Film fest to explore expat experiences

A new independent film festival will kick off in Seoul next week with a focus on the expatriate experience.The Korea Expat Film Festival KIXFF kicks off Thursday, with a lineup of nine feature-length movies and 38 short films, to be played over four days in venues across Seoul.The festival is slightly larger than originally conceived, but co-organizer Kevin Lambert said it had kept its original spirit. Many of the screenings will be held in small expat hangouts.“I think a lot of people are reall

Expat LivingJune 10, 2015

Orphanage volunteer wins Michael Simning award

Chosun University English professor Al Barnum has won the first Michael Simning Community Award for his work volunteering at Sungbin Orphanage. The award was created by a group of Gwangju residents in memory of Simning, a local expat who led volunteering and community events in the city and also started the First Alleyway, a cafe and key meeting point for the city’s expat community. It recognizes people who have volunteered in the city and contributed to the local community.Four others were shor

Expat LivingJune 10, 2015

What constitutes good photography

David duChemin is a top-notch world photographer and author of best-selling books on photography. Four of his books, including his first and best-known “Within the Frame,” are translated into Korean. But before committing to photography, he spent 12 years as a stand-up comedian, leading a nomadic life. “My path has been a zigzag,” duChemin said in an email interview. “I have been interested in photography since childhood. But I went to school for theology, then I was a stand-up comedian, and the

PerformanceJune 10, 2015

Jo Jung-rae: We cannot, nor should we, erase our history

Renowned Korean novelist Jo Jung-rae, 72, will soon be able to regale in his tireless efforts to preserve the memory of the country’s turbulent history as his epic 12-volume novel “Arirang” has been readapted into a live musical performance. Defying all odds, the upcoming eponymous musical ― which will start its run on July 16 ― comes after years of relentless and failed attempts to adapt Jo’s 20,000-page painstaking tale of Japan’s colonization of the peninsula into a screenplay for TV or film.

PerformanceJune 10, 2015

Lee Seung-gi returns with new album

Popular singer and actor Lee Seung-gi on Wednesday dropped his long-awaited album “And ... .”The sixth full-length album, which was unveiled on local music sites, arrives almost three years after Lee’s last EP, “Forest,” released in November 2012 and four years since the fifth full-length album, “Tonight,” in Oct. 2011. The first single of the album, “And Goodbye,” is a rock ballad track crafted by renowned composer Kim Do-hoon, who is behind Lee’s popular songs “Words That Are Hard to Say,” “Wi

PerformanceJune 10, 2015

Thai interior design for eco-chic living

Thai handicraft has been known for its high level of craftsmanship passed down for generations. Made in all parts of the country using natural materials, small pieces such as embroidery and ceramics have been must-buy souvenirs for tourists. But now firms are combining ethnic Thai handicraft with contemporary design to make functional, sophisticated home interior items. Modern Thai interior design products are now being showcased in Seoul for the first time in a dedicated exhibition. “Live Chic

Arts & DesignJune 10, 2015

MERS fears cast pall over culture

Korea’s ongoing MERS outbreak is casting a pall over the country’s arts and culture scene, with festivals, concerts and other crowd-drawing events getting postponed or canceled. The 2015 Seoul International Book Fair, the largest of its kind in Korea which was slated to open next week, announced Tuesday its postponement to mid-October as public fear heightens over the potentially deadly virus. “We decided to hold the fair at a later late and under better circumstances,” said Koh Young-soo, chair

CultureJune 9, 2015

G-Dragon elevated to art?

Amid high anticipation and skeptics, a collaborative art exhibition with G-Dragon opened Tuesday at the Seoul Museum of Art, presenting some 200 artworks reflecting the world of the young K-pop idol.The exhibition is the first mega collaboration between a Korean celebrity and contemporary art in Korea. The exhibition, co-organized by YG Entertainment and the Seoul Museum of Art, commissioned 14 teams of artists to create collaborative pieces with G-Dragon. Even before the opening, it emerged as

PerformanceJune 9, 2015

Ku Hye-sun to drop New Age album

Actress, singer-songwriter and film director Ku Hye-sun is slated to drop a New Age album Friday, her label YG Entertainment said Tuesday. The upcoming album “Breath 2 ― After 10 Years, 100 Years” arrives six years after her last album, “Breath,” in 2009. All 13 songs of the album are composed and written by Ku. She wanted to depict changing seasons and the solitude of life and love through the album.  Ku Hye-sun. (Korea Herald file photo)The soundtracks of her self-directed films, 2012’s “The P

FilmJune 9, 2015

TVXQ’s Yunho to enlist in July

K-pop singer Yunho will enlist for his mandatory military service on July 21, according to an official announcement by his agency Tuesday.Yunho, whose full name is Jung Yun-ho, is a member of K-pop duo TVXQ, which is managed by SM Entertainment.“Yunho will take part in boot camp for five weeks before serving in his active military service for 21 months,” his agency said. YunhoThe singer wishes to enlist quietly and has hence declined to disclose the specific time and location where he will repor

FilmJune 9, 2015

[Foreigners Who Loved Korea] Hulbert’s legacies live on

On May 21, 1886, in the port city of San Francisco, 23-year-old Homer Bezaleel Hulbert and the husband and wife pair Delzell A. Bunker and George W. Gilmore were about to embark on a journey to the unknown land of Joseon. After launching on June 1 and sailing for 18 days, their vessel arrived in Yokohama, Japan. Moving to Nagasaki, they took another vessel to their final destination of Jemulpo, Incheon. They sped down the Seoul-Incheon road, rode a small ferry across the Hangang River and then e

PeopleJune 8, 2015

Great Mountains music fest to return in ‘French Chic’

The upcoming Great Mountains Music Festival & School will be paying homage to all things French high art with this year’s theme: “French Chic.” The three-week-long festival will feature a number of world-class concert performances bringing life to the sounds of French classics such as Rameau, Ravel and Saint-Saens, with this year’s GMMFS once again being directed by sisters and local classical music icons ― cellist Chung Myung-wha and violinist Chung Kyung-wha. “Elegance is one word that immedia

PerformanceJune 8, 2015

Impressions of a quiet rural city unfold in ‘A Midsummer’s Fantasia’

“A Midsummer’s Fantasia” is being marketed as a romance movie, but its director, Jang Kun-jae, thinks of it as more of a road movie. “That’s what I intended,” he said in an interview. The film, set to open in local theaters this week, takes place in Gojo, a sparsely populated city in Nara prefecture, Japan. It was a collaborative project between Jang and Cannes-acclaimed Japanese director Kawase Naomi, who joined as a producer. Although Kawase had lived and filmed in the area for many years, Jan

FilmJune 8, 2015

CJ E&M exports variety shows

CJ E&M, one of Korea’s leading entertainment and media content companies, announced further sales of its popular TV show formats to Chinese, Thai and Japanese media companies.The formats of variety show “Let’s Go, Time Travelers” and makeover show “Let Me In” were sold to China’s 3C Media and Thailand’s Workpoint Entertainment, respectively, the company said in a press release Friday. Aired in 2014 on Korean cable network tvN, “Let’s Go, Time Travelers” is a show in which cast members forgo all

TelevisionJune 8, 2015

Lee Min-ho to star in ‘Bounty Hunters’

Actor Lee Min-ho is to star in the multinational film “Bounty Hunters,” Lee’s agency Starhaus Entertainment said Monday. The movie will be produced as a collaborative project among Starhaus Entertainment, Hong Kong-based Pegasus Motion Pictures and Harmonious Entertainment Shanghai. The movie will portray bounty hunters ― people who catch fugitives for money ― and will be set in a number of Asian countries and cities including Korea, China, Thailand and Hong Kong.  Lee Min-ho. (Korea Herald file

June 8, 2015

Expats remain calm amid MERS fears

Amid deepening concerns over the spread of the Middle East respiratory syndrome, foreign residents here have remained relatively calm, noting MERS fears have escalated partly due to Seoul authorities’ “clumsy” handling of it and excessive media attention.Some expats pointed out that the government failed to effectively communicate with Koreans as well as foreigners, worsening concerns over MERS, which has killed six of the 87 confirmed cases as of Monday.“Considering how few have actually been a

Expat LivingJune 8, 2015

[Herald Interview] Art crafted by North Korean hands

In 2008, a North Korean leaflet flew under the front door of South Korean artist Ham Kyung-ah’s home. Ham never thought she would see the propaganda leaflets on her doorstep as they were not frequently seen in cities as they were in the 1970s. The propaganda leaflets instantly reminded the 49-year-old artist of her elementary school years during which schools awarded kids who brought North Korean propaganda leaflets to school as part of the anti-communist education campaign in the 1970s. “I coul

PerformanceJune 7, 2015