The Korea Herald

Ming vase sells for record $22m in H.K.

A blue-and-white vase from ancient China’s Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Hong Kong. (Xinhua-Yonhap News)HONG KONG (AFP) ― A blue-and-white Ming vase fetched nearly $22 million in Hong Kong on Wednesday, setting a new record at auction for porcelain from the ancient Chinese dynasty.An unide

Performance Oct. 6, 2011

Paris Opera maestro to also head Vienna Symphony

VIENNA (AFP) ― Philippe Jordan, the youthful conductor of the Paris Opera, will also head the Vienna Symphony Orchestra from the 2014-2015 season, officials said on Wednesday.Jordan, a 36-year-old Swiss, will replace Italian Fabio Luisi at the helm of Vienna’s second-most prestigious ensemble, offic

Performance Oct. 6, 2011

U.K. songstress Adele bows out of U.S. tour

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Grammy award-winning soul diva Adele has been forced to cancel a planned U.S. tour for a second time due to a hemorrhage in her vocal chord, promoters for the British singer said Tuesday.The “Rolling in the Deep” and “Someone Like You” songstress had been set to launch almost a m

Performance Oct. 5, 2011

KBS’ ‘Glory Jaein’ looking to hit home run

Directing-and-writing duo Lee Jung-sub and Kang Eun-kyung scored a major success with KBS’ explosive hit series, “Bread, Love and Dreams” last year. Now, director Lee and scriptwriter Kang are looking to repeat history by returning to KBS with another ruggedly optimistic, down-on-luck drama, “Glory

Television Oct. 5, 2011

KBS’ ‘Glory Jaein’ looking to hit home run

Stein collection at Paris’ Grand Palais

A member of the media looks at “Nu Bleu Souvenir de Biskra” a 1907 painting by Henri Matisse, on the eve of the opening of the exhibition, “Matisse, Cezanne, Picasso, L’aventure des Stein,” at the Grand Palais in Paris on Tuesday. (AP-Yonhap News)PARIS (AP) ― The lady with the crazy hat is back, 106

Performance Oct. 5, 2011

Baghdad film fest aims to break cultural isolation

BAGHDAD (AFP) ― The Baghdad International Film Festival, which runs all this week, is the latest effort by Iraqis to use an improving but precarious security situation to break their decades-long cultural isolation.The opening ceremony on Monday had all the glitz of a major film premiere. A huge cro

Film Oct. 5, 2011

Annual New Yorker Fest has Shakespearean twist

NEW YORK (AP) ― To gab, perchance to argue. Ay, there’s the way to make New Yorker magazine fans happy.And so it was a delicious moment at the annual New Yorker Festival this past weekend when Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro mused to his co-panelist, Hollywood director Roland Emmerich: “I’ve long

Books Oct. 5, 2011

Micro-breweries take on local flavor in China

BEIJING (AFP) ― In a poky room in a backstreet of Beijing, self-taught brewer Carl Setzer uses spicy Sichuan peppercorns, oolong tea leaves and cinnamon to invent beer flavors suited to Chinese tastebuds.The burly American runs Great Leap Brewing, one of a small but growing number of micro-breweries

Food Oct. 5, 2011

Micro-breweries take on local flavor in China

Just ask yourself, what would Ruth Reichl buy?

Move over paper catalogs. Online retailers with products selected by experts and sometimes tailored ― by you ― to your specific interests are the new face of food marketing.Featuring celebrity “curators” like Padma Lakshmi and editorial superstars like Ruth Reichl, the sites aim to cut through the v

Food Oct. 5, 2011

Chanel undersea set awes; McQueen returns to S&M

PARIS (AP) ― Before Britain’s royal wedding, when the identity of the designer behind the dress Kate Middleton would wear to the alter was still the best-kept secret in the kingdom, some in the fashion world cast doubt on the rumors pointing toward Alexander McQueen, saying the label’s aesthetic was

Arts & Design Oct. 5, 2011

Chanel undersea set awes; McQueen returns to S&M

British home gets Sistine Chapel makeover

BRIGHTON, England (AFP) ― A retired British decorator has transformed his home by covering its interior in renaissance-style murals to emulate the Sistine Chapel after being inspired by a book about the Vatican.Robert W. Burns, 64, swapped his roller for a more delicate paintbrush after buying the b

Arts & Design Oct. 5, 2011

Sondheim, dinosaurs combine for N.Y. charity gala

NEW YORK (AP) ― A treasure hunt devised by composer Stephen Sondheim prompted hundreds of people, including Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, to scamper through the dinosaur section of the American Museum of Natural History on Monday night.“That was a blast,” said Tony Award-winning actor

Culture Oct. 4, 2011

Harry Potter film tour to offer ‘muggles’ a magical insight

WATFORD, United Kingdom (AFP) - Harry Potter fans mourning the end of the boy wizard movies will have their spirits lifted by a new British attraction offering “muggles” a peek at the magic behind the films.The cameras have stopped rolling in the cavernous Great Hall, at the Quidditch pitches and in

Film Oct. 4, 2011

Spain: Fugitive Basque separatist wins lit prize

MADRID (AP) ― A fugitive who escaped Spanish jail 25 years ago has been awarded one of the Basque country’s top literary awards, but told he cannot have the money that goes with it until he hands himself into authorities.The Basque regional government gave the award to Joseba Sarrionandia on Monday

Books Oct. 4, 2011

Britain picks up 7 International Emmy nods

NEW YORK (AP) -- British television productions picked up a leading seven International Emmy nominations Monday, including acting nods for Christopher Eccleston in “Accused” and Julie Walters in “Mo.”Brazil had six nominations, all for TV Globo productions, including best actor and actress nominatio

Television Oct. 4, 2011

Articles by Kim Hoo-ran