Calendar

Exhibitions“New Wave: The Road of Memories”: A group exhibition of Asian artists will run at and.n gallery from Feb. 3-21. The exhibition invites emerging artists from South Korea, China, Taiwan, India and Indonesia whose works have gained international recognition. Six artists showcase some 20 paintings that portray their individual memories. South Korean artist Shim Bong-min depicts childhood memories in gray concrete apartment settings. Chinese artist Liu Xia captures the past memories in sti

Jan. 30, 2015

‘Hallyu needs next big thing’

The popularity of Korean culture and entertainment in some Asian countries, namely pop music and TV dramas, has generated much excitement at home over the past few years. The entire country is intent on figuring out the best way to capitalize on it. Yet, for the Korean Wave, or “hallyu,” to continue amid the rising tide of cultural protectionism overseas, Korea must create the next big thing in the near future, said the chief of the Korea Creative Content Agency. “The next three years are crucia

Jan. 27, 2015

Joseon-era exam papers to be revealed

More ancient Korean documents will be revealed to the public as part of a project of the Academy of Korean Studies to highlight Korea’s rich history and tradition, said Lee Bae-yong, president of the AKS, at a news conference on Tuesday in Seoul. “The Academy has an extensive archive of valuable ancient materials, but we haven’t been active in sharing the ancient treasures with the public. We plan to bring the valuable resources to people and let their important lessons be told in contemporary s

Jan. 27, 2015

Botched repair of Tut mask reversible: German conservator

CAIRO (AFP) ― The damage caused by a botched repair of the mask of Tutankhamun that left dried glue on the priceless relic may be undone with careful treatment, a German conservator said Saturday.The golden funerary mask, one of the main tourist attractions at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, bears the sticky aftermath of what appears to have been overzealous use of glue to fix its beard in place.The beard had fallen off accidently when the mask was removed from its case last year to repair the lig

Jan. 26, 2015

Experts examine bones as Spain hunts for Cervantes’ remains

MADRID (AP) ― Forensic experts began excavating graves and examining bones Saturday in a tiny chapel in Madrid, hoping to solve the centuries-old mystery of exactly where the great Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes was laid to rest.The author of “Don Quixote” was buried in 1616 at the Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians in Madrid’s historic Barrio de las Letras, or Literary Quarter, but the exact whereabouts of his grave within the convent chapel are unknown. A team of archaeologists and anthr

Jan. 25, 2015

Calendar

Dance“Multiplicity. Forms of Silence and Emptiness”: Universal Ballet Korea will kick off 2015 with Nacho Duato’s “Multiplicity. Forms of Silence and Emptiness.” The 1999 ballet is one of the choreographer’s best-known works and landed him the prestigious Benois de la Dance prize. As a homage to one of classical music’s greatest, Johann Sebastian Bach, the two-act ballet tells the story of Bach’s life by combining both baroque music and modern choreography. “Multiplicity. Forms of Silence and Em

Jan. 23, 2015

CJ E&M plunges into animation market

CJ E&M, Korea’s culture industry giant, is taking a plunge into the global animation market, with its eyes set on children in other countries, particularly the more than 200 million in China. In an event in Seoul on Thursday, the Seoul-based firm unveiled a plan to spend 15 billion won ($13.83 million) this year on developing new animated content.  “We expect a Korean Wave of animated content to be realized in the not-so-distant future and see high business potential there,” said Kim Sung-soo, t

Jan. 23, 2015

King Tut’s beard hastily glued back on with epoxy

CAIRO (AP) ― The blue and gold braided beard on the burial mask of famed pharaoh Tutankhamun was hastily glued back on with epoxy, damaging the relic after it was knocked during cleaning, conservators at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo said Wednesday. The museum is one of the city’s main tourist sites, but in some areas, ancient wooden sarcophagi lay unprotected from the public, while pharaonic burial shrouds, mounted on walls, crumble from behind open panels of glass. Tutankhamun’s mask, over 3,30

Jan. 22, 2015

Jacqueline Onassis notes, photos sold for $28,400

MIAMI (AP) ― A few dozen pieces of personal correspondence by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, along with photographs of the former first lady in Palm Beach, sold at a Florida auction Saturday for a total of $28,400.The items up for bidding at Palm Beach Modern Auctions included Onassis’ handwritten notes to interior designer Richard Keith Langham and Bill Hamilton, then the design director at Carolina Herrera.Onassis corresponded with both men about clothes and furnishings she was buying from the mi

Jan. 18, 2015

‘My dream not yet fulfilled’

On a beautiful autumn evening 17 years ago, Song Seung-hwan watched the stage curtain rise with mixed feelings ― excitement and relief that it was finally up and worry and anxiety about how the audience would react. The show he conceived, produced and was about to present was nothing like the theater plays or musicals that were being staged in Korea at the time. With no spoken dialogue and no well-known actors, “Nanta” had plenty of downside risks, yet it was his biggest and most ambitious theat

Jan. 16, 2015

Calendar

FestivalsMount Taebaeksan Snow Festival: This festival invites tourists to the winter wonderland of Taebaek in Gangwon Province. Mount Taebaeksan, well-known for its beautiful snow-covered trees, has been the venue for the annual winter festival. The festival, which runs from Jan. 23 to Feb. 1, will feature an ice sculpture exhibition, travel photo display and Korean winter folk plays. The festival will hold a winter trekking competition on Feb. 1 on two mountain courses (9.3 and 8.7 kilometers)

Jan. 16, 2015

When women are few, men settle down: study

PARIS (AFP) ― Women want to settle down while men prefer to play the field, right? Not quite, said a study Wednesday that challenged long-held views of sexual selection.It turns out the dynamics of sex are partly driven by the law of supply and demand: a man’s fidelity depends to a large degree on the number of available women.“When women are rare, men respond by desiring long-term committed relationships with a single partner,” University of Utah anthropologist and study lead author Ryan Schach

Jan. 14, 2015

Tang Wei, AmorePacific chief honored

Chinese actress Tang Wei, AmorePacific chairman Suh Kyung-bae and speed skating champion Shim Suk-hee received awards from a non-governmental organization on Monday for their contributions to Korea’s image abroad. Some 600 people, including artists, athletes, diplomats, politicians, businessmen, professors and journalists, participated in the Corea Image Communication Institute’s awards ceremony in Seoul. “Our company has continuously striven to spread the beauty of Asia to the rest of the world

Jan. 13, 2015

CJ E&M joins Broadway theater league

A poster for the CJ E&M-coproduced musical “Kinky Boots.” (CJ E&M)Korean entertainment giant CJ E&M is now a member of the Broadway League, an association of Broadway theater owners and producers, the Seoul-based company said Monday. The membership is expected to give the Korean firm a stronger foothold in the global performing arts industry, it said in a press release. CJ E&M is Korea’s first and Asia’s third to join the league after a Japanese and a Singaporean member. “If a production has at

Jan. 12, 2015