'Descendants of the Sun' tops 30% viewership in Seoul

The new television series "Descendants of the Sun" has soared past 30 percent in viewership in Seoul, data by Nielsen Korea showed Thursday.The fifth episode of the KBS 2TV drama recorded 31.2 percent viewership here Wednesday, the first time it has reached that milestone since premiering on Feb. 24. Across South Korea, it was viewed by 27.4 percent of TV homes, up 3 percentage points from the previous episode last week."Descendants of the Sun" tells a love story between an Army captain and a do

TelevisionMarch 10, 2016

‘Dear Korea’ spreads from pixels to paper

Her comics have been a mainstay of the expat webtoon world for years, but now Jen Lee will be putting “Dear Korea” to paper in a new book. The cartoons are gently humorous depictions of life in Korea as an expat. The book will feature the first 50 webtoons from the series, plus various extras, bound up in a landscape format, a la “Garfield.”“It’s very reminiscent. It’s almost a very belated anniversary to how long I’ve been here, how I’ve learned and how I’ve grown and how I’d like to keep going

Expat LivingMarch 9, 2016

Seoul Global Center to run classes for entrepreneurs

Seoul Global Center is inviting would-be expat entrepreneurs to join its Business Start-up School from March 28.The school is a two-week course of evening classes that run every weekday from 7-9 p.m., covering subjects including investment procedures, creating a business plan, and tax and employment regulations. Besides information gained through the course, those who take it will get 25 points toward a start-up visa, and access to business coaching and advice.Applications are open until March 2

Expat LivingMarch 9, 2016

Comic show to cut movies down to size

Want to watch half a dozen movies but only have a couple hours to spare? Seoul Players and Stand-up Seoul might be able to help you out.Performers from the two groups will stage a joint show on Friday, with each one attempting to perform a movie in 10 minutes.This can be through a “sweded” presentation, in which the story is retold in much-edited form, but some performers are more off-piste in how they present their film.“Some people do a PowerPoint presentation, some people do a ‘meta’ idea, th

Expat LivingMarch 9, 2016

HBC music festival invites performers for May

Annual live music festival HBC Fest is inviting performers to take part when it returns to the streets of Haebangchon, Seoul, in May.The free festival, which takes place in small venues in Haebangchon and Gyeongnidan near Itaewon, has been running twice a year for 10 years.Last year, the organizers began running smaller “club nights” with a few venues every month. The May HBC Fest will take place on May 27 and 28 across 20 venues and 60 acts have already been lined up. There are usually around 1

Expat LivingMarch 9, 2016

Yeoksam center to provide tax advice

Yeoksam Global Village Center will be offering free tax counseling for expats on Tuesday.Tax counselors from Yeoksam District Tax Office will visit the center from 9:30 a.m. to noon to offer advice and information.To book a counseling session, email ygvc0417@gmail.com with your name, nationality, contact number, preferred time and a brief description of your query.For more information and directions to the center, visit global.seoul.go.kr/yeoksam.(paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)

Expat LivingMarch 9, 2016

Auctioneer to sell Hitler's personal copy of 'Mein Kampf'

CHESAPEAKE CITY, Md. (AP) -- A Maryland auction house says it is selling a copy of "Mein Kampf" that once belonged to Adolf Hitler and was taken from his Munich apartment at the end of World War II.　News outlets report that Chesapeake City-based Alexander Historical Auctions LLC will offer Hitler's Nazi manifesto during its March 17 and 18 auction of more than 1,000 other WWII historical items.　The red leather-bound book bears an inscription signed by 11 officers from an American field artillery

BooksMarch 9, 2016

T-ara's Hyomin to release new solo album next week

Hyomin of K-pop girl group T-ara will return with her second solo album next week, the singer's talent agency said on Wednesday. Hyomin's latest solo album "Sketch," with a title track of the same name, will be released on March 17 at midnight on major music streaming services, her star label MBK Entertainment said. The title track "Sketch," an electronic soul, depicts love as a piece of art that starts from a sketch and blooms in full. In the music video of "Sketch," Hyomin will play a seductiv

PerformanceMarch 9, 2016

Korea to be guest of honor at 2016 Paris Book Fair

South Korea will take part in the Paris Book Fair next week as the guest of honor, as the country celebrates the 130th anniversary of diplomatic ties with France, the Seoul government said Wednesday.The fair is expected to help promote exchanges among publishers in South Korea and France, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said in a release. The 36th edition of the annual trade fair is scheduled to be held at the "Paris Expo Porte de Versailles" exhibition center on March 17-20.Led by t

BooksMarch 9, 2016

J.K. Rowling launching 4-part series on wizarding school

NEW YORK (AP) -- J.K. Rowling has more magic on the way.　The "Harry Potter" author is launching a series called "Magic in North America," a four-part backstory for this fall's film adaptation of the Potter prequel "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." 　Announced on Rowling’s Web site, www.pottermore.com, "Magic in North America" will run in installments Tuesday-Friday on Pottermore.　According to the Web site, the new series will tell of the North American wizardry school Ilvermorny and "bri

BooksMarch 9, 2016

1980s glam makes a Paris comeback as Chanel stays classy

PARIS (AFP) - It was back to the future on the Paris catwalks Tuesday as Chanel cleverly tweaked its back catalogue only for Saint Laurent to revive a look that some thought best forgotten.　In what could be his last show for the label, designer Hedi Slimane -- the man credited with the skinny black jeans look and making grunge glam -- was judged to have given the brand “the finger” by parodying its founder Yves Saint Laurent's least glorious period.　The hugely-influential Women’s Wear Daily was

Arts & DesignMarch 9, 2016