The Korea Herald

Celebrities hold concert to support North Korean defectors in China

Amid growing public criticism of Beijing for forcibly deporting North Korean defectors to their home country, about 30 Korean celebrities were to hold a concert Sunday evening to urge China to stop the repatriations.The concert at Yonsei University’s 100th Memorial Hall in Seoul was to be hosted by “Cry with Us,” an organization recently formed by celebrities including actor Cha In-pyo, his actress wife Shin Ae-ra, veteran singer Yoon Bok-hee, comedian Park Mi-sun and pop singer Ivy. Some 30 tee

March 4, 2012

Celebrities hold concert to support North Korean defectors in China

Japanese culture center seeks common understanding

Aside from pop culture, sharing of academic and artistic content also important: Director MichigamiThis is the fifth of the series introducing cultural centers of different countries in Seoul. ― Ed. As is evident from the popularity of Girls’ Generation and Jang Geun-suk, Japan has continued to be charmed by Korea’s popular culture ever since the mega hit TV series “Winter Sonata” captured Japanese hearts. In Seoul, on the other hand, it’s not hard to spot a number of shelves dedicated to Japane

March 4, 2012

Japanese culture center seeks common understanding

Korean rock bands to take on North America

SEOULSONIC to take bands to South By Southwest, Canadian Music WeekKorean rock bands are making inroads into the United States and Canada this month in a bid to introduce the country’s unique indie music culture to the West.“From indie clubs to international festivals, SEOULSONIC pushes the tempo of Korean music acts making waves across and beyond Asia,” said DFSB Kollective, a Seoul-based music agency. The project features talented Korean rock bands Yellow Monsters, 3rd Line Butterfly and Cryin

March 4, 2012

Korean rock bands to take on North America

Mariah Carey returns to stage since giving birth

NEW YORK (AP) ― Mariah Carey made her return to the stage since giving birth to twins in diva-like form: She changed her shoes after singing two songs and touched up her hair and makeup in a sleek, sleeveless black dress, all in front of an eager audience.Carey, who gave birth to fraternal twins via C-section in April, performed for a few hundred fans Thursday night at New York’s Gotham Hall.Of her return she said: “I didn’t realize this was a big deal.’’The Grammy winner sang a number of her hi

March 4, 2012

Calendar

Pop Music“Budapest Saxophone Quartet”: The Budapest Saxophone Quartet from Hungary will perform at Chungmu Art Hall on March 12 in collaboration with renowned Korean artists including Soprano Kim Hee-jung, Pianists Ha Soon-won and musical actress Choi Jung-won. Formed in 1995, the quartet was the first group of four saxophonists to play not only classical music but also other music genres such as jazz and pop. In 2009, the quartet performed in Korea with legenday film music composer Enrio Morric

March 2, 2012

Eye Like

Tyrell crafts romantic soundtrackSteve Tyrell“I’ll Take Romance”(Concord)Taking up a suggestion from former President Bill Clinton, who danced to Steve Tyrell’s music at daughter Chelsea’s wedding, Tyrell has crafted an album of romantic standards that can serve as a soundtrack for weddings and other special occasions.Fittingly, it includes his version of “The Way You Look Tonight” from the 1991 Steve Martin film “Father of the Bride” which helped transform Tyrell from a behind-the-scenes produc

March 2, 2012

Mariah Carey helps christen new Disney ship in NYC

Mariah Carey helped christen the new Disney cruise ship Fantasy at a Hudson River pier in Manhattan on Thursday night and promised to bring her twins back to enjoy some Disney hospitality.``I christen thee Disney Fantasy. May God bless this ship and all who sail on it," said Carey as she stood with Disney’s CEO Bob Iger, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs, and of course Mickey Mouse.The ceremony was held inside the ship‘s atrium with a fake larger-than-life bottle of Champagne tha

March 2, 2012

U.K.’s White Cube opens H.K. gallery as Asia art booms

HONG KONG (AP) ― Britain’s White Cube gallery, known as an early champion of provocative British artists Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, launched its Hong Kong branch on Thursday, becoming the latest Western gallery to open an Asian outpost in pursuit of China’s booming art market.White Cube was unveiling a 557-square-meter space in a new building in Hong Kong’s central business district. With the opening of its first branch outside Britain, White Cube follows in the footsteps of other British as

March 1, 2012

Learning English through singing

The Korea Herald Youth English Choir launched in ceremonySixth-grader Kwak Se-mi always wanted to sing, but she was always too busy for it.“There are certain things that you have to learn as a young student, like English,” Kwak told The Korea Herald on Wednesday. “So I’ve been doing that and it’s been fun. But being a part of this choir is super fun because I get to perform while I sing in English as well.”Kwak is one of the 30 members of The Korea Herald Youth English Choir, which officially la

March 1, 2012

Looking back on Eva Hesse

Kukje Gallery sheds light on German-born U.S. artistHer life was short, but she was influential. Late U.S. artist Eva Hesse is one of the most critically celebrated artists of the 20th century. Born into a Jewish family in Germany in 1936, she moved to the U.S. at age 9 but lost her parents soon after. She studied painting at Yale University of Art and Architecture in New Haven and slowly became an acclaimed painter. After marriage, she briefly moved back to Germany, where she shifted her focus

March 1, 2012

Badu saddened by Malaysia concert ban

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) ― American singer Erykah Badu expressed sadness Wednesday at Malaysia’s decision to ban her show after a photo of her with body art including the Arabic word for “Allah” caused anger.Authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia scrapped the concert Tuesday, a day before it was scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur after Badu’s photo appeared in the biggest English-language paper, The Star.The photo depicts the acclaimed singer with various symbols on her upper body including in A

March 1, 2012

Auschwitz, Holocaust museums wrangle over barrack ownership

The Auschwitz museum said Tuesday it was demanding that the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum return a barrack from a former Nazi German death camp used during World War II to hold prisoners.The Polish museum said the Washington D.C.-based Holocaust museum was loaned the barrack in 1989 on a temporary basis, but the U.S. museum insists the 20-year loan is subject to renewal, adding that the ageing wooden Holocaust artifact could sustain damage if transported back to Poland.“Under Polish law, the Am

Feb. 29, 2012

S. Korean conductor in Pyongyang for rehearsal

Renowned South Korean conductor Chung Myung-whun arrived in North Korea Tuesday for a rehearsal of a planned joint performance in Paris by North Korean and French orchestras, the North’s media reported.A brief report by the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed the arrival of Chung and his party in the country’s capital of Pyongyang, but gave no other details, including the purpose and length of the trip.According to South Korea’s Unification Ministry, Chung, the director of the Se

Feb. 29, 2012

Discovering romance in shattered soju bottles

Artist Bae Young-whan fills Plateau with his representative installations and video artAn intense vibe of a showdown filled the glass pavilion at art gallery Plateau in Taepyeongro, central Seoul. A golden ring, about one-fourth the size of an actual boxing ring, stood in the center. Other than the boxing gloves thrown inside, the ring was empty. But there certainly were many onlookers, including the suffering sinners engraved in Rodin’s “Gates of Hell” and “The Burghers of Calais” which were bo

Feb. 29, 2012

Discovering romance in shattered soju bottles

Arts community demanding spotlight in Las Vegas

It’s a desert oasis that hangs its priciest paintings on casino walls, where neon signs are a point of a pride and theme hotels pay tribute to architecture’s golden eras. Still, Las Vegas’ cultural offerings have long taken a back seat to the glamour and crudity of its most notorious vices.Now a new $470 million arts complex is daring to challenge that. The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, a gleaming art deco-inspired jewel, hopes to reintroduce Las Vegas as a cultural destination.It will

Feb. 29, 2012

Transformative artist Ken Price dies at 77

TAOS, New Mexico (AP) ― Ken Price, an internationally known artist whose glazed and painted clay blurred the lines between ceramics and sculpture, is being remembered for his humor, his love of natural shapes and for the long hours he spent in the studio perfecting what became a style all his own.Family and friends gathered at his studio in Taos to share their stories Sunday following his death Friday morning at his home in Taos. By Monday, the makeshift memorial of flowers and notes at The Harw

Feb. 28, 2012

Anthony Rapp talks ‘Without You’(new addition ## second para)

“Rent” star in Seoul for his personal musical memoirWhen Anthony Rapp ended his musical memoir “Without You” at SangSang Art Hall in Daechi-dong, Seoul, on Feb. 12, many in the audience were looking for Kleenex in their purses. A few minutes later when the light was back on it wasn’t hard to find eyes smudged with tears and runny mascara.More than 15 years have passed since the first show of “Rent,” the role which made Rapp famous, during which he lost his mother and the writer behind the famed

Feb. 27, 2012

Anthony Rapp talks ‘Without You’(new addition ## second para)

Rattle leads Berlin in Mahler and Bruckner

NEW YORK (AP) ― When 12-year-old Simon Rattle heard Mahler’s Second Symphony live for the first time, he concluded he wanted to be a conductor.Forty-five years later, the “Resurrection’’ symphony still is central to his life. Now completing his 10th season as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, Rattle led an emotional and enthralling performance of the majestic work on Saturday night, the conclusion of a three-concert trip to Carnegie Hall.Combined with Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony the prev

Feb. 27, 2012

Conductor Chung to visit N. Korea ...for rehearsal

Renowned South Korean conductor Chung Myung-whun plans to visit North Korea this week for a rehearsal of a planned joint performance in Paris by North Korean and French orchestras, an official said Monday.Chung is scheduled to travel to Pyongyang with his wife and his assistant on Tuesday for a three-day trip for the rehearsal, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk said.The trip comes more than a week after Chung met with North Korean musicians in Beijing and agreed to hold the joint perf

Feb. 27, 2012

Japanese art shifts in response to tsunami disaster

In the year since Japan‘s northeast coast was torn apart by a massive quake-tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis, artists have searched for new ways to come to terms with the disaster.The so-called “Post-3/11” movement has taken its inspiration from images of tsunami-ravaged townships and grief-stricken victims in the aftermath of the the worst tragedy to hit the nation since World War II.From activist performance art to the creation of a memorial, artists have found new ways to either make a stat

Feb. 27, 2012