It was like meeting “the one” you want to marry ― when you know, you just know.Famed ballerina Kang Sue-jin said that’s exactly how she felt when she was asked to be the next artistic director of the Korean National Ballet.“I’ve received the same offer a number of times in the past,” the Korean-born, Germany-based dancer said during a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday. She accepted the offer this time, and her three-year tenure starts in February. “But I never really felt I was ready until no

PerformanceDec. 19, 2013

Intensity filled the auction room as bidding for the 1987 “Farm” painting by modern artist Lee Dae-won climbed higher and higher at the second auction for the seized art collection of former President Chun Doo-hwan at Seoul Auction on Wednesday. In seconds, the bids soared from the 250 million won starting price to 640 million in a heated competition over the flamboyant painting that had hung in Chun’s living room. The bidding soon rose to 660 million won, which was followed by a pause. “No Regr

PerformanceDec. 19, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Just in time for a new movie about the making of “Mary Poppins,” the 1964 Disney classic starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke has been selected for preservation at the Library of Congress so future generations of Americans can see it.On Wednesday, the library inducted 25 films into the National Film Registry to be preserved for their cultural, historical or cinematic significance. This year’s selections include Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction,” the space race film “The Ri

FilmDec. 19, 2013

NEW YORK (AFP) ― The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards hits 70 Wednesday with another tour on the horizon, and probably a smirk for everyone who would not have bet he would make it this far in a life of excess.The unmatched guitar legend isn’t just hitting 70 ― like Mick Jagger did in August. He is also celebrating his 30th wedding anniversary with former model Patti Hanson, with whom he has two daughters. He also has three children with the Italian actress Anita Pallenberg.With his trademark banda

PerformanceDec. 19, 2013

The four-member R&B ensemble Brown Eyed Soul released a digital EP, “Thank Your Soul,” on Thursday, marking the 10th anniversary of their debut. The album consisting of three songs, “You Are So Beautiful,” “Philly Love Song,” and “Neoreul (You),” ranges from ’70s-style soul and disco to romantic R&B ballads. An electronic-remix of “Philly Love Song” is also on the album. All the songs will be included in the group’s fourth regular album due next April. Male supermodel Kim Young-kwang and rising

PerformanceDec. 19, 2013

As the world’s most wired nation, Korea is hard-pressed to adapt itself under the ever-so-rapidly progressing merger of the online and offline worlds. With one of the highest numbers of smartphone users and where online game rooms are on almost every corner, Korea has become one of the leading forces in global technology. Valerie Veatch, an American director, writer, editor and producer, came to Korea for the first time in 2012 for the sole purpose of attempting to capture the extent of technolo

FilmDec. 19, 2013

Conjure the image of John Brown in your head and you see the fearsome emancipator, a righteous prophet who gave his life to fight slavery with the Harpers Ferry raid of 1859. The Union turned his death into a rallying cry with the anthem “John Brown’s Body.” His soul is marching on.Brown’s story might have moved from history to legend, but it still contains some truth. It’s also ripe for mischievous revision, which is exactly what James McBride provides in his National Book Award-winning novel “

BooksDec. 19, 2013

Servants: A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth Century to Modern TimesBy Lucy Lethbridge(W.W. Norton & Company)Fictional Downton Abbey is supposed to be one of the grandest houses in England, inhabited by the distinguished Crawley family; but on this smash television hit, it’s the servants who steal the show. From Mr. Carson, the butler with the bushy eyebrows that practically dare you to defy him, to the earthy Mrs. Patmore, who rules over the kitchen with a stern hand, the staff

BooksDec. 19, 2013

Going DarkBy James W. Hall(Minotaur)Fatherhood has not come easily to Thorn, the taciturn hero making his 13th appearance in James W. Hall’s series.Still, it’s easy to cut the Key Largo loner a break. Thorn only recently discovered he even had a grown son and while he can never make up for lost time, he wants to at least hope for a future. But Hall isn’t after a touchy-feely father-and-son reunion between Thorn and Miami actor Flynn Moss, especially considering how their first meeting in 2011’s

BooksDec. 19, 2013

ATLANTA (AP) ― Two lucky winning tickets have been sold in the near-record $636 million U.S. Mega Millions drawing: one at a tiny newsstand in Atlanta, and the other at a gift shop in California. A Georgia woman, Ira Curry, of Stone Mountain, bought just one ticket and used family birthdays and lucky No. 7 to choose her numbers in the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history, lottery officials said. “She has not decided how she’ll spend those winnings,” Georgia Lottery chief executive Debbie Alfor

PeopleDec. 19, 2013

PeopleDec. 19, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama intends to nominate Sen. Max Baucus as ambassador to China, Democratic officials said Wednesday, turning to a lawmaker well-versed in trade issues to fill one of the nation’s most sensitive diplomatic posts. If confirmed by the Senate, Baucus would replace Ambassador Gary Locke, who announced last month he was stepping down. The Montanan’s departure from the Senate would have an instant impact on one of Congress’ most powerful committees and on the 2014 e

PeopleDec. 19, 2013

LONDON (AFP) ― Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, whose audacious escape from jail and decades spent on the run made him one of Britain’s most notorious criminals, died on Wednesday aged 84.Biggs, who was unable to speak and could barely walk after a series of strokes, was being cared for at a nursing home in north London at the time of his death, reports said.He was part of the gang that robbed a night mail train traveling from Glasgow to London on Aug. 8, 1963, seizing 2.6 million pounds ― a rec

PeopleDec. 19, 2013

Bea Rose Santiago, a Filipina fashion model, was crowned the new Miss International 2013 in a beauty pageant ceremony held Tuesday in Tokyo. “I’m going to use the crown and my title to help the victims of super-typhoon Haiyan, which raked the Phillipines last month, leaving nearly 8,000 people dead or missing,” said the 23-year-old beauty queen.The beauty pageant, however, was marred by allegations made by the absent former title-holder Ikumi Yoshimatsu. She claimed the organizers have prevented

TelevisionDec. 19, 2013