Choi Jun-hee to appear on TV program with grandmother

Choi Jun-hee, the 14-year-old daughter of the late Korean actress Choi Jin-sil who took her own life in 2008, will appear with her grandmother on a KBS TV program. Choi Jun-hee said she would record the KBS program “See-Through TV Inside” on Aug. 17 to share the details of an alleged conflict with her grandmother. The date when the episode will be aired has not been decided.  Choi Jun-hee's Facebook profileChoi Jin-sil killed herself at the age of 39, after struggling with depression for years.

TelevisionAug. 7, 2017

Taeyang’s new record will be full-length studio album

Taeyang will return next week with his third studio album “White Night.” The K-pop star’s agency YG Entertainment on Monday unveiled the poster for the upcoming album along with a release date of Aug. 16. The poster features the singer wearing jeans, white shirt and white hair to match the title of the album. (YG Entertainment)It marks the first time in over three years that Taeyang is releasing a full-length album. Marking his long-awaited return, Taeyang will hold concerts on Aug. 26-27 at Jam

PerformanceAug. 7, 2017

Former Wonder Girl Sunmi to release album

Sunmi, a member of now-disbanded girl group Wonder Girls, will be releasing a solo album on Aug. 22.　The album will mark the singer’s return to the K-pop scene in three years.　Sunmi moved from her former management agency JYP Entertainment to Makeus Entertainment after Wonder Girls disbanded in January. 　 Sunmi (Makeus Entertainment)The now 25-year-old songstress debuted in 2007 as the supporting vocalist in Wonder Girls. 　She halted group activities for awhile in 2010 to pursue studies at Dongg

PerformanceAug. 7, 2017

[K-Talk] Se7en to begin tour of Japan in September

South Korean singer Seven, better known by his stage name “Se7en,” will begin a tour of Japan after a 7-month hiatus. Se7en will perform in Osaka on Sept. 15 and Tokyo on Sept. 17 and 18. The singer, whose real name is Choi Dong-wook, held concerts in Nagoya on Jan. 27, Osaka on Jan. 28 and Tokyo on Jan. 31. He met some 10,000 fans at the tour’s after-party on Feb. 2. His tour celebrated the release of his new album “Dangerman” in last December, which reached the 10th spot on the Japan Oricon da

Aug. 6, 2017

Fans soak up ‘Wet Psy’ at ‘Summer Swag’ concert

When it comes to highly-entertaining K-pop performer Psy, there are some things you just can’t do: You just do not sit down at a Psy concert or leave seat in the middle of the show. Friday’s “2017 Summer Swag” concert (“Soaking Wet Show” in Korean) was over three hours of pure madness and fun that had the 25,000 fans soaked to the skin and jumping with excitement. The show was part one of a two-day extravaganza at Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul, in which the crowd was sprayed with water during

PerformanceAug. 6, 2017

European Jazz Festival to feature rich lineup of top musicians

The European Jazz Festival, set to take place in Seoul from Sept. 1-3, will feature a rich lineup of globally-renowned names in jazz.The festival will be staged at the Mapo Art Center’s Art Hall Mac.　The event, which meets its fifth installment this year, will feature an array of international musicians including Finnish jazz pianist Iiro Rantala, Swedish jazz guitarist Ulf Wakenius, Italian jazz and folk accordion player Luciano Biondini, Belgian musician Myriam Alter and the German team Tingva

PerformanceAug. 6, 2017

Paper boat challenge scheduled on Han River

A paper boat rowing race will take place between Aug. 11 and 15 at Jamsil Han River Park in Seoul. The race, as unusual as it sounds, has annually taken place since 2014. Participants are invited to build their own boats out of cardboard box and row 1 kilometer across the Han River. Photo provided by the Seoul Metropolitan GovernmentThose interested can sign up for this year’s race via Gmarket by purchasing the materials needed to build the paper boat on the day at a price of 60,000 won ($53). T

CultureAug. 6, 2017

[Herald Interview] Ryoo Seung-wan has ‘no regrets’ about ‘Battleship Island’

“The Battleship Island” is a war flick which deals with the turbulent history of Koreans forced into slave labor by the Japanese on Hashima Island, the site of Japan’s first major undersea coal exploitation. It is also a film that is at the center of a heated public debate. 　Some claim it depicts Korean characters as overly villainous in comparison to the Japanese corporate executives who held them captive. But the film’s director Ryoo Seung-wan is confident that he and his crew have given their

FilmAug. 6, 2017

'A Taxi Driver' audience tops 3 mln by 4th day

"A Taxi Driver," a South Korean film about the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southern city of Gwangju, has sold more than 3 million tickets by the fourth day of its release, data showed Saturday.The film hit the 3-million mark on Saturday afternoon, according to the computerized box office tally from the Korean Film Council. The pace is on par with "Roaring Currents," the most-viewed film ever in South Korea that gathered 17.6 million. (Showbox)The movie, starring Song Kang-ho and German ac

FilmAug. 6, 2017

Daughter of ill-fated actress claims abuse by grandmother

The only daughter of the late South Korean actress Choi Jin-sil, whose surprise suicide in 2008 shocked the nation, said Saturday that she has been habitually abused by her maternal grandmother and that police are aware of the situation.Choi Jun-hee, a 14-year-old, said in a social media post that her maternal grandmother verbally and physically abused her to prevent her from making contact with her great-aunt, who raised her after the actress' suicide about a decade ago. (Choi Jun-hee`s Instagr

TelevisionAug. 6, 2017

K-pop singer depicts being victimized by date abuse

Singer-songwriter Juniel recently released a teaser for the music video of her upcoming song “Last Carnival,” which depicts her personal experience as a victim of date violence.The 20-second clip features just the eyes of the 23-year-old, who slowly opens her bruised eyes and glares at the camera.  A teaser image of “Last Carnival” (C9 Entertainment)Last month, CCTV footage of a man brutally assaulting his girlfriend was released via local media, sending shockwaves throughout the country. Police

PerformanceAug. 5, 2017

Song Kang-ho of ‘Taxi Driver’ wins best actor award at Fantasia Film Fest

Song Kang-ho won the best actor award for his work in “A Taxi Driver” at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival, said the film’s distributor Showbox.  Song Kang-ho stars in “A Taxi Driver.” (Showbox)Showbox announced Thursday that Jang Hoon, the director of the movie, attended the closing ceremony of the festival Wednesday to accept the award on behalf of Song. The award marks Song’s second best actor prize at the festival. He won the best actor award in 2007 for his role in “The Show M

FilmAug. 4, 2017

[Eye Plus] In scorching heat, ice is selling like hotcakes

“The hot and the cold are both so intense, put’em together, it just makes sense!” -- “In Summer,” “Frozen” OSTWithout fail, there is one place that becomes frantically busy when the summer season strikes, and increasingly busier with the rise in temperature -- the ice factory.　At the ice factory in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, run by food company Pulmuone, blocks of ice are inspected, cut up and shipped out to retailers. 　Orders doubled the usual amount in recent days, according to production ma

CultureAug. 4, 2017

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and packages

Fusion bingsu at Park Hyatt SeoulThe Lounge at Park Hyatt Seoul, located on the 24th floor and offering a wide view of downtown, is offering two new types of the icy traditional Korean dessert bingsu -- cold-drip coffee bingsu and peach bingsu -- through Aug. 31, every day from 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. The new varieties follow the signature makgeoli bingsu, which was developed by the restaurant and teahouse. The coffee bingsu at 37,000 won uses Yirgacheff coffee beans, almond milk and shaved ice, t

FoodAug. 4, 2017

[Weekender] Stature of cats ‘catapults’ in Korea

In South Korea, cats had been shunned for their association with evil forebodings and bad luck. In the early 1990s, for instance, my mother did not allow me to have a cat because their cries, sounding like a newborn, would give her goosebumps.Cats don’t warm up to people as instantly as dogs do. This led some people to believe cats to be disloyal and aloof. Cats were also thought to be spiritual. When a cat stared in to the vacant air with their glowing narrow-slit pupils, the superstitious bunc

CultureAug. 4, 2017

Winner never felt like it fit in at YG

It is hard to link the word “ugly” with the four model-like artists of Winner, but they used to feel like “ugly ducklings” at YG Entertainment.“Back when we were trainees, we thought we had no characteristics that stood out. We were not like other YG groups. So at first, we would intentionally dress in hip-hop style and pick hip-hop songs for the monthly evaluation (by the company),” said Lee Seung-hoon at a press conference Monday in Seoul. Lee Seung-hoon (YG Entertainment)Kang Seung-yoon, the

PerformanceAug. 4, 2017

Winner shares happiest and saddest moments

Since debuting in 2014, Winner has had its ups and downs. “I think the happiest moment for us was our debut. It marked the moment when our dream that we had had since childhood finally came true,” the band’s leader Kang Seung-yoon told the media Friday.  Winner (YG Entertainment)For Song Min-ho, it was the moment when fans told him that they were encouraged -- even “healed” -- by Winner’s music. “It was an indescribable feeling. I literally teared up,” he said.Lee Seung-hoon said he is the happi

PerformanceAug. 4, 2017

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

A Taxi Driver(Korea)Opened Aug. 2Drama. Directed by Jang HoonIt is 1980. German journalist Peter (Thomas Kretschmann) needs a taxi to get to Gwangju, Korea’s southwestern city swept up in a turbulent struggle between government and citizen. Unassuming taxi driver Man-seob (Song Kang-ho) does not know what is in store for him, and is only intent on receiving the hefty fare from Seoul to Gwangju to pay his back rent. The two realize how grave the situation is upon reaching the city, and Peter, wit

FilmAug. 4, 2017

[Travel Bits] Sights, festivals around Korea

Cultural Night Walk in JeonjuCultural Night Walk in Jeonju, a program selected by the Cultural Heritage Administration in a competition, offers visitors the chance to walk through hundreds of traditional Korean houses in Jeonju Hanok Village under the moonlight.Highlights include a moonlight photography competition, traditional music, Jeonju traditional opera, a shadow orchestra and night views of Jeonju.The event is being held until Sept.13. Visit www.jeonju-night.kr for information in Korean,

TravelAug. 4, 2017

Winner‘s explains obsession with ’four‘

No. 4 was the theme for Winner’s last single album “Fate Number For,” but it appears to have stuck, as the number is plastered all over the boy band‘s new single album “Our Twenty For.” Winner’s first album in four months was to be released Friday -- Aug. 4 -- at 4 p.m., and the press conference for it was held at theater No. 4 at a local cinema. Kang Seung-yoon (YG Entertainment)“At this point, our obsession with ‘four’ is maybe a little perverted,” said the band’s leader Kang Seung-yoon. “For

PerformanceAug. 4, 2017