Most Popular
-
1
Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
-
2
Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
-
3
[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
-
4
Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
-
5
Students with history of violence will be barred from becoming teachers
-
6
Medical feud leaves hospitals in financial crisis
-
7
Samsung mocks Apple over iPhone alarm glitch
-
8
Chip up cycle won’t stay long: SK chief
-
9
'Queen of Tears' riding high on Netflix chart
-
10
Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
-
World’s largest Christian congress to make Asian debut in Busan
The world’s largest congress of Christian churches will be held in Busan on Oct. 30 under the theme “Pilgrimage to Busan: An Ecumenical Journey into World Christianity.“More than 5,000 participants including 800 Christian delegates, several leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox churches and Islam will explore Christian unity, justice and peace at the World Council of Churches 10th Assembly. “It is an Olympics for Christians,” a member of the organizing committee said. Among the 2,800 fo
CultureOct. 24, 2013
-
Dutch furious over U.N. body’s ‘Black Pete’ racism charge
THE HAGUE (AFP) ― A Facebook petition supporting a Dutch Christmas character called “Black Pete” on Wednesday hit a million ‘likes,’ revealing the liberal nation’s attachment to a beloved figure the U.N. has warned may be racist. Anger over the issue has swept the Netherlands after a U.N. human rights body said it was assessing whether “Zwarte Piet,” who accompanies Saint Nicholas during a traditional children’s festival before Christmas, is racist.The character, who arrives on a gift-filled boa
CultureOct. 24, 2013
-
Aristocrat says tourists threatening Florence
ROME (AFP) ― A descendant of Florence’s famous Medici family told AFP on Tuesday that mass tourism was a “threat” to his native city and called for it to be put on a Unesco list of endangered areas.“There is serious urban degradation, an overuse of the city, an insufficient attention to the artistic heritage of the city,” the angry prince, Ottaviano de Medici, said in a statement.The prince said he had presented a project called “Save Florence” on the website www.de-medici.com with 16 proposals
TravelOct. 24, 2013
-
Ha Ji-won back in ‘The Empress Ki’
Actress Ha Ji-won is famed for portraying strong, independent heroines that run the gauntlet from modern-day boxer to national ping pong athlete to Joseon-period detective. Her latest role is no exception. After winning audiences over as an ass-kicking stuntwoman in the hit TV series “Secret Garden,” Ha is returning as a history-making, ruler-to-be in MBC’s “The Empress Ki.” “I really like historical romances,” Ha, 35, said at the drama’s press conference in Seoul on Thursday. “When I starred in
TelevisionOct. 24, 2013
-
Lee Juck concert to mark fifth album
Singer-songwriter Lee Juck is set to hold a December concert commemorating the release of his fifth studio album, which will hit stores some time in November. Lee’s agency announced the concert details on interpark.com, stating the concert would be held on Dec. 6 and 7 at Kyung Hee University’s Grand Auditorium in Hoegi-dong, Seoul. “This concert will be a mixture of a visual spectacle and dynamic music fit for the large-scale venue. We want to provide an extreme musical experience for listeners
PerformanceOct. 24, 2013
-
Ex-Beatle Ringo jokes about reuniting with McCartney
LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Ex-Beatle Ringo Starr joked Wednesday that he would welcome playing with former bandmate Paul McCartney again, but only if the group was called “Ringo’s.”The veteran drummer made the quip after singing a few hits including “With a Little Help from my Friends,” as he promoted an upcoming South America tour with his All Starr band of ageing rock stars.Starr was joined on stage by Todd Rundgren and Santana keyboard player Gregg Rolie among others to play selection of songs also
PerformanceOct. 24, 2013
-
George Clooney’s WWII drama ‘Monuments Men’ pushed to 2014
NEW YORK (AP) ― George Clooney’s World War II drama “The Monuments Men” is being pushed to 2014 and out of this year’s awards season.The movie will now be released in the first quarter of next year, instead of its planned release date of Dec. 18, a spokesman for Sony Pictures said Wednesday. “Monuments Men,” which Clooney directed, cowrote and stars in, had been expected to be among the top Oscar contenders.The film could still compete for awards next year, but the early-in-the-year positioning
FilmOct. 24, 2013
-
Bridget Jones author shares insights on latest book
It’s been 17 years since “Bridget Jones’s Diary” first hit the scene, turning freelance journalist Helen Fielding into a best-selling author and screenwriter. Her latest installment, “Mad About the Boy,” follows Bridget, now 51, as she copes with the loss of her beloved Mark Darcy while trying to raise their children. We talked with Fielding over the phone about how it feels to bring Bridget back into the public eye (while taking lots of heat from those Colin Firth fans!).The following is an edi
BooksOct. 24, 2013
-
Poet laureate: ‘The pen … an instrument of discovery’
You may think writing poetry is all about gazing at the stars in the sky and the bluebells in the fields, then being struck by divine inspiration. But if you ask Billy Collins, he’ll tell you the process is more like a Wallace and Gromit cartoon.“There’s a great one where the dog is on top of a locomotive,” says the two-term U.S. poet laureate. “He’s got a box full of track, and he’s frenetically laying down track in front of the train. That’s a good metaphor for writing a poem.”Collins, 72, has
BooksOct. 24, 2013
-
Bed writing haunts ‘The Daylight Gate’
The Daylight GateBy Jeanette Winterson(Grove) Jeanette Winterson’s new novel is a strange and spare piece of horror writing about witch trials that arrives on these shores just in time for Halloween.“The Daylight Gate” is based on a real-life story of the Pendle Witches, men and women charged in 1612 with using their alleged craft to murder innocents in Lancashire in northwest England. Winterson re-creates the turbulent times that fed the anti-witch hysteria. King James, obsessed with the idea o
BooksOct. 24, 2013
-
Malcolm Gladwell battles giants in ‘David and Goliath’
David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling GiantsBy Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown and Co.)The dose makes the poison, as Paracelsus, the father of toxicology, is supposed to have said. A glass of water is good for you; an ocean’s worth can be fatal.That’s the underlying message of Malcolm Gladwell’s new exercise in raconteurship, “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants.” The book is ostensibly about how underdogs can win, but for great stretche
BooksOct. 24, 2013
-
BoA still going strong in Japanese music market
K-pop diva BoA’s local single “Message/Call My Name” ranked eighth on Japan’s Oricon Chart on Wednesday, the day of its release.Three Koreans -- BoA, along with singers TVXQ and Kim Hyung-joon formerly of SS501 -- ranked in the top 10 on the major music chart. BoA made her debut in Japan in 2002, just two years after debuting in Korea, and has been sweeping the Japanese music charts ever since. BoA was part of the first wave of K-pop singers to secure a large fan base in the country, producing h
Oct. 24, 2013
-
YFU Korea builds a bridge between Korea and Japan
The Youth for Understanding in Korea, a nonprofit student-exchange organization, is on a mission to build a bridge between Korea and Japan, according to its president.Shin Chung-ha, 73, the president of YFU International Korea, has been leading the organization since its foundation in 1989.He said YFU Korea’s program first started between Korea and Japan with the goal of “raising youth awareness and decreasing historical hostility between the two nations.”In the past 24 years, more than 500 stu
PeopleOct. 24, 2013
-
UNESCO most likely to list kimchi as cultural heritage
(Yonhap) -- Kimchi, a spicy fermented cabbage side dish iconic of Korean food, is most likely to make it to UNESCO's list of cultural heritage, the government said Wednesday. The body that deliberates on new additions has categorized South Korea's "Kimjang; Making and Sharing Kimchi" as recommended for inscription, according to the Cultural Heritage Administration.The final decision is due in December when UNESCO's intergovernmental committee meets in Azerbaijan. The subsidiary body that
CultureOct. 23, 2013
-
China’s travel law seen having temporary impact on tourism
The new Chinese travel law that prevents forced shopping trips and extra tour fees for overseas tour groups is having an immediate impact on the Korean tourism market, which has seen the number of Chinese tour groups take a tumble since the law came into effect on Oct. 1. According to Lotte Tour, a travel agency that handles Chinese tour groups, it has seen a large drop in the number of Chinese tour groups this month. “It went down drastically by around one-third or one-quarter of the usual,” sa
TravelOct. 23, 2013
-
‘Gut’ greater art than cinema: Park
Media artist and filmmaker Park Chan-kyong grew up in southern Seoul, living in modern apartment complexes. He was raised Catholic by his parents, even serving as an altar boy as a youngster.It wasn’t until his university years that he became interested in Korea’s local shamanism. He majored in fine art at Seoul National University, and worked as a media artist and art critic ever since. “Up until college, I think I wasn’t too comfortable with the whole concept of it,” Park said during an interv
PerformanceOct. 23, 2013
-
Ballet company goes modern
After “Swan Lake” and “Onegin,” leading ballet company Universal Ballet is presenting something a little different this month: they call the piece “This is Modern.”The piece is a collection of four different modern ballets: “Black Cake,” by Dutch choreographer Hans Van Manen, Spanish dancer and choreographer Nacho Duato’s “Duende” and Czech choreographer Jiri Kylian’s “Petite Mort” and “Sechs Tanze.”Compared to classical ballet, the show is said to highlight the different dance styles and flair
PerformanceOct. 23, 2013
-
Joseon art to be displayed in San Francisco
A total of 71 artifacts reflecting the prosperity and cultural diversity of the Joseon period (1392-1910) will be displayed at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum from Friday. “In Grand Style ― Celebrations in Korean Art During The Joseon Dynasty” will be the first major U.S. exhibition to examine the legacy of the Yi dynasty ― among the world’s longest running ― that continues to resonate in Korean culture today, the organizers said. The exhibition is to feature four themes: what it meant to be
CultureOct. 23, 2013
-
Holocaust survivor makes symphony debut with Ma
BOSTON (AP) ― A 90-year-old Holocaust survivor made his orchestral debut with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma on Tuesday to benefit a foundation dedicated to preserving the work of artists and musicians killed by the Nazis. Ma and George Horner received floral bouquets and a standing ovation from the audience of about 1,000 people in Boston’s Symphony Hall. They appeared to enjoy their evening, chatting briefly between numbers and walking off the stage hand-in-hand after taking a bow together.Before t
PerformanceOct. 23, 2013
-
Psy returning to Seoul for four-day concert series
The gentlemanly Psy will be ringing in the holiday season by returning home and holding a special four-day solo concert series from Dec. 20-22 and on Christmas Eve at Seoul Olympic Park’s Gymnastics Stadium. The upcoming performances will mark his first concert in Korea in nearly eight months after his internationally broadcast “Happening” show in April, where the rapper attracted around 45,000 local concert goers on top of more than 130,000 fans tuning in online during the live feed. Psy has al
PerformanceOct. 23, 2013