Shinhwa wraps up 15th anniversary concert

The longest-running boy band in K-pop history, Shinhwa, wrapped up its two-day concert event over the weekend in celebration of the group’s 15-year anniversary. The “2013 Shinhwa 15th Anniversary Concert ― The Legend Continues” was held at the Gymnastics Stadium at Seoul Olympic Park on Saturday and Sunday night, drawing some 25,000 fans. The members of the K-pop boy band are no longer boys, but even in their 30s, Shinhwa showed no intention of throwing in the towel.  “Fifteen years is a long ti

March 18, 2013

Ai pays tribute to Neruda in Chile painting

SANTIAGO (AFP) ― A massive painting by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei dedicated to Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda was unveiled Saturday in Valparaiso, the Chilean port where the poet lived.Entitled “A Pablo (To Pablo),” the huge 900-square-meter painting, is the artist’s first for Latin America as a part of the show “Of Bridges & Borders.”It shows dark-toned images of the Senkaku Islands, a small East China Sea archipelago, known as the Diaoyus in Chinese, which are at the center of a bitter te

March 17, 2013

Welcome to the ‘French Haunted House’

A strange noise comes from the hall, traces of footsteps are marked on a wall and a ghost family covered in white curtains greets visitors. Those who have visited haunted houses at amusement parks may find some common spooky features of a haunted house at the “French Haunted House,” an exhibition created by a group of French artists and a curator in Seoul.  “While I was (looking for) a theme for the exhibition, I learned about Korea’s shamanism. I did some research and read books and thought it

March 17, 2013

Monsters of hip-hop go all out at Amoebahood Concert

The energy was electrifying and the atmosphere kept the fans’ hearts pumping. Add to that a live band, DJ set and a group of men who know how to spit rhymes and let loose on the stage ― the 2013 Amoebahood Concert was nothing short of a night of youthful exuberance and good old hip-hop.  The two-day concert held over the weekend in the Olympic Hall at Seoul Olympic Park featured all the artists of the Amoebaculture family, who also just happen to be some of the biggest names in Korean hip-hop: D

March 17, 2013

The Solutions echo sound of Brit pop

The duo Naru and Parksol are relatively new to the indie world, with their debut album released last summer, but they have already received accolades in the local music scene as well as in the media. Their first album carried an eclectic mix of indie, pop, rock and alternative jams that hook listeners instantly. Reminding the listeners of British artists of the 1990s, their music is a breath of fresh air from the typical sounds of Hongdae. The lyrics, surprisingly, are all in English with the ex

March 17, 2013

Psy ready for ‘Gangnam Style’ follow-up

South Korean rapper Psy on Sunday returned home and said he is ready to unveil his much-awaited follow-up to “Gangnam Style.”“I’m done with preparations for a new song and am torn between two songs,” Psy told reporters upon flying into Gimpo International Airport in Seoul from Malaysia.“One gives an impression similar to ‘Gangnam Style’ and the other gives a completely different impression. I’m now thinking about which one would be better between a very similar one and a different one,” Psy said

March 17, 2013

Eyelike:

Bolton‘s Motown tribute CD a bit of a boreMichael Bolton"Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: A Tribute to Hitsville U.S.A."(Montaigne Records)In his nearly four decade career, Michael Bolton has released some two dozen albums and has tackled various musical genres, always keeping a soft spot for classics and Motown tunes. He‘s covered everyone from Frank Sinatra to Glenn Miller to Etta James to Sting, but his strongest remakes have always been the unusual collaborations that put a different spin on a

March 15, 2013

Young artists explore relationships with society

The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea presents a bold selection of young Korean artists at the regular exhibition introducing young talent. In an effort to break away from the institutional authority of the museum, The NMOCA has exhibited young Korean artists’ experimental spirits in this way since 1981. “The young artist exhibition has produced some of the internationally acclaimed Korean contemporary artists such as Suh Do-ho, Choi Jeong-hwa and Lee Bul. The exhibition will continue t

March 14, 2013

Kim Joo-won steps forward

In March of 2000, Kim Joo-won was watching French ballet dancer Sylvie Guillem perform at the Royal Opera House in London. Kim, who was the Korean National Ballet’s prima ballerina at the time, was visiting the United Kingdom for a gala performance. She alone decided to check out the tragic ballet she’d never seen before.The ballet was “Marguerite and Armand,” a 1963 piece by renowned choreographer Frederick Ashton. The British artist created the ballet, based on 19th century writer Alexandre Du

March 14, 2013

Lee Min-ho to tour 10 cities worldwide

Hallyu star Lee Min-ho will release his first album in May and perform in 10 cities around the world. “Finishing up his Korea tour in May, he will move on to his world tour where he will he will be performing in several countries including China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines. The tour will last until July,” said Starhaus Entertainment, the actor’s agency.The agency stressed that the actor’s new album was intended as a treat for his fans.  “Lee is not going to have an official sing

March 14, 2013

Psy denies plagiarism accusation

Singer Psy dismissed plagiarism accusation of his global hit “Gangnam Style.”According to his agency YG Entertainment, a Korean music producer has filed a suit against Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” seeking 100 million won in compensation for alleged plagiarism, but YG said it wasn’t “even worth” dealing with the claim. “People could easily tell that ‘Gangnam Style’ wasn’t plagiarized if they listen to the song. There have been lots of claims like this after the song became a global hit. It seems like p

March 14, 2013

Love is in the air

The warm spring breeze and flowers put people in a good mood and perhaps evoke thoughts of spring romance. Fittingly, a love-themed art exhibition is opening at Seoul Museum on March 14, or White Day, a romantic day celebrated in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea where men give presents to women in return for what they received on Valentine’s Day. Love has always been a major theme for movies, art and music. The museum, which opened last year in the northern part of Seoul, has combined romantic movi

March 13, 2013

Bob Dylan voted into elite arts academy

If he lived in England, he’d surely be Sir Bob Dylan.The most influential songwriter of his time has become the first rock star voted into the elite, century-old American Academy of Arts and Letters, where artists range from Philip Roth to Jasper Johns and categories include music, literature and visual arts. According to executive director Virginia Dajani, officials couldn’t decide whether he belonged for his words or for his music, so they settled on making him an honorary member, joining such

March 13, 2013

Graphic examination of suffering and dignity

A devoted son takes care of his aging, ill father. He clears his father’s mess, strips him naked, washes him and changes his diapers. The son repeats the same cycle every 15 minutes, every time his father spills the contents of his diaper all over the white sofa and the floor of the stage. The audience then has to endure the odor that fills the theater, while watching the son clear the brown liquid on the floor. One of the most controversial European theater pieces in recent years is being stage

March 13, 2013

Kraftwerk to bring 3-D electronic visual performance to Seoul

The German-based group Kraftwerk, widely considered pioneers in electronic music, is holding its first concert in Korea with a special 3-D performance at the Jamsil Sports Complex on April 27. Kraftwerk is a unique veteran electronic group that combines techno instrumentation, synthesizers and computer-speech software along with projected video imagery. The four-member band typically projects various visual elements and moving images onto a screen, while adding in the beats and sounds during a l

March 13, 2013

Pop idol booked over allegations of selling marijuana

A member of pop idol group DMTN was booked Tuesday for investigation over allegations that he sold marijuana, police said.Choi Daniel, the group's 21-year-old lead vocal, was accused of selling the drug to his acquaintances on numerous occasions between last September and December, police said.Police said they plan to ask prosecutors to indict Choi, who admitted to the allegations during questioning on Monday.Choi's management agency 2works said in a press release that the singer actively cooper

March 13, 2013

Online museum project unearths Van Dyck masterpiece

LONDON (AFP) ― A filthy oil painting locked away in a museum in the northeast of England was on Saturday revealed to be an original masterpiece by Van Dyck.The portrait was spotted when it was photographed for an ambitious project to catalogue every single one of Britain’s oil paintings in public ownership in an online museum.Depicting Olivia Boteler Porter, lady-in-waiting to Henrietta Maria, the wife of English king Charles I, the 17th century painting had been listed as “a copy after Sir Anth

March 12, 2013