'Goodness and humor' celebrated as 'Sesame Street' turns 50

NEW YORK (AP) -- Fifty years ago, beloved entertainer Carol Burnett appeared on the very first broadcast of a quirky TV program that featured a bunch of furry puppets. Blink and you might miss it, but Burnett followed a cartoon about a witch called Wanda, which was loaded with words beginning with the letter w. "Wow, Wanda the Witch is weird," Burnett commented. And then -- poof -- she was gone. That show was "Sesame Street" and Burnett, like a lot of kids, was inst

Nov. 6, 2019

K-pop power couple HyunA and Dawn release music together, shatter idol stereotypes

In a rare move for K-pop, power couple HyunA and Dawn are releasing new singles simultaneously.HyunA is returning to the music scene Tuesday nearly after two years with “Flower Shower” crossing between Moombahton, pop and dance. Dawn, a former Pentagon member who recently changed his name from E’Dawn, is releasing his self-penned track “Money.”The two made headlines for going public with their relationship last year, defying the industry norm in which idols’ l

Nov. 5, 2019

Seoul indie film festival stresses growing role of female creators

The 45th Seoul Independent Film Festival touted “shift” as the slogan for this year’s event, stressing important changes in the film scene, such as the growing contributions of female filmmakers.“Since last year, the working environments of female filmmakers have improved greatly, as did the demand for their work. I expect such changes to affect the Korean film industry as a whole,” said festival director Kim Dong-hyun, during a press conference Tuesday. She noted t

Nov. 5, 2019

[Herald Review] Let your hair down with ‘La Fresque’

Contemporary ballet “La Fresque” is surreal and dreamy, featuring barefooted dancers carrying out explosive and exuberant movements.Led by legendary French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, Ballet Preljocaj is touring Korea with “La Fresque.” It performed at the LG Arts Center in southern Seoul over the weekend.The performance began in complete darkness. The soundtrack created by Nicolas Godin -- half of the groundbreaking French electronic music duo Air -- evoked a myster

Nov. 5, 2019

SM Entertainment joins hands with US entertainment agency

South Korea's biggest music label SM Entertainment has joined hands with a US entertainment giant to support its artists' global activities, the Korean company said Tuesday.SM Entertainment, home to NCT 127, SuperM and EXO, said it signed a deal with the US-based Creative Artists Agency, or CAA, in Los Angeles on Oct. 17 (US time).CAA is the biggest sports and entertainment agency in the United States, representing Beyonce, Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey. Under the partnership, CAA and SM Entert

Nov. 5, 2019

Cannes-winning 'Parasite' on a roll at US box office

South Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho's family satire "Parasite" has maintained its strong theatrical presence at the US box office, industry data showed Tuesday.The Korean-language film, released stateside on Oct. 11, added $2.6 million to its US gross from Friday to Sunday, according to data from Box Office Mojo.Its total reached $7.5 million, far outnumbering Bong's previous English-language science fiction movie "Snowpiercer" (2013), which garnered $4.6 million in 2013. 

Nov. 5, 2019

Bong Joon-ho wins at Hollywood Film Awards

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho won the award for best filmmaker at the 23rd Hollywood Film Awards on Sunday.During the annual event in Beverly Hills, California, Bong was commended for his recent film “Parasite,” for which he won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival this year.  This year’s Hollywood winners also include Charlize Theron, who took home the career achievement award; Antonio Banderas and Renee Zellweger, chosen as best actor and actress; and Al

Nov. 4, 2019

Lee Young-ae returns to big screen with ‘Bring Me Home’

Lee Young-ae is not the most prolific of actresses, but she has left lasting impressions with memorable characters in her few works, such as “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” (2005), “One Fine Spring Day” (2001) and “Joint Security Area” (2000)“I expect and want this (film) to be a turning point (in my career) as much as ‘Sympathy for Lady Vengeance’ had been,” Lee said at a press conference for upcoming mystery thriller “Bring Me Hom

Nov. 4, 2019

[ASEAN-Korea summit] Concert to promote South Korea-ASEAN ties through music

Ahead of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit, a celebratory concert will be held in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. As culture is a valuable asset that helps nations build bridges, various cultural events are set to take place before the summit such as a fashion show, a K-beauty festival and food demonstrations. One of these events is the music festival “ASEAN Fantasia,” which will be held Nov. 24 in Changwon. The aim of the concert is to promote harmony between South Korea

Nov. 4, 2019

BTS captures two prizes at MTV Europe Music Awards for 2nd year in a row

South Korean boy group BTS has won three trophies at this year's MTV Europe Music Awards, the group's agency said Monday.The seven-member band received the Best Group, Best Live and Biggest Fans awards during the ceremony held in Seville, Spain, on Sunday (local time), Big Hit Entertainment said. But BTS did not attend the awards ceremony.Last year, BTS took the two titles of Best Group and Biggest Fans.Founded in 1994, the MTV Europe Music Awards honor the most popular pop songs and music video

Nov. 4, 2019

BTS' 'Boy With Luv' hits 600m YouTube views

The music video of K-pop super band BTS' "Boy With Luv" has surpassed 600 million YouTube views.The video of the band's main song on the "Map of the Soul: Persona" album released in April, achieved the feat Sunday evening, about seven months after it went on sale, according to the band's agency Big Hit Entertainment. It is the fourth music video of BTS with over 600 million YouTube hits, following "DNA," "Fire" and "Fake Love."Its music vide

Nov. 4, 2019

TIMF announces 2019 pianist winners

The Tongyeong International Music Foundation announced the winners of the 2019 Isang Yun Competition on Saturday, with pianist Lim Yun-chan taking the top honors.The annual competition, held in homage to the late contemporary music composer Yun I-sang, alternates annually among cello, piano and violin. This year’s competition was for pianists, with violinists slated to compete next year. After a final round in the competition Saturday, Lim was announced as the first prize winner, foll

Nov. 3, 2019

CNBLUE's Jung Yong-hwa discharged from military

Jung Yong-hwa, a member of K-pop boy band CNBLUE, was discharged from the military Sunday after fulfilling nearly two years of mandatory service. He thanked his fans and expressed hope that he would return to his job as early as possible during a special fan event at a community service center in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province. Some 1,000 Korean and foreign fans from various Asian countries like China, Japan and the Philippines gathered to greet the singer. "I feel both relieved and sad,"

Nov. 3, 2019

Roaring K-pop boom reverses fate of declining CDs and other tangible albums

The roaring K-pop boom in South Korea is reviving the fate of perishing CD music and other physical music record formats.Since the early 2000s, compact disc as a music distribution format has been increasingly replaced by other digital storage and distribution formats such as internet streaming. Reversing the decline, however, sales of physical albums -- mostly CDs but also tapes, LPs and Kihno -- have registered dramatic growth over the past few years since 2014 in South Korea.In 2017, the comb

Nov. 1, 2019

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Terminator: Dark Fate(US)Opened Oct. 30Action, Sci-fiDirected by Tim MillerMore than two decades have passed since Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) prevented Judgment Day. Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes) is living a simple life in Mexico City when a highly advanced and deadly new Terminator -- a Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna) -- travels back through time to hunt and kill her. Dani must join forces with Grace (Mackenzie Davis), an enhanced super-soldier from the future, and Sarah Connor.Kim Ji-young, Born 1982(Kor

Nov. 1, 2019

BTS joins lineup of 2019 MAMA in Nagoya

K-pop supergroup BTS has joined the lineup of the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards scheduled for December in Japan's Nagoya, the music channel said Thursday.Mnet Japan disclosed the news through its Twitter account as it released information on ticket sales.The 2019 MAMA is scheduled to be a one-day event on Dec. 4 at the 30,000-seat Nagoya Dome.BTS has taken home the top MAMA prize for three years in a row through last year.Besides BTS, the 2019 MAMA lineup also includes GOT7, Monsta X, SEVENTEEN,

Oct. 31, 2019

[Herald Interview] ‘Cave’ recalls Thai soccer team rescue – with those actually there

　BUSAN -- “The Cave” debuted at the Busan International Film Festival on Oct. 5, becoming the first feature film released to portray the awe-inspiring events that had taken place just some 15 months prior in Chiang Rai, Thailand. 　The world watched on and was ultimately uplifted by the story of a soccer team of a dozen teenage boys and their 25-year-old coach surviving in a flooded cave for 18 days, before all were rescued alive and well through a complicated scuba relay extraction.&

Oct. 31, 2019

Philadelphia Orchestra and Cho Seong-jin to perform in Seoul

The Philadelphia Orchestra is to go on the stage at the Seoul Arts Center on Nov. 10, under the baton of the music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin and featuring pianist Cho Seong-jin. The highly acclaimed orchestra, which had been led by Eugene Ormandy for some 40 years, is counted in artistic stature among the Big Five orchestras in the US, along with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra.The program for Nov. 10 features Rachmaninoff’s Piano Co

Oct. 31, 2019

For modern ballet master, flick of hair can be dance movement

Ballet Preljocaj, a dance company led by legendary French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, is in Korea with “La Fresque,” also known as “The Painting on the Wall.” The company will perform the 2016 modern ballet piece that takes its motif from an old Chinese tale at the LG Arts Center in southern Seoul from Friday to Sunday, followed by more performances in Busan and Daejeon.  The story revolves around a man who visits an old temple and falls in love with a long-hair

Oct. 31, 2019

SuperM breaks Twitter Blueroom record with over 2 million viewers

K-pop supergroup SuperM broke a record after appearing at the Twitter Blueroom in Los Angeles earlier this month, drawing over a whopping 2 million viewers -- the highest figure to date.The septet consists of members from various acts -- SHINee, EXO, NCT127 and WayV. It managed to attract the record-breaking global viewership on Oct. 7 as it directly engaged fans and showcased dance moves for nearly 1 1/2 hours. In another sign of the group’s popularity, over 30 million tweets using the #S

Oct. 31, 2019