Most Popular
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Hybe acquires US PR agency
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Yoon, Fiala seek wider range of cooperation beyond nuclear energy
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40% of Korea's workers who reported bullying faced retaliation: survey
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Over 82,000 Korean young people unemployed, not searching for job long-term
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600 evacuated as heavy rain floods roads, homes in southern regions
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S. Korea, Czech Republic to increase direct flights
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Seoul, Prague to team up throughout nuclear energy project delivery
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[Weekender] Young Koreans more open to Japanese cultural products
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S. Korea to inject $37m in joint R&D projects with Czech Republic
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[KH Explains] Can smart chargers ease tensions over EV fires?
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Stones roll back the years with chart-topping album
LONDON (AFP) -- The Rolling Stones on Friday scored their first British No. 1 album in over 20 years, a day after frontman Mick Jagger became a father for the eighth time, aged 73.“Blue & Lonesome,” a tribute to the blues legends who inspired the iconic British band, sold 106,000 copies, making it the second-highest opening-week sales for an album in 2016, behind David Bowie’s “Blackstar.”“We are absolutely delighted with the success of ‘Blue & Lonesome’ in the UK and around the world,” said the
Dec. 11, 2016
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[Album Review] Childish Gambino gets immersed in the funk
Childish Gambino“Awaken, My Love!”(Glassnote Records)It’s OK not to “get” Childish Gambino’s third studio album “Awaken, My Love!” With its lush soundscapes and sparse lyrics, one can only gather that the funk-drenched latest release from the multi-talented Donald Glover is a collection that is to be felt first and understood second -- if understanding is possible at all. Outstanding first single “Me and Your Mama” and equally arresting follow-up track “Redbone” are the easiest to digest of the
Dec. 9, 2016
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[Album Review] Massive Kate Bush album a concert series souvenir
Kate Bush“Before the Dawn”(Concord Records)Kate Bush gives fans an exquisite souvenir with “Before the Dawn,” a massive live album taken from her series of 22 concerts in 2014. With tantalizingly few chart hits and dominated by two conceptual collections, the triple album conjures its magic spells with Bush’s powerfully expressive voice, her captivating songs and the integrity of an artistic vision that nurtures and challenges the imagination.By all accounts, her residency at London’s Hammersmit
Dec. 9, 2016
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[Album Review] Eclectic cultural influence in ‘The Hamilton Mixtape’
Various artists“The Hamilton Mixtape”(Atlantic)Long before President-elect Donald Trump took on the cultural juggernaut that is “Hamilton” and made it front-page news, creator Lin-Manuel Miranda had been looking for a way to expand the musical’s influence beyond Broadway.With “The Hamilton Mixtape” (Atlantic), which Miranda says is the first of at least two, he and a star-studded cast of collaborators ranging from The Roots to Sia and Miguel employ a variety of strategies to bring the show’s mus
Dec. 9, 2016
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[Arts calendar] Musicals, exhibitions, concerts and more
Theater“Jekyll and Hyde Musical”: Inviting the original Broadway cast members, the Jekyll and Hyde Musical will be hitting stages across the country next March including Seoul, Daegu, Busan and Gwangju. The musical horror-drama is based on the internationally acclaimed novel “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson and is a tale of the struggles of good and evil. The upcoming production will star Kyle Dean Massey, Bradley Dean, Diana DeGarmo and Lindsey Bliven. The
Dec. 9, 2016
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18th-century Buddhist painting returned to home soil
As a lover of Korean art and an avid collector, American Robert Mattielli often visited Mary’s Alley, known for its hole-in-the-wall antique shops, in Insa-dong, Seoul during his more than 30 years in Korea. On one of his regular visits to the neighborhood in the early 1970s, he discovered and purchased a Buddhist painting with notable wear and tear for a mere $10. Unknowingly, Mattielli -- director of the arts and crafts program for the US military in Korea at the time -- had become the owner
Dec. 8, 2016
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BTS’ ‘Wings’ ranked among 20 best albums of 2016 by Fuse
This has been a big year for boy band Bangtan Boys, otherwise known as BTS. After topping music charts at home and abroad upon its release in October, the group’s latest studio album “Wings” was chosen as among the top 20 albums of the year by Fuse -- a US-based music media outlet -- this week. Noting that the album encompasses “the seven different personalities that make up BTS,” Fuse said the boy band is a rare find in K-pop. “BTS has garnered a wholly passionate fan base around the world, th
Dec. 8, 2016
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‘The Underdog’ musical explores social hierarchies
In a dog-eat-dog world, “The Underdog” musical employs the life of everyday canines to expose the dark, seedy underbelly of the social class systems of humankind.Rife with political and socioeconomic references, “The Underdog” opened its curtains in the theater district of Daehangno last week as part of Uniplex’s three-year anniversary celebration. The musical follows the life of a Korean Jindo dog, an indigenous breed known for its hunting skills and loyalty, named Jin. Mistreated, abused by hi
Dec. 8, 2016
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Math explored in new London gallery by Zaha Hadid
LONDON (AFP) - London's Science Museum called upon the genius of late architect Zaha Hadid for the “huge challenge” of bringing life to its new gallery dedicated to mathematics, which opens on Thursday.The Winton Gallery highlights the importance of mathematics through 120 objects, including a cash dispenser, the Enigma encryption machine, a model of a supertanker, a revolutionary aircraft and a 19th-century instrument for measuring tides.Located in a regenerated old wing of the famous museum, t
Dec. 8, 2016
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Met stages female composer's opera 'L'Amour de Loin’
NEW YORK (AP) -- Spanning five brief acts, “L‘Amour de Loin (Love from Afar)” tells of a long-distance and ultimately doomed romance between a medieval French troubadour and the countess of Tripoli. They fall in love not by meeting but through messages relayed back and forth across the sea by the opera’s third character, the Pilgrim. And to mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford, who portrays that “trousers” role in the Metropolitan Opera‘s production, “he’s the most interesting character in the piece.”“T
Dec. 8, 2016
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Chailly avenges Puccini with original Butterfly
MILAN (AP) -- Principal conductor Riccardo Chailly has avenged Giacomo Puccini’s memory with a successful staging of the composer's original version of “Madama Butterfly” for La Scala's gala season-opener Wednesday, 112 year after its hotly contested world premiere on the same stage. The VIP crowd showered Chailly, lead singers, orchestra and chorus with a quarter hour of applause and a cascade of roses for the bold choice of reviving the opera for the first time at La Scala as Puccini originall
Dec. 8, 2016
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KNCDC appoints new artistic director Ahn Sung-soo
Julliard graduate and Korea National University of Arts dance professor Ahn Sung-soo, 53, has been appointed as the new artistic director of the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company. Having officially taken the position on Dec. 1, Ahn will take reins of the national dance company for the next three years. “My mission is to elevate the level of Korean dance, create more original productions and to increase the international awareness and appreciation for Korean contemporary dance,” said Ahn,
Dec. 6, 2016
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Big Bang teases lead track for upcoming album
Less than a week away from the announcement of its much-anticipated album, Big Bang unveiled a teaser image for the album’s title track “Fxxk It” on Tuesday. The image reveals that two of the group members, G-Dragon and T.O.P, collaborated with YG Entertainment’s leading producer Teddy and composer R.Tree of Teddy’s latest hip-hop project, The Black Label, for the song. “‘Fxxk It’ is one of the two title tracks to be featured on the new album,” said YG Entertainment. The music videos for both of
Dec. 6, 2016
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Shinhwa to release vinyl of 18th anniversary concert
First-generation K-pop boy band Shinhwa is going retro. Celebrating its 18th debut anniversary this year, the group will be releasing 8,000 vinyl copies of live recordings from its anniversary concert which was held earlier this year in March at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, according to the band’s management agency Shinhwa Company on Tuesday.Containing 10 of Shinhwa’s biggest hits, including “Once in a Life,” “Crazy,” “The Days,” “Voyage” and others, the record is currently available f
Dec. 6, 2016
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In bid to fight art fraud, Sotheby's acquires forensic lab
NEW YORK (AP) -- In bid to fight art fraud, Sotheby's announced Monday that it had purchased a forensics firm whose founder once helped the auction house belatedly identify a $10 million painting as a fake.Sotheby’s said that Orion Analytical, based in Williamstown, Massachusetts, will be folded into the company and its founder, the artist, conservator and forensic scientist James Martin, will lead a new scientific research department charged with making sure the works the auction house deals wi
Dec. 6, 2016
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MMCA to exhibit Warhol, Picasso in 2017 and beyond
South Korea's national museum of contemporary art will present a series of exhibitions featuring Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and other great artists starting next year, the museum’s director said Monday.Bartomeu Mari, director of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, unveiled a list of exhibitions planned for next year and beyond under such themes as “Other Modernities,”“Convergence of Architecture, Design, Cinema,” and “Modern and Contemporary Masters.”“I think it is very important
Dec. 6, 2016
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Fish skin, snooker chalk win UK Turner Prize for Marten
LONDON (AFP) -- Sculptor Helen Marten on Monday won the Turner Prize, at a London ceremony where the art world rallied against xenophobia and intolerance.The prize is awarded to a British artist under 50 for an outstanding exhibition, and has become synonymous with controversy in its 32-year history with previous winners including contemporary art agents provocateurs Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.Marten, 31, impressed the judges with her sculptures from unusual materials such as fish skin and sno
Dec. 6, 2016
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[Herald Interview] Familiar but new, Sechs Kies returns with remake album
K-pop group Sechs Kies, which regrouped this year for a reunion concert after a 16-year hiatus, has released a new album filled with remakes of the band’s past hits. More than a decade since their heyday, the members said they felt nervous but happy, with a stronger sense of responsibility than before, when the members were 20-somethings.“Before, we would basically follow the directions of the songwriters and producers,” said member Kim Jae-duck. “Now, we feel a responsibility to make better mus
Dec. 5, 2016
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[Herald Interview] Young opera soprano returns home to star as Juliet prior to Met Opera debut
From Violetta in Verdi’s “La Traviata” to Fiorilla in Rossini’s “Il Turco in Italia,” up-and-coming opera star Hyesang Park is gearing up to tackle one of the theater world’s most iconic leading ladies -- Shakespeare’s Juliet. Marking her first return to the local stage since performing alongside the legendary Placido Domingo in his final concert in Korea in October, the 28-year-old Korean soprano is back home to star in the Korea National Opera’s upcoming staging of Charles Gounod’s “Romeo and
Dec. 4, 2016
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On new album, John Legend considers love and darkness
NEW YORK (AFP) - John Legend has become known as a modern master of the ballad, probing the emotional depths behind love and discovering the darkness that lurks nearby.Releasing his fifth studio album Friday, Legend stretches into new musical territory as he subtly broadens his conception of ballads, injecting elements of funk and rap.The new album is entitled “Darkness and Light,” but instead of representing some sort of tug-of-war between the two forces, Legend sees them as intertwined -- no l
Dec. 4, 2016