Events Calendar

 Exhibitions“Koo Bohnchang”: One of South Korea’s most renowned photographers, Koo Bohn-chang, is holding a solo exhibition at Kukje Gallery. Elements from his other series as well as his personal collections of eclectic objects are on display, giving the viewers a hint of Koo’s youth, attitudes toward photography and more. The exhibition runs through April 30 at Kukje Gallery in Sogyeok-dong, cen

April 15, 2011

e-readers infiltrate book clubs

Sandy Harris has long enjoyed laid-back conversations about literature with the other members of her book club. Lately, though, technology is complicating the routine: “We’re definitely divided into the Kindle people and the not Kindle people,” Harris says, alluding to Amazon’s popular digital reading device.Welcome to the changing landscape of book clubs, those ubiquitous living-room forums where

April 15, 2011

Rome’s bloody, art-loving emperor Nero in new show

ROME (AFP) ― It’s safe to say that the Emperor Nero ― the subject of a major new exhibition and archaeology trail that opened in the Roman Forum this week ― has always had something of an image problem.He has gone down in the history books as the man who had his domineering mother Agrippina killed, kicked his pregnant wife Poppaea to death and ― as legend would have it ― played his lyre on a hill

April 14, 2011

The Radio Dept. to make Korean debut

Landing fresh from a performance at California’s Coachella music festival, Swedish indie pop band The Radio Dept. are to play their first ever Korean gig next week. The band, whose music was featured in Sofia Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette,” are excited to play for their fans here, singer Johan Duncanson told The Korea Herald by phone from a recording space in Stockholm, in the midst of rehearsals fo

April 14, 2011

Daniel Catan, opera composer and librettist, dies at 62

LOS ANGELES ― Daniel Catan, an opera composer and librettist whose works including “Il Postino” and “Florencia en el Amazonas” have been praised for their lyrical romanticism and humane generosity of spirit, died suddenly Saturday in Austin, Texas. He was 62.Catan’s death was announced by the Butler School of Music of the University of Texas, where he was a visiting artist. The cause has not been

April 12, 2011

Japan quake rocks tours of foreign acts

Concert tour schedules of foreign music artists in Korea have been rocked by last month’s massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan and local concert organizers claim they are finding it difficult to retrieve their sudden losses.To the big disappointment of rock fans here, concert organizer 9 Entertainment recently said that Beady Eye, the U.K. group consisting of Liam Gallagher and other former mem

April 12, 2011

JYJ’s Junsu voted best singer

JYJ’s Kim Junsu was voted the best singer of all Korean idol group members, a local survey has shown.A local newspaper conducted the survey on ten vocal trainers to rank the Korean idol groups and their members based on how well they sing. The results showed 2AM, a four-member male vocal group, as the best. Big Bang took second place. Girl group Kara, who gained sensational popularity in Japan, we

April 12, 2011

[Herald Interview] Sara Bareilles anticipates fun concert in Seoul

U.S. singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles said she is looking forward to visiting Seoul to hold her first concert in Korea, as she is already familiar with Korean culture.Bareilles plans to showcase her latest songs and familiar songs by other artists at the Hongdae V-Hall in Seoul on May 14 at 7 p.m. “I know that Korean food is amazing and I heard a lot from people who traveled around Korea that the

April 11, 2011

Sotheby’s sells record $447m worth Asian art

Despite lackluster imperial porcelain sales, Hong Kong auction sets new recordHONG KONG (AFP) ―Sotheby’s said Saturday it sold a record HK$3.49 billion ($447 million) worth of Asian and Chinese art, fine wines, watches and jewels at its eight-day Hong Kong auction.The auction house offered 3,600 lots in eight categories in what its Asia CEO Kevin Ching described as the “most successful Hong Kong s

April 10, 2011

‘Tofu pizzas for the people’

While political elites enjoy chef-made Italian pizza in the only pizza restaurant in North Korea, citizens of Pyongyang are learning through a DVD how to make pizza with tofu instead of cheese.London-based designer Kim Hwang is the man behind the tofu pizza DVD. He decided to teach North Koreans how to make pizza when he found out about the hypocrisy of the pizzeria that opened in Pyongyang during

April 10, 2011

[Herald interview] Universal Music sees big potential in Korean classical music

Universal Music Group International, which has prestigious label Deutsche Grammophon, expects that the Korean demand for classical music to grow faster in the coming years on the back of the country’s growing wealth and interest in the genre.“The first thing you need to invest in classical music is a market that is confident of growth. The second thing is an extremely accelerating level of wealth

April 8, 2011

SPO cements status with record deal

Seoul Philharmonic signs long-term license agreement with Deutsche GrammophonSeoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s music director Chung Myung-whun said on Thursday the orchestra had inked a long-term license contract with Deutsche Grammophon.“It’s been six years since I took the helm of the SPO. Signing a contract with the world’s top classical music record label Deutsche Grammophon is a big step,” Chung

April 7, 2011

Anne-Sophie Mutter to stage ‘diversity’

German violinist to hold recital on May 3 in SeoulGerman violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is coming to Seoul for the first time in three years to hold a recital on May 3 at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall. The Grammy Award winner’s upcoming concert is part of her Asia 2011 tour, taking place from April to May, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of her debut as a soloist in 1976 at the Lucerne Fest

April 6, 2011

Hunt is on for remains of possible Mona Lisa model

ROME (AP) ― Italian researchers said Tuesday they will dig up bones in a Florence convent to try to identify the remains of a Renaissance woman long believed to be the model for the “Mona Lisa.”If successful, the research might help ascertain the identity of the woman depicted in Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece ― a mystery that has puzzled scholars and art lovers for centuries and generated countl

April 6, 2011

Rain in position to steal top slot of Time 100

South Korean singer Rain currently ranks first on the 2011 TIME 100 poll of the “Most Influential People in the World,” raising expectations that he might steal the top slot when the final results come out on April 14.The online voting started on Monday when Rain attracted some 47,600 votes, outpacing runner up Chris Colfer, the American actor of “Glee” fame, by 20,000 votes, illustrating Rain’s h

April 6, 2011

[Herald Interview] Armed with guitar, Ye Ji-won ventures into small-stage theater

Actress takes role as almost-perfect ‘Gold Miss’ in ‘Midsummer’There was definitely something “Gold Missy” about her, just like her usual image on TV. Her elaborate dress ― yellow leather jacket, long, chocolate-colored skirt with floral print, with matching fedora and long pearl necklaces ― along with her high-toned singing voice and confident manner all fit the typical image of a Gold Miss, the

April 4, 2011

L.A. aims to whitewash graffiti writers going legit

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Not so long ago, Cristian Gheorghiu roamed the streets of Los Angeles at all hours, black marker in his pocket, hunting for walls and street signs where he could scrawl his graffiti moniker, “Smear.’’These days, the Romanian-born Gheorghiu is working in his garage, splashed in paint and surrounded by canvases, paint cans, markers and odds and ends he uses to fashion abstract mix

April 4, 2011