Maestro Chung comes back to piano

Maestro Chung Myung-whun has been known for bringing life to orchestras. Many from Opera Bastille and Radio France to Seoul Philharmonic, have been praised for innovation under his lead, while Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony and other internationally acclaimed orchestras invited him for his powerful but sophisticated conducting over the past three decades. But on Tuesday, Chung was back to where his love for music started: Piano. The 60-year-old pianist-turned conductor

Dec. 24, 2013

Royal palaces to open until late in February

Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changgyeonggung Palace in Seoul will open until late at night in February, the Cultural Heritage Administration said Tuesday. The Changgyeonggung Palace will remain open until 10 p.m. and Gyeongbokgung Palace until 9 p.m. from Feb. 12-17, as part of the CHA’s cultural programs to help citizens and visitors immerse themselves in the rich history of the Joseon period. The CHA have set the quota for admission to 1,700 visitors a day at Changgyeonggung Palace and 1,500 at Gy

Dec. 24, 2013

Momentum gains to unite ancient Cambodian statues

PREAH VIHEAR PROVINCE, Cambodia (AP) ― Rising out of the jungle on white pillars, the new Preah Vihear Museum’s largest building stands empty. But Cambodian officials hope that one day it will be the place where nine ancient statues depicting a dramatic battle scene are reunited from around the world.They came a step closer to that goal last week, when Sotheby’s auction house in New York agreed to return one of the statues to Cambodia, ending a heated legal battle that began when the U.S. govern

Dec. 22, 2013

Celebrities and fans find common ground in philanthropy

Many Korean celebrities and even ordinary fans regularly take part in charitable giving throughout the year.But with the holiday season just around the corner, the spirit of thankfulness and being mindful of those less fortunate is more alive and present than at other times. Pop singer Kim Jang-hoon, is one of the nation’s best-known celebrity philanthropists. Often referred to as the “Donation Angel” Kim has reportedly donated more than $10 million to charity during his more than 20 years as a

Dec. 20, 2013

Calendar

Pop music“2013 Psy Concert All Night Stand”: Psy will be ringing in the holiday season by holding a special four-day solo concert series in December. The upcoming performances will mark his first concerts in Korea in nearly eight months after his globally broadcasted “Happening” show in April, where he attracted around 45,000 concertgoers and more than 130,000 fans who tuned in online for the live feed. The rapper has been busy this year promoting his single “Gentleman,” which was nominated for

Dec. 20, 2013

Koreans take pride in cultural heritage, K-pop

Koreans take great pride in their culture, especially their pop culture, thanks to the K-pop boom, and think that the level of culture is way above the level of their economy, a government survey showed Wednesday. In the “mindset and values of Koreans 2013” survey by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, involving 2,537 people aged between 19 and 79, the respondents showed pride in cultural heritage (93.1 percent); the traditional costume hanbok and Korean food (92.7 percent); Confucian v

Dec. 18, 2013

[Photo News] Warding off bad spirits

Dec. 18, 2013

Greenwich Village gets N.Y. landmark status

NEW YORK (AP) ― The city’s newest historic landmark is part of a neighborhood where generations of American cultural greats staged their art, music, literature and politics ― from Edgar Allan Poe and Bob Dylan to Miles Davis and Allen Ginsberg.About 250 buildings in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village that reach back to the 1800s gained historic district status Tuesday after a unanimous vote by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. Row houses, small theaters, cafes and clubs that welcomed the

Dec. 18, 2013

Damaged Torah scrolls from Iraq buried in N.Y.

WEST BABYLON, New York (AP) ― Torah scroll fragments found amid a trove of more than 2,700 books and documents in the flooded Iraqi intelligence building basement have been buried in a religious ceremony at a suburban New York cemetery.“This project is somewhat reflective of the new Iraq,” said Lukman Faily, the Iraqi ambassador to the U.S. “We are saying we would like to share and preserve the history and the heritage of the Jews, of the Christians, of the Muslims.”The artifacts were found in M

Dec. 17, 2013

Online ad market continues growth, traditional media’s share falls

The online advertisement market outperformed that of traditional media such as newspapers, magazines and radio last year, becoming the second strongest platform for advertising following television. The global increase of internet users paints an even brighter future for the industry, which is showing incremental growth thanks to the diversification of platforms including new media, the Korea Creative Content Agency said Monday, releasing the latest statistics on the advertising market.  Accordi

Dec. 16, 2013

Gaya Tumuli reaches UNESCO World Heritage tentative list

The Gaya Tumuli in South Gyeongsang Province’s Gimhae and Haman, clusters of tombs of kings and aristocrats of the Gaya Kingdom (A.D. 43-532), have been put on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. According to the Cultural Heritage Administration on Monday, the two sites were nominated as World Heritage Sites, to be evaluated by the World Heritage Committee for final listing.“Gimhae Daeseong-dong Tumuli and Haman Malisan Tumuli were recommended as candidates for the World Heritage

Dec. 16, 2013

Works from Spain make only U.S. stop in New Mexico

SANTA FE, New Mexico (AP) ― A collection of drawings by Spanish artist Francisco de Goya is part of an international exhibition that’s making only one stop in the U.S. That stop is in New Mexico.“Renaissance to Goya: Prints and Drawings from Spain” opened Saturday at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe. It will run through March 9.Museum officials say the exhibition is helping to rewrite the book on Spanish art since it was long assumed that Spanish artists didn’t draw much and produced lit

Dec. 16, 2013

Christmas events tailored to singles around Seoul

Being single doesn’t have to mean spending the holiday season alone with nothing to do. For those who find themselves without family or loved ones to spend Christmas with, there are a number of events being held around Seoul for singles. Cinema franchise Megabox will host a special Christmas Eve event specifically geared toward singles searching for love. The Megabox in the Coex Mall will reserve an entire theater for 83 randomly selected single women and 83 randomly selected men to come togethe

Dec. 15, 2013

Ancient statue to be returned to Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) ― Sotheby’s auction house in New York has agreed to return an ancient statue to Cambodia, ending a heated legal battle that began more than a year ago.The agreement, signed Thursday by lawyers for Sotheby’s, the consignor and the U.S. government, states that the auction house will transfer the statue to a representative of Cambodia in New York within 90 days.Sotheby’s and the consignor, a Belgian woman named Decia Ruspoli di Poggio Suasa, “have voluntarily determined, i

Dec. 15, 2013