Most Popular
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Iran’s president found dead at helicopter crash site
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Seoul rolls out W250b package in bid to lure foreign talent
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N. Korea slams US subcritical nuclear test, vows measures to bolster nuclear deterrence
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Korea's increasing US investment mutually beneficial: report
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Yoon vetoes bill for special probe into young Marine's death
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Minister warns against trusting NK stated intentions, says Moon misguided
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South Korea bans viral North Korea propaganda video praising Kim
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AI Seoul Summit to discuss ways to make AI equitable in Global South
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SNU alums nabbed for digital sex crimes
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Hermes celebrates craftsmanship
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Kim starts shooting 18th film
Kim Ki-duk, one of the best known South Korean auteurs overseas, started shooting his 18th film this month, according to production house NEW.The film, entitled “Pieta,” will star actor Lee Jeong-jin and actress Jo Min-soo. According to NEW, Kim thought of the initial plot of the film as he wanted to delve into the theme of evil, and whether or not “human beings have evilness as one of their innate qualities.”The upcoming film tells the story of a heartless man whose job is to threaten debtors t
FilmFeb. 20, 2012
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Duchamp’s influence still powerful
Opera Gallery Seoul offers artworks by contemporary artists influenced by Marcel DuchampHad it not been for Marcel Duchamp, the “anti-artist” who stirred up the 20th century art world with an upside-down urinal, the contemporary art scene would never have become what it is. Opera Gallery Seoul in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, gathered artwork by 19 acclaimed artists after Duchamp’s time who were obviously influenced by the sensational French artist in more than one way. The exhibition, titled
PerformanceFeb. 20, 2012
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Fandom emerges in classical music scene
Classical musicians enjoy rock star status among groupiesWhen pianist Lim Dong-hyek finished his two-hour-long recital on Feb. 18 at Seoul Arts Center, a venue exclusively for classical music suddenly turned into a pop concert scene with the audience screaming for an encore. The hall with 2,500 seats was completely packed ― mostly with females ― and they didn’t stop shouting, urging the artist to play another piece, and then another.At the end, Lim presented three encores, mostly romantic Chopin
PerformanceFeb. 20, 2012
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Swizz Beatz paints K-pop‘s rosy future in world market
Swizz Beatz, a renowned American rapper-producer, said on Monday K-pop is leading a trend for new music and that he wants to play a leading role in introducing Asia to the West through Korean music.“What I found in Korean pop music is a new expression. The world is open for new things and I think right now K-pop in Korea is leading in that area. I’d like to be the one to introduce that to the West,” the musician said during a news conference in Seoul. The musician, also husband of the famous U.S
Feb. 20, 2012
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Swizz Beatz paints K-pop's rosy future in world market
Swizz Beatz, a renowned American rapper-producer, said on Monday K-pop is leading a trend for new music and that he wants to play a leading role in introducing Asia to the West through Korean music. (Yonhap News)"What I found in Korean pop music is a new expression. The world is open for new things
Feb. 20, 2012
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Celebration of British fashion icons heats up
LONDON (AP) ― It must be fashion week: leather jeans, African body paint, androgynous clothes and much more were on display in London Saturday as big names like Vivienne Westwood, Mulberry and Paul Smith made their mark.Day Three of London Fashion Week saw a new strategy for leather pants: instead of the skintight Jim Morrison look, both Mulberry and Top Shop showcased wide-legged, baggy leather pants.Others turned to velvet for a showy, festive look.Much of the attention focused on Westwood, on
Arts & DesignFeb. 20, 2012
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N. Korean defectors push to join writers’ association
About 20 North Korean defectors in South Korea will push to become members of an internationally recognized writers’ association later this year, an official said Monday.PEN International is scheduled to hold its congress in South Korea’s ancient city of Gyeongju in September where the issue of accepting North Korean defectors as members is expected to be discussed and approved, according to Kim Kyung-sik, secretary general of PEN Korea in Seoul.PEN International, the London-based worldwide asso
BooksFeb. 20, 2012
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SEALs take starring role in new film
WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The secretive Navy SEALs are coming out of the shadows for a new Hollywood film, with elite commandos cast in starring roles in a radical departure for America’s special forces.In “Act of Valor,” the select troops who call themselves “the quiet professionals” take a turn as leading men on the big screen, reciting lines from a script as they race to prevent terrorists from carrying out an attack on the United States.Filming began in 2007, before the Navy’s Sea, Air and Land Tea
FilmFeb. 20, 2012
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U.S. Brigadier General Akin keeps it in family
By all accounts, Robin B. Akin, a U.S. army brigadier general stationed in South Korea, has had a successful military career, spanning 30 years.From a small town in Tennessee, Akin, now in her third tour of duty to South Korea, has gone all over the world, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and leading rescue missions in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. She has also served in Germany, Italy and Japan.But such an extensive career isn’t so out of place in her family.Akin has been the assistant chief of sta
PeopleFeb. 20, 2012
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Oscar voters less diverse than cinema audiences
LOS ANGELES ― When the names of winners are revealed on Oscar night, months of suspense give way to tears, smiles and speeches. Yet when the curtain falls, one question remains: Who cast the votes?About 37 million people tuned in to the Academy Awards last year, and a great deal rides on the show’s outcome. Winning a golden statuette can vault an actor to stardom, add millions to a movie’s box office and boost a studio’s prestige. Yet the roster of all 5,765 voting members of the Academy of Moti
FilmFeb. 20, 2012
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FDA to review inhalable caffeine
BOSTON (AP) _ U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials plan to investigate whether inhalable caffeine sold in lipstick-sized canisters is safe for consumers and if its manufacturer was right to brand it as a dietary supplement. (Aeroshot)AeroShot went on the market late last month in Massach
FoodFeb. 20, 2012
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Kyung Hee University founder Choue dies at 91
Choue Young-seek, founder of Kyung Hee University, died on Saturday from chronic illness. He was 91. Choue had been a pioneer of private higher education in Korea and a life-long campaigner for world peace. Born in North Pyongan Province, North Korea in 1921, he acquired the earlier form of the university, Shinheung Junior College, in 1951 during the Korean War and transformed it into one of the prominent private colleges in Korea. Choue proposed and co-founded the International Association of U
PeopleFeb. 19, 2012
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Museum robbed at Greece’s ancient Olympia
ATHENS (AP) ― Two masked gunmen stormed into a small museum at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southern Greece on Friday, smashing display cases with hammers and making off with dozens of antiquities up to 3,200 years old, authorities said.It was the second major museum theft in as many months in debt-crippled Greece, and a culture ministry unionist said spending cuts have compromised security at hundreds of museums and ancient sites across the country. With unemployment at 21 percent
CultureFeb. 19, 2012
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British Council hopes to boost U.K. education’s profile
University of Edinburgh to commemorate late President Yun Bo-seon in autumnThis is the third of the series introducing cultural centers of different countries in Seoul ― Ed.For anyone interested in studying abroad ― especially in the U.K. ― the British Council office in central Seoul is the place to be next month. The British cultural institution will be holding a special event where representatives from six or seven of the U.K.’s world-class universities will share information on what each scho
PerformanceFeb. 19, 2012
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Great orchestras to mesmerize Seoul
Month of February packed with performances by renowned orchestrasStar conductors leading world-class orchestras are flocking to Seoul, offering a chance to appreciate their powerful symphonic sounds.The list of prestigious orchestras coming to Korea this year includes the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. And they all are to perform in this month.February’s flock of foreign orchestras has happened as part of several Asia tours that
PerformanceFeb. 19, 2012
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Digital film switch daunts historic movie houses
BUFFALO, New York (AP) ― The license plate on movie projectionist Arnie Herdendorf’s Buick is 35MM MAN, a nod to his work in the booth at the 1925 Palace Theatre, with its velvet-draped stage and chandeliered mezzanine.When he drove recently to a multiplex to watch as its film projectors were swapped out for new digital ones, the sight of old 35 mm workhorses “stacked up like wounded soldiers’’ had him wondering how long his title ― or job ― would be around.The questions are even bigger for hist
FilmFeb. 19, 2012
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Cirque du Soleil plans Oscar piece
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Aerialists, acrobats and contortionists from Cirque du Soleil are among the guests at this year’s Academy Awards.The three-minute performance at the Oscars on Feb. 26 will be among the international troupe’s biggest yet, said Cirque du Soleil special events director Yasmine Khalil, featuring more than 50 artists. Most Cirque shows employ 75 to 80 artists over two hours, she said.Cirque du Soleil has a Hollywood-themed show now at the Kodak Theatre, where the Oscars will be pre
PerformanceFeb. 19, 2012
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Berlin fest crowns Italian prison docu-drama
Runner-up prize awarded to film about killings of Roma in HungaryBERLIN (AFP) ― The 62nd Berlin film festival wraps up Sunday after awarding its Golden Bear top prize to Italy’s veteran directors Paolo and Vittorio Taviani for their gripping prison docu-drama “Caesar Must Die.”The picture shows real-life murderers and mafiosi from a high-security jail in Rome staging Shakespeare’s tragedy “Julius Caesar,” with their own personal dramas giving resonance to the play’s themes of betrayal and vengea
FilmFeb. 19, 2012
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Costner tells of Houston race factor over ‘Bodyguard’
U.S. actor Kevin Costner on Saturday said his “Bodyguard” co-star Whitney Houston was almost overlooked for the role because of her color and lack of acting experience.Costner told the singer’s funeral service that while he thought Houston was perfect for the part of pop star Rachel Marron, the movi
FilmFeb. 19, 2012
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Dozens injured by Thai hotel pool chlorine leak
More than 30 people, many of them foreign tourists, were rushed to hospital Saturday on the Thai resort island of Phuket after a chlorine leak at a hotel swimming pool, local officials said. (Bloomberg)The accident occurred shortly after 10:00am (0300 GMT) at the Phuket Orchid Resort and Spa hotel o
TravelFeb. 19, 2012