SEOGWIPO, Jeju Province ― Nighttime on Jejudo Island can be quite boring for tourists. After the beautiful sunset, the breathtaking views of the pristine landscapes are shrouded in darkness. At Kensington Jeju Hotel, which opened last year in Seogwipo, there’s a lively night scene with DJ music at the rooftop bar and swimming pool. The strong music beat signals the start of the poolside party at 8:30 p.m. The mix of dance and hip-hop music is played by a professional DJ until 10 p.m. Hotel guest

Travel Jan. 30, 2015

2PM2PM has topped Oricon chart with the new single “Guilty Love” since its release on Wednesday, the group’s agency said. According to JYP Entertainment, the group also held the first and second spot on Japan’s leading music streaming service charts RecoChoku and Dwango, respectively. The single has also won the top-tier spot in the list of record sales at Tower Record. “We are glad 2PM started the year with their success on major music charts. They send their appreciation to their fans,” said t

Performance Jan. 30, 2015

PHOENIX (AP) ― Katy Perry says her American football championship Super Bowl halftime performance will make you “Roar” ― with animals.The singer told reporters at a press conference that her performance Sunday will include “a lion and sharks.”“It’s going to be wild out there,” Perry teased.Perry, 30, said she feels blessed to perform on the Super Bowl stage “at such a young age.” She said she enjoyed past Super Bowl performances from Beyonceuro and Madonna, and what she adds “is some lighthearte

Performance Jan. 30, 2015

Kim Young-gyui had spent nearly 16 hours a day in a car for the past 30 years. The 66-year-old veteran taxi driver rode about 750,000 kilometers, more than twice the distance an average car travels in its lifetime. Recently, he had to bid farewell to his car upon retirement and was about to send it to a junkyard to be scrapped. As luck would have it, he got a chance to keep his faithful companion with Hyundai Motor’s campaign “Brilliant Memories” that transforms old, used cars into objects that

Performance Jan. 29, 2015

Although the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival runs for 23 days in January, preparations are made virtually all year round, with nearby fish farms raising nearly 130 tons of sancheoneo fish. “There have been complaints about other ice fishing festivals not having enough fish. But we plan ahead and prepare enough fish for visitors,” Oh Se-bin, the festival planning director, told The Korea Herald.  Sancheoneo fishOrganizers make sure visitors get a bountiful catch by releasing 1 to 2 tons of fish

Travel Jan. 28, 2015

Poster for “Live Club Day.” (Yonhap)An iconic Hongdae music festival will start up again after a four-year halt, a music industry official said Wednesday. According to the music agency Company F, the “Live Club Day” festival will resume on Feb. 27 with the participation of 10 live clubs and 40 teams of musicians. Live Club Day, which will be held on the last Friday of every month, will offer music lovers access to different clubs in the Hongdae area with the purchase of a single 20,000 won ($18)

Performance Jan. 28, 2015

More ancient Korean documents will be revealed to the public as part of a project of the Academy of Korean Studies to highlight Korea’s rich history and tradition, said Lee Bae-yong, president of the AKS, at a news conference on Tuesday in Seoul. “The Academy has an extensive archive of valuable ancient materials, but we haven’t been active in sharing the ancient treasures with the public. We plan to bring the valuable resources to people and let their important lessons be told in contemporary s

Culture Jan. 27, 2015

MADRID (AP) ― Forensic experts began excavating graves and examining bones Saturday in a tiny chapel in Madrid, hoping to solve the centuries-old mystery of exactly where the great Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes was laid to rest.The author of “Don Quixote” was buried in 1616 at the Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians in Madrid’s historic Barrio de las Letras, or Literary Quarter, but the exact whereabouts of his grave within the convent chapel are unknown. A team of archaeologists and anthr

Culture Jan. 25, 2015

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) ― An Academy Award nomination is an incomparable stamp of approval for any film ― and for an indie feature coming out of the Sundance Film Festival, in some cases, it’s a downright miracle.The festival, which kicked off last week in Park City, Utah, has had a scattered record with the Oscars, but its track record for the night’s top award ― best picture ― has been steadily improving over the past few years.This year, “Whiplash” and “Boyhood” ― both Sundance premieres ― are a

Film Jan. 25, 2015

CHICAGO (AP) ― Fans of the Grateful Dead want a campout-style atmosphere during three 50th anniversary concerts in July at Chicago’s Soldier Field, but whether the venue will allow it is another question.Jeremy Davis, of Florida, started an online petition ― which had about 8,000 signatures by Saturday ― asking that overnight parking be allowed in lots surrounding the stadium along Lake Michigan.Davis said it would keep the anticipated tens of thousands of fans from crowding downtown streets and

Performance Jan. 25, 2015

Sunbathing on a warm summer beach sounds tempting in this season of freezing wind and heavy snow. That’s why warm, exotic resort destinations always top Koreans’ lists of dream vacation spots. But increasingly, Korea’s winter beaches are being warmly greeted by surfers seeking thrills and fun in the billowing winter waves. The hard-core surfers paddle out in the cold water to catch biggest waves of the year. Surfing is not a popular sport in Korea although the three sides of the peninsula are su

Travel Jan. 23, 2015

On April 19, 2013, a satellite was launched into space at Baikonur Cosmodrome, the international space launch site in Kazakhstan. The event went mostly unnoticed by the media, but the take-off was celebrated by a South Korean who became the first individual to launch his own satellite. Usually, satellites are launched for specific purposes. They are used to monitor cloud patterns for weather, give GPS signals, or send back information about space or the Earth’s atmospheric conditions. This satel

Performance Jan. 23, 2015

No one better predicted how mass media and the Internet would shape our lives today than Nam June Paik. In 1974, the visionary Korean artist came up with the term “Electronic Superhighway,” coined from the U.S. interstate highway system to foretell the Internet’s complex network. A pioneer in video art, Paik had so many new ideas that had never been thought of. But to visualize them, he needed technological assistance. Enter Lee Jung-sung. For over 20 years, the electronics technician worked wit

Performance Jan. 20, 2015

MILAN (AP) ― Tactile fashion set the trend on Sunday, the second day of Milan Fashion Week previews for next autumn and winter menswear. Designers are luxuriating in mohair, cashmere and heavy knits, enveloping men in rich, luxurious knitwear, including oversized scarves, chunky sweaters and slumping caps. Dark shades dominate, with some flashes of pink, purple and red offering contrast and whimsy. Here are some highlights: Gender interplay Miuccia Prada’s mostly black-on-black collection create

Arts & Design Jan. 19, 2015

HAVANA (AFP) ― In Juan Roberto Diago’s studio at his remodeled 1920s house, five Americans scrutinized the Cuban artist’s work, wearing baseball caps and sunglasses.“That’s a piece I bought last time I was here,” said Robert Penta, a 33-year old attorney, pointing at a red and brown canvas leaning against the wall.It’s the second time in as many months that this group from Louisville, Kentucky, has traveled to Cuba on a special art license.They wasted no time following the historic rapprochement

Performance Jan. 18, 2015