The stock values of two major entertainment agency owners in Korea have exceeded 200 billion won ($176 million) on the back of growing popularity of K-pop around the world. According to chaebul.com, a website following South Korea’s conglomerates, stakes held by S.M. Entertainment’s Lee Soo-man came in at 242 billion won; YG Entertainment’s Yang Hyun-seok’s shares stood at 223.1 billion won at closing on Aug. 24.According to the website, foreign shares in S.M. Entertainment rose from 8.18 percen

Aug. 27, 2012

Revamped award offers assistance to selected artistsThe National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea is holding its artists-of-the year exhibition as part of its efforts to discover and promote contemporary artists. The recipients of the 2012 Korea Artist Prize are Gim Hong-sok; Moon Kyung-won and Jeon Joon-ho as a team; Yee Soo-kyung; and Lim Min-ouk. The artists will showcase their new artwork at the exhibition from Aug. 31 to Nov. 11 at the Gwacheon branch of the museum. The museum will select

Performance Aug. 27, 2012

 Lee Sea-hyun presents his interpretation of Korean landscape and modern history in vivid colorsKorean artist Lee Sea-hyun, once acclaimed as the artist who can best portray his country by the famous Swiss art collector Uli Sigg, has brought new interpretation of Korean society and landscape to the Korean audience. Well-known for the red landscape painting series “Between Red,” Lee took his artistic endeavor to the next level with his new “Rainbow” series along with four sculptures for an upcomi

Performance Aug. 26, 2012

HOSHAYA, Israel (AP) ― It was nothing like this 3,000 years ago.An Israeli attraction meant to immerse tourists in an authentic, ancient biblical experience has outfitted its donkeys with wireless routers.At the historical park of Kfar Kedem in northern Israel, visitors decked out in biblical robes and headdresses ride donkeys through the rolling hills of the Galilee, learning how people lived in Old Testament times.Now they can also surf the web while touring the land of the Bible on one of the

Travel Aug. 24, 2012

TIVAT, Montenegro (AP) ― A newly developed luxury resort village called Porto Montenegro may finally be helping Montenegro’s image catch up with its overly glamorous portrayal in the 2006 James Bond film “Casino Royale.” Porto Montenegro ― sometimes called the Monte Carlo of the Adriatic ― has upgraded this tiny Balkan state from a favorite destination of average Russian and Serbian tourists to a mecca for some of the world’s wealthiest people.Located on the southern corner of the Adriatic Sea,

Travel Aug. 24, 2012

The Yanghyun Foundation announced on Thursday the selection of Mexican artist Abraham Cruzvillegas as the winner of the 5th Yanghyun Prize. Cruzvillegas, 44, received recognition in the international art scene with his installation and video works that reflect the unique social and economic circumstances in Mexico. “Cruzvillegas explores the social, historical meaning of an object and expresses the meanings through an artwork in different forms,” said the judges.  The Mexican artist has been act

Performance Aug. 23, 2012

When Union Pharmacy CEO Ahn Byung-gwang bought a print copy of the famous modern Korean painter Lee Jung-seob’s “Bull” painting in 1983, Ahn didn’t know who the artist was or whether it was just a print copy or an original painting. Now 29 years have passed, and he has became a collector of more than 100 paintings, including the authentic “Bull” painting, and is about to open a museum to share his collection with a wider audience. “I took cover from rain under the roof of a photo frame shop and

Performance Aug. 23, 2012

The Korea Consumer Agency said Wednesday it had detected a higher-than-safe levels of mercury in the lip balm products of the global cosmetic brand Kiehl’s. According to the consumer watchdog group, they found the lip balm exceeded the limit of one part per million of mercury after testing the Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1 SPF 4 Mint with lot number 18G100.The KCA also said they collected samples of the same brand’s lip balms with different product codes and other brands’ products, but found much lower le

Culture Aug. 22, 2012

The sluggish economy has hit the art fair market as seen in the number of foreign galleries stepping back from participating in this year’s Asia Top Gallery Hotel Art Fair Seoul, which is slated to open at the Westin Chosun from Friday to Sunday. The number of participating foreign art galleries decreased from 20 in 2010 to nine this year due to the poor economy around the world, which has also struck Korea. The total number of galleries participating decreased from 69 in 2010 to 52 this year. 

Performance Aug. 22, 2012

New Leipzig School’s artwork on exhibitWhen the Berlin Wall stood between East and West Germany for 29 years, a distinctive painting style developed on the eastern part of the thick concrete wall. Korean viewers can see the works of successors of East German art that are on exhibit at Seongnam Art Center under the title “German Now from Leipzig,” which offers a rare glimpse into how the art style developed during the era of Iron Wall and evolved after the unification. The exhibition may make som

Performance Aug. 21, 2012

Organizers of the 2013 Seoul International Typography Biennale said the focus of the event will be the role of typefaces as inspiration for active writing, as the event will serve as a channel to shed light on different characters from the West and the East. “The Seoul International Typography Biennale is the sole typography event in the world. And as a country with its own alphabet, it is our responsibility to let others recognize the importance of letters and typefaces,” Ahn Sang-soo, one of t

Performance Aug. 19, 2012

Retrospective to show the 99-year-old artist’s lifetime endeavor of depicting spaceSpace has been an inspiration for Korean abstract artist Han Mook since he saw the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.Over a half century, bearing that theme in mind, the 99-year-old Paris-based artist created all sorts of depictions of space, from the two-dimensional to the four-dimensional, using geometric structures and vibrant colors. At his upcoming retrospective at Gallery Hyundai Gangnam in Seoul, Han presents

Performance Aug. 19, 2012

Korean pop music is undoubtedly the leading force in the Korean culture boom that is attracting thousands of visitors to the country. K-pop was the main reason that brought 21-year-old Hungarian Lici Nemczov to Korea in March. “I first listened to K-pop music and then learned about Korean culture and food on the Internet. And I came to Korea in March this year to learn the Korean language,” said Nemczov at the K-pop dance class at Seoul Global Culture and Tourism Center in Myeong-dong last week.

Aug. 17, 2012

SEATTLE ― Pike Place Market. The Space Needle. Pioneer Square. Check, check and check.If you’ve hit these obvious Seattle destinations, you’re not a newbie. But maybe you’re not an insider either.So, this Seattle checklist is for you. It skirts those three attractions and several other popular stops to make more room for Ballard, Capitol Hill, Fremont and the University District ― four asset-rich Seattle neighborhoods my family and I explored on a visit last summer. Our list starts with three st

Travel Aug. 17, 2012

International cultural leaders will gather next month in Seoul to experience Korean culture and discuss how to better promote it. The Corea Image Communication Institute will invite 14 cultural icons from around the world to its third 2012 Culture Communication Forum from Sept. 4-6. The CICI organized the C20 (Culture 20) side event during the G20 Seoul Summit in 2010. “The third CCF is an event that facilitates cultural communication among the participating leaders and helps them learn Korean c

Culture Aug. 15, 2012