Most Popular
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Seoul transit pass for travelers to be available starting July
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Controversy rekindled over when to name criminals, suspects
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[Weekender] Pet food makers bet big on ‘recession-free’ pet food market
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N. Korea says to deploy new multiple rocket launcher starting this year
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[Drama Tour] Romantic trip to ‘Queen of Tears’ filming spots
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Hybe-Ador CEO conflict gets messier
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Battery makers ramp up efforts to diversify graphite supply chain
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[LLG] Unseen inheritance: Trauma of transnational adoption 'trickles down' to adoptees' children
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‘Monk’ DJ spreading Buddhism goes global
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Prosecutors to summon pastor who allegedly gave Dior bag to first lady
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‘Wild Swans’ author Jung Chang speaks of China dream
HONG KONG (AFP) ― It may be unclear what exactly Beijing means by its aspirational “China Dream” slogan, but for banned “Wild Swans” author Jung Chang it’s a positive step. “It’s good to have a dream,” she says. “My dream is to have my books published in China.” The Sichuan-born writer now lives in London and is best known for her family autobiography “Wild Swans.” which has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.But none of those sales were in China. “Wild Swans” is banned there along with
BooksJuly 23, 2013
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Hip-hop duo Supreme Team calls it quits
Rappers Simon D and E-sens of hip-hop duo Supreme Team announced on Monday that they would be going their separate ways. The two artists said they would pursue solo careers. Longtime hip-hop artist E-sens revealed that he decided to pursue a solo career after his contract with the duo’s former agency Amoeba Culture was terminated. “The rappers have parted ways,” a representative from Amoeba Culture stated to the media. “But since Supreme Team actually started off as a project band, I don’t know
PerformanceJuly 23, 2013
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‘Snowpiercer’ powerfully explores class, privilege
Know your position, keep your position, be the “shoe.”This is what those who live at the bottom of Snowpiercer, a massive train carrying the last remnants of humanity, are constantly told to do in director Bong Joon-ho’s latest sci-fi movie of the same name. “Being the shoe” is a metaphor. The people are the bottom of the bottom, lowest of the low, and should never seek to climb the ladder, or “try to be the head.”In the very back railcar, the lowliest passengers live on protein bars made of dea
FilmJuly 23, 2013
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Lee Jong-suk warns Facebook imposter
Rising star Lee Jong-suk from the popular television drama series “I Hear Your Voice” has posted a warning on his official me2day account, addressing a Facebook account that has been impersonating him.On Sunday he posted, “I don’t have a Facebook account. I have a me2day account because it’s easier. … What are you gaining by impersonating someone like me? I also play different roles in my work and it’s very difficult. Please don’t.” He ended the post on a lighter note saying, “The day feels so l
July 23, 2013
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Hallyu star Jang Keun-suk attracts 10 million followers on Weibo
Actor and singer Jang Keun-suk’s Weibo account followers have surpassed 10 million as of July 18, according to his agency Tree J company on Monday. Weibo is a Chinese social networking service website, which claims to have approximately 287 million active users. Jang so for has the greatest number of followers on Weibo for a Korean celebrity. Jang first opened his account in August 2011. Recently, popular Chinese variety show “Happy Camp” on HBS channel topped the ratings by doing a special epi
July 23, 2013
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Ku Hye-sun releases self-composed song ‘It’s You’
Actress, movie director and singer-songwriter Ku Hye-sun released her fourth self-composed song and its music video on Monday. The love song describes a girl who has fallen in love with a boy at first sight. She borrowed the motif from veteran singer Lee Jang-hee’s hit song “It’s You,” according to the official announcement from her agency YG Entertainment. Her previous self-composed songs are “Brown Hair,” “Marry Me” and “Flying Galaxy.” The new song was arranged by an old friend, pianist Choi
PerformanceJuly 23, 2013
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East meets West in new hallyu program
While the entertainment sector has been the mainstay of hallyu, the government has been keen on introducing a wider scope of the country’s culture to foreigners.One recent effort is the “2013 Sensuous K-Heritage,” a program that introduces Korean culture and heritage through traditional arts performances and food, presented by the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation in partnership with Starbucks Coffee Korea.The participants for the weekly events are selected by the Korean Culture and Information
CultureJuly 23, 2013
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[Photo News] Gaffe scandals hit S. Korean celebrities
Ken, a member of boy band VIXX, is facing a firestorm of criticism after reports surfaced on Monday that he said he would “slap fans” if they ever left him. The controversial remark by the 21-year-old singer is just one in a string of high-profile blunders by local celebrities, thanks partly to the social networks’ superfast circulation. Famous TV actress and former comedian An Sun-young also joined the list by saying on TV that she thinks real men should make 1 million won more than she does. A
July 23, 2013
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Prince William's wife, Kate, in labor
Prince William's wife, Kate, is in the early stages of labor in a private wing of a central London hospital, palace officials said Monday.It is a historic moment for the British monarchy _ the couple's first child will become third in line for the British throne, after Prince Charles and William, and should eventually become king or queen.William and Kate entered St. Mary's Hospital in central London through a side door early Monday morning, avoiding the world's media. Palace officials confirmed
PeopleJuly 22, 2013
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Children’s theater festival opens with Holocaust play
It’s unusual to see a play about the Holocaust at a children’s event, but last week “Else’s Story,” a play about a child who survived Auschwitz, premiered at the opening of the 21st ASSITEJ Korea International Summer Festival, Korea’s largest theater festival for kids.Under the theme “Embrace the World, Butterfly,” the festival is showcasing 11 performances from six different countries, including three Korean works. This year, the festival also celebrates 130 years of diplomatic ties between Ko
PerformanceJuly 22, 2013
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German publisher of surprise Rowling book eyes windfall
BERLIN (AFP) ― The publisher that bought the German rights to a novel for a song before learning that the author was Harry Potter writer J.K. Rowling said Sunday it was eyeing a windfall.Munich-based Blanvalet Verlag snapped up the rights in February to “The Cuckoo’s Calling,” a purported debut novel by a certain Robert Galbraith about a private detective who investigates a model’s suicide, its editor Anja Franzen told news weekly Focus.That was five months before Rowling, the British author beh
BooksJuly 22, 2013
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Classic kids’ book ‘The Snowy Day’ is focus of U.S. exhibit
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ― During the height of the civil rights movement, a gentle book about a black boy in a red snowsuit crunch-crunch-crunching through the snow broke down racial barriers and now is the subject of an upcoming exhibit.Ezra Jack Keats’ beloved 1962 book, “The Snowy Day,’’ is credited as the first mass-market children’s storybook to feature a black protagonist ― a preschooler named Peter joyfully exploring the snow-covered sidewalks in his New York City neighborhood.The National Muse
BooksJuly 22, 2013
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Resurgent Newport Folk Festival hits 54th year
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) ― Tickets for the main two days of this year’s Newport Folk Festival sold out five months early and before anyone knew who was playing ― another indication of how the 54-year-old event is staying fresh and relevant with a mix of musical icons and young artists looking for their big break.The festival that began in 1959 with performances from Joan Baez and Pete Seeger expands this year to three days of performances by more than 50 acts on four stages. While this year
PerformanceJuly 22, 2013
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Superman’s past, future takes spotlight at Comic-Con
SAN DIEGO (AP) ― Superman is among comics’ most recognizable characters, and 75 years after Cleveland teenagers Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster’s Kryptonian made his debut in the pages of Action Comics No. 1, his popularity remains stratospheric.At Comic-Con International, Superman’s presence could be seen everywhere ― from attendees wearing various incarnations of his many costumes to scenes from the television series, cartoons, films, and even in comic books.“Superman was the first comic book su
FilmJuly 22, 2013
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Funk legend Earth, Wind & Fire talks ‘Now, Then & Forever’
Earth, Wind & Fire is widely considered one of the most iconic and influential bands in American music history. The group made its debut in 1969 and later became pioneers in fusing elements of R&B, funk and disco to create one of the most distinctive sounds of that era. Four decades later, the members of Earth, Wind & Fire are still creating music together and looking to prove that they know how to stay relevant in today’s music scene. Along with the release of their upcoming 20th studio album,
PerformanceJuly 22, 2013
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BEAST returns with Seoul concerts
BEAST gathered 24,000 fans from all around the world for the “2013 Beautiful Show” concerts, held at Seoul Olympic Gymnastics Stadium on Saturday and Sunday. It was the boy band’s first performance since the release of its second full album “Hard to Love, How to Love” on July 19. The six-member boy band performed “Shadow,” “Will You Be Alright?” and “Encore” from its new album as well as its previous hits “Fiction,” “On Rainy Days” and more. The concerts included solo performances as well as a Y
PerformanceJuly 22, 2013
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Belgium throws party as Philippe ascends to throne
BRUSSELS (AFP) ― Crown Prince Philippe ascended to the Belgian throne amid fanfare and festivity Sunday after his father Albert II’s abdicaton, and vowed to prevent the breakup of a nation split by language and history.The new monarch, who at 53 becomes “King of The Belgians,” was sworn into office by the joint houses of parliament shortly after Albert, aged 79, stepped down citing age and failing health.“I swear to abide by the constitution and laws of the Belgian people, to maintain national i
PeopleJuly 22, 2013
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Seoul to donate painting to Pentagon Korean War exhibit
A South Korean military delegation will visit Washington D.C. this week to attend an event commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice and donate a painting to a newly opened war exhibition at the Pentagon, the Defense Ministry here said Monday. Gen. Jung Seung-jo, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will join the Korean delegation led by Rep. Kim Jung-hoon of the ruling Saenuri Party at the armistice event on Saturday, which will be hosted by the U.S. Department of Def
PeopleJuly 22, 2013
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‘Indigent’ Mandelas get free legal help in burial case
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) ― Members of Nelson Mandela’s family who this month won a court victory in a macabre burial case enjoyed free legal aid because they were deemed to be poor, media reports said Sunday.The court, finding in favor of 16 members of Mandela’s family, ordered the anti-apartheid icon’s eldest grandson, Mandla, to return the remains of three of his children, having reburied them in 2011 without permission.The Sunday Times reported that the group’s legal fees were paid by a law clinic
PeopleJuly 22, 2013
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E-sens of Supreme Team going solo
Rapper E-sens, formerly of hip-hop duo Supreme Team, announced Monday that his contract with his agency had been terminated and he is going solo.“Yes, they told me today the contract is over. I’m going to become a solo artist,” the 26-year-old rapper, whose real name is Kang Min-ho, said on Twitter.Amoeba Culture, Supreme Team’s agency, said via press release that the rapper was no longer with the company. The move effectively broke up the popular duo consisting of E-sens and Simon Dominic, whos
PerformanceJuly 22, 2013