In 1959, art student Youn Myeung-ro received the top award from the National Art Exhibition, considered the gateway to success in the careers of Korean artists. That would have been the easiest path for Youn to reach fame. But he took the road not taken. Rebelling against the status quo of the art world, he refused to show his prize-winning work at the actual exhibition. He established a new artist group and showed his work on the stone wall of Deoksugung Palace, the venue of the National Art Ex

March 31, 2013

The two husky guys of 2BiC may not look like the typical hard-bodied and pretty-faced male singers one expects in today’s image-conscious music scene, but Ji-hwan and Jun-hyung have powerfully soulful voices that can blow the competition out of the water. “I know when you look at us you think we don’t really look the part. Many people ask if we’re comedians,” said Ji-hwan. “But when we sing, we are very sincere ... and I think people can see that.”The old college buddies did not expect to find t

March 31, 2013

Choi Min-soo, best known as a tough-guy actor in productions such as “The Hourglass,” has announced that his rock band 36.5˚C will kick off a 10-city nationwide concert tour beginning in June. The 50-year-old actor first entered the music scene in 2006 with the release of his band’s debut album “The Men’s Story” under the name Choi Min-soo Rocksan Band. After Choi’s music career went quiet for several years, he finally introduced his latest rock band 36.5˚C and performed on stage at the Ulsan Ja

March 31, 2013

Eric Clapton’s ’Old Sock’ is cozyEric Clapton"Old Sock"(Bushbranch/Surfdog Records)Imagine a jam session at Eric Clapton’s house. He‘s not likely to trot out "Layla" for the 3,478th time. Instead, he and pals with names like Paul McCartney, Chaka Khan and Steve Winwood would probably deep dive into a tasty bag of cover tunes that inspires and delights them. Such is the cozy feel one gets listening to "Old Sock," Slowhand’s 21st studio album and his first on his own Bushbranch record label. Recor

March 29, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) ― It’s not the kind of performance that will win her another Academy Award, but British actress Tilda Swinton certainly has people buzzing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.But keep quiet, please. She’s trying to sleep.The “Moonrise Kingdom’’ star has been engaging in a different kind of performance art. She’s presenting a one-person piece called “The Maybe,’’ in which she lies sleeping in a glass box for the day. The first performance was over the weekend, and the museu

March 28, 2013

Eleven new acts have been announced for the second lineup of this year’s inaugural Ansan Valley Rock Festival.The four acts that will be joining Nine Inch Nails, The XX, fun. and Coheed & Cambria as the overseas headliners are British alternative rock band The Cure, the Foals, the Hurts and the punk rockers of Yellowcard. The local band second lineup includes Nell, Galaxy Express, Daybreak, Dear Cloud, E Z Hyoung, 2nd Moon and Achime. These acts will be joining the festival along with the previo

March 28, 2013

While the chill still lingers in the morning air, spring is here in flower buds waiting to bloom and warm breezes in the afternoon sun. Opera Gallery Seoul is celebrating the season with an exhibition of masterpieces by artists such as Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Bernard Buffet, Salvador Dali, Raoul Dufy and Rene Magritte. The exhibition “Le Sacre Du Printemps,” meaning the Rite of Spring, borrowed from the music of Stravinsky which premiered in Paris in 1913, features 70 artworks inspired by t

March 27, 2013

As if directing fashion brands KUHO and LEBEIGE wasn’t enough, it seems Jung Kuho can’t get enough of dance. After the Korean National Ballet’s “Poise” last year, in which he participated as the stage art director and costume designer, Jung is ahead of his second dance show ― this time with the National Dance Company of Korea.The state-run traditional dance troupe was founded in 1962 with the aim of creating and performing new dances based solely on Korea’s traditional dance. The upcoming show,

March 27, 2013

Singer Younha will participate in the 2013 Muse in City Festival that will be held at the Olympic Park’s Jandi Madang on June 15. Younha will be participating along with other preeminent stars including Australian singer-songwriter Lenka, singer-songwriter and Damien Rice’s muse Lisa Hannigan, and Korean indie-pop singer Han Hee-jung, according to Access Entertainment, the concert organizer.The inaugural 2013 Muse in City Festival will be celebrating female artists in the music scene. Additional

March 26, 2013

Some big titles are used to describe artist Kim Whanki. The artist is called a “pioneer of abstract art,” for adopting simplified compositions in his paintings, and the “Korean Picasso” for his prolific creation of more than 3,000 works. He is also a best-selling artist in the contemporary art market. One of his earlier works, a painting called “Moon and Plum Blossom,” sold for $663,750, almost double its estimate of $350,000-$400,000, at the Japanese and Korean art auction at Christie’s in New

March 25, 2013

One of the world’s largest annual outdoor dance music parties, the Ultra Music Festival, is returning to Seoul this summer with some of the hottest DJs from around the world for an electrifying two-day concert series of house music and fist-pumping. This year’s Ultra Korea 2013 music festival will be held on June 14 and 15 at Seoul’s Olympic Stadium Complex and will feature an all-star lineup of some of the top names in the EDM scene including three of the world’s top 10 DJs as listed by DJ Maga

March 25, 2013

CEO and founder of one of the country’s “big three” record labels JYP Entertainment Park Jin-young, also referred to as JYP, revealed on Friday that he has shut the doors of his company’s New York City office and U.S. subsidiary corporation “JYP Creative” in November of last year after only a year in operation. The subsidiary JYP Creative was first established in November 2011 and it was reported that Park invested approximately $1.2 million in the branch to assist in his agency’s promotional ac

March 24, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) ― The chemistry is over: rock outfit My Chemical Romance has disbanded.The New Jersey-based band announced Saturday that “it has come time for it to end.” The foursome thanked fans in a statement and said the experience was “a true blessing.”My Chemical Romance’s sound is a mix of alternative, punk rock and pop. Band members released their debut album in 2002 but really made a splash on the music scene in 2004 with the platinum-selling “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge.” It featured

March 24, 2013