Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Britney Spears sued over fragrance deal
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― A brand marketing company that brokered a deal for Britney Spears’ fragrance line sued the singer and her father Wednesday, claiming the pair secured a new deal that stinks to the tune of more than $10 million.Brand Sense Partners LLC’s lawsuit claims the pair renegotiated a royalties deal with cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden last year that cut them out of their 35 percent com
April 1, 2011
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American Ballet returns to Moscow after 45 yrs
MOSCOW (AP) ― The American Ballet Theatre has returned to Moscow for the first time since the 1960s and the first time since the defection of Mikhail Baryshnikov, who left Russia’s famed Bolshoi Theatre to bring his luminous star power to the U.S. ballet company.ABT opened a three-night run Tuesday on the new stage of the Bolshoi Theatre, whose company was touring Canada when Baryshnikov defected
March 31, 2011
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Fifth ‘Pirates’ adventure being plotted for Depp
LAS VEGAS (AP) ― Johnny Depp’s tour guide on his “Pirates of the Caribbean” voyages is plotting the course for a fifth installment even before the fourth movie sails into theaters.Producer Jerry Bruckheimer says he has a screenplay in the works for a fifth “Pirates” tale after May’s “Pirates of the Caribbean:On Stranger Tides” comes out.Based on the Disney theme-park ride, the original three “Pira
March 31, 2011
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Korean ballet limbers up for new stages
Korea National Ballet, Universal Ballet fuse ballet with other dances, and plan world toursBallet is hot in Korea right now, and ballet companies are eager to make it even hotter. The graceful dance, which used to enjoyed by only by a small portion of the population because of its seemingly “loftiness,” is gaining popularity among the public both on and off stage. “Giselle,” which in February beca
March 30, 2011
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Practice hall open for state arts companies
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Wednesday opened a practice hall at the Seoul Arts Center to help five state-run arts companies practice their performances.The five are the Korea National Opera Company, the Korea National Ballet Company, the National Chorus of Korea, the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company and the Korean Symphony Orchestra.The practice hall is located at the o
March 30, 2011
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New film council head vows to regain public trust
Kim Eui-suk, new chairman of the controversy-plagued Korea Film Council (KOFIC), said he will regain public trust in the organization, after officially taking appointment Wednesday.It is the first time ever for a former movie director to take the position. Kim said his background as a film director will help him in the role. “I’ve seen the real problems and conflicts in the field because I’ve work
March 30, 2011
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Venture to bring ‘pansori’ to the world
Opera director Achim Freyer leads The National Changgeuk Company’s ‘Mr. Rabbit and the Dragon King’The National Changgeuk Company of Korea has joined hands with Achim Freyer, the world famous German opera director, to introduce “pansori,” or Korean traditional narrative singing, to the world. Freyer, known as one of the best stage directors today, is in charge of the directing and stage/costume/li
March 29, 2011
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Website to pay $950,000 after selling Beatles hits
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― A website that sold Beatles songs online for 25 cents apiece before they became legally available has agreed to pay record companies nearly $1 million to settle a federal lawsuit.U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton Tucker signed off on the settlement between BlueBeat.com and music companies EMI Group PLC, Capitol Records and Virgin Records America on Friday. The judge ruled in
March 29, 2011
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National Gugak Center celebrates 60th anniversary
“Hwangap” is a Korean traditional way of celebrating one’s 60th birthday, a special occasion that marks living a full circle of 60 years and wishing for a longer, prosperous life. The National Gugak Center, which turns 60 this year, said it plans to hold a variety of events, including performances, exhibitions and forums from April to June at the center in southern Seoul. “Gugak” refers to Korean
March 29, 2011
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Exhibition captures Seoul in two different times
Seoul has gone through a lot in the past century, from Japanese occupation to the Korean War, and rapid industrialization to prosperity.Seoul Museum of History is holding two separate exhibitions featuring Korea’s capital in two different time periods that offer a rare glimpse into how the city has been transformed into what it is today.One of the exhibitions, “Seoul 1953-1963” showcases photograp
March 29, 2011
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Museum launches culture program for spouses of foreign envoys, CEOs
The Korea Furniture Museum, which hosted luncheon for spouses of G20 leaders during the G20 Seoul Summit in November, launched an academic program on Tuesday for spouses of foreign ambassadors to Korea and expat CEOs to help them discover traditional Korean heritage.While spouses of foreign ambassadors normally spend about three years in Korea, their exposure to Korean culture is relatively limite
March 29, 2011
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Hong Ra-hee makes comeback as Leeum’s director
Hong Ra-hee, wife of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, recently returned to her post as director of Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art. Hong resumed to the post on March 16 and attended the opening ceremony of “Korean Rhapsody,” an ongoing exhibition at the museum, on the same day. “She planned to return in time for the Korean Rhapsody exhibition. But then the earthquake hit Japan and the overal
March 29, 2011
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Scarlett Johansson and Sean Penn go public as a couple
Sean Penn and Scarlett Johansson (MCT)Hollywood icon Scarlett Johansson, 26, turned up at Reese Witherspoon’s March 26 wedding with Sean Penn, 50, new reports said Tuesday. “Turning up at a wedding with your boyfriend is definitely a huge statement, especially that wedding. What it’s doing is announcing to the whole of Hollywood that they are serious,” a friend of Johansson was quoted as saying in
March 29, 2011
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How shy boy became a big photographer
Photographer Koo talks about finding beauty in bric-a-brac as he opens exhibition of his collection of miscellaneous objectsAs a boy, Koo Bohnchang liked to explore his father’s front yard alone rather than playing ball with his friends, a constant cause of concern for his parents. Little did they know that their boy would grow up to be a famous photographer. Koo, who is now 58 and a professor at
March 28, 2011
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Japanese bestsellers to flood big screen
“Norwegian Wood,” “Confessions,” “Closed Note” and “Paradise Lost.”These Japanese films, set to be released in Seoul next month, have one thing in common: they are all cinematic versions of Japan’s bestselling novels.According to Cracker Pictures, one of local distributors of the films, this is no coincidence ― the trend of making book-based films has been popular in Japan for the past couple of y
March 28, 2011
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Glenn Morrissette’s music moves with him, in mobile recording studio
LOS ANGELES ― If the music to the Season 9, Episode 5 installment of Fox’s animated sitcom “Family Guy” had a relaxed feel, maybe it was because of the 104-degree mineral water.Glenn Morrissette helped orchestrate the score after a leisurely soak last October in the natural hot springs in the tiny northwestern Wyoming town of Thermopolis.Morrissette did his work from his recording studio on wheels
March 28, 2011
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Lee Chang-dong's 'Poetry' wins highest honor at Swiss film festival
Renowned South Korean director Lee Chang-dong's film "Poetry" was named best picture at the 25th Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland, the event's organizers said Monday. The film, Lee's fifth feature, tells the story of a conflicted elderly woman who finds happiness in writing poetry for the first time, while a harsh reality simultaneously forces her to suffer guilt and fear.
March 28, 2011
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Team spirit saves TIMF opening
Late composer Yun I-sang’s birthplace holds concerts, master classes, lecturesTONGYEONG ― When the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra abruptly canceled its opening concert for the Tongyeong International Music Festival due to fear of radiation from Japan spreading to Korea, TIMF artistic director Alexander Liebreich said he was quite surprised and could not understand the decision.Despite the short noti
March 27, 2011
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‘Strangers 6’ to go on undaunted
Earthquake-driven plot of new multinational TV series to remain unchangedNo one could have predicted the massive earthquake that hit the coast of Japan on March 11, especially not the team and cast of the forthcoming quake-centric drama, “Strangers 6.” On March 3, just nine days before disaster struck, a press conference in Seoul unveiled the ambitious joint collaboration among Chinese, Japanese a
March 27, 2011
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Long-lost Chopin letters revealed by Polish museum
WARSAW (AFP) ― Six letters written by 19th century composer and pianist Frederic Chopin, thought to have been lost since World War II, were Thursday revealed by the Polish museum dedicated to the musical icon.Warsaw’s Chopin Museum said that it spent almost a decade trying to obtain the letters and dozens of other documents related to the composer after getting wind of them in 2003.The paper trial
March 27, 2011