Travel Bits

AirAsia offers early-bird discountAirAsia, Malaysia’s budget airline, will offer special discounts to those seeking to plan their autumn and winter travel vacations early.The airliner’s “Early Bird” program will enable travelers to take advantage of its discount when going to international destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Manila from Korea’s Incheon between Oct. 1 this year and Feb. 14, 2015. The program also includes special offers for flights from Incheon and Busan in Korea to Sy

TravelJune 19, 2015

Around the Hotels

Live music at Park Hyatt BusanPark Hyatt Busan’s Living Room Bar is presenting a series of exciting music performances from jazz band BigFace. The band features a range of diverse instruments such as the piano, saxophone, drums and trumpet, and vocals. Mondays will feature swing music; Tuesdays, a trio of piano, bass and vocals; Wednesdays, contemporary jazz renditions of early Bach and more; Thursdays, soft and romantic music; and on Fridays, Latin jazz. Saturdays will see an exhilarating perfo

TravelJune 19, 2015

Healthy recipes from top chefs

With South Korea’s well-being trend showing no signs of abating, health-conscious dishes are an increasing fixture on the menus of many restaurants and cafes throughout Seoul. It is with such dishes that chefs demonstrate their flair for using wholesome ingredients to create palate-pleasing fare and drinks that keep one coming back for more. Now, three prominent chefs are making it possible to recreate healthy favorites at home by sharing their recipes.Haap’s baesukEver since Haap owner-chef Sin

FoodJune 19, 2015

[Newsmaker] Plagiarism claims haunt literary icon

In Korea’s moribund literary scene, novelist Shin Kyung-sook has been almost the only source of excitement. With a growing international profile, the author of 2011 New York Times bestseller “Please Look After Mom” seemed to be Korea’s best shot at producing a world star, like what Murakami Haruki is for Japan. Shin’s seemingly unassailable reputation here, and perhaps her fledgling global career, now faces a grave challenge after allegations of plagiarism surfaced. On Tuesday, fellow writer Lee

CultureJune 18, 2015

Special sermon at Namdaemoon Presbyterian

The Namdaemoon Presbyterian Church is holding a special sermon, history forum and concert in commemoration of 130 years since the First State Sunday service was held in Korea on June 21, 1885.The service is recorded to have been held at the house of Horace Newton Allen, a Protestant medical missionary and diplomat from the United States to Korea at the end of the Joseon Dynasty. It was also attended by missionaries John William Heron and the mother of missionary Mary F. Scranton, records say. Th

CultureJune 18, 2015

[Herald Interview] Dasol Kim talks first album release honoring Schumann

Internationally praised for his refined artistry and classical reinterpretations, pianist Dasol Kim has finally released his debut studio album, “Dasol Kim Plays Schumann,” paying personal homage to one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Following an increasing demand in the European market for a studio album from the piano prodigy, the 26-year-old unveiled his first album in May, featuring Schumann’s “Arabeske Op. 18,” “Humoreske Op. 20” and “Kreisleriana Op. 16.” However, despite f

PerformanceJune 18, 2015

[Herald Interview] Hong Dae-kwang tries out more commercial feel on ‘With You’

Singer-songwriter Hong Dae-kwang rose to fame through the TV star discovery program “Superstar K4,” but that wasn’t his first experience performing for the public. On the show, he created buzz by talking about his extensive experiences busking on the street, and he says that those experiences influenced the way he approached his third EP, “With You.”“I worked with a team that is really experienced and talented at creating really commercial albums,” Hong said in a conversation with The Korea Hera

PerformanceJune 18, 2015

Seven experts provide thorough look at dansaekhwa

“Dansaekhwa”/By various authors (The Grenfell Press) Amid the emerging interest in Korean monochrome paintings in the global art world, an in-depth examination on Korean abstract art has been published in English this week. The book titled “Dansaekhwa,” written by multiple art experts, traces the roots of the Korean monochrome painting movement called “dansaekhwa” and its historical context and developments in ideas and expressions. It also offers individual examinations of seven leading dansaek

BooksJune 18, 2015

A daughter buried in father’s heart and words

“A Goodnight Kiss for My Daughter”/By Lee O-young (Yollimwon) Lee O-young’s new book, “A Goodnight Kiss for My Daughter” (unofficial translation), is a collection of anecdotes, essays, letters and poems in memory of the writer’s late daughter Lee Min-ah. She was a pastor who died in 2012 after battling with cancer, the death of her firstborn and near blindness during her lifetime. Lee is an esteemed writer and scholar who served as Korea’s first culture minister from 1990-91. The book, written i

BooksJune 18, 2015

Ulsan expats run short play marathon

Want to see dozens of plays but don’t have the time? Ulsan expats might find the solution in the Industrial Theater Troupe’s “A Lighter Shade of Black.” Based on an idea by the Neo Futurists theater group in Chicago, the show features 30 plays in an hour.The show is in its sixth edition now ― each one featuring new work ― and continues the tradition of combining light and dark in the title, but also indicated that the mix of plays in this show will be a little less black than the last. “We have

Expat LivingJune 17, 2015

Expat novel looks at the ultimate transition

The expatriate experience is often typified as one of transition. While many settle down in their new homes, others use the time abroad to make a turning point in their lives. But a new novel by Giacomo Lee, written while he was an expat here, looks at the ultimate transition -― death. “Funereal” by Giacomo LeeThe story follows Soobin Shin, a doughnut shop worker looking to step up in the world. She has little luck in her job hunt, until a customer unexpectedly asks her to join him in a service

Expat LivingJune 17, 2015

‘Please Look After Mom’ author faces plagiarism charges

Shin Kyung-sook, the author of international best seller “Please Look After Mom,” Wednesday denied an accusation that she committed plagiarism in an earlier work published nearly two decades ago. The work in question is “Legend,” included in a short story collection titled “Long Ago, When I Left My Home” published in 1996. A passage in the short story that describes the physical intimacy of a newlywed couple bears striking similarities to a part in a Korean translation of “Yukoku (Patriotism)” b

CultureJune 17, 2015

[Herald Review] ‘The Silenced’ visually stunning, but ultimately lacks substance

With lush green mountains, pretty schoolgirls dressed in uniforms, a beautiful boarding school and an impeccably styled Uhm Ji-won, “The Silenced” offers many visual delights. The plot, however, is a messy hodgepodge, the result of overreaching on the part of screenwriter and director Lee Hae-young.“I wanted to create a mystery film set in a girls’ boarding school in the 1930s, full of girlish emotions,” Lee said at a press preview at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University on June 9. “But I wanted to po

FilmJune 17, 2015

A collage of tattooed body parts

A digitized collage of tattooed body parts assembled by artist Kim Joon is strikingly shocking to many viewers. Different body parts ― a torso, an ear, a leg and thigh and a finger ― are tattooed and juxtaposed in aesthetic harmony, prompting both awe and curiosity. In a country where tattoos are not yet widely accepted as a way to express oneself, Kim has been making artwork featuring various tattooed body images since the beginning of his artistic career 20 years ago. He creates images of bodi

PerformanceJune 17, 2015

Lucas’ legacy: 40 years of magic

SAN FRANCISCO ― Ask George Lucas what he thinks about the forthcoming “Star Wars” movie ― the first one the series creator has not had a hand in ― and he morphs into sagacious Obi-wan Kenobi.“I’m very eager to see what they’ve done with it,” Lucas tells USA Today. “You know, I’m not going to be around for 100 years. You reach the age of 70, and you understand it’ll take a decade to do a group of these new movies. So it’s time to realize, ‘Star Wars’ needs someone else.”Three years ago, Lucas, 71

FilmJune 17, 2015