The Korea Herald

‘Becky Shaw’ set to bring touch of class to White Box

Probationary Theatre Company seeks to explore the uncomfortable relationship between social status and dating when they bring Gina Gionfriddo’s “Becky Shaw” to the stage starting Friday.A loose adaptation of “Vanity Fair” by William Makepeace Thackeray, the play is the story of a modern day social climber, according to director Desiree Munro.The eponymous character, a down-at-heel 35-year-old temp, is sent on a blind date with a successful stockbroker, who immediately identifies her someone not

Expat LivingOct. 8, 2013

Multicultural festivals to hit Seoul streets

Two multicultural festivals will be happening this weekend in Seoul.The Seoul Multicultural Festival this Sunday will take place from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Seoul Plaza.It will feature booths and activities where visitors can experience cultural aspects of other countries, including food, clothes, music and stories. They will also be able to try their hands at traditional games and crafts. From 7 p.m. there will be performances from Korean musicians, including IU, T-ara and Park Wan-kyu.The Ita

Expat LivingOct. 8, 2013

Gwangju cooking contest for multicultural families

Gwangju Bukgu Youth Center is hosting a cooking competition for multicultural families on Oct. 20.The top prize is 300,000 won ($279), with several other prizes ranging from 30,000 to 200,000 won.The families should consist of a child over 5 years old and one or both parents. Entry is free and the festival will provide up to 40,000 won for ingredients.To enter the competition, submit a completed application form by Oct. 12 at the center, by fax or mail. The application form can be downloaded fro

Expat LivingOct. 8, 2013

Series to introduce contemporary Korean culture

The Korea Foundation Cultural Center is running a free weekly lecture series on Korea’s contemporary culture and arts from Oct. 12 to Nov. 16. The series consists of lectures and trips to galleries and cultural sites in Seoul, led by scholars and specialists in Korea, aiming to provide a broad overview of Korea’s contemporary culture and arts.The first lecture, “Understanding of Modern & Contemporary Art” will be followed on Oct. 19 with a field trip to galleries in Seoul. The next lecture, on a

Expat LivingOct. 8, 2013

Psy lands on cover of Italy’s L’uomo Vogue

Global rap sensation Psy has taken his “Gangnam Style” into the world of high fashion by landing himself on the cover of this month’s edition of Italy’s L’uomo Vogue magazine.The 35-year-old Korean star, who launched his personal catchphrase “Dress classy and dance cheesy” after his record-breaking hit single “Gangnam Style” went viral, has become something of a fashion icon with his signature colored tuxedo jackets and black shades. Psy had the opportunity to work with Rushka Bergman, known for

PeopleOct. 8, 2013

Psy lands on cover of Italy’s L’uomo Vogue

Hollywood vandals deface Lennon star before birthday

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Vandals scrawled graffiti on John Lennon’s sidewalk star on Hollywood’s storied Walk of Fame over the weekend, prompting an urgent clean-up days before fans gather for the Beatles icon’s birthday.The unidentified graffiti artist or artists scribbled a smiley face and various messages on the star, which is next to those of his Fab Four band mates outside the Capitol Records building in downtown Hollywood.Beatles fans are expected to hold an annual candle-lit vigil at the star

PeopleOct. 8, 2013

K-pop star Rain to hold concert in Japan

Korean pop icon Rain will visit Japan next month for his first concert tour after being released from military service, his agency said Tuesday. The “2013 Rain Zepp Tour: Story of Rain” will begin with performances in Nagoya on Nov. 14-15, Rain’s management agency Cube DC said.The tour marking the 11th anniversary of Rain’s debut will also take him to Fukuoka, Osaka and Tokyo, it said.The 31-year-old K-pop star was released after completing 21 months of mandatory military service in July.Rain, w

Oct. 8, 2013

K-pop star Rain to hold concert in Japan

Service to mark 30 years since Rangoon bombing

An official memorial service will be held at Seoul National Cemetery Wednesday morning to memorialize 17 Koreans killed, mostly senior government officials, in a bombing in Rangoon, Myanmar, 30 years ago.About 40 high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are to attend the ceremony, organized by the ministry to mark the 30th anniversary of the tragic event.Surviving family members are also expected at the event.On Oct. 9, 1983, 17 Koreans lost their lives in the North Korean orche

PeopleOct. 8, 2013

Service to mark 30 years since Rangoon bombing

Guests praise unique celebrations, Herald’s creative expansion draw

Prime Minister Chung Hong-won makes congratulatory remarks at the 60th anniversary ceremony of Herald Corp. and the opening of Herald Design Week. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald)Prime Minister Chung Hong-won and ruling Saenuri Party chairman Rep. Hwang Woo-yea were among the some 300 high profile figures attending the event Monday evening celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Korea Herald which also marked the start of the Herald Design Week. Representatives of 19 diplomatic missions to Kore

Arts & DesignOct. 8, 2013

Guests praise unique celebrations, Herald’s creative expansion draw

Fraser Doherty: Self-proclaimed ‘JamBoy’ shares secrets to success

With his whole life still ahead of him, the 24-year-old founder and CEO of the international fruit jam company “SuperJam” Fraser Doherty shared the stories behind the success of his childhood business during a keynote speech presented during a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of Herald Corp. held at the Blue Square in Hannam-dong on Monday night. Scottish-raised Doherty’s first venture into business was an attempt at starting a chicken farm with his friend at the age of 10. Although his dre

CultureOct. 8, 2013

Fraser Doherty: Self-proclaimed ‘JamBoy’ shares secrets to success

Don Tae Lee: Departure from the familiar leads one to creativity

Born in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, in the late 1960s, London-based design expert Don Tae Lee grew up without electricity. “Whenever I tell my employees in England about my upbringing, they don’t believe me,” said the 45-year-old during the opening ceremony of the Herald Design Week held in Seoul on Monday.“And I, who grew up without lights at home, am now working for a foreign company. I somehow moved to England, somehow got myself to speak English, and somehow got myself hired at Tangerine. I

Arts & DesignOct. 8, 2013

Don Tae Lee: Departure from the familiar leads one to creativity

Tim Brown: Design is key to success in complex, volatile world

In today’s society and the ever more complex and volatile business world, design can provide creative solutions to tackle the complexities organizations face, according to Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO. “Design has never been more influential in the world of business,” said Brown during a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of Herald Corp. on Monday in Seoul. In a 15-minute speech, Brown, a leading figure in design thinking, gave a quick preview of his lecture on design-led innovations, which he will

Arts & DesignOct. 8, 2013

Tim Brown: Design is key to success in complex, volatile world

Argentina's president to undergo surgery on head

Argentina's president will undergo surgery Tuesday to remove blood between her brain and skull that has been causing new and worrying symptoms, her physicians said.The president's doctors said they had ordered President Cristina Fernandez on Saturday to rest for a month after discovering the subdural hematoma _ a clot inside her skull pressuring her brain and causing headaches. In some patients, such blood clots reabsorb by themselves over time. But the situation became more urgent after Fernand

PeopleOct. 8, 2013

Chung Kyung-wha finds second life, freedom and inner self after injury

In 1958, young violinist Chung Kyung-wha performed a Mozart concerto with her friends and received rave response from the audience. That was the first time she realized the power of the audience and the energy she can receive from people. The now 65-year-old virtuoso is reaching out to the audience once again after an eight-year hiatus, a break that was caused by an injury to her left index finger. Chung has been holding her comeback recital, “Beyond Expectation,” in Asia, starting in Japan in J

PerformanceOct. 7, 2013

Chung Kyung-wha finds second life, freedom and inner self after injury

U.S. scholar receives medal for contribution to Hangeul studies

Robert Ramsey, director of the center of East Asian Studies at the University of Maryland, is to receive an Order of Cultural Merit from the Korean government, along with nine others who have contributed to the study and promotion of Hangeul, the Culture Ministry said Monday.Ramsey, 72, is known for his research into the Korean language. In 2011, he published “A History of the Korean Language,” the first history book on the subject ever written in English. The 2013 list of medal recipients also

PerformanceOct. 7, 2013

U.S. scholar receives medal for contribution to Hangeul studies

Standardized Romanization of Korean foods to be released

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Monday that it would be releasing a draft for the standard Romanization and translation of Korean dishes in commemoration of Hangeul Day on Oct. 9. Hangeul Day celebrates the invention of the Korean writing system during King Sejong’s reign in 1447 and became an official national holiday again this year. The Ministry of Culture worked closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to produce a draft that includes the Romaniz

CultureOct. 7, 2013

Warhol paintings up for sale in New York could fetch $120 million

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Two masterpieces by U.S. artist Andy Warhol go under the hammer in New York next month, with the highlights of the auction season expected to fetch up to $120 million.“Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)” seen in public only once in the last 26 years, will be sold by Sotheby’s on Nov. 13 for an expected $60 million.“Coca-Cola (3),” one of Warhol’s most famous pop art paintings that has been widely exhibited, is expected to sell for $40-60 million at Christie’s on Nov. 12.Warhol,

PerformanceOct. 7, 2013

Warhol paintings up for sale in New York could fetch $120 million

Publishing start-ups flock to world’s biggest book fair

BERLIN (AFP) ― A rush of publishing start-ups and ever new ways to lure readers in an industry with Amazon breathing down its neck will be a central theme at the world’s biggest book fair, opening in Germany on Wednesday.Faced with competition from the online giant, publishers face an “imperative to be big,” organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair say, pointing to this year’s merger to create Penguin Random House.But the flipside is that start-ups are springing up as continental Europe now follows

BooksOct. 7, 2013

Italian film director commits suicide

ROME (AFP) ― Italian film director Carlo Lizzani committed suicide on Saturday by jumping from a third-floor window in Rome at the age of 91, the police said.The death comes nearly three years after another well-known director, Mario Monicelli, died the same way, jumping from a hospital window in Rome.Lizzani, who was head of the Venice film festival for three years, began his career just after World War II in 1948 with a documentary about Italian Communist Party leader Palmiro Togliatti.He also

PeopleOct. 7, 2013

KARA could be reduced to trio

Despite the recent release of the group’s fourth studio album “Full Bloom,” KARA fans received surprising news in the past week when rumors began to surface that member Nicole would be leaving the group. On Sunday, representatives of KARA’s agency DSPmedia finally announced that the rumors were indeed true and that Nicole had expressed her intention not to renew her contract with the agency. It added that she would officially end her activities as a member at the beginning of next year. The agen

Oct. 7, 2013