Most Popular
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Torrential rainfall forces 1,500 to evacuate, causes widespread damage to homes, roads
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Over 82,000 Korean young people unemployed, not searching for job long-term
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[KH Explains] Can smart chargers ease tensions over EV fires?
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40% of Korea's workers who reported bullying faced retaliation: survey
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1 in 5 households to have breadwinner over 80 in 30 years
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New Fifty Fifty off to strong start
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Assembly to review disputed appointment of national soccer team coach
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[Weekender] Young Koreans more open to Japanese cultural products
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Evicted guest burns down inn; 3 killed
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Arrival of fall calls for more outdoor festivals
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NewMedia Festival opens in Seoul
An international art festival promoting alternative and independent films and artwork kicked off in Seoul last Thursday.Seoul International NewMedia Festival, a fringe festival in its 14th year, opened under the theme “Ethnography Now” in various locations throughout Seoul, including the Korean Film Archive, Sanwoolim Theater and Seoul Art Space Seogyo. The festival runs from Aug. 7-15. A total of 140 experimental films and artworks in seven categories will be presented during the festival. An
Aug. 11, 2014
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‘All About That Bass’ gives singer a breakthrough
NEW YORK (AP) ― Not everyone was initially “All About That Bass.” Meghan Trainor, the 20-year-old who is having a pop culture moment with the song about body acceptance, said she initially wrote the track and pitched it to other artists, but was turned away. “Labels were like, ‘We love it, but you have to reproduce it. You got to get it more synth-y, pop-y,’” said Trainor, who worked with producer Kevin Kadish on “Bass.” “We looked at each other like, ‘Man, I thought this was a hit, but I guess
Aug. 11, 2014
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Beauty in conflict, vulgarity and action
A man holds his smartphone up in the air to take a snapshot of a protest over the Sewol ferry disaster. Artist Noh Sun-tag spots him and photographs the man and another protester pressing his smartphone camera button for him. Noh has observed scenes of protest and various social conflicts through his lens. His photographs are on display at the Korea Artist Prize exhibition, the annual artist award by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea. The exhibition showcases works by fou
Aug. 10, 2014
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‘Hamlet’ hits Havana on global Shakespeare tour
HAVANA (AFP) ― A tour of “Hamlet” aiming to reach every country on Earth in celebration of William Shakespeare’s 450th birthday brought the legendary bard to thousands gathered in Havana, local media reported Friday.“Twelve actors from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre recreated Hamlet. ... with an air of innovation and in its original language,” artistic director Dominic Dromgoole was quoted as saying by state-run newspaper Granma. “Although we know that the story transcends beyond words, a giant scr
Aug. 10, 2014
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Miley naughty and nice in return to Nashville
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) ― Miley’s back, y’all. Miley Cyrus made her delayed-due-to-illness return to the town where she grew up Thursday night, bringing a flying hot dog, a dwarf dressed as the Liberty Bell, a dozen recognizable hits, a taunt to the girls who beat her up in school and a lot of inappropriate touching. Drawing a crowd of mostly young women ― and a hefty number of moms ― the show was a little bit pop concert, a little bit late-night pay cable and a little bit great.In the audienc
Aug. 10, 2014
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Eyelike: Ra.D returns with groovy beats
Ra.D returns with groovy beats“Soundz” Ra.D (LOEN Entertainment)Ra.D is back at last with his signature mellow tunes and relaxing beats. And it seems that the singer has been busy over the last six years, for his third studio album features 12 tracks, all written and produced by the artist himself. Ra.D brings many variations of love-inspired music on his new album, which overall is best described as calm yet groovy. The lead single “For Me” is a light and funky R&B track featuring pronounced ba
Aug. 8, 2014
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Using good music to change perceptions
This is the 11th in a series highlighting women and their accomplishments in the various facets of the Korean entertainment industry. ― Ed.Though she’s only been a professional DJ for two years, DJ Navi says she hopes that she and other female DJs can break down current perceptions of women in the DJ world. “I believe all those DJs and myself, we have to break those perceptions. Even my friends who are DJs, we get a lot of that. ‘Oh, they look pretty, but their music isn’t good enough,’” she sai
Aug. 7, 2014
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Vienna chosen to host 2015 Eurovision Song Contest
VIENNA (AFP) ― It is known as the city of music and as a destination for fans of the music of Mozart and Brahms.But now a musical extravaganza of a different variety is making its way to Vienna: the Eurovision Song Contest.Austria was guaranteed to host the 2015 competition after bearded transvestite Conchita Wurst topped the results board earlier this year.But on Wednesday, organizers revealed that the capital Vienna had beaten Graz and Innsbruck to host the show.The competition will take place
Aug. 7, 2014
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Mariah Carey to hold solo concert in October
Globally recognized R&B diva Mariah Carey will return to Korea this fall to hold her first solo concert in Seoul in more than a decade, Yescom Entertainment said Wednesday. Carey is slated to perform on Oct. 8, however, according to officials at Yescom, the exact time and venue for the upcoming concert have not yet been decided. It has been reported that the fall concert will be Carey’s third time in Korea, after her first solo concert performance in 2003 and a short visit in 2009 to promote her
Aug. 7, 2014
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Metal band, rapper latest to drop Israel concerts
WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Thrash metal band Megadeth and hip-hop star CeeLo Green joined a growing list of entertainers Tuesday whose scheduled concerts in Israel have been canceled amid the Gaza crisis.Los Angeles-based Megadeth was due to play in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, but on its website the group said it wasn’t able to secure a guarantee that it could make it.“The band was looking forward to this concert and is disappointed they will not be able to put on the show for their fans, but expects to retu
Aug. 6, 2014
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Chasing the K-pop dream
“Time to get up girls!” The call comes at 6 a.m. as it does every morning, pulling Ray from her bunk bed at the start of another 16-hour day in search of stardom.Ray and the five other young women sharing a small Seoul apartment make up the K-pop band Billion ― which at times can feel like the number of miles they are from achieving their goal.K-pop glamour has conquered much of Asia and beyond, but for every headlining boy and girl band, there are many more like Billion struggling for a break o
Aug. 5, 2014
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Palmer to be Broadway’s first black Cinderella
NEW YORK (AP) ― Like many girls, actress and singer Keke Palmer grew up dreaming of meeting a prince who would whisk her away to a life of love and happiness. In her case, it’s going to happen ― eight shows a week on Broadway. Palmer said she’ll be stepping into the title role in “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” starting Sept. 9 at the Broadway Theatre. She will become the first African-American to play the part on the Great White Way. “It’s honestly one of those things that I can’t believe
Aug. 5, 2014
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[Herald Interview] Opera singers’ life on stage and off
Soprano Cathleen Kim refrains from talking before performing.Sparing the vocal cords helps not only vocally, given that she has to pull off stratospheric coloratura arias on stage. It also helps her stay focused on the character she has to become. Then as she walks on stage, she feels that something inside her flips the switch that turns her stage persona on. “From the very first step onto the stage, I become a different person. I become the character,” Kim said. The process is very different fo
Aug. 4, 2014
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[Herald Review] Rockin’ in the rain
The sweat-dousing, sauna-like humid weather and Typhoon Nakri’s heavy rains did not top tens of thousands of rock lovers from flocking to Penta Park in Incheon over the weekend to attend the annual Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival. With a near decade-long run, Pentaport is still one of the country’s most attended summer festivals. The three-day event brought around 80 acts this year, including headlining overseas acts Kasabian and Travis as well as local pop rock icon Lee Seung-hwan. English roc
Aug. 4, 2014
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Singer joins hunger strike by Sewol victims’ families
South Korean pop singer Kim Jang-hoon said Monday that he will join a hunger strike by family members of those killed in the Sewol ferry disaster to press politicians for the early parliamentary passage of a special law aimed at determining the cause of the disaster.“I’ll join the hunger strike by the bereaved family members at the Gwanghwamun square from 2 p.m. today,” Kim wrote on his Facebook page.“The special law is for all of us and the country, not just for the bereaved families, but (I do
Aug. 4, 2014
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Met Opera talks halted for financial review
NEW YORK (AP) ― The Metropolitan Opera and unions representing its singers, dancers and musicians agreed Saturday to halt labor negotiations for a week and avoid a threatened lockout while an independent analyst studies the New York City organization’s finances. The Met and the unions agreed to the review at the request of a federal mediator brought in to end the contract dispute, which could disrupt one of the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions. The Met, the American Guild of Musica
Aug. 3, 2014
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Dionne Warwick knows her way to San Jose
SAN JOSE, California (AP) ― In 1968, Dionne Warwick had never been to San Jose and didn’t think much of the song. But after the iconic singer recorded “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?” and the song became a huge hit, the 73-year-old singer says with a laugh that she “cried all the way to the bank.” The catchy tune penned by the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David would become her biggest international seller and won Warwick her first Grammy Award in 1968. This week, Warwick is head
Aug. 3, 2014
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Eyelike: Block B may lose identity with new concept
Block B may lose identity with new conceptBlock B“Her”(CJ E&M)The seven members of Block B have returned with the love-themed EP “Her,” which moves away from their typical quirky and upbeat style and instead features cutesy tunes best described as “less macho.”Though the boy band understandably steers in this new direction in a bid to show off its wider musicality and boyish charm, it seems that the new EP potentially tarnishes the group’s established style and core identity ― being silly, energ
Aug. 1, 2014
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Inspiration in a moon jar
The pure simplicity of moon jars from the Joseon period (1392-1910) has inspired generations of Korean artists, including pioneer of abstract art Kim Whanki. Three exhibitions this summer highlight the beauty and value of white porcelain together with the modern artwork inspired by them. Gana Art Center displays seven of 20 remaining moon jars in the world. Moon jars are a type of white porcelain that is more than 40 centimeters tall, and made between the late 17th and 18th centuries. Their simp
July 31, 2014
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Massive Attack dedicates Lebanon gig to Gaza children
BYBLOS, Lebanon (AFP) ― Influential British band Massive Attack dedicated their only Middle East gig to the children of Gaza, openly condemning Israel’s “massacre” of the Palestinians.As the band played in Byblos, in Lebanon, just a few hundred kilometers north of Gaza, swaying music-lovers on Tuesday night held up Palestinian flags as Massive Attack issued a rare, explicit condemnation of Israel’s offensive.In an exclusive interview with AFP, frontman Robert Del Naja said: “This bombardment of
July 31, 2014