Ukraine’s Jamala wins 2016 Eurovision Song Contest

STOCKHOLM (AP)—Ukraine’s Jamala was crowned the winner of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest early Sunday for a melancholic tune about the 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars by Soviet authorities.　Susana Jamaladinova, who uses the stage name Jamala, received the highest score of 534 points for her song “1944,” after votes from juries and TV viewers across Europe were tallied following performances Saturday night by the 26 finalists at Stockholm’s Globe Arena.　Australia’s Dami Im was second with 51

PerformanceMay 15, 2016

New York spring art auctions wrap with over $1b in sales

NEW YORK (AFP) -- New York’s spring art auction season saw the market slow somewhat but not collapse, held up by buying from savvier collectors.　Since the fireworks of the $2.6 billion spring 2015 season, the market has played it by ear, destabilized by China’s economic slowdown.　Total sales this season were in excess of $1 billion -- in line with expectations.　“There has been a change. There’s a smarter population of people buying,” said Christopher D’Amelio, a partner at the David Zwirner gall

PerformanceMay 15, 2016

[Weekender] Is brown sugar healthier than white?

In the world of sugar, frankly speaking, color makes no difference at all. The misconception may stem from some generalized ideas that brown rice is healthier than white rice, and wheat bread over white loaves. But brown sugar is not healthier than white sugar -- they are basically similar both nutritionally and in calories, experts say.The reason why they look different is because their manufacturing processes are different. After the extracting juice from sugar cane, the original sugar soup is

FoodMay 13, 2016

[Around the hotels] Round up of hotel events and news

　Imperial Palace Seoul Hotel relaunches ‘Familia’　Imperial Palace Seoul Hotel’s buffet restaurant Familia has reopened after three months of extensive renewal process.　The buffet is equipped with upgraded facilities, and has been relocated to the first floor for easier access.　The seven live stations -- grill, sushi, dim sum, pasta, pizza, deep fried and oriental noodles -- provide diverse menus including the signature dishes such as Buddha’s Temptation (a seafood soup), penne pasta, and cold ra

TravelMay 13, 2016

Chamchi (tuna) gimbap

This variation of gimbap is made with canned tuna (chamchi in Korean). You can make the tuna filling the way you make tuna salad with mayonnaise and other ingredients. I added a bit of dijon mustard, lemon juice, and diced celery. A bit of diced onion will be nice as well. 　You can add any typical gimbap ingredients such as egg, eomuk (fish cake), pickled radish, carrot or spinach. In this recipe, I used romaine lettuce, perilla leaves (kkaennip), cucumbers, crab sticks, and pickled radish. The

FoodMay 13, 2016

Bom namul at their peak

As most places around the world that experience four distinct seasons, springtime is symbolic as a time of rebirth or awakening after the dormant winter months. There is no better representation of this than in the first plant shoots that emerge from the cold soils and trees as young and tender sprouts ready to bring in a new season.　In Korea springtime, is a time to enjoy the season’s culinary bounty, young spring greens known as bom namul, appreciated for their unique taste and freshness when

FoodMay 13, 2016

Miami Beach -- America’s sexiest metropolis

MIAMI BEACH, Florida -- This just may be America’s sexiest city -- a symphony of sand, surf and sherbet-colored sunrises set to a sassy salsa beat. It is palm trees and pulsating nightlife; torpid days and tropical nights; shimmering pools and shimmying revelers. 　Can you imagine a less glamorous city spawning “Miami Vice’s” Sonny Crockett and his linen suits or “C.S.I. Miami’s” Horatio Caine and his signature sunglasses?　The epicenter of all this glamor is South Beach -- a slice of sand along O

TravelMay 13, 2016

[Travel Bits] Round up of travel news

 Everland Rose Festival　The nation’s largest outdoor amusement park, Everland, is hosting its annual Rose Festival until June 12. The theme park, located in Yongin just outside of Seoul, is celebrating its 40th anniversary and is currently flooded with roughly 1 million roses scattered throughout the park’s luscious garden areas. 　This year’s Rose Festival is highlighted by the newly established, “Shakespeare Garden,” which features specialized storyboards of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” “Romeo and J

TravelMay 13, 2016

Police arrests alleged art forger of Lee U-fan paintings

A 66-year-old Korean man has been arrested for allegedly making copies of Korean art master Lee U-fan’s paintings, the Seoul Metropolitan Police said Friday. 　The man surnamed Hyun is suspected of creating fake works of Lee’s abstract paintings. The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for him on Friday, the police said. 　According to the police, Hyun was arrested in Japan on April 13. Hyun fled to Japan after the Korean police carried out an investigation into art forgery rumor

PerformanceMay 13, 2016

Foster does what she can with ‘Money Monster’

Lee Gates, the main man in the complex thriller “Money Monster,” plays a popular stock specialist on live television, telling viewers what to buy, sell or hold. He looks and acts like the classic stereotype of a Wall Street whiz on TV -- $5,000 suit, winning smile, sharp patter.　Lee, played by the handsome and genial George Clooney, is big on TV because even when his proposals are risky, they sound brilliant. If he warns that your retirement savings will tank unless you stockpile Nigerian hedge

FilmMay 13, 2016

Eyelike: Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, Mary Chapin Carpenter

Martina McBride shines on new album, ‘Reckless’Martina McBride“Reckless” (Nash Icon/BMLG)On Martina McBride’s first album for the Nash Icon label -- created to market veteran country singers -- she hedges her bets by coproducing with longtime hit-maker Dann Huff (Keith Urban) and relative newcomer Nathan Chapman (Taylor Swift).Perhaps accordingly then, the album presents something old and something new. The four-time CMA female vocalist of the year tosses out a few pop-country trifles: “We’ll Pi

PerformanceMay 13, 2016

Lee Min-ho’s ‘Bounty Hunters’ to open July 1 in China

Actor Lee Min-ho’s big screen debut in China “Bounty Hunters” will premiere on July 1 in China.The South Korean-Chinese production was originally slated to be released in mid-June, but this was delayed to make the film higher quality and to target the busy theater season which starts from July.  Still from film "Bounty Hunters" (Starhaus Entertainment)“The movie is expected to have popular appeal, since it is an action-comedy blockbuster,” said an official from its production company Starhaus En

FilmMay 13, 2016

[K-talk] AOA’s Seolhyun, Jimin apologize for attitude during history quiz

Seolhyun and Jimin of girl group AOA have apologized to the public for the recent controversy regarding their attitude on Onstyle’s reality show “Channel AOA.”On the episode aired last Tuesday, the two AOA members were asked questions about historical figures in Korea. Controversy arose as they were both unable to identify An Jung-geun, a famous Korean independence activist.  Seolhyun, Jimin of AOA (Herald Pop)However, the public was not enraged simply by the fact that the two failed to recogniz

EntertainmentMay 13, 2016

[Box Office] Latest movie releases

The Wailing(Korea)Opened May 11Mystery, thriller. Directed by Na Hong-jinA series of horrifying murders takes place in a quiet village upon the arrival of a strange fisherman (Jun Kunimura ). Policeman Jong-gu (Kwak Do-won) teams up with a shaman (Hwang Jung-min) to get to the bottom of the mystery. Phantom Detective (Korea)Opened May 4Drama, action. Directed by Jo Sung-heeGenius detective Hong Gil-dong (Lee Je-hoon) seeks to find and kill his worst enemy, Kim Byung-deok (Park Geun-hyung). On th

FilmMay 13, 2016

Cliff from ‘My Love from the Star’ restricted for safety concerns

The famous cliff from 2014 hit-TV drama “My Love from the Star” has been temporarily closed to the public over safety concerns since April 22.  　According to the Incheon Metropolitan City, the cliff in Songdo was graded worrisome D and E in its latest safety examination. A scene from 'My Love from the Star' (SBS)Experts have reportedly warned that the cliff face was unstable and could result in deadly rock falls due to having been previously used as a quarry up to 1994. However, the city is know

May 13, 2016

[Graphic News] Koreans vacation more frequently on home turf

Koreans traveled more frequently within the country last year compared to the year before, according to a travel survey report released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.In 2015, about 87.9 percent of the population aged over 15 made trips within the country, a 1.6 percent increase from 2014. An average Korean citizen travels 5.47 times a year for the combined duration of 9.34 days and spends an average of 582,770 won ($500). The survey was conducted on 6,534 Korean citizens, aged o

TravelMay 12, 2016

19th Korean speech contest took place on Thursday

The 19th Korean speech contest took place on Thursday at Kyunghee University’s Crown Concert Hall in Seoul, with the best prize going to Uzbekistan student Rakhimboboev Bakhtiyor.According to the Institute of International Education at Kyunghee University, 1,325 people from 43 countries applied to participate in this year’s event. From this number, 68 made the cut at a preliminary round last month.(Yonhap)A majority of them were international students studying in Korea, but some were practicing

Expat LivingMay 12, 2016

Largest rose festival to open in Ulsan

The 10th rose festival at Ulsan Grand Park will open next Friday. According to the Ulsan city government, it is the largest festival of its kind, with more than 263 kinds of roses that will be arranged for the occasion in a space larger than 44,000 square meters.  (Yonhap)The city said it has prepared a parade and a musical as part of efforts to establish its festival as a prime rose festival of the country. The opening ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. with a “Rose Queen Fantasy Parade” and a

Expat LivingMay 12, 2016

CU launches rice to go with ramen

Convenience store chain CU has launched rice specifically designed to go with cup noodle products, Tuesday.  Priced at 700 won (60 cents), this 125-gram rice is called “ra-mal-bap,” short for “ramenae-marameokgi joeun-bap” which literally translates to “rice that is good to put in ramen.”Ra-mal-bap (CU)It is common among Koreans to add rice to instant ramen for more filling portions. Unlike the past instant-cooked rice products, ra-mal-bap is a basic white rice shaped into a ball that is conveni

FoodMay 12, 2016