Korean stage director Lee Youn-taek calls himself a “cultural nationalist.”He openly criticizes historians for confusing the history of Korean theater with that of Western theater in Korea, asking, “Did we, Koreans, really have no theater until 1910?”Andrei Serban is a Romanian-born American director who regards himself as an “experimental artist.”Reinventing Greek tragedy or Chekhov with provocative visual images and iconoclastic new interpretations, he has made a name for himself in the Wester

Nov. 24, 2014

When Kim Sung-nyo began her three-year term as artistic director of the state-run National Changgeuk Company of Korea in March 2012, she had two things in mind. First was to lure younger and livelier audiences to changgeuk, Korean traditional opera based on pansori, a type of folk narrative. The second was to introduce diverse new forms and styles in changgeuk shows in an effort to transform it from an overlooked genre to the heart of the performing arts scene in Korea. “I was shocked when repor

Nov. 23, 2014

Pop music“Singing in the Smile with Michael Bolton”: American singer-songwriter Michael Bolton is gearing up for two solo concerts in Seoul. The multi-Grammy Award-winning artist is the voice behind some of the greatest American rock ballads, including “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You,” “When a Man Loves a Woman” and “Said I Loved You … But I Lied.” In Bolton’s illustrious musical career, which spans nearly four decades, he has sold more than 75 million records worldwide with more than 15

Nov. 21, 2014

Korea will introduce a new book price control system on Friday in an effort to salvage its moribund publishing industry. But whether it will be sufficient to turn around Koreans’ dwindling interest in books remains an open question. “The new measure is about taking the bubble off book prices and bringing about a healthier ecosystem in Korea’s book industry,” said Kim Hee-bum, vice minister of culture, sports and tourism. “It is intended to plug loopholes in the existing regulations, which have l

Nov. 20, 2014

MIAMI ― In a Federal Bureau of Prisons first, inmates serving time in a Miami federal detention center were allowed to dance with their daughters for an afternoon as part of a reentry program. The theme: There’s still time at the ball, still time to take an active role in their daughters’ lives.Inmate Ernest Williams, serving a 41-month drug sentence, had long stopped asking his family ― a wife and five children ― to come see him at the Federal Detention Center Miami. The visits, he says, left h

Nov. 19, 2014

SEATTLE ― Anne and Brom Wikstrom have lived in the city’s Magnolia neighborhood for a very long time. They’re used to beautiful views. Blue water. Purple mountains. Rising city.So when they started talking about a new place, they didn’t talk about a nice view. They didn’t want a nice view.They wanted a stunning view. This view: Puget Sound from Seattle’s shipping terminals, across Alki Beach, the sweep out to Bainbridge Island, Olympic Mountains, around to Queen Anne Hill, over the Space Needle,

Nov. 19, 2014

A cartoon character based on the Korean myth about a nine-tailed fox will be joining Spiderman, Ironman and other superheroes in Marvel’s “Avengers” comic book series, the U.S. firm’s executive said Tuesday. The character, White Fox, is a heroin appearing in “Avengers Electric Rain,” a Web-based cartoon series published on the Korean web portal Daum. “Avengers Electric Rain” is the first localized series of the U.S. comic series Avengers and is being written and drawn by Korean cartoon artist Ko

Nov. 18, 2014

TOKYO ― A cafe patron is trying to woo Amu ― she of the long hair and lovely green eyes ― but the beauty disdainfully turns away.And then she flicks her fluffy tail. Amu is a long-haired calico ― one of 51 felines who staff the Calico Cat Cafe, one of Japan’s numerous cat cafes ― and she has a reputation for being somewhat aloof.But most of the resident felines are curious about the cafe customers and eager to toss a few toy mice around with them. Patrons, who pay the equivalent of $9.36 for an

Nov. 16, 2014

Rest, childbirth and blue jeans. These are some of the themes of exhibitions held by the National Folk Museum of Korea since last year. Some of these special, but not-so-special topics raised eyebrows, but Cheon Jin-gi, the director of the state-run museum, touts that they fit perfectly with the vision he has for the museum. “Those topics cut across generations and cultural boundaries,” he explained at his office on a recent Tuesday afternoon. “They are good materials to help people understand t

Nov. 14, 2014

Pop music“Singing in the Smile with Michael Bolton”: American singer-songwriter Michael Bolton is gearing up for two solo concerts in Seoul. The multi-Grammy Award-winning artist is the voice behind some of the greatest American rock ballads, including “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You,” “When a Man Loves a Woman” and “Said I Loved You … But I Lied.” In Bolton’s illustrious musical career, which spans nearly four decades, he has sold more than 75 million records worldwide with more than 15

Nov. 14, 2014

Normand Latourelle, the producer and creator of “Cavalia,” describes his show as an ode to the millennia-old relationship between horses and human. “‘Cavalia’ is not a circus. It’s not a horse show. It is a show about horses and the bond between horses and human,” he said in an interview with The Korea Herald inside one of the tents that make up the White Big Top, a makeshift structure specially designed for the Canadian touring production. “The horses are not forced to do this. There is a genui

Nov. 13, 2014

It was just a five-minute walk from Sports Complex Station to get out of the hustle and bustle of the capital city and into the surreal world of “Cavalia.”The cast of “Cavalia” — 50 beautiful horses and their 46 two-legged friends — delivered a magical mix of equestrian arts, acrobatics, multimedia and special effects on its opening night Wednesday, taking the audience on a fantastic twohour journey.The audience, in return, gave a rapturous standing ovation. In some parts, the show was poignantl

Nov. 13, 2014

With retirement weighing heavily on her mind, Kim Chung-ja, a mezzo-soprano and music professor of Korea National University of Arts, took a sabbatical from work in 2005. She spent a few months traveling Europe, then a couple of months more in the U.S., but still had no clue as to what her post-retirement life would be like, despite reaching 60. Then a short trip to Africa changed it all. “I believe it was God’s calling,” she said in an interview in Seoul last month, describing a series of event

Nov. 9, 2014

Vibrant food trucks are popping up in neighborhoods around the globe, serving up cleverly prepared and succulent on-the-go grub. Whether it is Korean fusion kimchi tacos, finger lickin’ good barbecue or one-of-a-kind gourmet sandwiches, food trucks have been slowly taking over the streets of major cities across the U.S. and other parts of the world. Some are even calling the States ― where the evolution of food vendors seems to be the most profound ― the “food truck nation.” With a no-limits att

Nov. 7, 2014

On a late Monday afternoon, Daniel Tudor and I walk up and down the steep Gyeongnidan-gil in search of a quiet place for our interview. We met up at The Booth, a pizza and beer joint off Gyeongnidan-gil, where he is a partner, but decide to move somewhere quieter. At 4 p.m., the place was already crowded with an eclectic mix of customers ― soldiers in uniform, Korean hipsters and a few tables taken up by young foreigners.It’s been a few months since Tudor has been in the neighborhood ― things, i

Nov. 7, 2014

ExhibitionsLinda McCartney Retrospective: Daelim Museum in Seoul is holding a retrospective on photographer Linda McCartney until April 26, 2015. The first retrospective here of the celebrated photographer shows McCartney’s earlier works, including portraits of popular musicians such as Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix, family photos depicting her happy life with Paul McCartney and their children, and later works that capture the beauty of daily life and nature. Admission is 5,000 won for adults. T

Nov. 7, 2014