The Korea Herald

Canapes under the canopy? Paris gentrifies rusty mall

PARIS (AP) -- Swapping burgers for lobster souffle and rusty welding for a state-of-the-art canopy roof, Paris' mayor this month unveiled a $1 billion revamp of the city’s dilapidated main shopping and transport complex, Les Halles. 　Paris authorities view the building project -- which made central Paris a construction site pockmarked with cranes for seven years -- as an opportunity to gentrify the ‘70s complex that was often voted among the city's the biggest eyesores by disgruntled Paris resid

TravelApril 21, 2016

Canapes under the canopy? Paris gentrifies rusty mall

Shakespeare’s hometown welcomes world for 400th anniversary

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, United Kingdom (AFP) -- William Shakespeare's hometown is bracing for a surge of visitors from around the world this month as it marks 400 years since the death of the foremost playwright in the English language.　A parade to Shakespeare’s grave and fireworks will round off a day of theater, dancing, music and parades in the picture-postcard streets of Stratford-upon-Avon.　And some of Britain's finest actors are returning to the town’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre to perform his

CultureApril 21, 2016

Shakespeare’s hometown welcomes world for 400th anniversary

Millennium sequel to be written in American detective fiction style

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Swedish author David Lagercrantz, who took over the Millennium crime series from the late Stieg Larsson, said the fifth book will be written in a straight-talking style popularized by Raymond Chandler.　But in an interview with the Swedish daily newspaper DN published Tuesday, Lagercrantz admitted that finding his voice in this new style was tough.　“It's so much harder to write hard-boiled fiction than I thought. Good hard-boiled prose needs rhythm. You have to vary the sentence

BooksApril 21, 2016

Song Hye-kyo calls Song Joong-ki the ‘perfect male lead’

Actress Song Hye-kyo said she thoroughly enjoyed filming alongside actor Song Joong-ki and called him the “perfect male lead.”“When I read the script for ‘Descendants,’ I thought that the male lead would have to do a really good job for the drama to succeed,” said the actress, who recently starred as the vivacious Dr. Kang Mo-yeon in the smash-hit TV drama “Descendants of the Sun,” at a press conference Wednesday. “Song Joong-ki did such a good job at achieving that difficult task, and made (the

TelevisionApril 20, 2016

Song Hye-kyo calls Song Joong-ki the ‘perfect male lead’

Mail art collaboration keeps artists in touch

Missing paintings, missing painters and delays, it turns out that organizing a mail art project was not as simple as Martyn Thompson anticipated.The expat artist organized the international project in which each participant worked on a collaborative artwork twice the width and length of a standard sheet of paper for a month before sending it to the next artist. In part it was an opportunity to rediscover the anticipation of getting things in the mail.“Christmas and birthdays -- when you got some

Expat LivingApril 20, 2016

Mail art collaboration keeps artists in touch

Talk to introduce 'Solitary Sage' Choi Chi-won

Chung-Ang University professor David Mason will be giving a talk on the ninth-century scholar, writer and spiritual sage Choi Chi-won.Choi served as a successful government official in both Tang China and Korea, but spent his later years in effective internal exile in Korea, during which he practiced Daoism and lived in great Buddhist temples, recording their histories. According to Mason, who has recently completed a book on the scholar, Choi exemplifies the tragic spirit of the Unified Shilla

Expat LivingApril 20, 2016

‘Death of an Anarchist’blends social commentary, comedy

Busan expats will have a rebel to root for -- or not -- in a satirical classic play that starts its run this weekend.Busan English Theatre Association is staging “Accidental Death of an Anarchist,” by Dario Fo, over two weekends.The play is a work of fiction, but was inspired by the real-life case of an activist who died in police custody while being investigated for a bombing he did not carry out -- the cause of his fall from a fourth-floor police station window being unclear. In Fo’s narrative

Expat LivingApril 20, 2016

‘Death of an Anarchist’blends social commentary, comedy

Seoul center provides psychological support service

Seoul Global Center is offering psychological counseling on a weekly basis to expats suffering from social conflicts and stress.The counseling, available in English and Korean, is available on Thursday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon. It is provided by a member of the Korea Employee Assistance Professionals Association. Up to six 60-minute sessions will be available per person to discuss social conflicts, problems with work-life balance and similar issues.Michelle Kang from the Seoul Global Center

Expat LivingApril 20, 2016

Dansaekhwa in limelight in art hubs

A series of Dansaekhwa painting exhibitions are taking place at art fairs and exhibitions in the art hubs of New York, Brussels and France, solidifying the Korean monochrome art movement’s presence in the Western art scene. Paintings of two acclaimed Dansaekhwa artists -- Ha Chong-hyun and Kwon Young-woo -- will be on view at Art Brussels from April 22-24, in Belgium. Are Brussels is one of the Europe’s oldest art fairs, founded in 1968. New York-based Tina Kim Gallery will present 20 paintings

PerformanceApril 20, 2016

Artday to hold April auction

Herald Artday, a subsidiary of Herald Corp., is holding an online auction from April 22-26 presenting major artworks of modern and contemporary Korean artists. 　The art auction features 180 artworks of renowned Korean artists, including Kim Tschang-yeul, Lee U-fan, Lee Bae, Chun Kyung-ja, Kim Jong-hak and Nam June Paik. Highlights of the auction include a painting by Kim Tschang-yeul which depicts water drops against a page of an old book page written in Chinese characters, and a pencil drawing

PerformanceApril 20, 2016

Syria’s Palmyra arch, destroyed by IS, recreated in London

LONDON (AP) -- A 2,000-year-old triumphal arch destroyed by the Islamic State group in Syria has risen again -- in replica -- in London's Trafalgar Square.　The Arch of Triumph in Palmyra formed part of one of the world’s most extensive ancient archaeological sites. The ancient city, a UNESCO world heritage site, was among Syria’s main tourist attractions before the civil war erupted in 2011.　IS militants overran Palmyra in May 2015, demolishing Roman-era monuments including the archway and two l

PerformanceApril 20, 2016

Out-of-the-ordinary project blends jazz, art for a new work

NEW YORK (AP) -- Pianist Vijay Iyer has an unlikely backstory for a musician who's been voted jazz artist of the year in Downbeat magazine’s critics’ poll, received a MacArthur Foundation genius grant, and is a professor in Harvard’s music department.　Largely self-taught on piano, he majored in physics and mathematics at Yale. At age 23, while pursuing his doctorate in physics at the University of California at Berkeley, he took the risky decision to become a professional musician to his parents

PerformanceApril 20, 2016

Morocco: one of the world’s oldest libraries is renovated

FEZ, Morocco (AP) -- The settling dust from renovations and the banging of tools are not ideal sights and sounds for a library -- but this is no ordinary library.　Founded 12 centuries ago by a pioneering woman and nestled in the old medina of Fez, Morocco’s University of al-Qarawiyyin library is one of the world’s oldest libraries, home to unique Islamic manuscripts treasured by historians. Yet it has been largely hidden from the public. The architect leading its restoration, Fez native Aziza Ch

CultureApril 20, 2016

Morocco: one of the world’s oldest libraries is renovated

Celebrity couple’s house wins in World Architecture Awards

Korean celebrity couple Jang Dong-gun and Ko So-young’s house in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, was recognized in the 22nd World Architecture Awards, the World Architecture Community announced Tuesday.　The couple’s Sincheon-ri House was built by Kwak Hee-soo, principal of IDMM Architects, in December 2013, upon the couple’s request for a serene shelter from their hectic routines, explained IDMM. Couple Jang Dong-gun and Ko So-young’s Sincheon-ri House in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. (IDMM Architec

Arts & DesignApril 20, 2016

Celebrity couple’s house wins in World Architecture Awards

Hallyu celebrity math book to be published abroad

What happens when K-pop and K-drama team up with Korean education? A book on easy ways to learn math.　“Kim Jeong-hoon’s Math Essay” written by singer-turned-actor Kim Jeong-hoon is slated to be published in six places in Asia -- China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia -- in their respective native languages, Kim’s agency Mars Entertainment announced Tuesday. Cover of “Kim Jeong-hoon’s Math Essay” (Zzim Mission)　Major Chinese publisher Posts & Telecom Press has confirmed its init

PerformanceApril 20, 2016

Hallyu celebrity math book to be published abroad

I’d Watch That website asks public to make, judge TV ideas

LOS ANGELES (AP) – You’re mystified by the number of destined-for-failure shows on TV and figure you could make better picks than network executives. 　Or you sneer at the recycled concepts of too many dull series when you have a killer original story to tell.　Whether you fall into either camp or both, there’s a new website for you to play on: I’d Watch That, which launched five months ago with some heavyweight financial backers. 　It invites aspiring TV makers to post a “sizzle” reel of up to two

TelevisionApril 20, 2016

‘Descendants of the Sun’ filming set to be rebuilt

The filming set of KBS2 hit TV drama series “Descendants of the Sun” in Taebaek, Gangwon Province, will be restored by the end of June, the city announced Tuesday.　KBS, drama production company NEW and the city of Taebaek met Monday to discuss the restoration of the film set. They decided to rebuild the site by no later than June, the city announced. 　As the TV drama has garnered a great deal of attention at home and abroad, the demand of tourists seeking to visit the site is soaring, said the c

TelevisionApril 20, 2016

‘Descendants of the Sun’ filming set to be rebuilt

‘Kill Me, Heal Me’ wins Houston drama awards

Korean TV series “Kill Me, Heal Me” has won best drama at the World Fest-Houston International Film Festival, the television network that aired the show said Tuesday.　The MBC show starring actor Ji Sung and actress Hwang Jeong-eum won the Grand Prize in the TV Series-Dramatic category this year, the broadcaster said.　In “Kill Me, Heal Me,” a first-year psychiatry resident (Hwang) falls in love with the heir (Ji) to a family-owned conglomerate. Hwang Jung-eum (left) and Ji Sung star in the MBC TV

TelevisionApril 20, 2016

‘Kill Me, Heal Me’ wins Houston drama awards

Beverly Cleary at 100: A salute

When we first meet Ramona Quimby, she’s only 4 years old and already showing signs of greatness.　She can secretly summon 15 friends to her house without her mother suspecting a thing -- at least until the children start arriving on the doorstep, expecting a party. She can ruin two birthday cakes in a single day, turn the house upside down with only a box of apples, and make herself the center of attention anywhere, any time -- with or without the paper Easter bunny ears she proudly dons for, say

BooksApril 20, 2016

‘Love will always win,’ says Syrian artist whose graphic novel tells of war’s hell

PARIS (AFP) - Two nights after the Paris attacks in November, a young couple stripped to their waists and kissed in the rain on the Place de la Republique as crowds gathered to grieve and share their shock at the killings.　She was French and he Syrian, and the photo of them holding a handwritten placard saying “Love will always win” went viral.　“I knew it was bad when my friends began calling me from Syria asking if I was OK,” said artist Hamid Sulaiman, of the jihadist attacks in which 130 peop

BooksApril 20, 2016