All-star Korean pianists gear up for July performances

Several of the country’s top names in classical music are gearing up to hit the stage with new performances, promising a star-studded July for fans of local classical piano music. The first highly anticipated piano recital will kick off on Friday with the country’s latest classical phenom Cho Seong-jin, who last gave sell-out performances here in February. Cho is slated to perform alongside the Seoul Philharmonic at its upcoming recital of Chopin and Tchaikovsky later this week under the baton o

PerformanceJuly 13, 2016

Crime is stranger than fiction

“Murder at the 42nd Street Library”By Con Lehane; Minotaur (320 pages, $25.99)The beautiful and iconic New York Public Library on 42nd Street in Manhattan -- with its stone lions in front, multiple levels and history -- makes a stimulating setting for the launch of what should be a lively series about librarian Raymond “Ray” Ambler. The series is certainly off to a good start as “Murder at the 42nd Library” is fueled by an energetic plot, an evocative setting one can literally get lost in and re

BooksJuly 13, 2016

The good, the bad, the difficult

“Dinner With Edward” By Isabel VincentAlgonquin Books of Chapel Hill (213 pages, $23.95)Isabel Vincent's marriage was on the verge of ending when a friend introduced her to Edward, a man whose wife had just died. The attraction was immediate. What followed was not a romance -- Isabel was in her 40s, Edward in his 90s -- but a close relationship that can only be called love.In her memoir, “Dinner With Edward,” Isabel -- a hard-nosed, hard-boiled investigative reporter and former war correspondent

BooksJuly 13, 2016

Honest observations on farming life

“Dear County Agent Guy” By Jerry NelsonWorkman (207 pages, $14.95)I should have seen this coming, seen that Jerry Nelson's essays about farming weren’t quite what they seemed. I' a farmer’s daughter, and familiar with the irresistible corniness that comes with telling stories about rural life -- the “don‘tcha knows” and the punchlines about winter temps rivaling Siberia -- “and that was just in my bedroom.”Many of the essays in “Dear County Agent Guy” have been published in various farm magazine

BooksJuly 13, 2016

‘Hamilton: The Revolution’: How a hip-hop Broadway musical became an American obsession

“Hamilton: The Revolution” By Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarterGrand Central Publishing (288 pages, $40)The revolution started with the idea that a hip-hop-Broadway marriage was the perfect vehicle for the story of Alexander Hamilton, the $10 Founding Father who created America’s monetary system. The genius who came up with the idea and executed it to groundbreaking, earth-shaking, money-making success is Lin-Manuel Miranda, so it should come as no surprise that he gets “Hamilton” in book

BooksJuly 13, 2016

Seomun Night Market in Daegu aims to become a tourist hotspot

Ever since the Seomun Night Market first turned on its lights on June 3, the nighttime skies above Daegu have remained as bright and welcoming as the noonday sun.Selected as the first “Global Luxury Market” in a contest hosted by the Small and Medium Business Administration, the Seomun Night Market is the largest night market in Korea, with over 80 sellers, 65 types of food, 15 official product categories, and countless vendors and stalls.  Seomun market, Daegu, South Korea (Yonhap)In addition t

TravelJuly 13, 2016

‘Uncontrollably Fond’ captures Chinese audience

Despite lower-than-expected ratings on home ground, the first two episodes of the new KBS series “Uncontrollably Fond” attracted more than 40 million paid viewers on one of China’s biggest online video platforms, Youku Tudou, according to an announcement by the public relations company 3HW this week. “On the first day of broadcast, there was an overflow of traffic and the server of Youku crashed,” said a company official to a local news outlet. “Also, real-time replies from viewers flooded (the

TelevisionJuly 13, 2016

Liam Neeson explains decision to star in Korean War film

It is not every day that a Hollywood heavyweight stars in a Korean film, particularly one retracing real-life events in Korean history. But Liam Neeson, who portrays the legendary Gen. Douglas MacArthur of the U.S. Army in the upcoming war drama flick “Operation Chromite,” says he was made an offer he “couldn’t refuse.”The film’s director Lee Jae-han and producer Jung Tae-won, who helms the production company Taewon Entertainment, were “very, very persuasive, let’s just put it that way,” said th

FilmJuly 13, 2016

Jennifer Aniston: I’m not pregnant; I’m fed up with tabloids

Jennifer Aniston says she’s not pregnant and she’s fed up with predatory tabloid culture that defines women by their looks and maternal status. In an essay published Tuesday in the Huffington Post, Aniston says constant paparazzi coverage contributes to a “dehumanizing view of females, focused solely on one’s physical appearance.” She says the further speculation over whether she looks as though she’s pregnant or may have eaten too much “reflects the warped way we calculate a woman’s worth.”She

FilmJuly 13, 2016

Arlington, Holocaust Museum: Stop catching Pokemon here

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and Arlington National Cemetery requested Tuesday that smartphone users refrain from “catching” Pokemon when they visit. Like many other landmarks, the museum and the military cemetery are featured in the popular new “Pokemon Go” game. Players can stumble upon Pokemon while wandering their grounds.The museum is a Pokestop -- a place where players can get free in-game items -- and online users say the cemetery also contains Pokestops. Museum officials are trying

CultureJuly 13, 2016

Hidden angel mosaic at Bethlehem shrine sees the light

It was hidden for decades at the church on the site where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born until conservationists uncovered it -- an ancient mosaic of an angel.Since 2013, Italian restorationists have been working with the Palestinian government in a mammoth effort to restore the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank -- hailed by Christians as built on the site where Jesus was born.The roof and windows have been restored and mosaics that had become barely visibl

CultureJuly 13, 2016

Couple seeks to end bear bile trade in Korea, build sanctuaries

When Gina Moon witnessed Korea’s bear bile farming practices, she was left with a troubling question: “How could we do this to our mother?” She was reminded of the myth here about Tangun -- the legendary first king of Korea -- that says a bear was the mother of the first Korean.Upon seeing firsthand the cruelty of the bear bile trade, Moon 58, founded moonbears.org, an organization that aims to put a stop to the bear bile industry in Korea, with her husband John William Walker in January 2007. “

Expat LivingJuly 12, 2016

Expat artists team up to extend murals around Mi Cook Oppa

Expat artists will descend on a street in Itaewon to add some color to the concrete.Lawrence Blackman of art group Look But Don’t Touch, said he met James Beckwith, the owner of Mi Cook Oppa in Itaewon, a few months ago when Beckwith led a similar event with another group. Now Beckwith has arranged for a new area to be painted, and Look But Don’t Touch is organizing the artistic side of things.A mural outside Mi Cook Oppa (Mi Cook Oppa)“His idea is to help develop the area by muralising it, whic

Expat LivingJuly 12, 2016

Maestro Chung says truth will soon be revealed

Maestro Chung Myung-whun, the former 10-year music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, is scheduled to return to Korea on Wednesday after being summoned by the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office.Former SPO CEO Park Hyun-jung, who was ousted as the orchestra head in December 2014 over allegations of sexual and verbal harassment by members of the SPO, has filed a suit against Chung and his wife, surnamed Koo, who are currently staying in France, on charges of defamation.Along with the all

PerformanceJuly 12, 2016

Seoul to play host to Asia-Pacific int’l dance fest

For the first time in more than two decades, Seoul will be playing host to the upcoming World Dance Alliance Asia-Pacific International Dance Festival & Conference from July 21 to 24.The annual festival invites dance troupes from across the world to perform both traditional and contemporary pieces that highlight the Asia-Pacific dance culture and showcase them on stages all over the globe, including its recent runs in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore.  This year’s four-day festivities, under th

PerformanceJuly 12, 2016

GFriend returns sweet and strong

GFriend has no intention of losing its innocent schoolgirl image anytime soon, the K-pop group’s members said Monday. They were holding a press showcase for the release of their first full-length album “LOL,” whose track “Navillera” topped major Korean music charts after its release at midnight on Sunday. “For now, we still want to be girls,” Sowon said when asked whether the group was ready to show off a more mature side. “It’s only been a year and a half since our debut ... we thought it would

PerformanceJuly 12, 2016

Sechs Kies to hold first concert in 16 years

Legendary idol group Sechs Kies will be holding its first concert in 16 years, according to management agency YG Entertainment on Monday. The group had split up in 2000, but some members recently got back together.Sechs Kies debuted in 1997 and returned to the spotlight earlier this year when it appeared on MBC’s show “Infinite Challenge” in April.  Since that appearance, the group’s members have been participating in other variety programs, including KBS’ “Happy Together,” JTBC’s “Please Take C

PerformanceJuly 12, 2016