Bell wishing for peace in Korea rings in Los Angeles

A bell was unveiled in a Los Angeles hospital on Wednesday as a monument to long-standing ties between the hospital and its sister facility in South Korea. Named “the Friendship and Peace Bell,” it rang Wednesday in the dedication ceremony. It did not ring only to mark the unveiling but also because when the dedication took place it was Thursday in South Korea. That is Korean Independence Day. The bell dedication commemorates the 128-year relationship between Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angel

PeopleAug. 15, 2013

Monaco sets date for new royal wedding

MONACO (AFP) ― Andrea Casiraghi, eldest son of Princess Caroline of Monaco, is to marry his Colombian girlfriend on Aug. 31, the royal palace announced Wednesday.Casiraghi, 29, already has a child with the wealthy heiress and socialite Tatiana Santo Domingo, who gave birth to their son Sacha in London in March.New York-born and raised in Switzerland and France, Santo Domingo, 29, is the grand-daughter of Julio Mario Santo Domingo, a Colombian tycoon who died in 2011 and was one of the richest me

PeopleAug. 15, 2013

BIFF gives Asian filmmaking award to Cambodian director

Celebrated Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh has been selected as the winner of Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award.The annual prize from BIFF is given to an Asian filmmaker “who has significantly contributed to the development of Asian cinema and culture.” Past winners include Iran’s Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Taiwan’s Hou Hsiao-hsien and Hong Kong’s Andy Lau. The 49-year-old filmmaker’s works have been largely focused on the aftermath of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime

FilmAug. 15, 2013

Seoul Philharmonic to perform Mahler, Mendelssohn

Violinist Leonidas Kavakos will join the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra led by Chung Myung-whun on Aug. 29 and Aug. 30 at Seoul Arts Center, bringing his highly acclaimed interpretation of Mendelssohn to Korean classical music lovers.This is the second time Kavakos is appearing with the SPO; he performed the Brahms Violin Concerto with the orchestra in 2007.Kavakos, lauded as the star of the new generation of virtuosos, will be performing Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 on both even

PerformanceAug. 15, 2013

Nevada petroglyphs the oldest in N. America

PYRAMID LAKE, Nevada (AP) ― Ancient rock etchings along a dried-up lake bed in Nevada have been confirmed to be the oldest recorded petroglyphs in North America, dating back at least 10,000 years.The petroglyphs found on limestone boulders near Pyramid Lake in northern Nevada’s high desert are similar in design to etchings found at a lake in Oregon that are believed to be at least 7,600 years old. Unlike later drawings that sometimes depict a spear or antelope, the carvings are abstract with tig

CultureAug. 15, 2013

Minds of ‘Snowpiercer’ see ‘miracle’ on film

BUCHEON, Gyeonggi Province ― What is it like to see one’s graphic novel being turned into a movie nearly 30 years after it was published?According to French comic book creators Jean-Marc Rochette and Benjamin Legrand, whose 1984 work “Le Transperceneige” (Snowpiercer) was recently released as a film, it is “very much like a miracle.”  Following the enormous box office success of the star-studded “Snowpiercer,” the story’s original authors visited Korea to watch the movie for the first time at th

BooksAug. 15, 2013

15 years later, Oprah is back in the movies

NEW YORK (AP) ― The day before Oprah Winfrey began shooting “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” she was at the White House, talking to the president. Her access to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (this particular trip was for a 2012 campaign interview) is considerably greater than her character’s in the film. She plays Gloria Gaines, the wife of a long-serving White House butler (Forest Whitaker), whose service spans seven presidents and decades of civil rights sea changes. “They said, ‘Do you want to talk to s

FilmAug. 15, 2013

‘Babayaga’ works magic to make ‘the impossible possible’

Before “Babayaga,” I thought Disney had captured all the world’s folk tales and remade them as child-friendly blockbusters. But author Toby Barlow got to Baba Yaga ― fearsome witches plucked from old Russian legend ― first, and he brings them to life in 1950s Paris.At the center of the novel is Will, a young American ad man who is not a witch. He’s enjoying the pleasures of the city, although he’ll probably soon be heading home to Detroit. He’s a likable, drifting twentysomething, the kind of gu

BooksAug. 15, 2013

Martin Luther King III writes children’s book about his father

There have been numerous books written about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.Some have detailed his work as one of the world’s best-known civil rights leaders.Others have examined his writings, philosophy and sermons.But one of his sons wants people to know another side of him ― dad.Martin Luther King III has written a children’s book, “My Daddy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” about his life growing up the son of a famous leader, who while on the go a lot, managed to still be Daddy to his four chil

BooksAug. 15, 2013

A tale of Korean independence fighter’s family

The story of a Korean family who dedicated their life to independence movement of Korea is being retold at the Seoul Museum of History to mark Korea’s independence from Japan 68 years ago. The exhibition “A Story of the Dongnong Family: 27 years with the Korean Provisional Government” retraces their footprints of life in exile in China after Korea was colonized by Japan in 1910. The 27-year quest to achieve independence is narrated by documents, photographs and belongings of the family and other

PerformanceAug. 14, 2013

Matt Damon: ‘Elysium’ resonates with the world we live in

Following on the heels of “World War Z,” “After Earth” and “Snowpiercer,” local theaters are seeing the arrival of another dystopian blockbuster, this time starring Matt Damon. Damon, who is best known in Korea for his 1997 drama film “Good Will Hunting” which he co-wrote with his friend and fellow actor Ben Affleck, visited Seoul for the first time to promote his latest movie “Elysium.”The film, directed by “District 9” filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, is set in 2154 where the powerful live in a space

FilmAug. 14, 2013

Kim Jin-ho, pop artist Santa to hold collaboration exhibition

Former SG Wannabe member Kim Jin-ho and pop artist Santa are holding a collaboration exhibition titled “Hangang Ae” (“Han River Love”) at Sinsa-dong’s Jaemi Gallery from Aug. 12 to 17. The title comes from the singer’s first solo album released in February. Santa works directly under iconic ’90s singer and musician Seo Tai-ji and is known for his recent collaboration with the design team for energy drink Hot Six in creating the character for Hot Six Light.“Han River Love” features 34 pieces that

Aug. 14, 2013

Fidel Castro turns 87 behind closed doors

HAVANA (AP) ― Fidel Castro turned 87 behind closed doors Tuesday, with official tributes in state media serving as a reminder that the clock is ticking on his revolutionary generation’s grip on power. Castro stepped down as president following a near-fatal illness in 2006, and his successor, younger brother Raul, has said that his current term ending in 2018 will be his last, ostensibly ending nearly six decades of rule by the brothers. Openly acknowledging to Cubans that change was inevitable,

PeopleAug. 14, 2013

Actress, professor donate relief to Yi Jun museum

Actress Song Hye-kyo and Korea PR expert Seo Kyoung-duk have donated a relief work of three independence fighters to the Yi Jun Peace Museum in The Hague, the Netherlands.The Yi Jun Peace Museum was converted from a hotel once patroned by Yi Jun and two other Korean secret emissaries, Yi Sang-sol and Yi Wi-jong, when they came to denounce the Japanese invasion of Korea at the Second Hague Peace Conference in 1907. They died on July 14 of the same year. The relief is a copperplate reproduction of

PeopleAug. 14, 2013