationals who stood steadfastly by the Korean people, although their contributions have been largely overshadowed by those of Korean patriots. The Korea Herald, in partnership with the Independence Hall of Korea, is publishing a series of articles shedding light on these foreigners, their life and legacies here. This is the eighth installment. ― Ed.　During Japanese colonial rule, China was the most important st

CultureFeb. 22, 2016

An intimate view of photographers at work

Exhibition photographs are often polished and flawless, making it difficult for viewers to fathom the complex process of choosing and producing such images. Eschewing this facade, three ongoing photo exhibits in Seoul offer viewers a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes process of photographers by displaying their contact sheets and photo-developing materials. 　Magnum Photos agency and the Museum of Photography, Seoul gathered some 70 iconic images of Magnum photographers and their contact prints, w

PerformanceFeb. 22, 2016

‘Youth Over Flowers -- Africa’ sets record

The first episode of “Youth Over Flowers – Africa,” which premiered Friday, set a record viewership of 12.7 percent, an all-time high for the reality travel series, according to CJ E&M which referenced TV rating figures from Nielsen Korea.  　“The show was also the most-watched show on the entire cable channel networks on Friday night, and widely viewed by audience of all ages, ranging from teenagers to those in 50s,” said an official of CJ E&M, which owns the channel. Poster for the “Youth Over

TelevisionFeb. 21, 2016

China’s increasing presence in Korean entertainment

China is increasing its investments in joint film productions with Hollywood studios, from 3-D animations to drama and fantasy action movies.　The world’s second largest economy, which also has the second biggest film market, has moved from being a promoter of local goods through product placements in American blockbusters to a key film investor.　Audiences can easily see the Chinese influence in recent movies such as “Kung Fu Panda 3,” “Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation,” “Transformers: Age of

FilmFeb. 21, 2016

AOMG returns to U.S. on tour

Record label AOMG will tour the U.S in April said an announcement on Saturday on its official Facebook page. 　Called the “Follow the Movement 2016 American Tour,” artistes from AOMG will perform over two weeks in eight U.S. cities -- Chicago, New York, Houston, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Featuring singers Jay Park, Simon Dominic, Loco, Gray and DJ Pumkin, the label will kick off the tour with a concert at House of Blues, Chicago, on April 5.Poster for AOMG’s 2016

PerformanceFeb. 21, 2016

Umberto Eco: from philosophy to best-sellers

MILAN (AFP) -- Italy’s Umberto Eco, whose death at 84 has been announced by the Italian media, leapt from being an internationally-renowned philosopher to become an author of best-selling novels.　Best known for his 1980 historical mystery novel “The Name of the Rose,” which has been translated into more than 40 languages, Eco’s fiction bears all the hallmarks of his academic work as semiologist as he explores the link between fantasy and reality.　Often called the study of signs, semiotics is a c

CultureFeb. 21, 2016

Harper Lee leaves behind questions about her life and work

NEW YORK (AP) -- Harper Lee has died, but the conversation about the author’s life and work has only begun.　“I think the retrospective will be more useful than what was said during her lifetime, because there are a lot of things we can get down to that were impossible before,” Lee’s friend Wayne Flynt, an Alabama-based historian, told the Associated Press.　Lee’s death Friday at age 89 comes almost exactly a year after her publisher, HarperCollins, stunned the world by announcing that a second no

BooksFeb. 21, 2016

Refugees documentary ‘Fire at Sea’ wins Berlin festival top prize

 BERLIN (AFP) - Italian director Gianfranco Rosi's “Fire at Sea,” a harrowing documentary about Europe’s refugee crisis, clinched the Berlin film festival's Golden Bear top prize on Saturday from a jury led by Meryl Streep.As Europe grapples with its biggest migrant influx since World War II, the picture offers an unflinching look at life on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, where thousands of asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East have arrived trying to reach the European Union ove

FilmFeb. 21, 2016

[The Palate] Winter wellness found in fermented bean paste soup

Korean cuisine has long been associated with the practice of fermentation and the healthful benefits of a variety of pickled and salted foods. As health trends from around the globe are becoming more popular among conscientious eaters, the culinary history of Korea which is rich in flavor and focused on wellbeing, offers much to learn. One dish that stands out among Korea’s most pungent holistic foods is cheonggukjang, fermented soybean, with a unique aroma which makes it an acquired taste.Going

FoodFeb. 19, 2016

‘Youth Over Flowers’ heads to Namibia

Star producer Na Young-seok describes the four young men he whisked away to Namibia for his tvN show “Youth Over Flowers -- Africa” as being “just kids these days.”In a way, that was what he had intended when he recruited Ryu Jun-yeol, Park Bo-gum, Ahn Jae-hong and Go Kyung-pyo, all castmates on the tvN drama “Reply 1988,” for the third installment of the “Youth Over Flowers” series. Speaking to press at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul on Thursday, Na said he made his decision to take the qua

TelevisionFeb. 19, 2016

[Weekender] Moveable feasts: Street foods shed humble beginings

Cheese-topped lobster, grilled steak, steaming bowls of Vietnamese rice noodle and deep-fried whole squid on a stick -- these are but some of the foods from around the globe that can be had on the go on Seoul streets.Myeong-dong and Hongdae neighborhoods today boast street foods that have shed any trace of their humble origins as a cheap, quick bite for people short of money and time. Even staple street foods like tteokbokki and fishcakes have been given new twists -- spicy tteokbokki served smo

FoodFeb. 19, 2016