Sting, Peter Gabriel announce joint North America tour

NEW YORK (AFP) - Two of Britain‘s most influential rock artists, Sting and Peter Gabriel, on Tuesday announced a tour of North America that will include collaborations on each other’s songs.　The 19-date “Rock Paper Scissors” tour will open June 21 in Columbus, Ohio and include headlining slots at two festivals, the Festival d‘Ete de Quebec in Quebec City and Summerfest in Milwaukee.　Gabriel and Sting, who first toured together in the 1980s to support Amnesty International, have stayed active in

PerformanceJan. 20, 2016

Korea aims to attract 8 million Chinese tourists this year

South Korea is exempting visa fees for Chinese group travelers and will add six new air routes between the two nations with the aim of attracting 8 million Chinese tourists this year, officials said Wednesday. South Korea's Culture Minister Kim Jong-deok announced the plan in Beijing as he is set to host a ceremony marking "The Year of Visit to Korea" in China. Riding the wave of the popularity of K-pop and culture in China, Kim said his ministry will develop various tour packages specialized in

TravelJan. 20, 2016

Psy's 'Gangnam Style' hits 2.5 bln views on YouTube

The video of South Korean rapper Psy's mega-hit song "Gangnam Style" set another YouTube record, breaking 2.5 billion views on Wednesday, his management agency said.The video, which has driven the world to a horse-riding frenzy since 2012, was viewed 2.51 billion times as of 8 a.m., YG Entertainment said, adding that the milestone was reached only five months after the previous record of 2.4 billion views was set.In March, the continued success of "Gangnam Style" led YouTube to raise its maximum

PerformanceJan. 20, 2016

BigBang's 'Bang Bang Bang' tops 100 mln views on YouTube

The music video for "Bang Bang Bang" by South Korean boy band BigBang has surpassed 100 million views on YouTube, the group's management said Wednesday.The video hit the milestone at about 7 p.m. Tuesday, slightly more than seven months after it was released on the U.S. video-sharing website, YG Entertainment said.It became the second video by BigBang to pass the 100 million mark after "Fantastic Baby" which is expected to hit 200 million soon.Last month, "Bang Bang Bang" clinched the title as t

PerformanceJan. 20, 2016

Korean dried seaweed looks beyond dining table to snack market

What's your favorite way to eat dried seaweed?If you are a Korean, you may want to have a bowl of rice with dried seaweed, roasted with sesame oil and fine salt, and kimchi.Dried seaweed pressed into a dark green sheet is called "kim," a homonym for the most common family name in Korea. If you are in the United States, try a package of crispy seaweed as a not-so-guilty snack. It's high in vitamins and minerals, and naturally salty, so it goes well with beer. With its origins tracing back to the

FoodJan. 20, 2016

Lotte to open classical concert hall in August

A new concert hall exclusively for classical music performances will be opening in August, the second such large-scale hall in Seoul after one at the Seoul Arts Center.The two-tier Lotte Concert Hall, seating 2,036, is housed in the eighth to 10th floors of the Lotte World Mall in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul.The new concert hall at the nation's highest building will adopt a vineyard-style seating configuration with the seats completely surrounding the stage, according to officials at the mall on

CultureJan. 19, 2016

Ethnic Korean Janice Y. K. Lee publishes second novel 'The Expatriates'

Janice Y. K. Lee, a Korean-American novelist, has recently published her second book "The Expatriates"seven years after her debut novel "The Piano Teacher."Lee has become an acclaimed novelist when her first novel shot to 11th on the New York Times fiction bestseller list less than two weeks after its publication in January 2009."The Piano Teacher" is a gripping tale of love, betrayal, safety and survival set in war-torn Hong Kong during World War II. The book, first offered at the German Frankf

BooksJan. 19, 2016

Korea lags behind Japan in attracting tourists in 2015

Korea‘s tourism industry suffered a severe blow from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak last year, but Japan enjoyed a huge influx of travelers thanks to the cheap yen and easier visas, data showed Tuesday. 　The number of foreign travelers to South Korea slipped in 2015 for the first time in 12 years in the wake of the MERS outbreak, reporting 6.8 percent on-year decline to 13.23 million visitors, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said. 　The number of travelers rose about 10

TravelJan. 19, 2016

[News Focus] Hallyu seeks opportunities in Iran after sanctions relief

The South Korean pop culture industry expects to spread the Korean culture wave of "hallyu" in the Middle East with the recent lifting of sanctions on Iran, industry sources said Tuesday.The U.N. nuclear agency on Saturday certified that Iran has met all of its commitments under last summer's landmark nuclear deal to crimp Teheran's ability to make atomic weapons. For Iran, the move lifts Western economic sanctions that have been in place for years, unlocking access to frozen assets and resuming

EntertainmentJan. 19, 2016

Psy's 'Daddy' music video surpasses 100 million YouTube views

Psy continues to reign supreme on YouTube.The hot-shot Korean rapper's recent single, "Daddy," has surpassed 100 million views on YouTube in less than two months of its release, his management company, YG Entertainment, said Tuesday.The video for the single, featuring CL of 2NE1, attracted just over 100 million visits as of Tuesday morning, making Psy the first South Korean recording artist to reach that milestone with four consecutive music videos.His international breakthrough, "Gangnam Style,

PerformanceJan. 19, 2016

SBS to air idol survival ‘Watching you’

An Idol competition show tentatively titled “Watching You” will air as a Lunar New Year special on SBS.　Unlike other programs featuring only the entertainers, the program will feature both the stars and the CEOs of their agencies. The idols will demonstrate their talents and passion, while their CEOs will give real-time advice on the show, according to the network broadcaster. 　About 20 idol groups -- roughly 100 idol stars in total -- will be on the show. The CEOs of agencies, both large and sm

TelevisionJan. 19, 2016

Ta-Nehisi Coates among finalists for book critics awards

NEW YORK (AP) -- Ta-Nehisi Coates‘ “Between the World and Me” and Lauren Groff’s “Fates and Furies” are finalists for the National Book Critics Circle prize.New Yorker literary critic James Wood, memoirist Helen McDonald and poet Terrance Hayes also were among the 30 nominees announced Monday. The NBCC selected five finalists in each of six competitive categories, ranging from fiction to autobiography.The poet, fiction writer and environmentalist Wendell Berry is to receive a lifetime achievemen

BooksJan. 19, 2016

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra announces world tour

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wynton Marsalis is taking the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on its longest tour in nearly 15 years, covering 15 cities in 10 countries over 40 days. Jazz at Lincoln Center announced Monday its Blue Engine International Tour, named after its new record label, will begin Feb. 4 at The Olympia in Paris and end March 12 at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington, New Zealand. Highlights include a Feb. 18 concert at London‘s Barbican Centre where guest saxophonist Wayne Shorter wi

PerformanceJan. 19, 2016