Three movies in different genres aim to attract local viewersThree Bollywood films are opening in local theaters this month, only about a month after the Indian Film Festival in Seoul, expanding Indian films’ presence in Korea’s movie market. The release of the three films -- “Stanley’s Tiffin Box,” “God’s Own Child,” and “The Robot” -- comes after a surprisingly successful year for Bollywood pictures in Korea.  Ever since the 2009 box office success of British romantic drama “Slumdog Millionair

Film April 3, 2012

Seok Tong-youn, former international advisory ambassador of Gyeonggi Province, has been appointed the new secretary general of the Northeast Asian History Foundation, the state-run history research institute announced last week.Considered one of the leading experts on Korea-China relations, Seok served as the spokesperson of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2002 to 2003, deputy chief of mission at the Korean Embassy in China from 2003 to 2006, and consulate general in Hong Kong

Culture April 2, 2012

Lloyd Suh’s drama ‘American Hwangap’ gets its first Seoul runThe concept of home and belonging has been repeatedly discussed in migration studies and art, yet many local viewers may find Korean-American playwright Lloyd Suh’s play quite equivocal and even unusual.As its title, “American Hwangap” suggests, the play deals with the clash between two different worlds: Korea and America, parents and children, and the past and the future. It deals with an uneasy reunion of an immigrant family, as well

Performance April 2, 2012

Eungyo (Korea) Opening April 26.Drama. Directed by Jung Ji-woo. Lee Jeok-yo (Park Hae-il) is a celebrated poet in his 70s, considered one of the most respected literary figure in the country. He one day receives a visit from a 17-year-old girl named Eun-gyo (Kim Go-eun). He finds himself falling for the teenager, while his young student Seo Ji-woo (Kim Moo-yeol) is evidently attracted to the young woman as well. Upon realizing his love for Eungyo, the old poet goes through emotional turmoil and

Film March 30, 2012

Poor Vito Vincent, who came to Hollywood chasing a dream.He’s been in L.A. for nearly a year without landing a single acting gig.Once he was homeless in New York. But before he came West last May, Vito was living a Cinderella story there.His career was taking off. He’d appeared in print and TV ads. He’d been on a pilot, guest-starred on “The Colbert Report” and scored a small spot on “30 Rock.”Even now, emails arrive with offers on the other coast. But here, nothing ― and not for lack of trying.

Film March 30, 2012

Most children want to be recognized as someone special. In “The False Prince,” Jennifer A. Nielsen takes that desire to an extreme with a romp of a medieval-themed, middle-grade novel. This kickoff to her new “Ascendance Trilogy” is a swashbuckling origin story about orphans forced to compete with one another for a chance to take the crown.The book opens with a boy running through the streets being chased by a cleaver-wielding butcher hoping to retrieve a stolen roast. The thief is Sage, a misch

Books March 30, 2012

“Lately I have been overcome by an urge to put my affairs in order,” Peter Freund read, and within moments another world began to materialize in Sandmeyer’s Bookstore.It was postwar Europe, a place of deception and danger for a Romanian Jewish couple masquerading as Catholics in the German town of Dachau.In this and in Freund’s other stories, people try to glue together the shards of shattered worlds and lives. They fight for lost fortunes, outwit Swiss bankers, encounter spies and betrayers, ar

Books March 30, 2012

American pop singer Lady Gaga's upcoming Seoul concert has been restricted to over-18s by the Korea Media Rating Board, as the Gender Ministry considers one of her songs to be performed at the show as “inappropriate” for minors.The rating board's decision came after a series of complaints filed by conservative NGOs and Christian groups, who demanded Hyundai Card to cancel the show on grounds that Lady Gaga promotes “inappropriate behavior” for youngsters, including homosexuality and mocking of r

Performance March 30, 2012

Korea plans to apply for UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” designation for a vast amount of documents related to the “New Community (Saemaul) Movement,” the political initiative launched by the late President Park Chung-hee to modernize Korea’s rural economy, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration.The state institution, which has been working on the application since last year, is submitting the application to UNESCO on Friday, Yi Kyung-hoon, director of the international division of the

Performance March 29, 2012

Korean music mogul Park Jin-young has become an owner of a Korean barbecue restaurant in New York, featuring a special grill that he invented. Park, CEO and founder of JYP Entertainment, a major K-pop record label and management company in Korea, held a press meeting in New York on Monday announcing the news. The newly opened restaurant, Kristalbelli, is located in Manhattan near Korea town, and is decorated like a high-end bar or a lounge. He said he thought of opening his own restaurant as he

March 28, 2012

Historical documents, music records show cultural legacy of popular folk songWidely known and sung, “Arirang” is very often considered the unofficial national anthem of Korea. Yet many aren’t aware that King Gojong, the last king of Joseon, and his wife, Queen Myeongseong, enjoyed listening to the song late at night, that it was made into Korea’s first opera, and that it even inspired American jazz musician Oscar Pettiford to write a piece of his own.Starting April 4, the National Folk Museum of

Performance March 28, 2012

Film based on Park Bum-shin’s novel ‘Eungyo’ tells of 70-year-old poet who falls in love with teenIt took nearly eight hours of putting on makeup every day, on top of learning the weary gait and gesture of a man in his 70s.Popular actor Park Hae-il, who swept best actor prizes last year for his role as the heroic archer in period drama “Arrow, the Ultimate Weapon,” is returning to the big screen as a renowned poet in his 70s in director Jung Ji-woo’s upcoming sensual drama “Eungyo.”A film adapta

Film March 27, 2012

Director Kim Tae-yong’s film “Late Autumn” made 25 million yuan (about $4 million) in ticket sales, a record for a Korean film in its first week of release, just three days after its Chinese release last week, according to the movie’s Korean distributor CJ Entertainment. Co-starring popular Korean actor Hyun Bin and Chinese actress Tang Wei, the film is a remake of Korean director Lee Man-hee’s 1966 drama of the same title. It was released in local theaters last year and Tang won the best actres

Film March 27, 2012

Korea’s First Lady Kim Yoon-ok on Monday hosted a dinner for 14 spouses of the global leaders attending the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit.  The spouses, who are accompanying state leaders and heads of international organizations attending the two-day global conference in Seoul, enjoyed a special banquet at the National Museum of Korea while their partners attended a separate summit business banquet at COEX, southern Seoul. Antonioli Monti, wife of Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, Patienc

Performance March 26, 2012