Oscars battle set to begin amid crystals and controversy

  HOLLYWOOD (AFP) -- Hollywood's awards season comes to a close Sunday at the Oscars, with war epic "1917" battling a South Korean thriller for glory as a row swirls over the lack of minorities on the night's star-studded nominee list. A lavish, spiral stage featuring 40,000 crystals at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre will be the glittering setting as the 24 golden statuettes are handed out on Tinseltown's biggest night. Nominees and actors arrived on the red carpet under overcast

Feb. 10, 2020

Mom meets late child through VR

A mother featured in an MBC documentary featuring her eight-month journey to reunited with her dead child through virtual reality has gone offline, saying she needed a break from the publicity. The mother, Jang Ji-seong, felt she had to shut down her blog, the producer of the documentary said on a radio show Friday. A video clip of the show uploaded on YouTube by the production team had garnered 6 million views as of Sunday. The production stemmed from the idea that VR technology can a

Feb. 9, 2020

KAIST team uses data to show Beethoven’s influence, Rachmaninoff’s novelty

If one’s influence on the future can be taken as a measure of one’s greatness, a new study has added to Beethoven’s credentials as a great composer: Researchers at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have found him to have the most influence on the composers that came after him. Park Ju-yong, a professor at KAIST Graduate School of Culture Technology, and his team published a paper online in EPJ Data Science on Jan. 30 that quantifies novelty and influence of

Feb. 9, 2020

Will 'Parasite' end with stellar finale at Oscars?

When Bong Joon-ho's tragic comedy thriller "Parasite" debuted at Cannes and won the Palme d'Or in May last year, nobody anticipated that the South Korean film would contend for best picture and five other awards at the 92nd Academy Awards nine months later. But the Korean auteur's seventh feature film about have-nots infiltrating a wealthy family has created strong buzz throughout the U.S. awards season and become a massive hit since its stateside release in October. It is nominated

Feb. 9, 2020

Actor Kim Soo-hyun to star in tvN drama ‘Psycho but It’s Okay’

Actor Kim Soo-hyun will star in the tvN drama “Psycho but It’s Okay,” which is scheduled to air before July, according to his agency, Gold Medalist Entertainment. This will be his first drama since his discharge from the military and subsequent change of agency. Kim will play the role of Moon Gang-tae, a psychiatric aide who has taken care of his mentally ill older brother ever since they were children and their parents died. With no goals in life, Moon presses on day by day.

Feb. 7, 2020

[Video] Why does ‘Parasite’ mix pricey beef into instant noodles?

The food featured in director Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” is not just nourishment for the characters but also serves up symbolism and social satire, hinting at social stratification in Korean society. As the movie’s plot gains momentum, one of the foods in focus is jjapaguri -- translated as ram don in the English subtitles. The Korean name comes from its two main ingredients -- the instant noodle brands Jjapaghetti and Neoguri. Bong spices up this otherwise ordinary dis

Feb. 7, 2020

'Parasite' has collected 55 awards at 57 film fests

Bong Joon-ho's sensational black comedy "Parasite," nominated in six categories, including best picture, at the upcoming Oscars, has been invited to 57 film festivals and award events across the world, and collected 55 trophies, its production company CJ ENM said Friday. In May last year, the film about class division through two extreme families embraced the highest prize of Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, becoming a massive hit in 2019 and starting its awards-winning streak

Feb. 7, 2020

Cliffhangers, slam dunks and dark horses at Sunday's Oscars

  (Reuters) - Hollywood's awards season reaches its climax at Sunday's Oscars, with a cliffhanger over the top prize after a season marked by dark horses, renewed anguish over diversity, and a South Korean underdog that could snatch victory from the biggest names in show business. While dark comic book movie "Joker" goes into the ceremony with a leading 11 nominations, it's the immersive World War One movie "1917" that has emerged as the film to beat in the best picture

Feb. 7, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

The Closet (Korea) Opened Feb. 5 Horror, Thriller Directed by Kim Kwang-bin After losing his wife in a tragic accident, Sang-won moves to the countryside with his daughter Ina. A busy architect, Sang-won (Ha Jung-woo) had not been too devoted to his family before the death of his wife and tries to get closer to Ina. One day, Ina, who had been behaving strangely since their arrival at their new home, disappears inside the house. Self-proclaimed exorcist Kyung-hoon (Kim Nam-gil) approaches Sang-

Feb. 7, 2020

iKON returns as six-member group

K-pop boy band iKON dropped its third EP “i DECIDE” Thursday, returning to the music scene after a yearlong hiatus. The title of the five-track album shows the sextet’s determination to choose their own path, and has garnered fans’ attention as it sets the direction of iKON’s new identity as a six-piece group. It is their first album since former leader B.I left the team June last year amid drug purchase allegations. His abrupt departure forced the album’

Feb. 6, 2020

Kim Yong-min steps down from TV show after over 11,000 people sign online petition

Political pundit Kim Yong-min posted on Facebook on Thursday afternoon that he is stepping down as host of the second season of “Road Dinner,” which was to air its first episode Feb. 16. KBS’ announcement Wednesday that it was replacing the talk show’s three female hosts with Kim and actor Shin Hyun-joon had met with criticism. The first season -- with Park Mi-sun, Yang Hee-eun and Lee Ji-hye as hosts -- received acclaim from viewers for looking at current issues, esp

Feb. 6, 2020

Translation, wings that helped ‘Parasite’ soar free and high

As director Bong Joon-ho captivated the audience abroad with his dark satire “Parasite,” back home the name Darcy Paquet made headlines in local media outlets. Many Koreans were initially surprised that “Parasite” outperformed Bong’s previous films and those by other prominent auteurs, such as Lee Chang-dong and Park Chan-wook, winning the first Palm d’Or for a Korean film. That is, until they heard of “Ram-don,” “Oxford,” and many m

Feb. 6, 2020

LA Phil to highlight Seoul with 10-day festival

The Los Angeles Philharmonic, also known as the LA Phil, will hold “Seoul Festival” in 2021, appointing celebrated composer Chin Un-suk as the curator of the 10-day event. On Wednesday, the prestigious orchestra, led by music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel, released its 2020-21 season program, including some of the programs for “Seoul Festival” which will be held from April 25 to May 4 next year.   LA Phil’s website says the city of Los Angeles is hom

Feb. 6, 2020

Returning IZ*ONE's new album tops pre-order charts in S. Korea, Japan

"Bloom*Iz," an upcoming full-length album by K-pop girl band IZ*ONE, topped major album pre-order charts in South Korea and Japan this week in the run-up to the band's official return this month. The album, set for official release on Feb. 17, stood atop Japan's Tower Records chart for online album pre-orders as of Tuesday, according to the band's management agency, Off the Record. The album also came atop or stayed high on the album pre-order charts by major online record distribut

Feb. 6, 2020

Key takeaways from Big Hit’s corporate briefing

K-pop label behemoth Big Hit Entertainment made a number of major announcements during its latest corporate briefing on Tuesday. CEO and producer Bang Si-hyuk took to the stage to kick off the company’s “Corporate Briefing with the Community” and said, “For those who are watching this video, please stay safe.” Tuesday’s event was meant for both the media and select fans but it ended up taking place in private amid concerns over the new coronavirus outbreak

Feb. 5, 2020

Final leg of BTS CONNECT art project lands in New York

A massive network of shining aluminium hoops was set up by New York's East River against the backdrop of the city's famous skyline Tuesday (US time). The art installation, "New York Clearing," by British sculptor Antony Gormley, is the final edition of the K-pop superband's global art project involving five cities -- the others being London, Berlin, Seoul and Buenos Aires. The 4.5-meter-high installation made of aluminum tubes 18 kilometers in total length, is Gormley's interpretati

Feb. 5, 2020

Coronavirus delays film openings

The distributor of “Beasts Clawing at Straws” on Tuesday announced the decision to tentatively postpone the movie’s release, originally scheduled for Feb. 12, due to the spread of a novel coronavirus. The prospect of poor ticket sales and fears of spread of the disease in crowded venues are prompting film distributors to consider delaying releases and canceling promotional events. Another film that may be affected by the spread of the new coronavirus is “Honest Candi

Feb. 4, 2020

Kumho Art Hall introduces four rising stars of 2020

The Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation released a list on Tuesday of four artists it calls the rising stars of 2020, along with a recital schedule through April. Since 2004, the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation has supported young, talented classical musicians in South Korea through the Kumho Rising Star series, selecting some 60 gifted musicians, including today’s hottest names such as violinists Kim Da-mi and Yang In-mo, and pianists Kim Da-sol, Kim Sun-wook and Sunwoo Yekwon.   Thi

Feb. 4, 2020

GFriend takes leap with ‘Crossroads’ under Big Hit Entertainment

GFriend has returned with “Crossroads,” the group’s first single under its new agency Big Hit Entertainment. The lead track off the six-piece act’s eighth EP “Labyrinth,” “Crossroads” was highly anticipated, as it marked GFriend’s first release since its agency Source Music was acquired by Big Hit last year. At a media showcase in Seoul on Monday, the group talked about working with new staff and producers, including Bang Si-hyuk, from B

Feb. 4, 2020

BTS overtakes Justin Bieber's longest dominance record on Billboard's Social 50 chart

K-pop superstars BTS defeated Justin Bieber this week to become the longest-running artists atop Billboard's Social 50 chart, the American pop magazine said Tuesday. "A long-standing record on Billboard's Social 50 chart has been broken, as BTS spends its 164th week atop the list dated Feb. 8," besting Justin Bieber's 163, Billboard said on its website Tuesday (Korean Time). According to Billboard, the Social 50 is powered by data tracked by music analytics company Next Big Sound an

Feb. 4, 2020