Sulwhasu exhibition brings together handicrafts by 11 Korean masters in various fieldsIt is impossible to make “hanji,” or Korean traditional mulberry paper, without a hanji screen. And Yu Bae-geun, who is registered as Intangible Cultural Property No. 31, is the sole person in the nation who can make one. He spends his winters in the freezing Damyang County in South Jeolla Province searching for good four to five-year-old bamboo, and other months indoors extracting the thinnest-possible bamboo

Oct. 30, 2011

NEW DELHI (AFP) ― Angry fans smashed equipment and hurled bottles in chaotic scenes after heavy metal group Metallica cancelled their first ever Indian gig at the last minute, reports said Saturday.Thousands of fans had already turned up at Friday’s concert, timed to coincide with this weekend’s Formula One Grand Prix, but were enraged when it was axed for safety reasons.Newspaper pictures showed piles of shattered equipment and the Times of India said one man broke his leg when he was pushed do

Oct. 30, 2011

Classical Music“Trio Owon”: Classical music group Trio Owon, led by cellist Yang Sung-won, will hold its debut concert in Korea at the LG Arts Center on Nov. 6. The other two members are pianist Emmanuel Strosser and violinist Olivier Charlier. The name “Owon” comes from late Korean painter Jang Seung-up (1843-1897), who was depicted in Im Kwon-taek’s 2002 film “Painted Fire.” The trio will showcase German Romantic musicians in the 19th century -- Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms. Tickets range

Oct. 28, 2011

SPO, Chung fly with Mahler No.1 Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra“Mahler Symphony No. 1”(Universal Music)After releasing the debut album “Debussy and Ravel” under Deutsche Grammophon, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and its music director Chung Myung-whun will launch their live recording of Mahler Symphony No. 1 “Titan” on Nov. 3. The program was recorded at the Seoul Arts Center’s Concert Hall on Nov. 3, 2010, as part of the SPO’s “Mahler Series” concerts and was hugely popular among classical musi

Oct. 28, 2011

The first-ever online auction held by Herald artday, a subsidiary of Herald Media group, closed on Wednesday with 84 percent of items sold, the highest-ever in the history of online art auction in South Korea. “Herald artday First Online Auction” which took place for six days topped the K Auction’s April record of 82 percent sales. The total amount in sales was over 427 million won, also exceptional for an online auction.  Among the articles, Lee U-fan’s 1976 piece “From Line,” which was showcas

Oct. 27, 2011

Musician-writer describes Koreans’ bizarre side in ‘Halla Seoul’Swedish singer-songwriter and author Lasse Lindh said he will return the love he has received from Korean fans in his upcoming concert in Seoul in November.The 37-year-old gained instant popularity here after his song “C’mon Through” appeared in the soundtrack of the 2006 MBC sitcom “Soulmate.” The unexpectedly enthusiastic response of Korean fans to his music led him to decide to live for a year in Sinchon, Seoul, in 2009.Lindh wil

Oct. 27, 2011

LONDON (AP) — Amy Winehouse drank herself to death. That was the ruling of a coroner's inquest into the death of the Grammy-winning soul singer, who died with empty vodka bottles in her room and lethal amounts of alcohol in her blood — more than five times the British drunk driving limit

Oct. 27, 2011

RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) ― The North Carolina Museum of Art has curated an exhibit of 30 works by Rembrandt from American collectors, which is especially appropriate considering that the museum’s first director was partly responsible for authenticating many works as painted by the Dutch artist that turned out not to be actual Rembrandts.“Rembrandt in America” opens Oct. 30 at the museum, then travels next year to Cleveland and Minneapolis.The 30 paintings are from private collections and mor

Oct. 26, 2011

Lee Soo-in presents ‘han’-inspired adaptation of Durrenmatt’s 1956 tragic comedyCan one’s past be bought?Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby famously tried but failed. It is one of the things that money can’t seem to buy. As Oscar Wilde noted, “No man is rich enough to buy back his past.” Yet director Lee Soo-in’s new adaptation of Swiss playwright Friedrich Durrenmatt’s 1956 tragicomic play, “The Visit,” takes a different approach to the question, with a rather morbidly romantic take on the already gruesom

Oct. 26, 2011

Yoshiki Hayashi says he likes K-pop groups such as Girls’ GenerationHeavy metal band X Japan has gone through many painful experiences including the deaths of two former members but its rock ‘n roll spirit will survive, said the group’s leader, drummer and pianist Yoshiki Hayashi.The act has been on a world tour in 2011 and the first leg of its Asia tour will be Seoul on Friday at the Olympic Park Gymnasium. It is the first time that the band is coming for a concert in Korea, after the cancellat

Oct. 26, 2011

Similes, conspiracies, the creative process and ‘Bad as Me’PETALUMA, California ― Over the course of three hours of conversation at a roadside diner here called Pete’s Henny Penny, Tom Waits, the singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, actor and note taker, will offer the following similes and metaphors, seemingly at random though just as likely cataloged in his memory for future use: an aging musician as “a Popsicle in the sun on a bus bench in Florida”; the process of creation as “like making C

Oct. 25, 2011

Pianist Son Yeol-eum is extremely busy doing concert tours, regularly writing columns and managing her Facebook and Twitter.But such multi-tasking keeps her motivated to play better concerts and communicate well with her fans, said Son. She did 13 concerts in September and plans to perform eight times in October and six in November.“When I’m on a stage, I try my best to enjoy it. I find it really fun to perform different repertoires at different concerts rather than doing the same things,” Son t

Oct. 24, 2011