The making of an exhibition

When Kim Hyon-jeong, associate curator of Korean art at Asian Art Museum ― Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture, arrived at the San Francisco institution in the summer of 2010 after four years at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art where she had re-launched the Korean galleries, her assignment was already waiting for her.The museum’s director Jay Xu had already decided on holding a Korean exhibition at the largest U.S. museum dedicated exclusively to Asian art and culture after visit

CultureFeb. 9, 2014

'2PM's Taecyeon is a big drinker'

 Actor Lee Seo-jin has revealed that Taecyeon, a member of K-pop idol group 2PM, is an extremely heavy drinker.Lee talked about the singer’s drinking capacity during an interview with the KBS program “Entertainment Weekly,” which aired on Saturday.“We recently had a boozy gathering with actress Kim Hee-seon. And I and Kim were knocked down by Taecyeon, who drinks really well,” Lee said. Lee and Kim are co-starring on the MBC-TV drama “Wonderful Days,” which touches on the values of family, the g

EntertainmentFeb. 9, 2014

Calendar

Exhibitions“Julian Opie”: Kukje Gallery presents a solo exhibition of Julian Opie featuring some of his new works portraying the lifestyles of pedestrians in Seoul. The new works, results of his observations of people walking by on the streets of the capital city, will reveal his signature style of depicting people in color and outlining them prominently in black. The works on display are paintings, sculptures and pieces made using light-emitting diodes. The exhibition runs from Feb. 13 to March

CultureFeb. 7, 2014

Box Office: Venus Talk, My Place, The Nun

 Venus Talk (Korea)Opening Feb. 13Comedy. Drama. Directed by Kwon Chil-in. Shin-hye (Uhm Jung-hwa) is a capable TV producer and a single woman in her 40s. She used to date her co-worker, the current chief of their TV network, but he left her for a younger woman who also happens to be Shin-hye’s junior colleague. She has two best friends, Mi-yeon (Moon So-ri), a housewife who is not satisfied with her sex life with her rather docile husband, and Hae-young (Jo Min-soo), a single mother who wants h

FilmFeb. 7, 2014

Eyelike: B.A.P grounds itself with ‘First Sensibility’

 B.A.P grounds itself with ‘First Sensibility’B.A.P “First Sensibility” (LOEN Entertainment)Up-and-coming K-pop boy group B.A.P has returned to the music scene with its first studio album “First Sensibility,” packed with colorful sounds and powerful hip-hop beats.Following a series of successful singles, the new album proves that the six-member group is quite solid, having established a unique style characterized by a mixture of rap and steady vocals. However, the group still has room for progre

FilmFeb. 7, 2014

Kate Winslet plays a repressed mother in ‘Labor Day’

This is a different sort of Kate Winslet than we’ve come to expect.In “Labor Day” ― a romance, a drama, and a woman’s fantasy of what men, perhaps, should be ― the British actress plays Adele Wheeler, a fragile, frightened single mother too wary of the outside world to even get in the car and drive to the market.The year is 1987, the place a small New Hampshire town. Adele’s 13-year-old boy (a very good Gattlin Griffith) has assumed many of the domestic responsibilities. There’s even an Oedipal

FilmFeb. 7, 2014

Asia’s first JW Marriott boutique hotel opens in Dongdaemun

Located smack-dab in the heart of Korea’s largest retail district of Dongdaemun ― home to 26 shopping centers and around 30,000 local specialty shops ― and situated directly across from one of Seoul’s most iconic national treasures, the East Gate, is the new JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul, which officially opened its doors to the public on Tuesday.“South Korea is one of Asia’s fastest-growing global economies and a strategically important North Asian travel hub,” said Simon Cooper, presiden

TravelFeb. 7, 2014

Around the hotels

 Strawberry dessert buffet at Sheraton Grande WalkerhillThe Pavillion, the lobby lounge at Sheraton Grande Walkerhill, is offering the “Very Berry Strawberry” weekend dessert buffet from Feb. 8 to Mar. 30. The buffet is available every Saturday and Sunday and will be offered in two shifts: from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., and from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Reservations must be made in advance. The dessert buffet, which has been running for seven years, will feature a variety of strawberry desserts such

FoodFeb. 7, 2014

Artisanal coffee and bagels

Located in Daechi-dong near Hanti Station, southern Seoul, Sam’s Bagel and Roastery provides a haven for hungry and thirsty passersby. The artfully presented red and white sign and long, broad windows are an accurate preview of the inviting space, which bears all the trappings of a please-come-and-linger spot, from its free Wi-Fi to its solid brews, bagels and scones. This is a place made for all manner of laidback behavior involving multiple cups of coffee and flour-centric bites, because the g

FoodFeb. 7, 2014

Mu namul (radish side dish)

Mu namul is an excellent cold weather side dish. It’s simple, nutritious and tasty! In season, the radish tastes so good in its natural state that you really don’t need to add much of anything else to make this dish delicious. Typically, it is made by a combination of stir-frying and steaming. The julienned radish is first stir-fried with a little bit of oil, and then covered and cooked over low heat to steam. The result is a healthy vegetable dish that is mildly flavored and naturally sweet. In

FoodFeb. 7, 2014

‘Real Men’ adds four new cast members

MBC’s hit reality show “Real Men” will add four new faces, including actor Chun Jung-myung and boy band Super Junior-M’s Henry, while three of its original cast members will drop. “The four new cast members are actor Park Geon-Hyeong, singer K. Will, Super Junior-M’s Henry and actor Chun Jung-myung,” the TV channel said in a press release Friday. “The new recruits will submit themselves to the training center for new army recruits in mid-February before joining the existing cast members on the s

TelevisionFeb. 7, 2014

After 22 years, Leno bids farewell to ‘Tonight’

BURBANK, California (AP) ― Jay Leno has said goodbye to “The Tonight Show” before, but not like this. The comedian became tearful and choked up Thursday as he concluded what he called the “greatest 22 years of my life.”“I am the luckiest guy in the world. This is tricky,” said an emotional Leno, stepping down for the second and presumably last time as host of TV’s venerable late-night program. Jimmy Fallon takes over “Tonight” in New York on Feb. 17.Leno shared that he’d lost his mother the firs

TelevisionFeb. 7, 2014

Seoul aims to boost foreign tourist satisfaction

If a foreign tourist comes to Korea, he or she is most likely to visit the capital Seoul first, before venturing out to explore the provinces. More than 12 million foreigners visited Korea in 2013, up 9.3 percent from 2012. Of these, some 10 million foreigners took a trip to the capital city. As for Chinese tourists, more than 90 percent visited Seoul, according to data compiled by the city-run Seoul Institute. Despite the status of Seoul as the face of Korea to foreign visitors, tourism program

TravelFeb. 6, 2014

Top Hollywood films for February

After the box-office smash of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Frozen,” Korean theaters are welcoming the arrival of another series of highly anticipated Hollywood films this month.Paul W.S. Anderson’s 3-D disaster thriller “Pompeii,” George Clooney’s “The Monuments Men” and slavery saga “12 Years a Slave” are all opening in theaters in February, each offering something different.Among the three, the first to be released here is “Pompeii,” which follows the story of a slave who falls in love with

FilmFeb. 6, 2014

Mystery surrounds theft of Stradivarius violin

MILWAUKEE (AP) ― Violin virtuoso Frank Almond was walking to his car after an evening performance at the Wisconsin Lutheran College when someone jumped out of a van, shocked him with a stun gun and seized the rare and extremely valuable Stradivarius on loan to him. The robber got back into the waiting vehicle, which sped off. Almond, who had been knocked to the ground, wasn’t seriously hurt. But he was devastated by the loss of the violin, which was crafted in 1715 and has been appraised for ins

PerformanceFeb. 6, 2014