Most Korean-Americans here did not cross the Pacific to flip burgers, but they might be surprised to learn that it isn’t even an option, based on the Justice Ministry’s latest list of banned jobs for F-4 visa holders.Other jobs on the list include sommelier, postman and gym locker room attendant. The restrictions were introduced in 2010 to protect local manual laborers from competition from ethnic Korean workers from China and other developing countries.But the frequent changing of the list ― th

Expat LivingJune 3, 2015

Four emerging Korean music groups will be performing at the K-pop Night Out concert on the sidelines of MIDEM, one of the world’s biggest music tradeshows, in Cannes, France this week.The four are: The Barberettes, a retro girl group; Loro’s, a modern rock band; Coreyah, a Korean classical music gukak ensemble; and Rock ‘N’ Roll Radio, a rock band.Representing Korean music in their respective genres, they will be performing for about three hours on June 6 at the Palais des Festivals venue, accor

CultureJune 3, 2015

Tickets for a classical music concert or a ballet production in Korea can be quite expensive, particularly when they carry names of internationally renowned artists. A seat at Seoul Arts Center’s concert hall where the four-night relay concerts of Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra took place in April cost as much as 380,000 won ($344).But an encounter with high arts doesn’t necessarily require breaking the bank. If you look hard enough, there are plenty of opportunities where you can enjoy a decent

PerformanceJune 3, 2015

EXO, the K-pop group currently topping domestic charts, sold over a million album copies in two months, recording the largest volume of sales in the shortest span of time for any K-pop act. The group reported on Wednesday accumulated sales of 1,125,020 copies with second regular EP “EXODUS” and its repackaged edition “Love Me Right,” which sold 753,860 and 371,160 copies respectively. EXO had previously hit the million mark in 2013 with EP “XOXO,” a feat no other South Korean music group had ach

June 3, 2015

Singer-actress Son Dam-bi is holding talks to join celebrated actor and businessman Bae Yong-joon’s talent agency, KeyEast Entertainment, though the company said Wednesday that “nothing has been confirmed yet.” Son amicably separated from her agency of 10 years, Pledis Entertainment, Tuesday.“Son Dam-bi was with Pledis Entertainment for 10 happy and enjoyable years, when including her trainee period,” said Son’s former agency, likening her to family. “We feel really sorry (to see her go), but si

June 3, 2015

Korean actor Song Seung-heon has been cast in a Chinese war film, in which he will star beside American actor Bruce Willis, his agency confirmed Wednesday.The high-budget war film has a working little of “Da Hong Zha,” loosely translated as “Great Explosion.”Production costs are estimated at a staggering 100 billion won ($90.5 million) ― far above the combined average of Willis’s five “Die Hard” films ― according to industry sources.“When his preparations are concluded, Song Seung-heon will take

June 3, 2015

For 36 years, the Booheung stone company has been manufacturing stone goods from basalt rock originating in the Cheolwon area in Gangwon Province. Recently, the company’s most popular items have become its millstone ― or “maetdol” ― coffee bean grinders.The maetdol, a stone device used to grind grains by manually spinning one rock atop another, was a popular agricultural tool in Korea in the Neolithic Age and throughout the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties. Now, true to the cyclical nature of trends,

FoodJune 3, 2015

K-pop singer Taeyang, from the wildly successful boy group Big Bang, is in a relationship with actress Min Hyo-rin, both of their agencies confirmed Tuesday.Taeyang is believed to have started dating Min, who is two years older than him, in 2013.Taeyang, 27, is signed on to talent agency YG Entertainment, while Min is signed on to JYP Entertainment ― two of the most powerful record labels in K-pop.“Their relationship is already a well-known fact among K-pop idol singers,” an unnamed friend of bo

June 2, 2015

Newlyweds Won Bin and Lee Na-young on Tuesday denied rumors that the actress is pregnant. The actor couple tied the knot on May 30 in a private ceremony held near Won’s hometown in Gangwon Province. With two top stars getting married in such a secretive fashion, speculation rose that Lee may be pregnant.  Lee and Won, however, denied the reports, emphasizing that the press release circulated after their wedding contained all there is to know about the circumstances of their wedding.“(We) are dre

June 2, 2015

The Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, led by conductor Sung Shi-yeon, is gearing up to embark on its first cross-country Germany tour.The Suwon, Gyeonggi Province-based orchestra is slated to perform its first concert on June 9 at the Berliner Philharmonie concert hall ― home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra ― making it the first ever Korean musical ensemble to be invited to perform at the prestigious hall. The orchestra will then hold performances in Wiesbaden and Saarbrucken on June 11 and

PerformanceJune 2, 2015

According to director Yoon Jae-gu, “Perfect Proposal” is two movies in one.“The first half is a classic romance, while the second is a thriller,” he said at a press preview at CGV Wangsimni on May 28.Unfortunately, the film fails to deliver on both counts.Adapted from Catherine Arley’s story “La Femme de paille (Woman of Straw)” published in the 1950s, “Perfect Proposal” follows a young woman named Ji-yeon (Lim Soo-jung), a tour guide-turned-bartender trying to pay off her debts in Macau. Just w

FilmJune 2, 2015

Korea’s Gracias Choir won the top prize at the 14th International Chamber Competition Marktoberdorf, one of the world’s most prestigious chamber choir competitions, last Tuesday. Helmed by choir leader Park Eun-sook and conductor Boris Abalyan, Gracias Choir competed with 10 other teams in the competition’s mixed choirs category and won first place for its performances, which included “Blessed Art Thou” by Rachmaninoff and Korean folk song “Gakseoli Taryeong.” The choir was additionally awarded

PerformanceJune 1, 2015

A painting by Kim Whanki was sold for about five times more than the highest estimate, leading the sales of Korean art at Christie’s evening sale of Asian works Saturday and Sunday in Hong Kong. Kim’s “Montagne Bleue (Blue Mountain)” was sold at HK$13.8 million ($1.8 million), more than five times its high estimate of HK$2.5 million. It was the highest sale price of the 43 works of Korean artists on offer on the weekend. Kim’s other painting “Montagne” was sold for more than double its top estim

PerformanceJune 1, 2015

“Careful in speech, yet enough to reveal the entire world, and follow murkiness and clearness from time to time. Its emptiness may allow it to fill all things, and its whiteness in quality may reveal its nature.”The poem written on a 17th-century white porcelain work of art decorated in underglaze iron sums up the neo-Confucian virtues of austerity, humility and purity that Joseon scholars upheld. The milky white body, minimal decoration and voluptuous simple curves of white porcelain were some

CultureJune 1, 2015

Rhythm and blues singer Bobby Kim was sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for two years, and fined 5 million won ($4,500), for his inflight misconduct in January that breached aviation safety law. The Korean-American celebrity came under fire earlier this year for displaying inappropriate behavior on board a Korean Air flight traveling from Incheon to San Francisco on Jan. 7. Kim, 41, while intoxicated with alcohol, yelled and created a ruckus inflight and forcibly grabbed a 27-year-old fem

PerformanceJune 1, 2015