Momentum gains to unite ancient Cambodian statues

PREAH VIHEAR PROVINCE, Cambodia (AP) ― Rising out of the jungle on white pillars, the new Preah Vihear Museum’s largest building stands empty. But Cambodian officials hope that one day it will be the place where nine ancient statues depicting a dramatic battle scene are reunited from around the world.They came a step closer to that goal last week, when Sotheby’s auction house in New York agreed to return one of the statues to Cambodia, ending a heated legal battle that began when the U.S. govern

CultureDec. 22, 2013

Christie’s to auction trove of 85 Joan Miro works

LONDON (AP) ― A trove of 85 works by Spanish surrealist master Joan Miro acquired by the Portuguese government from a failing bank is up for auction with an estimated value of 30 million pounds ($49 million).Christie’s auction house said Friday the collection is “one of the most extensive and impressive offerings of works by the artist ever to come to auction,” and covers seven decades of Miro’s career.The Barcelona-born artist was influential in the surrealist movement in the 1920s and develope

PerformanceDec. 22, 2013

‘The Attorney’ attracts more than 540,000 in single day, sets record

“The Attorney,” loosely based on the early years of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, set a Korean box office record for attracting more than 540,000 movie goers on Saturday, the highest gross attendance for a single day in December.According to the Korean Film Council, the directorial debut film of webtoon artist Yang Woo-seok drew 541,614 movie watchers on the day, far outnumbering its competitors “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and “About Time,” which marked 151,839 and 132,722, respecti

FilmDec. 22, 2013

45RPM still here and not going anywhere

This is the 20th article in a series on producers, MCs, DJs and artists working in the Korean underground hip-hop scene. ― Ed. The hip-hop scene in Korea was very different when rap group 45RPM first started in 1999. The group ― consisting of members Smash, J-Kwondo and Red Roc ― said back then hip-hop was a culture shock to Koreans who had never experienced it before. At the time only a small number of Koreans listened to hip-hop, and there weren’t many rappers or dancers. Back then, there were

PerformanceDec. 22, 2013

[Photo News] K-pop stars take photos with Choo Sa-rang

Dasom, a member of the popular K-pop girl group Sistar, posted a photo taken with the 2-year-old starlet Choo Sa-rang and her father Choo Sung-hoon on her Twitter on Saturday. The two-year-old daughter of Korean-Japanese fighter Choo Sung-hoon won an annual KBS awards on Saturday for her soaring popularity. The starlet, known as “Little Choo,” gained fame for her appearance in the variety TV show “Superman is Back.” Kwanghee from the boy band group ZE:A also took a snapshot with her and uploaded

TelevisionDec. 22, 2013

Founder of anti-inheritance campaign contemplates roots of personal wealth

Very few people manage to do it. The richer they are, the more difficult it is, they say. But more people are vowing to leave no inheritance for their children and donate everything to society when they die, carrying out the concept of “noblesse oblige” in Korea, where inheriting wealth is still regarded as a natural way of showing one’s love and passing down tradition to the next generation. “It is pretty tough at the beginning but once you understand that everything you have in fact came from

PeopleDec. 20, 2013

Celebrities and fans find common ground in philanthropy

Many Korean celebrities and even ordinary fans regularly take part in charitable giving throughout the year.But with the holiday season just around the corner, the spirit of thankfulness and being mindful of those less fortunate is more alive and present than at other times. Pop singer Kim Jang-hoon, is one of the nation’s best-known celebrity philanthropists. Often referred to as the “Donation Angel” Kim has reportedly donated more than $10 million to charity during his more than 20 years as a

CultureDec. 20, 2013

Calendar

Pop music“2013 Psy Concert All Night Stand”: Psy will be ringing in the holiday season by holding a special four-day solo concert series in December. The upcoming performances will mark his first concerts in Korea in nearly eight months after his globally broadcasted “Happening” show in April, where he attracted around 45,000 concertgoers and more than 130,000 fans who tuned in online for the live feed. The rapper has been busy this year promoting his single “Gentleman,” which was nominated for

CultureDec. 20, 2013

A life devoted to ballet

In 1996, at the age of 37, Choi Tae-ji was appointed the new director of the Korean National Ballet. The Japanese-born ballet dancer did not have much experience in administrative affairs, spoke Korean with difficulty, and was the youngest person ever to serve in the position. She hung up her pointe shoes and never looked back; her life in suits and high heels began. Now 54, Choi is in her last month as the company’s artistic director, after spending a total of 12 years as its head. Her first te

PerformanceDec. 20, 2013

Eyelike: Zion.T brings back old school in ‘Mirror Ball’

Zion.T brings back old school in ‘Mirror Ball’Zion.T“Mirror Ball” (Loen Entertainment)With his distinctive voice, rising hip-hop star Zion.T has released his latest EP “Mirror Ball,” surprising listeners with his take on throwback, old-school trot sounds. The four-track EP feels like a tribute to 1930s Korea, with the album lead track, “Miss Kim” incorporating the traditional sounds of Korean trot-style beats and the artist’s reggae-soul infused voice to create a truly unique addition to today’s

PerformanceDec. 20, 2013

Box Office: The Attorney , The Hobbit, Way Back Home

The Attorney Opened Dec. 18Drama. Directed by Yang Woo-seokIn 1981, Busan-based tax lawyer Song Woo-seok ends up defending young students who have been tortured for possession of “illegal” literature and suspicion of being communist sympathizers. Before getting involved in the case, Song had been very successful as a tax lawyer, but his experience defending the young men makes him consider specializing in human rights cases. The movie is loosely based on late President Roh Moo-hyun’s early years

FilmDec. 20, 2013

Spike Jonze opens up about ‘Her’ ― sort of

Spike Jonze is reluctant to call his new film “Her” ― a melancholy romance about a man who falls in love with a sentient, learning and loving operating system ― “science fiction.”He doesn’t want to talk about technology and the modest leap it makes from our cloud- and smart phone-obsessed present to a digitally romantic future.“It’s not about technology,” he says. Then he corrects himself. “It is, obviously, ‘about’ technology. Just not to me. It’s such a big idea ― that you could, one day, have

FilmDec. 20, 2013

2014 travel: Sochi, Brazil, Berlin, Sarajevo

NEW YORK (AP) ― The Olympics, the World Cup and commemorations of World War I, D-Day and the fall of the Berlin Wall are some of the events that will spotlight destinations like Sochi, Brazil, Sarajevo, Normandy and Berlin in 2014.Elsewhere abroad, a potentially game-changing high-speed rail service has just launched linking Paris and Barcelona. Some travelers may now prefer the train over a plane, with the train ride cut in half to just over six hours between the two cities.Back in the U.S., St

TravelDec. 20, 2013

Winter festivals to light up holiday season

For travelers looking to tough it out in the frigid winter temperatures, there are a number of worthwhile winter festivals where visitors can experience a wide range of snow and winter-fun activities whether it be ice-fishing, sledding or even ice soccer. The Pyeongchang Trout Festival is one of the most popular winter festivals, and is held annually in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province ― known for having one of the coldest, snowiest winters in Korea. Because of the region’s frigid climate and clear

TravelDec. 20, 2013