G-dragon in mop-headed wig

G-dragon disclosed a selfie of himself wearing a Korean traditional costume with multiple stripes and a mop-headed wig, which was posted on photo-sharing service Instagram on Jan. 10.By Ock Hyun-ju, Intern reporter(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)　

Jan. 13, 2014

JYP GOT7 releases first music teaser video

GOT7 unveiled a teaser video for their upcoming album’s title track “Girls Girls Girls” on Monday. The video features the seven members skating through the city on “Wheelman,” a unique foot bike suited to their carefree concept. The boy band members range in nationalities, including non-Koreans. The group is also planning a simultaneous overseas debut after rising to the attention of famous international record labels. The new boy group specializes in martial arts performances called “tricking,”

Jan. 13, 2014

Kick Kennedy calls her stage debut ‘magical’

NEW YORK (AP) ― The storied Kennedy family has produced a president, ambassadors, an attorney general, senators and plenty of congressmen. But not a professional actor. Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy hopes to change that. The 25-year-old granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy is making her professional stage debut off-Broadway this month in, of all things, a Greek tragedy. Kennedy plays the title role in “Antigone,” the Sophocles play about a young woman willing to die in order to defend her family’s honor

Jan. 12, 2014

Chili Peppers to join Bruno Mars at Super Bowl

NEW YORK (AP) ― Bruno Mars will have help from the Red Hot Chili Peppers when he performs at the Super Bowl next month.Mars announced Saturday that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will join him as part of his halftime show at the National Football League championship game. Super Bowl halftime performers often have collaborators. Last year, Beyonce had Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams from her Destiny’s Child days join her onstage, and two years ago Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. joined Madonna for h

Jan. 12, 2014

Eyelike: TVXQ marks 10th anniversary with ‘Tense’

 TVXQ marks 10th anniversary with ‘Tense’TVXQ “Tense” (KT Music)K-pop legend TVXQ has returned to the music scene, celebrating the 10th anniversary of its debut with its new album, “Tense.” Although the duo has managed to produce an album that explores a wide range of musical genres, it has yet to overcome the void left behind by the three original members who left and formed a separate group, JYJ, in 2010.The album begins with “10 Years,” which notably fuses lyrics from former hits by TVXQ incl

Jan. 10, 2014

Steel calligraphy that still delivers depth of ink

The first 260 words of the Buddhist “Heart Sutra” run down a white wall rhythmically. The words concentrated on by generations of calligraphers using paper, brush and ink are represented through a different material, steel, to emphasize the Buddhist teaching.Artist Cho Hwan uniquely transforms the century-old practice of calligraphy into sculpture by using rough steel boards.  In the dimly lit room at Hakgojae Gallery in Seoul where his solo exhibition is being held, each word casts a shadow on

Jan. 9, 2014

SG Wannabe, Big Bang, Davichi top list of digital hits over 10 years

This year marks the 10th year that mp3 music files have outsold physical albums in Korea, leading the local market in music sales. Although the early stages of the mp3’s history involved free online streaming and file sharing that was later deemed a copyright violation, in 2004, MelOn and Soribada ― some of the nation’s most popular online music sites ― launched for the first time with K-pop star Se7en’s “Crazy” becoming the first official Korean digital single that was purchased for download. D

Jan. 9, 2014

Park Soo-keun retrospective seeks to revive interest in the artist

Every country has an artist who represents its sentiment and whose style inspires generation after generation of artists. In Korea, it is Park Soo-keun (1914-1965), a first-generation Western-style Korean painter whose style has touched the hearts of many Koreans. But more recently he has been often undervalued and received little attention for his great contributions to the Korean art community, largely due to the downturn of the local art market that started in 2009. Although Park’s paintings

Jan. 8, 2014

Indie duo 10cm to follow K-pop’s lead with first U.S. concert

Over the past few years, more and more K-pop idol acts have been eager to add more concert locations outside of Asia, spurring a flurry of world tours that have included a number of performances in Europe, South America and the United States. In the past, big name K-pop idol groups such as Big Bang, 2NE1, Girls’ Generation, Infinite, CNBlue and others ventured to the States performing shows across the country. This month, popular local acoustic pop duo band 10cm is also looking to join the Korea

Jan. 8, 2014

HyunA, Jay Park to represent K-pop at upcoming SXSW

HyunA and Jay Park will be joining the lineup of artists representing the Korean music industry at this year’s South By Southwest music showcase in Austin, Texas. The two artists are recent additions to a handful of Korean bands that have been selected to perform at the upcoming music festival in March. HyunA and Jay Park are expected to represent K-pop music, which has become popular both at home and abroad.Although the two artists differ greatly from the 16 Korean acts that have already been a

Jan. 8, 2014

Akdong Musician set to debut soon

Akdong Musician, the amateur winning team of SBS’ music reality competition “K-pop Star 2,” plans to make an official debut at the end of February, a local media outlet reported. 　 The teenage duo, consisting of siblings Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Soo-hyun, will debut as professional singers through the SBS TV audition program “K-pop Star 3” after a nine-month training period at YG Entertainment, the report said. 　 The sibling stars took the No. 1 spot in the competition in 2013, garnering a

Jan. 8, 2014

JYP to launch new boy band ‘GOT7’ next week

JYP Entertainment, run by one of the nation’s most successful music producers Park Jin-young, will be launching its new boy band “GOT7” next week. Coming a year after the debut of duo JJ Project, who since its launch has released only two singles to little success, officials at JYPE announced plans to do away with the group and move the two members into the seven-member K-pop idol boy group. The public has already glimpsed a number of the members in action during the airing of YG Entertainment’s

Jan. 7, 2014

Actress steps forward with music

Musical actress Park Ji-yeon grew up listening to music, always wearing her earphones. As a teen, her first crush was a guitarist in a school rock band. Her favorite singer? Michael Bolton.“When my teacher told me to study at the back of the classroom, I would listen to Michael Bolton instead,” Park said in an interview with The Korea Herald. “And I remember breaking down in tears after listening to his song, ‘How Am I Supposed to Live Without You.’ I was 18 at the time, and the lyrics just got

Jan. 6, 2014

Art outside the mainstream

A number of museums have unveiled ambitious New Year plans to hold blockbuster exhibitions featuring big-name artists or select masterpieces that they tout can be encountered just once in a lifetime.But, some will attempt to go beyond such popular showcases of art to offer fresh insights into the latest art trends.Scheduled art exhibitions are focused on giving new perspectives of art and engaging with spectators.The first exhibition at Art Sonje Center defies stereotyped perceptions of opening

Jan. 6, 2014

Veteran singer Lee Sun-hee to make a return next month

One of the nation’s iconic veteran solo artists, Lee Sun-hee, will make a comeback next month with the release of her 15th studio album, her first in five years, in commemoration of her 30th year in the music industry. “This year marks the 30th anniversary so it’s very meaningful,” stated a representative from the singer’s agency Hook Entertainment. “She is currently working on the upcoming album, which will feature all new songs. The album will pay tribute to her music from the past 30 years.”

Jan. 6, 2014

New Bruce Springsteen album ‘High Hopes’ goes online

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Bruce Springsteen’s 18th studio album “High Hopes” went online in the United States Sunday, 10 days before its general release ― and on the 41st anniversary of The Boss’s debut outing.Television network CBS had announced it would host the Internet-only pre-release after the conclusion of this week’s episode of “The Good Wife” at around 10 p.m. in a unique tie-in with the top-rated legal drama.But American fans of the New Jersey-born rock ’n’ roll voice of blue-collar America w

Jan. 6, 2014

Atta Kim returns with new project

Photographer Atta Kim, whose innovative, striking photographs have received much attention in the global art community, will return with a solo exhibition this week in Seoul, breaking his six-year hiatus in the Korean art world. Kim will present new images to wrap up the “On-Air” project that won him worldwide attention, as well as his previous works and introduce another ambitious, philosophical project at his upcoming exhibitions scheduled to be held in three parts for two years in his native

Jan. 5, 2014