Metal cubes, N. Korea handcraft highlight Hong Kong art show

HONG KONG (AP) -- Gold-plated metal cubes, tapestries embroidered by unknown North Korean artisans and bales of cardboard waste are among the highlights of the Art Basel Hong Kong fair kicking off this week. 　The latest edition of the global art fair threw open its doors to media and VIP collectors Tuesday in the southern Chinese city, which has become Asia's main art trading hub.　Some 239 galleries from 35 countries and territories are exhibiting works at the show, which opens to the public for

PerformanceMarch 23, 2016

Itching to graffiti? Do it digitally on Florence treasures

FLORENCE, Italy (AFP) - The days of scribbling “I woz here” on Florence’s historic monuments are gone: would-be vandals will now be able to graffiti via app instead, with their messages kept for posterity.　“Welcome to Giotto’s Campanile!” reads a message on a digital tablet for visitors scaling the Gothic white, green and pink marble tower by the famed Italian architect, which stands at one corner of the Cathedral in the Tuscan city.　“We have been protecting masterpieces for centuries: starting

CultureMarch 23, 2016

French writers’ existential woe as their incomes dive

PARIS (AFP) -- It is nothing short of an existential crisis, as crippling as the ones that had Left Bank intellectuals like Albert Camus or Jean-Paul Sartre staring gloomily into their coffee.　French writers have never felt more badly paid, undervalued or under pressure, with a new survey showing more than half of established authors earn less than the minimum wage.　Many are so depressed by the state of the book industry that they are considering giving up altogether, according to a new report.

BooksMarch 23, 2016

New author hopes her novel ‘The Nest’ lives up to its buzz

NEW YORK (AP) -- Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney was on her way to meet her family for brunch in New York when she had an idea for the opening scene of her debut novel, “The Nest.”　Sweeney imagined family members “all needing to meet but all needing a drink before they met and all getting their drink in proximity to each other without knowing that they were all doing the same thing,” she said in a recent phone interview from her home in Los Angeles.　She was intrigued by why they needed to drink before s

BooksMarch 23, 2016

A stirring tale of Thomas Francis Meagher, ‘The Immortal Irishman’

“The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero” 　By Timothy Egan　Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (384 pages, $28)　Green beer aside, the most appropriate way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day would be to learn more about one of Ireland’s greatest exports, Thomas Francis Meagher.　And there’s no better way to do that than by reading this stirring and magnificent biography by Timothy Egan, “The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero.”　Few people ha

BooksMarch 23, 2016

How CJ Group came to dominate the culture industry

“Creative Journey”　By Ko Seong-yeon 　Yolimwon Publishing Group (280 pages, 13,800 won, $11.90)“Creative Journey” offers a case study into how a small sugar company grew to become CJ Group, a global lifestyle company and the nation’s largest cultural contents provider. 　Locally, the letters CJ have now come to represent Korea’s popular culture, from films, music, and TV programs to food, and the worldwide hallyu phenomena, writes author Ko Seong-yeon. Ko, a journalist with expertise in creative c

BooksMarch 23, 2016

Ambition and poverty in lives of rural Indian fishermen

“The Dance of the Sea”　By Soosaiya Anthreas　Gatekeeper Press (447 pages, $11.95)　A long-winded tale of people battling for life in a slum fishing town in southern India, “The Dance of the Sea” spans the life of Sebastian, who seeks to escape his squalid hometown of belligerent, mostly uneducated fisherman. After successfully becoming an engineer under the pressure of his parents, he goes on to desert his lover and turn his back on his poverty-stricken sister. A tsunami wave later strikes his hom

BooksMarch 23, 2016

Philip Glass’ ‘La Belle et la Bete’ still radical

When American composer Philip Glass presented his live music film production “La Belle et la Bete (Beauty and the Beast)” for the first time in 1994, it was seen as a radical attempt.　Harnessing Jean Cocteau’s 1946 black-and-white film “La Belle et la Bete” as the visual base of his performance of the classic fairy tale, Glass revolutionized the cinematic world by replacing the film’s audio with live vocals and an orchestral accompaniment, breathing new life into the classic film as a stage perf

PerformanceMarch 22, 2016

[Hallyu power] Pony, trendsetter of K-beauty

Pony -- real name Park Hye-min -- is one of the most popular Korean makeup gurus, with 981,144 subscribers to her YouTube channel. Her makeup tutorials -- in which she demonstrates themed makeup styles, ranging from looks of K-pop female idols and Christmas holiday makeup to everyday makeup for school or work -- have some 700,000-plus views each.　While her makeup videos are mainly based on Korean styles and Korean cosmetics, they are enjoying growing popularity overseas along with the global asc

PeopleMarch 22, 2016

Theaters to screen “Dong-ju” with English subtitles

Selected theaters around the country will screen “Dong-ju: The Portrait of a Poet” with English-language subtitles, starting Thursday.　The subtitled film will be shown at 12 theaters. In Seoul, it will be shown at Yeongdeungpo Lotte Cinema; Megabox cinemas in Coex, Central, Sinchon and Dongdaemun; and CGV cinemas Yeouido, Yongsan and Sinchon. Elsewhere around the country, it will be shown at CGV Cinema Centum City in Busan and Megabox theaters in Busan, Suwon and Ilsan.　Directed by Lee Joon-ik,

FilmMarch 22, 2016

K.Will to play Quasimodo in musical

Singer K.Will, whose real name is Kim Hyung-soo, will play the hunchback Quasimodo in an upcoming Korean rendition of the musical “Notre-Dame de Paris,” his label Starship Entertainment said Tuesday. 　“Notre-Dame de Paris” will premiere here in June at Blue Square Samsung Electronics Hall in Hannam-dong, Seoul. 　“I’m very honored to be cast as Quasimodo. I will try my best to showcase a good performance,” said Kim, who is making his musical theater debut with the upcoming production.  K.Will (St

PerformanceMarch 22, 2016

CNBLUE sings brighter notes

Boy band CNBLUE will release a new EP on April 4, its label FNC Entertainment announced Tuesday. 　The four-member group, which consists of Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Jong-hyun, Kang Min-hyuk and Lee Jung-shin, will launch “Blueming,” a combination of the words “CNBLUE” and “blooming,” to symbolize the group’s budding music style.  CNBLUE (FNC Entertainment)　The album will feature sweet and bright songs to match the spring season, a change from CNBLUE’s past hits about farewells and heartbreaks, such as

PerformanceMarch 22, 2016