Most Popular
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Torrential rainfall forces 1,500 to evacuate, causes widespread damage to homes, roads
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[KH Explains] Can smart chargers ease tensions over EV fires?
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1 in 5 households to have breadwinner over 80 in 30 years
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Assembly to review disputed appointment of national soccer team coach
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New Fifty Fifty off to strong start
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Arrival of fall calls for more outdoor festivals
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[Herald Interview] US election may unleash growth for Korea: Laffer
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Evicted guest burns down inn; 3 killed
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Yoon's Prague visit sets stage for W24tr nuclear power plant deal
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Doctors defend colleague accused of blacklisting non-strikers
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Music and the sea
Tongyeong International Music Festival opens Friday at a brand new concert hall that embodies just what this year’s festival is all about ― the sea and great music. Nestled on a hill overlooking the sea, the Tongyeong Concert Hall mixes the two in a way that the festival’s organizers hope will inspire artists as well as audiences. “The theme of this year’s festival is ‘seascapes,’” the Tongyeong International Music Festival Foundation said in a press announcement. “It is our hope that the magnif
March 23, 2014
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[Band Uprising] Winterplay pioneers jazz-pop genre in Korea and abroad
As the Korean music market is beginning to receive more international recognition, the local band scene is looking to rise up and represent the next generation of Korean music. This is the fourth installment of a series of interviews with Korean rock, acoustic and alternative bands. ― Ed. On the surface, musicians Lee Ju-han and Moon Hae-won seem like the most unlikely of bandmates.As the son of a Korean diplomat, 48-year-old Lee spent much of his life abroad, more accustomed to speaking English
March 23, 2014
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[Weekender] Korean musicals evolve
Last year, the Broadway musical “Kinky Boots,” co-produced by Korean entertainment company CJ E&M, won a total of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Leading Man.The company, which has been investing in West End and Broadway musicals such as “The Bodyguard” and “Big Fish,” invested $1 million in “Kinky Boots,” becoming the sixth-largest investor in the production. It was the first time that a musical co-produced by a Korean company received such honors. “I guess
March 21, 2014
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[Weekender] For better or worse? K-pop stars flood the stage
While Broadway is certainly no stranger to shows led by big-time Hollywood talent, the trend of Korean musicals casting K-pop stars has gotten to the point where it’s now almost routine in a large production. The inclusion of K-pop stars not only helps sell shows, it has become an almost unspoken policy that any non-Broadway musical that wants to hit it big should include a popular K-pop star in its cast. Whether it’s Girls’ Generation’s Jessica in “Legally Blonde,” 2PM’s Jun.K and SHINee’s Key
March 21, 2014
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[Weekender] Global blockbusters in store for Korean audience
This year will see a rush of hit musicals in Korea following the footsteps of successful foreign-licensed shows such as “Wicked,” “Three Musketeers” and “Elisabeth.”Starting with “Le Roi Soleil” next month, popular musicals such as “Marie Antoinette” and film-turned-musicals “Priscilla” and “Once” are lined up for Korean fans. “Le Roi Soleil,” scheduled for Blue Square in April and May, will feature Shin Sung-rok, from the recently ended smash hit TV drama “My Love from the Star” as Louis XIV.
March 21, 2014
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[Weekender] ‘It’s time for global K-musical’
Korean musical producers should go global with universal themes, storylines, characters and crew, according to the managing director of CJ E&M, the country’s leading cultural corporation. “You have to be quite sensible when talking about musical productions. It is business after all and it needs to generate profits,” Lauren Park, head of live entertainment at CJ E&M, told The Korea Herald. The company is said to have accounted for 30-35 percent of the 300 billion won Korean market for musicals i
March 21, 2014
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Brilliant young man who made classical music sexy
Inside of the case that houses violist Richard Yongjae O’Neill’s 18th century Matteo Goffriller ex-Trampler wrapped up in an orange-and-white horse pattern Hermes scarf are several photographs placed in a row.They are pictures of his father at various stages of his life and Toby Saks, a dear friend who passed away, O’Neill explains. “I did not mean it to be a memorial,” he says with a smile; yet, whenever he opens the lid, there they are ― his loved ones who are no longer here.O’Neill, 35, who h
March 21, 2014
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Eyelike: 4minute returns with new EP, ‘4minute World’
4minute returns with new EP, ‘4minute World’4minute“4minute World”(Universal Music)K-pop girl group 4minute returned to the local music scene with its fifth EP “4minute World” on Monday, premiering the music video of the title track “Whatcha Doin’ Today?” in which the five girls party in wild and odd settings.Though 4minute definitely establishes its own style throughout the album, some parts of the album are disappointing, lacking in originality and depth. The slower, melodic tracks better reve
March 21, 2014
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Superstar K ballad singer puts on dancing shoes for first time
After playing on the streets of Hongdae for spare change as a struggling troubadour looking to help his single mother and himself make ends meet, former Superstar K4 contestant Hong Dae-kwang is rapidly putting his tough past behind him and looking toward a bright future as a singer.Hong released the second half of his “Silver Lining” album, “The Silver Lining ― Part 2,” on Friday. The new EP features the lead track “Thank You My Love,” and despite being relatively slow-paced, it has the most up
March 21, 2014
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Lady Gaga adds K-pop act Crayon Pop to N. American tour
LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― K-pop made fresh inroads Thursday when Lady Gaga revealed that South Korean girl group Crayon Pop will open her upcoming summer concerts in Canada and the United States.“I’m excited to announce June 26 through July 22 of Lady Gaga’s artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball will be opened by CRAYON POP!” the “Mother Monster” announced on her @ladygaga Twitter feed.The candy-colored quintet topped the K-pop charts last year when their danceable ditty “Bar Bar Bar” ― featuring their signature h
March 21, 2014
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SM faces probe over tax evasion
The nation’s largest entertainment agency, SM Entertainment, is currently under investigation for allegedly evading tens of billions of won in taxes, The National Tax Service announced Thursday. According to news reports, the agency is suspected of having established “paper companies” in Hong Kong using famous artists’ names in order to avoid reporting the profits earned from performances overseas. The Seoul tax authorities have now launched a formal investigation into the agency’s finances and
March 20, 2014
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Kim Jang-hoon to hold special exhibit on former sex slaves in Shanghai
South Korean pop singer Kim Jang-hoon will hold a special exhibition of photos depicting Korean women forced into sex slavery by the Japanese military during World War II as part of his upcoming art show in Shanghai, his management agency said Thursday.Kim plans to hold the art show on South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo from April 17-26 at the Korean cultural center in Shanghai to help raise the Chinese people’s awareness that Dokdo is part of South Korea.The singer will add the special e
March 20, 2014
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2 CDs of rarities mark Sheldon Harnick’s birthday
NEW YORK (AP) ― Sheldon Harnick has done some extensive spring cleaning and come up with a two-CD box set of very rare tunes. Harbinger Records said Wednesday it will release “Sheldon Harnick: Hidden Treasures, 1949-2013” on May 1 in conjunction with the Tony- and Grammy Award-winning lyricist and writer’s 90th birthday. The set will include some 53 demos and songs cut from 17 shows featuring such singers as Audra McDonald, Brian d’Arcy James, Hugh Martin, Charlotte Rae and Sheldon’s wife, actre
March 20, 2014
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Apartments, dream home for Koreans
Among many features that define the cityscape of Seoul, one thing makes the capital distinct. That’s the gray skyline along row after row of near identical concrete apartments.The sea of concrete high rises stemmed from a public housing project initiated in the 1970s to accommodate the mounting urban population efficiently. It has now become the type of residence most preferred by a majority of Seoul citizens.An exhibition at Seoul Museum of History takes the audience on a journey through the hi
March 19, 2014
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Sunye of Wonder Girls to head to Haiti for missionary work
Sunye, the leader of the Wonder Girls, has announced that she will head to Haiti to carry out missionary work there for five years with her husband through their self-established NGO “Whitestone Global.”Sunye broke the news on the group’s official fan website on Tuesday by uploading a personal statement that explained her reasons for moving to the Caribbean nation with her missionary husband James Park.“During a short week that I spent volunteering in Haiti while living abroad, the direction of
March 19, 2014
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Subscriptions woo fans back from pirated music
LONDON (AFP) ― Fans are increasingly willing to pay for digital music through subscription streaming services rather than downloading it illegally for free, according to an upbeat report published Tuesday.Revenues from services such as Spotify or Deezer rose 51 percent in 2013, breaking through the symbolic $1 billion barrier for the first time, according to music industry group IFPI’s annual digital music report.More than 28 million people worldwide now pay a regular fee to access a library of
March 19, 2014
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Yukio Ninagawa stages ‘Musashi’ in Seoul
Yukio Ninagawa, a Japanese theater director best known for his Japanese adaptations of Shakespeare plays and Greek tragedies, is presenting his Japanese Zen comedy-drama “Musashi” in Seoul this month. “I guess I am known as the director who interprets Shakespeare plays in a very Japanese way,” the director told reporters during a press conference in Seoul. “But with ‘Musashi,’ I wanted to do something that does not rely on Shakespeare (and his scripts).”The upcoming show is Ninagawa’s second pie
March 18, 2014
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Paraguay group of poor kids turns garbage into sweet melodies
ASUNCION (AFP) ― Parents all over the world often complain about their children’s music being garbage. For one group of poor kids in Paraguay, however, who have found international fame by forming an orchestra which uses instruments built from trash, it is quite literally true. The Orchestra of Recycled Instruments of Cateura will mark another notable chapter in their history this week when they will be the opening act for U.S. heavy metal band Metallica on a six-nation South American tour. “It
March 18, 2014
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John Lennon drawings, poems coming up for auction
NEW YORK (AFP) ― The biggest private collection of John Lennon drawings, poems and prose ever to go to market will be sold by Sotheby’s in New York on June 4, the international auction house said Monday.The items comprise the original material that appeared in two books by the late Beatle ― “In His Own Write,” published 50 years ago this year, and “A Spaniard in the Works” that hit the best-seller lists in 1965.Among the 89 lots is a satirical guide to Lennon’s hometown, Liverpool valued at $12,
March 18, 2014
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Cheonggyecheon frozen in time
Photographer J. Ahn, who has chronicled the changing scenery along the Cheonggyecheon Stream with her camera, is exhibiting her work at the Sejong Art Center’s Museum of Art starting Wednesday.Though she has photographed cities such as New York, Paris and Havana, Ahn said, she has always been fascinated by the back alleys of the belatedly redeveloped section of downtown Seoul. “The back alleys of Cheonggycheon had many beautiful and profound colors. A single color isn’t enough to depict them. I’
March 17, 2014