Based on the eponymous 1992 American blockbuster film “The Bodyguard,” the iconic movie-turned-musical has made its Asian premiere in Seoul.　A cult classic starring Kevin Costner as Frank Farmer and the late Whitney Houston as Rachel Marron, the film’s soundtrack went certified 17 times platinum and snagged a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, propelling the already popular rhythm and blues diva to superstardom. Having sold more than 45 million copies worldwide, “The Bodyguard” officially becom

PerformanceDec. 21, 2016

AOA (FNC Entertainment)K-pop girl group AOA is hitting the spotlight next month, dropping the group’s first full-length album since debuting in 2012. 　According to an announcement by FNC Entertainment on Tuesday, the girl group will unveil their upcoming album on Jan. 2. The soon-to-be-released new album will also mark AOA’s first promotional activities following the departure of drummer Youkyung.　In October, FNC Entertainment announced that the K-pop starlet had decided to leave the agency afte

PerformanceDec. 21, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) -- A subway line opening in New York City next year will have walls decorated with artworks by four celebrated contemporary artists.Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the announcement about Manhattan’s Second Avenue subway line Monday at the Museum of Modern Art.The line opens Jan. 1 and will have four stations. Each station will display ceramic-tile or mosaic pieces by one of the four artists: Chuck Close, Sarah Sze, Jean Shin and Vik Muniz. Sze’s designs feature objects including

Arts & DesignDec. 21, 2016

Hyun Bong-Hak, the late doctor and civic activist who saved thousands of civilians during the Korean War, was commemorated Monday with a statue in front of the Severance Building in central Seoul.Hyun has been dubbed “Korean Schindler” -- after German industrialist Oskar Schindler who saved over 1,000 Jewish lives during the Holocaust -- here for persuading US military officials during the war to evacuate some 104,000 refugees from battlefields in Heungnam, North Korea. Lee Gyeong-pil (left) and

PeopleDec. 20, 2016

Kim Woo-bin is known for putting a lot of thought into his roles.In the past, he would make a list of 100 questions he wanted to ask his characters, imagining their stories. More recently, he’s taken to picking out fragrances that best suit his character, the 27-year-old actor told The Korea Herald at a cafe in northern Seoul on Monday.“When filming ‘Master,’ director Jo Eui-seok said he would know when I walked past him because of a distinctive scent,” said Kim, who was wearing a comfortable da

FilmDec. 20, 2016

For many theater lovers, there is no greater holiday tradition than to spend an evening listening to the sounds of Tchaikovsky and watching battling toy soldiers.　“The Nutcracker” season is upon us and kicking off the Christmas festivities is the Universal Ballet which is staging the all-time holiday classic ballet Dec. 16-31. The company is also celebrating the 30-year anniversary of its first performance of the more than a century-old repertoire in 1986. 　Joining the Universal’s annual perform

PerformanceDec. 20, 2016

The Herald Philharmonic Orchestra will take to the stage alongside ballad singer Shin Jae, soprano Shin Della, pansori singer Ahn So-eun and tenor Ryu Jung-pil in the upcoming “Nalrari Concert” series in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.　The orchestra’s upcoming New Year’s concert is being held Friday in the Sejong Gugak Center at 7:30 p.m.Ballad singer Shin Jae (Star & Tree Entertainment)　The “Nalrari Concert” series is aimed at providing rural audiences with an affordable opportunity to enjoy classica

PerformanceDec. 20, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) -- Monday nights feel like Saturdays in Rio‘s Little Africa neighborhood when the sun sets and the samba starts to play.Surrounded by a mostly young crowd, seven musicians sit around a table with the small four-string guitar called a cavaquinho, the cuica drum and a tambourine.The instruments and the relaxed format, known as a “roda de samba,” has changed little since its infancy in the late 19th century, when Afro-Brazilians first developed the style in this same neighborho

PerformanceDec. 19, 2016

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A historical group on Friday began preserving thousands of sticky notes placed on the walls of a busy New York subway station over the past month to lament the election of Donald Trump as the next US president.Distraught and defiant residents and visitors to the United States’ largest city -- long a Democratic and liberal stronghold -- have stuck anonymous messages on the walls of Manhattan’s Union Square station since Trump’s Nov. 8 victory. Many of the notes express grief

CultureDec. 19, 2016

ROME (AFP) -- When he was just plain old Bonaparte, the man who was to became Napoleon pillaged works of art from all over Europe with the aim of making the Louvre in Paris a museum for all mankind.Now some of the major works that the little corporal‘s armies took from Italy have been gathered together in an exhibition in Rome to mark the 200th anniversary of their restitution, and the unexpectedly positive legacy of the whole episode.“When the works came back, it made people here realize the im

PerformanceDec. 19, 2016

Zsa Zsa Gabor, the jet-setting Hungarian actress and socialite who helped invent a new kind of fame out of multiple marriages, conspicuous wealth and jaded wisdom about the glamorous life, died Sunday at her home, her husband said. She was 99.The middle and most famous of the sisters Gabor died of a heart attack at her Los Angeles home, Frederic von Anhalt said. Gabor had been hospitalized repeatedly since she broke her right hip in July 2010 after a fall at her home. She already had to use a wh

PeopleDec. 19, 2016

BERLIN (AFP) -- Better known for its electronic music and street art, Berlin is now also home to a budding graphic novel scene in a country that has treated illustrated stories as children‘s literature.Hardly seen in bookstores just a few years ago, German-produced graphic novels now have their dedicated shelves, as not only homegrown artists but also foreign ones find inspiration in Berlin. “It was when I moved here that I felt a need to write,” said Spanish author Alberto Madrigal, who moved t

BooksDec. 19, 2016

Prosecutors announced Monday that “Beautiful Woman” was painted by the late Korean artist Chun Kyung-ja, ending a 25-year controversy over the authenticity of the work which the artist had denied creating.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office conducted a nearly five-month investigation into the authenticity of the painting after Chun’s family sued several officials at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, which stores the piece, alleging infringement of copyright la

PerformanceDec. 19, 2016

K-pop girl group Twice (JYP Entertainment)Despite having only debuted one year ago, the ladies of Twice have already become the fastest selling girl group ever on both the Gaon and Hanteo music charts. 　Twice’s latest EP, “TWICEcoaster: Lane 1” released Oct. 24 and in less than two months the album has sold more than 220,000 copies, making it the fastest selling album by a girl group in Korea. 　The EP features the lead single “TT,” and the “TT” music video went on to become the fastest K-pop vid

Dec. 19, 2016

K-pop group EXO (S.M. Entertainment)The K-pop megastars of EXO are in the spotlight again this holiday season, dropping their new winter EP “For Life” on Monday. 　The five-track album, with its eponymous lead single, was released in both Korean and Chinese. It features both upbeat pop and soulful ballads as well as Christmas-inspired tracks including “Winter Heat,” “What I Want for Christmas” and “Falling for You.”　Along with the album release, EXO unveiled the Korean and Chinese music videos fo

Dec. 19, 2016

Jeju Island expats are collaborating to ensure that Santa pays a midnight visit to disadvantaged children this Christmas, in a gift drive covering all of the island’s orphanages.Jeju Furey will be wrapping presents and making midnight trips to leave them under the tree or in the play room at the orphanages, before returning to run fun activities for them on Christmas Day.“Some of us dress up as Santa while we do it,” said Jeju Furey President Daniel Nabben. “You really truly feel like Santa. The

Expat LivingDec. 19, 2016