Dynamic Duo to hold first concert in three years

Korean hip-hop duo Dynamic Duo will kick off a solo concert tour next month, the duo’s agency Amoeba Culture announced Wednesday.　The duo released their eighth studio album, “Grand Carnival,” last year, touring across seven cities in North America. The group also performed at the record label’s “2015 Amoebahood Concert.”　It has been three years, however, since they last headlined their own concert, “Lucky Moment with Dynamic Duo” in 2013. Korean hip-hop duo Dynamic Duo (Amoeba Culture)　The duo w

PerformanceJune 1, 2016

Unnamed 'Oxygen Thief' becomes self-published success

NEW YORK (AP) -- The fair-skinned man with the hoodie and dark ski cap sits on a bench outside McNally Jackson Books in downtown Manhattan, where neither patrons nor employees seem aware that he's the author of a work so in demand at the store that it’s often out of stock.　Known to his growing fan base as “Anonymous,” he has given us one of the more unusual self-published successes: “Diary of an Oxygen Thief,” a 147-page fictionalized memoir, or autobiographical novel, depending on how much of t

BooksJune 1, 2016

Fat and happy: No one tells author Lindy West what to do

Lindy West is a defender of bodies: women’s bodies, fat bodies, every body’s right to exist in whatever way, shape or form, unjudged and unassailed. “Everyone has a body,” she says. “We haven’t developed brain-in-jar technology yet.” Her writing puts forth the unfortunately radical proposition that each person’s body is that person’s own business.“It is the thing that most belongs to them. It’s not yours,” she points out over sake bombs and edamame dip, pot stickers and ahi tacos. It’s the most

BooksJune 1, 2016

The worldwide war of keystrokes

“Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War”　By Fred Kaplan　Simon & Schuster (352 pages, $28)　You’ve heard the complaining, from the White House on down, about the cyberattacks on our country. Well, yes, you guessed it: We started it.　That’s one of the central thrusts of Fred Kaplan’s “Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War.” Because it pioneered computing, the U.S. intelligence agencies enjoyed decades of dominance over rivals, and even learned how to remotely wreak havoc on, say,

BooksJune 1, 2016

A palace walk with Hamlet, Jeongjo

In honor of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, Changdeokgung Palace opened its doors to a Hamlet-inspired Secret Garden tour on Sunday.“A Walk with Hamlet and Jeongjo,” a tour that is part of the annual series of performances of traditional music in Seoul’s royal palaces, features a recitation of the Shakespearean tragedy “Hamlet.” On Sunday, visitors listened to excerpts from “Hamlet” in unison with the tale of King Jeongjo while taking a brisk morning walk in Changdeokgung P

CultureMay 31, 2016

YG inks deals with Chinese online giants

YG Entertainment has jump-started its expansion into China, forming financial partnerships with online giants there and collaborating with them on variety shows.　The entertainment agency that houses K-pop superstars Big Bang and Psy, among others, announced its partnership with China’s leading online and mobile ticketing company Beijing Weiying Technology Co. and the online video platform of Tencent, China’s most-used Internet service portal, at a ceremony at Grand Hyatt Seoul on Tuesday.　The fi

PerformanceMay 31, 2016

Spain’s Prado unveils major exhibit of Dutch master Bosch

MADRID (AP) -- It may not be the most suitable exhibit for the squeamish but the Prado Museum’s 500th anniversary display of the most and best of Dutch Renaissance master Hieronymus Bosch is definitely a must for art lovers, and maybe gore freaks too.Bosch’s work, with its monstrous, apocalyptic scenes depicting man’s struggle against temptation juxtaposed with idyllic scenes of paradise, has long fascinated art lovers. But rarely has so much of his work been brought together under one roof. The

PerformanceMay 31, 2016

Park Hae-jin kicks off Asia tour

Actor Park Hae-jin kicked off his Asia tour with a fan meeting in China at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium on Saturday, the public relations company HNS HQ announced Tuesday.　The event was to celebrate the Chinese video platform Youku’s launch of tvN’s drama series “Cheese in the Trap,” in which Park plays the male lead.　About 3,000 international fans attended the event during which Park presented an array of programs for over two hours. Actor Park Hae-jin meets his inter

TelevisionMay 31, 2016

JYP artists to hold biennial concert in August

Artistes from JYP Entertainment, one of the country’s largest entertainment agencies, will be performing at Jamsil Arena from Aug. 6-7 as part of the concert series JYP Nation.　The agency’s biennial concert, which started in 2010, presents collaborative performances as well as hit songs of its artistes.  Poster of JYP Entertainment’s biennial concert JYP Nation (JYP Entertainment)　The full lineup and poster for JYP Nation was revealed on Tuesday. Stars performing this year include the CEO of the

PerformanceMay 31, 2016

Sponsors going along for the ride at theme parks

LOS ANGELES -- When Walt Disney opened his famed Anaheim park in 1955, he turned to corporate sponsors to keep construction and operation costs under budget.That helps explain why two of the original attractions were the less-than-thrilling Monsanto Hall of Chemistry, sponsored by the agrochemical giant, and the Aluminum Hall of Fame, sponsored by Kaiser Aluminum.“It was just as bad as it sounds,” said David Koenig, author of several books on Disney.More than 60 years later, sponsorships are on

TravelMay 31, 2016

Korean fashion designers to open pop-up store in Paris

A pop-up store showcasing creations by leading Korean fashion designers will open at the multibrand store L’Eclaireur from June 22-28 in Paris. 　The temporary shop-in-shop will feature women’s and men’s clothing by 10 Korean designers who regularly participate in Seoul Fashion Week and have been selected as “Seoul’s 10 Soul” to represent the Korean fashion scene. The program, run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, offers financial, marketing and logistical support for the selected designers i

Arts & DesignMay 31, 2016

[Foreigners Who Loved Korea] George Lewis Shaw, an active supporter of Korean independence movement

George Lewis Shaw was born as the eldest son of an Irishman, Samuel Lewis Shaw, and a Japanese woman, Ellen O’Sea Shaw in 1880 on Pagoda Island of Fuzhou, Fujian province, China. He married Saito Fumi, a Japanese woman, and the second of his two sons, Samuel George Shaw, also married a Japanese woman. Despite his father, son, and George L. Shaw himself taking Japanese wives, George L. Shaw, was far from being pro-Japanese. Instead he actively supported the Korean independence movement while runn

CultureMay 30, 2016

Korean pianists share top prize at Citta di Airola

Korean pianists Lee Jung-soo, 26, and Lee Dong-yul, 35, shared the honor of winning the first prize at the 8th International Music Contest “Citta di Airola.”　The music contest, held in Airola, Italy, from May 21-29, consists of six categories including soloists, chamber music, opera singing, jazz and pop Music. Seventy of the 700 musicians who participated in the competition were solo pianists.　Pianists Lee Jung-soo and Lee Dong-yul won the first prize in the no age limit section of the soloists

PerformanceMay 30, 2016