Beyonce announces, releases new album on same day

NEW YORK (AP) ― Beyonce has released her new album in an unconventional way: She announced and dropped it on the same day.The singer released “Beyonce” exclusively on iTunes early Friday. She mirrors how Jay Z released “Magna Carta Holy Grail” earlier this year ― through a deal with Samsung where he gave the album to 1 million users of Galaxy mobile phones days before its official release.Beyonce’s fifth effort features 14 songs and 17 videos. Jay Z, Drake and Frank Ocean make guest appearances

Dec. 15, 2013

Calendar

Dance “The Nutcracker by Nowon Leewonkook Ballet”: A 14-year-old ballerina is making her debut as Marie in Nowon Leewonkook Ballet’s upcoming run of “The Nutcracker.” Loosely based on French ballet choreographer Marius Petita’s version, Nowon Leewonkook Ballet offers a unique rendition of the world’s favorite Christmas ballet, directed by celebrated dancer and choreographer Lee Won-kook. Lee, who was with the Korea National Ballet and Universal Ballet Company for 20 years, founded his own troupe

Dec. 13, 2013

Eyelike: EXO shows diversity on new EP

EXO shows diversity on new EP EXO “Miracles in December” (KT Music)Boy group EXO has taken the K-pop world by storm, garnering a fandom that allowed them to nab the title of Best Korean Act at the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards. The band’s most famous single, “Growl,” is a fast-paced track with a strong beat, but “Miracles in December” has a very different sound, featuring a more laid-back R&B vibe. The six-track EP shows the band has a diverse sound and despite the Christmas titles, the songs are

Dec. 13, 2013

Korean musical kicks off its Japanese run

Korea’s homespun musical “Moon Embracing the Sun” kicked off its Japanese run at the Aoyama Theatre in Tokyo on Thursday, starring Lina from the girl group The Grace and Sung-je from the dance group Supernova. Based on MBC’s enormously successful 2012 drama series of the same name, the musical tells the moving love story of Hwon, a cynical but attractive fictional Joseon king, and Yeon-woo, a beautiful female shaman. The musical also deals with the court intrigues of those vying for political po

Dec. 13, 2013

Teenage LPGA star Lydia Ko signs with IMG

CLEVELAND (AP) ― Lydia Ko, who earned an exemption to join the LPGA Tour in October as a 16-year-old, has signed with management company IMG.Born in South Korea and raised in New Zealand, Ko is already No. 4 in the rankings and won the Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters last week in Taiwan in her second start as a professional.She won the Women’s Canadian Open at 15 last year to become the youngest winner in tour history and defended the title this year.Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie are among

Dec. 13, 2013

Art auction of Chun family collection draws huge interest

The long-sluggish Korean art market got a boost on Wednesday after dynamic sales of the seized art collection of the family of former President Chun Doo-hwan, setting the stage for the next round of auctions of the Chun collection next week. All items being auctioned were sold off, raking in some 2.5 billion won ($2.4 million), about nine times K Auction’s original estimate.The Korean government commissioned K Auction and Seoul Auction, two major auction houses in Korea, to sell all 235 confisca

Dec. 12, 2013

Sohee no longer a Wonder Girl

The popular K-pop starlet Sohee of Wonder Girls has decided not to renew her contract with the group in order to focus on her acting career, according to a press release issued Wednesday by her agency JYP Entertainment.“The contract with Sohee ends on Dec. 21 and we have decided to respect her decision to focus on her acting career after much discussion,” the statement said. Although Sohee has opted to discontinue her activities as part of Wonder Girls, members Yeeun, Yubin and Sunye ― whose con

Dec. 12, 2013

New K-pop releases storm Japan music charts

Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, 2PM and SHINee all grabbed top 10 places on the Oricon music charts Thursday, Boy band Super Junior sold 46,968 copies of their fifth Japanese single “Blue World” on its day of release, ranking second on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart. Their newest single includes the title track and the love song “CANDY.”The third studio album “Love & Peace” of Girls’ Generation sold 37,486 copies on the day it was released, to top the Daily Albums Chart. The 12-track album feat

Dec. 12, 2013

‘Artist another name for lighthouse keeper or mailman’

Artist Lee Myung-ho takes on the role of a movie producer in his photography projects. He searches all year round for perfect locations for his photo shoots, traveling to some of the most remote places in the world such as the Gobi Desert and the Tundra, and directs a production crew of 10 to 100 along with heavy cranes. Traces of such a complex procedure are hardly seen in Lee’s simple, meditative images of trees and deserts. The final products only show a tree standing alone against a white ca

Dec. 11, 2013

Penderecki to lead Korean premiere of his ‘Seven Gates of Jerusalem’

Krzysztof Penderecki, one of the greatest classical music composers of our time, is visiting Seoul next week to present his contemporary musical.Honoring his 80th birthday, the Seoul International Music Festival “Winter,” to be held Dec. 16-20 at Seoul Arts Center, will be dedicated to the Polish composer, who has had a long relationship with Korea. On Dec. 16, the Shanghai Quartet will perform Penderecki’s String Quartet No. 3 along with Haydn’s String Quartet in D minor, Op. 76, and Dvorak’s S

Dec. 11, 2013

When dancers speak

Dancers rarely get to speak on stage, and there is a reason for it. It’s not impossible, but it’s difficult.Celebrated ballerina Kim Ji-young on Tuesday breathed heavily at the Jayu Theater of Seoul Arts Center, after performing a one-minute scene from the popular romantic ballet “Giselle.” She couldn’t speak for more than 10 seconds, as she could barely catch her breath. “There is a reason why ballets don’t have any lines,” she said. “I pretty much didn’t breathe at all for the past minute.” As

Dec. 11, 2013